dognovel Chapter 13 The Counterattack of Unscrupulous Capital
Chapter 13 The Counterattack of Unscrupulous Capital
At 5:30 a.m., Huaguo Mountain was still shrouded in a thin mist.
Lin Chen was awakened by a series of urgent phone rings. He picked up his phone and glanced at the caller ID; it was Xiao Zhang, who had been on night shift the previous night.
"Mr. Lin, something's happened." Xiao Zhang's voice was panicked. "The surveillance cameras outside the south gate of the scenic area captured a group of people who drove up three vans. There were about a dozen people who got out and were carrying boxes up the mountain. They didn't look like tourists."
Lin Chen was instantly wide awake, and he sat up in bed: "When did this happen?"
"Twenty minutes ago, I called Uncle Wang. He said that no one usually walks on that road. It's a dirt road used for logging in the past, leading to an abandoned viewing platform halfway up the mountain."
"I understand. Don't tell anyone, I'll be there right away."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen grabbed a jacket and ran outside. He was staying in a temporary prefab house near the entrance of the scenic area; the mountain gate was just around the corner. He called Dasheng as he ran, and it was answered after two rings.
"Where are you?"
"Up in the Water Curtain Cave," Sun Wukong's voice carried the scent of the morning breeze, "watching the sunrise. What's up?"
"Someone's sneaked up the mountain, a dozen or so of them, acting all suspicious." Lin Chen said, panting. "Don't move, I'm coming to find you."
"No need." Sun Wukong's voice suddenly turned cold. "I've already seen it."
Lin Chen was taken aback: "What did you see?"
"Someone's tampered with that abandoned cableway to the south," Sun Wukong paused, "They've cut the cable car's steel cables."
Lin Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The cable car line was just completed before the scenic area's trial operation. Although it's not the main mode of transportation, the section halfway up the mountain is a popular alternative route for tourists, especially families with elderly members or children. If the steel cable is cut, the cable car could suddenly plummet halfway down.
A chill ran down his spine.
"Don't move, wait for me." Lin Chen gritted his teeth and sped up. "Damn it, these guys are going to kill someone."
Half an hour later, when Lin Chen climbed up the south slope, panting, Sun Wukong was squatting on a large rock, holding a broken piece of steel cable in his hand, his expression as cold as ice.
Lin Chen leaned closer for a look. The cut was clean and sharp, clearly indicating it had been cut with professional tools. Moreover, the cut was strategically placed; it wasn't a direct severance in the middle, but rather tampered with near a critical load-bearing node on the cable car track. This way, the cable car wouldn't break immediately during operation, but would only snap when the load reached its limit. In the end, it would be impossible to determine if it was sabotage; it would simply be attributed to equipment aging or a quality issue.
"Professional," Lin Chen sneered. "This isn't something an ordinary thug could do."
Sun Wukong threw the broken rope on the ground, looked up at him, and said, "You're right, he's not a petty thug. Last night I took a walk around this mountain and noticed a few more cars at the foot of the mountain. The people in the cars were acting suspiciously, taking pictures everywhere. I didn't think much of it at first, but now that I think about it, they're probably scouting the area."
Lin Chen took out his phone, took a screenshot of the footage captured by the surveillance camera at the south gate, and then found the anonymous tip he had received yesterday. He had initially thought it was spam, but now it seemed that someone had indeed tipped him off.
The message was simple: "Dragon Group has hired a 'paranormal investigation team' specifically targeting Flower Fruit Mountain. Be careful of facility damage."
"Longteng." Lin Chen's voice carried an unusual calm as he uttered the name. "They're the real estate group that tried to seize the land in Huaguo Mountain. They didn't give up after you drove them off the mountain."
Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes: "What are they trying to do?"
"First they ruin our reputation, then they force us to close down." Lin Chen squatted down, carefully examining the broken rope. His expression was calm, but his tone was menacing. "Think about it, what if they hired people to pose as tourists, create some 'paranormal events' in the scenic area, film them, and post them online?"
