Caribbean Sea, private port.
Manuel stood on the dock, his phone pressed to his ear.
Shortly after, he hung up the phone, turned to look at González, and gestured with his chin. "Have you finished interrogating those guys from the Mining Department?"
"The investigation is over. We've obtained all the bribery records, transaction records, and emails between them and Australia mining companies."
"Send it out." Manuel put his phone in his pocket. "Send it to the Attorney General's office, and copy all mainstream media."
González hesitated for a moment. "Boss, wouldn't doing this offend the government too much?"
Manuel glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to look at the harbor.
Is the government scary?
So, is the new owner, backed by Amerikan, not scary?
That afternoon, the Colombia Attorney General's Office issued a statement: Deputy Minister of Mining Rodríguez has been formally arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from Australia mining companies and illegally revoking mining licenses.
Meanwhile, the interrogation records, financial records, and recordings of hiring hitmen that Manuel possessed were simultaneously leaked to Reuters, Bloomberg, and all major local media outlets.
International opinion reversed instantly.
The Australia government immediately jumped out to distance itself, stating that "this was a corporate action and has nothing to do with the government."
Several of the Australia mining companies' partner mines in Colombia have also been urgently sealed off by the local government.
It's clear to everyone that Harris's political counterattack has completely collapsed.
Harris sat in his office at the Perth headquarters, watching the news on the screen, his face ashen.
He picked up the phone and dialed headquarters. "Expedite the production cuts and price maintenance plan, release information as soon as possible, and stabilize market expectations."
Jinjiang Hotel, Shanghai.
Cheng Beixiao stood at the door of the small conference room and took a deep breath.
He didn't engage in extensive online public relations; instead, following Fu Haoran's previous instructions, he precisely targeted the core buyers—the steel mills that had already signed contracts.
The door opened, revealing purchasing representatives from Baowu, HBIS Group, Shagang Group, Ansteel, as well as the heads of the two small and medium-sized steel mills that had previously tried to breach their contracts.
All eyes were on him.
It would be a lie to say Cheng Beixiao wasn't panicked.
"They're paying me such a high salary, are they just going to make me a con artist?"
Cheng Beixiao thought about it more and more and it seemed very possible; otherwise, why would a recent graduate receive a high salary?
Just as Cheng Beixiao was struggling with this, his work phone rang. He picked it up and saw that he had received his salary!
Cheng Beixiao subconsciously checked.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands..."
"50...500,000?"
"Why are there so many?!"
Cheng Beixiao panicked even more and quickly checked the details.
"Base salary 70,000, meal allowance, transportation allowance, travel allowance... commission 400,000!"
"A commission of 400,000 yuan just for signing a deal! What's the difference between that and picking up money off the street?"
Cheng Beixiao felt no joy, but rather utter panic.
"This is terrible! This is definitely a scam company. They haven't even paid the final payment yet, and they're already giving us so much commission. It's absolutely a scam company."
"What should I do? Should I go in?"
Can I distance myself from this?
"Why don't you consult a lawyer first?"
"Should I transfer the money first and then turn myself in?"
"Director Cheng? Director Cheng?"
Cheng Beixiao suddenly realized that someone was calling him.
He began his work habitually, laying out the stack of documents one by one.
These include mining rights compliance documents, government approvals, third-party testing reports, and the latest announcement from the Colombia Attorney General.
"Distinguished leaders, I know what you're worried about." His voice wasn't loud, but it was steady, as if he were speaking to himself.
" The Australia are spreading rumors that there are problems with our mining rights, but the Colombia government just arrested their own people. The deputy minister who accepted bribes has been arrested, and all the compliance documents for the mine are here."
He turned to the last page, which was DYB's supply guarantee commitment.
"If you are still not reassured, after the first batch of 50,000 tons of ore arrives at the port, we can prioritize providing free samples for testing. If the grade or impurities do not meet the standards, the ore will be given away for free, the fixed-price contracts will be executed as usual, and the compensation clauses for supply disruptions will remain unchanged."
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Zhang Xiangyang was the first to speak, "Okay, Tangshan Iron and Steel Group is willing to abide by the contract."
The heads of the two steel mills that wanted to break the contract exchanged a glance and nodded.
Cheng Beixiao's heart was racing. He was actually somewhat resistant, but when he thought about the high commission, he admitted that he was tempted.
"Let's take a gamble, what if it's not a scam company?"
Cheng Beixiao steeled himself and kept brainwashing himself. "It's all true, it's not a scam company."
After the signing ceremony, the person in charge from Ansteel stopped him.
"Director Cheng, when do you have time to go and take a look at the machine tool factory we talked about last time?"
