The rain poured down in relentless sheets, neon lights shattering across the wet asphalt like blood spilled on glass.
Inside the car, Tianlin sat in silence, eyes fixed on the rain-streaked window. Each droplet reflected his sharp profile, cold and unyielding. Beside him, Zhao Xueqing's brows were furrowed, her phone gripped tightly in her hand.
They had barely left the Chamber of Commerce banquet when the first strike landed.
A news headline exploded across the web within an hour:
—"Capital's New Star Involved in Shady Deals? Subsidiaries of Tianlin Group Under Investigation for Financial Scandals!"
The story spread like wildfire, comments multiplying in the millions. Accusations, curses, and venomous speculation poured down like arrows, each one aimed squarely at Tianlin.
"They made their move early," Zhao Xueqing said darkly, her eyes flashing with steel.
Tianlin closed her phone with deliberate calm, his voice low, almost detached."A blood-stained reputation is not always a curse. Sometimes, it's bait. Let them believe I'm wounded—then they'll show me their throats."
The Media Storm
By morning, the financial headlines were painted in red ink."Shadow Behind the Rising Star,""The Truth of Capital's Profits,""Hunter or Viper?"
Every platform echoed the same chorus. Overnight, Tianlin's name had been tainted with blood.
In a smoky, dimly lit private room, several figures sat around a round table, their laughter thick with contempt.
Du Huai'an tossed a dossier onto the table. "I warned you, that boy shines too brightly. Now his reputation is rotten. He won't recover from this."
Li Zhongnan stroked his beard, gaze lingering on Tianlin's face in the documents. His voice was measured, almost curious."Don't be so quick. If he crumbles so easily, then he was never worthy of being called a hunter."
Qin Zhiyuan scoffed. "A ruined reputation is still ruined. No one in the capital circle will touch him after this."
Glasses clinked, laughter followed. To them, Tianlin was already a corpse waiting to be buried.
The Counterstroke
That evening, Zhao Xueqing entered Tianlin's office, a thick folder in her hands."We traced the money. Du Huai'an's Shenghai Capital deliberately shorted three of your subsidiaries in the past three days. It was coordinated with the media smear."
Tianlin flipped through the evidence, his gaze sharpening with every page."Good. Since they struck first, they can hardly complain when I draw blood in return."
He uncapped his pen, making a few precise marks, his voice cold and resolute."Spread the word—tomorrow, I'll hold a press conference. I'll answer every question head-on."
Zhao Xueqing froze. "That's dangerous. It's exactly what they want—to drag you into the open."
Tianlin lifted his head, eyes glinting like blades under dim light."The only way to wash a blood-stained reputation is with a bloodier counterattack."
The Press Conference
Flashbulbs assaulted the stage, a storm of cameras and voices drowning the air.Journalists hurled questions like bullets:
"Mr. Tianlin, do you admit to your involvement in financial scandals?""Rumors say your rise was backed by hidden forces. Care to confirm?""Will this mark the end of your presence in the capital circle?"
The hall buzzed with hostility, the weight of public opinion pressing down like a suffocating tide.
Yet Tianlin stood calm, stepping onto the podium with unshaken steps. His gaze swept across the room, voice steady, cutting through the chaos:"If you want me to fall, rumors won't be enough. Only truth will decide my fate. A blood-stained reputation is not my end—it is the beginning of your downfall."
As his words hung in the air, the giant screen behind him flickered to life.
Transaction chains. Banking records. Shadow funds. Surveillance clips.
Every piece of evidence connected back to a single name:Shenghai Capital — Du Huai'an.
Gasps rippled across the hall. Journalists scrambled, cameras zooming in on the damning details.
Zhao Xueqing's heart raced as she watched from the side of the stage. She knew what this meant—Tianlin had turned the tide, but in doing so, he had ripped the mask off the beast.
And beasts, when cornered, bite the hardest.