The warehouse was silent.
The old fluorescent lights flickered overhead.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Li Chen stood a few meters away from the two men.
Su Yara was on his right.
Mu Wanqing on his left.
Xiaoyu remained near the entrance.
The executive from Jinhai stared at them.
Then he laughed.
Not nervously.
Not desperately.
He actually laughed.
"You came here personally."
Li Chen shrugged.
"You seemed important enough."
The man's smile faded.
"My name is Zhao Mingyuan."
Li Chen nodded.
"I know."
That answer made Zhao Mingyuan's expression change.
"You investigated me?"
"Of course."
Li Chen glanced at Chen Wei.
"And him."
Chen Wei lowered his head.
He knew there was no point denying anything anymore.
Zhao Mingyuan crossed his arms.
"You think catching us changes anything?"
"No."
Li Chen answered immediately.
"It confirms something."
"What?"
"That Zhou Kang isn't relying on one person."
Zhao Mingyuan's eyes narrowed.
Li Chen continued.
"You have access to internal schedules."
"Chen Wei distributes the information."
"And someone outside Jinhai receives it."
He paused.
"Which means this operation is bigger than you."
Zhao Mingyuan said nothing.
Li Chen smiled.
"That's why I'm not interested in arresting either of you."
Xiaoyu looked at him.
"Then why are we here?"
Li Chen answered without looking away from Zhao Mingyuan.
"To send a message."
Zhao Mingyuan laughed again.
"You're in no position to send messages."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He took a step forward.
"You have three artists."
"No independent company."
"No distribution network."
"No major investors."
"And your contract with Jinhai gives the company control over your activities."
He smiled.
"You're talented."
"But you're still small."
Yara's expression darkened.
"Careful."
Zhao Mingyuan glanced at her.
"I'm simply stating facts."
Wanqing spoke for the first time.
"Facts can change."
Zhao Mingyuan looked at her.
"You're Mu Wanqing."
"Yes."
"I've heard your debut performance was impressive."
Wanqing didn't respond.
Zhao Mingyuan smiled.
"Several companies are already preparing offers for you."
Yara immediately understood.
"So that's what this is about."
He nodded.
"Every artist has a price."
Li Chen's expression became colder.
"Not mine."
Zhao Mingyuan looked at him.
"Perhaps."
"But you should ask your artists."
He turned toward Wanqing.
"Would you really stay with a manager who can't even protect his own career?"
Silence.
Wanqing stared at him.
Then answered calmly.
"Yes."
Zhao Mingyuan frowned.
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't treat me like a product."
Her answer was simple.
"That's enough."
Yara grinned.
"Same."
Yueyin wasn't there.
But her answer would probably have been the same.
Xiaoyu smiled faintly.
Zhao Mingyuan looked at Li Chen again.
"You've built quite a loyal team."
Li Chen replied,
"I didn't build it."
"They chose to stay."
That sentence silenced the room.
Zhao Mingyuan slowly walked toward a nearby table.
He placed a folder on it.
"You're misunderstanding the situation."
Li Chen didn't move.
"Am I?"
"Yes."
Zhao Mingyuan opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Contracts.
Financial reports.
Scheduling records.
Production information.
Li Chen's eyes narrowed.
"These are confidential."
"Exactly."
Zhao Mingyuan smiled.
"Your entire operation is exposed."
He tapped the documents.
"Your upcoming releases."
"Your production schedules."
"Your negotiations."
"Your weaknesses."
Then he looked at Li Chen.
"Zhou Kang knows all of them."
Yara clenched her fist.
"So what?"
Zhao Mingyuan looked at her.
"He can make sure none of your songs get promoted."
"He can influence venues."
"He can pressure advertisers."
"He can make distributors hesitate."
He paused.
"And if necessary…"
His gaze moved toward Li Chen.
"…he can make sure your next project never gets off the ground."
Silence.
Xiaoyu's expression became serious.
This was no longer a warning.
It was a demonstration of power.
Li Chen, however, remained calm.
"Are you finished?"
Zhao Mingyuan frowned.
"That's your reaction?"
Li Chen nodded.
"Yes."
He picked up one of the documents.
Looked at it.
Then placed it back down.
"You're missing something."
"What?"
"You've shown me everything Zhou Kang can control."
Li Chen smiled.
"But not what he can't."
Zhao Mingyuan's expression froze.
Li Chen continued.
