Chapter 157 Someone Is About to Suffer

Within the Murong family compound, Elder Murong sat with his head bowed in grim silence, listening to his eldest son’s frantic and furious voice echoing through the grand hall. At that moment, he was consumed by deep remorse and regret, wishing he had heeded his eldest son’s advice earlier and handed Murong Xue directly over to the Lin family to deal with as they saw fit. Perhaps, out of consideration for the Murong family’s prestige, the Lin family would have simply given the girl a light reprimand and let the matter rest, sparing the Murong family from standing in direct opposition to them in order to protect her.

"Ask me? I don't know what to do either." Hearing his eldest son suddenly turn to him for advice, Elder Murong gave a bitter, helpless shake of his head, equally at a loss.

As his voice trailed off, a heavy silence descended upon the hall. Everyone was crushed beneath the immense weight of the pressure, too terrified to utter a word. The only sound remaining was the muffled, continuous weeping of Murong Xue, the ultimate culprit behind the catastrophe.

Seeing his daughter crying incessantly, Murong Wenwu heaved a heavy sigh from his corner. Mustering his courage, he raised his head to look at the silent Elder Murong and asked, "Dad, is there truly no other way? If Lin Feng refuses to let the Murong family off, I'm afraid the state will come after Xue'er to settle accounts. Her future will be completely ruined."

Perhaps swayed by his son’s humble plea combined with Murong Xue's persistent weeping, the old man’s heart finally softened. He glanced at the hopeful expression on Murong Wenwu's face and said, "I'll try calling Old Man Lin to apologize. We'll see if the Lin family is willing to forgive us."

With that, Elder Murong walked right up to the hall telephone in front of everyone and dialed the Lin residence. To his profound disappointment, however, the phone rang continuously with no one answering on the other end.

"Alas, it seems the Lin family is unwilling to let this rest amicably. The Murong family is in deep trouble." Elder Murong placed the unanswered receiver back onto the cradle with a helpless sigh and addressed his family members gathered in the hall.

Refusing to give up, Murong Wenwu urged anxiously, "Father, try calling one more time! They might pick up on the next ring."

Murong Wenwu spoke out of sheer desperation, but Elder Murong knew all too well that even if he called ten more times, the Lin family would never pick up.

It was then that Murong Wenjun, who had been questioning the situation earlier, spoke up. "Father, stop calling. We should take Murong Xue and go straight to their doorstep. Perhaps we might still salvage a sliver of hope."

Murong Wenjun's words served as a wake-up call for Elder Murong. At this point, he was ready to cast aside all pride and dignity; as long as the Murong family could weather this crisis, he was willing to humble himself in any way necessary. Without a moment's delay, he hurriedly took Murong Xue and rushed out the door, heading straight toward the Lin family estate in the residential compound.

Meanwhile, guests had also arrived at the Lin residence: the President, the Premier, and Minister Xie, who had rushed over immediately after concluding an emergency high-level meeting.

Elder Murong’s adversary, Elder Lin, was burning with suppressed fury. Although the recent incident had nothing to do with the three officials, and they had consistently stood on the Lin family's side, Elder Lin was still incensed by the whole affair. Therefore, while the three men attempted to persuade Lin Feng, Elder Lin remained tight-lipped throughout, merely listening quietly from the sidelines.

"Lin Feng, please withdraw the company's public notice immediately. We will definitely give you a satisfactory account for this incident, alright?" Premier Zhu sat beside Lin Feng, looking at him with anxious eyes.

"Indeed, Lin Feng. If you proceed like this, it will trigger a massive crisis for the country. It will make it extremely difficult for us to explain things to the international community, leaving us completely passive," Elder Xie chimed in, offering words of persuasion from the side.

Unmoved, Lin Feng maintained his calm and composed demeanor, letting the three men talk themselves hoarse.

Eventually, when Premier Zhu grew exhausted and saw that Lin Feng remained entirely unresponsive, he tried once more. "Lin Feng, at least say something—yes or no? Don't just sit there in silence. If you need to vent your anger, you can curse at me."

"Heh, this has nothing to do with you. Why would I curse at you?" Hearing Premier Zhu's increasingly desperate words, Lin Feng finally replied coldly.

Delighted to hear him speak—at least it showed a reaction—Premier Zhu hurriedly pressed on, "Then what about the terms we discussed just moments ago? What are your thoughts on that?"

Reminded of the previous demands, Lin Feng let out a cold laugh before replying, "If I lacked the capability to retaliate, do you think they would have let me off? Or perhaps they never considered the consequences of their actions at all, assuming that I, Lin Feng, was easy to push around and ripe for the plucking!"

"Ah, this—weren't those just hypotheses? Now you are safe, and your company is safe. I won't object to however you wish to settle scores, but could you please refrain from taking this step and prioritize the greater good?" Hearing the underlying intent in Lin Feng's words, Premier Zhu felt a deep sense of helplessness, mixed with intense anger toward the high-ranking officials who had targeted Lin Feng in the first place.

"Mr. Premier, and all of you here, I, Lin Feng, am not someone who goes about looking for trouble. But look at how long my company has been open—how many times has it been slapped with investigation seals? How many people have cast covetous eyes upon it? Fine! If I am unwelcome in this country, I can simply relocate overseas! The greater good? Did those people consider the greater good before they tried to crush me? I am not so magnanimous that I can have people riding roughshod over my head and still worry about their interests!" Lin Feng retorted sharply, his tone dripping with dissatisfaction.

