Upon learning how many individuals and organizations had staked their entire fortunes on oil futures, Liu Hui immediately foresaw significant headwinds for his electric vehicle rollout plan.

Desheng agreed, saying, "Indeed. Those involved in oil futures speculation are nothing short of super tycoons, formidable figures who wield immense influence in their respective nations or sectors. Some governments are directly participating. If we launch electric vehicles and cause oil to devalue rapidly, it will directly impinge upon their vital interests. Naturally, they will resist fiercely, pouring all their effort into sabotaging and suppressing our EV launch. Once our electric vehicles gain traction, the oil reserves they control will become worthless, and they will lose everything they possess. They absolutely cannot bear such a massive loss."

Liu Hui stated, "This conflict is now unavoidable; we will ultimately find ourselves standing opposed to them. When the time comes for a direct confrontation, it will simply come down to who possesses greater strength."

Desheng confirmed, "That is precisely the case. Take Wei Chao, for example. His 'Dream Investment Company' already holds massive oil futures contracts, yet he remains unsatisfied, aiming to bet his entire net worth on one massive win. He is still frantically trying to borrow capital, hoping to secure even more oil futures orders. This is because the current oil futures price has dipped below twenty dollars a barrel—a low unseen in the last two decades. If Wei Chao can collude with others to sweep up every oil futures contract on the market, they will immediately coordinate market manipulation to artificially inflate oil prices back above one hundred dollars. The chips they acquire cheaply now would then yield them colossal profits exceeding five hundred percent."

Liu Hui sighed, "What a collection of madmen. When profits reach a certain scale, they genuinely drive people to commit the most unbelievable acts. I always thought Wei Chao was relatively level-headed, a man who knew his limits, unlikely to engage in such risky ventures—otherwise, he wouldn't have built the Dream Group to its current colossal size. Yet, faced with such immense potential gain, he has made a reckless move. By misjudging the situation and pouring his entire fortune into the oil futures market, his Dream Group is destined for catastrophic losses in the future. My only hope is that Wei Chao retains some essence of his former self when oil prices inevitably crash, affording him a chance to rise again. After all, we were once friends, and despite some inexplicable misunderstandings between us, I wouldn't wish for the once-dominant Wei Chao to end up utterly destitute."

Liu Hui began to worry for Wei Chao, certain that standing on the wrong side of this conflict would ultimately lead to his downfall. Unexpectedly, Desheng spoke up, "Boss, while you value loyalty and don't wish for the Dream Group's collapse, even without this oil market gamble, that company wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway."

Liu Hui was greatly surprised and asked, "Why do you say Wei Chao's Dream Group won't last much longer?"

Desheng replied, "This brings us back to matters I previously reported to you. I mentioned that Wei Chao is surrounded by various women—the vast majority of whom are with him for his money or power. Some were even deployed as honey traps or spies by others."

Liu Hui nodded, "I am aware of this. Wei Chao is just a philanderer; he actually treats those women quite well."

Desheng continued, "You are right, Boss, but that is precisely where the crux of the problem lies. Anyone with even a sliver of intelligence can see the motives behind those women being with Wei Chao. Yet, Wei Chao is experiencing the 'bystander sees clearly, participant is confused' phenomenon; he genuinely believes those women are sincerely in love with him, seeing himself as incredibly masculine, irresistibly attractive to women who willingly stay by his side regardless of formal commitment. Consequently, to repay these loving women, he has been gradually transferring shares of the Dream Group to them, even putting entire subsidiaries directly under their names."

Liu Hui countered, "I know about this as well. Even though Wei Chao handed over company shares or subsidiaries to those women, he has always remained the largest shareholder of the Dream Group. The shares held by those women pose no real threat to him."

Desheng explained, "Wei Chao was extremely cautious when distributing equity to his women, ensuring that the stakes held by any single woman remained very small. Thus, while those women own shares in the Dream Group, they cannot shake his position as the primary shareholder. However, Wei Chao overlooked one critical factor: if you calculate based on the shares held by any individual woman, his status within the company remains rock-solid and unshakeable. But if you aggregate all the Dream Group shares controlled by these women combined, Wei Chao loses his status as the leading shareholder and becomes the second largest."

Liu Hui asked in astonishment, "How is that possible? To my knowledge, the shares Wei Chao granted his women in the Dream Group never exceeded one percent each. Are you suggesting that Wei Chao now has more than fifty women? Even if the combined shareholdings of those women surpass Wei Chao's, they are in constant competition for his favor—how could they possibly unite to stage a coup against him?"

