After sending Lei Jiade and the others off, Xu Xiangbei couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling. The blessings from Lei Jiade sounded somewhat jarring.

It sounded like I had to endure something. Could these two guys be setting me up?

Monica brought Xu Xiangbei a cup of tea, fragrant Longjing green tea. Earlier, it was this refreshing tea polyphenol that made him sign the appointment documents, and now, savoring the hot tea, Xu Xiangbei wondered if he was too impulsive.

Xu Xiangbei was very familiar with the Thunderbird Group Building. He had been there during a cooperative game development with the Thunderbird Group. Later, he discovered Lei Ziming’s secret room in the building, found the computer matrix in the basement, and Lei Zhenrong’s pharmaceutical lab.

It seemed his fate with Thunderbird Group was long predestined, inseparable and intertwined. Now he had become the new president of Thunderbird Group.

Through the glass curtain wall, looking at the cars and streets below that seemed toy-sized, he felt a sense of gaming with life, making everything feel somewhat unreal.

This colossal structure, once a business cruiser, now had become near-death scrap metal, which had a direct connection with Xu Xiangbei.

It was Xu Xiangbei who had its throat in a stranglehold, sending it to execution, and now Xu Xiangbei was to come down in the role of a savior to save its battered soul.

The company leadership had changed hands several times, causing unrest among people. Many employees had left, making the building unusually quiet. Many offices appeared empty, and walking among them felt like the company building had become a hollow giant.

Several key middle managers were doing the work of ordinary employees. Most of their staff had already left. They hadn’t left not because they didn’t want to, but because they held some hard-to-sell employee shares and had a final bit of passion and illusion for the company.

The news of Xu Xiangbei becoming the new president spread quietly.

The company employees weren’t surprised. In an era where everything changes swiftly, anything was possible.

The environment changes people, which had been fully reflected in the Thunderbird Group employees. After experiencing so much, their nerves went from fragile and easily broken at first to resilient and unfazed.

Their reaction to such news, from initial curiosity and heated discussions, had now turned to mere surprise, quickly restoring calm, as if nothing had happened.

When Lei Jiade introduced Xu Xiangbei to the middle managers, their expressions resembled those watching a vendor shouting about cheap fruit, with no more emotion, and their eyes would occasionally dart lifelessly across Xu Xiangbei’s face.

Thud, a neatly printed financial report was thrown onto Xu Xiangbei’s office desk.

Financial Manager Qian, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses, spoke sharply about the financial situation with Xu Xiangbei, concluding with just two words: "need money."

"Employees haven’t been paid for two months, a billion in loans is due, and there’s twenty million in unpaid supplier bills. President Xu, please help solve this."

Xu Xiangbei felt a chill run down his spine, finally understanding why Zhao Changheng left the office so righteously, saying whoever wants to be president can do it, prepare for bankruptcy.

This was a massive pit. Shen Congru and Lei Jiade pushed him into this gigantic pit.

Xu Xiangbei, containing his temper, asked Manager Qian, "Where’s the money? Isn’t Thunderbird Group a company valued at several billions? Where’s the money?"

Manager Qian’s delicately made-up face flashed a cold smile, tossing a detail ledger as thick as a book to Xu Xiangbei: "President Xu, after you read this ledger, you’ll know where the money went."

This wasn’t an entertaining fantasy novel with a vibrant plot, but a ledger full of dry, cold numbers, mostly expense lists.

Only after flipping to the last page of the ledger did Xu Xiangbei realize that the money in Thunderbird Group had been almost entirely spent by Lei Zhenrong and his son.

The medical sterile room Lei Zhenrong built in the basement, researching his immortality drug, cost two billion in value. Lei Ziming’s secret room and all his toys cost several billion, with an armored vehicle alone costing tens of millions.

What shocked Xu Xiangbei the most was that Lei Ziming had even bought a satellite worth ten billion, ostensibly for developing positioning chip research, which was actually useless.

Xu Xiangbei watched, nearly vomiting blood, understanding why there was not a single cent left in the company account, it was all spent by Lei Zhenrong and his son.

Xu Xiangbei tossed the thick ledger onto Shen Congru’s desk, staring at him with a gaze intent on mutual destruction.

"You’re setting me up, talking it up, wanting me to be this president, you want to push me into a fire pit. This bird company is heading for bankruptcy."

Shen Congru gave an awkward smile, "Brother, this is called ’born from death.’ If we don’t push you into the fire pit, who will save Thunderbird Group?"

Xu Xiangbei shouted at Shen Congru, "Why would I be able to save Thunderbird Group, no wonder Zhao Changheng didn’t want the job, turns out the water here is so deep, I’m also ready to resign."

Shen Congru, being yelled at by Xu Xiangbei, broke out in a cold sweat and his face turned somewhat pale.

He signaled Xu Xiangbei to sit down and personally poured him a glass of grape wine with ice cubes.

He said calmly, "Thunderbird Group is at the brink of life and death. Any mistake will lead to bankruptcy. So why don’t we join forces to pull it back from the cliff? You don’t have to worry about this one billion loan; it’s a commercial bank loan. If you owe money, you’re the master. We can defer interest. Don’t you have some money at hand? Invest a little to tide over the crisis. Once the company’s business is on track and generates revenue, naturally, there’ll be money."

Shaking the glass of amber grape wine, Xu Xiangbei took a sip of the cool wine, his anger subsiding a bit.

Xu Xiangbei sneered disdainfully, "So this is where you’ve been waiting for me, wanting me to invest money. It seems you’ve long been eyeing the billions I have in your bank, you businessmen are really too shrewd, wanting me to fill this bottomless pit that is Thunderbird Group, making me the savior."

Shen Congru’s face flushed all the way to his neck. He sighed lightly, "Actually, you can’t blame it all on me, it’s you who insisted on being a shareholder. Who would have thought Thunderbird Group would end up like this? If it collapses, not only will our bank not recover the money, but a thousand Thunderbird Group employees will face unemployment, the families of these employees are waiting for food. Initially, we wanted Zhao Changheng to be president to make him invest money, but you insisted on being a shareholder. We figured, we might as well make you the president."