6:17 AM, Top Floor of Ling Corporation Tower
Ling Chen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his fingertips gently tapping a short-selling report.
Although a bandage was wrapped around his forehead, it did not diminish the smile and ease in his eyes.
Now that the most basic assassination safety issue had been resolved, it was time to consider how to turn the tide with the limited funds he had.
As the saying goes, 'Troops and horses are not moved, provisions go first.' Without enough money, some of his more ambitious plans could not be completed.
Within a mere three days, he couldn't make any earth-shattering changes with the remaining assets of the Ling Corporation.
But restoring it to its state before his parents' accident was not a big problem.
After all, the greatest advantage brought by rebirth was information asymmetry, and there were many ways to make money using information asymmetry.
And he chose the quickest method—stock trading.
"Young Master, are we really going to short Kangming Medical with a full position?"
Financial Director Wang Cheng's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and the tablet in his hand displayed Kangming Medical's stock price trend chart for the past three months, which was an almost perfect upward curve.
Ling Chen did not answer immediately. He turned and took a kraft paper bag from his leather briefcase, his movements as elegant as if he were displaying a work of art.
When Wang Cheng took the document, his fingers trembled uncontrollably—the archive bag was clearly stamped with a red seal that read "Ministry of National Defense Classified."
"These...are enough to make Kangming go bankrupt three times over." Wang Cheng swallowed, flipping through the human experiment photos and financial fraud evidence inside. "How did you..."
"In three hours, these will appear on the China Securities Regulatory Commission's desk." Ling Chen adjusted his shirt cuffs, the platinum cufflinks gleaming coldly in the morning light. "Notify the trading department to prepare for leveraged operations."
He naturally wouldn't tell Wang Cheng that he had forged these.
But these were all facts, precognitive facts, thanks to Ling Chen's memories from his previous life.
Meanwhile, at the Mu Estate,
Mu Xi's father, Mu Zhengyang, was enjoying breakfast. The latest issue of "Finance Weekly" was spread out on the dining table, its front page featuring a special report titled "Ling Corporation Group on the Brink of Bankruptcy."
He was in a very good mood. Indeed, after losing its core, the behemoth that was the Ling Corporation would no longer pose any threat to their Mu family.
As for the remaining little brat named Ling Chen, he was just a child who had just turned 18. Even if he truly possessed extraordinary business talent, would the old shareholders on the board of directors obey him?
Not to mention, to eliminate future troubles, he had hired a team of top assassins called "Cleaners" from abroad. If nothing went wrong, Ling Chen was probably already dead in yesterday's heavy rain.
As for the fact that Ling Chen and his daughter were childhood sweethearts? Haha, in his opinion, this was merely a crude means of showing internal unity to the outside world.
The Mu Group and the Ling Corporation Group both belonged to the pharmaceutical industry. No matter how good their relationship appeared, competitors were ultimately rivals.
However, just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor.
"Master!" The butler rushed over, handing him a satellite phone that was currently in a call. "An urgent contact from Kangming Lab."
Mu Zhengyang frowned and took the phone. After hearing the content relayed over the phone, his face gradually turned ashen.
At the same time, his heart was greatly shaken—that kid from the Ling Corporation, he actually didn't die!
What a "surprise"!
"Immediately destroy all experimental records! Move quickly, if the authorities find out, it will be a huge mess!"
He ordered in a low voice, the silver dinner knife in his hand scraping against the porcelain plate with a harsh sound.
At the end of the second-floor corridor, Mu Xi was stuffing a purple unknown potion into his backpack.
Hearing her father's roar, her slender fingers trembled slightly, and the test tube nearly slipped.
8:03 AM, Linghui Academy
Ling Chen was currently just a teenager under 18, in his final year of high school.
That's right, this Linghui Academy was built specifically for his schooling during the Ling Corporation's most glorious period. It can now rank among the top three in Jiuan City, a truly aristocratic high school.
However, because his parents didn't pay much attention to this industry and sold most of the shares, Ling Chen's status was actually no different from that of his current classmates at the school.
