Chapter 148: Discontent of the Parly Chamber of Commerce

If you were to ask about Lu Ye’s intuition,
firstly, he believed that his mother had definitely not betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. There had to be a compelling reason for her disappearance and silence for all these years.
Could his mother be a villain?
His intuition told Lu Ye that was impossible.
Then, was only Chen Xiao ting worthy of suspicion?
Not at all.
Ever since Cheng Qimeng’s fake death all those years ago, Chen Xiao ting had always treated Lu Ye as his own flesh and blood.
Unmarried in his fifties and without any children of his own, he truly looked upon Lu Ye as his own child.
He spoiled him, trusted him, cultivated him, and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities...
Chen Xiao ting had devoted ninety-nine percent of his lifelong energy to his great cause, while the remaining one percent had been given to Lu Ye.
Could a man like that be the mastermind behind the scenes?
His intuition told Lu Ye that was also impossible.
His mother had told him to trust his own intuition.
Therefore, neither his mother nor Chen Xiao ting harbored malicious intentions; they shared the exact same objective!
Suddenly, a thought surfaced in his mind: was there a certain tacit understanding maintained between his master’s teacher and his mother?
That was why Chen Xiao ting had been so evasive and ambiguous all these years, refusing to tell Lu Ye the truth.
Lu Ye thought to himself quietly: Could it be that his master’s teacher had known from the very beginning that his mother was still alive, and that this entire affair was even a script personally arranged by him?
Damn it, wasn't their game of chess playing out on an insanely massive scale?
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Lu Ye suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of awe toward his master’s teacher and his mother.
"Special Envoy, this is my contact information. Furthermore, the Y6 stronghold in Paris is located at No. 303 Xilan Street."
"If you have no other instructions, Ethan will take his leave now."
Lu Ye accepted the small slip of paper handed over by Ethan, nodded, and said, "Alright, you may head back first."
...
Returning to the apartment alone.
With Luo Ying’s assistance, Liu Yiyi had transformed a small room into an intelligence center. Three display screens were lined up on the desk, and she had already plunged headfirst into work.
Meanwhile, Beauty Meng was imparting some simple and practical combat techniques to Lin Zhongze in the gym. Lin Zhongze, an elderly agent who had started down this path late in life, was studying quite diligently.
Chen Xi and Su Qianqian were chatting idly in the bedroom...
Lu Ye sneaked into the room and said, "Mom knows about our operation; she just sent someone to make contact with me."
He briefed Chen Xi on the situation Ethan had just reported to him, and Chen Xi also agreed that the conclusion Lu Ye had ultimately reached was quite reasonable.
Chen Xi tilted her head, thought for a moment, and asked, "Little bro, do you think it's possible that Mom is doing the same thing Sister Luo Ying did back then?"

Lu Ye slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Ah, right!"
Back then, in order to get close to the mastermind behind Riley International, Luo Ying had gone undercover and lurked for a full twelve years, eventually even climbing to the position of CEO.
Could Cheng Qimeng’s objective be the same as hers?
Although Y6’s operational style possessed a certain chivalrous flair, the nature of this organization was, at the end of the day, still a group of spies. Its existence posed a severe threat to any nation.
Moreover, the Queen was not necessarily the highest supreme leader of Y6; there might very well be someone else lurking in the shadows.
Recently, Y6 had been engaged in successive battles with the Hongying Society and the Holy Envoy Group.
The organization's past low-key and mysterious nature was entirely gone, and traces of Y6 members' activities could be found all over the world.
This was likely something Cheng Qimeng orchestrated intentionally; she wanted to continuously escalate the situation until it completely spiraled out of control, thereby forcing the person behind Y6 out into the open.
As the Queen who commanded Y6, Cheng Qimeng could not act too overtly against Y6's interests, or else she would be exposed.
Therefore, she needed Lu Ye to come to Europe and muddy the waters, believing that her son would be able to grasp her intentions. This was the tacit, blood-deep bond between mother and son.
Lu Ye snapped his fingers sharply and smiled, "Sis, I know what to do."
"What will you do?"
Keeping her in suspense without spelling it out, Lu Ye turned his gaze to Su Qianqian and asked, "Wife, do you want Yiren Group to break out of the domestic market and march toward the world?"
Su Qianqian was momentarily stunned, then nodded: "Of course I do!"
"That's settled then. Right now, make a call to notify the domestic headquarters to prepare the relevant documentation and transmit it over in electronic format. We're going to open a branch in France first!"
After pondering it briefly, Chen Xi understood Lu Ye's intent: "Are you planning to use opening an overseas branch for Yiren Group as a pretext to stir up chaos over here?"
Lu Ye nodded: "My elder sister knows me best!"
"Since Mom wants Europe to descend into chaos, let's pour another bucket of oil onto the fire!"
However, Su Qianqian furrowed her brows with deep hesitation and said, "But I have no experience in overseas business. Opening a branch on the other side of the globe so abruptly—if operations don't go well, I'm afraid it could result in massive losses."
Lu Ye laughed, "Rest assured, when have I ever made you lose money?"
"Just focus on getting the branch registered and opened; leave everything else entirely to me!"
Seeing how resolute and confident Lu Ye's words were, Su Qianqian nodded solemnly: "Okay!"
Su Qianqian was now a veritable goddess of wealth; she was certainly not short on cash.
Utilizing a monetary offensive, the registration process for the French branch smoothly sailed through with green lights all the way...
Before the branch even officially opened for business.
Lu Ye invested heavily to hire several advertising teams, launching an overwhelming, carpet-bombing promotional campaign for Yiren Group.
This preemptive strike immediately provoked immense dissatisfaction among many local competing entrepreneurs toward this yet-to-be-opened Yiren Group branch!
Was this not a blatant display of rattling sabers while attempting to steal business right out from under these local enterprises?
...
The Paris Chamber of Commerce.
President Karl sat at the head of the table with a gloomy expression, flanked on both sides of the long conference table by various entrepreneurs belonging to the Paris Chamber of Commerce.

