Chapter 226 I’m not going to act anymore

Lin Mai stood up straight, her eyes filled with guilt and uneasiness. Her voice trembled as she explained the entire process of signing the contract with Huangtian Company and filming the false video to discredit Tianqiong.

"...I still don't know how that child died. He was fine the day before, but as soon as Tianqiong's clarification came out, the assistant I was working with suddenly said he was dead."

"That's when I felt terrified. I hadn't imagined that a company as large as the Huangtian Group could be so shady. I told my assistant I didn't want to film anymore, but he threatened to kill me. I was so scared, afraid they would do the same to me as they did to the child, that I was forced to film a second video. But after that, they put me under house arrest and confiscated my phone, preventing me from contacting the outside world."

Everyone in the room gasped and glanced at Qiao Zhizhang, only to see that his face was growing paler.

The video was still playing. After all, it was broadcast live on the entire network, and no one dared to rush over and turn off the display.

"Luckily, someone from the Sky found me, so I had the chance to tell the truth. I can guarantee that the child's death had nothing to do with the Sky. This was all Huangtian's conspiracy to bring down the Sky!"

"I feel deeply guilty for being blinded by profit and participating in slanderous rumors. I apologize again. I am willing to accept legal sanctions and hope that Huangtian Group's illegal and criminal activities will be severely punished!"

After Lin Mai finished speaking, he felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and his tense body relaxed.

She looked directly into the camera, the fear and uneasiness in her eyes gone, only determination and resoluteness remained, and her expression was extremely calm.

Immediately afterwards, the screen went dark and the atmosphere in the entire conference room became tense.

The politicians all looked at Qiao Zhizhang at the same time, with a mixture of wait-and-see mockery and worry in their eyes. Some of them pursed their lips, waiting for fun, while others frowned, thinking about how this matter would end.

"Mr. Qiao, what's the explanation for this? You published the long article accusing Tianqiong so promptly. It couldn't be that your subordinates did it without telling you, right?" Chi Qi leaned back in her chair, looking at him with mockery in her dark eyes.

Qiao Zhizhang's expression was extremely ugly. He stood up suddenly, pointed his finger at Chi Lu, and said angrily, "Nonsense! This is simply slander!"

"Huangtian would never, nor would he, do such a thing. It must be that you, Tianqiong, paid this woman off to deliberately throw dirty water on me!"

Chi Li raised her eyes, her tone frighteningly flat. "Then, according to Director Qiao, how much money would it take to convince a mother who just lost her child to come forward and give false testimony for the murderer who killed her child?"

Qiao Zhizhang's expression froze. Thinking about it this way, it was indeed very unreasonable.

But now that things had come to this, he could only grit his teeth and continue his defense. "People in this world, what won't they do for money? Aren't there enough cases of patricide and matricide? Trading a child's life for money, what's so strange about that?"

There was a commotion in the conference hall, and the comments in the live broadcast room instantly exploded.

[Is this what a human being would say? It's so cold-blooded!]

I think Old Deng is judging others by his own standards. He has 17 or 18 illegitimate children that have been exposed, and last month, news broke that someone was suing him for child support.

[That is, if anyone knows where those children came from, I suggest a thorough investigation.]

[I said Tianqiong was framed. Huangtian's method is too despicable.]

[Where's the person who just called for banning Tianqiong? Why aren't they saying they want to ban Huangtian now?]

This woman is a liar, willing to do anything to become famous. She has no credibility at all.

[That's right, without knowing the full story, I won't comment. The gods are fighting, why would we ordinary people join in the fun?]

In front of Chi Lan, there was a light screen that only she could see, which was displaying the real-time images of the live broadcast room.

But she didn't need to watch to predict what the reaction would be in the live broadcast room at this moment.

Those who insist that there is nothing wrong with God are just stubborn.

However, since the war has begun, we cannot give our opponent a chance to turn the tables; we must strike a fatal blow. Otherwise, after the hearing, Qiao Zhizhang will be able to use tricks to clear his name.

After all, people like them are like cockroaches that can't be killed. They are disgusting and can't be killed off. They give birth to litters of puppies without restraint, and they will pop up again if you're not careful.

Chi Li raised her hand and chuckled, "Indeed, Ms. Lin's one-sided statement alone is hard to believe. Why not listen to what Mr. Qiao's employees have to say?"

Qiao Zhizhang had just sat back in his chair and before he could breathe a sigh of relief, his expression froze and cold sweat broke out on his back.

His employee? Who was it? Did Tang Jianshan betray him?

This explains why Ms. Lin’s video fell into the hands of Zhou Fanyi of Tianqiong.

A flash of realization flashed across his eyes, but was quickly replaced by deep hatred.

If Tang Jianshan really dares to betray him, he will make him pay a heavy price!

