Chapter 1288 Dropping a Bombshell

Xiao Peng glanced at the surveillance screen and said, "Hmm... I took a look at the situation on the seabed. They're still working on clearing the deck. It looks like it'll take more than an hour. I'll take the footage over and you guys can watch it slowly. I'll be back in an hour!"

"No! Brother! Chat with everyone if you have nothing to do!" At this time, a barrage of comments floated over.

"Hmm?" Xiao Peng saw the comments and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Dude, I heard you're going to donate Villa Eikenhorst to the country to be used as the Daxia Embassy in the Netherlands?"

Xiao Peng frowned slightly when he saw the comments: "Did the news spread so quickly?"

"Yeah! When I heard about this, I thought it was a joke. Are you really willing to donate that house? It's a royal residence!"

Xiao Peng sighed, "That house looks nice from the outside, but it's such a pain to live in! Oh my god, you wouldn't believe it, I even got a ticket for fishing in my own yard! Their protection policies for these buildings have reached a perverted level! And recently, I had something really bothering me, so I just donated the house."

The guy who posted the comment clearly had plenty of money: "Dude, it's fine if you say that to others, but you're so famous in Europe right now, and you just hung up on the King of the Netherlands when he called you. And you say you still have something bothering you? These days, corruption starts when the rich start crying poor!"

Xiao Peng laughed and said, "Brother, I'm not really crying poor. My troubles don't come from money. How should I put it? You must know the saying 'a tall tree attracts the wind.' I'm being targeted by some inexplicable person right now."

"Oh? Who dares to challenge the famous 'Salvage King'?" The barrage of comments passed by again.

Xiao Peng said, "Brother, I can answer this question even if you don't ask me. There's no need to spend money chatting with me."

"It's okay, just consider it as a contribution to the deep diving base."

Xiao Peng stopped trying to persuade him and continued, "Who's targeting me now? Of course, someone even more powerful is targeting me. Have you heard of PETA?"

"Of course, they have so many celebrities advertising for them, right? The latest spokesperson seems to be the brother of that female celebrity who evaded taxes. But they've been pretty much dealt with in China, with Weibo, Bilibili, and the like all blocked. They can't cause any big waves!"

Xiao Peng sighed, "We've almost gotten rid of them back home, but they're thriving in Europe. They came after me and said they're suing me on behalf of a nurse shark I met in the Mediterranean named Nightingale. They claim Nightingale didn't receive adequate compensation for helping me search for shipwrecks, and they want justice for Nightingale. The lawyer's letter was even sent to my house."

"Are they crazy?" The people on the barrage asked the question that everyone in the live broadcast room was thinking.

Xiao Peng continued, "I don't know if they're crazy or not, but there was a plague outbreak in Australia and they didn't allow the Australians to kill rats. After all, they gave me a lawyer's letter, and they're also the most well-known animal protection organization in the world, right? Wouldn't it be easy for them to discredit me? So I can't be so cowardly, right? In Europe, 'environmental protection' and 'animal protection' are red lines that cannot be crossed! You say I'm the 'salvage king'? I really can't afford to mess with people like that!"

Xiao Peng lit a cigarette and continued, "A few days ago, Ms. Miranda, the director of PETA's European branch, came to me with her lawyer. It was about this matter. I had to have a good talk with them, right? But they told me they didn't want to go to court with me, because that would cost too much and waste time for both sides, and it would not be beneficial for me. Then Ms. Miranda proposed to me that she would cooperate with me, and then I figured out what was going on - it turned out that they had set up a plant-based meat company and wanted me to endorse them and promote it."

At this point, Xiao Peng slammed his hand on the table and said, "How the hell can I promote artificial meat to them?" After that, he explained in front of the camera what exactly "artificial meat" is and explained the difference between the two types of "artificial meat": "In short, so-called "plant-based meat" is actually something similar to dried tofu. Although it is marketed as a "weight loss health food," the calorie content of most plant-based meats far exceeds that of normal meat. Not only will you not lose weight, but you will gain weight! They put on the "plant-based meat" label and sell it at all kinds of high prices to make money! And what about that so-called "cultivated meat"? It's actually the same as "genetically modified" food. Whether it is harmful to the human body will take time to verify. Our Daxia is the world's largest consumer market. How could I do something like using Daxia people as guinea pigs? If I did such a thing, I'm afraid someone will spit on my tombstone in the future!"

"Dude! You're doing the right thing! These days some people will do anything for money!"

Xiao Peng sighed deeply after seeing the comments, looking dejected. He then said, "But I'm afraid of you! PETA's influence in Europe and the United States is truly beyond your imagination. I really can't survive if I offend them. As a last resort, I hired some private detectives to investigate them and see if there's any way to protect myself."

"What's the result?"

Xiao Peng sighed again. When everyone thought he was at his wit's end, Xiao Peng suddenly said, "I actually found out something about them. I really feel sorry for those PETA followers. What has become of their love? Let me read it to you: Jason Buck, PETA's senior vice president of Asia, spent $6.4 million on travel expenses last year, and he only went to Cambodia for a week-long trip that entire year. Where did all that travel money go? The answer is: he bought a villa worth over $2 million in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, and the rest All the funds were used for personal extravagance; his tax payment last year was only $22,400. Jeanne Miranda, PETA's senior director for Europe, lives on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. She owns a €4 million apartment where it meets the Champs-Élysées, which she bought during her first year as PETA's senior director for Europe. As for PETA's president, Ingrid Neuk, her son's consulting firm has an annual turnover of over $40 million, all of which comes from PETA's "consulting fees." It's a classic case of "left hand to right hand transfer."

Xiao Peng waved at Walter, who handed him a stack of documents. "This contains information on 128 senior officials within PETA. Some of them have funding issues. I'll forward this information to the relevant departments later. Are there still people who believe in such an organization? Do you really think the money you donated is going to protect animals? It's all turned into their houses and cars!"