Karl spoke, "Perhaps all of you have already heard about the foreign enterprise named 'Yiren Group' that has suddenly popped up in Paris recently."
Someone immediately responded from below, "Of course we've heard of them. Before their company has even opened its doors, they're already clamoring to wage a price war against us."
Karl nodded and said, "The reason I've summoned everyone here for a meeting today is in the hope that all of us entrepreneurs seated here can join forces to collectively boycott this black sheep that disrupts our economic order. We must drive them out of Paris!"
The Vice President of the Paris Chamber of Commerce immediately raised his hand and spoke, "Indeed, I support the President's proposal!"
The others echoed the sentiment in quick succession: "Right, we should join hands and chase them out of Paris!"
This was a protective measure enacted by the Paris Chamber of Commerce for local businesses, offering a hundred benefits to these entrepreneurs with zero drawbacks; they had absolutely no reason to refuse.
A consensus was reached instantly!
Consequently, Karl announced, "It is said that Yiren Group is scheduled to hold its opening ceremony in three days. When the time comes, we will all attend this opening grand event together and show them a thing or two!"
"Yiren Group has already reeled in quite a few potential clients through their carpet-bombing advertisements. On the day they open, we will snatch every single one of those potential clients away from them!"
The entrepreneurs immediately cheered in response: "Long live the President!"
...
Three days later.
In the most bustling district of Paris, Yiren Group's very first overseas branch was completed.
Su Qianqian had extravagantly shelled out eighty million euros to purchase this twenty-eight-story building, designating it as the branch's corporate headquarters office.
The building had originally belonged to a bankrupt real estate company, and its internal layout and construction fully met Su Qianqian's requirements.
Two decoration teams were transferred over from the domestic Yiren Group headquarters, and within the span of a week, they completely refurbished the building to give it a brand-new appearance, while also procuring a fresh batch of office equipment and supplies.
The branch's employees were likewise selected from within the country, and with salaries and welfare benefits set twenty percent higher than the headquarters, naturally plenty of employees fought for the chance to come.
Over five hundred elite employees were ultimately selected and boarded a chartered flight en masse to Paris to report for duty.
Thus, far from appearing distressed due to being situated in distant Europe, the branch was instead exceptionally bustling.
This opening ceremony displayed utter extravagance and high-profile grandeur.
A-list celebrities from sixteen European nations took turns taking the stage to perform, instantly causing traffic congestion right outside the entrance, leaving passing pedestrians with no choice but to stop and watch.
After all, foreign customs were different; to them, a new company opening might just be a very ordinary, minor affair, and rarely was there ever such a lavish and grand production.
Stumbling upon an opening ceremony rivaling an all-star concert by pure coincidence, they naturally found it quite novel.
However, the people of the Paris Chamber of Commerce probably wouldn't see it that way...
Just as the atmosphere of the opening ceremony was at its peak, a dozen luxury cars suddenly drove up and parked right in front of Yiren Group's branch, prompting even pedestrians to clear a path for the motorcade.
Because they recognized the man sitting in the lead car.
He was the richest man in Paris and concurrently the President of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, Karl!