"He controls venues."
"Labels."
"Advertising."
"Media."
"But he doesn't control the audience."
He pointed toward the documents.
"And that's where you made your mistake."
Zhao Mingyuan stared at him.
"What mistake?"
Li Chen took out his phone.
Opened a video.
The recording showed the previous night's concert.
Yueyin performing.
Yara performing.
Wanqing performing.
The audience singing.
The crowd cheering.
The livestream exploding.
Li Chen turned the screen toward Zhao Mingyuan.
"You can cancel our venues."
"You can manipulate rankings."
"You can block advertisements."
"But you can't make people stop listening."
Zhao Mingyuan's expression darkened.
Li Chen put the phone away.
"That's the difference between us."
"You're protecting an industry."
"I'm building an audience."
For the first time—
Zhao Mingyuan had no immediate response.
Yara smiled.
"Checkmate."
Wanqing looked at Li Chen with quiet approval.
Xiaoyu, however, suddenly noticed something.
"Li Chen."
He looked at her.
She pointed toward the documents.
"There are three pages missing."
He frowned.
"What?"
"The financial reports."
She flipped through the folder.
"There's a gap."
Li Chen immediately understood.
Someone had removed information.
He looked at Zhao Mingyuan.
"You didn't bring everything."
Zhao Mingyuan smiled.
"No."
"I didn't."
"Why?"
"Because some information isn't mine to reveal."
Li Chen's eyes sharpened.
"Zhou Kang?"
Zhao Mingyuan didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Li Chen stepped closer.
"One last question."
Zhao Mingyuan waited.
"Why did Zhou Kang send you?"
A pause.
Then Zhao Mingyuan smiled.
"Because he wanted to know something."
"What?"
"Whether you were actually dangerous…"
He looked directly into Li Chen's eyes.
"…or simply lucky."
Silence.
Li Chen smiled.
"And?"
Zhao Mingyuan's expression became serious.
"You're dangerous."
Yara grinned.
"Finally, someone gets it."
"But…"
Zhao Mingyuan continued.
"You're still inexperienced."
He closed the folder.
"And that's why Zhou Kang isn't going to destroy you."
Li Chen raised an eyebrow.
"He isn't?"
"No."
"He's going to make you destroy yourself."
The atmosphere changed.
Li Chen's smile disappeared.
Zhao Mingyuan turned toward the exit.
"Tell Zhou Kang…"
Li Chen spoke.
"I'll tell him myself."
Zhao Mingyuan stopped.
Li Chen continued.
"Soon."
The executive glanced back.
Then smiled.
"I'll pass that along."
He walked away.
Chen Wei followed him.
But before leaving—
Zhao Mingyuan stopped beside Li Chen.
Quietly, he said:
"Your next release…"
"Be careful."
"That's where he'll strike."
Then he left.
The warehouse door closed.
Silence returned.
Yara was the first to speak.
"I don't like him."
Xiaoyu nodded.
"Neither do I."
Wanqing looked at Li Chen.
"He deliberately left something for you."
Li Chen nodded.
"Yeah."
Yueyin wasn't here.
But even she would have understood.
This wasn't a victory.
It was information.
And information was dangerous.
Li Chen looked down at the remaining documents.
One page caught his attention.
A distribution agreement.
A company name was highlighted.
Aurora Music Distribution.
Li Chen stared at it.
"Interesting."
Xiaoyu leaned over.
"What is it?"
Li Chen pointed to the agreement.
"This company distributes most of Zhou Kang's major releases."
Yara frowned.
"So?"
Li Chen's eyes sharpened.
"If Zhou Kang wants to attack our next release…"
He smiled.
"…he'll probably start here."
At the same time—
Inside Zhou Kang's office.
His phone rang.
Zhao Mingyuan's name appeared.
Zhou Kang answered.
"How did it go?"
Zhao Mingyuan sat inside his car.
"He knows."
A pause.
"How much?"
"Enough."
Zhou Kang smiled.
"And?"
Zhao Mingyuan looked out the window.
"He's not lucky."
Silence.
"He's dangerous."
Zhou Kang's smile widened.
"Good."
He hung up.
Then opened a file on his desk.
A single name appeared on the screen:
Lin Yueyin.
Underneath it—
Upcoming Solo Release: 17 Days.
Zhou Kang leaned back.
The first battle had ended.
The second—
had already begun.
End of Chapter 34