Homo Sapiens

Modu.

Donghua Group Headquarters.

Listening to the voice on the other end of the line, Wu Heguang’s face turned from ashen to pale, and his body even began to tremble uncontrollably.

It took him a moment to recover. Forcing himself to calm down, he gritted his teeth and asked, ”Is there any way to fix this?”

”Mr. Li said... this set of equipment is too severely damaged. Even if some parts can be salvaged and reused, it’s still…”

Wu Heguang listened to the phone while rubbing his temples, his mind racing.

According to their contract, Kailuo Company had paid a deposit of 98 million US dollars, as well as a payment of 200 million US dollars for a portion of the equipment. The rest of the money had not yet been paid.

If they couldn’t complete the project and secure the final payment on time, it would mean Donghua Group was in breach of contract.

Not only would Kailuo Company refuse to pay the remaining balance, but Donghua Group would also have to pay a penalty of 30% of the total contract price—a sum of 294 million US dollars. On top of that, they would be liable for another 300 million US dollars in project losses and construction delay fees.

Donghua Group might have had a lifeline if they had purchased insurance. However, at the time, the bank had quoted an extremely high premium due to the short contract period. Wu Heguang and the board of directors felt that paying the premium would make the contract unprofitable, so they decided against it.

Now, this compensation, amounting to a staggering 594 million US dollars, had to be shouldered by Donghua Group alone. Combined with the large sum of money they had already invested, it would become a complete write-off.

For Donghua Group, which was already facing a tight cash flow, this was one disaster piling on top of another.

’No! I have to find a way…’ Unwilling to accept defeat, Wu Heguang couldn’t possibly give up on the Donghua Group he had built from scratch.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He quickly asked Kong Zhao Lin on the other end of the line, ”Ask Mr. Li if we can substitute it with the synthetic ammonia production line currently operating at our own company.”

At the testing site, Kong Zhao Lin froze for a second, then, as if grasping a lifeline, he turned to the dejected Li Xinyi and asked urgently:

”Mr. Li, if we use the synthetic ammonia production line from our chemical factory, can it work as a substitute?”

Hearing the question, Li Xinyi furrowed his brow in deep thought before finally shaking his head.

”Our synthetic ammonia production lines have all been in operation for over three years. Even if we replace some parts, a few key components will still be easily detectable as used. It would only work if the client hadn’t specified a brand-new production line.”

Kong Zhao Lin knew perfectly well that Kailuo Company had demanded a brand-new line, but they were out of time. He pressed impatiently,

”Is there any way to replace all the detectable parts? Or use some parts from this half-wrecked production line to swap them out?”

Li Xinyi looked at the other, relatively intact components at the scene, made a quick mental assessment, and nodded cautiously.

”That could work. The problem is we don’t have suitable spare converter tubes for the conversion furnace. Our only option would be to temporarily replace the catalyst and refurbish the converter tubes from the old equipment.”

”Excellent.” Kong Zhao Lin felt like he was about to collapse from relief.

On the other end of the line, Wu Heguang also breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly continued giving instructions over the phone:

”Zhao Lin, I’m giving you full authority. Have the Peng City Chemical Factory cooperate completely. I need you to assemble a production line that can pass inspection within one week. Once the equipment is shipped to the factory in Luzon, we can use the excuse of ’calibration and maintenance’ to replace some of the parts with new ones.”

”Understood. I guarantee it will be done within a week.” Kong Zhao Lin was also well aware of the situation. If they failed to deliver a production line, Donghua Group would face nothing short of bankruptcy and restructuring.

Donghua Group moved swiftly into action.

Kong Zhao Lin personally led a team to the Donghua Chemical Factory in Peng City and ordered them to halt production to cooperate.

Meanwhile, Li Xinyi led a team of engineers and technicians to dismantle the half-wrecked production line and salvage usable parts.

It seemed as though they might just manage to bluff their way through this contract crisis.

But would it really be that simple?

...

That evening, on the Chinese internet.

