Double evil in the business district

"Who?!" Wu Yong's alert voice echoed in the small room, with a hint of fear.

Xiao Yue's heart skipped a beat, her hand frozen in mid-air. She slowly straightened up and turned to look at the door. Wu Yong stood there warily, a baseball bat tightly gripped in his hand.

"You... why are you back?" Xiao Yue tried hard to keep his tone calm, his brain working fast, thinking about how to deal with the situation.

Wu Yong narrowed his eyes, sizing Xiao Yue up and down. His gaze settled on Shen Ting, who was standing behind her, and instantly filled with hostility. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?" He waved his baseball bat fiercely.

Shen Ting stepped forward and stood in front of Xiao Yue, his tone cold: "We are the police. We received a report that you are hiding prohibited items here."

"Police?" Wu Yong was clearly unconvinced, his eyes flickering. "Will the police pick the lock and get in?"

At the critical moment, Xiao Yue had an idea and took out the fake ID he had prepared from his pocket. He said in a firm tone: "This is our ID. You are suspected of participating in commercial fraud. Now we need to search your residence."

Wu Yong took the ID and examined it carefully, his brow furrowed. The fake ID was so convincing that he couldn't tell the real thing from the fake. Just as he was hesitating, Xiao Yue's phone suddenly rang.

It was Xiao's company calling. Xiao Yue's heart sank, and a sense of foreboding washed over her. She took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Ms. Xiao, this is bad! Our cooperation with several important clients has been suddenly interrupted. The other party claims that we have breached the contract and wants to hold us accountable!" An anxious voice came from the other end of the phone.

Xiao Yue's face changed, and the hand holding the phone trembled slightly. "What's going on? Why did they suddenly breach the contract?"

"We don't know either! They just unilaterally terminated the contract, and..." The other party hesitated, "Also, rumors are spreading around the company that it's your poor investigation, Miss Xiao, that led to this crisis..."

Xiao Yue felt a chill run from her feet to her head. Accountant Chen! He must be behind this! She suppressed her anger and tried to remain calm. "I understand. I'll be right back."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Yue's face was already pale. She looked up at Shen Ting, her eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness. "Shen Ting, I have to go back immediately. Something happened at the company."

Shen Ting also realized the seriousness of the situation. He nodded and whispered, "I'll cover you. You go first."

Xiao Yue gave him a deep look, then turned and ran towards the door. Seeing this, Wu Yong immediately swung his baseball bat to try to stop him, but Shen Ting grabbed hold of him. The two men wrestled, making a dull sound.

Xiao Yue didn't dare to look back. She ran desperately with only one thought in her mind: she must get back to the company as soon as possible to prevent the situation from getting worse.

However, what she didn't know was that behind her, a pair of cold eyes were staring at her closely, with a sinister smile on the corner of his mouth...

Accountant Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the Xiao Building, overlooking the panicked crowd below. He gently twirled a pen in his hand and said in a cold tone, "Xiao Yue, what do you think you can find out? Everything about you is under my control..."

Xiao Yue rushed out of Wu Yong's house, running furiously. Her heart pounded violently in her chest, as if it was about to burst free. The news of the company's misfortune was like a thunderclap, setting her head buzzing. Accountant Chen, that name now loomed in her heart like a venomous snake.

Back at Xiao Enterprise, an atmosphere of panic permeated the company. Employees gathered in groups of two or three, whispering to each other, their gazes occasionally darting towards Xiao Yue with suspicion and dissatisfaction. Xiao Yue's heart sank; Accountant Chen's scheme had begun to work.

"Xiao Yue, you still have the nerve to come back!" A sharp voice pierced the air.

Xiao Yue looked up and saw Manager Li from the marketing department walking towards her aggressively, followed by several employees.

"The company has such a big problem, and it's all because of you! If you hadn't been messing around outside all day, how could we have offended the client and caused the contract to be terminated!"

"Manager Li, things are not what you think..." Xiao Yue tried to explain, but was interrupted by Manager Li.

"It's not what I thought? Now that the facts are in front of us, what else do you have to say? I think you did it on purpose, deliberately destroying the company so that you can profit from it!" Manager Li's tone became more and more sharp, and the employees around him began to echo, and accusations came one after another.

Xiao Yue took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in her heart. "I didn't! Everything I did was for the company, to find out the truth!"

