Chapter 225 Hearing

Duan Yucai walked out of the company building and looked towards the gate in the distance. He saw a row of armored vehicles parked there in an orderly formation.

The staff have already prepared the material machines, related equipment, and documents.

She walked quickly towards the crowd, carefully counted the equipment, and then directed them to load these important items into the truck.

These devices will be presented as key evidence at the meeting, so of course there can be no mistakes.

Chi Qi was waiting on the side. After seeing that everything was arranged, she was about to get into the car with Duan Yucai. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shi Nian'an walking out of the building quickly.

Her eyes were earnest, her tone filled with worry. "Boss Zhou, let me go with you!"

Chi Lan naturally refused.

The people from Congress stood aside, with a look of impatience on their faces.

He said sternly, "Ms. Zhou, please hurry up. This hearing is not a dinner party. There is no time for you to discuss!"

Shi Nian'an had seen many big scenes and would not be frightened by these words. He immediately glared at him coldly and rudely.

The other party's face darkened. "Are you trying to challenge the authority of Congress?"

Shi Nian'an was about to open her mouth to refute, but Chi Yan had already put a hand on her shoulder.

She raised her eyes and glanced at him coldly, "Just saying a few more words is considered contempt of Congress? What a powerful official."

The other person was instantly stunned by her gaze, his face turned pale, and he subconsciously took two steps back, almost bumping into the bailiff behind him.

Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel before the hearing even started, Duan Yucai quickly stepped forward to mediate.

"Oh, business is more important. Let's not waste time on such trivial matters."

He turned to look at Shi Nian'an, "Boss Shi, you and Boss Zhou are both in charge of the company. You definitely can't all leave. If something goes wrong, who will take charge?"

Shi Nian'an lowered his eyes quietly.

She knew that even if she attended the meeting, it would be of no use, but this matter concerned the safety and survival of Tianqiong. How could she sit in the company and wait for the result?

However, what Duan Yucai said did make sense. No matter what, she had to protect the company for her mother. Outsiders might not understand, but she knew how much effort her mother had poured into this company.

After pondering for a moment, she finally nodded and gave up the idea of going with them.

Shi Nian'an watched the two men board the armored vehicle. The convoy slowly drove out of the gate and headed towards the Capitol building.

————

At ten o'clock in the morning, all the participants arrived.

A hearing on whether to legislate a ban on the civilian use of material machines was held on schedule.

This matter has already caused heated discussions among the public online. In addition, it is a public hearing that will be broadcast live on the entire network. Before the opening time, the public has flocked to the official live broadcast room to watch.

[Is the chairman of this hearing the leader? Even he's been alarmed. Sky is truly impressive!]

[Wow, Boss Qiao Zhizhang is here too! He's truly a man who dares to take risks and challenge the sky. I'm going to vote for him!]

[No one would support Sky Dome, right? Things like material machines are better controlled by the state. It's too dangerous to leave them in the hands of one person!]

What's so good about someone like Qiao Zhizhang? Is he so happy being a dog to capital?

I just don't understand. The material machine is so useful and cheap, and it's clearly something that benefits the public, so why is there an online boycott? Just because of a rumor that it causes cancer, which has no real evidence? We don't even know if it's true or not!

[That's right, everyone's having fun now, but when the Sky is truly destroyed and Huangtian continues to dominate and exploits the workers to death, they'll realize they're wrong.]

At the beginning of the meeting, the leader Zhang Quanmin gave a speech, elaborating on the social controversy caused by material machine technology. He then invited scientific and technological consultant Qiao Zhizhang to speak and report to everyone on the safety assessment of the material machine.

Qiao Zhizhang stood up calmly, his pale and sagging face full of pride.

He picked up the speech, swept his eyes across the audience with pride, then stared at the live camera. After confirming that the camera was aimed at him, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

This time, the manuscript written by the assistant for Qiao Zhizhang was obviously longer than the last time he posted it on social media. It took him ten minutes to finish reading the opening statement.

The lengthy report coupled with his old and drawling voice made people drowsy.

The congressmen looked through the test reports on the table with little interest, and some people even yawned outside the camera.

Only when the camera swept past would these absent-minded politicians straighten their backs, put on a focused look on their faces, and nod in agreement with Qiao Zhizhang's speech.

Chi Qi leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, lowered her eyes, and no emotion could be seen on her indifferent face.

The surrounding parliamentarians kept looking at her sideways, thinking that she had fallen asleep while listening. They were shocked and felt a little contemptuous at the same time.

Is this person really the CEO of Sky Dome? This meeting arguably concerns the survival of Sky Dome, so how could she be so careless? With this kind of work ethic, how could she possibly lead the invention of a material machine technology that has rocked the academic world? Maybe it was all plagiarized!

Several council members exchanged glances, and all of them were determined to vote in favor of banning the substance machine.

