116: Chapter 0116 Night Raid

Seeing that all attendees were listening attentively, Tusi paused, then continued recounting his plan with a hint of smugness:

"The fatal flaw in this offensive lies in the fact that although the Merchant Guild will try to underestimate the costs, the data is basically real.

The core Materials cost for the little sorcerer donkey is indeed only about 13 silver coins, yet we will report it as 8 silver coins, while the end retail price is as high as 25 silver coins.

We can hype this up as 'profiteering that sucks the blood and sweat of consumers,' completely destroying the public's Foundation of trust in Li Size.

This kind of reporting, mixing truth with falsehood, will also completely solidify their product safety narrative before the young man can even react;

At that moment, we deliver the fatal blow!

The other owner of the invention patent, Felina, is a Wizard Apprentice of the Necromancy System.

We can leverage people's natural aversion to Necromancy System wizards, fabricate some dirt, and smear both Felina and Li Size.

By then, they must be utterly desperate! Hahaha!"

Tusi looked smug after finishing the plan, and Kelvin, hearing it, was filled with anticipation for the outcome of the public opinion war.

He looked forward to seeing that young man kneeling before him in despair, and also the other invention patent owner, Felina, who was quite pretty.

Perhaps with some maneuvering, he could even win a beauty for himself...

Just as Kelvin was lost in his daydream, the heavy wooden door of the conference room was violently pushed open, and a tall figure stumbled in:

It was Kelvin's beautiful secretary, Aila.

She was wearing a charcoal-gray fitted business suit, unaware that a fine tear had snagged her stocking, and her high heels tapped a frantic rhythm on the carpet.

The edges of the newspaper she held clutched in both hands were crumpled, her right hand was pale from gripping too tightly, her face was ashen, and she dared not look directly into Kelvin's gloomy gaze, her voice trembling:

"M-Mr. Kelvin... look at these..."

Kelvin frowned, taking the newspaper, and the moment his fingertips brushed the headline, his pupils contracted sharply:

The front page of the Ge Le City Business Gazette brazenly displayed: 'De Kela Si Merchant Guild Manipulates Public Opinion Confirmed! Deceased Was Gang Melee Participant, Alchemy Apprentice Pleads Guilty to Accepting 100 Gold Bribe,' accompanied by a scan of the police-stamped autopsy report, the bright red text 'Killed by Sharp Weapon' glaringly visible.

Flipping to the inner pages:

The Fei City Morning Post dedicated a full page to printing a copy of Putila's confession.

There was also dirt on the De Kela Si Merchant Guild from ten years ago, forcibly seizing the 'Flying Carriage' patent and suppressing the inventor, even including excerpts of the victim's oral recording.

Kelvin's knuckles turned white from gripping too hard, the newspaper crackling loudly as he crushed it. The thin lips beneath his aquiline nose were pressed into a straight line, the wrinkles around his eyes twisted into a ferocious gully.

He violently slammed the newspaper onto the table, his voice ice-cold as if poisoned:

"You bunch of good-for-nothings! You can't even handle such a small matter!"

Seeing Li Size's swift and precise counterattack, Kelvin erupted with a thunderous roar.

He hadn't expected this lowly student from the lower academy, this blacksmith's boy, to be so versed in the ways of public opinion warfare!

Not only could he quickly grasp the fatal weakness in the reporting, but he could also mobilize connections to organize a lightning-fast counterattack, completely disrupting our rhythm!

Damn it!

Kelvin thought inwardly, this kid is too bizarre!

Instead of proving his product's safety, he actually started by targeting the deceased and that Alchemy System Wizard Apprentice!

Kelvin suddenly kicked over the rosewood chair beside him, a thread on his suit cuff snapping, the snake-shaped ring digging into his palm until it turned red:

"Tusi! You useless trash! You can't even deal with a mere youngster!"

Tusi's face turned deathly pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead:

"Mr. Kelvin, I—I didn't expect him to counterattack so quickly..."

Kelvin grabbed his tie in one hand, spittle flying onto the other man's face:

"Shut up! Contact Marcus from the Defense Department for me right now!"

He turned and activated the communication node, blue light patterns flickering wildly:

"Marcus! Bring thirty experts equipped with crossbows enchanted with runes, go smash Li Size's little sorcerer donkey factory tonight!

Do it with maximum speed, leave no survivors! Keep it quiet!"

A rough response came from the communication device:

"Received! Boss, we guarantee we'll level that rotten factory!"

Kelvin released his grip, and Tusi collapsed onto the floor. He stared out at the pitch-black night sky, his eyes fierce as a wolf's:

"Li Size, I will make you watch your life's work turn to ash with your own eyes!"

The night was as dark as ink. Marcus led thirty masked thugs dressed in black, riding matte-black little sorcerer donkeys, silently closing in on the factory.

The buzzing sound of the power module's wind turbines was swallowed by the evening breeze. The thugs had crowbars and enchanted crossbows tucked at their waists, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

Just as they used a crowbar to pry open the factory's side door, a stretch of eerie blue soul fire suddenly lit up on the wall above:

Over two hundred skeletons clad in rusted iron armor stood in neat ranks, their bony claws gripping brass revolvers mass-produced by Li Size's automated machinery, the muzzles gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

"Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the volley was deafening. Bullets pierced the thugs' cloth uniforms, splashing blood onto the bluestone slabs.

Marcus was just about to raise his crossbow to retaliate when three skeletons leaped down from the wall, their revolvers firing continuously, taking down two of his lieutenants beside him.

The thugs scattered in terror. Some were caught by the skeletons and had their heads blown off; others fell off their little sorcerer donkeys, howling with broken bones.

In less than ten minutes, only Marcus remained among the thirty men, fleeing in disarray with a shoulder injury while riding a little sorcerer donkey.

Li Size stood before the glazed window of the watchtower, watching the skeletons near the main gate return to their positions in the distance, holding the nearly completed machine tool design drawings:

"Kelvin, your men can't even beat my skeleton guards, and you still want to destroy my factory?"

In the top-floor suite of the Platinum Joy Hotel at three in the morning, the light of the crystal chandelier reflected off Kelvin's ashen face.

The Cuban cigar he was holding had burned down to the end, the ash falling onto the velvet carpet, leaving a small scorch mark.

Suddenly, the carved wooden door of the suite was rammed open, and Marcus stumbled in.

His left shoulder was wrapped in a blood-soaked rag, his black trench coat was mostly torn open, and his face was smeared with dust and bloodstains. His once shiny little sorcerer donkey was parked downstairs, its body riddled with bullet holes, its wind turbine turning crookedly.

"Trash!"

Kelvin violently pressed the cigar into the expensive mahogany coffee table, sparks scattering everywhere.

"Thirty men couldn't even handle a rotten factory? And you dare come back to see me?"

Marcus knelt on the ground, his voice laced with a sob:

"Mr. Kelvin, that kid has skeleton guards! Over two hundred of them!

They all carried revolvers; their firepower was too fierce... We couldn't even get close!"

His body trembled, and the pain from his shoulder injury made sweat break out on his forehead.

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Kelvin's eyes. He walked up to Marcus and kicked him hard in the chest:

"What's the use of keeping a bunch of useless trash like you?"

He turned and coldly ordered the bodyguards at the door:

"Throw him into the Merchant Guild's underground black prison and let him taste the torment of the 'Bone-Eating Worms'!"

Two bodyguards in black suits immediately stepped forward and dragged the struggling Marcus away.

Marcus's miserable cries echoed from the hallway, gradually fading near the elevator entrance.

Kelvin walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the night view of Gele City, his fists clenched:

"Li Size, you think this is the end?"