39: Chapter 39 Chen Xu closes the net, Wang Fugui kneels.

The next day.

Lubao Electric Vehicle Factory.

The workers did not start their shifts.

They gathered spontaneously in the open space in front of the workshop entrance, in groups of twos and threes, whispering to one another.

Daze.

Fear.

Uncertainty about the future.

In a corner of the crowd, Li Biao shrunk his neck, his eyes darting around, terrified of being recognized.

Technical Director Old Zhang stood at the very front, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, staring silently at the factory gates.

"The factory is being auctioned off, our wages..."

"Don't even think about it. It'll be a miracle if we even get last month's."

The sounds of discussion rose and fell.

Just then.

An old box truck slowly drove up and stopped at the main gate.

The door opened.

Chen Xu stepped down from the driver's seat.

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.

"It's that boss from Xingchen Machinery!"

"What's he doing here? Kicking us while we're down?"

"President Wang is finished, what else does he want?"

Chen Xu ignored those complicated stares.

Chen Si also stepped out of the truck.

The crowd instantly erupted.

"It's Director Chen!"

"Why is he with that kid?"

"Didn't he go missing? Could it be..."

The cigarette in Old Zhang's hand fell to the ground with a soft thud.

He stared at Chen Xu and Chen Si standing side by side, completely frozen in place.

Chen Xu walked slowly into the factory area.

Chen Si followed behind him.

The crowd automatically parted to create a path.

Chen Xu passed through the crowd and went straight into the largest Final Assembly Workshop.

In the center of the workshop.

Wang Fugui sat slumped in a chair.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his head.

When he saw Chen Xu, and Chen Si following behind him—

Malice instantly surged in those eyes.

"You..."

Wang Fugui's voice was exceptionally dry.

"You've come."

Chen Xu walked up to him and looked down at him from above.

"I'm here to collect the debt."

Wang Fugui's body shuddered violently.

"President Wang, do you understand now?"

"What true technical crushing looks like."

"What it means to toy with people's hearts."

Wang Fugui stared at Chen Xu.

"It was you! It was your setup from beginning to end!"

Chen Xu did not answer.

He simply stepped aside, revealing Chen Si behind him.

Chen Si took a step forward.

He took off those black-rimmed glasses.

Without the lenses in the way, those eyes no longer held the paranoia and aloofness of a tech geek.

Only a faint trace of mockery remained.

He looked at Wang Fugui and said in a flat tone:

"President Wang, it was a pleasure serving you for a month."

Boom!

Wang Fugui's mind exploded.

"A 10% increase in motor efficiency."

Chen Si continued.

"The optimized controller program."

"And those 'leaked' core parameters."

He paused for a moment.

"They were all surprises I prepared for you."

Wang Fugui's eyes widened, and his entire body began to tremble violently.

Everything was connected.

The genius who appeared out of thin air and solved the stamping machine problem.

The technical director who designed the perfect plan and made the 'storm god of war' performance soar.

The culprit who made him bet his entire net worth on frantic production, ultimately leading to a broken capital chain and a collapsed reputation.

It turned out they were all the same person.

It turned out that from the moment he stepped into the Lubaba Factory, he had been a manipulated puppet.

Every step was within the other's calculations.

The chance for a comeback he thought he had was nothing more than a grave dug by the opponent.

"You... who exactly are you?"

Wang Fugui pointed at Chen Si.

Chen Si did not answer.

He simply took a step back and stood respectfully behind Chen Xu.

This action already explained everything.

Pfft—

Wang Fugui couldn't catch his breath.

Malice.

Humiliation.

Unwillingness.

All emotions finally turned into utter despair.

He had lost.

He had lost so completely that he didn't even have his underwear left.

"Chen Xu..."

Wang Fugui's body swayed, his legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground.

He looked up.

"Boss Chen, I... I was wrong."

"I shouldn't have knocked off your vehicle, I shouldn't have sent people to report you, I shouldn't have opposed you."

There was a sob in Wang Fugui's voice.

"You... please be the bigger man and let me off, I'm begging you..."

