He found the first number at the top of the list and dialed it directly.

BEEP.

The phone had only rung once before it was picked up. A respectful, middle-aged man’s voice immediately came through the receiver:

"Chairman Fang, hello. This is Lu Zhisen, your Executive Vice President. We’ve already arranged the meeting and are ready for you to come and guide us on the next steps for our work."

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi chuckled, then spoke in a somewhat icy tone:

"Heh, President Lu... my hands are tied. I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it over right now."

When Hao Jianren, who was standing in front of him, heard Fang Chenyi’s words, he assumed Fang Chenyi was just calling someone he had a meeting with to let them know his plane couldn’t take off.

A smug look crept onto his face. ’So what if you’re rich, you little punk? This isn’t China!’

Of course, there was no way he could have imagined that this call was to his own group’s top executive—a man whose word was law.

But Lu Zhisen was a sharp man. The moment Fang Chenyi spoke, he immediately guessed that his new boss’s words had a hidden meaning:

"Boss, have you run into some kind of trouble? I am at your service twenty-four hours a day."

Hearing how perceptive the other man was, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction:

"Heh, not bad."

This was clearly heartfelt. Just from Lu Zhisen’s shrewdness, it was clear that he had real ability to have climbed to his current position.

After a brief pause, Fang Chenyi continued directly:

"Here’s the deal. You have the list of our managers here in Paris, right?"

Hao Jianren, who was listening nearby, started to feel a little worried when he heard the man had connections in Paris. But then he thought of his own backer, and that flicker of concern quickly turned back into disdain.

On the other end of the line, Lu Zhisen’s brow furrowed slightly. From that one sentence, he guessed that the manager in Paris must have offended the new boss!

’Those idiots are really courting disaster. The new boss just took over today, and they’re already causing trouble for him. Sigh, they must be tired of living.’

He shook his head helplessly and quickly answered his new boss’s question:

"Chairman Fang, I have the list. I’ll issue a notice right now to recall the person in charge and the main management team there back to the country. We’ll deploy a new management team to take over."

’No matter how they offended the boss, if I just get rid of all of them, he should be satisfied.’

However, Fang Chenyi stopped him:

"They’ll definitely be recalled to the country, but don’t transfer them to other departments at Southern Airlines. Bring them back and launch a thorough investigation. Oh, right. I hear the second-in-command here is decent. Don’t touch him; just promote him to the top spot. Also, I’m giving you five minutes. If my plane still can’t take off in five minutes, then this will be about more than just them."

After saying his piece, Fang Chenyi hung up without waiting for a reply.

On the other end, after the boss hung up on him, Lu Zhisen hurriedly summoned Vice President Wang, who was in charge of coordinating the Paris operations.

The moment he arrived, Lu Zhisen launched into a tirade without any preamble. When Vice President Wang heard that the Paris branch had actually offended the new chairman, his heart sank.

’That damn bastard! He just assured me everything was fine, and now he’s gone and caused a total catastrophe! He actually offended the chairman! If you want to get yourself killed, don’t drag me down with you!’

The situation was urgent. After chewing him out for a bit, Lu Zhisen waved his hand dismissively and told Vice President Wang to contact Paris immediately.

Vice President Wang didn’t dare to delay. He quickly called the cell phone of the manager in Paris. The moment the call connected, before the other person could even speak, Vice President Wang roared furiously:

"What the hell are you doing?! Huh?! If you want to get yourselves killed, don’t drag us down with you! Dammit, I warned you over and over again to be careful since the new chairman just took over. And what do you do? You go and gravely offend him?"

He wanted to curse a few more times, but a sidelong glance at President Lu’s frowning expression made him get straight to the point.

The manager on the other end was stunned by the tirade from his direct superior and stammered,

"P-President Wang, what... what are you talking about? Offended the new chairman? No, I haven’t! I’ve been in the office all day, how could I have offend... eh... wait, don’t tell me the person who just called me was really the new... the new chairman!!"

Hearing that the problem was indeed on their end, Lu Zhisen shot Vice President Wang a harsh glare, snatched the phone from his hand, and said coldly:

"This is Lu Zhisen. I don’t care how you offended the new chairman, but you will solve this problem for me right now. And remember, if you can’t satisfy the new chairman, you’ll be facing a lot more than just packing your bags and getting lost!"

With that, he hung up with a sharp CLICK.

When the manager on the other end heard that commanding voice, his heart sank even further. It was President Lu, the head of the company! The man was famous for being impartial and incorruptible! If his case really landed in Lu Zhisen’s hands, he’d probably spend the rest of his life in prison.

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. He immediately bolted out of his office, dialing Hao Jianren’s number as he sprinted downstairs.

Back with Fang Chenyi, he lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch. There were still two minutes and thirty-seven seconds left of the five minutes he had given them. He shook his head. ’Their efficiency is only so-so, it seems.’

As he was pondering how to overhaul Southern Airlines, Hao Jianren’s phone rang.

Hao Jianren shot Fang Chenyi a vicious glare before plastering on a fawning smile to answer his phone:

"Hey, Boss. Don’t you worry, I’m waiting for the boys to get here. We’ll definitely find that stuff on him. Uh, what? You want me to get on my... my knees for that kid??"

Hao Jianren’s fawning expression vanished after just a few words, replaced by a ghastly pallor. As he spoke, he snuck a glance at the young man standing nearby, feeling worse than if he had swallowed a fly.

"No, Boss, why? He stole our stuff, so why do I have to kneel to him? Isn’t he just some worthless bum?"

On the other end of the line, the manager, who was speeding toward the airport, exploded in anger:

"Bullshit! Worthless bum?! My ass! That’s the fucking new Chairman of Southern Airlines!! You get on your goddamn knees and apologize right now! I’m on my way—I’ll be there in three minutes!"

[To be continued...]