229: You've been noticed.

The closer they got to Area B, the stronger the scent belonging to the industrial zone—a mixture of metal and chemical reagents—became.

It also became quieter.

However, as they turned a corner and the central warehouse of Area B appeared in their field of vision, both of them stopped in their tracks.

The darkness and silence they had anticipated were completely non-existent.

Before their eyes, everything was brightly lit.

Huge searchlights illuminated the massive open space in front of the central warehouse as bright as day.

In the center of the open space, two brand-new, metallic-lustered, fully automatic pharmaceutical production lines were running quietly, emitting a low hum.

Behind the production lines were rows of neatly stacked cargo crates, emblazoned with the striking logos of Fengxing Technology, Juli Group, Panshi Biology, and Qingyun Pharmaceutical.

These were their best-selling finished pharmaceutical products in stock.

On both sides of the production lines and cargo crates stood hundreds of employees wearing uniform attire.

They stood straight with upright postures, hands behind their backs, in a uniform formation.

Everyone had a professional, or perhaps even cheerful, smile on their faces, looking full of vigor.

This display did not look like they were here for negotiations.

It looked more like they were there to be reviewed in a military parade.

Lin Yu also watched this somewhat comical scene before him.

He saw it very clearly.

Although the employees' smiles were standard, underneath them lay an irrepressible sense of exhaustion and numbness.

Although those brand-new production lines were running, the items on the conveyor belts were purely finished products, simply idling in a meaningless cycle.

The entire scene looked grand and solemn.

In reality, however, it exuded a thick, absurd air of lifelessness.

To welcome his arrival, these Four Major Pharmaceutical Companies had certainly been busy.

One side had prepared thoroughly for this meeting, while the other couldn't even be bothered to change their clothes; who was strong and who was weak was already clearly determined.

Lin Yu and Wang Qingxuan just stood there in their cheap casual clothes, blending into the edge of the crowd, completely inconspicuous.

There were simply too many people here, and the division of labor was clear.

There were Researchers in white coats, rushing about.

There were workers in blue uniforms, busy on the front lines.

There were low-level managers in suits and ties, moving back and forth with walkie-talkies.

And even warehouse personnel driving forklifts, handling logistics between the distant warehouses.

It could be said that the entire chain of a pharmaceutical company—from R&D to production to logistics—had been condensed onto this small open space.

Making such a big scene was nothing more than a silent show of force.

Showing off their muscles, and also showing their sincerity.

Lin Yu was noncommittal about this, only finding it somewhat amusing.

His attention was quickly drawn to a special group.

It was a group of young people, about twenty or thirty of them, all wearing brand-new uniforms with the joint logo of the Four Major Companies.

They stood at the very front of the formation, in the most conspicuous position.

Unlike the exhaustion and numbness on the faces of the other employees, one could see a sense of relief like survivors of a disaster on the faces of these young people, as well as a rare sense of relaxation after deep fatigue.

From the tags on their clothes, it could be seen that these were the first batch of contracted members of the "New Star Project" jointly launched by the Four Major Companies.

Now, they were being used by the Four Major Pharmaceutical Companies as trophies and placed in the most conspicuous position.

Lin Yu just blended into the crowd like a true passerby, observing all of this with great interest.

To tell the truth, in Lin Yu's eyes, this kind of display was truly childish.

Not to mention him.

Even the person beside him, Wang Qingxuan, the legitimate young lady of the Tianqing Group, would not be intimidated by such superficial things.

Wang Qingxuan was indeed nervous.

But the root of her nervousness was not the two brand-new production lines before her, nor the hundreds of energetic employees.

What she was nervous about was the man beside her, wearing cheap sportswear, hands in his pockets, so leisurely he didn't seem like a mortal.

Lin Yu just found it funny.

What was the point of going to such great lengths to put on such a comical display of being on the verge of a great enemy while acting so subservient?

He strode forward and began to stroll around the idling production line like a real tourist.

Wang Qingxuan hurriedly followed, keeping pace, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Look at this robotic arm, the paint is quite new." Lin Yu stopped and pointed at a robotic arm performing a grab-and-release cycle, commenting casually.

Wang Qingxuan nodded stiffly.

"And this conveyor belt, the speed is a bit slow, it affects efficiency."

"The cargo crates stacked over there, the spacing is too large, it wastes storage space."

Lin Yu commented as he walked, not treating himself as an outsider at all.

His movements were not loud, but in this open space where only the machines hummed, it was enough for those nearby to hear.

The managers in suits and ties, and the Researchers in white coats around them, all looked at them with strange gazes.

Where did these two pop out from?

Wearing cheap clothes, pointing fingers at these fully automatic production lines worth hundreds of millions?

What the hell do they know?

But looking closely, he was just a silly kid bragging to the little girl beside him.

However, due to the eerie atmosphere of the scene, no one dared to come forward to shoo them away.

Finally, a middle-aged man who seemed to hold a high position couldn't help it.

He wore a crisp, ironed white coat, gold-rimmed glasses, his hair combed meticulously, and the nameplate on his chest read "Fengxing Technology, R&D Department 3 Supervisor, Sun Zhi".

Sun Zhi walked over quickly and blocked Lin Yu and Wang Qingxuan.

He frowned first and looked the two of them over from head to toe.

Cheap sportswear, ordinary sneakers.

The man looked lazy and loose, the woman was quite pretty, but looked uneasy.

No matter how you looked at it, they didn't seem like people who should be appearing on this occasion.

"What are you two doing here?" Sun Zhi spoke, with a condescending scrutiny peculiar to technicians.

Lin Yu didn't speak, just looked at him with great interest.

Wang Qingxuan felt a bit creeped out by his gaze and subconsciously shrank behind Lin Yu—this was a move she had specifically studied with Lin Yao, guaranteed to trigger Mr. Lin's protective instinct.

Sun Zhi clearly didn't have much patience; seeing that the two didn't answer, he pressed again.

"Are you here for a new interview? Or is this some school organizing a visit or internship? Why is no one leading you?"

He waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

"Forget it, I don't care what you are here for."

"Today, this place has been cleared out by a... a group of extremely important figures. You two should leave quickly, don't wander around here."

His tone carried obvious impatience, but listening closely, there didn't seem to be any malice.

"Extremely important figures?" Lin Yu finally spoke, with a hint of amusement.

Sun Zhi immediately became vigilant.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't!"