155: Chapter 155 A Shocking Leak! Who is the Traitor?

The echo of the previous call had not yet faded when another call cut through.

He was very familiar with the incoming number—Blackstone Group, Schwartzman's personal assistant.

"Mr. Lin," the assistant's tone was formulaic, devoid of the warmth from before, "Mr. Schwartzman asked me to convey to you that he is very... concerned about some news he saw this morning."

"What news?" Lin Zhou asked, knowing full well what it was, his tone dropping to freezing point.

"Regarding a gold mine, and an exclusive development agreement you signed with the Chinese side." The assistant's choice of words was very precise, but the condescension in his voice could no longer be hidden.

"Mr. Lin, I hope you understand that this report is no longer just media speculation. Some friends in Washington, including several important members of Congress on Capitol Hill, have also seen this news. They believe that after receiving massive aid from American capital, the Cyber Freedom Republic is exclusively funneling its most important strategic resources to China... In their view, this is a betrayal."

Lin Zhou's hand gripping the receiver tightened abruptly: "That is nothing but baseless speculation."

"I hope so." The assistant chuckled, pressing harder, "But you know, politics is always sensitive. Mr. Schwartzman is trying his best to mediate for your country, but he is also under tremendous pressure. If the situation continues to ferment, it is hard for us to guarantee that the White House's existing policies toward your country will not waver, or even... that restarting sanctions is not impossible. This would be a devastating blow to our cooperation."

The receiver made a faint creaking sound in his palm, his knuckles protruding.

It had come.

The jackals of Wall Street had smelled blood and pounced. They didn't make direct demands; instead, they used the entire United States as ballast to force him to cut his own flesh.

He forced himself to stay calm, his brain calculating rapidly. Denials and excuses were useless; the other party wanted tangible benefits, wanting him to "bleed" to prove his "loyalty."

"...I understand Mr. Schwartzman's difficult position." Lin Zhou closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he took the initiative, "In order to consolidate our cooperative relationship and to eliminate unnecessary doubts from Washington, we are willing to make some supplements to the previous investment agreement."

He paused, each word spoken with extreme difficulty: "We can increase the Blackstone Group's revenue share of the 'Oasis One' data center from 32.75 percent to 35 percent."

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before the assistant's affected voice came through: "Oh? Mr. Lin, are you sure? This is not a small amount. Mr. Schwartzman was merely expressing concern; we do not want to make things difficult for you."

This hypocrisy made Lin Zhou's stomach churn.

Open extortion, yet they insisted on putting on a face of looking out for you!

"I am sure." There was not a shred of warmth in Lin Zhou's voice, "This is our greatest sincerity."

"Very well, since Mr. Lin is so insistent..." The assistant drawled with satisfaction, "I will convey your sincerity to Mr. Schwartzman. I believe he will be very happy to see that the small misunderstanding between us has been resolved so satisfactorily. Then, I will leave the coordination of the legal teams to you."

The call was cut.

Lin Zhou slammed his phone onto the desk; the impact of the device against the surface made a dull thud like tearing silk.

Humiliation! Frustration!

This was the greatest humiliation he had endured since the founding of the state! To have someone hold you by the scruff of your neck and force you to cut off your own flesh to feed the wolves was more unbearable than being slapped in the face!

What made his back run even colder was the leak itself.

The only people who knew about the gold mine and the secret agreement were Qin Yue, Chen Yuan, He Jun, and Zhang Zhe, who participated in the Beijing negotiations, along with one or two core assistants each.

Everyone was part of his most trusted team.

The traitor was among these people!

This thought made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Compared to the loss of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, this betrayal from within was truly fatal.

If even the core team could not be trusted, how could this country continue?

Just then, another red secure phone on the desk rang.

The caller was Director Zhou.

The suppressed indignation in Lin Zhou's chest had not yet dissipated; he stared at the phone, its body looking scorching red in his eyes. He knew he had to answer this call, and he had to answer it as a national leader. He took three deep breaths in a row, forcibly suppressing all the churning thoughts, and answered the phone.

