Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Mr. Arthur's words were like a bolt from the blue, exploding in my ears. My smile froze on my face, and I asked in disbelief, "Purchase the patent rights? Mr. Arthur, you should know what 'Bright Future' means to us. It is the hard work of all of us!"

Mr. Arthur remained unmoved, still looking at me with his deep blue eyes, and said calmly: "I understand, but business is business. 'Bright Future' has great potential, and FH Group can provide it with the best platform and resources to allow it to go global. Of course, we will also give you generous rewards."

I took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in my heart. Mr. Arthur was clearly trying to take advantage of us! We had worked so hard to cultivate "Bright Future" and put so much effort into it. How could we easily transfer it?

I was about to refuse, but Han Chuan beside me gently held my hand. His face was stern and his tone was firm: "Mr. Arthur, 'Bright Future' is not for sale. We will not give up our hard work. Moreover, we are confident that we can make it better without any external help."

Mr. Arthur looked at us deeply, and did not continue the topic. He just said meaningfully: "I hope you won't regret it."

After Mr. Arthur left, a storm swept the entire planting base. FH Group began to sell similar products at low prices and used its strong channel advantages to frantically grab market share. In just a few months, the "Bright Future" that was originally in short supply became unsalable, and orders melted like snowflakes. The warehouse was full of packaged seeds, but no one was interested.

The planting base was in an unprecedented predicament, with a tight capital chain and the risk of breaking. In order to overcome the difficulties, Hanchuan and I had to make a difficult decision to lay off some employees and drastically cut various expenses.

Looking at the once vibrant base, now shrouded in a cloud of gloom, my heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I could hardly breathe. Do we really have to bow to the FH Group? Is the "bright future" really going to be destroyed in my hands?

Just then, my cell phone rang, and an unfamiliar number flashed on the screen. I hesitated for a moment and answered the call.

"Hello, is this Miss Mu? I have something important to tell you about 'Bright Future', but..." The other party lowered his voice, as if afraid of being heard, "But it is not convenient for me to explain in detail now. Can you come to the Old Place Teahouse in the city? Remember, you must come alone..." The Old Place Teahouse is where Hanchuan and I first met, and it is also a symbol of the secret between us. Who could be waiting for me here? Could it be...

I suppressed my emotions and drove there alone. In the aroma of tea, a gray-haired, vigorous old man sat upright. When he saw me coming, he nodded slightly.

"You are...?" I asked tentatively.

The old man put down his teacup, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes: "I was entrusted by someone to bring you a message. Do you still remember the old gentleman who provided you with the original seeds of 'Bright Future'?"

I was shocked. Could it be the retired gardening master? He is our great benefactor. Without him, there would be no "Bright Future" today! "Do you have any news about him? How is he now?"

"He's fine, but..." The old man paused and lowered his voice, "Recently, someone has been eyeing his research results. His laboratory was broken into and a lot of precious information disappeared. His research was forced to be interrupted."

My heart sank. Could it be that the FH Group did this? They really did everything they could to get a "bright future"!

The old man seemed to see through my thoughts and sighed: "Child, you have to be more careful recently. The FH Group is far more terrible than you think. They..."

Before the old man finished speaking, a young girl ran in hurriedly and said to him in a panic: "Teacher, it's bad, the new variety we cultivated..."

My heart trembled, and a bad premonition came over me. Could it be... Could it be that even the new ally...

"What's wrong? Tell me slowly!" the old man asked calmly.

The girl took a deep breath, her tone trembling slightly: "The new variety we bred was maliciously destroyed. All the experimental data was lost, and..." The girl suddenly paused, her eyes fell on me, and she was hesitant to speak.

The old man noticed something was wrong with the girl, and turned to me and said, "Who is this..."

"I am..." I was about to explain, but the girl suddenly grabbed my hand and said in a hurried tone: "Ms. Mu, you must be careful, they... they..." Before she finished her words, her face suddenly changed, her eyes rolled up, and she fell straight back... "Xiaoyu!" I quickly supported the girl, but was shocked by her scalding body temperature. She was pale, her lips were bloodless, and she lay weakly in my arms, as if she would disappear at any time.

"Teacher, hurry, send him to the hospital!" I shouted anxiously, and the uneasy feeling in my heart grew rapidly like a vine.

