42: Chapter 42 Dong Baili Collapses!

In the evening, Professor Zhou Xuemin and his team had dinner at the cafeteria of Xu's Heavy Industry.

After dinner, the group from the Dragon Academy of Sciences boarded a private plane and returned to Longdu.

The comrades from the Long Tax Bureau also left Xu's Heavy Industry shortly afterward.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and half a month had passed.

During this period, many things happened.

First, regarding the online discussions about Xu's Heavy Industry allegedly evading taxes, the Tax Bureau issued a statement.

The gist of the statement was that since its inception, Xu's Heavy Industry has paid its taxes on time and in full every year, and there has been no tax evasion whatsoever.

At the same time.

After the Tax Bureau issued this statement, Xu's Heavy Industry opened an official Weibo account and also released a statement.

The statement pointed out:

"Xu's Heavy Industry abides by the laws and regulations of the Dragon Kingdom, follows all rules and regulations, and pays the full amount of taxes annually. We absolutely do not engage in any tax evasion."

At the end of the post, Xu's Heavy Industry also attached proof of tax payment.

Furthermore, Xu's Heavy Industry stated that it would hold the relevant media outlets accountable for malicious hype and rumor-mongering.

The two statements from the Tax Bureau and Xu's Heavy Industry immediately silenced the uproar that had been raging online.

Many netizens who had previously fiercely criticized Xu's Heavy Industry for tax evasion were nowhere to be found at this moment.

Meanwhile, those self-media outlets and influential accounts deleted their posts about Xu's Heavy Industry's alleged tax evasion, as if the whole matter had never happened.

However, these two statements did not spark much discussion.

Because the official verification that Xu's Heavy Industry had not evaded taxes was equivalent to a slap in the face for many people, especially those internet keyboard warriors who were just there to watch the chaos.

Therefore, they kept their mouths shut at this moment, acting as if they hadn't seen anything.

Instead, what stirred up more heated discussion was the movie "The Wandering Earth".

On this day, a topic suddenly dropped onto the Weibo trending list:

" "The Wandering Earth" production halted, resumption time to be announced later! "

Capitalizing on the recent public opinion, "The Wandering Earth" had garnered a lot of attention.

Especially since the movie starred the tough guy Actor Wu Jing, it made many of Actor Wu Jing's fans eagerly anticipate it.

Now that the movie had suddenly stopped filming, it sparked a lot of curiosity.

The authorities had already clarified things for Xu's Heavy Industry and the problems were solved, so why had "The Wandering Earth" suddenly halted production again?

For a time, netizens flocked to post and debate under this topic.

" "Are they playing games? We just started filming not long ago, and now it's halted again?" "

" "Isn't everything fine now? Why stop filming? I guess... maybe things haven't been fully resolved yet." "

" "Heh, it was already a niche sci-fi film to begin with, and now with this kind of mess, it'd be a miracle if it didn't flop." "

" "Is it possible that there are still unresolved issues over at Xu's Heavy Industry? I heard..." "

" "Brother above! What did you hear? Tell us more..." "

"..."

Netizens were discussing it heatedly under the topic, and some enthusiastic netizens went straight to the official Weibo of "The Wandering Earth" to demand an explanation.

However, the official Weibo account, which usually replied to comments, was now silent.

It hadn't replied to a single comment asking why filming had stopped.

Furthermore, there were no rumors or inside information leaking out.

This only further piqued the netizens' desire to "watch the drama."

Compared to the hustle and bustle online, the situation offline had become somewhat intriguing.

In particular, Baili Heavy Industry Group, which had been paying close attention to Xu's Heavy Industry, seemed somewhat confused.

Chairman's Office.

Chairman Dong Baili held a cigar in his hand, looking completely bewildered.

" "You're saying that Xu's Heavy Industry has now become a restricted military zone?" "

Chairman Dong Baili asked his secretary.

