14: Do you think you are worth more than her?

In the reception room, the serene atmosphere created by the top-grade incense became subtle due to Su Mucheng's impassioned "preaching."

She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, striking a pose she believed to be highly leadership-like, feeling a hint of complacency at her impeccable rhetoric.

She believed that no man in a high position could refuse such a "for the nation and its people" compliment.

However, the approval, admiration, or even a hint of emotion she had expected did not appear on the face of the young man on the sofa.

Lin Tian still leaned there, his slender fingers still rhythmically tapping his knee.

He looked at the stunning CEO, who was trying her best to play the role of a "Saintess of the business world," and in his deep, star-like eyes, there was not the slightest admiration; instead, there was an increasingly thick, almost all-knowing amusement.

From his perspective, Su Mucheng's performance at this moment was like a peacock on the verge of desperation, desperately fanning its seemingly magnificent but actually tattered tail feathers, attempting to use the bluster of "beauty" and "nobility" to deceive the top predator before him.

"A typical refined egoist."

Lin Tian made a precise definition of her in his heart.

"She cleverly packaged her business crisis as 'national righteousness' and 'social responsibility,' trying to use this method to occupy the moral high ground in negotiations, forcibly twisting me from an 'investor' into the role of a 'giver.'"

"She naively thought that her stunning beauty was her last trump card, a bargaining chip I was determined to win.

So she dared to be so audacious, wanting to exchange my thirty billion in real money for aid at the lowest cost—perhaps just a few verbal thanks and her self-proclaimed 'priceless' favor."

"What a pity..."

Lin Tian secretly shook his head, the curve of his lips taking on a hint of cold mockery.

"She found the wrong person.

I never do business at a loss, and I certainly don't fall for moral blackmail."

After the analysis, Lin Tian leaned forward slightly.

This simple action instantly changed the aura in the reception room.

The previous lazy, casual feeling of a young man receded like a tide, replaced by a cold, emotionless, absolutely rational, and oppressive feeling of a capital emperor.

He looked at Su Mucheng and posed his first question, his voice flat but every word like a knife.

"Young Miss Su, since you mentioned responsibility, let's talk business first.

First, according to the financial report I received, audited overnight by the world's top accounting firms, the Su Group currently has a net asset of negative thirteen point seven billion, and its technical patents have been targeted globally by the 'Holy Mountain' organization, with market channels completely collapsed.

In other words, it is now a bottomless pit.

If I invest thirty billion, please tell me with professional, quantifiable data: where is my business return?

How long do you expect to recover the cost?

What profit margin can you guarantee for the next five years?"

The smile on Su Mucheng's face instantly froze.

She hadn't expected the other party to have thoroughly investigated her background overnight, nor had she expected him to so mercilessly tear off all the gentle veils, revealing the most naked commercial logic.

Lin Tian didn't give her any chance to breathe, and the second question followed, his tone becoming even colder.

"Second, the livelihoods of the tens of thousands of employees you mentioned.

As far as I know, the reason the Su Group fell into today's crisis, in addition to the suppression by 'Holy Mountain,' is primarily because your management rejected the Long Family's strategic cooperation proposal three years ago and chose to gamble with a venture capital fund under 'Holy Mountain,' which led to your technical lifeline being controlled by others today.

This is a decision-making error by your management; your greed led to today's bitter fruit.

What does it have to do with me?

I have no obligation to pay for your failures and stupidity."

These words were like a resounding slap, hitting Su Mucheng's face hard!

Her proud business acumen instantly became a huge joke!

Her face began to uncontrollably turn pale.

Lin Tian tapped the table, the crisp sound like a death knell.

He threw out the most fatal third question, his voice now devoid of any warmth.

"Third, and most crucially.

From the moment you entered until now, you've repeatedly said you're willing to pay 'any price,' yet you adopt a condescending, charitable posture.

So now, please tell me clearly: what exactly is your so-called 'sincerity'?

Is it this skin of yours?

Or is it your already worthless pride as the Young Miss of the Su Family?"

"And what makes it worth thirty billion?"

A series of incredibly sharp, core-piercing business counter-questions, like ruthless dissecting knives, peeled away all of Su Mucheng's disguises, all her righteousness, all her pride, layer by layer, completely exposing her refined, self-serving, yet vain and fragile heart to the cold air!

She was speechless by these three consecutive questions, her delicate body trembling slightly, her beautiful eyes filled with shame, embarrassment, and a hint of fear at being completely seen through.

In a fit of anger and humiliation, she finally cast aside all reason and, with a sharp, 'what-the-hell' tone, sneered:

"You... you just want to get me!

Why say it so grandiosely!

Thirty billion to buy me, Su Mucheng, to toy with me in the palm of your hand, isn't that enough?!

What kind of gentleman are you pretending to be!"

She finally tore off her last mask, treating herself as the ultimate and only commodity, trying to use this self-deprecating method to sting the young man who had pushed her to the brink.

However, upon hearing this, Lin Tian laughed out loud as if he had heard the funniest joke of the century.