A modest Volkswagen slowly stopped at the school gate. The moment the car door opened, the eyes of the surrounding students uniformly turned towards it. As Ling Chen got out, carrying a simple backpack, he clearly heard whispers from all directions.
"Look, it's the bankrupt young master!"
"I heard all his family's servants ran away..." (Actually, they were all killed; the police said this to avoid causing panic.)
"My dad said the Ling Corporation won't last past this week..."
Chen Hao leaned against his Porsche 911, deliberately raising his voice: "Ling Shao, why don't you consider renting your family's lab to my family? The price is negotiable!"
As soon as he said this, many students entering the school gate turned their heads. This kind of excitement wasn't something one could usually see.
At this moment, Chen Hao noticed the gauze on Ling Chen's forehead again, and he said sarcastically,
"Oh, Ling Shao, how could you be so careless? Was your head hit by a debt collector?"
Ling Chen merely smiled faintly, appearing not to care at all, his gaze sweeping over the Richard Mille watch worth millions on Chen Hao's wrist—soon, the owner of this watch would change.
In his plain, somewhat worn bag, lay the newly signed equity transfer agreement, 15% of Chen Group's shares had quietly changed hands.
Moreover, he didn't come to school to attend classes.
Along the way, classmates pointed and whispered about him, as if they had seen a rare object, and idle chatter occasionally drifted into Ling Chen's ears.
Entering the teaching building and then the classroom, Ling Chen pulled out a small, rice-grain-sized device with a red dot from his pocket and casually tossed it into his desk.
This was a tracking device. If he wasn't mistaken, this little gift should have been "conveniently" stuck to his clothes by Mu Xi yesterday morning when he went to the library.
"You want me to stay in the classroom obediently? Then as you wish."
Mu Xi did not appear in that front-row seat. Ling Chen felt no surprise at all, estimating that the father and daughter were currently having a headache over the inspection bureau sent by the authorities.
After finishing this, Ling Chen stepped out of the classroom, and amidst the whispers of his classmates, he left the school gate directly without even saying hello.
9:45 AM, Jiuan Securities VIP Room
"This is impossible!" Wang Cheng suddenly stood up, a button on his suit jacket popping open due to the violent movement.
On the large screen, Kangming Medical's stock price curve plummeted like a kite with a broken string. "Kangming just released a pre-earnings announcement..."
Before he could finish speaking, all trading terminals simultaneously displayed an urgent news push. The large screen automatically switched scenes: the police were raiding Kangming Medical headquarters, and special police in protective suits were escorting dozens of white-coated researchers.
"Is that... Kangming's chief scientist?" A senior trader exclaimed in shock. In the corner of the screen, a white-haired old man was being escorted into a police car; it was none other than Professor Zhang, the internationally renowned genetic engineering expert.
"For something like human experimentation, which is known to cause problems, one should be prepared to be reported by competitors."
Saying this, Ling Chen unhurriedly opened the financial report: "Close out the position, then reverse and go long on Taihe Pharmaceutical."
The entire trading room was silent. Everyone stared at the young man who was rumored to be selling his ancestral home yesterday. At this moment, his slender fingers tapping on the pages were like playing a piano piece he had long known by heart.
Wang Cheng's tablet suddenly vibrated. He looked down, and his face instantly turned ashen: "The Ministry of National Defense...just released an announcement terminating cooperation with Kangming..."
At the same time, Mu Group Headquarters
"Immediately delete all records of financial transactions with Kangming!"
Mu Zhengyang roared into the phone, standing before him were more than a dozen pale-faced executives.
"Contact the media department, immediately release a statement that our cooperation with Kangming is limited to..."
The secretary rushed in frantically: "Chairman! The China Securities Regulatory Commission's investigation team is downstairs!"
Mu Zhengyang's coffee cup slipped from his hand, and the expensive Persian carpet was instantly stained dark brown. His gaze involuntarily drifted to the corner of the office—a family photo hung there, in which Mu Xi smiled, standing at the entrance of Kangming Lab.
12:30 PM, Ling Bio-Lab
"The gene sequence of this batch of bats... it's incredible!" Chief Researcher Wang Ming's voice was trembling. The electronic microscope in front of him displayed a shocking image—ordinary bat cells were dividing and recombining at an abnormal speed.
