?18: Winning 18th Bid 18: Winning 18th Bid “The indoor temperature was rising, and discontented voices were already heard in the corridor: “What’s going on?

    Is Titan Industries messing with us?

    Wasn’t it supposed to be eight o’clock?

    Why aren’t they here yet?

    Are they planning to have us spend the night?”

    “This floor is too hot; let’s change to another one.” someone suggested, and quite a few people agreed.

    As the crowd was complaining and grumbling, Jin Xin finally walked over, asking in a low voice, “Have you noticed anything?” Of course, he was asking Shen Yue.

    Hai Mingzhu was puzzled.

    “Noticed what?”

    “The central air conditioning is blowing warm air.” Shen Yue replied, “If the central air conditioning on this floor were broken, it would only provide ventilation, not heat.

    Warm air is deliberately supplied.”

    Hai Mingzhu widened her eyes in surprise, saying: “What’s wrong with them?

    It’s stingy enough not to provide cool air, why are they blowing warm air?”

    Jin Xin was unsurprised.

    “I knew they were up to something.”

    “Who’s up to something?” Hai Mingzhu asked in a very low voice.

    It seemed that in just two days with Shen Yue and Jin Xin, she had become much more cautious and quickly realized that something was amiss.

    Shen Yue gestured toward the ceiling with his mouth, Hai Mingzhu was slightly taken aback and then exclaimed: “Could this be… a test?” She suddenly understood what Shen Yue meant – the central air conditioning wasn’t broken, rather, Titan Industries had deliberately changed it to warm air.

    So, what was Titan Industries’ objective?

    While the trio was speaking in hushed tones, a receptionist walked into the conference room followed by four employees carrying several boxes of herbal iced tea.

    Seeing cold beverages, the overheated people in the corridor followed suit.

    Someone angrily said, “Titan Industries is a big company; they need to be punctual.

    It’s already ten past eight, why hasn’t anyone come to meet us yet?”

    Someone felt it might be better to be more polite, asking gently, “Excuse me, when will the person in charge arrive?”

    The receptionist apologized, “I’m really sorry.

    The president was supposed to be here today, but he was unexpectedly delayed.

    Please wait a little longer.

    Here are some cold drinks for those who can’t stand the heat anymore.”

    Upon hearing that President Li would be personally coming, everyone stopped complaining.

    After all, he was the one paying; no one wanted to pick a fight with him.

    Xun Jiasheng laughed heartily, “That such a minor matter requires President Li’s personal attention, we’re really flattered.

    We’re fine with waiting, we can wait as long as necessary!

    Please reassure President Li, Anxin Security can wait as long as need be.”

    Everyone internally cursed Xun Jiasheng for making the first move, but outwardly echoed, “Jiale Security can also wait.

    Fuquan Security can wait…” The crowd took turns mentioning their own companies like a chat group.

    The receptionist replied with a smile, “I’m afraid I can’t remember so many names. Sёar?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But I will do my best to convey your sentiments.”

    People nodded in agreement, forgetting the arrogance of big corporations.

    They privately praised the receptionist’s beauty and professionalism, and they made sure their flattering comments were loud enough for her to hear.

    Hai Mingzhu initially wanted to join in, but seeing Shen Yue and Jin Xin standing there unmoved, she finally curbed her impulse.

    However, when she saw everyone grabbing the drinks, she felt that she shouldn’t pass up the opportunity.

    She briskly went over and picked up three boxes of the drink, passing them to Jin Xin and Shen Yue first.

    When Jin Xin took the beverage, he noticed that Hai Mingzhu wasn’t drinking, and asked, “Aren’t you hot?”

    Hai Mingzhu felt a bit embarrassed; she thought to herself that as a girl she couldn’t drink anything too cold, but how could she say that to a man she barely knew?

    Once her words came out, however, they sounded different, “As your subordinate, I should wait until both of you have had a drink before I do.”

    Seeing Jin Xin’s slightly odd expression, a sudden insight dawned on Hai Mingzhu, “This herbal tea…we shouldn’t drink it.” She spoke up a bit louder and a few people nearby heard her, checked the expiry date on the box of the drink, and muttered, “It hasn’t expired yet.”

    Hai Mingzhu fiercely suppressed her excitement and stopped speaking.

    In this stuffy room, drinking an icy beverage was naturally a very pleasant experience, and those few people paid no more attention to Hai Mingzhu.

    They drank their beverages to the last drop.

    “Is the drink poisoned?” Hai Mingzhu asked in a low voice, but the answer was earth-shattering.

    “I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s poisoned.” Jin Xin murmured, “But it’s very likely there’s something fishy with it.”

    “Something fishy?” Hai Mingzhu was somewhat chilled.

    This ‘something fishy’ seemed very different from what she imagined.

    Within moments, everyone who had drunk the beverage suddenly clutched their stomachs and started grunting.

    Soon after, they couldn’t bear it anymore and rushed out.

    Hai Mingzhu could sense the overpowering smell even through the corridor’s wall.

    After a few minutes, those who had managed to run out began to return, their faces showed no signs of relief, but rather a hint of pain.

    Just as someone was about to go out again, a woman with two security guards walked in.

    The woman was tall, a pair of long, extremely white legs sticking out from under her professional skirt suit, wreaking havoc on the men’s senses.

    Her slightly cold, pale complexion, however, gave men the opposite impression of keeping their distance.

    Her carefully applied professional makeup emphasized her refined competence, but it couldn’t mask the fact that she was past her prime.

    Her eyes and eyebrows held an air of arrogance.

    Experienced men could tell upon meeting her that this woman was genuinely independent, even more so than most men.

    Everyone in the conference room, besides Hai Mingzhu, was male.

    The sight of such an exquisite woman all of a sudden made those holding their stomachs forget their pain momentarily.

    However, the moment she began to speak, their heads started to hurt.

    “Those of you who drank the beverage and visited the restroom, you may leave now.

    I regret to inform you that the bidding assessment has ended, and you did not pass!”

    When those holding their stomachs heard the woman declare the bidding assessment over, someone shouted, “What do you mean by the bidding assessment is over?

    When did it start?”

    Someone questioned, “Who are you?

    What right do you have to make us leave?”

    “She has the right to do so.”

    Wang Xinghai, with his balding head, walked into the meeting room from outside and introduced, “This is Ms.

    Gao Jie, our newly appointed CIO.

    She is in charge of the bidding process!”

    There was a slight uproar among the crowd.

    While they didn’t recognize the woman, many knew Wang Xinghai.

    Some people didn’t even know what a CIO was, they heard of UFOs more often.

    But regardless of whether they understood or not, they couldn’t help defending themselves, “Just for going to the restroom, we failed the test?

    Is this how a big company conducts assessments?”

    “Titan Industries is managing even the heavens and earth, are they also managing when people poop and fart?

    Isn’t this bidding process a bit outrageous?” Someone indignantly said.

    Gao Jie indifferently replied, “There was laxative in the beverage.”

    Most of the people were dumbfounded on the spot.

    Gao Jie coldly said, “There was a problem with the beverage, but many people didn’t notice.

    Titan Industries is looking to hire first-class security experts, not useless people who can’t even protect themselves.

    If you can’t even protect yourself, what use would you be to us?

    To eat meals?

    I hope this clarifies things for you.”