Chapter 578 - 338: President Lin, When Will You Become the President of the Chamber of Commerce?

"The Solomon Islands?"

"Let me pull up the information for everyone."

After hearing Lin Chu's words, Ma Teng, the head of the Dubai branch, turned on the conference room's projector and quickly searched for the relevant materials.

—The Solomon Islands, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, between 5 and 12 degrees south latitude and 155 and 170 degrees east longitude. Comprised of over 900 islands, it has a land area of 28,400 square kilometers, a population of 720,000, and a gross national product of 1.6 billion US dollars.

This information...

For a moment, everyone present fell into a strange silence, their eyes turning to Lin Chu.

Ma Teng included.

He had no idea what Lin Chu was planning.

After pulling up the data, his confusion only grew.

'It's quite strange.'

That Lin Chu would place so much importance on a tiny, insignificant place with such a small population and economy truly felt absurd.

It was like an emperor taking an interest in a beggars' den and insisting on investigating it thoroughly.

It made no sense.

It really made no sense at all.

"President Lin, is there something special about this place?"

Someone in the front row raised their hand and asked.

Hearing the question, Lin Chu's eyes flickered. He quickly weighed whether he should disclose more detailed information to them.

To be honest, the level of trust among the thirty-odd people here wasn't very high. After all, they had only just met.

Lin Chu wasn't sure if the information would be leaked.

There could be a mole among them.

The current situation, the personnel—it was all more complicated and not quite the same as with ordinary company employees.

However, after a brief hesitation, Lin Chu chose to trust them.

It wasn't because of some principle like 'don't use those you doubt, and don't doubt those you use.'

Rather, it was because even if this information was leaked, even if Liszt found out, it wouldn't be a huge deal.

'Isn't it perfectly normal for me to be investigating him?'

If it really did leak, then it would be a good opportunity to see his reaction.

The situation had already developed to this point. Although there was still a chance for de-escalation, a show of strength was also essential.

"An international capital consortium has built a secret research base there. They're the ones causing trouble."

"Right now, I need more intelligence. The personnel sent on this mission will essentially be commercial spies, tasked only with gathering information. As for whether there will be a next step, that will depend on what we find."

Lin Chu said in a calm voice.

At his words, faint ripples of commotion spread through the conference room once more.

"A secret research base?"

"We've never really dealt with a place like this before…"

"Places like this actually exist?"

"The world is a big place. The more secret and unknown a small place is, the bigger the secrets it often hides. Especially on islands like these, there's so much you can get away with."

"True, it's completely isolated from the rest of the world…"

"Old Zhang, I think this mission is actually a great fit for you. The Melanesian People are black, right? Even if they have blond hair. Just look at you—dye your hair and you'd fit right in."

As the crowd chattered, a man in a camouflage T-shirt glanced around before laughingly teasing another person.

The man being teased wasn't particularly tall, just over 170cm, with dreadlocks, a dark complexion, and typically Asian features.

He had been stationed in Africa year-round. Perhaps due to the climate and the sun, his skin had become very dark, and his overall demeanor was just like that of a black person.

Despite being teased, Zhang Guodong didn't get angry. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one up, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

At this, Lin Chu couldn't help but look at him.

'This line of thinking for selecting personnel is one possible direction.'

Meeting Lin Chu's gaze, Zhang Guodong couldn't help but grin, revealing a mouthful of pearly white teeth. "President Lin, I've got no problem with it. I'm just a brick—tell me where to go, and I'll go there. But to be honest, I'm a guy who believes in persuading people with virtue... martial virtue, that is. My brain might not be up to the task."

"A mission like this requires a high IQ, doesn't it? I'm just a rough-and-tumble guy. If you told me to hunt a lion, I'd have no problem, none at all. But this infiltration stuff, I'll be honest, it's a bit daunting."

"Of course, if you're sure about it, I'll go. No problem. As for languages, I'm pretty decent. I know a bit of English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish."

He wasn't shy about his self-deprecating humor, coming across as an optimist and a straightforward person.

The atmosphere in the conference room immediately became a little more cheerful.

For everyone here, this type of mission was a first.

"What's your family situation like?"

Lin Chu asked with a smile.

"Well… HAHAHA, I don't have any family back home, it's just me. I've got a cheap life. As for outside…"

Zhang Guodong scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed as he spoke. He rubbed his nose awkwardly. "I've got a few women and over a dozen kids."

Everyone: ???

Uh.

'As expected of our brother from the Africa branch. What a stud.'

The few who knew him well burst into exaggerated laughter.

That was the kind of atmosphere in Africa. In his line of work, Old Zhang was strong, had men, guns, and money, so naturally, he was living it up over there.

Having such a large family was perfectly normal for him.

At this revelation, Lin Chu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He teased with a smile, "Your pressure to support the family must be pretty immense... Is your salary enough?"

The tone of the meeting suddenly went a bit off-track.

But that was fine. This kind of atmosphere was actually quite good.

Serious yet lively, united yet focused.

This was the ideal standard.

"It's enough, definitely no problem there. Although I'm always living paycheck to paycheck, I haven't missed out on any of life's pleasures… Don't you worry about that for me. As long as you think I'm the right fit, just give the order."