But there's another principle: the more you do, the more clues and information you leave behind.
Just like in criminal investigations, a clever criminal might only commit a crime once, and the police might find nothing. But if it happens two or three times, their profile will gradually become clearer, eventually exposing them to the light of day.
Similarly, Lingyan secretly hoped that this was Xia Xiange's scheme, which meant that she would soon be able to catch this cunning fox hiding in the shadows.
Following her own heart, Lingyan used all her connections to investigate.
From the beginning of the Gu family's downfall, to Mr. Fang who intended to lure Gu Zhong into the scheme, to the cause and effect of Gu Zhong's car accident, to the Yang family, and finally to the suspicious individuals who planned to acquire the cemetery land through Maolin Real Estate.
The final answer, however, lies within Yaozhong itself, with the traitor among the insiders.
The mole was an unexpected yet perfectly logical person: Li Lin.
Li Lin devoted himself to the Gu family for over a decade, and even during the Gu family's lowest point, he never betrayed them.
In retrospect, this was not out of loyalty or righteousness, but merely a conservative strategy. The benefits of betrayal were not great enough, so he would simply guard his own little territory and not make any move.
Gu Zhong's presence left him with nowhere to go, and the new boss only used him as a whetstone. Realizing that he would be kicked out of the company sooner or later, Li Lin wavered under the temptation of the Yang family.
However, what ultimately caused the balance in his heart to completely tip, was his daughter, Li Ru.
A spoiled child who is pampered from a young age and doesn't know how to control himself will inevitably cause trouble sooner or later.
Li Ru's troubles were no small matter. In order to get help from the person behind the scenes, Li Lin completely sided with the Yang family.
After the matter was exposed, he should have made plans earlier and cut his losses to survive.
However, greed knows no bounds. He remained anxious, waiting for the shares he held and the huge profits that Yaozhong would make after its IPO.
The shares were a bait deliberately laid out by Gu Zhong; no one could escape it if they made a move. Li Lin just happened to stumble upon it, providing Ling Yan with the final piece of the puzzle for the person designated behind the scenes.
When Lingyan obtained Xia Xiange's true information, she was quite incredulous.
In her imagination, Xia Xiange in this life should have a very high status so that she could hide herself perfectly and stir up trouble with her own hands, making all sorts of plans that could overthrow any business empire.
Who would have thought that the mastermind behind this profound and unpredictable scheme was actually hiding in a small venture capital firm in a third-tier city, where the main business was shell company operations.
The difficulty in finding her wasn't because she was particularly well-hidden, but because Lingyan had been looking in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
She blended into the masses, never standing out from the crowd, never being unique, and never creating any earth-shattering achievements.
Ironically, she was able to so easily ruin Gu Zhong's original life by using the most ordinary means: leveraging his strength and fanning the flames.
If there's anything special about her, it's that her calculations are more meticulous and precise, she spends enough time planning, she's adept at maneuvering, and she has more patience to wait.
Each item, taken individually, is unremarkable, but this is by no means a simple "1+1=2". When put together, it is a business case study worthy of being used in textbooks.
"The Black Fox is not to be underestimated."
As he said this, Gu Zhong looked disgusted, giving the impression of being forced to praise someone he disliked.
Back in the God Realm, Gu Zhong had never liked Xia Xiange, though she probably couldn't explain why.
"It's time to meet up with some old acquaintances. I hope things will go smoothly this time."
Ling Yan carefully folded the documents in her hands, looking as if she was ready for anything.
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Author's Note:
Thank you, Nono, for the landmine! Hugs, kisses, and piggyback rides!
//Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-03-20 22:57:57 and 2022-03-22 23:14:59!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Noelle (1);
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Anonymous (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 114 The Newly Rich CEO and the Fallen Heiress (Part 20)
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There's no need to be so nervous.
Seeing Lingyan's behavior, Gu Zhong couldn't help but chuckle.
"In the small world of the soul, only the power allowed by this world can be maintained, otherwise it will be rejected by the world. Xuanhu is now just an ordinary person, just like you and me."
In the previous world, Gu Zhong returned with the soul of the God of War. Fortunately, that soul had coexisted with the world for countless years and had long been recognized by the world. Only in times of crisis could she use power that did not belong to that world.
The consequences were obvious; she was quickly rejected by the world and could not stay for long.
"Do you know what that strange thing on the black fox is?"
Recalling the various worlds, the unprovoked targeting and scheming, yet the complete strangers, Lingyan sensed something was amiss.
"It's hard for me to describe. This thing is not like a living being, yet it has self-awareness. You can feel its malice from a great distance. What's even harder to understand is that it can also travel through the space-time of souls."
If such abilities could be easily obtained, who knows what chaos would ensue in all the realms of the heavens.
In the original world, since ancient times, only gods and demons have possessed such extraordinary abilities, and these abilities are not without cost.