Cheng Beixiao thought for a moment and said, "Once things are settled here, I'll go over and take over as soon as possible."
Cheng Beixiao walked out of the conference room, his legs feeling a little weak.
It wasn't nervousness, it was fear.
He took out his phone and glanced at the bank notification—500,000 yuan, not a penny less.
"No, that's definitely not right."
He squatted in the corner of the corridor and began to flip through the employment contracts.
"Base salary of 70,000, commission at 0.5% of the contract amount... 20 million tons of ore, annual supply..."
Cheng Beixiao took out his calculator and pressed the keys once.
Two thousand tons? No, it's twenty million tons.
0.5 per thousand, 0.5 per thousand of 20 million tons... is that 10,000 tons?
No, no, it's calculated based on the contract amount.
How much does one ton of ore cost? According to the long-term contract price in Australia, it's US$145, which is about RMB 1,000.
Twenty million tons is equivalent to 20 billion RMB.
0.5 per thousand of 20 billion is 10 million?
Cheng Beixiao threw the calculator away.
"Oh no, am I going to jail?"
He stood up, paced back and forth in the corridor three times, and then made a decision: to go to the law firm.
In the law firm's meeting room, Cheng Beixiao sat on the sofa, facing a middle-aged lawyer wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
"Attorney Huang, I have a question. If a company pays me 500,000 yuan in salary, but I suspect that the company is a fraudulent one, would accepting the money constitute a crime?"
The lawyer adjusted his glasses. "Did you actively participate in the fraud, or were you unaware of it?"
"I have no idea! I have absolutely no idea!" Cheng Beixiao almost stood up. "I'm just an employee; I do whatever the boss tells me to do."
"So what did you do?"
"I... signed a contract."
What contract?
Iron ore supply contract.
How much is it?
Cheng Beixiao swallowed hard. "20 billion."
The lawyer nearly dropped his glasses.
"You're just an employee, and you signed a contract worth 20 billion?"
"Right."
"Did the boss make you sign it?"
"Right."
Is the contract genuine?
"It should be true... right?" Cheng Beixiao himself wasn't sure.
The lawyer was silent for a few seconds, took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.
"Young man, I've been in this business for twenty years, and I've seen people get scammed, but I've never seen anyone get scammed like this."
The unwavering message: Read this book!
"Your boss is either an idiot or he's really rich."
Cheng Beixiao: "So which type is he?"
Lawyer: "What do you think?"
"It's already so obvious, is there any need to doubt it?" the lawyer said matter-of-factly.
"A 20 billion contract, giving you 500,000 is just a drop in the bucket, and we'll just use you as a scapegoat."
"What?!" Cheng Beixiao's mind went blank, but after the lawyer's words, he suddenly understood.
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that? All that high salary and great benefits were just a way to find a scapegoat."
"Otherwise, why haven't I met a single colleague from beginning to end? Even HR isn't from their company!"
Realizing what was happening, Cheng Beixiao asked in alarm, "Attorney Huang, what do I do now?"
"My suggestion is..." the lawyer stood up, patted him on the shoulder, "Go back, wash up, get some sleep, and then turn yourself in to the police."
"Perhaps you're not deeply involved, and you'll be out in a few years."
Cheng Beixiao walked out of the law firm in a daze. Standing at the door, looking at the text message on his phone that the money had been deposited, he still felt it was unreal.
Cheng Beixiao finally made a difficult decision. He took out another phone, fought back tears, and dialed a number. "Hello, Mom, it's me."
"Xiao Cheng? Why did you suddenly decide to call Mom?"
"It's nothing, I'm just too tired from business trips lately, I want to go home and rest."
"Okay, your dad and I will prepare more of your favorite dishes for when you come back."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Beixiao wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and bought a plane ticket home.
The Imperial Capital, a secure conference room of the National Security Bureau.
Old Zhou slammed the complete set of DYB's tactics for dealing with Australia's three-pronged counterattacks onto the table.
"This kid not only has access to mines, but his connections, methods, and foresight are all top-notch."
" The Australia prepared a three-pronged attack for half a month, but he dismantled it completely in three days. This kind of tactic is something that an ordinary new energy company boss wouldn't have."
"Putting everything else aside, there are serious doubts about how he acquired the mine. Our people have confirmed that the mine does exist, but the records show that it is in a semi-abandoned state."
Even if production resumes, it's impossible to produce such a high level of ore in such a short time!
"You mean, this is fake?" Qin Zhengfeng asked.
Old Zhou shook his head and said, "No, the mine is real, and the ship is indeed on its way. Judging from its speed, it will arrive on time."