The old man panicked and rushed us to the hospital to take the girl. Along the way, my mind was in a mess, with all kinds of terrible thoughts intertwined and almost swallowed me up.

The girl was sent to the emergency room, and the old man and I waited anxiously outside the door. As time passed, my heart sank little by little.

"Jinli," the old man suddenly broke the silence, his cloudy eyes full of worry, "I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "Are you saying that Xiaoyu was also murdered?"

The old man nodded and said solemnly, "The FH Group has gone to extreme lengths to obtain 'Bright Future'. Since they can target their old friend, they will naturally not let go of anyone who poses a threat to them."

I clenched my fists tightly, my nails dug deep into my flesh, but I didn't feel any pain. FH Group, you are really going too far!

At this moment, my cell phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed it was Hanchuan.

"Hey, Hanchuan..." There was a barely perceptible tremor in my voice.

"Lili, I found out something that you would never imagine..." Hanchuan's voice was low and rapid, with a hint of uncontrollable anger, "In order to suppress us, the FH Group actually..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by a noisy voice. I asked anxiously, "Hanchuan, what's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm fine. I'll come find you now and we'll talk when we meet."

After I hung up the phone, my heart sank to the bottom. FH Group, what on earth did you do?

Not long after, Hanchuan arrived at the hospital. He looked gloomy, handed me a document, and said in a cold tone: "Take a look for yourself."

I took the document, quickly glanced through it, and my face turned pale. This document turned out to be evidence that FH Group used unfair means to maliciously manipulate market prices in an attempt to force us into a dead end!

"How dare they..." I gritted my teeth, the flames of anger almost burning me out.

"Lili, what should we do now?" Hanchuan's eyes were bloodshot, obviously he had not slept all night.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Now is not the time to be sad or angry. We must find a way to solve the crisis at hand.

"Although the FH Group is powerful, it is not without flaws." My eyes fell on a line of words on the document, and a bold and crazy plan gradually took shape in my mind, "We can use this to fight them to the death!"

Hanchuan followed my gaze and his expression became serious. "But, this is too risky..."

"I know," I interrupted him, saying firmly, "but we have no way out! Instead of waiting for death, we might as well give it a try!"

Hanchuan was silent. I knew he was weighing the pros and cons. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at me firmly: "Okay, let's fight!" I tightly grasped the documents in my hand, my fingertips turned white, and the veins on the back of my hand were exposed. The despicable means of the FH Group made my heart burn with anger. They would do anything for the sake of profit, and even wanted to force us into a dead end!

"Hanchuan, the means of manipulating market prices recorded in this document are concealed, but not impeccable." I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, and quickly analyzed in my mind, "In order to quickly achieve their goals, they will definitely leave some clues."

"You mean..." Hanchuan's sharp eyes swept across the documents, his brows furrowed, "Use these loopholes to find their flaws?"

I nodded, a trace of determination flashed in my eyes: "The FH Group is very powerful. We have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. The only way is to use public opinion to expose their true colors to the public!"

Hanchuan was silent for a moment. He knew the risks involved. If we were not careful, we would face a catastrophe. But he knew even more clearly that I had a strong will to not give up. Once I made a decision, I would never give up easily.

"Okay, let's give it a try!" Hanchuan's deep eyes flashed with determination, "I will contact the newspaper and relevant departments right away, and I will make the crimes of the FH Group public!"

I held his hand, interlocking our fingers, conveying each other's determination and strength: "FH Group has relied on its wealth and power to bully many of its peers over the years. I believe that many people will be willing to stand up and testify against their crimes!"

We took immediate action, contacted our peers who had been suppressed by the FH Group, compiled the evidence we had collected into a book, and prepared to report it to the media and relevant departments.

However, at this moment, an unexpected person came to the door.

"Hello, I'm Professor Li from the XX Botanical Research Institute. I've heard of you two for a long time." The man was an old man in his fifties, wearing thick glasses, and looked elegant and knowledgeable.

"Hello, Professor Li, I wonder if you..." I was confused, but still politely asked him to sit down.

"I have been paying attention to your planting base and I admire your ideas and technology very much." Professor Li pushed his glasses and said sincerely, "I came here this time to tell you that the conspiracy of the FH Group is far more complicated than you think..."

He lowered his voice and slowly revealed a shocking secret, which made Hanchuan and I feel like we were falling into an ice cellar...