" "Yes, Chairman Dong!" the secretary replied with a frown. "

" "According to relevant sources, military personnel are currently moving into the Xu's Heavy Industry plant area in succession to take full control." "

The secretary placed a notebook in front of Chairman Dong Baili, which contained information about Xu's Heavy Industry from the recent period.

This information was obtained through some special channels.

At first, she didn't believe it either.

But following the statement issued by the Tax Bureau online, and after confirming it through various sources via Baili Heavy Industry's connections.

Xu's Heavy Industry had indeed been designated as a restricted military zone, and military personnel were indeed moving in.

" "How is this possible?! Wasn't Xu's Heavy Industry evading taxes? Shouldn't the authorities be investigating it ruthlessly? What does it mean for military personnel to be moving in now?!" "

Chairman Dong Baili was furious and embarrassed, his expression dark and terrifying.

He had been on the verge of seeing Xu's Heavy Industry go bankrupt so he could take over and acquire it.

Now, it had suddenly turned into a restricted military zone!!

Could someone tell him why on earth this was happening?!

Chairman Dong Baili was extremely angry and took a puff of his cigar, but it had already gone out.

Seeing this, the secretary hurriedly took a lighter to relight it for him.

Then, she stood by Chairman Dong Baili's side, not daring to speak or even breathe too loudly.

The Chairman was in a foul mood, so it was best to avoid getting in his way.

Chairman Dong Baili inhaled the distinct aroma of the cigar, took a gentle puff, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke. His face, which had been twisted with anger, finally relaxed slightly.

He looked at the information in the notebook, reading it carefully.

It recorded the events that had happened at Xu's Heavy Industry over the past ten days or so.

" "XX day, the Xu's Heavy Industry plant area was suddenly surrounded by a large number of police officers..." "

" "XX day morning, personnel from the Long Tax Bureau entered Xu's Heavy Industry..." "

" "XX day noon, a car with a Longdu license plate entered the Xu's Heavy Industry plant area..." "

" "XX day, police officers withdrew, and personnel from the Dragon Kingdom military began moving in." "

"..."

The information wasn't very detailed, but it was close enough.

Chairman Dong Baili stared at this information, his brows furrowed tightly.

It felt as if there was a suffocating pressure in his chest that he couldn't release.

" "Damn it, what the hell is the Dragon Kingdom officialdom playing at?!?" "

Chairman Dong Baili was both angry and furious.

From this information, he couldn't figure out at all what the Dragon Kingdom authorities wanted to do with Xu's Heavy Industry.

" "Is there any other news?" "

Chairman Dong Baili asked coldly.

" "No... nothing else!" the secretary stammered, her face turning pale. "

" "The Dragon Kingdom authorities are intentionally blocking information, and our resources are limited, so for the time being... we can't find out any more news." "

The secretary kept her head down, not daring to look at Chairman Dong Baili at all.

" "Are you all a bunch of useless trash? Huh?!?" "

Chairman Dong Baili turned his chair around and pointed at the secretary, cursing loudly.

" "You can't find out a single piece of news; what use are you?" "

" "If you can't get information, can't you think of a way? What are your brains for, eating sh*t?!?" "

" "A bunch of losers!!" "

After venting the anger in his heart, Chairman Dong Baili's face was full of malice. He turned his chair back and downed the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp.

Instantly, his face, which was already flushed from anger, turned even redder.

In just a few short days, Xu's Heavy Industry had slipped out of his control.

First, the police intervened to blockade and surround it.

And now, it had been taken over by the military; the entire Xu's Heavy Industry plant area had become a restricted military zone.

At this moment, he felt like a cooked duck that had just flown away—unwilling to accept it, yet completely helpless.

" "I just don't get it. Everything was fine, so how could Xu's Heavy Industry suddenly become a restricted military zone?" "

Chairman Dong Baili rubbed his slicked-back, shiny hair, scratching his head in confusion.

Could it be... that something went wrong somewhere?