After a while, the large display screen in the conference room lit up again.

This time, it was a video call. A face that was slightly unfamiliar to Qiao Zhizhang appeared on the screen. For a moment, he couldn't remember her name.

"I'm Song Yiqiao, a senior researcher at Huangtian Biological Laboratory. I've worked at the company for nearly a decade, focusing on bisexual reproduction and artificial uterus technology. It wasn't until recently that I discovered that the laboratory's director, Tang Jianshan, had been engaged in illegal embryo gene editing and underground surrogacy practices at the behest of company executives. After careful consideration, I decided to speak out and expose these illegal activities."

Qiao Zhizhang's pupils trembled. He finally remembered this man's identity and could no longer sit still.

He suddenly jumped up from his chair, "Song Yiqiao! Shut up!"

"Don't forget who funded you when your research was failing. You're using Tianqiong's money to smear Huangtian now. You're completely ungrateful! These gene editing experiments are completely untrue!"

Song Yiqiao sneered, "Mr. Qiao, I'm very grateful for funding my research. But the company appropriated my experimental results first. I'm afraid you have no right to accuse me of being ungrateful, right?"

After a pause, he continued, "Besides, everything I said is true, and all the accusations are supported by evidence. I am willing to assume all legal responsibility. You can refute me after reviewing the evidence."

When Qiao Zhizhang heard her mention the evidence, he knew she was prepared. He turned to the staff and shouted, "Turn off the video! Do you hear me? Turn it off!"

"This hearing is to discuss legislation to ban the civilian use of physical machines. What she said has nothing to do with that. It's a complete waste of everyone's time!"

The staff member looked embarrassed and hesitantly looked at the leader Zhang Quanmin on the stage.

Zhang Quanming swallowed nervously. Under the watchful eyes of the public, there was no way he could give Qiao Zhizhang any convenience!

However, he was also aware of the affairs of Huangtian Biological Laboratory. If this matter really got out, the impact on Huangtian would be absolutely devastating.

He frowned slightly, he had to find a way to stop it.

Just as Qiao Zhizhang said, the evidence provided by Song Yiqiao has nothing to do with the material machine, and he can completely propose to terminate the hearing.

Zhang Quanming was about to speak when Chi Qi interrupted him.

She curled her lips slightly, her eyes cold. "Who said this matter has nothing to do with today's hearing? The dead child was the product of gene editing. If Professor Song is not allowed to produce evidence, how can Tianqiong dispel the rumors that the material machine caused death?"

Zhang Quanming's expression froze, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back.

After Zhou Fanyi said this, if he forcibly terminated the hearing, wouldn't it be confirmed that he was deliberately covering up for Huang Tian?

Although collusion between government and business was an open secret, during his three years in office, he also used the chief's pardon order to pardon more than a dozen executives involved in the Huangtian case, but this was all done behind closed doors.

If he openly showed his favoritism in front of the entire nation, it would probably arouse public outrage, and he, as the leader, would probably have to pack up and leave.

So, after a moment of contemplation, he nodded gently to the crowd and said in a deep voice, "I will allow the hearing, but please note that the evidence must be strictly limited to the scope of this hearing."

In this way, Song Yiqiao should not reveal too much evidence, causing the situation to get out of control.

However, this is not very safe, so it is better to add an extra layer of protection.

Zhang Quanming turned off the microphone and, while the live camera was turned elsewhere, winked at the secretary-general standing beside him.

The Secretary General understood and stepped forward. He whispered a word of advice, and the other party nodded in agreement and then stepped back.

At the same time, the screen image has switched to Song Yiqiao's computer desktop.

A video was opened by clicking the mouse. What came into everyone's eyes was a cold white room, which seemed to be an operating room. The equipment inside looked a bit simple. A young woman was lying on the operating table in the center, and a doctor was standing in front of the table.

A man's voice was heard from outside the screen, "The embryo status check is good, ready for implantation...wait."

"What's wrong?" the doctor looked up and asked.

"It seems like there's an off-target effect on the embryo... I was mistaken just now, it's fine now."

A man holding a catheter walked into the camera, and just as he was about to turn around, the screen suddenly fell into darkness.

The conference room was instantly in an uproar, with people discussing, "What's going on?" "Why did the screen suddenly go black?"

At this time, a staff member came forward, his face full of apology, "I'm sorry, there's something wrong with the display screen, it may take some time to repair."

Qiao Zhizhang's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and his clenched fists loosened. Only then did he realize that his palms were already covered in cold sweat.

He looked up at Zhang Quanming, and they exchanged a knowing look.

Zhang Quanming retracted his gaze and said in a calm tone, "In that case, Ms. Zhou can directly submit the evidence. There is no need for further public disclosure. Is there anything else you would like to add? If not, we can proceed to the voting stage now."