"Sigh!" Hearing this, the Premier and Minister Xie were left entirely at a loss for words, able to do nothing more than let out heavy sighs.

The President, who had remained silent the entire time he was at the Lin residence, finally spoke upon seeing that Lin Feng's mind was completely made up. Though filled with helplessness, he asked Lin Feng directly, "The new power base that has emerged in Iraq—is that your doing?"

"Yes!" At this point, Lin Feng had no qualms about exposing it. Even if he kept silent, anyone with discerning eyes reading Future Tech's public notice would easily be able to deduce the truth.

"Gasp..." Another sharp intake of breath echoed through the grand hall.

The expressions of the President and his entourage shifted dramatically as they looked at Lin Feng. It turned out that Lin Feng had been secretly preparing a fallback plan all along; he had never truly trusted domestic authorities, which explained why he possessed the sheer capability to mount such a devastating counterattack.

"You... truly, I don't even know what to say to you. You've been preparing for this all along? You actually anticipated that people domestically would move against you?" With Lin Feng holding all the cards, the President asked with helpless resignation.

"I had a premonition that this day would eventually come, though I didn't expect it to arrive so soon. Fortunately, I wasn't caught entirely unprepared," Lin Feng replied indifferently.

Though spoken in a casual tone, his words burned like fire against the faces of the President and the Premier. After all, they bore a degree of responsibility for allowing a massive enterprise like Future Tech to be subjected to such blatant unfairness on domestic soil.

Ashamed, the President and Premier fell silent. Only Elder Xie refused to give up, still attempting to reason with Lin Feng.

However, anticipating Elder Xie's intent, Lin Feng raised a hand to cut him off mid-sentence. Just as he was about to speak to Elder Xie, he saw the household butler leading Elder Murong and Murong Xue into the hall.

Upon seeing the President and Premier present in the Lin residence, Elder Murong was startled, but the current state of affairs immediately made the reason for their presence crystal clear.

"Mr. President, Mr. Premier, and Lin Feng... I have brought Murong Xue here to offer our sincere apologies!" Elder Murong said, pulling Murong Xue forward by the hand as they approached the group.

Lin Feng remained silent. In his stead, Premier Zhu let out a weary sigh. "Ah, what a complete mess this has turned out to be!"

With that, Premier Zhu, like everyone else, waited in suspense for Lin Feng's verdict. If Lin Feng chose to forgive the Murong family, it meant there was still room for negotiation. If he refused, the situation would escalate into an unmitigated disaster, and more than a few high-ranking figures would likely find themselves behind bars.

Elder Murong waited anxiously for Lin Feng's response. Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure, Murong Xue finally realized the true magnitude and far-reaching impact of her actions—a burden far beyond what a woman in her early twenties could withstand. After all, she was not Lin Feng; she possessed none of his extraordinary capabilities.

"Lin Feng, I am sorry! Please punish me if you must. I was the instigator, and I am willing to bear full responsibility." Murong Xue broke down, sobbing uncontrollably as she spoke.

Seeing this, Xia Ruoxi could no longer contain herself. Pushing herself up from her seat, she glared at Murong Xue with blazing eyes and snapped without a trace of politeness, "Bear responsibility? Such grand words! Do you have any idea how massive Future Tech's losses are this time? Between domestic and international orders, our losses across the board amount to hundreds of billions! We are on the verge of transforming into a foreign-owned enterprise, and the loss to the nation cannot even be measured in mere money. You think you can bear this? Tell me, how exactly do you plan to take responsibility?!"

Xia Ruoxi's fierce words struck Murong Xue like a physical blow. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed weakly onto the floor.

Taken aback by Xia Ruoxi's emotional outburst, Lin Feng stood up, gently pressed her down to calm her, and offered a few soothing words. Then, turning his gaze back toward the deeply ashamed Elder Murong and the trembling Murong Xue huddled on the floor, he stated coldly:

"My stance has already been made clear to the President and the Premier. I have decided to alter the nature of the company. As for whether or not I forgive you, it is no longer of any consequence. I will state my position clearly: I will not target the Murong family; whether the state decides to pursue them is none of my concern. However, the overseas agency rights previously granted to you will be revoked, along with those of the Dragon family. From now on, all operations will be handed over to the Xie family."

Lin Feng's pronouncement was, in effect, a death sentence for the Murong family. Refusing to accept defeat, Elder Murong pinned his last remaining hope on Elder Lin, silently pleading for him to intercede with Lin Feng on their behalf. Regrettably, Elder Lin refused to even look his way.

In the end, they departed the Lin estate in utter dejection. As the details of Lin Feng's stance were relayed through the grapevine, all interested parties were sent into a state of panic—particularly the high-ranking officials who had been implicated in the conspiracy. Terrified, yet not daring to approach Lin Feng directly, they attempted to curry favor through Elder Lin in hopes of securing his pardon.

However, their calculations were destined to fail. Shortly after the departure of the President and his delegation, Elder Lin personally unplugged the household telephone lines and explicitly ordered all family members to power down their communication devices.

As one by one they found themselves completely cut off from the Lin household, a profound sense of despair washed over them. They were consumed by bitter regret for their unbridled greed and seething hatred toward the masterminds who had instigated the entire scheme—foremost among them being the Wang and Murong families.

Meanwhile, upon learning that Future Tech had stripped the Dragon family of its overseas agency rights, Elder Dragon could only let out a silent, bitter laugh. One must swallow the bitter fruit of one's own planting; after all, who told the Dragon family they lacked the foresight and loyalty to stand firmly with the Lin family like the Xie family had done?