Chapter 104: The Haunted Maze

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Chen Jin had always considered himself low-key, at least in his own opinion. Because of this low profile, he quietly slipped through the company’s main entrance, where a group of people had gathered. Yes, he stealthily made his way through the crowd. This method could be simply called: stealth! Well, in reality, it was just boldly squeezing through the crowd and entering the company directly.

The company’s front door was still wide open, guarded by more than a dozen strong security personnel, so there was no worry about delicate reporters rushing in. The guards naturally recognized Chen Jin, so he passed through with ease.

The company building was eight stories high, but its footprint was quite large, and the entire building belonged to their own company. The meeting room was on the sixth floor, though it was unclear if there was any special meaning to that—perhaps the number 666.

The meeting room was already filled with people, but there was still a seat reserved for Chen Jin. He found his place and sat down. Then he listened to the lively chatter as everyone excitedly discussed the company’s plans for the next year, five years, ten years, and even ambitiously stretched to a hundred-year plan.

Chen Jin admired these people—at least their boastful projections were as thick as a large dictionary’s worth of rough drafts. Especially since the one doing all the bragging was his own uncle.

This uncle was not actually a company employee; Chen Jin wasn’t sure how it happened, but today he had come to the company to deliver these empty speeches. From Chen Jin’s perspective, those plans were utterly useless. He seriously suspected that his uncle might be an undercover agent sent by another competitor in Fujian Province.

In such a case, they should first negotiate with the opposing company, discussing how to divide the Fujian market. After all, the two neighboring provinces were not to be underestimated. If the two companies fought internally, wouldn’t that give the rival companies in the neighboring provinces a golden opportunity?

In short, Chen Jin was displeased with his uncle’s proposal and doubted anyone else at the company would be swayed by it either. Looking at every face along the narrow conference table, they were all silent and indifferent, barely paying attention to his uncle. A few did engage with him, but their names were probably already noted by Chen Jin’s parents and would likely be shown the door by the end of the day. Such people, even if free of ulterior motives, simply lacked brains; keeping them around would only hold the company back. It was better to get rid of them early to spare others from their harm—they were a drain on resources.

“Brother-in-law, sister, what do you think of my proposal?” the uncle asked with a smile.

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“Not bad, I’ll take another look later,” Chen Jin’s father replied, feigning profundity.

In truth, he had been daydreaming the entire time and hadn’t listened to a word.

“Brother-in-law, time waits for no one; this is a chance we must not miss. Breaking out of Jiaocheng, out of Fujian Province, and onto the national stage—all hinges on this moment,” the uncle urged anxiously.

“Hmm, yes, I understand. But this is a matter of great importance. We cannot act unilaterally. We must hear the opinions of all company members present. Only when we unify everyone’s views can we pull together as one, truly grow the company strong, break out of Asia, and reach the world,” Chen Jin’s father responded with a well-worn, official-sounding platitude.

Applause erupted immediately after his words.

Under the thunderous clapping, Chen Jin’s uncle scowled and returned to his seat.

Next came another speaker, the deputy general manager of Jinlan Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., who was effectively in charge of managing the company, since the general manager position was held by Chen Jin’s mother.

The importance of this position within the company was obvious. Jinlan Pharmaceuticals was destined to be the mainstay of the Chen Group, so the general manager post would undoubtedly remain with a family member for the time being.

This deputy general manager’s proposal was more reliable, aligning closely with Chen Jin’s own ideas: first negotiate with the same agent in Fujian Province, but he was much more aggressive, suggesting collaboration with companies from other provinces to jointly monopolize the entire southeastern coastal market.

However, such a strategy risked overextending the company’s resources and possibly breaking the funding chain.

Yet he quickly added that six banks had already agreed to increase their corporate loans from three hundred million to one billion after securing the company’s agency for Yuanqi Dan, with potential future increases to ten billion. Therefore, funding was not an issue.

Banks operated this way: as long as the money was in their vaults, it was theirs to lend as they pleased. If profits came, they shared some with depositors; if not, depositors bore the losses. With so many depositors, this was a familiar risk. Suddenly, Chen Jin thought this resembled a different kind of financial scheme...

A final note: this deputy general manager was originally the company’s loan project manager handling relations with the banks.

His proposal instantly earned applause from everyone, as he held the company’s future lifeline. Chen Jin’s parents were also quite pleased with his plan.

Following this, a series of other senior executives took the stage to present their all-night laboriously prepared proposals.

Below, store managers and department heads listened quietly. After a while, the meeting finally adjourned, and these attendees were mainly there just to applaud.

Then came the meal, but only for them—the others went out to hold a press conference.

After lunch, Chen Jin left. Overall, this meeting was just another formality for him, much like before.

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Chen Jin rode his electric scooter, wandering through an alley. After circling twice, he sensed something was wrong.

He was still turning in circles, back to his original spot.

“Am I caught in some kind of ghostly maze?” Chen Jin muttered in confusion.

This alley was one he frequented often; after work, he commonly took this route home. He had never encountered anything like this before.

He tried circling again: at first, it felt like looping, but this time, after just one turn, he returned to the same place. A nearby trash bin confirmed he was back where he started.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, who’s trying to mess with me, Fat Tiger?” Chen Jin shouted loudly across the street.

Pop...

A sound like a soap bubble bursting, and then Chen Jin saw a little girl standing right in front of him.

The girl pouted, looking at him with a face full of grievance.

“...?” What was going on?

“Why would a grown man scare a child?” An older woman hurried over from the alley’s entrance, embracing the girl and soothing her, “Yingying, don’t be afraid, we’re going home now. No more playing tricks on this street, okay?”

Chen Jin stood awkwardly, glancing left and right in the alley.

“They’re not ghosts... then what was just now?”

He thought about getting back on his scooter and riding away.

But as soon as he turned the corner, he found himself back at the same spot again.

That foul-smelling trash bin was still there.

...