On the other side of the world, Jiro, dressed in an expensive suit and looking every inch a successful businessman, boarded a flight to the Xia Kingdom, escorted by several bodyguards in black and two male secretaries.
Now the CEO of the Sman Group, he had directly and lavishly booked the plane's first-class cabin. As an investment group focused on investing in all kinds of businesses, the Sman Group had many shell companies under its umbrella, but they still had to keep up appearances.
By the time the plane landed, a motorcade was already waiting: a black Rolls-Royce in the middle, with two black Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars in front and two behind.
Of course, the cars had all been rented in advance. The Sman Group didn't yet have the financial resources to buy cars all over the world.
"Boss, our targets on this trip are ten carefully selected tech companies."
"Our representative got in touch with the founders of these companies yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll begin visiting the first target," one secretary said quietly from the seat beside Jiro.
"I understand. Also, send over some information on Xia Kingdom startups. I'd like to see some ideas that surprise me." Jiro rubbed his forehead. He knew the purpose of his trip: to invest in a startup. He had no idea why the board had suddenly sent him to the Xia Kingdom to invest in that company, but as a puppet, all he had to do was obey the people pulling the strings.
His secretaries and bodyguards knew nothing about this. They genuinely thought their boss was the chairman and CEO of the Sman Group.
"Boss, Jiro has returned to the country." In an office building on the outskirts of New York State, Eagle Country, Tang Shi, dressed as a cleaner, reported to Tang Shizhe through the Mental Network.
As one of his primary shell companies in the Americas—and the most important link in his future plans—there was no way Tang Shizhe wouldn't have someone keeping an eye on it. Tang Shi was one of the men he had sent out recently. After entering Eagle Country with forged documents, he had applied for a janitorial position at the Sman Group.
Tang Shi's credentials were already in the Sman Group's database, so he had been hired without even an interview.
His team leader thought he had been hired by Human Resources. Human Resources thought he had been hired by the CEO. And Jiro thought Human Resources had hired him.
"Got it!" Tang Shizhe nodded slightly.
"Tang Yi, get our technical documents, articles, and financing plan ready. Jiro will be here in a few days!" Tang Shizhe instructed Tang Yi.
After making a show of visiting the ten tech companies, Jiro told their founders to go home and wait for his decision.
As soon as the tour ended, his motorcade set off for Jiaodong City.
The two secretaries had no idea why their boss had suddenly taken an interest in this second- or third-tier city in the Xia Kingdom. But he was the boss, after all.
Inside the Rolls-Royce, Jiro kept going over the materials Tang Shizhe had sent him.
Titan Environmental's first product had taken shape in its initial design. It existed only on paper for now, but there was a good chance they could turn it into a finished product.
Still, even if the company was a scam, he had no choice but to take the bait like an idiot. The board had just sent him an ironclad order: no matter how outrageous the company's ideas were or how much they demanded, he had to agree unconditionally and secure a forty-nine percent stake!
The next day, the motorcade arrived in Jiaodong City. Guided by the navigation system, it gradually made its way toward Tang Shizhe's factory complex.
The complex was nearly finished. Only the central five-story office building was still being topped off; the landscaping and roads were already complete.
Green lawns stretched across the grounds, with flowers, shrubs, and trees arranged in pleasing patterns. The factory complex looked almost like a park.
At its center stood a five-story rectangular building. Its outer walls were entirely clad in pale white glass. When sunlight fell on the glass, the building seemed to merge into a single seamless whole.
The white factory buildings and the milky-white glass office tower gave the entire complex a modern feel.
When the three-meter-high, heavy metal gate slowly swung open, Jiro couldn't help nodding to himself at the sight beyond it.
"The factory looks pretty good," Jiro murmured, rubbing the stubble that had grown back on his chin.
The two secretaries who had come with him clearly hadn't expected a startup to be operating on such a large scale. They had thought Titan Environmental was just renting some cheap factory space.
"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome to our friends from the Sman Group, who have come all this way." Tang Er walked out of the office building. The main structure was now complete, and its modular design had made construction incredibly fast.
The only thing still unfinished was the "sky" mansion Tang Shizhe wanted.
Because Tang Shizhe's standards were so high, work had slowed considerably once they started renovating his floor. It was expected to take another half a month to finish completely.
"Hello! I presume you're the founder of Titan Environmental?" Jiro said in broken Chinese as he reached out to shake Tang Er's hand.
"That's right, I am. You must be Jiro, CEO of the Sman Group." Tang Er smiled and returned the greeting politely.
"Let's talk inside." Tang Er gestured for him to follow and led him in.
Jiro found Tang Er strangely familiar, but the Tang Yi he had met before had been in disguise, so he didn't recognize Tang Er.
No one noticed Tang Shizhe standing by a fourth-floor window, slowly sipping coffee. The office building's one-way glass kept outsiders from peering into its secrets. Tang Shizhe had made sure of that.
Tang Er led Jiro and the others into a large conference room. The first thing they saw upon entering was a projection screen that covered the entire east wall.
The screen was showing Titan Environmental's logo. Tang Shizhe had designed it himself: a white leaf set in the center of a green globe that looked a little like Earth, its surface marked with irregular green veins.
Once Jiro and the others had taken their seats, Tang Er made a K-shaped gesture in the air. The screen sensed the movement and immediately began playing the presentation.
"Gentlemen of the Sman Group, let me introduce the first major product Titan Environmental Tech is about to launch!" Tang Er pointed toward the screen, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.
A green, spherical plant covered in tiny leaves appeared on the screen. A slender stem connected it to a white ceramic flowerpot.
"Isn't that just a potted plant?" the two secretaries whispered. Jiro frowned as well. Was the company a front for money laundering?
Was this really the thing they'd been ordered to invest in at all costs? A potted plant? What was this, a gardening company?
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