14: Hu Yourong: It's best to say as few unpleasant things as possible.

Just as Ling Xian expected, Lin Feng's counterattack came quickly.

However, what Ling Xian didn't expect was that the King of Soldiers didn't use force, but instead played a public opinion war from a tricky angle.

This was unlike the Lin Feng in the plot who only knew how to use brute force.

"As expected, I can't follow the plot completely."

"People can change at any time; a small change can throw the entire plot into chaos."

If brute force were used, Ling Xian could directly use national power to solve it easily.

He could also do it himself; even if he couldn't capture him, he could at least keep the Half-step Grandmaster expert behind him.

"A public opinion war? Perfect, leave it to Hu Yourong."

"In future business, there will be no shortage of such things. After handling them more, she will learn how to deal with them herself."

Within a few days, negative news about the Ling Group began to quietly circulate on the internet.

At first, it was just a few low-traffic financial forums and social media burner accounts posting some negative allegations.

Hinting that the Ling Group's internal management was in chaos, and that the new chairman, Ling Xian, was young and impulsive, using illegal means to purge company veterans.

Later, these posts were forwarded and commented on by organized "water army" accounts.

The popularity quickly rose.

Now, several second-rate financial media outlets had begun citing "netizen revelations" to publish "analysis articles" with clear biases.

The headlines were also eye-catching: "Behind the Massive Shock at Ling Group: Are the Young Marshal's Thunderous Tactics a Blessing or a Curse?", "A Hundred-Billion-Dollar Empire Handed to a Twenty-Year-Old Youth, Ling Corporation's Future is Worrying"... A scale like this was clearly not something Lin Feng's newly established small company could achieve alone.

There was likely the support of the Three Great Families behind this.

Lin Feng started it, and the Three Great Families went with the flow.

For the Three Great Families, they wouldn't lose regardless of success or failure.

"Young Master, the current public opinion is somewhat unfavorable to us." Ling Wu placed a public opinion briefing on Ling Xian's desk.

"Although it hasn't had a substantial impact on the stock price yet, negative searches continue to rise. It won't be long before..."

"Ling Wu, since you started managing the company recently, you've become more impatient than before. Have some tea first!" Ling Xian poured a cup of tea for Ling Wu.

"Just small tricks. If it were that easy to trip up the Ling Group, the Three Great Families would have been frantically creating negative public opinion long ago."

"The strength and foundation of the Ling Group are right here; it's not difficult to solve."

Ling Wu naturally wasn't in a hurry; it was just that his young master hadn't made a move for days, letting the public opinion ferment.

"Have Hu Yourong come to my office." Ling Xian only gave this order.

"Young Master, aren't you being too good to this woman?"

"Using the Ling Group's public opinion to train her." Ling Wu quickly understood the young master's meaning.

Indeed, over the past few days, Ling Wu had also been observing Hu Yourong's situation.

She was indeed a genius, changing day by day and becoming more proficient in handling matters.

It was just that Ling Wu felt it was still a bit too early to let this woman touch the core of the Ling Corporation.

A few minutes later, Hu Yourong stood nervously in front of Ling Xian's desk.

Today she was wearing a slightly oversized business suit, which was clearly a temporary purchase and didn't fit well.

Hu Yourong's eyes were full of apprehension and excitement; this was the first time she had been summoned by Ling Xian in the three days since she joined the Ling Group.

"That will be your new workstation from now on. I've just promoted you to be my secretary."

Ling Xian said, pointing to the workstation that had been prepared next to him.

Secretary?

Hu Yourong's face turned red; the saying "the secretary does the work when there's work, and the boss 'does' the secretary when there's none" was simply too deeply ingrained in people's minds.

But Ling Xian wasn't planning to rush, instead pushing the public opinion briefing compiled by Ling Wu in front of her.

"Take a look at this."

Hu Yourong scanned it quickly, her brow gradually furrowing.

Although she lacked practical experience, her theoretical knowledge was solid, and she immediately saw the patterns.

"An organized public opinion attack. The goal isn't to crush the Ling Corporation at once, but to continuously smear its image, shake investor confidence, and prepare for subsequent short-selling or other commercial actions."

"Good analysis." Ling Xian nodded, confirming her judgment. "If you were facing this situation, what would you do?"

Hu Yourong thought for a moment and said, "Conventional statements and lawyer's letters aren't very useful; instead, they would be exploited by the other party to create hype about 'the big store bullying the customer'."

"So, we should take the initiative to attack."

"First, find the main sources of the largest rumors and file tough lawsuits."

"Second, divert public attention by releasing other positive news."

"Third, find the mastermind behind the scenes. A public opinion attack of this scale requires a lot of funding and networking support; it's impossible to leave no trace."

"Not bad," Ling Xian praised, "but not ruthless enough, and not fast enough."

"Ling Wu."

"Here!" Ling Wu stepped forward in response.

"I'm leaving this matter to you to handle, with Ling Wu assisting you."

"I can temporarily give you whatever authority you need. Consider it the first challenge of becoming my secretary."

Hu Yourong's mind went blank. Was this something she could be responsible for?

Seeing Hu Yourong in a daze, Ling Xian had his own matters to attend to and didn't pay her any more attention.

It wasn't until Ling Xian left that Hu Yourong spoke up: "Young Master Ling, isn't this..."

Turning back, Ling Xian had already disappeared without a trace.

"Miss Hu, the Young Master is handling other important matters. There's no need to disturb him with such a small thing," Ling Wu reminded her from the side.

"Ah? Am I really in charge of handling that?" Hu Yourong was both excited and afraid.

There was always a voice in her heart telling her that this was what she should be in control of.

But she was also afraid of not handling it well.

Ling Wu looked at the apprehensive Hu Yourong and nodded.

"Um... how is the investigation going on your end?"

It had to be said, Hu Yourong really was talented.

She had been fearful just a moment ago, but now her mind had entered a state for handling the situation.

"We've already locked onto three major water army leaders and two media outlets involved."

"Although the capital flow has gone through multiple layers of disguise, it ultimately points to an overseas shell company. The registration information is related to the Ling Corporation's former Investment Department Manager, Zhang Ming," Ling Wu reported.

The Ling Family's Secret Guards were quite efficient in intelligence gathering.

Hu Yourong was shocked. Is this the Ling Group?

The efficiency was truly high; it seemed like she only needed to give the orders.

And the people below would take care of the rest.

"Miss Hu, let me remind you."

"Your opponent is that old fox Zhang Ming. If you don't have the confidence, you'd better proactively give up to the Young Master."

Even now, Ling Wu still didn't trust Hu Yourong.

At this moment, Hu Yourong hesitated; after all, it was her first time handling a major company matter.

"Go for it, Hu Yourong! You can definitely do it."

"Young Master Ling rescued you from the darkness, not to watch you give up."

"He doesn't need a trophy, and you are not a trophy."

"Don't let Young Master Ling look down on you." Hu Yourong cheered herself up internally.

"Mr. Ling Wu, Young Master Ling put me in charge, so you must listen to me."

"It's better to say less unpleasant things." For the first time, Hu Yourong revealed a bit of the style of a future Business Queen.