Qin Zhengfeng was a little confused; the mine might be fake, but the cargo on the ship was real.
Qin Zhengfeng adjusted his glasses, flipped through the documents, and remained silent for a long time.
"Stop investigating," Old Zhou said, closing the folder. "Find an opportunity to make contact with him."
"Putting everything else aside, just the fact that he broke Australia's iron ore monopoly makes him one of our own."
Qin Zhengfeng nodded.
When Old Zhou was seeing Qin Zhengfeng off, he suddenly stopped.
"Old Qin, how exactly did that kid get his hands on those mines in South America?"
Qin Zhengfeng remained silent.
He's been thinking about this too.
The owner of a new energy vehicle company, who was worried about loans just a few months ago, has now taken down South America's biggest drug lord, acquired three high-grade iron ore mines, and established connections with the CIA, the Colombia government, Caribbean Sea ports...
This can no longer be explained by having extraordinary connections or influence.
"Do you think he might have someone backing him?" Old Zhou asked in a low voice.
Qin Zhengfeng glanced at him. "Regardless of whether there are people around, what he's doing now is beneficial to us."
"But what if..."
"There's no 'what if'," Qin Zhengfeng interrupted him. "We'll observe and not act until he does something that threatens national security."
Old Zhou nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
On the other side of the ocean, in a hotel room, Fu Haoran sat on the sofa, his phone connected to Jimmy's.
"Boss, the Platts Index has dropped another 5%, and Australia have poured another billion US dollars into short selling. Many traders have started panic selling, and the market is full of low-priced spot goods."
Fu Haoran remained calm.
He had done the math.
Australia spent $2.5 billion, and the Platts Index fell from 145 to 95.
Their cost base is around $40, while mining in Hive City... only requires energy bars and water.
After all, Genestealers don't need wages, they only need food and faith.
So if the price keeps dropping, DYB won't be the first to give out.
" Rojas's money is ready to be used, Jimmy. Prepare 1.5 billion US dollars," Fu Haoran said. "When the index drops to 90, go all in to buy the dip."
"Also, have Manuel spread the word that the second shipment of 100,000 tons of ore from the mine will be sent to University of Tokyo in a week."
Jimmy understood immediately.
They used solid supply expectations to crush Australia short sellers.
Suddenly, an encrypted call came in.
It's not a telephone, but a communication device for the Warhammer World.
"Sir, Ronan's modification surgery is complete... Although successful, the situation is not optimistic."
"According to my statistics, the success rate for the average adult is only 38.5%."
"I do not recommend surgery unless you have an alchemical potion to increase the success rate."
" Lucifer said they need to observe for another month before proceeding with the next steps. As for Tychus, surgery hasn't been scheduled yet; they're still waiting for compatibility tests."
The news Kallen brought was nothing short of devastating.
But becoming Space Marine is a crucial part of the next step in the plan.
If one cannot become Space Marine, but is merely a Planetary Governor, one does not even deserve to be remembered.
"If possible, I don't want to gamble, but the modification experiment must go ahead."
" Kallen, keep increasing the success rate. Don't hesitate to ask for any support you need, but we don't have much time left."
After ending the call, Fu Haoran leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes for a while.
Trouble kept piling up in the 2K World, but what truly kept him up at night was the Warhammer World.
The Imperial Army would arrive in six months, but his Space Marine modification plan was still stuck at the first step.
A success rate of 38.5% is too low.
Of a hundred people who undergo surgery, more than sixty will die on the operating table.
He cannot afford such casualties.
Just then, the encrypted phone vibrated twice.
The first call was from Jimmy, urgently. "Boss! Something's happened! We've got inside information that Australia Rio Tinto, BHP, and FMG are negotiating with Brazil to Vale global iron ore production by 30% starting next month to stabilize prices!"
"Rumors have been circulating, but the official announcement is still in the works."
" Wall Street has also declared they're prepared to invest another five billion dollars in short selling, determined to fight us to the death!"
"Furthermore, the European Union has followed Australia's lead and is launching a compliance investigation into our mining operations!"
Fu Haoran frowned.
Production cuts to maintain prices are Australia's ultimate weapon.
The global iron ore trade volume is 1.5 billion tons per year, with Australia and Brazil accounting for 70% of it.
If they really join forces to cut production by 30%, global supply will instantly decrease by 200 million tons.
Scarcity drives up prices; instead of falling, prices rise.
At that point, the low-priced ore in his hands will become a target for "disrupting market order".
"They're trying to drive me to my death," Fu Haoran sneered.
"I see."
"Let them make a fuss, we'll continue with our work. The second shipment of ore will be dispatched on time; there can't be any delays."
"I'll cover whatever limit they set."