Ling Chen put on protective gloves, his movements as elegant as if he were performing surgery.
"Just some ordinary Southeast Asian fruit bats," he said dismissively, as he opened the specialized constant-temperature incubator.
These are all excellent "materials."
A dozen dormant bats hung upside down on custom stands, their membranous wings glowing with an eerie blue-green fluorescence under the UV light.
As Ling Chen adjusted the incubator parameters, one bat suddenly opened its eyes, a hint of ferocity flashing in its crimson pupils.
"Careful!" Wang Ming exclaimed, stepping back, only to see Ling Chen pick up a test tube with tweezers.
With a "snap," the test tube "accidentally" shattered on the floor.
As the researchers scrambled to clean up, no one noticed Ling Chen swiftly swapped the sample tube labeled "X-17."
"My mistake." Ling Chen offered an apologetic smile, a smile that sent an inexplicable shiver down Wang Ming's spine.
3:00 PM - Ling Corporation Board Meeting
The meeting room was silent.
Twenty-three directors stared intently at the large screen, which displayed Ling Corporation's latest financial status—an account that had shown a deficit six hours prior now flashed with a dizzying figure: 2.78 billion.
"This...this is simply..." Director Li, over sixty, took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
"Am I seeing things?"
CFO Wang Cheng's voice trembled: "What you all see is real.
Through short-selling Kangming Medical and subsequent operations, we have not only covered all losses but also achieved..."
"This is just the beginning." Ling Chen's voice was not loud, but it instantly quieted the entire meeting room.
He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, the setting sun casting his long shadow.
"Next, we will fully acquire Kangming's research facilities."
The directors exchanged glances.
Director Zhang couldn't help but speak: "But Ling Shao, Kangming is currently embroiled in scandal, and their laboratories..."
"Especially Laboratory No. 3 located in the northern suburbs."
Ling Chen interrupted him, drawing a red circle on the electronic map with his finger.
"Have Wang Ming further refine and coordinate the genetic sequences of those bats; they are all valuable experimental materials."
"Oh, right, and add some electric eel genes, as well as genes from some highly resilient species."
That location was less than a kilometer from the Mu family's private estate, and in his past life's memory, it housed a large amount of newly acquired scientific research equipment and data, which would facilitate his upcoming plans.
An assistant hurried over and whispered a few words in Ling Chen's ear.
A slight smirk appeared on the young man's lips: "It seems our old friend, Mr. Mu Zhengyang, is currently being questioned by the China Securities Regulatory Commission."
3:20 PM - Linghui Academy Plaza
As three black Mercedes G-Class SUVs splashed through puddles and entered the campus, students in their physical education class collectively stopped their activities.
Ling Chen stepped out of the middle vehicle, still wearing the same simple school uniform from the morning.
"Isn't that...Ling Chen?"
"Weren't his family's cars all impounded?"
Amidst the whispers, Class Teacher Zhang jogged over, fine beads of sweat on his forehead: "Student Ling, regarding the unpleasantness in class this morning..."
The young man raised a hand to interrupt, taking a stack of documents from his assistant.
The rustling of papers made everyone hold their breath—it was an official red-headed document stamped with the Education Bureau's seal, the title prominently displayed: "Notice Regarding the Reorganization of Linghui Academy's Board of Directors."
"Teacher Zhang."
Ling Chen's voice was very soft, yet it instantly drenched the class teacher's back with sweat.
"Your son's tuition at Cambridge, it seems it's paid from the Chen Corporation's education fund, isn't it?"
"And your intelligence network is quite extensive; you found out about Ling Corporation's affairs so quickly."
Chen Hao, in the crowd, suddenly turned pale.
He tremblingly pulled out his phone, the screen frantically popping up with missed calls from his father.
3:35 PM - Senior Class 3-A Classroom
When Ling Chen pushed open the classroom door, the boys who had been doodling on his desk that morning all stood up in unison.
Chen Hao's minion frantically wiped the word "pauper" with his sleeve, his fingernails scratching the desk with a grating sound.
