Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The applause and cheers gradually died down. I looked around and saw that the opening ceremony, which was originally full of joy, was now shrouded in an atmosphere of unease. The crowd began to whisper, and the media's cameras were pointed at the few foreigners who were controlled by the security guards, with flashbulbs flashing non-stop.

Bai Hanchuan walked over to me and whispered, "Are you okay?" I shook my head, held his hand, and gave him a soothing look. At this moment, we must remain calm to properly handle this matter.

"Evacuate the crowd first," I said to Bai Hanchuan. He nodded and immediately arranged for staff to guide tourists out of the central area in an orderly manner and calm everyone down.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I walked up to the foreigners and asked in a deep voice.

One of the tall men sneered and said in stiff Chinese: "It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that you stole our things!"

"Stealing?" I raised my eyebrows. "Please tell me clearly, when did we steal your things?"

"Don't play dumb!" another short and fat man shouted, "The core technology of your base was obviously plagiarized from us!"

I sneered in my heart. Sure enough, these people came for our technology. I was about to speak, but I saw a familiar figure pushing through the crowd and walking towards me.

"Mr. Liu!" I shouted in surprise.

The visitor was none other than my old friend, Mr. Liu, a retired gardening master. He had visited the base many times for guidance and was full of praise for our technology.

"Jinli, don't worry, I'll testify for you!" Mr. Liu walked up to me, pointed at the foreigners, and said indignantly, "What these people said is pure slander! I witnessed with my own eyes the process of your base growing from nothing to something, step by step. Your technology is all independently developed, there is no plagiarism at all!"

"Who are you? What qualifications do you have to speak here?" the tall man asked disdainfully.

"It doesn't matter who I am," Mr. Liu said in a resounding voice, straightening his back. "What's important is that I know the truth! You foreigners, don't even think of making up stories and slandering good people here!"

At this time, there was another commotion in the crowd, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses and with a gentle manner came out. He walked straight to me and introduced himself: "Mr. Mu, hello, I am Professor Li, a botanical expert. I have been following the development of your base and came here today to attend the opening ceremony. Regarding the accusations made by these people just now, I can guarantee with my reputation that your technology is absolutely original!"

As soon as Professor Li finished speaking, the crowd burst into warm applause again. I looked at him gratefully, and my heart was filled with strength. I knew that justice was on our side and we were not alone.

However, the foreigners did not back down because of Mr. Liu and Professor Li's testimony. The tall man sneered, took out a document from his pocket, and threw it in front of me. "Since you don't want to accept our toast, don't blame us for being rude. Here is a letter of accusation against you. If you can't meet our conditions within three days..." He paused, a hint of viciousness flashed in his eyes, "If you meet our conditions, you will be doomed!"

I bent down to pick up the document, and with just a cursory glance, I could sense the malicious intent within. The so-called "conditions" they proposed were simply exorbitant, and they were blatantly trying to steal our core technology!

"Your appetite is too big, isn't it?" I threw the document back at the tall man's feet, and said in a cold tone, "I advise you to give up this idea! Our technology is independently developed, and we will never give it to others!"

"If you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit!" The short and fat man glared at me fiercely, "Don't think you can cover the sky with one hand just because a few people speak up for you! The strength of our company is beyond your imagination!"

"That's right. If you know what's good for you, agree to our conditions immediately. Otherwise..." the tall man echoed, his tone full of threats.

Before I could even open my mouth, Mr. Liu couldn't help but point at the foreigners and scolded them, "You robbers! Back then, you relied on your advanced technology to plunder our resources and suppress our enterprises. Now that we have finally developed, you want to repeat the same old tricks. You are so shameless!"

Professor Li also stood up and said righteously: "Your accusation is completely nonsense and naked unfair competition! We have sufficient evidence to prove that all the technologies of the base are independently developed and have complete intellectual property rights!"

Professor Li's words were so powerful that they caused a stir in the crowd. The media reporters were even more excited and pointed their cameras at the foreigners, asking them for their explanation.

The tall man and the short fat man obviously didn't expect us to get such strong support, and they were a little flustered for a moment. They stammered and tried to explain, but found that they couldn't justify themselves at all.

"Don't get carried away!" the tall man shouted fiercely, "Our company is not to be trifled with. If you persist in your wrongdoings, we will make you pay the price!"

"I'm waiting!" I met his gaze fearlessly, my eyes determined, "I want to see what other tricks you have!"

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to them, the foreigners could only leave in disgrace. The crowd burst into warm applause, everyone was cheering for us and cheering for justice.

However, I didn't feel completely relaxed in my heart. I knew that this was just the calm before the storm. Since these people dared to come to my house so blatantly, it meant that they had a bigger conspiracy behind them.

"Bai Hanchuan," I turned to look at him and said in a low voice, "Go check who these people are from."

He nodded, turned and walked to the outside of the crowd, ready to make a phone call to arrange for someone to investigate.

At this moment, I noticed a young employee standing not far away, looking at me in panic. I felt a little uneasy.

"Xiao Wang, come here." I waved to him.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally came over.

"Mr. Mu, I..." He hesitated to speak, his face full of struggle.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"I..." He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, "I think... I said something wrong..."

"Xiao Wang, don't be anxious, speak slowly." I tried my best to comfort him with a calm tone, but I couldn't help but get nervous inside.

Xiao Wang rubbed his hands nervously, his voice as low as a mosquito's hum: "I...I accidentally let slip at the door of the guesthouse that day that our base was cooperating with the Agricultural University to develop new varieties, and told those foreigners..."

My heart sank suddenly, and a chill ran from my feet to my head. Although the information Xiao Wang revealed was not a core secret, it was enough for them to infer some of our research directions, which was undoubtedly a huge potential risk to the base.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "Xiao Wang, you did the wrong thing. You must keep it a secret in the future. The most important thing now is to tell me everything you know about those foreigners."

Xiao Wang was obviously also frightened. He nodded quickly and recounted in detail his encounters with the foreigners that day.

"They seemed very interested in our new varieties, and kept asking me questions about the yield and disease resistance of the new varieties..." Xiao Wang's voice became smaller and smaller, "I didn't think much about it at the time, so..."

"Okay, I get it." I interrupted him, already having a plan in mind.

It seems that this group of people came prepared. They have long been eyeing our planting base. This "condition" is just a test. Even if we agree, they will not give up.

"Bai Hanchuan," I turned to look at my husband, whose face was also very serious, "You must immediately arrange for personnel to strengthen the security measures inside the base, especially the laboratories and core planting areas. No one can be allowed to sneak in."

Bai Hanchuan nodded and turned to make arrangements.

"Professor Li, Mr. Liu," I looked at the two respected elders again, "I'm afraid this matter is not that simple. I suspect those people will take further actions. I would like to ask you two to help contact the government departments to see if it is possible..."

Before I could finish my words, I was interrupted by a rapid ring of the phone.

"Hello? What? What did you say?!"

The voice on the other end of the phone made my face turn pale instantly.

"I know, I'll be there right away!"

I hung up the phone, grabbed my coat and rushed out without any explanation.

"What happened?" Bai Hanchuan caught up and asked anxiously.

“Something happened,” I hurried my steps, my tone heavy, “The base… the base was broken into…”