Before the man arrived, his voice came first.
The speaker had a powerful, resonant voice, and when he appeared before the crowd, he carried himself with considerable poise.
He wore an exquisite tailcoat and white gloves, with a weathered yet resolute face and impeccably combed-back hair.
He had come alone, yet Su Lin personally escorted him in.
Tang Shuang had never received such treatment, which was enough to show how much respect Xu Shi had for this middle-aged man.
At the sight of him, Xu Shi quietly let out a breath of relief.
Lin Wenhua and Jiang Fengshan, meanwhile, looked confused and even somewhat tense.
"You are... Mr. Ning Wei, the chairman's secretary of the Feather Pen Group?"
Tang Shuang was equally curious and identified the newcomer.
"That would be me. Greetings, everyone."
The man named Ning Wei gave a slight bow to the group. "Pardon the interruption."
Feather Pen was one of the Six Great Conglomerates.
It was also a rather unique presence among them.
Among the Six Great Conglomerates, Serpent Coil and Shark Tooth were both premier military-industrial corporations, while Prism stood alone in the field of biomedicine.
Imaginary Numbers controlled all kinds of media, while Dragon City was the hidden overlord behind Sin City.
It could be said that these five conglomerates covered every aspect of life in Night Sin City.
Compared to them, Feather Pen kept a much lower profile. So much so that whenever people took stock of the Six Great Conglomerates, they would often pause and think, Wait, who was the other one again?
The industry it worked in was equally unusual—ever since its founding, the conglomerate had dedicated itself to preserving all kinds of documents and records from every field, encompassing everything from ancient times to the present.
As a result, it possessed the largest information database in Night Sin City. No matter how minor a matter was, traces of it could be found there.
It also oversaw numerous foundations intended to reward talents who made outstanding contributions in this area.
Those rewards made no distinction between wealth, status, or background. Even someone born into poverty could soar to success if they provided meaningful historical records or published valuable academic research.
It was remarkably accessible to ordinary people, and for many at the bottom of society, perhaps their only hope of rising above their circumstances.
"Well, isn't this lively?"
Xu Shi feigned surprise. "First the Inspection Bureau, and now Feather Pen... Secretary Ning, what are you here for?"
"It is like this, Chairman Xu."
Ning Wei looked at him and spoke with respectful calm. "Some time ago, our company received a report indicating that Mr. Jiang Fengshan, the head of your company's Engineering Department, was suspected of committing fraud involving one of our affiliated foundations. The total amount was approximately four million."
"Chairman Wen was extremely angered when he learned of this, so he sent me to discuss the matter with you. He hopes you will remain impartial, hand him over to us for handling, and refrain from showing favoritism."
"Of course, we will follow the proper procedures. We have already filed suit with the Inspection Bureau and the Tribunal, so please do not worry."
Jiang Fengshan's expression changed at those words, and he finally remembered that he had indeed done something similar before in order to earn some extra money.
"Is that so?"
Xu Shi paused, then swept an annoyed gaze across Tang Shuang and Ning Wei. "First the Inspection Bureau, then you people... Damn it, how did Jiang Fengshan alone stir up so much trouble for me?"
"This is such a pain. Take him away if you want. I'm done dealing with this!"
With that, he huffily slumped into his executive chair, looking thoroughly displeased at being forced into it.
In truth, he was already ecstatic inside.
He had contacted Feather Pen himself, because he had known from the start that Tang Shuang alone would never be enough to bring down Jiang Fengshan.
Lin Wenhua might tolerate him dealing with Xu Anbang, but he would never tolerate him killing Jiang Fengshan.
After all, the two men carried different weight, and Lin Wenhua would surely do everything he could to protect Jiang Fengshan.
What had just happened was exactly as Xu Shi had expected. With someone applying pressure, the esteemed director would inevitably be constrained.
Fortunately, when he had checked things with Jiang Chengcheng earlier, Xu Shi had noticed that the research materials Jiang Fengshan had forcibly taken from her did not seem to have all been reported to the company.
So where had the missing portion gone?
Following the trail, he discovered the problem—the old bastard had handed it over to Feather Pen in exchange for rewards offered by its foundations, and the amount involved was enormous.
That meant there was nothing more to say. The chip Jiang Chengcheng had given him was enough to expose Jiang Fengshan's crimes in this regard.
Feather Pen might not care what kind of person Jiang Fengshan was, nor would it concern itself with how he abused Jiang Chengcheng.
But his deception of them was something they would never tolerate.
Not only would they become a laughingstock if word got out, their credibility would also suffer.
So they might be even more eager than the Inspection Bureau.
"Then thank you for your understanding, Chairman Xu."
Ning Wei nodded, then looked at Tang Shuang. "I came in a hurry today and did not bring anyone with me. Could I trouble Director Tang to lend a hand?"
"...All right. No problem."
Tang Shuang snapped back to her senses and nodded firmly.
To be honest, she had not expected the situation to take such a turn even at this point.
Was this Xu Shi's arrangement too...? She pursed her lips, still feeling somewhat unhappy.
After all, this meant it was not truly she who had brought Jiang Fengshan to justice. It was more because of Feather Pen's intervention.
Still, the outcome was the same, so she stopped dwelling on it.
"Mr. Jiang, then please come with us."
"...Wait!"
At that moment, Lin Wenhua slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet. He had clearly only just realized what was going on.
"Hmm? Does Mr. Lin have an objection?"
Ning Wei looked at him coldly and pulled a badge from his coat. "Let me tell you this: this was Chairman Wen's personal order."
"The term 'old bastard' was also Chairman Wen's attitude, conveyed through me... I wonder if Mr. Lin has any further advice?"
"I..."
The moment he saw the badge signifying Chairman Wen's personal presence, Lin Wenhua instantly fell silent.
To be honest, he might not have thought much of either Tang Shuang or Ning Wei.
But Wen Shengkui, the chairman of Feather Pen, was a different matter entirely.
Though it usually kept a low profile, the strength of a top conglomerate was beyond question... In fact, the fact that a company focused on culture could stand firm in Night City with such status was enough to explain everything.
Not to mention that Wen Shengkui was not someone like Xu Shi, a man from whom Lin Wenhua could carve away half his power... Lin Wenhua knew perfectly well that he could not afford to offend him, and the connections and resources in his hands were nothing before Wen Shengkui.
So he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Fengshan was taken away right before his eyes. Jiang Fengshan himself had long since gone pale as death.
For the other side to disregard its image and use such crude words as "old bastard," it was easy to imagine what kind of fate awaited him.
He was finished. Finished in spectacular fashion.
Jiang Fengshan was taken away in despair.
And when Lin Wenhua sank back into his seat as though all strength had left him, he happened to meet Xu Shi's faintly smug, mocking gaze.
So this was killing with a borrowed knife, you old bastard.
This was the blade.
Before you continue