Twelve days left.
Shen Xingdu was at home feeding Hammer the high-protein mutant meat cans she had redeemed from the system shop when her phone rang.
It was Shen Hongwei’s assistant.
“Miss Shen, Mr. Shen requests that you come to the company. There are some legal details regarding the previously signed severance-of-relationship agreement that need to be reconfirmed.”
The assistant’s tone was polite, but laced with unquestionable arrogance.
Shen Xingdu paused mid-feed, letting out a cold laugh.
“The agreement is already in effect. Money and goods have been settled. What’s left to confirm?”
“Here’s the thing. Mr. Shen consulted a lawyer and believes the agreement was signed while you were emotionally upset, so it might contain unfair clauses. Also… Shen Group is about to go public, and the securities commission requires a background check on shareholders. You still hold 2% of Shen Group’s original shares, and Mr. Shen wishes to reclaim them.”
So it was all about that 2% stake.
Shen Hongwei had backed out, thinking he’d overpaid five hundred million, and now wanted to trick the shares back to offset debts?
“Want them back?” Shen Xingdu asked casually.
“As long as you sign the transfer, Mr. Shen promises to let bygones be bygones. He’ll even provide a living allowance.”
“Dream on.”
Shen Xingdu hung up immediately.
Shares? Fine.
She opened her laptop and pulled up a number.
It was the private number of Fu Hanshan, chairman of the Fu Consortium, Shen Group’s biggest competitor. Shen Xingdu had memorized it back when she was running errands at Shen Group in her past life.
The call connected.
“Who’s this?” A deep, authoritative voice asked.
“Chairman Fu, I’m Shen Hongwei’s daughter, Shen Xingdu. I have a business proposal for you. 2% of Shen Group’s original shares, plus evidence of tax evasion and falsified financial statements—are you interested?”
Silence on the other end for three seconds, then a soft laugh.
“Interesting. The old fox Shen Hongwei’s daughter… bites back? What do you want?”
“I don’t want a bank transfer—it’s too slow and can be frozen.” Shen Xingdu glanced at the gloomy sky outside.
“I want gold. Physical gold. Seventy percent of market value, in exchange for the 2% shares and evidence.”
Gold was hard currency in the apocalypse. Not as essential as food, but still retained value in early base trades.
“Deal. Meet at the Fu Consortium’s gold exchange in one hour.”
The transaction went extremely smoothly.
Fu Hanshan was efficient and decisive. Though he found it strange that Shen Xingdu demanded so much physical gold, he didn’t care. With the shares and evidence, he could deal a fatal blow to Shen Group at the critical moment of their IPO.
Two hours later,
Shen Xingdu walked out of the gold exchange’s back door, with 200 kilograms of gold bars now safely stored in her space.
Meanwhile, at Shen Group’s top-floor office:
Shen Hongwei stared at the sudden massive sell orders on the stock market and the Fu Consortium’s acquisition announcement, so furious he shattered a priceless purple clay teapot on the floor.
“Ungrateful girl! That ungrateful girl! She actually sold the shares to Fu Hanshan!!”
“Mr. Shen! Bad news! The tax bureau is here—they received a tip and want to audit our accounts!”
Shen Hongwei’s vision went black; he collapsed into his chair.
As for Shen Xingdu, the cause of all this, she was driving along, humming lightly, headed for her next purchasing destination.
“Since we’ve already torn off the mask, I won’t hold back on Shen family assets either.”
Her eyes locked on the map: Shen Group’s East China logistics warehouse.
There, hundreds of billions in supplies had been stockpiled for the “Double Eleven” shopping festival.