Desheng sighed, "Boss, you are absolutely correct. Wei Chao now has over sixty women in his circle, and the number of those holding Dream Group shares has reached fifty-six. Can you even visualize what it's like for one man to possess fifty-six women? That is the reality of Wei Chao's life. Although the equity distributed to each woman is less than one percent, the combined stakes of these fifty-six women already exceed fifty-one percent of the Dream Group's shares. Together, they have become the controlling shareholders, while Wei Chao's remaining less-than-forty-nine percent stake renders him the second shareholder. If those fifty-six women were truly locked in mutual competition, that would be one thing. The key issue is an unexpected development that has allowed the equity in their hands to be consolidated and utilized uniformly."

Liu Hui pressed eagerly, "What unexpected development occurred?"

Desheng revealed, "I reported to you last time that a group of unidentified, high-caliber men had appeared around Wei Chao's women. These men were either handsome, erudite, physically robust, or charmingly witty—in short, every conceivable type of perfect man materialized. These perfect men began inserting themselves into the lives of Wei Chao's women, showcasing their charm through various means, and subsequently launching romantic offensives. After passing certain unspoken tests, they actually succeeded in seducing Wei Chao's women into infidelity."

Hearing Desheng's words, Liu Hui instantly recalled the sophisticated, mature 'older sister' figure who always accompanied Wei Chao in Macau, noting the palpable tension between her and Han Junxi from the Korean Shinwha Group. He nodded, "Yes, I remember you mentioning that. Are all these perfect men working together? And did Wei Chao notice absolutely nothing amiss?"

Desheng confirmed, "Boss, your conjecture is correct. Our detailed investigation revealed that these perfect men are indeed working as a unit. They gather periodically to review their successes and failures in seducing Wei Chao's women and to formulate their next enticement plans. As for Wei Chao, his supreme self-confidence in his own charm prevented him from ever considering that his women would betray him. Once, a subordinate tried to warn him about this situation, but under the influence of his women's pillow talk, Wei Chao chose to trust them instead, ultimately firing the subordinate who dared to tell him the truth. After that, no one ever dared tell him the truth again."

Liu Hui frowned, "An organized effort to lure women into affairs? I recall similar attempts using male and female charms against some of our top executives at Starry Sky Group back in the day. However, once these infiltrators got wind that we were onto them, they all fled. Do you think those individuals from that time are connected to the group currently surrounding Wei Chao?"

Desheng replied, "We also suspected a possible connection between those two groups, which is why we redoubled our intelligence gathering efforts, hoping to unmask the mastermind. However, this group is extraordinarily cunning; they have not leaked any indication of who is directing them. Just as we decided to use a shock tactic—forcibly apprehending one of them and using truth serums to extract information—we inadvertently intercepted a piece of intelligence last night, prompting me to rush here to report to you."

Liu Hui asked curiously, "What message did you obtain?"

Desheng stated, "Our surveillance team accidentally intercepted a communication between members of that group, and we distinctly heard them mention 'The Professor's latest directive.'"

Liu Hui was genuinely stunned this time. He stood up and said, "The 'Professor' they mentioned—is it that 'Professor'?"

Desheng confirmed, "Judging by the reverence in their tone when speaking of 'The Professor,' it must be the same 'Professor' we have been tracking. There is likely no other formidable 'Professor' in the world."

Liu Hui frowned, "If the 'Professor' they refer to is the one we've been monitoring, then this entire matter is far more complicated than we thought."

Desheng agreed, "Precisely. If the several 'Professors' we know of are actually the same individual, then this 'Professor' is terrifying. Under this 'Professor's' control, we have already seen a mysterious dream-stealing unit, an impossibly huge ape possessing immense power, and now, an organized team deploying honey traps. None of these elements can be cultivated by an ordinary force. The strength this mysterious 'Professor' has displayed is terrifying, and if he harbors any hidden agendas, he is even more dangerous, especially considering he has targeted our Starry Sky Group twice already."

Liu Hui narrowed his eyes in thought, "This 'Professor' has ambitions far beyond the ordinary; we must remain vigilant. What do you believe is the primary objective of the 'Professor' targeting the Dream Group this time?"

Desheng hypothesized, "The 'Professor's' main goal is certainly to acquire the Dream Group's vast wealth. By deploying a team of attractive men, he has quietly gained control of the Dream Group, completely sidelining Wei Chao and turning him into an unwitting cash cow. That is why I just stated that Wei Chao's Dream Group won't last much longer."

Liu Hui mused, "If the situation is as you describe, the Dream Group certainly cannot survive long. Since the 'Professor' has succeeded, he must have a plan to acquire controlling interest and take complete command of the Dream Group. However, on the surface, the 'Professor' hasn't moved against Wei Chao, allowing the Dream Group to appear stable. This is because Wei Chao continues to generate enormous profits for him. If Wei Chao makes a mistake in management, resulting in huge losses and rendering himself useless, the 'Professor' will certainly strike, ousting Wei Chao to seize control. Wei Chao's gamble on the oil futures rebound has guaranteed his failure, and the Dream Group will suffer a severe blow. Therefore, after Wei Chao's failure, the 'Professor' will reveal himself, and it will be Wei Chao's turn to be ejected from the Dream Group."

