167: Standing on the edge of the cliff

Hanhai Trade Base, Command Center.

Dead silence.

It was as if even the air had frozen under the weight of despair. On the main screen, the curve representing sales lay flat against the zero baseline like a stiff corpse.

Everyone kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact with others, as if afraid to see that same shattered thing called hope in another's eyes.

Only Chen Feng sat calmly in the Commander's seat, his gaze fixed on a corner of the screen.

There, a communication request icon flickered stubbornly, displaying Old Knife's face, which was now completely devoid of color.

Su Li stood by Chen Feng's side, her voice kept very low, carrying a trace of undetectable pleading: "Chen Feng, connecting now will only..."

Chen Feng raised his hand, stopping her.

He ignored the worry in Su Li's eyes and calmly pressed the virtual "Connect" button with his finger.

Old Knife's face, distorted by anger and despair, instantly occupied the entire main screen. His background was a chaotic bridge, and the harsh cursing in the communication channel almost pierced through the screen.

"Chen Feng!" Old Knife's roar exploded in the silent command center like a trapped beast driven into a corner, "Tell me, what the hell is going on!"

No one answered.

"I am now public enemy number one in the entire Bone-Crusher Star black market! Everyone says I'm a traitor who led the wolf into the house! My old customers are pointing at my nose and calling me a fraud who sells 'iron coffins'!"

His spittle seemed to spray onto the screen, every vein bulging with fury.

"The goods on my ship won't sell for even a single credit point now! My men look at me like I'm an idiot! An idiot who led all his brothers into a fiery pit!"

Old Knife took a deep breath, as if using up all his strength to shout his final ultimatum: "I'm giving you twenty-four hours! If you don't solve this problem within twenty-four hours, I'll dump this entire batch of goods into space to feed the cosmic dust! Then I'll tell the whole universe that you, Hanhai Trade, are a bunch of scammers who belong in hell!"

The threat, like a cold blade, stabbed into the hearts of everyone present.

However, Chen Feng's expression didn't change in the slightest. He didn't even show a hint of apology.

"Old Knife," his voice was terrifyingly calm, "answer one question for me."

Old Knife froze.

"Do you want to be stepped on by Giant Star Mining for the rest of your life, like a dog that can be crushed at any moment?"

"Or do you want to stand up and become one of the founders of a new order?"

"I..." Old Knife was stunned by this sudden question, his furious momentum instantly broken.

"I know about your losses and your humiliation," Chen Feng said slowly, his voice carrying an unquestionable power. "Twenty-four hours is too long. Now, right now, follow my next instructions. I promise you, you will gain profits ten times your losses."

"Ten times...?" Old Knife muttered to himself, his eyes filled with doubt.

"Ten times," Chen Feng repeated, as if stating an established fact. "But only if you become my blade—the sharpest one. Now, go appease your men and wait for my orders."

Having said that, he didn't give Old Knife any chance to ask further questions and decisively hung up the communication.

The main screen returned to dead silence.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Chen Feng—shocked, confused, and with a faint, distant glimmer of expectation.

Chen Feng stood up and looked around at his ashen-faced partners.

"All core members, First Meeting Room."

"Now."

He said only those six words before turning and walking toward the meeting room, leaving everyone with a back as hard as iron and a room filled with ever-deepening unease.

First Meeting Room.

The atmosphere was as oppressive as a tomb. The cold metal walls seemed to suck out the last bit of warmth from the room.

Su Li was the first to stand up. She pulled up the company's financial data model, the glaring red numbers on the light screen looking like hideous wounds.

"The situation is worse than you imagine." Her voice was devoid of emotion, merely stating facts, and the facts themselves were enough to stifle all hope.

"All sales channels have been completely cut off. Just now, the 'Jiantou' trade caravan also officially sent a legal letter terminating cooperation and demanding compensation."

"According to my model calculations, the Avalanche of return requests and potential massive claims will drain all our liquid capital within a week."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Chen Feng's face.

"The final result: forced bankruptcy and liquidation."

As soon as she finished speaking, a young employee from the operations department stood up. His task was to report on public opinion trends. With a trembling hand, he tapped on the light screen, and bloody images forged with special effects and unsightly curses emerged like a tide.

"They... they say we are the 'Revenge of the Mine Slaves,' saying our energy blocks are filled with the vengeful spirits of those who died on Ashen Earth Star..."

He looked at a maliciously photoshopped image of a child crying while holding an exploding toy. He could no longer control his emotions, covered his face with his hands, and broke down crying.

"My brother... my brother is only about that age..."

The suppressed sobbing echoed in the meeting room like a heavy hammer, shattering the last bit of strength in everyone's hearts. Despair began to take physical form.

Chen Feng remained silent throughout. He just listened and watched quietly, like a ghost standing apart from the situation.

It wasn't until all the negative information had been reported and the employee's crying had faded into whimpers.

Only then did he slowly stand up and walk to the main screen.

He raised his hand and, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, deleted all the reports, data, and bloody images from the screen.

The entire screen went blank.

Then, using his finger, he wrote two lines on it.

Two lines of blood-red, large characters, as if written in fresh blood.

[Sales Price Reduced by 30% Below Cost]

[Tenfold Compensation for Any Defect]

These two lines were like two silent bombs, detonating with a roar in the dead silent meeting room.

"Are you crazy?!"

Su Li was the first to stand up. Her beautiful face turned pale with shock and anger, and her finger pointing at the screen trembled violently in disbelief.

"Chen Feng! What on earth are you thinking?!" Her voice rose, filled with sharp questioning. "This isn't self-rescue! This is pouring gasoline on the fuel tank! This is accelerating suicide!"

A storm that would decide the company's fate, before being completely crushed by external enemies, was thoroughly ignited from within in a way no one could have predicted.