Seeing him like this, the rest of the people now also realized that something seemed wrong.
The room was dead silent.
There was only the sound of Antonio's desperate and rapid breathing.
After a long time, someone finally spoke.
"Stop trying to scare us, we are not the cowardly Anton!"
"That's right, do you think you can make us retreat with just a few words? Perhaps Antonio gave you this ridiculous illusion... No one will be fooled by your cheap circus tricks."
"Do you think ships appear just because you say so? Having rejected the cunning Faust, there is absolutely no one who can provide you with that many ships, unless you are a prophetic witch."
"Hahahahaha, perhaps. Legend has it that witches always come from the East."
"......"
They chimed in one after another.
Morale was painstakingly raised again. Antonio, their ally, sat slumped on the floor, not feeling the slightest bit of joy.
For one thing, he had a strong premonition—born from his repeated failures after going against Su Ning... This cold, arrogant, overbearing woman, who could be described with all the ugliest words in the world.
She had never lost.
Never!
Secondly, it came from these people who, just moments ago, were warmly comforting and encouraging him in the manner of his elders.
Now, in an instant, they had changed their faces and were mercilessly belittling him.
"Shut up, you idiots."
Antonio screamed at them frantically, "She has ships, she definitely has ships! Lots and lots of ships! Hahahahahaha, we are all losers, losers! You're all going to die with me."
His sudden madness immediately drew the dissatisfaction of the others.
Some sneered, some were dismissive.
The major shareholder looked at him as if looking at a fly, drawing out his voice in contempt:
"I think the lowly bloodline from the East has polluted your reason. For someone as smart as Fernand to actually give birth to a child like you who speaks for the enemy... only this face of yours is of any use..."
A burst of mocking laughter echoed in the room.
How pitiful.
Su Ning looked at this scene and thought idly.
To want to get involved in the distribution of massive wealth without enough skill and capital is so naive it's pathetic... Thinking of oneself as the one dividing the meat at the table, completely unaware that they are merely the next unspoken dish for the others.
Taikoo Shipping was a behemoth.
Ship management, maintenance support, procurement and sales, commercial operations, public relations management—the complexity of its power structure, the multitude of upstream and downstream involvements, and the messiness of its interest relations were far beyond what a single person could imagine.
Just figuring out the basic situation was a massive undertaking.
Well, fortunately there was Lin Sen.
Su Ning had barely managed to figure out the situation without sacrificing her sleep and hair. For example, she was able to uncover the background of this major shareholder.
A nakedly ambitious speculator.
Describing him as a hyena was not wrong at all. He had quite a few maintenance yards, shipyards, maritime schools, and the like under his control, keeping the profits within his own circle.
Every year, he took orders from Taikoo Shipping.
And that was just a drop in the bucket.
He mainly acted as a broker, connecting countries, enterprises, and individuals who needed transportation with Taikoo Shipping. There were always things that were inconvenient to make public, but happened to be extremely profitable. That was when people like him were needed.
The two sides did not need to interact openly.
This avoided the risks.
He also earned massive commissions... truly a lot. Just recently, for transporting people, weapons, and supplies for Japan, he made at least five figures for every successful deal.
But the human heart is never satisfied.
He wanted to earn even more.
In this attack, Antonio appeared to be the leader, but in reality, he was just a front. The true mastermind was this major shareholder, who had smoothed over all the relationships and pre-allocated the benefits—
Of course, Antonio was excluded from all of it.
Once everything was ready.
They were just waiting to get rid of her, the obstacle. The remaining Antonio was nothing to fear, and they could even snack on him as an after-dinner treat.
Truly despicable and shameless!
As a great person, how could Su Ning just watch these people succeed...
Right at this moment.
The major shareholder, having vented his anger by humiliating Antonio, straightened his cuffs and turned his spearhead toward her.
"Su, stop wasting everyone's time. No one in this country will provide you with ships. Oh, and I must thank you for your arrogance. I did neglect the Faust family and overestimated Antonio's pretty face."
As he spoke, he even revealed a look of chagrin.
The laughter rose again.
Hearing this, what else could Antonio not understand? Because he understood, he was even more desperate. "You... you were using me from the very beginning?"
"You can't say it like that."
