A debt of forty million, and Lin Chen actually managed to recover more than thirty-two million—all the shareholders were stunned.

No one had expected these to be recoverable debts, let alone that Lin Chen could reclaim so much.

Now, everyone was thoroughly convinced of Director Lin Chen's capabilities, and with Tan Shan's death, Starlight Real Estate Company had almost become the domain of Lin Chen and Xue Ying.

Under Zhao Xiaowen's management, the Little God Chef Private Kitchen flourished, proudly topping the DY Gourmet List for several weeks in a row.

With Zhou Ying's recommendation, Little God Chef Private Kitchen even became the go-to place for customized meals for many movie stars and high society members.

The Peach Blossom Village base was also a bustling scene, with a straight six-lane road leading directly to the village and rows of neatly arranged two-story villas.

Peach Blossom Village had transformed from a well-known poor village into a famously affluent one.

All of these achievements were thanks to Lin Chen's Starlight Base.

After two months of overtime work, the main construction of Starlight Base was completed.

In the resort area, small bridges and flowing water complemented a dozen uniquely designed villas, surrounded by birdsong and floral fragrances, akin to the Immortal Realm.

In the planting area, various medicinal herbs and vegetables were growing at a rate that far exceeded the norm, continuously supplying the factory and the base.

In the factory area, neat rows of buildings housed roaring machines—Starlight brand cosmetics, slimming tea, and vitality tea had almost become myths in the beauty market.

As soon as they hit the market, they were in such high demand that they became the most coveted cosmetics among young girls.

Just as people were discussing whether Starlight Company could replace Dongmei Group as the market leader in cosmetics, Dongmei Group finally made a powerful move with the launch of its new product, Eastern Island Blossom.

This Eastern Island Blossom instantly became a powerful weapon against Starlight cosmetics; with strong advertising and promotion, it quickly swept across the counters in major stores.

What surprised everyone was that the whitening effect of this product was even comparable to that of Starlight Company's products, and with its brand power, it quickly reclaimed half of the cosmetics market.

Because of this, Tian Zhong was promoted directly to General Manager of Dongmei Group's Asian region.

Meanwhile, Meng Ying was reporting to Lin Chen about Tian Zhong's recent activities.

Lin Chen was quite surprised to find that Tian Zhong was so well-connected; he had footprints in both the underworld and the business world, and was even closely connected with the Zhou family, the leading family among Capital City's four major clans.

"This guy must be up to something," Lin Chen concluded quickly about him.

"What should we do next, Director Lin?" Meng Ying asked.

Lin Chen smiled, "You can come back now, just sit back and watch the show next."

Tian Zhong was very smug at the moment, having obtained the formula without spending a penny, which allowed the company to turn defeat into victory and led to his rapid promotion to General Manager of the Asian region.

Inside a five-star hotel, Tian Zhong lay in bed with a seductively beautiful woman on either side.

"Ding-ling-ling!"

Tian Zhong's mobile phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, a smile appeared on his face, "Wait for me, I'm coming down now."

"You two get out, I've got work to do," Tian Zhong said after hanging up the phone and slapping the two seductive women's buttocks.

"Boss, I'm still sleepy, let me sleep a little longer," one of the women coquettishly said.

Tian Zhong took out his wallet and then threw a stack of Red Bulls on the floor, "You have one minute, take the money and make yourselves scarce."

The two women scrambled to their feet, grabbed their handbags, and ran out.

In a corner of the hotel, one of the women handed a USB drive to Qiao Yong, "Boss, this is what you wanted, and that little gadget you gave me has already been placed in his wallet."

Qiao Yong packed away the USB drive and handed her a dozen Red Bulls and a plane ticket with a smile, "You did well, the money has already been deposited into your account. Here's a ticket to Hawaii, have a good time, and remember, you can't talk to anyone about this."

"Don't worry, boss!" The enchanting woman's face lit up with smiles upon seeing the money and plane ticket.

Half an hour later, Tian Zhong appeared at the hotel entrance in a suit and boarded a Bentley.

No sooner had the Bentley driven away than a Volkswagen quietly followed.

Inside the car, Anna was excited, "Lin Chen, you've really got some skills. We've been looking for this fox for so long, catching only glimpses without ever finding her, and you managed to spot her."

Lin Chen cracked a slight smile, "This time, Old Dragon owes me a favor."

Anna snorted coldly, "Old Dragon has already prepared for you; this is what he asked me to bring to you."

As she spoke, Anna pulled out a badge from her pocket and handed it to Lin Chen.

"What's this?" Lin Chen asked curiously.

"Open it and see for yourself," Anna said with a laugh.

Lin Chen opened the badge and was taken aback, "It reads 'Special Consultant for the Dragon Group of Huaxia,' and there's even a red seal embedded on it."

"Hey, that old man Dragon really doesn't play fair. Helping him out with no pay is one thing, but now he's giving me a consultant's gig?"

Anna almost didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this, "Do you realize what this badge signifies? It's something money can't buy."

"Is that so? Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound too bad. I'll accept it reluctantly," Lin Chen said as he pocketed the badge.

Anna even felt the urge to kick Lin Chen out of the car; he was so nonchalant about receiving such a heaven-defying badge.

"By the way, Lin Chen, this is my partner Sun Xu; from now on, we'll be working with you," Anna said, gesturing to a handsome young man beside her.

"Hello, Brother Chen, please take good care of me in the future," Sun Xu said with a grin, extending his hand.

Looking at the handsome young man before him, Lin Chen had the feeling that Old Dragon had played him again; this youngster was around his own age, how could he possibly be Teacher Tan's master?

Anna smiled upon sensing what Lin Chen was thinking, "Don't be fooled by Sun Xu's youth; he's actually the most skilled hacker in the Dragon Group and the founder of Huaxia's renowned hacker organization 'Red Alliance.'"

Upon hearing 'Red Alliance', Lin Chen began to see the young man in a new light.

Lin Chen had never imagined that his former idol would now be working under him.

At that moment, the Bentley stopped by the riverbank, and Tian Zhong got out of the car to board a large boat moored at the edge of the water.

"They're meeting on the boat! These guys are too cunning. With the boat in the middle of the river surrounded by water, trying to eavesdrop is going to be difficult," Sun Xu frowned.

Anna was unfazed, "Don't worry, we've already placed a bug in his wallet; we can easily listen in on their conversation from up to five kilometers away."

Just then, Sun Xu, who was in charge of the surveillance, changed his expression, "Damn, these guys have set up strong interfering sound waves around them; we're not getting a signal."

"What? Sun Xu, do you have any other methods?" Anna was alarmed upon hearing Sun Xu's words.

If they failed to receive the signal, all their previous efforts would be wasted, and they might even let the cunning fox slip away again.

Sun Xu shook his head helplessly, "The opposition is very professional; this kind of wave cannot be cracked."

However, at that moment, Lin Chen, gazing steadfastly at the boat, spoke emphatically, "There are three people on board, apart from Tian Zhong there's Zhou Tian from the Zhou family, and another person whom I don't recognize."

Anna and Sun Xu were instantly petrified. How did Lin Chen know?