At the KCC headquarters, Adisorn's M&A team dismounted from their luxury vehicles with surgical precision. Zhou Miling, the company's poised president, greeted them with a professional smile, gesturing toward the expansive boardroom.
"Welcome. All critical documents have been uploaded to the Virtual Data Room. My staff is ready to assist with any inquiries you may have," she stated.
Jiarui stepped forward with a polite nod. "Thank you, Ms. Miling. We will ensure this process is handled with the utmost diligence."
As the specialists claimed their seats and unfolded their operations, Adisorn sat back slowly, his posture as immovable as a masterpiece of classical sculpture. Miling caught herself stealing a glance at him; she felt a confusing cocktail of admiration for his perfection and a cold, creeping dread of what his arrival truly signaled.
The room soon filled with the frantic staccato of mechanical keyboards and the rhythmic rustle of paper. Jingyi began dissecting five years of financial statements with the focus of a surgeon, while Jiarui scanned legal contracts and environmental disputes in haunting silence.
Dongfang looked up from a set of industrial blueprints, meeting Miling's eye. "Ms. Miling, I need to personally inspect the high-voltage substations and the industrial water network. May I?"
"Of course. I'll have our senior engineers escort you," she replied, her eyes drifting back to Adisorn. He merely offered a stiff, formal nod. "Thank you," he said simply, before returning his gaze to the documents, his face a mask of stoic concentration.
After leaving the team to their tasks, Adisorn wandered through the sprawling facility, eventually stopping before a massive glass pane that overlooked the KCC empire. Miling stepped up behind him silently, her gaze tracing the factory lines she had poured her soul into—lines that were now destined to change hands.
"Your team moves quickly," she murmured. "You truly don't waste a single heartbeat."
Adisorn glanced at her profile. "And what about you, President? Have you prepared your contingency plan? Will you take a seat within the CK hierarchy, or strike out to build your own legacy elsewhere?"
Miling went quiet, eventually letting out a weary sigh. "To be honest... I haven't let myself think that far ahead."
Adisorn turned to face her fully. His sharp, predatory gaze locked onto hers, causing her to instinctively look away in a fit of nerves. "Having no backup plan is more than an oversight—it is negligence. Clinging to a failing past only blinds you to the reality standing right in front of you."
He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in. "Do you truly believe... that KCC collapsed because it lacked potential?"
Miling snapped her head up. "What are you implying?"
"Based on the preliminary data, KCC isn't a terminal case. An emergency capital injection or a debt restructure could have saved it easily," Adisorn said flatly, stepping closer until she felt the heat of his presence. "So why did your father, the CFO of the entire group, allow KCC to be cast adrift until a merger was the only option? Or is this merger actually a calculated move to facilitate a 'change in management'?"
His words struck Miling like a lightning bolt. She stood frozen as the truth he had unceremoniously stripped bare began to burn. Her father had fought to the death to stop the merger with CLS, but it seemed Dr. Li Ming had a very different script in mind.
"But what can I do?" her voice trembled. "This is the Chairman's decision."
Adisorn allowed a ghost of a cunning smile to touch his lips. "That is exactly why you shouldn't remain a passive observer in your own life." He tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as he gauged her reaction. "Mr. Gawin's Hydrogen project needs someone who knows this terrain better than anyone. If you have nowhere to go, consider joining the project as a Strategic Partner."
He held her gaze with unwavering intensity. "This is your only chance to find out who truly orchestrated the destruction of KCC. It is your chance to prove to your father that you aren't just a daughter waiting to be rescued, but a woman who can stand up and seize her own future."
Miling stared at him, her mind racing. It felt as though he was handing her a blade—a weapon to cut her way back into the game of power.