"The truth? What truth? I think you're just trying to shirk responsibility!" Manager Li snorted coldly, "The company has suffered heavy losses. You must give us an explanation!"

Xiao Yue was surrounded by a crowd, feeling like she was suffocating. She knew that it was useless to say anything now. She had to find evidence as soon as possible to prove her innocence. She pushed through the crowd and walked quickly to her office.

However, the office door was locked. Xiao Yue banged on it, but no one answered. She knew this was Accountant Chen's plan. He wanted to isolate her and prevent her from continuing her investigation.

Xiao Yue gritted her teeth and turned to leave the company. She had to find another way. She thought of that small company and the small warehouse in Wu Yong's house. There might be key evidence hidden there.

In the evening, Xiao Yue returned to the small company. She bypassed the security patrol route and sneaked into the warehouse. The warehouse was filled with debris, and the air was filled with the smell of dust. Xiao Yue used the light of a flashlight to carefully search.

Suddenly, her hand touched a cold metal box. Xiao Yue's heart skipped a beat, and she carefully opened the box. Inside was a stack of documents, densely covered with numbers and symbols. Xiao Yue flipped through them quickly, her eyes brightening. These documents might be the key evidence she had been searching for!

At this moment, the door of the warehouse suddenly opened. A staff member walked in with a flashlight in his hand and shone it towards Xiao Yue.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the staff member shouted sternly.

Xiao Yue was startled and quickly stuffed the documents into her arms, turning around and trying to run away. However, the staff had already rushed over and snatched the documents from her hands.

"Give it back to me!" Xiao Yue rushed forward, trying to take the document back.

The two men scuffled, documents scattered all over the floor, and the staff member grabbed Xiao Yue by the hair and threw her to the ground.

"You bitch, how dare you steal!" The staff member roared and kicked Xiao Yue in the abdomen.

Xiao Yue curled up on the ground, groaning in pain. The staff member picked up the documents on the ground and turned to leave the warehouse. Before leaving, he glared at Xiao Yue fiercely and said, "If I see you again next time, you're dead!"

The door of the warehouse was closed again, and Xiao Yue fell to the ground alone, his whole body in pain and his heart filled with despair.

Meanwhile, in the top floor office of Shen Enterprise, Shen Ting was standing in front of the French window, looking down at the night view of the city. He held a document in his hand, his brow furrowed.

Director Ma's recent actions made him feel a little uneasy...

He picked up the phone and dialed a number, "Help me check Director Ma's recent financial transactions..."

The cold cement floor of the warehouse hurt Xiao Yue. She struggled to her feet and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. The pain of having her documents stolen was nothing compared to the despair she felt. She clutched her abdomen and stumbled out of the warehouse, disappearing into the night.

At the top of Shen's Enterprise, Shen Ting put down the phone, his eyes piercing. His assistant's investigation revealed that Director Ma had indeed experienced some unusual capital flows recently. While the amounts were small, they were enough to alert him.

He recalled his several meetings with Xiao Yue. Initially, he had dismissed her as a woman willing to do anything for her family's benefit, but now he began to reevaluate her investigation. Her anxious expression, her resolute tone, and the stolen document, the contents of which he still did not know, all suggested to him that perhaps things were more complicated than they seemed.

Xiao Yue dragged her exhausted body back home. After briefly treating her wounds, she immediately began contacting several companies that had previously worked with the Xiao Group, trying to explain the current situation and restore its reputation. However, all she received from the other end of the line were cold rejections, even a hint of ridicule.

"Ms. Xiao, we understand the difficulties your company is facing, but the impact of this incident is too great. We have to terminate our cooperation. I hope you can understand." The head of a company with which Xiao Yue has cooperated for many years rejected Xiao Yue's request in a cold tone.

"Mr. Wang, our cooperation has always been very pleasant. This incident is just a misunderstanding and we will be able to resolve it soon..." Xiao Yue tried hard, with a hint of pleading in his tone.

"Misunderstanding? Miss Xiao, the entire industry is now rumored to be accusing your company of financial fraud and a broken capital chain. This can't be explained away by a simple misunderstanding." President Wang interrupted her bluntly, "We can't risk the company's future, so I'm sorry."

After the call ended, Xiao Yue slumped in his chair, his eyes empty. Call after call, the results were all the same: Xiao's reputation was in jeopardy, partners were withdrawing their investments, and the company was facing an unprecedented crisis.