Sun Wukong frowned: "What supernatural event?"
"For example, hearing crying in the mountains in the middle of the night, seeing white shadows floating around, or a cable car suddenly breaking and a tourist falling to their death." Lin Chen stood up, dusting off his hands. "Their first step is to create panic and deter tourists from coming. If the rumors spread enough, the authorities will intervene and investigate, forcing the scenic area to suspend operations for rectification. Once we close down, they will have the opportunity to acquire land again."
Sun Wukong fell silent.
He had lived for over a thousand years and witnessed the wickedness of human nature, but that was the intrigue and power struggles among the gods in Heaven. This was the first time he had ever seen such methods on Earth—not a direct confrontation, but a stab in the back, and to innocent tourists no less.
"Lin Chen," he suddenly spoke, his voice deeper than before, "you're right, they want you to lose your job."
Lin Chen paused for a moment, then laughed: "You're only realizing that now?"
Sun Wukong shook his head, a cold glint in his eyes: "It's not about making me unemployed, it's about making you unemployed. You're the boss, you'll be the first to go bankrupt if the scenic area closes down. But I'm different, I'm the Monkey King, I can lead my brothers back to the mountains to continue being wild monkeys."
"so what?"
"So you're their target." Sun Wukong stood up, patted Lin Chen's shoulder with a light but serious pat. "Although I don't understand your human business acumen, I know that these people aren't after Flower Fruit Mountain, they're after you."
Lin Chen was stunned for a moment by his words.
He had only known Sun Wukong for a few weeks, but the monkey's attitude towards him had changed from initial suspicion and probing to later reluctant trust, and now to concern. Although the words were awkward, the meaning was clear.
"Are you worried about me?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.
Sun Wukong turned his face away: "Don't flatter yourself. I just don't want to change bosses."
Lin Chen laughed out loud, but the smile only lasted for two seconds before he stopped. He looked at the broken rope on the ground, his eyes turning cold again.
"Since they want to play, then let's play along." He took out his phone and opened a live streaming app. "You just said you wanted to show them what real ghost stories are like?"
Sun Wukong turned his head, a smile curving his lips.
That was the first time Lin Chen had seen that kind of smile on the monkey's face. It wasn't a playful, teasing smile, nor a helpless compromise, but a long-lost smile, tinged with murderous intent.
"I, Old Sun, have been in Heaven for a thousand years. What kind of ghost haven't I seen?" Sun Wukong flexed his wrist, his golden cudgel faintly appearing in his palm. "But they've never seen a ghost that I, Old Sun, can transform into."
Lin Chen didn't reply, but started a live stream and pointed the camera at the broken rope on the ground.
As soon as the video started playing, the comments section exploded: "Holy crap! CEO Lin started streaming so early?" "Is this on a mountain?" "That rope looks weird."
Lin Chen didn't say anything. He first circled the broken rope with the camera, then zoomed out to capture the entire cable car track in the frame.
"Hey everyone, I have some fresh news to share this morning." His voice was as calm as if he were just saying the weather was nice. "Someone sneaked into the scenic area in the middle of the night and cut the cable car's steel cable. This location is a load-bearing node."
The live chat exploded: "???" "Cutting the cable car cables? That's murder!" "Who's got the nerve?" "Did they call the police?"
Lin Chen didn't answer, and turned the camera towards Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong stood in the morning light, his golden fur tinged with a pale gold by the first rays. He didn't look at the camera, but rather at the dirt road leading down the mountain to the abandoned viewing platform, his eyes like those of someone eyeing prey.
"Great Sage, someone said they're going to make you lose your job." Lin Chen's voice was slightly teasing, but everyone could hear the coldness beneath the teasing.
Sun Wukong turned his head, flashing a set of white teeth at the camera: "Let them come."
Just two words, but the comments section instantly shifted: "Holy crap, that look is amazing!" "The Great Sage is angry!" "I can already imagine what will happen to him."
