Chapter 157 Brazen Tactics
Seeing that Rufus had already started walking toward that quiet figure, alarm bells went off in Isadora's head. She couldn't care less about maintaining her composure anymore and hurried after him, trying to stop him.
"Mr. Chapman!" She blocked Rufus's path, forcing a worried expression onto her face. "It's competition time right now. If you go over there with all the media cameras around, and they catch it on film, it could affect both your reputation and the company's."
She threw out this high-minded reason, hoping to make him back off.
Rufus did stop in his tracks.
He turned his head and looked at her with eyes so cold they had absolutely no warmth. There was no anger in that gaze, no impatience—just a pure, heart-stopping indifference.
"Move."
That was all he said.
Isadora went rigid under his stare, all her remaining words stuck in her throat.
She clearly understood the message in Rufus's eyes: she was insignificant. Nothing she said or did carried any weight with him whatsoever.
In the middle of this suffocating standoff, another figure quietly appeared before Rufus, blocking his path to Cecilia.
"Mr. Chapman, what a pleasant mood you're in."
Stefan had somehow come down from the viewing area. He stood there, tall and straight, wearing his usual business smile, but the amusement in his eyes didn't reach them.
"This is the contestants' creative area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed."
With that casual remark, Stefan directly categorized Rufus as "unauthorized personnel."
When Rufus saw Stefan, his pupils contracted sharply. Old and new grudges surged up together, and the pressure around Rufus dropped even lower.
"Stefan," Rufus let out a low, cold laugh, "you think this is your territory? You really think you can control everything?"
"I don't know if I can control everything," Stefan's smile remained unchanged, but his tone carried a lazy provocation, "but at least on this show, I'm the biggest investor. What I say still carries some weight."
"Is that so?" Rufus's gaze turned dangerous. "What if I want to invest too? I think the production team wouldn't refuse a bigger investment."
He was going to use the most simple and brutal method—directly seizing control!
Isadora listened from the side with her heart pounding, yet also feeling somewhat excited. With Rufus and Stefan confronting each other face to face, no matter who won, as long as it hurt Cecilia, Isadora would be happy to see it.
Hearing this, Stefan seemed to find it amusing and chuckled.
"Sorry, Mr. Chapman, too late." Stefan spread his hands with a regretful expression. "From the very beginning of this project, I signed an exclusive investment agreement. So I'm afraid we can't accept your 'bigger' investment."
Stefan had anticipated this move from Rufus and had already blocked all possible routes.
Rufus's expression instantly darkened. He stared hard at Stefan, his gaze looking like it wanted to tear him apart.
Not only was Stefan unafraid, he actually met Rufus's eyes and stepped half a pace closer, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear.
"Don't waste your energy. As long as I'm here, you won't touch a hair on her head."
This declaration, full of possessiveness, completely ignited Rufus's fury.
However, just as Rufus's anger was about to explode, Stefan suddenly changed tack.
"I think Mr. Hensley will soon have no time to care about other people's competitions here." Rufus's tone was full of vengeful satisfaction. "After all, when your business has problems, that's no fun."
The moment Rufus finished speaking, Stefan's phone rang urgently in his pocket.
It was his assistant Garth calling.
Stefan glanced at Rufus and answered the phone.
"Mr. Hensley, this is bad!" On the other end, Garth's voice was extremely anxious. "Our largest, most automated factory just had a major incident!"
"Just a few minutes ago, there was an extremely serious production accident. Initial assessment is that someone deliberately sabotaged the central circuit control system, causing all production lines to completely shut down! The entire factory is now blacked out and locked down!"
Garth took a breath, his voice becoming even more strained.
"What's even more critical is that the production line was rushing to complete the first batch of core components for an important overseas client—this was our key step into their supply chain! Now it's all ruined!"
"The penalty fees are astronomical, but that's secondary. Once we fail to deliver on time, our cooperation plans for the next few years will be completely destroyed! And, and tomorrow is the factory's media open day—reporters have already caught wind of this and are heading there!"
This sudden disaster had an impact far beyond Stefan's imagination.
The smile on Stefan's face finally disappeared bit by bit.
The factory shut down?
This was definitely not a coincidence!
This factory was the core of the Hensley Group's industrial layout for the second half of the year, handling all high-tech product manufacturing tasks. It was the strategic foundation for the Hensley Group's transformation into high-tech manufacturing.
Now that it had shut down, they weren't just facing astronomical penalty fees and a credibility crisis—it meant the Hensley Group's entire ambitious transformation plan had been violently undermined at its foundation.
This was Rufus's counterattack.
Fast, precise, ruthless—striking at the vital point.
"I understand." Stefan's voice betrayed no emotion. He hung up and looked up at Rufus.
Rufus was looking at Stefan with a victor's posture, his eyes full of undisguised mockery and satisfaction.
"So, Mr. Hensley?" Rufus spoke slowly. "Do you still think you have time to watch the competition here?"
Stefan fell silent for a moment.
Stefan glanced at Cecilia in the distance, still immersed in her own world, completely unaware of this turbulent confrontation, then looked back at Rufus with his twisted expression.
Stefan knew he had to leave immediately.
"Well played." Stefan forced these words through his teeth, giving Rufus a sharp, piercing look.
Stefan didn't waste another word. He turned and strode toward the exit.
Stefan's hasty departure made the atmosphere incredibly awkward.
Given Rufus's status and wealth, the surrounding staff and contestants didn't dare breathe too loudly, all keeping their heads down, pretending they hadn't seen anything.
Isadora's mood, however, was like riding a roller coaster. She was first shocked by Rufus's ruthless tactics, then felt a surge of joy at Stefan's defeat.
Stefan had left.
That meant Amelia's biggest backer was gone!
But when Isadora looked at Rufus and found his gaze still fixed on Amelia, that resentment and jealousy surged up again.
This time, though, Isadora didn't impulsively try to stop him.
Isadora chose to stand aside and watch coldly.
Isadora wanted to see how Amelia could still act so arrogant without Stefan's protection!