Chapter 115 - 116: Tangled Threads – The Price of Leverage
The air in Lin Feng’s private study was thick with unease.
Outside, the storm of Keller’s veiled propaganda was beginning to take effect. Subtle articles had appeared in international cultural journals, questioning the moral implications of "covert digital governance" and "emergent technocratic influence models." The Apex Council hadn’t been named directly, but the intent was clear: isolate Lin Feng through intellectual and moral discreditation.
And within the Apex Council itself, the tremors had begun.
Jia Yuwen—one of the more prominent second-tier founders, previously loyal—had submitted a "critical evaluation memorandum," questioning the democratic balance of influence in the latest policy pivots. Her tone was not openly confrontational, but she had copied over a dozen peers, including several of Keller’s suspected sympathizers.
Lin Feng set the memo aside without emotion.
Instead, his attention was focused on something far less subtle: the return of Tang Xueyin.
"Is this some kind of message?" Riya murmured, leaning beside him on the edge of the wide desk.
"Worse," Lin Feng said quietly. "It’s an opportunity."
They were watching a security feed from the northern private gate of the compound. A sleek, armored MPV had arrived under diplomatic cover. From it stepped a tall woman in a tailored white trench coat, flanked by two guards dressed in a hybrid of Western executive minimalism and subtle East Asian tactical wear.
Tang Xueyin was back in the country.
And she had come alone.
Wen Xinya joined them silently, arms crossed. "You didn’t call her."