Hao Jianguo went to work with a trembling heart, expecting some special treatment. To his surprise, his treatment seemed unchanged, and everything was as usual. Everyone in the company, from top to bottom, treated him with great respect. He was still the supreme authority in the US Jiangnan, and no one knew he was a spy.
Of course, this was until Hao Jianguo opened his office door and saw someone waiting for him inside.
"Shrek, it's you!" Hao Jianguo exclaimed, trembling with fear. The person before him was none other than the one who had previously taken him to kidnap Bezos's brother, causing Goldman Sachs's plan to fail, and who had been monitoring him. He was the hidden operative Huang He, Boss Huang, had arranged in the US, a private detective answerable only to Huang He.
Even more terrifying was that this private detective commanded an unbridled armed force whose firepower far surpassed that of the US police. Faced with such a person, how could Hao Jianguo not be afraid?
"Hi, Mr. Hao, long time no see. You don't look very well!" Shrek said with a smile.
"Mr. Shrek, are you here to kill me?" Hao Jianguo asked fearfully.
"Ah, we don't kill our own people!" Shrek shook his head.
"Oh!" Hao Jianguo felt a little relieved, but then he thought about it and became even more frightened, because he wasn't one of their own!
"Mr. Hao, rest assured, I haven't received any orders from the boss to kill anyone. In fact, our boss has never had us kill anyone. At most, we find ways to send them to prison. After all, we are all law-abiding citizens, and we wouldn't do anything illegal!" Shrek said earnestly, to which Hao Jianguo could only offer an awkward smile.
"Then why are you here this time..." Hao Jianguo asked cautiously, looking at Shrek.
"I'm here primarily because the boss asked me to speak a few words to you!" Shrek looked at Hao Jianguo and said word by word, "We've known each other for so many years, and you know in your heart how he's treated you. The boss has never mistreated you in any way, yet you've treated the boss and Jiangnan Group like this. This has caused the boss great heartache."
"Therefore, the boss hopes you can still retain a sliver of conscience and make some effort for the future of Jiangnan Group. The boss guarantees that he will not hold a grudge against you in the future. Although you can no longer hold a high position in Jiangnan Group, your identity as a spy will never be exposed to the public. With the achievements and position you've gained at Jiangnan Group, you can easily find a decent job at any company in the future. This is the last thing Jiangnan Group can do for you!"
"Thank you, Boss, Boss!!" Hao Jianguo was so moved that tears and snot streamed down his face. He was completely touched by Huang He's words.
"What does the Boss need me to do? I will spare no effort and will not hesitate!" Hao Jianguo replied immediately.
"Good, you're still a man!" Shrek smiled and continued, "The boss said he estimates that Goldman Sachs, with its greedy nature, won't be so willing to accept this interest exchange. Goldman Sachs' biggest desire is to have it all, to take both the PT business and the vacuum high-speed train business, leaving none for our Jiangnan Group."
"You probably received instructions from that old man, Dr. Cooper, last night, asking you to come to the company today to probe and try to persuade the boss to hand over both businesses, right!" Shrek's words made Hao Jianguo break out in a cold sweat. He hadn't expected Huang He to see through all of Goldman Sachs' actions.
After all, his conversations with the old man had taken place entirely within Goldman Sachs' highly confidential buildings, where no one could possibly eavesdrop. Thus, Huang He had deduced this outcome solely through his understanding of Goldman Sachs.
His boss was truly formidable; no wonder he could discover his spy identity in advance.
However, this also eased Hao Jianguo's mind considerably, as it meant he was still useful to Huang He, and Huang He would not deal with him for the time being.
Furthermore, judging by Huang He's methods, he seemed to have never done anything fatal. Many individuals who had clashed with Jiangnan Group were still prospering.
The most crucial point was that Huang He kept his word. Whether to enemies or his own people, every promise Hao Jianguo had witnessed Huang He make had been fulfilled without exception, and there had never been a case of reneging.
This meant that as long as Huang He promised to let him go, and as long as he completed this task without repercussions, he would be safe. He wouldn't have to worry about Huang He settling scores later and could retire peacefully in the US with the vast sums of money he had earned over the years.