Liu Hui and Desheng both recalled Wei Chao's glorious past. It could be said that if Liu Hui had not risen so spectacularly, Wei Chao would have been the most successful man in the world. Yet, even with the variable that was Liu Hui, the Dream Group remained the second-largest conglomerate in human history. No one suspected that beneath the facade of impregnable strength, Wei Chao had long ago lost control of his company, reduced to someone else's money-making machine. Even more tragically for Wei Chao, the women he trusted implicitly proved vulnerable to seduction, leading them all to betray him and saddle him with the greenest of hats.

Recalling Wei Chao's foreseeable tragic future, both Liu Hui and Desheng felt a sense of the cruel irony of fate. While they could have warned Wei Chao about such developments, Liu Hui resolved not to interfere. Apart from the significant role Wei Chao played in his energy strategy shift, Wei Chao's almost fanatical faith in his women—which generated an inexplicable hostility toward anyone who spoke ill of them—was enough to deter Liu Hui from disturbing that sensitive area.

After a moment of silent commiseration for Wei Chao, Desheng spoke again, "Boss, regarding the woman from the mainland you asked us to monitor, Yao Yao, we have information on her."

Liu Hui inquired, "Yao Yao from Wenzhou?"

Desheng nodded, "Yes, that beautiful woman. Four months ago, she stabbed the Vice Mayor of Wenzhou and then vanished without a trace. Only half a month ago, Yao Yao suddenly reappeared in Wenzhou. Before her disappearance, she was utterly defenseless, but upon resurfacing, Yao Yao demonstrated astonishing personal ability. It's as if she experienced a mystical encounter described in Wuxia novels—like being granted immense power by an elder—and transformed into a martial arts master."

Liu Hui inwardly chuckled. She had indeed gained a powerful opportunity, but it wasn't some nameless elder; it was the work of her boss.

"The moment Yao Yao reappeared, she went straight to the home of the Vice Mayor she had stabbed. She murdered him using exceptionally cruel methods: she first castrated him, subjected him to prolonged torment, and only then killed him, turning the entire room into a gruesome scene. Under Yao Yao's inhuman torture, the Vice Mayor managed to emit screams that were heard by the neighbors, who then alerted the police. Upon hearing that something had happened at the Vice Mayor's residence, over a hundred police officers rushed to the scene, attempting to rescue the official and surround Yao Yao."

"But they arrived too late. Not only did Yao Yao kill the Vice Mayor, but she then chose to depart with utter composure. During her exit, Yao Yao engaged in a violent confrontation with the police. In the ensuing clash, Yao Yao killed forty-five officers and severely wounded over sixty others. These officers were completely unable to impede her departure; they could only watch as she calmly walked away. As she left, Yao Yao announced her name and specified that the next target on her list was the Organization Department Head of Wenzhou."

Liu Hui had granted Yao Yao the ability for revenge but hadn't followed up, only instructing Desheng to keep an eye out for any domestic news regarding her. Liu Hui never anticipated that Yao Yao would actually inherit the abilities of the genius from the cultivation plane, and with the aid of the body evolution fluid he provided, she had cultivated formidable martial prowess, managing to escape encirclement by over a hundred police officers with apparent ease.

Liu Hui could somewhat understand Yao Yao's frenzied thirst for vengeance, as her family had once been happy and harmonious. But through the machinations of certain ambitious people, her family was ruined: her husband died shamefully, and she herself was subjected to repeated humiliation by those high-ranking officials. She harbored a burning desire for revenge, which explained her extreme actions once she possessed the means to exact it.

"How did events proceed after that?" Liu Hui asked.

"Just as the police mobilized all their forces around the residence of the Organization Department Head Yao Yao had named, Yao Yao, operating alone, infiltrated the Wenzhou Military District Headquarters and murdered the Deputy Commander of the division. The manner of the Deputy Commander's death was almost identical to that of the Vice Mayor. The only difference was that Yao Yao's technique this time was more refined; the Deputy Commander was unable to issue a distress signal before he died," Desheng reported.

"The Deputy Commander of the military district was also involved?" Liu Hui was aghast, realizing that among those who had once coveted Yao Yao's beauty were high-ranking military officials.

Thanks to the esteemed readers: Wofei for contribution tickets, rewards, and gifted chapters.

Thanks to the esteemed reader: Dahan Guoxing Liu for the reward.

Thanks to the esteemed reader: Qianjun Zhi Shen for the support! RO