The moment she spoke, the brief dead silence froze the faces that had just begun to show hope, and they gradually changed.
Simply put, their faces fell.
Beneath that smiling gaze, all they felt was a sudden chill.
Extortion, kidnapping, conspiracy, traps—
Countless suspicions surfaced one after another, causing anger and wariness to erupt within them.
The Financial Regulatory Bureau engineer remained expressionless. He merely adjusted his glasses slightly and asked coldly, "I need an explanation, Ai Qing."
"An explanation? What explanation?"
Ai Qing said, "Wasn't gathering all our strength to deal with Solomon's offensive something everyone agreed upon? We're merely mobilizing the reserve forces now."
She paused, then asked meaningfully, "Surely no one thinks that deploying only half our strength would truly be enough to secure victory?"
"But what about Solomon's strategy?" the engineer asked. "How do you explain that?"
"Why should I explain it?"
Ai Qing countered, "Ever since before yesterday's meeting ended, I've been under Mr. Maxim's surveillance. Every word and action, even when I went to the restroom, was accompanied by two protectors.
How could I possibly have informed our opponent of our strategy and arrangements?
Mr. Maxim, you can vouch for that, can't you?"
After a brief silence, Maxim remained expressionless. No anger or gloom showed after being played like that. He merely nodded slightly.
"Yes."
Now, the Office of the Director could only endorse and guarantee Ai Qing's position. Besides... arranging for Ai Qing's "protection" had been his demand in the first place.
Only after lifting a stone to smash his own foot did he realize why that stone had appeared in front of him.
"Please rest assured, everyone. This was merely based on a basic understanding of our enemy."
Ai Qing smiled brightly and looked toward an astonished face in the crowd. "Solomon