76: Go upstairs, everyone go upstairs!

As President Li understood this point, a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

He suddenly looked up at Feng Rui.

He finally understood!

He finally understood why Feng Rui would tear off his mask, willing to break the rules to poach someone in advance!

Because Feng Rui, that old fox, wasn't signing a mythical-level genius at all!

He was snatching a "possibility" that could define the future!

What if all those things he said before, about "unimaginable potential" and "infinite possibilities," weren't flattery, but facts?

This intelligence was absolutely exclusive to Fengxing Technology!

He wanted to use this information asymmetry, with a contract that seemed sky-high but was actually a huge bargain, to prematurely secure this future all-rounder!

"You sly fox, Feng Rui!"

President Li stared intently at Feng Rui, almost spitting out these words through gritted teeth.

President Qian and the others beside him, seeing President Li's reaction, immediately realized the seriousness of the matter far exceeded their imagination, even if they hadn't fully grasped all the details.

"President Li, what's wrong?"

"What's so special about Lin Yao?"

President Li didn't answer; he just looked at Feng Rui's calm face and then spoke, word by word.

"Tianqing Group offers one hundred and fifty million!

"Furthermore, S-class contract resources will be increased eightyfold!

"And, we are willing to assemble an exclusive top-tier logistics team for Miss Lin Yao, to meet all her future growth needs!"

Boom!

If the previous one hundred million was madness, then the current one hundred and fifty million was absolute hysteria!

This was no longer just raising the price.

This was gambling on the company's future!

The most crucial thing was President Li's attitude; he was serious!

President Qian and representatives from other companies were stunned after hearing President Li's offer, then quickly reacted.

For President Li, a man known for his caution, to invest such a huge sum, it could only mean one thing:

Lin Yao's value was even more terrifying than any of them had imagined!

"My Baisheng! Offers... one hundred and sixty million!" President Qian gritted his teeth and roared.

"Our Donghua Heavy Industry can provide the highest access to all material laboratories under the group!"

The bidding resumed.

But this time, the atmosphere had completely changed.

It was no longer the boisterous excitement of people enjoying a spectacle.

Instead, it was a real, bloody... slaughter!

The reporters were completely stunned.

Brother Wang's hand, holding the microphone, was trembling.

The glasses-wearing reporter's camera lens was aimed at Feng Rui in the center of the crowd.

He remained standing there, with that inscrutable smile on his face.

He watched this group of old rivals, whom he had played like puppets, as they went from mockery to shock, and now to madness.

His heart was cold.

Come on.

All of you, come on.

Raise it even higher.

The higher you raise it, the easier it will be for me to explain when I go back.

The more frantically you hype the atmosphere, the more... natural... my already prepared, exorbitant contract, made with the full power of the group, will seem.

He wanted to sign Lin Yao, not because of Lin Yao's value, but to boost the market.

For this, he would spare no expense.

For publicity, the grander the gesture, the better the effect!

Lin Yao was a pawn for him to display his strength, and he had made extensive preparations.

Li Mo was right; Old Ghost Hall was throwing tens of billions of goods at them; why should they begrudge this small sum?

As for whether this Lin Yao was truly worth it... once she was signed, Fengxing had plenty of ways to recoup its investment from her!

Su's mother, the aunt, and the second uncle were completely numb.

They huddled in the corner, listening to astronomical figures spill from the mouths of important people, their minds blank.

One hundred and fifty million... one hundred and sixty million... they dared not even imagine such sums, let alone see them.

In this almost out-of-control frenzy, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Presidents, Presidents!"

It was Brother Wang, the always active reporter.

He pushed through the crowd, holding up his microphone, his face beaming with a fawning smile.

"I understand everyone's excitement! It's for the treasure of Linzhou, after all!"

"But, isn't shouting prices down here a bit... inappropriate?"

His words caused the frantic bidding to pause slightly.

Everyone looked at him.

Brother Wang cleared his throat and continued, "After all, signing a contract is a big deal. Ultimately, it depends on Miss Lin Yao's personal wishes, and her family's opinions must also be respected."

"What does it look like, all of us crowding here?"

"In my opinion, why don't we all go upstairs first, and in front of Miss Lin Yao and her family, present our sincerity? Let Miss Lin Yao choose for herself!"

"That's what you call fair competition, that's what you call respecting a genius, isn't it?"

At these words, the scene instantly fell silent.

All the company representatives were stunned.

That's right!

They were shouting themselves hoarse down here, what if the people upstairs didn't acknowledge it?

What if Lin Yao had already secretly reached an agreement with someone?

Though unlikely, it wasn't impossible!

Most importantly, Brother Wang's words gave them a way out.

The bidding had reached an absurd level; no one could afford to go higher.

Going upstairs for a face-to-face discussion, returning the decision-making power to the "product" itself, was undoubtedly the best option at the moment.

"Exactly! Reporter Wang is right!"

President Qian of Baisheng was the first to react, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"We should go up and let Miss Lin Yao personally see our sincerity!"

"Right! Let's go up and talk!"

President Li of Tianqing also immediately agreed, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, regaining some composure.

He needed time, needed to contact headquarters immediately, to re-evaluate the risks and maximum price for this signing.

"Go! Upstairs!"

"Don't push! Let President Feng and President Qian go first!"

The crowd's frenzy instantly found a new outlet.

Feng Rui, President Qian, President Li, and several others, these men standing at the top of the pyramid, surrounded by bodyguards, walked towards the sole old elevator.

Their expressions varied.

Feng Rui still wore that confident smile, as if everything was under control.

President Qian and President Li, however, looked solemn, walking and speaking in low voices into miniature communicators, emergency contacting headquarters, clearly applying for higher authority and bids.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and the few people filed in.

The doors slowly closed before everyone's eyes.

The remaining people were completely cut off.

In the lobby, there was a second of dead silence.

The next second.

"Damn it! They took the elevator!"

"What do we do? Wait for the next one? The good stuff will be gone by then!"

"Wait for nothing! Take the stairs! It's only the seventh floor!"

Someone shouted.

Boom!

The entire lobby, like a breached dam, suddenly changed direction and surged madly towards the narrow, dim stairwell!

"Charge!"

"Don't push me! This camera cost millions!"

"Move aside! Let the reporter comrades go first!"

Chaos.

Utter chaos.

The company representatives and media reporters, who moments ago were impeccably dressed in suits and ties, had now shed all pretense, revealing their most primitive impulses.

They pushed, cursed, and scrambled to squeeze into the dark stairwell.

Su's mother, the aunt, and the second uncle, along with Su Qingxue, also quickly climbed up; they were still half-asleep.

Brother Wang was jostled from side to side, but he still clutched his microphone tightly, his face showing a morbid excitement.

The glasses-wearing reporter was swept along by the human tide, he adjusted his glasses, but a curve that others couldn't understand spread across his lips.

He exchanged a glance with Brother Wang beside him.

Both read the same meaning in each other's expressions.

The show had just begun.

Were those bigwigs upstairs still fighting tooth and nail for a "mythical-level profession"?

Were they still frantically raising bids for one hundred million, two hundred million in signing fees?

Ridiculous.

Utterly ridiculous!

They had no idea what they were about to face!

The glasses-wearing reporter adjusted the angle of the miniature camera on his chest, ensuring the clearest possible footage.

What they wanted to see was never the birth of a sky-high signing.

What they wanted to see was how this carnival would, in an instant, turn into a colossal joke!

It was the spectacular expressions of these arrogant bigwigs when they realized they had been played!

It was the agonizing despair of the Lin family, after experiencing such highs and lows, plummeting from the clouds to hell!

Didn't Lin Yao fail?

Now that's big news!