Chapter 127: Everyone Has an Account to Settle

As soon as the man with green hair finished speaking, the nearly twenty people surrounding him erupted into a chorus of shouts.

"That's right! Give us justice!"
"We want to survive!"
"Swan Group cannot use its size to bully us common folk!"

Cui Quan felt a sense of inexplicable confusion. What was all this nonsense they were spouting? When had Swan Group ever bullied the weak or become an unscrupulous enterprise that oppressed the people? As for the claims about needing to survive or demanding their health back, those were even more absurd.

To Cui Quan’s knowledge, whether in terms of environmental protection or product quality, Swan Group was in full compliance with all national production regulations. In fact, to build a reputation for high-end quality, the company was exceptionally strict throughout the entire production process regarding environmental and health standards. Cui Quan had once heard Hua Tianyu mention that their expenditure on environmental protection alone was double that of other companies. And yet, this group of people had come here to unfurl banners, accusing them of illegal waste disposal and oppressing the public?

"Can you explain what is going on?" Cui Quan shouted over the cacophony, addressing the green-haired man.

The man sneered at Cui Quan. "What’s going on? Are you blind? Can’t you see for yourself?"

He gestured with his finger toward the woman on the stretcher. "Your Swan Group factory’s sewage polluted the local water source. My wife accidentally drank that contaminated water, and now her whole body is oozing pus, and she even suffered a miscarriage. We went to the doctor a few days ago, and they said she won't last the month!"

As soon as he finished, the crowd’s chanting resumed.

"You are murderers!"
"Pay up!"
"Give us back our health!"

In just a short time, the commotion caused by these twenty people had drawn a crowd at the entrance of the Swan International Building, consisting of both company employees and curious local residents. Meanwhile, Cheng Feng, who should have been maintaining order, was not only allowing bystanders to crowd around the building but was also spreading rumors within the throng.

"Swan International is in debt, so they’ve slashed their environmental protection budget."
"The Swan Group factories are now operating secretly at night, dumping sewage under the cover of darkness."

Seeing someone in a Swan Group security uniform saying these things, the surrounding crowd began to believe the claims.

"I never imagined the Swan Group would be this kind of company!"
"Sigh, why are there so many heartless enterprises these days?"

Many of the company's own employees tried to speak up in defense, but in times like these, the speed at which lies spread far outpaced the truth, and their efforts were negligible. Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control before he could even say a few words, a frustrated Cui Quan had no choice but to execute the second part of Hua Tianyu’s plan.

"Fine. Our President has received the news and is waiting in the conference room. Come inside and talk to her," Cui Quan shouted at the green-haired man.

The man had been waving a steel pipe near Cui Quan, repeatedly coming inches from hitting him, but seeing Cui Quan’s utter lack of fear, he felt somewhat thwarted. Upon hearing that the President of Swan Group was waiting for them in the conference room, however, he was overjoyed. Before coming, he had been told that the President was a stunning beauty known as the "Goddess of Shangjiang." The chance to confront her and get a close look at this legendary figure was exactly what he wanted.

However, he hesitated when he looked back at the crowd gathered at the entrance and the props they had laid out.

"As a mere security guard, I certainly cannot make decisions or provide you with any compensation or promises. The President just said that she will give everyone who came today a satisfactory answer," Cui Quan said, reciting the script Hua Tianyu had prepared for him.

"Everyone who came today will get an answer?" Hearing this, the green-haired man and his cohorts were reinvigorated.

"Let’s go, brothers! Let’s head to the conference room and have a word with the President of Swan Group!" With a shout from their leader, four men hoisted the stretcher and marched into the Swan building, with the rest of the group following closely behind.

Under the watchful eyes of the staff, the group strode arrogantly into the conference room.

Hua Tianyu had known someone was coming to cause trouble the moment Cheng Feng shouted. He had expected Cui Quan to hold out for no more than two minutes, so he was surprised that Cui Quan had actually managed to stall them for nearly twenty minutes. Watching the group file in, followed by Cui Quan and a group of silent security guards, Hua Tianyu sighed inwardly.

Aside from Cui Quan, almost no one in the security department had stepped forward when faced with this situation. Seeing them now—some cowering in the back while only a few, including Cui Quan, held rubber batons to maintain order—Hua Tianyu felt a surge of contempt. If they couldn't even act like men, could they really call themselves security guards?

Today’s incident was the perfect opportunity to test them. They usually talked a big game, but today he would see how they actually performed.

"Is everyone inside?" Hua Tianyu asked as the last guard entered the conference room.

"Everyone is in, Brother Tian!" Cui Quan replied, closing the conference room door behind him.

This was exactly what Hua Tianyu had instructed him to do. The conference room was soundproofed; once the door was shut, no one outside would know what happened within.

"Where is your President?" The green-haired man’s voice rang out as soon as the door closed. He scanned the room, but besides his own people and the woman on the stretcher, there wasn't another woman to be seen. The entire room seemed entirely devoid of female presence! Where was the promised President? Where was the "Goddess of Shangjiang"?

Hua Tianyu had never intended to involve Wei Xueying from the start; Cui Quan’s words were just part of the ruse.

"Heh, you don't..." Hua Tianyu was about to say "you don't deserve to see her," when the conference room door was pushed open. Wei Xueying and Liang Hui walked in one after the other.

As the two beauties entered, the eyes of the hooligans lit up. Wei Xueying’s cold, noble elegance and Liang Hui’s mature, intellectual charm made the thugs wish they could gouge their own eyes out and leave them in the conference room to keep staring. Compared to them, the woman on the stretcher looked like a rotting mess.

How could the news of this group barging through the Swan International building escape the notice of Liang Hui, the Human Resources Manager? And once she knew, Wei Xueying was bound to know as well. Hearing that a group of people had carried a stretcher into the conference room, the two of them had rushed over immediately.

"Hua Tianyu, can you explain what exactly is going on?" Wei Xueying asked the moment she stepped into the room.