Just in Case

Early the next morning.

Economic Crime Investigation Brigade office.

A phone rang.

"Hello..."

Fang Hongbin listened to the call from Peng City, his expression turning somewhat grim before he hung up.

Ma Qiang, who was having tea in his office, asked curiously, "Captain Fang, judging by your face, did something happen again?"

"It was a call from Peng City."

"What did they say over there?" Ma Qiang asked with concern.

Fang Hongbin shook his head and sighed. "Sigh! Sun Moon Lake and his two assistants were all caught, but the interrogation results weren't good. They had already sent that confidential formula back to Ryukyu over the internet."

"So Hai Lu Feng Company's technology was leaked?" Ma Qiang's expression also darkened.

"That's right." Fang Hongbin sounded helpless.

Ma Qiang could only spread his hands. "Then there's nothing we can do. Ryukyu won't cooperate with us, after all. I'll notify Hai Lu Feng Company and have them begin legal proceedings as soon as possible."

"Mm, notify them. Oh, and one more thing—CCTV has sent reporters over for an interview tomorrow at noon. Inform Hai Lu Feng Company. You should go over there then as well and cooperate with the filming and interview."

Although Ma Qiang did not particularly want to do this kind of interview, he had no choice but to nod reluctantly. "Understood."

At Hai Lu Feng Company headquarters.

Secretary Li Zixuan reported the Economic Investigation Team's notice to Jiang Miao, as well as the CCTV reporters' interview scheduled for noon tomorrow.

Jiang Miao was still bent over his work. "Understood. I'll personally go to the Eel Farm tomorrow. Notify Vice President Jiang to come over."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Jiang Haibo knocked and entered.

"Chairman."

"Sit."

Jiang Miao looked up. "Make the necessary preparations on your end. The police have already clarified the matter. Immediately file a lawsuit against Ryukyu Xihai Seedling Company in the company's name, on the grounds we discussed before—illegally stealing intellectual property and infringing on our invention patent."

"Understood." Jiang Haibo nodded. He knew the company could not simply do nothing. Even if it was destined to be difficult to punish the other side through legal means, they still had to press the lawsuit.

Jiang Miao added, "Contact Watanabe Takeo of Kagoshima Eel Company as well, and have them file suit in Japan too. That company has business operations in Japan. I have no influence in Ryukyu, but the company has partners in Japan. Make full use of them."

"Yes. I don't think Kagoshima Eel Company will refuse this proposal either."

Jiang Miao naturally knew that Kagoshima Eel Company would not refuse. Whether they were turning a pretense into reality or simply trying to muddy the waters, they would definitely cooperate.

Sure enough.

After Jiang Haibo sent the email, Kagoshima Eel Company immediately agreed and requested that Hai Lu Feng Company provide them with a copy of the police notice and some materials that could be duplicated.

After all, Watanabe Junichi had just obtained the follow-up technical materials at the price of a full $30 million. How could he let Ryukyu Xihai Company off the hook? Even though Watanabe Takeo had told him that the stolen technical materials contained huge problems, he had no intention of letting the matter rest.

As a smart man, Watanabe Junichi had already seen through Jiang Miao's intentions: to force Ryukyu Xihai Company to secretly dump that set of technical materials, thereby drawing everyone's attention to it.

By then, Hai Lu Feng Company and Kagoshima Eel Company, originally the only two companies possessing Eel Artificial Breeding Technology, would no longer be worth stealing secrets from.

And verifying whether those technical materials were genuine would take two or three months. Some companies without the necessary supporting infrastructure might even need more than half a year.

That was enough time for Hai Lu Feng Company and Kagoshima Eel Company to complete their product rollout.

Moreover, if anyone got greedy and wanted to produce on a massive scale all at once, they would have to buy large quantities of mature eels from outside sources. That would inevitably send mature eel prices soaring, further stimulating fish farmers' enthusiasm for breeding.

Not to mention that purchasing mature eels in bulk or building supporting facilities both required substantial investment. By the time they realized something was wrong with the technology, they would already have poured in large sums of money and suffered financial losses.

In any case, anyone who bought Xihai Company's technology would inevitably be a competitor. Jiang Miao and Watanabe Junichi would be more than happy to see those people go bankrupt outright.

Of course, considering that some companies and investors who discovered the problem might turn their attention back to Hai Lu Feng Company and Kagoshima Eel Company a few months later, both companies tacitly strengthened every confidentiality measure to prevent another theft of secrets.

Jiang Miao then summoned Ke Yong.

"Boss, are we heading out?"

"No. I want you to contact your old comrades and see whether there are any with good character who are unemployed or dissatisfied with their current jobs. I want to hire another six bodyguards."

Ke Yong thought for a moment. "There should be two or three. They were in the same platoon as me before. I'm not very familiar with the others."

"Two or three will do. I'll have Human Resources recruit the rest."

"Alright. I'll call and ask in a while."

After Ke Yong left.

He called in the deputy manager of the Human Resources Department.

"Lao Lin, I need to find three or four bodyguards, including two female bodyguards. They need to be professional and experienced. At the same time, require them to provide family information. If possible, have their entire families move to Ma Gong Town. The company can arrange jobs for their family members."

"Boss, that might be difficult, wouldn't it?" Lao Lin could not help scratching his head.

"Do your best. The economy isn't doing well right now. As long as the compensation is good enough, someone will be willing to come."

"Alright then. I'll figure something out." Lao Lin could only agree.

Jiang Miao had made this request because he was worried that the bodyguards' families might be threatened, which could in turn affect the bodyguards themselves. As long as their families were settled in Ma Gong Town, the home base of Hai Lu Feng Company, any suspicious movement would be easy to notice.

And he was hiring so many bodyguards not just for himself, but also for his family's safety.

After all, once those hatchery companies bought Xihai Company's flawed technology and got burned by it, someone would inevitably hold a grudge against Hai Lu Feng Company and Jiang Miao.

Jiang Miao wasn't too worried about companies from Ryukyu or overseas, since retaliation would be difficult for them to carry out.

Domestic companies were different, though. If someone got scammed into bankruptcy and came running over to pull some go-down-together stunt, it wasn't impossible.

Jiang Miao had no intention of waiting until something happened before talking about regrets. He chose to take precautions in advance.

In any case, it was difficult to get explosives, guns, or ammunition domestically these days. At most, there would be knives, corrosive chemical agents, perhaps air guns or bows and arrows at worst.

As for poisoning, that was what Jiang Miao feared least. Anything he consumed would first be checked with the Appraisal Panel.

Sometimes, he even inspected the meals and ingredients in the company cafeteria, all to prevent anyone from poisoning them.

But that still wasn't enough. Jiang Miao called Wang Feng from the procurement department over.

"Feng, I called you over this time because of what happened yesterday, when someone came to cause trouble. I'm worried similar incidents might happen again in the future. Do some research and purchase a batch of legal protective gear and emergency medicine for the company's security guards. Also, buy thirty sets of concealed stab-resistant vests—the best ones on the market."

"Concealed stab-resistant vests?" Wang Feng was startled. "Boss, is it really that serious?"

Jiang Miao patted Wang Feng on the shoulder. "Feng, you must always be on guard against others. This is only a precaution. It's best if nothing happens, but if something does, it might save a life."

Wang Feng nodded as well. If they really encountered a lunatic or someone with nothing to lose, the company's security guards were only there to guard the gate. Empty-handed, they would have a hard time dealing with criminals armed with weapons.