Chapter 223: The Returning President

The moment he heard this, Zhuo Shuqing froze in place.

"What kind of joke are you telling?" Zhuo Shuqing sneered. "The Star Chamber of Commerce razed to the ground? Lin Yan, haven't you woken up yet?"

"Lin Yan! Are you sure?!"

Feng Man gripped the photos tightly, looking at Chen Ling as if she wanted to swallow him whole.

"Editor Feng, do you really believe his nonsense?" Zhuo Shuqing frowned deeply. "Who in Aurora City could raze the Star Chamber of Commerce to the ground? And even if someone did, the commotion would have been known to everyone by now. How could it wait for him to write an article?"

Feng Man didn't speak; she simply handed the photos to Zhuo Shuqing. The latter took one look, and his body jolted violently.

"Where did you get these photos? This... how is this possible?"

The photos clearly showed the devastated interior of the Chamber, twisted buildings, eerie trees, and corpses littering the ground... If not for the Star Chamber of Commerce logos visible everywhere and that towering gate, Zhuo Shuqing would hardly have been able to recognize where this was.

When he went to the Star Chamber of Commerce a week ago, it hadn't looked like this.

"The photos were taken, naturally," Chen Ling said calmly. "Before this, I had been investigating a case involving organ trafficking. I followed the trail and found that the Star Chamber of Commerce was a major suspect. Last night, I intended to sneak in under the cover of darkness, only to find it had already become like this..."

Zhuo Shuqing stared blankly at the photos in his hands, unable to accept the reality, standing as motionless as a statue.

"If it really is as you say, why didn't you go to the Enforcers immediately?" Feng Man stared at Chen Ling, her gaze seemingly trying to see right through him.

Chen Ling smiled and pushed up his half-rimmed glasses, answering slowly:

"If I had let everyone know immediately, other media outlets would inevitably have become our competitors, and we wouldn't have had the advantage in news timeliness... Besides, if it's something everyone knows, how could it be called a 'bombshell'?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire office went quiet.

Zhuo Shuqing looked at Chen Ling with shock, while Feng Man’s eyes flickered with light, wondering what she was thinking.

"Actually, I didn't notify the Enforcers just to buy as much time as possible for the newspaper, so I came over last night to prepare the article... But I didn't expect that after a whole night, no one else had discovered it yet.

It seems heaven is on the side of the *Aurora Daily*, doesn't it?"

Chen Ling shrugged.

Feng Man’s gaze swept over the article once more. She took a deep breath, her tone unprecedentedly solemn. "Lin Yan, you should know the consequences of reporting false news, right?"

"Of course. I guarantee everything in this article is true."

"Good. I’m going to stop today’s printing right now... This headline, the *Aurora Daily* is taking it!" Feng Man walked quickly toward the door.

"Wait! Editor Feng! Doesn't such a big matter need to be verified? What if this guy just made it all up? Wouldn't that be..." Zhuo Shuqing said anxiously.

"Verification is necessary, of course, but time is tight. Let them rush the printing first... If it's verified, we distribute immediately. If the content is fake, we call an emergency stop. I’ll take responsibility for any losses!"

"What about the Enforcers??"

Feng Man suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She was silent for a moment before speaking again: "I will send someone to notify them... but in half an hour."

……

Outside Aurora City.

Bone-chilling winds swept across the desolate land, and a gray sky obscured the light. In this world of absolute silence, a blinding beam of light sped from the distance.

It was a train engraved with mysterious runes. Ancient, intricate characters, like countless tiny crawling insects, wound around the carriages, emitting a faint glow. These lights seemed to carry a certain holy aura, silently dispelling the surrounding calamity and erosion... And beneath the train, the steel tracks were also covered in these mysterious runes.

This was a train capable of traveling through the Gray Realm, connecting the major human territories like blood vessels connecting organs, linking humans amidst disaster.

And at this moment, inside this incredibly precious train, a figure sat by the window, lifting a glass of red wine and taking a gentle sip...

"We should be arriving at Aurora City soon." Yan Shang’s face was full of exhaustion.

"After running around outside for so long, I can finally go back and rest for a while... I wonder how that kid Xishou has been managing the Chamber."

"The young master is naturally intelligent, steady, and reliable. Managing the Chamber certainly won't be a problem." Beside Yan Shang, a man with squinted eyes smiled.

"Forget it. All my sons are the same... they can't accomplish anything, but they're great at ruining things. Relying on them to manage the Chamber well is like hoping I’ll live another twenty years." Yan Shang snorted coldly. "The only one in this family with any business talent was my nephew, but unfortunately..."

"A-Shan’s death is indeed a pity." The squinting man stroked his chin, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes. "If it weren't for that Han Meng from the Third District back then, there would still be someone in the Chamber to share the burden with you, and you wouldn't be so exhausted."

Yan Shang’s brows furrowed slightly. His hand holding the wine glass tightened involuntarily, but after a moment, he slowly relaxed it...

"Forget it, let's not talk about that."

"This time, the cooperation with the two major territories went quite well. In about fifteen days, we can transfer a portion of our industries outside Aurora City. Next, completing the integration in this regard will be the main priority for the Star Chamber of Commerce."

"President, have you really thought this through?" The squinting man’s expression grew solemn. "Cross-territory asset transfer isn't something that can be done easily. Even if we pay a sufficient price to complete the transfer, the Chamber’s assets will shrink by at least four-fifths... Doing this is no different from completely abandoning our foundation in Aurora City."

"I know all of what you're saying, of course."

Yan Shang downed the red wine in his glass and slowly placed it back on the table. "But if we don't leave... are we supposed to be buried along with Aurora City?"

"Is the state of the Aurora Lord... could it really have already..." The squinting man’s brows were locked tight.

Yan Shang didn't answer, but his silence said everything.