The major shareholder spread his hands innocently: "You delivered yourself to our door, no one forced you. Besides, without me, I'm afraid Su would have discovered you and thrown you in jail long ago."
"You should be thanking me."
"Bullshit."
Antonio's heart was pierced and dripping with blood. The pain of being made a fool of made him die all over again. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Su Ning was still calm, still wearing that hateful, arrogant expression like God looking down on everyone.
But his heart slowly calmed down.
"How many ships do you have."
He suddenly blurted out this sentence, leaving everyone confused, including the major shareholder. Then they heard—
"Not that many."
Su Ning's voice contained a smile but could not muster any gentleness. It always made people's hearts run cold, and this time it seemed even more potent. She casually twirled her fountain pen:
"Only worth tens of millions, I suppose. I can't remember the exact number, but no need to rush. The ships arrive at the port today. Soon, your people will come and tell you the exact figure."
Everyone's faces turned deathly pale!
Antonio, on the other hand, burst into loud laughter.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was knocked.
......
Time rewinds to thirty minutes ago.
Port of Lisbon.
This, the largest port in Portugal, handled a massive volume of cargo every day. The slots for ships to dock had to be fought for through connections. Yet this time, miraculously, even by late morning, a huge section of space remained empty.
Some merchants thought there was an advantage to be taken and hurriedly tried to find a way in.
They were stopped by kind-hearted people.
Someone had reserved it!
"That's impossible. Such a large area, for at least two hours now. Are they just leaving it empty waiting for nothing?" A merchant pressed in disbelief. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he gasped in shock.
"It's impossible for us, but for some people, it's just a wave of the hand."
Saying this, he quietly pointed to a group of people ahead.
The lighting wasn't very good.
The merchant narrowed his eyes to look over and was stunned. Why were they all Eastern faces?
Just as he was about to ask, the person next to him suddenly exclaimed, "Ships! The ships are here."
This is a port.
When are there no ships coming? The merchant thought dismissively. Then his gaze shifted slightly... His eyes widened more and more, and he shouted even louder than the previous person: "My God, ships! So many ships!"
On the vast surface of the sea, following the appearance of the first mast, ship after ship revealed itself. They came in fleets, their unified momentum as they sailed this way was incredibly imposing, almost making one's breath stop.
"How can there be so many ships?"
The merchant muttered to himself. As the ships drew closer, they could even see that the leading large vessels actually carried smaller boats, their waterlines running extremely deep.
It was not just him.
By now, everyone on the pier was stunned by the fleet. They gathered in small groups, whispering and discussing the origins of the ships. Someone seemed to realize something—Orientals, ships... the shock on their faces could not be concealed.
No, it couldn't be.
Unfortunately, things in this world rarely go as one hopes.
The ships docked one after another.
The subordinates could not help but look up at Lin Sen. Some faces showed thirty percent worry and seventy percent indignation. The one closest to him whispered, "No matter who he is, we brothers only recognize you, Assistant Lin. Isn't there a saying that those who are not of our kind are sure to harbor different loyalties? This guy must be a foreign devil too, seeing as he didn't even follow the young lady back to the country."
The others nodded in agreement.
Regardless of what petty grievances they usually harbored, or how many times they secretly cursed him as Lin the Skin-flayer, Lin the Cheapskate, or Lin whatever, when facing Su Er and the foreign forces he represented, they tacitly chose to stand behind Lin Sen—
United against the outsider!
Hearing these words, Lin Sen did not look pleased. His expression remained calm. Suddenly, a ship's whistle blew.
Someone was coming down.
Everyone subconsciously held their breath, and the subordinate who had just spoken let his mouth fall wide open.
It was simply because the man was incredibly handsome, as if his creator had poured a lifetime of painstaking effort into crafting him. He appeared to be of mixed heritage, a perfect blend of the ethereal, misty bone structure of the East and the deep, exquisite features of the West.
He practically illuminated the space around him.
The newcomer walked over.
"Hello, I am Su Er, Su as in the Su family," he chuckled softly, emphasizing a certain word.
Perhaps a second passed, perhaps two.
"Hello, I am Lin Sen."
Lin Sen also smiled. "The young lady's assistant. You can call me Assistant Lin."