Just as Lingyan consumed her own soul power in order to find Gu Zhong's remnant soul, this kind of travel cannot be endless.
The principle is exactly the same. What exactly does that strange thing on Xuanhu rely on to achieve time travel, and how does it always happen to appear in the world where Gu Zhong's soul fragment is located? This is really too strange.
"Gu Zhong, even if we find Xia Xiange this time, what then?"
There were too many questions that were hard to understand, so it was better to put them aside for the time being. Lingyan raised a realistic but even more difficult question to answer.
This is an ordinary world, which means that neither side possesses any extraordinary power, but since that thing can attach itself to a divine soul, it is still an extraordinary existence.
It cannot harm them, and they cannot touch it even a fraction of an inch; it is truly a troublesome problem.
"Perhaps we can try to get the answer from the Black Fox."
After rubbing his thumb for a moment, Gu Zhong put away his playful smile and answered seriously.
"Um?"
Lingyan let out a question through her nose.
"We'll give it a try then."
Seeing his lover's blank expression, Gu Zhong smiled but remained silent.
Knowing that she wouldn't have agreed so readily unless she was absolutely certain, Lingyan didn't press the matter further.
There's always a way out. The best course of action now is to confront the problem directly. The most urgent task is to see the true nature of this fox.
To avoid arousing suspicion from Xuanhu and those behind him, thus alerting them and ruining their efforts.
Lingyan thoroughly studied and flexibly applied the enemy's methods. Through some convoluted connections, she found someone to create some minor but difficult-to-resolve troubles for that small venture capital firm, hindering Xuanhu's relentless pursuit of causing them further trouble.
They then used other companies as shells, under the guise of cooperation, to successfully infiltrate the enemy camp without anyone noticing.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, please have some tea first. Our CEO, Mr. Xia, has been quite busy lately, but he'll be back in a bit."
A young woman in a black vintage suit placed two cups of hot tea on a brown, transparent glass coffee table and spoke with a polite, shy smile.
"Thank you, we're not in a hurry."
Lingyan smiled and thanked him, and Gu Zhong nodded in return.
This is a fairly new-looking reception room. The space, less than 20 square meters, is filled with recently popular style elements: black sofas, bookshelves, and tables and chairs, and dark, square decorative items, which reveal a kind of old-fashioned and strict restraint.
They wondered if they had come to the wrong place, since, given the nature of the black fox, it was really not a good match.
"Our company isn't very big, so the setup is a bit simple."
Seeing them frown, the newcomer to the workplace couldn't help but panic and quickly explained, afraid that something as trivial as decoration would ruin a business deal.
After speaking, seeing the two looking at her with a mixture of surprise and a hint of teasing, she felt extremely embarrassed, and her fair face turned bright red.
The sound of high heels stepping in echoed as the door opened.
"President Xia!"
She gasped as if she had seen a savior, looking at her boss with hopeful eyes, wishing he could rescue her from her predicament.
Xia Xiange's gaze swept past the assistant in front of her and landed on the two familiar faces sitting calmly on the sofa. Her pupils contracted involuntarily.
"You can go out now."
She spoke softly, her gaze never leaving the two people.
Upon receiving the instructions, the assistant quickly left the meeting room, thoughtfully closing the dark wooden door behind him.
"Beep beep... Mission target detected. Given the host's current situation, this mission is deemed a failure. Preparing to draw—"
The system in her mind was just as perceptive as she was, and after sensing something unusual, it decisively chose to run away.
Just when Xia Xiange thought she was about to be pushed out of the world again, the alarm suddenly stopped.
"Looks like this guy was seriously injured last time..."
Gu Zhong rubbed her eyes, and a flash of silver light appeared in them.
"Xia Xiange, it's been a long time."
Lingyan stood up, walked up to her, and nodded in greeting.
Xia Xiange in this life has truly undergone a complete transformation compared to before, shedding all her glamorous and pretentious airs.
He wore an inconspicuous dark gray trench coat, and even deliberately wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses to conceal his striking appearance.
Even so, the naturally alluring Xuanhu could not truly blend into the crowd.
"Gentlemen, if I remember correctly, this is our first time meeting, isn't it?"
Unable to sense the system's control in her mind, Xia Xiange's eyes flickered. Knowing that the person in front of her was someone who could contend with the system, she couldn't help but feel happy, and her speech became more cheerful.
"When President Xia made such a grand move to establish the Gu family and Maolin, he must have become quite familiar with us. It wouldn't be too much to say 'long time no see,' would it?"
Both of them stared intently at Xia Xiange's face, trying to find any trace of pretense in her expression, but they found nothing.
"Then, Mr. Ling, you should say it like this: I have long admired your reputation and have heard so much about you."
With a light laugh, Xia Xiange walked to the black leather chair behind the desk, sat down, took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket, and started smoking.
She took off her glasses, and wisps of smoke rose up, blurring the beauty mark at the corner of her eye and her eyes.