"...In summary, material machine technology presents significant safety risks, and the harm outweighs the benefits for both the nation and its people. The recent case of Ms. Lin serves as a wake-up call for us all. Therefore, I solemnly recommend a complete ban on the civilian use of this technology!"

Qiao Zhizhang finished his statement, looked up at where Chi Lan was, and a smug sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Now, he wanted to see how Tianqiong could still struggle.

In such a short time, they couldn't prove that the death of Ms. Lin's child had nothing to do with the physical machine. Even if Zhou Fanyi tried her best, she wouldn't be able to gain the support of the councilors.

Zhang Quanmin crossed his arms and placed them on the table, staring intently at Chi Li. "Ms. Zhou, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Everyone turned to look at Chi Li, and the cameras in the venue were also aimed at her.

Chi Li slowly raised her eyelids, her cold and clear eyes staring directly at the camera, as sharp as a cold blade, and could not be looked at directly.

The barrage of comments, which had been noisy at first, fell silent for a moment, and then filled the screen with madness.

[Scared me! Is Zhou Fanyi's eyes trying to kill me?]

[This look is so stunning. I can feel the oppression even through the screen. I can't breathe...]

[Help! This look is too strong, sister, kill me! ]

[Everyone's values are influenced by their facial features. They are truly invincible.]

The hearing site suddenly fell into silence. The congressmen who had just criticized Chi Li's rude attitude in their hearts, involuntarily looked away, their hearts filled with horror.

What on earth has this woman been through?

The oppressive feeling she exuded at this moment made these political veterans unable to even look at her. Their legs and feet felt weak, as if they were being stared at by a wild beast, and they instinctively wanted to escape.

The leader Zhang Quanmin was also startled. His hand, which had just picked up the coffee, trembled suddenly and spilled the coffee directly onto the podium, soaking his clothes on his chest.

Several staff members rushed forward to clean up, and the live broadcast camera that had just cut to him was suddenly cut away and turned back to Chi Li.

Chi Li took in everyone's reactions and raised a barely perceptible sneer at the corner of her mouth.

It's so fragile and ridiculous. A group of so-called far-sighted and dedicated politicians are actually just useless trash.

She just released a little bit of the pressure from the cultivation world, and these people panicked.

Chi Li curled her lips and chuckled, "It's my turn to speak, right?"

Qiao Zhizhang pressed his shaking hands firmly onto the armrest and forced a cold smile. "Of course, even a death row inmate has the right to plead guilty."

He didn't think Chi Yan could produce any strong evidence. No matter how good her pretense was, it was useless. It was just bluffing and couldn't change the outcome at all. It was obvious what the people present would choose.

The so-called hearing was just a formality to make the people believe that the empire was a democratic country.

Chi Li sighed softly, "That's such a pity..."

Qiao Zhizhang frowned, "What a pity?"

Chi Li raised the corner of her lips in a meaningful smile, "Unfortunately... the prisoner who deserves to be guillotined is someone else."

She looked up at the entire room, tapping the table with her fingertips. "I see everyone is tired from listening to what I just said. Several members are almost asleep. I won't go into too much detail to hypnotize everyone. I'll just show you this interesting video to wake you up."

The congressman, who had just opened his mouth to yawn, stopped abruptly when he heard this, and his face turned red instantly.

Wasn't this guy's eyes closed the entire time? How could he even detect when they yawned? Why even bother showing this video? Who has the patience to watch it?

It would be better to be sensible and give up speaking directly and fast forward to the voting to avoid wasting their time.

Chi Li looked at the staff and handed over a USB drive. "Please play it."

The staff took the USB drive and then moved a huge display screen to the front of the venue, adjusting its position to ensure that everyone could see it.

Everyone immediately became excited and very curious about what video would be played next.

Qiao Zhizhang snorted and scoffed, "Are you going to post those boring lab research? Who has the time to read this—"

The voice stopped abruptly, and the smugness on his face quickly faded away like the tide.

The screen lit up, and what was shown to everyone was Ms. Lin, who disappeared along with the video after posting the accusation video.

Others may not understand, but Qiao Zhizhang knows very well what this person is like.

He felt terrible, his face looked extremely ugly, and he was extremely terrified.

Shouldn't this person be locked up on the top floor of the group right now? Why did the people from Skydome get her video?!

Qiao Zhizhang had a bad feeling, and for a moment, he even wanted to rush over and unplug the power.

But in the end, he restrained himself.

Maybe things were not as bad as he thought. Lin Mai herself was involved in this matter, so she should know to keep her mouth shut.

However, he was destined to be disappointed.

The first thing Lin Mai said was, "I'm sorry, I deceived everyone. The two videos I posted were all fake."

Then, with red eyes, he bowed deeply to the camera.

Qiao Zhizhang suddenly froze and felt a chill all over his body.