A video titled ”Explosion at XXXX Factory” spread rapidly across all major platforms.

The video was shot from a close angle and was very clear. Combined with inside information provided by netizens near Peng City, the news of the accident at the Donghua Equipment Manufacturing Factory could no longer be contained.

Donghua Group, still reeling, was completely blindsided by the news.

Soon, someone claiming to be an industry insider revealed that Donghua Group had partnered with a company in Luzon last year to design and manufacture a complete fertilizer production line, speculating that this accident would likely cause a delay in delivery.

It wasn’t until these posts had been circulating online for over five hours that a Donghua Group executive discovered them while browsing the web.

Wu Heguang, who was already at his wit’s end over the accident, turned pale when he heard the news. He reacted instantly. ”Quick, issue a statement immediately to debunk the rumors! Say it was just a minor gas leak and there wasn’t any serious damage.”

”Yes, President!” The secretary, ignoring that it was already eleven o’clock at night, immediately arranged for the public relations department to draft a rebuttal.

Meanwhile, in his office, Wu Heguang’s eyes flickered as he thought for a moment. He was a sharp man and already sensed that something was wrong.

The equipment at the test site could have failed at any time, but it just had to happen at this critical juncture. Then came the intense storm of online discussion. Clearly, someone had their eyes on this batch of equipment, or someone was targeting Donghua Group.

’Who could it be? Could it be him... No, that’s unlikely. That kid only has influence in Hongsawaddy. He has no foundation in the country...’

’Kailuo Company? Did they set up Donghua Group on purpose? Just for the penalty fee? No, that’s not right either. They don’t have any real connections in the country either...’

’Wait a minute...’ A flicker of realization suddenly crossed Wu Heguang’s eyes.

’Could it be that group? The ABCD companies, along with a host of international chemical giants, are suppressing Luzon’s agriculture. They definitely wouldn’t want Luzon to be able to produce its own fertilizer. And those chemical giants have plenty of partners within our country...’

Wu Heguang seemed to have figured something out, but he immediately sighed to himself. The people and powers involved were clearly entities he was furious with but dared not provoke.

All he could do now was try his best to suppress the matter, complete the equipment delivery, and then bluff his way through the rest.

Sure enough, for the next three days, the online buzz about the incident died down.

And on Kailuo Company’s end, they acted as if they knew nothing.

This allowed Wu Heguang to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

But soon, he was caught off guard once again.

「During a video conference call.」

The head of Kailuo Company asked with a grave expression, ”President Wu, I hope you can provide a reasonable explanation for this video. I obtained it from an online information broker.”

Wu Heguang’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression became unnatural.

After he finished watching the video they sent, the excuses he had prepared were stuck in his throat.

Because the video actually showed footage from inside the testing site—it was the very accident from that day. For a moment, Wu Heguang didn’t know how to explain it.

”President Wu! Can you give me an answer now? Will the equipment for the fertilizer plant be delivered on time?”

Wu Heguang could only bite the bullet and reply, ”Mr. Lopez, please rest assured. The vast majority of the equipment was undamaged in the explosion. Our company has spare parts, and we can absolutely deliver on time.”

”Is that so? In that case, you wouldn’t mind if I had a third-party inspection company send someone over to take a look, would you?” Carmen Lopez asked with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Wu Heguang was panicking internally but knew he absolutely couldn’t lose his composure. He smiled and nodded. ”Of course. I will arrange for a vice president to accompany the inspection company’s personnel to the factory as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, Carmen Lopez added with a beaming smile,

”Okay. I’m just concerned about this equipment. After all, it’s tied to Luzon’s strategy for domestic fertilizer production. Mr. Dute is also very concerned about this matter. I wouldn’t want to disappoint him. The repercussions wouldn’t be good, after all.”

Damn it! Wu Heguang was in a complete panic.

He wasn’t an idiot. He naturally understood the subtext. Lopez was telling him, ’I have the backing of an entire country,’ and warning him to carefully weigh the consequences of any deception.