Lin Chen turned off the live stream, put his phone back in his pocket, and then made a phone call in front of Sun Wukong.
"Hello? Deputy Director Zhang? This is Lin Chen. Good morning, I'm sorry to bother you so early." His tone was polite but direct. "The cable car track on the south slope of Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area has been vandalized, the steel cable has been cut, and we have surveillance footage. Yes, I'll send you the information right away."
After hanging up the phone, he waved his phone at Sun Wukong: "Call the police first. Handle it officially."
Sun Wukong nodded, but his expression clearly showed he wasn't satisfied: "That's it?"
"Of course not." Lin Chen sent the surveillance screenshots to the police and also sent a message to Xiao Zhang on duty: The scenic area is open as usual today, but all cable cars are closed for maintenance. Notify tourists that free shuttle buses will be provided for those walking up and down the mountain.
"What do you plan to do?" Sun Wukong pressed.
Lin Chen put away his phone and looked up at the outline of Huaguo Mountain in the distance. The mountain forest was quiet and peaceful in the early morning, as if nothing had happened. But Lin Chen knew that a storm was brewing.
"If they want to spread rumors, let them spread them." Lin Chen turned around and looked into Sun Wukong's eyes. "But rumors come and go quickly. The key is evidence."
"What evidence?"
"The video of them cutting the cable car, the photos of them hiring a paranormal investigation team, will their people come back tonight?" Lin Chen smiled. "Great Sage, can't you turn into a tiny flying insect?"
Sun Wukong was taken aback, then gave a meaningful smile: "You want me to eavesdrop?"
"It's not eavesdropping, it's gathering evidence," Lin Chen corrected. "They want to create a paranormal event, right? Let them experience firsthand what real paranormal events are like. For example, when they're causing trouble on the mountain in the middle of the night, they suddenly find a pair of golden eyes beside them."
Sun Wukong's grin widened.
"Okay," he said. "I'm good at this."
That afternoon, the "paranormal investigation team" employed by Longteng Group posted a long article on social media.
The article, several thousand words long, included several blurry photos, some showing eerie swaying tree shadows, others a composite image of a so-called "white figure" drifting through the forest. The article claimed that "frequent paranormal events occur at night" in the Huaguo Mountain scenic area and implied that the unusual behavior of the monkeys was "not a natural phenomenon, but related to unknown supernatural forces."
Within an hour of being posted, it was reposted by several local media outlets.
In the comments section, some believed it while others criticized it: "Isn't this the same account used by that real estate company that was rigging the land deal before?" "This photo is obviously photoshopped; even the shadows are wrong." "But Huaguo Mountain is inherently eerie; those monkeys are incredibly intelligent, unlike normal monkeys."
Lin Chen scrolled through his phone, watching the number of reposts on that Weibo post gradually increase, his expression calm.
Sun Wukong squatted on a nearby rock, transformed into a small flying insect, and waited for nightfall.
"Aren't you angry?" Sun Wukong asked.
"What's the use of getting angry?" Lin Chen put down his phone, took a sip of tea from his thermos, and said, "Let them jump around for a while. Once we've gathered all the evidence, we'll slap it in their faces one by one. That'll be the real satisfaction."
Sun Wukong tilted his head and looked at him for a few seconds, then said, "Your boss is more interesting than I expected."
"You flatter me." Lin Chen smiled. "By the way, when you're on your mission tonight, remember not to scare anyone to death. If someone dies, we'll be in legal trouble."
Sun Wukong chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
By 6 p.m., the scenic area had been cleared.
Lin Chen stood in the monitoring room. The screen was divided into more than a dozen small squares, each displaying a live feed of a different area of the scenic spot. Xiao Zhang sat at the control panel, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Mr. Lin, while I was patrolling just now, I found a plastic bag in the trash can near the west gate." Xiao Zhang handed over the bag. "Inside was a white robe, a wig, and a mask."
Lin Chen took it and flipped through it. The white robe was covered in fluorescent powder, the wig was waist-length, and the mask was deathly white—a standard "female ghost" outfit.