"Hehe... hahaha..."

His laughter was clear, yet filled with an undisguised, condescending sense of absurdity.

He shook his head, laughing, then, through internal communication, said in a smiling, casual tone, "Ling'er, come in."

Soon, Long Ling'er, dressed in a black assistant's uniform and with a cool, ethereal temperament like a Nine Heavens Goddess, pushed the door open.

Her exquisite beauty and extraordinary temperament made the already pale Su Mucheng's heart inexplicably sink further.

"Young Lord, what are your orders?"

Lin Tian didn't look at her, his gaze still curiously fixed on Su Mucheng, who was already putting on a brave face but inwardly faltering.

He spoke to Long Ling'er in a tone as if announcing a trivial matter:

"Ling'er, given your excellent work performance recently, arranging my daily life and Cultivate plans so meticulously, I have decided, in my personal name, to grant you one percent of the permanent dry shares in the Long Group's Global Bio-Gene Investment Department.

You will enjoy dividends starting next quarter."

Boom!!!

These words were like a supernova exploding in a confined space; the terrifying amount of information they contained instantly blasted Su Mucheng's mind into a blank slate!

Long Group's Global Bio-Gene Investment Department!

That was one of the Long Family's most core and profitable departments, controlling nearly thirty percent of the global related industry's lifeline, with annual profits calculated in "hundreds of billions"!

One percent of permanent dry shares?!

That meant that from today onwards, Long Ling'er's annual dividends alone would easily exceed one billion!

The total asset value it represented behind it was an immeasurable astronomical figure!

Even Long Ling'er herself was stunned by this terrifying, heaven-sent reward.

Immediately, an uncontrollable excitement and blush surged onto her perpetually icy face.

She bowed deeply to Lin Tian, her voice trembling slightly: "Th-thank you, Young Lord, for your great kindness!

Ling'er... I will be crushed to dust, unable to repay you!"

Lin Tian waved his hand casually, as if he had just given a few small tips to a waiter.

Then, he turned his gaze back to Su Mucheng, who was completely petrified, her face drained of color, her delicate body swaying precariously.

He looked at her with an expression full of pity and mockery, then, word by word, he asked faintly:

"Now, you tell me."

"Do you think you... are more valuable than her?"

These words, like the sharpest sword piercing the heart, instantly broke through Su Mucheng's last and strongest line of defense—her absolute confidence in her stunning beauty!

Her body, which she was so proud of and believed to be worth thirty billion, was, in the eyes of this young man, not even a fraction of the casual reward given to a female assistant by his side!

What an immense humiliation! What an immense irony!

Su Mucheng's psychological defense completely collapsed at this moment.

Her body went limp, no longer able to support her, and she slumped onto the expensive Italian handmade sofa, her mind blank, with only her own heavy, wheezing breaths, like a broken bellows, echoing in her ears.

However, Lin Tian's attack was not over.

He slowly rose from the sofa, walked in front of her, and looked down at her, like a god looking down at dust.

He straightened his sleeves, which had no wrinkles, and spoke the last sentence in a calm, almost cruel tone.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you."

"I am the Long Family's 'number zero heir.'"

"I possess the highest, and without needing anyone's approval, absolute authority to deploy all investment funds under the Family that exceed the hundred-billion level."

"So, thirty billion, for me, is indeed just a flick of the wrist."

He leaned down slightly, looking at her beautiful, empty eyes that had lost their focus, and word by word, he completely plunged that heart-piercing sword into her heart.

"But why should I help you?"

After speaking, he no longer looked at the woman, who was completely defeated, like a broken doll.

He took Long Ling'er and turned to walk towards the door.

Only a cold sentence echoed in the eerily spacious reception room.

"When you've thought it through, come find me."

...After an unknown amount of time, Su Mucheng walked out of the Long Group's headquarters building like a zombie, utterly distraught.

Outside, at some point, a torrential rain had begun to fall.

The cold rainwater instantly drenched her expensive Chanel custom suit, making it cling tightly to her graceful curves, leaving her disheveled yet possessing a tragic beauty.

She stood in the rain, letting the rainwater wash over her pale face, Lin Tian's heart-piercing words repeatedly echoing in her mind.

She finally understood.

From the very beginning, she was wrong, ridiculously wrong.

Her proud beauty, Family background, and wisdom were utterly worthless in the eyes of that young man.

Her self-righteous "moral blackmail" was even more like a clown's farcical performance.

After a long while.

After a fierce inner struggle that almost tore her apart, she slowly, step by step, walked to the center of the wide, empty plaza in front of the main entrance of the Long Group headquarters building.

Then, under countless gazes of astonishment, confusion, or pity projected from inside the building, she put away all her pride, relinquished all her dignity, and slowly, her knees bent.

Finally, she heavily knelt on the cold, rain-soaked ground.

She knelt there in the pouring rain, letting the rain and tears mix and slide down her cheeks, quietly waiting for that young man to give her another chance, even if it meant begging like a dog.