pdf-ebookys Chapter 584 Pretending to be stupid is no longer useful
Chapter 584 Pretending to be stupid is no longer useful
Li Xiangyang and Feng Mingyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. They knew without a doubt that what was in that paper package was nothing good.
“No, the risk is too great.” The man in the baseball cap shook his head. “Three companies have already run into trouble today; if we continue like this, it will attract the attention of the organizing committee.”
"What should we do then? We're under a lot of pressure from General Manager Zhao. If we can't handle Li Xiangyang, we'll all be in deep trouble." Liang Zhiqiang was clearly very anxious.
Hearing this, Li Xiangyang confirmed his judgment. This Liang Zhiqiang was indeed sent by Zhao Mingyuan, and they were capable of anything, using despicable methods.
Just then, Feng Mingyuan accidentally bumped into a display shelf next to him, making a slight noise.
Liang Zhiqiang and the man in the baseball cap immediately became alert and looked around. Li Xiangyang quickly pulled Feng Mingyuan behind another booth.
"It was probably blown by the wind." The man in the baseball cap looked around but found nothing unusual.
"Just be careful anyway." Liang Zhiqiang put away the small paper packet. "I'll think of another way."
The two parted ways after speaking. Li Xiangyang waited until they were far away before returning to his booth with Feng Mingyuan.
"Factory manager, should we report this to the organizing committee?" Feng Mingyuan said indignantly.
“Now is not the time,” Li Xiangyang calmly analyzed. “We don’t have solid evidence, and the other side hasn’t actually made a move.”
Just then, Boss Chen arrived again, and this time his expression was very serious.
“Mr. Li, the situation has changed.” Mr. Chen strode to the booth. “My friend just told me that there might be another operation tonight.”
"What operation?"
"Someone wants to pull off one last big event before the exhibition ends, targeting several powerful companies," Mr. Chen said in a low voice, "including you."
Li Xiangyang's heart tightened, but he remained outwardly calm: "Boss Chen, what exactly is the plan?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's definitely not good news." Boss Chen thought for a moment, "How about this, I'll arrange for a few people to patrol around the hotel and exhibition hall tonight to ensure security."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Chen." Li Xiangyang nodded. "However, I think it's better to take the initiative than to passively defend."
What do you mean?
Li Xiangyang looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then briefly recounted what he had just witnessed.
After listening, a cold glint flashed in Mr. Chen's eyes: "These people are truly lawless! Mr. Li, what do you intend to do?"
"Let's play along," Li Xiangyang said confidently. "Since they want to play, let's play along."
That evening, Li Xiangyang arranged for Lin Yuqing and Ma Qingfu to return to the hotel to rest, while he and Feng Mingyuan stayed in the exhibition hall to "work overtime and organize materials." In reality, they were waiting for their opponent's next move.
Around nine o'clock in the evening, there were very few people left in the exhibition hall. Li Xiangyang and Feng Mingyuan hid in a secluded corner, closely observing the movements of their booth.
"Factory manager, should I go and notify the security guards?" Feng Mingyuan asked nervously.
"Wait a little longer," Li Xiangyang waved his hand. "We need to catch them red-handed."
At 10:30, there was finally some activity. Liang Zhiqiang and two other strange men appeared furtively in the exhibition hall. They headed straight for Li Xiangyang's booth.
"That's it," Liang Zhiqiang said, pointing to the display case of dried blueberries. "Hurry up, or someone will find out."
One of the men took out a small bottle and prepared to drip something into the box of dried blueberries.
"Now!" Li Xiangyang shouted, and he and Feng Mingyuan rushed out together.
"What are you doing?" Li Xiangyang shouted.
The three people were startled. The man holding the small bottle trembled, and the bottle fell to the ground with a crisp shattering sound.
"Li Xiangyang?" Liang Zhiqiang's face turned deathly pale. "Why are you still here?"
"I'd like to ask you what you're doing here?" Li Xiangyang took a step closer. "Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night, coming to visit the exhibition hall?"
Liang Zhiqiang stammered and couldn't speak, while the other two men were already preparing to run away.
"Trying to run?" Feng Mingyuan reacted quickly, grabbing one of them. "Explain yourself before you go!"
Just then, the exhibition hall security guards arrived. They had heard the shouts earlier.
"What's going on?" the security captain asked.
Li Xiangyang pointed to the broken bottles on the ground: "They wanted to put some unknown substance into our products."
The security captain immediately became alert and ordered his men to restrain the three people.
"This is a misunderstanding!" Liang Zhiqiang hurriedly explained, "We were just passing by and accidentally broke the bottle."
"Just passing by?" Li Xiangyang sneered. "Then can you explain why you'd be passing by our booth in the middle of the night?"
Liang Zhiqiang was speechless.
The security captain carefully examined the broken bottle fragments on the ground, then smelled the pungent chemical odor, his expression growing increasingly serious.
“This is no good.” He winked at his subordinate. “Contact the organizing committee and relevant departments immediately.”
Seeing that his scheme had been exposed, Liang Zhiqiang became desperate and reckless: "Why are you arresting us? We didn't do anything!"
"Didn't you do it?" Li Xiangyang pointed to the fragments on the ground. "Then explain what this is?"
“I…I don’t know, it might be cleaning supplies,” Liang Zhiqiang stammered.
Feng Mingyuan scoffed from the side, "Cleaning supplies? What are you doing bringing cleaning supplies to our booth in the middle of the night? Are you going to clean for us for free?"
Just then, Boss Chen arrived with several people. He looked at the scene and frowned.
“Mr. Li, thankfully you were prepared.” Boss Chen walked up to Li Xiangyang and said in a low voice, “I just received news that it wasn’t just your company that was affected tonight; the booths of two other companies were also vandalized.”
Li Xiangyang was startled, but remained outwardly calm: "It seems this is an organized operation."
At this moment, staff from the organizing committee and local law enforcement arrived. Leading them was a middle-aged man wearing an organizing committee badge pinned to his chest.
"I'm Director Zhang from the organizing committee." The middle-aged man surveyed the scene. "Could you explain the situation in detail?"
Li Xiangyang recounted the entire process in detail, including the conversation he had overheard earlier and the catching them in the act that evening.
After hearing this, Director Zhang's face turned terribly grim: "This kind of thing is absolutely intolerable! It seriously damages the reputation of the entire exhibition!"
He turned to the law enforcement officers: "Please investigate this thoroughly and give the participating companies an explanation."
Law enforcement officers began questioning Liang Zhiqiang and the other two, but they all denied it, claiming that they had accidentally broken the bottle while passing by.
"Since you're just passing through, where are your exhibitor badges?" Director Zhang asked.
Liang Zhiqiang was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had no legitimate reason to be in the exhibition hall.
Just as the standoff was reaching its conclusion, another piece of news arrived. Law enforcement officers learned via radio that similar chemical residues had been found at the other two exhibition booths where incidents had occurred.
"It appears this was indeed a premeditated act of vandalism," the law enforcement officer told Director Zhang. "We need to conduct further investigations."
Upon hearing this, Liang Zhiqiang's face turned even paler. He knew things had escalated, and pretending to be ignorant was no longer an option.
"I...I was just doing a job for money," Liang Zhiqiang finally spoke. "I don't know the specifics."
"Who gave you the money?" the law enforcement officer pressed.
Liang Zhiqiang hesitated for a moment, glanced at Li Xiangyang, and finally said, "It's Zhao Mingyuan, the vice president of Jinyuan Industrial."