"They plan to act tonight." Lin Chen sneered. "The article this afternoon was just a setup; tonight they'll arrange for 'witnesses' to film videos to confirm it. Each step is meticulously planned."
He took out his phone and sent a message to Sun Wukong: "The bait is ready, shouldn't you set off?"
After the message was sent, a small flying insect flew in through a crack in the window and landed on Lin Chen's phone screen.
Lin Chen looked down at the flying insects on the screen, paused for a moment, and then heard Sun Wukong's voice in his ear: "I'm already on my way."
Lin Chen turned his head, but the room was empty.
He couldn't help but laugh; this was the skill of the Monkey King.
At 10 p.m., an unusual wind blew through the quiet mountain forest.
On the dirt road outside the West Gate, three figures dressed in black windbreakers slowly crept up. The leader was carrying a portable camera, while the other two carried a megaphone and a black backpack, respectively.
"Hurry up, get it done before midnight." The leader's voice was very low. "First, hang that doll on the tree, then you use a megaphone to play the crying sound, and I'll film it."
"Boss, this mountain is really eerie. When I came to scout it out during the day, I always felt like something was watching me." The speaker shuddered.
"Stop talking nonsense. After we finish this deal, Longteng will give us 200,000."
The figure of 200,000 clearly had an effect, and the group quickened their pace.
They stopped under an old locust tree, and the leader took out a doll dressed in a white dress from his backpack, preparing to hang it on a branch.
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, rustling the leaves.
The rope in the leader's hand suddenly snapped, and the doll fell to the ground with a thud.
"Damn it, what's going on?" He squatted down to pick it up, and as soon as his fingers touched the doll, he felt a chill. It wasn't the temperature of the fabric and plastic, but a chill that seeped into his bones.
He abruptly withdrew his hand.
The other two also sensed something was wrong. As soon as they took out the megaphone, they discovered that the battery had been removed without their knowledge.
"No, retreat." The leader's voice changed, but as soon as he finished speaking, a pair of golden eyes suddenly lit up on a tree behind them.
The eyes hovered in mid-air, without a body or face, only two golden lights, like two burning lanterns.
The three of them froze at the same time.
The leader instinctively raised the camera and pressed the record button, but the screen was filled with static and nothing could be captured.
Then, they heard a voice.
The voice was very soft, as if it came from all directions at once, carrying an ancient and cold aura: "You...you wanted to film a ghost story? I, Old Sun, will show you what a real ghost is."
As soon as he finished speaking, the golden eyes suddenly disappeared.
The mountains and forests were plunged into darkness once more.
The three people froze for three seconds, then screamed and ran down the mountain. The camera and megaphone were scattered all over the ground, and the doll lay there all alone.
The leader ran a dozen meters before tripping over a tree root and falling face-first into the mud. He got up and looked back, only to find those golden eyes reappearing less than a meter behind him.
He couldn't hold back any longer and scrambled down the mountain, shouting "Help!"
At the mountaintop, Lin Chen held a teacup and watched the three figures fleeing in a disheveled state on the surveillance camera, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Sun Wukong: "Well done. Did you film the video?"
A few seconds later, Sun Wukong replied: "The footage is clear; it records every single word they said."
Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction and was about to put down his phone when he received another message.
Sun Wukong sent a photo showing the three people falling to the ground while running, their postures contorted, as if they had been terrified.
The sentence following this is: "These people probably won't be coming back."
Lin Chen laughed out loud.
He put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and looked out the window towards Huaguo Mountain. The mountains were quiet and deep in the night, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops.
But he knew the matter wasn't over yet.
Since Longteng Group is willing to invest so much, it's unlikely they've only sent this one group. If they're scared off today, they'll have new tricks up their sleeves tomorrow.
But it's okay.
He has evidence, surveillance footage, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), and 20 million followers across the internet.
"Come on," Lin Chen muttered to himself, "Let's see who can outmaneuver whom."