"Everyone, sit down." The young man placed the documents on the podium.
"I'm just here to announce two things."
He turned to the first page, and the projector automatically activated.
The large screen displayed the equity structure chart of Chen Corporation, with 18% of the shares now a glaring red.
"First, from today onwards, the Chen family needs to change their surname to Ling, and just now, your father was administratively detained due to debt issues."
Ling Chen smiled as he looked at the ashen-faced Chen Hao.
"Second..." He suddenly turned towards the window.
The LED screen on the sports field suddenly switched its display, live-streaming the China Securities Regulatory Commission's press conference.
Mu Zhengyang was surrounded by reporters, and behind him, the backdrop read: "Public Announcement of Investigation Results Regarding Kangming Medical's Illegal Experiments."
"Second, thank you all for your concern this morning."
Ling Chen adjusted his cuffs, smiling faintly.
"But rest assured, my greatest virtue is my magnanimity."
With that, he walked straight out of the classroom, leaving behind a group of classmates exchanging uneasy glances, their hearts filled with trepidation.
You're magnanimous? Then what about Chen Hao? What about Kangming?
As for these classmates, Ling Chen had his own plans; he would still need them later, so he needed to give them a warning, but not too harshly.
So he chose to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys; it could only be blamed on Chen Hao's truly bad luck.
4:00 PM - Principal's Office
The old principal's hands trembled as he personally poured tea: "Student Ling, regarding the issue of teacher dereliction of duty..."
"No need for me to elaborate; replace what needs to be replaced." Ling Chen took a sip of tea.
"I won't touch the board of directors for now, but try to keep things quiet these next few days."
A commotion came from outside the window.
Through the blinds, Chen Hao could be seen surrounded by people from a debt collection agency—the Richard Mille watch, worth three million, now reflected a dazzling light in the sun.
At the same time, Mu Xi's private laboratory
"How could this be..." Mu Xi's slender fingers flew across the keyboard, but the data on the screen turned into red warnings one after another.
"All samples...all impounded..."
Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the safe in the corner, where the last three purple reagents were locked.
The laboratory phone suddenly rang, and her father's voice came through the speaker, filled with an unprecedented panic:
"Destroy all data immediately! The China Securities Regulatory Commission has already..."
Mu Xi's hand hovered in mid-air; she looked at the special gene sequence map on the screen—it was a mutant strain cultured from Ling Chen's blood sample.
A trace of struggle flashed across the girl's delicate face, and finally, she clicked the "backup" button.
6:30 PM - Ling Corporation Vault
The fingerprint identification system emitted a soft "beep," and the half-meter-thick alloy door slowly slid open.
Ling Chen walked directly to the innermost safe, where a black metal box glowed with a dim luster under the cold light.
Inside the box, six sealed files were neatly arranged, labeled "Water Purification," "Radiation-Resistant Seeds," "Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics"...
At the very bottom lay a yellowed photograph: Mu Xi in her student days, smiling on the awards podium of a biology competition, the trophy in her hand engraved with "Rising Star Award in Genetic Engineering."
Ling Chen looked at the photograph, his eyes flickering.
This "childhood friend" of his was a huge threat.
In his previous life, she used his blood samples to conduct mutation experiments and cultivate mutant strains, and together with her father, she conspired against Ling Chen and his parents.
For this, she even pretended to be close to Ling Chen to gain his trust and deceive his feelings.
If the Ling Chen of the previous life had learned of these things now, he would immediately be heartbroken or furious.
Being deceived emotionally for so long is something no normal person could endure.
If he were more extreme, he would probably rush to Mu Xi's house to demand an explanation.
But now, Ling Chen felt no emotional fluctuation.
He even admired Mu Xi; his childhood friend was both intelligent and patient enough.
If she hadn't offended the aristocratic families in her previous life, leading to her early demise, she would probably have had a place in the Evolution God Cult.
Of course, in the previous life, she did not grow up, and in this life, it is even less likely that she will grow up.
No, it should be said that she won't even have the chance to grow.
Ling Chen already had a plan in mind.