Priceless office decor was swept off the desk, shattering across the floor in a fit of rage. The atmosphere within the Vice President's office was so suffocating it felt as though the air had been vacuumed out. Under the warm glow of the desk lamp, Wen Jie's refined features were contorted with fury, his eyes burning with a light that threatened to incinerate anything in his path. In contrast, Ming Zhi stood before him like a silent shadow, his icy composure clashing violently with the man's emotional tempest.
"Who is responsible for the intelligence from Thailand!" Wen Jie roared, slamming his fist onto the heavy oak desk with a thunderous crack. "How did confidential dossiers from Away Logistics end up in Gawin's hands before they even reached my father's desk? What use are you people!"
Ming Zhi observed the outburst with flat, indifferent eyes. He masked a mocking smirk deep within, successfully concealing the dark alliance he had forged with Yong Chang. Deftly, he adjusted his glasses with a slow, methodical grace before leaning in to whisper in a voice thick with feigned sincerity.
"That is exactly what I am investigating, Mr. Vice President... but there is a detail so suspicious it cannot be ignored." He paused strategically, capturing the attention of the panting, enraged Wen Jie. "How did Gawin access Away Logistics' data so swiftly, as if..."
"As if what!" Wen Jie snapped, his eyes boring into Ming Zhi's.
"As if... they have been a single team, rehearsing this act from the very beginning," Ming Zhi stated, his eyes lifting to meet Wen Jie's with a chilling intensity, driving the stake of paranoia deeper.
Before Wen Jie could erupt again, a frantic knocking interrupted. A personal secretary hurried in, face pale with alarm, clutching an obsidian-black file.
"Chairman Wen Jie, Mr. Ming Zhi... the latest surveillance report you requested has arrived."
Ming Zhi snatched the file, his eyes scanning past candid photographs and precise operative reports before handing it over to Wen Jie with a cold, judgmental smile.
"What is the meaning of this!" Wen Jie gasped, his eyes trembling at the images. "Director Feng and Director Zhen Hao... those senior board members, meeting in secret with that secretary, Tum?"
Ming Zhi tapped his finger on a particularly clear photo. "It means Gawin doesn't just have 'Away Logistics' as his Thai backup. He has breached our inner sanctum, infiltrating our own high-level executive committee."
Wen Jie ground his teeth so hard his jaw muscles bulged, his gaze a chaotic mix of confusion and extreme suspicion. "Then he didn't just come for a hydrogen investment... he's planning a hostile takeover of CK Group!"
"Precisely," Ming Zhi whispered, his voice low but as definitive as a nail being driven into a coffin lid. "Mr. Gawin is weaving a web within our organization, seducing the Chairman's favor to one day seize the throne. And the gear I suspect is the most crucial part of their machine is..."
He looked Wen Jie in the eye with profound meaning. "...the team from ZX Capital."
Wen Jie hurled the file to the floor in a blind rage, scattering documents and photos across the expensive carpet. "Those foxes!" he screamed, his voice shaking with the fear hidden beneath his anger. "Is CK Group being stolen right from under us? I will not allow it!"
Ming Zhi stepped closer to the unraveling dragon, bowing his head in a display of ultimate loyalty. "I will not let these foxes succeed in their desires, sir." He straightened up, his face set in grim determination. "I will uproot them entirely. I will find the link between Gawin, Away Logistics, and that man Marcrim. I will report their true danger to the Chairman... we cannot afford to remain idle for even a second."
"I will destroy them!" Wen Jie clenched his fists until the veins throbbed. "I won't leave them a single inch of ground to stand on in this building! They will learn the cost of daring to stir my empire!"
Ming Zhi bowed humbly to the command. Yet, the moment he stepped past the office door and it slid shut, a bone-chilling smile of pure ambition spread across his face. He pulled out his phone and dialed a secret number instantly.
"I need more intel..." he whispered in a voice as cold as ice. "On Gawin, Tum, and Marcrim... Dig up everything. Uproot their entire history. Leave not a single crevice unexplored."
To Ming Zhi, Wen Jie was merely a pawn to be sacrificed to eliminate his enemies. This was his golden opportunity to sweep away every rival power at once—so that in the end, the ultimate authority of CK Group would be forced to kneel at his feet alone.