Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 683: Chapter 686: This is Business

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen calmly said, "Since the headquarters is in chaos, the branch cannot afford to be. Notify everyone to continue their assigned tasks and stop spreading rumors."

Wang Jie nodded and immediately went out to calm the employees' nerves.

An Xin, worried, said, "Honey, what should we do? Sister Mingyu would never do such a thing. It looks like someone planned to frame her."

Since Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu had both met An Xin before, and though they didn't work at the same location, they occasionally met at meetings, they had a good relationship.

Yang Chen smiled at An Xin, "No matter how big the issue is, I'll handle it. Don't worry about it. Are you afraid I won't have money to support you if the company falls? Just help me keep things steady here, and I'll go check on the headquarters."

An Xin obediently nodded, knowing that this important branch couldn't fall into disarray at this critical time.

Ten minutes later, Yang Chen entered the Yu Lei Tower. Almost every employee he encountered had a grim expression, discussing internal traitors or the bleak future of the company.

Yang Chen casually asked someone about the whereabouts of Lin Ruoxi and the other executives, then took the elevator to the floor with the main conference room.

Inside the conference room, more than thirty of Yu Lei's top executives were present, including Lin Ruoxi, Mo Qianni, Li Minghe, and Chris. The central figure of the incident, Liu Mingyu, was also there.

The atmosphere was extremely tense, with everyone's faces showing distress.

Lin Ruoxi's face was like ice, her exquisite features now clouded with a stormy expression. The suppressed ferocity in her eyes made no one dare to meet her gaze.

Mo Qianni and Wu Yue sat on either side of Lin Ruoxi, both silent and visibly anxious. Li Minghe and Chris also looked deeply concerned.

Liu Mingyu appeared the most devastated, sitting at her spot, gripping a pen tightly, as if she might break it in half.

"What's wrong? Are you all mute? Speak up," Lin Ruoxi said coldly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it added to the chilling silence of the conference room.

No one could say a word. Each person looked at something else, avoiding eye contact with Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi sneered, "What, weren't you all full of ideas before? Now that there's trouble, you've all become mute?"

Another stretch of silence followed, until finally, an executive nervously swallowed and said, "President Lin, I think this situation is very suspicious. Our company's security is top-notch in the industry. How could someone steal such crucial information without being detected?"

"Bang!"

Lin Ruoxi slammed a hand on the table, making everyone jump.

"Minister Fang, I didn't call this meeting for you to report the obvious. Everyone knows what happened! I want solutions! Solutions!" Lin Ruoxi's anger was evident. Even during past crises with foreign conglomerates, she had never been this furious. The issue had originated within the company itself.

Minister Fang wiped his sweat and quickly added, "Yes, President Lin. I think our immediate task is to find the culprit who stole our company's data. If we can gather evidence quickly, we can initiate criminal proceedings. This way, we might control the situation, even if we suffer some losses. Through legal means, we could obtain substantial compensation. I believe the opponent who dared to target us is not a small player! As long as we stabilize the situation, we can bounce back despite the losses."

After Minister Fang finished speaking, nearly everyone directed their gaze at the silent Liu Mingyu.

Another executive snorted, "The password for each minister's office safe is known only to President Lin and the respective ministers. Minister Liu, despite our years of camaraderie, I never thought you'd commit such a betrayal."

"Hmph, I even voted for her to succeed Vice President Mo's position. What a mistake!" others echoed.

All eyes turned to Liu Mingyu, as she was the only one, apart from Lin Ruoxi, who knew the passwords. Naturally, she was the prime suspect.

Liu Mingyu's face was ashen, tears welling up, but she didn't know how to defend herself. She knew there was no excuse to prove her innocence.

Mo Qianni defended her, "Everyone, think carefully. Given that only President Lin and Minister Liu know the passwords, it would be too obvious if Minister Liu leaked the documents. Would any criminal be that foolish? Clearly, she's being framed! The priority now is to find the real culprit, not to bicker amongst ourselves!"

The room fell silent again. Mo Qianni's influence in the company was second only to Lin Ruoxi, and her argument made sense. Liu Mingyu, even if she were to betray the company, wouldn't be so blatant.