Chen Xu looked down at him.

This Wang Fugui, who had once been so arrogant, calling his place a 'small workshop' at every turn.

This Wang Fugui, who had used every means to suppress him and wanted to drive him to a dead end.

Now kneeling before him.

Chen Xu did not speak.

He simply turned and walked toward the production line deep in the workshop.

"Boss Chen! Boss Chen!"

Wang Fugui knelt on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I'll give you the factory! I'll give you everything! Please... please leave me a way to survive..."

Chen Xu's footsteps did not stop.

Wang Fugui collapsed on the ground.

He knew that this time, it was truly over.

"Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west..."

Wang Fugui lay on the ground, muttering to himself.

"You just wait... you just wait..."

Chen Xu walked to the production line control console without looking back.

"Engineer Zhang."

Old Zhang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

"Get two security guards to escort President Wang out."

"From now on, he is not allowed to set foot in this factory ever again."

Old Zhang nodded.

"Yes."

Wang Fugui struggled to climb up from the ground and stumbled toward the workshop exit.

He walked past the workers who used to bow and scrape before him.

No one spoke.

They only watched him leave with complicated and contemptuous gazes.

The President Wang who once called the shots in the Fei City electric vehicle market.

Just like that, he disappeared from everyone's sight in a wretched state.

In the workshop.

All the workers looked at Chen Xu, waiting for their fate.

Chen Xu turned to face the crowd.

His gaze swept over every person.

Finally, it landed on Old Zhang's face.

"Lubaba Factory is gone as of today."

Chen Xu's first words caused everyone's hearts to sink to the bottom.

An oppressed commotion spread through the crowd.

"It's over..."

"It really is closing down..."

"I'm afraid we won't get this month's wages..."

Just then.

Chen Xu continued:

"From now on, this place will be called Xingchen Machinery Factory."

The workers were stunned.

"I'm giving you a choice."

Chen Xu's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Those who want to leave can go to the finance office now. There's still some money in the accounts Wang Fugui left behind, enough to settle your wages for this month."

"Those who want to stay will have seven days off. Seven days from now, at eight in the morning, gather here."

Chen Xu paused for a moment.

"Wages will be increased by 20%."

"Social security and housing fund will be paid in full."

The crowd erupted.

"Is that for real?"

"He... he's not laying anyone off?"

"And a pay raise?"

"I must have misheard, right?"

Chen Xu's expression did not change at all.

"However, I'll put the ugly words first."

His voice turned cold.

"Xingchen Machinery does not keep idle people, nor does it tolerate traitors."

"Those who just want to drift through the days or play petty tricks can get out now."

His gaze flickered seemingly unintentionally toward Li Biao in the crowd.

Li Biao's face turned deathly pale, and he nearly collapsed.

Chen Xu said no more and turned to look at Old Zhang.

"Engineer Zhang, what are your thoughts?"

Old Zhang was silent for a few seconds.

He looked at Chen Xu, then at Chen Si.

He remembered Chen Si's god-like machining techniques.

He remembered that genius-level optimization plan.

Although that plan turned out to be a trap, Old Zhang wasn't stupid.

He knew that someone who could design such a plan had a technical level that was absolutely top-tier.

And this person was now standing behind Chen Xu.

He looked at Chen Xu again.

This young man had swallowed a factory dozens of times larger than his own in just over a month without shedding a drop of blood.

This was no longer in the realm of technology or business.

This was a dimensional strike.

Following Wang Fugui would only mean sinking deeper into the quagmire of knock-offs.

But following this young man...

Old Zhang raised his head.

"President Chen."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

"I'm staying."

Chen Xu nodded.

"Good."

He no longer looked at the others and walked straight toward the 'storm god of war' final assembly line deep in the workshop.

Chen Si followed behind him.

The workers looked at each other.

Then, the crowd began to stir.

Most people chose to stay.

Only Li Biao and a few other slackers who usually played tricks slunk off toward the finance office.

Afterward, Chen Xu announced the end of the shift, telling them to return to work in seven days.