Chapter 257: Chapter 198: Lin Qi: I Must Do What I Promised
The European Administrative Region branch of Liu’s Heavy Industries?
Are you kidding me?
Liu’s Heavy Industries is just a large corporation, not an Intercontinental Giant Corporation.
The so-called European branch is just an outpost for monitoring the intercontinental market.
In the European Administrative Region, a branch like that wouldn’t even make a ripple.
The Liu Clan’s business was entirely within the Asian Administrative Region. For Liu Xuan to ask him to take a trip to the European Administrative Region could only mean one thing: she wanted to get him out of the way.
Lin Qi’s heart grew heavy.
Back when the Greenfield City crisis broke out, Liu Xuan had done something similar, trying to keep him safe.
Now, a similar scene was playing out again. Liu Xuan was making the exact same decision.
Lin Qi looked into Liu Xuan’s eyes and said, "You mean to tell me the European Administrative Region branch of Liu’s Heavy Industries has obtained intelligence that can crush the Si Clan in one blow? And this intel can turn the current situation around?"
Liu Xuan nodded.
Lin Qi kept his gaze on her eyes, his voice growing much deeper. "Liu Xuan, are you aware that when you lie, the brightness of your left Prosthetic Body eye changes in a sudden flash?"
Across from Lin Qi, the purple light of Liu Xuan’s left Prosthetic Body eye flared to a brightness he had never seen before.
This revealed the anxiety in Liu Xuan’s heart.
She was far from as calm as she appeared on the surface.
"This is the company’s decision."
An almost imperceptible tremor entered Liu Xuan’s voice.
She looked at Lin Qi in turn, a hint of struggle flickering in her right eye.
Truth be told, Liu Xuan had truly done her best.
As Liu Xingyuan’s daughter, even if she wasn’t an expert on the schemes used in corporate warfare, Liu Xuan at least understood its fundamental nature.
But the current situation for the Liu Clan was far too hopeless.
The Big Business Alliance was clearly favoring the Si Clan, and they were doing so even though the Si Clan had a history of betraying the Alliance.
And yet the Liu Clan—the victims, the victors of the Greenfield City conflict—found themselves, through Liu Xuan, repeatedly turned away in Alliance City.
This showed that the upper echelons of the Big Business Alliance had already reached a consensus.
Support the Si Clan, take down the Liu Clan. This was the result of a deal the Si Clan had made, and moreover, a decision by the Alliance’s leadership.
They probably thought the Si Clan would be easier to control. At the same time, there was more profit to be made from carving up a healthy corporation than a crippled one.
Liu Xuan even had a faint suspicion that Ninghang Technology—a company currently allied with the Liu Clan and with the potential to become an Intercontinental Giant Corporation—was also fanning the flames behind the scenes.
This went beyond Liu Xuan’s understanding of corporate deals and strategic maneuvering.
It seemed that in this plan to support the Si Clan and take down the Liu Clan, profit wasn’t the only metric.
This was also why Liu Xuan felt so hopeless.
Hearing her words, Lin Qi took a deep breath and asked, "Can you tell me the specifics of the current situation? I made a promise on the Floating Vehicle. A promise I make is a promise I must keep."
"As for this summit, I’m confident. As long as it’s within the field of A-Class Pharmacy, no matter what form the summit takes, I’m sure I can secure the benefits our company deserves."
From yesterday to now, Lin Qi had done his best to understand the ins and outs of the summit. Overall, he wasn’t pessimistic.
But Liu Xuan’s reaction now told him that the summit itself might not even be important.
Liu Xuan thought for a moment before speaking. "If I tell you certain things, the risk to you..."
After another moment of thought, Liu Xuan changed her tune. "Oh, forget it. The risk to you is already high enough. A little more won’t make a difference."
Hearing her say that, Lin Qi’s scalp tingled.
She had made plenty of hints on the Floating Vehicle earlier. Now, with these words, it seemed she was about to spell it all out.
’Stop her?’
’No, forget it. If I don’t know the whole story, how can I hope to navigate the situation?’
Lin Qi listened quietly.
Liu Xuan no longer insisted on sending Lin Qi away. She probably knew that with his restless nature, even if she sent him away in the company’s name, he would find an unexpected way to return.
He would probably do it without alerting a single soul.
Liu Xuan understood Lin Qi far better than he imagined.
Liu Xuan began her story.
"Yesterday, I tried to visit two permanent directors of the Big Business Alliance, but was turned away at every door. The two directors made a tacit agreement not to see me. Instead, they sent someone with a message, telling me to check into the Alliance Mansion soon and prepare for the upcoming summit."
Lin Qi frowned as soon as he heard the first sentence.
The permanent directors of the Big Business Alliance. They were practically the highest-ranking members of the Alliance. They didn’t belong to any single large corporation, and most were backed by various Intercontinental Giant Corporations.
According to this, it meant the Liu Clan had already been abandoned.
’Translated, the message was basically: "There’s no need to visit us. The Alliance has reached a consensus. The Liu Clan should just go home and wait to die."’
That was more or less the gist of it.
The purple light in Liu Xuan’s left eye dimmed slightly. Once she started getting down to business, her condition actually improved considerably.
"Through other Liu Clan channels, I’ve acquired some intelligence. I learned that Si Pharmaceutical isn’t the only one fanning the flames behind the scenes this time. It’s possible Ninghang Technology’s shadow is in this as well."
"But I don’t believe the power of two large corporations is enough to make all the permanent directors of the Big Business Alliance reach a consensus so quickly. The Liu Clan used to have the support of some permanent directors. Even if they all eventually came to a unanimous decision, it shouldn’t have happened this fast. We didn’t hear a single whisper of this before arriving in Alliance City."