Chi Qi laughed out of anger. Because they were afraid to accept the trial, they directly broke the equipment. These people really didn't even bother to act.

"Your Excellency, the Leader, are you trying to deprive the public of their right to know?"

Zhang Quanming remained silent. Qiao Zhizhang met her gaze and sneered, "We've got to make the best of an emergency. The equipment's broken now, and who knows when it'll be fixed? Are we just going to keep everyone waiting?"

Now that the crisis has been resolved, he has nothing to worry about.

No matter what evidence Song Yiqiao has, it will never be made public.

Chi Yan's lips curled up in a cold arc. "It's really surprising that such a large Capitol building can't find a second monitor. But it doesn't matter. We have prepared projection equipment to ensure that everyone here and the people in the live broadcast room can see it clearly."

She raised her hand and made a gesture. Duan Yucai beside her understood and took out a black metal box and walked forward. With a dull thud, the box was placed on the table.

With a flick of the switch, a huge 3D holographic projection instantly unfolded above the conference room. The screen was ten times larger than the previous display and almost occupied half of the conference room.

Qiao Zhizhang widened his eyes in disbelief, and the smile on his face turned extremely pale again.

What kind of devil is this woman?

The audience in the live broadcast room were also shocked by this scene, but then they became more excited. They could finally see the dirty deeds behind the tycoons, and it would be announced nationwide!

On the huge holographic screen, the man holding the catheter turned around and revealed his face. It was Tang Jianshan, the head of Huangtian Biological Laboratory.

In less than three minutes, the resourceful netizens dug out his information.

You won’t know until you check, and you’ll be shocked when you do.

Eighteen years ago, Tang Jianshan was sentenced to ten years in prison for illegally editing human gene embryos. He was released from prison after serving only two years and then entered the Huangtian Biological Core Laboratory, where his research projects were kept confidential.

At this time, the holographic projection screen switched.

A larger room appeared in front of everyone, with more than a dozen labeled incubators inside, and a quiet newborn lying in each box.

Judging from the monitoring time in the lower right corner of the screen, 12 months have passed since the last operation.

As the video progresses, researchers in white coats take the babies away one by one, and finally only one child is left in the corner.

The child's whole body was abnormally red, and the skin on his face was cracked, revealing the bright red color underneath, as if he had been skinned.

Tang Jianshan and his assistant stood by, looking at the data on the monitor.

"Teacher, the experimental subject has an off-target effect and the skin tissue continues to shed. The buyer has refused to accept it. Should we dispose of it?"

"Let's keep it and observe it for a while. Anyway... these failures won't last long."

Seeing this, everyone suddenly realized that the dead child was the failed product of the gene editing experiment, and was used by Huangtian as a pawn to deal with Tianqiong.

That child had a strange disease and must have a defective immune system. It was a miracle that he had lived to the age of five. God didn't need to do anything. He would die if he was left alone.

The conference hall suddenly fell into silence. Even the politicians who were used to showing off were shocked by this cruel fact.

You should know that when you see a cockroach in the sun, there may have been a cockroach infestation in the dark.

There are definitely more than one such failed products in Huangtian Biological Laboratory.

The audience in the live broadcast room were equally shocked.

[Oh my God, are these people inhumane? ]

[This is too dark. What kind of beast would conduct such an experiment?]

I thought Qiao Zhizhang was a conscientious entrepreneur, but he turned out to be a scumbag!

[Isn't this how Qiao Zhizhang created those children? It's really disgusting.]

[With such high-ranking officials, the heavens are completely rotten. I suggest they all be shot.]

[Shameless! Beast!]

Can we respect life? Can people created through gene editing still be called human?

Chi Qi's indifferent gaze paused slightly at the last comment, and her fingers unconsciously supported her chin.

Life created through gene editing...is it considered human?

Just like Seventeen, she lost all human emotions since birth and became an alien in everyone's eyes.

Chi Qi raised a mocking smile at the corner of her lips. Calling her a monster...seems to be true.

Now that she thinks about it, she really needs to meet this person again.

But for now, let’s deal with Qiao Zhizhang first.

Chi Li said coldly, "I believe you have all seen that Huangtian's so-called evidence accusing the material machine of causing death is nothing more than a self-directed drama. The real murderer is Huangtian's director Qiao Zhizhang himself, the thief crying thief."

The cold voice came through the microphone and was clearly heard by everyone.

"Therefore, I would like to bring charges against George Zhang here: illegal gene editing experiments, endangering the public safety of the Empire, and illegal imprisonment."

She raised her eyes, stared at Qiao Zhizhang, and sneered, "Mr. Qiao, now it's your turn to defend me. Like you said, even a death row inmate should have the right to plead, right?"

Qiao Zhizhang felt as if he was being stared at by a ferocious beast. He shuddered suddenly and his hair stood on end.