Meanwhile, Shen Ting once again reviewed the information Xiao Yue had provided. Though fragmented, it hinted at a larger conspiracy. He realized that Xiao Yue's investigation might have touched upon the core interests of certain individuals, which was why she had been repeatedly thwarted. He picked up the phone and dialed his assistant's number. "Please make an appointment with Xiao Yue. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, in my office."

The next morning, Xiao Yueqiang pulled herself together and went to Shen's Enterprise. In front of the French window in Shen Ting's office, he turned his back to her, overlooking the bustling city.

"Ms. Xiao, please sit down." Shen Ting's voice was low and magnetic.

Xiao Yue sat down opposite him, looking tired. "Mr. Shen, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Shen Ting turned around and looked at Xiao Yue sharply. "I'd like to know some more details about your previous investigation."

Xiao Yue took a deep breath and told Shen Ting in detail about her investigation at the small company and the theft of the documents. She didn't hide any details because she knew that only Shen Ting could help her now.

After Shen Ting finished listening, he was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Ms. Xiao, have you ever thought that the matter you are investigating may be much more complicated than you imagined?"

Xiao Yue's heart tightened, and a sense of unease washed over him. "Mr. Shen, what do you mean..."

Shen Ting walked to the desk, picked up a document and handed it to Xiao Yue, "Take a look at this."

Xiao Yue took the document and quickly glanced through it, her face instantly turning pale. This document was exactly the one she had seen in the small company's warehouse last night!

"This..." Xiao Yue looked at Shen Ting in shock, "How come this document is here with you?"

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Shen Ting's lips. "It seems that our investigations are directed in the same direction." He paused, his eyes becoming serious. "But, have you ever considered that we might be facing a common enemy?"

"You, have known for a long time that I was investigating..." Xiao Yue's voice trembled, and her eyes were fixed on Shen Ting.

"I've been keeping an eye on the Xiao Corporation's developments." Shen Ting didn't directly answer Xiao Yue's question. Instead, he walked to the French window and said meaningfully, "Your father's company seems to be in turmoil lately."

Xiao Yue's heart sank. Shen Ting's "concern" wasn't out of kindness. She realized she was like a chess piece, caught up in a larger game.

"Where did you get this document?" Xiao Yue pointed at the document on the table, trying to keep his voice calm.

"That's not important," Shen Ting turned around, his eyes sharp. "What's important is that we now have a common goal."

"A common goal?" Xiao Yue smiled bitterly. "Mr. Shen, do we really have a common goal? I just want to find out the truth and save my family business."

Shen Ting walked up to her and leaned forward slightly, so close that she could almost feel his breath. "Ms. Xiao, you are too naive. Do you think you are facing just a minor financial crisis? You have touched upon a secret that could overturn the entire business landscape."

Xiao Yue's heart was beating wildly, and Shen Ting's words made her feel suffocated. She looked up at the man in front of her, his deep eyes seemed to see through everything.

"I can help you," Shen Ting said in a low and magnetic voice, "but you also need to help me."

Xiao Yue was silent. She knew that cooperating with Shen Ting was the only way out, but she also understood the dangers of courting disaster.

"I need time to think about it." Xiao Yue finally did not agree.

Shen Ting didn't force her, but simply said, "Time waits for no one, Miss Xiao. How long can your family business last?"

Leaving Shen's Building, Xiao Yue felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. Shen Ting's words kept echoing in her ears, making her feel an unprecedented pressure. She had to speed up, but the investigation into the small company was making no progress, and the crisis of Xiao's enterprise was approaching. How could she break through this predicament?

She went to the small company again, trying to get information from other channels. She found the security guard Wu Baoan who had stopped her and tried to persuade him.

"Master Wu, I know you are just doing your job, but..." Xiao Yue tried to reason with him and appeal to his emotions.

"Ms. Xiao, you don't need to say anything more," Wu Baoan said indifferently, "I don't know anything. I'm just a security guard."

Xiao Yue sighed helplessly. She knew she couldn't get any useful information from Wu Baoan. She turned and left, feeling powerless.

Just when she was about to give up, a familiar figure appeared at the door of the small company. The man was dressed simply, with a slightly hunched figure and carrying a worn briefcase.

Xiao Yue recognized him at a glance. He was an old employee who used to work at Xiao's and had resigned for some reason.

He seemed to have seen Xiao Yue as well, was stunned for a moment, and then walked over quickly... "Miss Xiao, why are you here?"