Chairman Li Ming stood before the extravagant gift from Chatchawin the sculpture titled “The Celestial Peacock of the Four Realms.” It symbolized prosperity and the ruthless expansion of power. The bird’s body was carved with intricate Thai Kanok patterns, curving like the prow of a Southern Kolae boat. Its fanned tail shimmered in Benjarong porcelain, shifting from deep azure to vivid emerald, edged with delicate gold. A swaying Lanna floral crown sat atop its head, all perched upon a rose-sandstone base carved with the rolling waves of the Mekong River.
He ran his fingers slowly over the golden wings, his touch almost tender.
A soft knock broke the silence.
Rosé entered, bowing with mechanical precision before delivering her report in a calm, clinical tone.
“The board reports… that Mr. Wenjie has greatly impressed Chatchawin. In return, Chatchawin has proposed forming an alliance the HEC, the Hydrogen Energy Cartel to monopolize the clean energy market across Asia.”
Li Ming’s hand froze on the peacock’s wing. A slow, mocking smile crept across his lips.
“Hmph… That so-called Godfather is far more ambitious than I anticipated.”
Rosé continued without emotion. “No one on the board dared to speak. Even Gawin tried to stop him, but it seems Wenjie is fully committed to pushing HEC forward.”
Li Ming walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at Chatchawin’s convoy of luxury cars gliding out of the building.
“How long has it been…” he murmured, voice low and dangerous, “since someone actually made me want to step down into the arena and play?”
He turned around, his eyes gleaming with dark excitement.
“Contact his secretary immediately. Tell them Chairman Li Ming wishes to host a private welcoming banquet this evening… in honor of his grand arrival.”
Li Ming cast one last sharp, predatory glance at the peacock sculpture.
“Let’s see just how far this reckless ambition can take him.”
Mi Ling snatched a ceramic vase and hurled it violently to the floor. The sound of shattering porcelain echoed like gunfire. She then began tearing everything off the shelves picture frames, perfume bottles, documents flinging them wildly across the room.
Rongru opened the door and froze, her face turning deathly pale at the destruction.
“Wenjie… that bastard! How dare he humiliate me in front of everyone!”
Mi Ling gasped for breath, her lips trembling with fury, eyes wild as she stared at the broken glass covering the floor.
“A man like him deserves the most miserable end imaginable… I will crush his head into the dirt!”
Rongru stood motionless like a wax figure, her gaze fixed on her own shoes, too terrified to look up.
Mi Ling paced the ruined room like a caged animal before suddenly stopping. She whipped around, fixing her secretary with a gaze that could draw blood.
“Rongru…”
The secretary flinched violently. “Y-yes, Miss Mi Ling?”
Mi Ling stepped closer, slowly, deliberately, her eyes never blinking.
“Tell me… how should I destroy him?”
Rongru’s fingers trembled. She avoided Mi Ling’s gaze, her voice barely a whisper.
“Answering that… might not be in your best interest, Ma’am.”
Mi Ling’s voice rose into a shriek. “Are you my secretary or not?! Answer me! Are you more afraid of Wenjie than me?!”
“No, Ma’am… I would never…”
“Then tell me! How do I destroy that bastard?!”
Rongru bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. Cornered and terrified, she finally whispered:
“If it were me… I would corner him. I’d anonymously tip off the authorities that Wenjie is forming a Hydrogen Cartel behind the government’s back.”
Mi Ling froze. Her eyes widened, then slowly curved into a dark, terrifying smile.
“Of course… he wanted to play God.”
Rongru felt her stomach drop. She had just handed over a weapon she knew could destroy them all.
“But Ma’am… if you do that, CK Group itself will face a federal investigation,” she warned, voice shaking.
“An investigation?” Mi Ling let out a low, chilling laugh. “Even better. It will drag that bastard straight out of the Chairman candidacy.”
She stepped over the broken glass, her heels crunching loudly.
“Let him build his precious little cartel first… Then I’ll destroy him when he’s at his most arrogant.”
Mi Ling stopped in front of the large window, staring out at the glittering skyline with cold satisfaction.
“People are most careful when they’re losing… but most careless when they think they’ve already won. When that moment comes… I won’t give him even a second to beg for his life.”
Her voice dropped to a venomous whisper.
“And in the end… I will be the first woman to sit as Chairman of CK Group. And every single one of them… will have no choice but to kneel before me.”
The resentment had hardened into something monstrous. The old Mi Ling was gone. There was only one path left.
Victory no matter the cost.
Ohm and Pheuak worked frantically, loading trays of food and catering equipment into the back of the pickup truck, racing against time. The sudden order to set up a banquet booth for Board Member Feng had come without warning, but Ohm hadn’t turned it down.
He needed an excuse to get inside CK Group anyway to sniff out the rot festering within its ranks.
“All set, Boss! Everything on the checklist is here!” Pheuak called out, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Ohm nodded, slung the heavy backpack over his shoulder, and climbed into the front seat, squeezing in beside Pheuak.
The middle-aged Chinese driver sat motionless behind the wheel, his eyes shadowed under the brim of an old, faded cap.
“Driver, we’re ready. Let’s move,” Ohm said curtly.
The driver only grunted in reply. But as he pressed the clutch and shifted into gear, his gaze flicked sharply to the rearview mirror.
In the reflection, he locked eyes with someone waiting silently in a car parked behind them.
He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
The prey had just walked straight into the trap.