"Xiao Lin." Director Zhou's voice was as steady as ever, with no discernible fluctuations.

"Director Zhou." Lin Zhou tried his best to keep his voice flat, but the undeniable hoarseness betrayed him.

"I can hear from your voice that your temper is quite high." Director Zhou did not mention the news directly, but instead used the tone of an elder to care about his state, "Just clashed with the people from Wall Street?"

Lin Zhou's spine tightened abruptly; he knew everything. He suppressed the various emotions welling up in his throat, which finally turned into a low sigh: "Yes, just learned a lesson, and the tuition was very expensive."

"Young man, when you first set up your own camp, there will always be some heartless, ungrateful things that want to come and tear off a piece of meat. This is not strange." Director Zhou's tone was very calm, "As for things at home, you can rest assured. As soon as the news came out, we launched an investigation immediately, at the highest level. We are holding this string tighter than anyone, and we will investigate faster than anyone. When the results are out, we will give you an explanation."

"Thank you, Director Zhou." Lin Zhou's Adam's apple bobbed, but before the warmth could spread in his chest, it turned into a different kind of chill. He realized that Director Zhou said "give an explanation" rather than "investigate clearly," which meant the other party already had a preliminary judgment.

Sure enough, Director Zhou paused, his voice filled with a bit of reminiscence: "Xiao Lin, let me tell you an old story from when we were reclaiming wasteland back in the day."

Lin Zhou held the phone, listening quietly.

"Back then, we went to reclaim wasteland and built a large new wooden shed to prepare for winter. Everyone was very motivated, working day and night, and the shed was built quickly, looking big and impressive. But unexpectedly, before the first snow had even fallen, one corner of the shed collapsed and injured someone."

Director Zhou's voice was unhurried: "After checking for a long time, we finally found the problem. It wasn't how strong the wind and snow were outside, nor was it that the wood we used was bad. It was that when we built the shed, some old wood brought from the old forest already had wood-boring insects hidden inside. In the new environment, with new wood, well-fed and with no natural predators, the bugs grew so fast. They hollowed out a key load-bearing pillar from the inside. It looked fine on the outside, but it was already rotten on the inside; with the slightest bit of pressure, it couldn't hold up."

Lin Zhou's mind, following this story, slowly stripped away from the burning anger and became exceptionally clear. He chewed on every word of this story. The new wooden shed was his Cyber Freedom Republic. The pressure from Wall Street was that snow that hadn't fallen yet. And that wood-boring insect...

"Our old ship has been repaired and patched for decades; every plank and every nail has been tapped countless times in different ways. I wouldn't dare say it's impregnable, but if there's any strange noise, we can tell just by lying in the cabin and listening." Director Zhou continued.

"Your new ship is advanced in design and powerful in propulsion; it is a good ship. But the wood is all new, and the craftsmen are all experts from various backgrounds. When everyone gets together, it is inevitable that there will be some gaps during the break-in period. At this time, it is expected that bugs will crawl in, or even... that some of the wood itself already carries insect eggs."

These words sounded long-winded and had a bit of the flavor of an elder's admonition, but as Lin Zhou listened, he felt not the slightest impatience.

His thoughts, which had been turned upside down by humiliation and betrayal, were actually smoothed out by these plain words. He realized that this elder on the other end of the phone was not blaming him, but was teaching him hand-in-hand, teaching him how to steer the helm and how to govern the country. This was not shirking responsibility, but a more sophisticated political tactic—to pacify the exterior, one must first settle the interior.

"I understand." Lin Zhou hung up the phone, his face sinking like water, but the light in his eyes sank completely, with no more ripples, leaving only a resolute, murderous aura.

So that was it; the problem... lay with him.

It wasn't that China could not be trusted, but that the team he had built with his own hands had been mined from the very beginning.

He pressed the emergency communication button.

"Notify all officials at the level of Minister and Dean to come to the Supreme Council Chamber for a meeting in ten minutes. Everyone, not a single one can be missing!"