Suddenly, Li Minghe, who had remained silent, spoke up, "Actually, it could also be a psychological ploy by the culprit. Think about it, everyone. If Minister Liu is guilty, it seems too obvious, so we think she's being framed. But what if the real culprit is using this exact reasoning to make us think she's innocent?"

Everyone was taken aback. Li Minghe's theory was indeed plausible.

"Vice President Li, you're too quick to pin the blame on Minister Liu without solid proof. That's quite insidious," Mo Qianni said angrily.

"Vice President Mo, with all due respect, I'm voicing what many colleagues are thinking. We don't want to miss any chance to find the culprit," Li Minghe replied calmly.

"You..." Mo Qianni was furious but couldn't find a way to defend Liu Mingyu.

"Enough!" Lin Ruoxi silenced everyone. Frowning, she asked Wu Yue, "Wu Yue, have you calculated the expected losses?"

Wu Yue looked at her tablet with a heavy heart, nodded, and said, "Yes, President Lin. I've roughly calculated the losses from the bidding plans, procurement plans, acquisition schemes, and design drawings. If competitors use these against us, we're looking at a loss of at least five billion yuan. This is mainly because this year, our acquisitions and procurements are part of a global expansion. Our budget is extremely tight, and we can't fend off intentional competition."

Hearing "five billion," everyone's faces fell. They knew very well that even a wealthy company like Yu Lei would be in dire straits if it suddenly lost five billion in cash. It would be like a supercar engine running without oil!

"And that's not all," Chris, who had just arrived, said with a wry smile. "The situation is already well-known online. No one will have faith in our financial status. When the Nasdaq opens this afternoon, there will definitely be a global frenzy to sell our stocks. At that point, our assets will severely depreciate. Even if we secure enough bank loans, it will only be a temporary fix because our operations for the second half of the year will have to restart from scratch, with no competitiveness."

Everyone looked at each other, seeing the helplessness on each other's faces.

"Damn it!" one executive slammed the table in frustration. "We're being beaten without even a chance to fight back!"

"If I find out who did this, I'll skin them alive!" another executive started cursing, unable to control his emotions.

Liu Mingyu, feeling the angry stares of everyone around her, finally broke down. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed in her seat.

Lin Ruoxi looked at her indifferently and said, "Minister Liu, why are you crying? Everyone suspects you now. Don't you want to defend yourself?"

"President Lin!" Mo Qianni, seeing Lin Ruoxi's cold treatment of Liu Mingyu, tried to intervene. "President Lin, Minister Liu couldn't have done this. Others might, but definitely not her. You know what I mean. Don't you believe her?"

Lin Ruoxi glanced at Mo Qianni and sneered, "Sorry, I really don't understand what you mean. Why should I believe her? Also, Vice President Mo, don't use our personal relationship to sway me in this critical moment. As everyone can see, the only suspect here is Liu Mingyu, isn't it?"

Mo Qianni's face turned pale. She couldn't believe the emotionless Lin Ruoxi in front of her, like a cruel ice sculpture that froze her heart.

"Ruoxi, how could you..." Mo Qianni choked up.

"Watch your words, Vice President Mo," Lin Ruoxi said calmly. "This is business. I am responsible for tens of thousands of employees worldwide. Right now, Liu Mingyu is the prime suspect. Whether she's innocent or not will be determined by the investigation."

Liu Mingyu raised her head sadly, looking at Lin Ruoxi with a bitter smile. "President Lin is right. No matter what, the information leaked from my hands. I can't escape responsibility for the company's heavy losses."

"Mingyu! You're innocent!" Mo Qianni, seeing Liu Mingyu speak as if admitting guilt, couldn't help but stand up.

"Vice President Mo, your actions make people wonder if you have a special connection with Minister Liu," Li Minghe interjected.

Mo Qianni turned abruptly, glaring at Li Minghe, "Don't get too smug. The truth about who is behind this will come to light."

Li Minghe raised an eyebrow and smirked, "I hope so too."

At this moment, the conference room door opened from the outside. To everyone's surprise, Yang Chen walked in, stretching and yawning. He sighed and smiled at the crowd, "I've been listening outside for a while now. Your discussion efficiency is too slow. Instead of wasting time like this, why not get back to your respective jobs and prepare for the upcoming battle? As for tracking down the culprit, leave it to me. How about that?"