Therefore, Hao Jianguo immediately responded, "Yes, that's right. The old man gave me precisely those orders. I can promise not to carry out that old man's orders, and everything can be treated as if it never happened."
"If you don't carry out the old man's orders, do you think that old man will let us off?" Shrek shook his head. "You must carry out his orders. The boss will call later, and you can have a perfunctory conversation with the boss on the phone. At the same time, you can pretend to have painstakingly gathered intelligence within the company and then hand this intelligence over to that old man!"
After speaking, Shrek took a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to Hao Jianguo.
"What's in here?" Hao Jianguo asked curiously, holding the USB drive.
"This is a video file," Shrek said. "It's a confidential video of Jiangnan Group that you painstakingly obtained."
"Can I take a look?" Hao Jianguo asked, taking the USB drive.
"Of course!" Shrek nodded. Hao Jianguo then plugged the USB drive into his computer. There was only one video file, and it was quite small, about 50MB.
The video was clearly shot on a mobile phone. The person holding the phone was in a large control command center, filled with computers, where neatly uniformed staff were seated.
In the center of the command center was a huge screen, in front of which stood several people. The most conspicuous among them was an old man with white hair. Besides him, Huang He himself was also present.
However, accompanying them was an extremely important figure who could not be directly named. Upon seeing this important figure, Hao Jianguo's legs trembled, and he felt an urge to kneel.
The ambient sound was rather noisy, with a lot of background interference. The only clearly audible element was the voice announcement in the hall, filled with various technical jargon, indicating that the entire vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation train was ready.
Then, a normal magnetic levitation train appeared on the central screen. The train slowly entered a perfectly sealed tunnel, after which the tunnel closed. The vacuum extraction began, and after more than ten minutes of preparation, the screen shifted to display the interior of the pipeline. The magnetic levitation train was seen speeding along the track, followed by cheers from the entire venue, shouting that the experiment was a success.
"This is the test site for the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation train!" Hao Jianguo couldn't help but ask upon seeing this.
"That's right. In fact, the test was successful several months ago. This time, it was just a demonstration for this important guest. After all, it's embarrassing to showcase failed experiments."
"Then this is a highly classified site, so why would they allow someone to film it with a phone?" Hao Jianguo couldn't help but ask again.
"The Madame filmed it!" Shrek said faintly. Then, the person holding the phone was seen walking excitedly towards the important guest, and the video ended.
Well, only when the Madame, holding the phone, was filming would no one intervene.
"Are you asking me to give this video to the old man so he understands that the entire vacuum high-speed rail has been successful?" Hao Jianguo asked, rubbing his nose in confusion. "But what's the point of that? Shouldn't you give me some videos of the vacuum high-speed rail research failing and experiencing serious accidents, so that the old man will give up his idea of taking over the vacuum high-speed rail?"
"We considered that, but we felt it wouldn't be very effective!" Shrek shook his head. "The research and development of everything is full of failures. One or two failure videos won't make Goldman Sachs give up. On the contrary, it would expose our company's poor state, showing that despite investing a lot of money and effort into the vacuum high-speed rail, there haven't been any breakthroughs, and there are failures everywhere. This would indicate the company is in a poor operational state, which might strengthen Goldman Sachs' resolve to seize these technologies!"
"Therefore, we've prepared this video of the experiment's success for Goldman Sachs, making them and the old man believe we are full of confidence and will not be forced to sell our two projects due to Goldman Sachs' pressure!" Hao Jianguo suddenly understood.
"Exactly. Mr. Hao, you also understand that the negotiation process is essentially about confidence. Whoever has more confidence gains the advantage in negotiations."
"And we are indeed full of confidence. These videos are actual footage. In reality, we have already perfected the vacuum high-speed train technology. We just don't want to drag this out with Goldman Sachs any longer, so we're having you give this to Goldman Sachs to make them completely give up, and so the company can adjust its business direction quickly!" Shrek said, leaving the USB drive with Hao Jianguo.
However, before leaving, he added one more sentence: "Mr. Hao, this is the greatest goodwill from the company and the boss towards you. I hope you will not let down the goodwill of the boss and the company. You are, after all, a Chinese person, and you and the company share the same bloodline. Please do not disappoint everyone again. Be a man of integrity, a true Chinese!"