The Ultimate Tycoon's System Audit

Chapter 9: High-Stakes IPO Summit

Sunlight streamed through the massive glass dome of the Han City Convention Center, illuminating a sea of expensive tailored suits and glittering jewelry.

Inside the main exhibition hall, hundreds of cameras flashed rapidly, their rhythmic clicking blending with the low, excited chatter of the crowd. High-profile international investors, wealthy venture capitalists, and top-tier financial journalists filled the tiered leather seats, creating a buzzing wall of sound that vibrated through the polished floors. Everyone was eager to witness the birth of a new corporate empire.

At the center of the grand stage stood a massive digital screen displaying the sleek Cheonji Logistics logo next to a soaring, bright green stock graph.

Director Kang stood proudly at the podium, looking exceptionally confident in a sharp navy-blue suit that cost more than a common worker's annual salary. He gestured smoothly toward the presentation slides, his face radiant with triumph as he presented beautifully fabricated profit margins. Min-ah and her mother sat squarely in the front row of the VIP section, dressed in expensive, brand-new designer outfits. They looked incredibly smug, occasionally whispering to each other, flaunting their luxury accessories, and smirking whenever a camera swept past their faces.

"Our projected growth for the next fiscal year is set to exceed forty percent," Director Kang announced, his voice projecting through the high-end speaker system with absolute, practiced authority. "Cheonji Logistics is no longer just a local shipping company. We are the future of global supply chains. With today's public listing, we are opening the gates to a completely unprecedented era of wealth."

Thunderous applause erupted across the massive hall. Min-ah’s mother clapped the loudest and hardest, her eyes practically shining with the reflection of the giant digital numbers on the screen. She leaned over to whisper to her daughter, already listing the penthouses they would buy by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, a young man wearing a simple, dark grey suit walked calmly through the heavy security gates of the convention center lobby.

It was Jin.

He had finally ditched his old, frayed black hoodie, replacing it with a modest, entirely unbranded suit that fit his lean frame perfectly. His hair was neatly styled, and his posture was upright and steady. To the casual observer scanning the crowd, he looked like a junior legal assistant, a quiet tech consultant, or perhaps a low-level reporter tracking a story.

As Jin walked down the carpeted corridor toward the restricted VIP press section, a familiar, sneering face suddenly blocked his path. It was Min-jae, the brown-nosed senior clerk who had spent years making Jin’s life miserable back at the office. Today, Min-jae was wearing a glossy, laminated security badge and a wireless earpiece, clearly feeling like a powerful historical figure as the event's floor coordinator.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Min-jae hissed under his breath, his eyes widening with immediate hostility as he stepped right into Jin’s path. "Jin, have you completely lost your mind? Did you actually sneak into a high-level government-approved summit just to cause trouble? Look around you, you idiot! I'll have the security guards beat you senseless and throw you into the dirty street in front of all these international cameras!"

Jin didn't even blink. His expression remained as calm and smooth as still water. Without saying a word, he reached into his inner suit jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek, matte-black credential card embedded with a glowing gold electronic chip.

"I didn't sneak in, Min-jae," Jin said, his voice remarkably quiet but carrying a deep, vibrating firmness that seemed to chill the air. "I am here as an officially recognized representative."

Min-jae snatched the card out of Jin's hand, intending to mock whatever fake ID the "beggar clerk" had made up, but his smug expression froze instantly. His jaw dropped slightly, and the color rapidly drained from his face.

The card was an official, top-tier Sovereign Auditor Credential, backed directly by the International Financial Regulatory Association. It was a level of absolute global clearance that even the Chairman of the board, or the CEO of Cheonji Logistics himself, could not legally deny or question.

"This... this is impossible. How on earth did a garbage loser like you get your hands on something like this?" Min-jae stammered, his fingers trembling as he looked from the heavy matte card to Jin's calm, steady eyes. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt entirely dry.

"Step aside," Jin commanded.

The sheer, authoritative weight of Jin’s tone made Min-jae’s legs feel weak. Subconsciously, his body moved on its own, stepping backward into the shadows of the hallway. Jin walked right past him without giving him a second glance, pushing open the heavy double doors and entering the VIP gallery just as Director Kang reached the grand climax of his keynote speech.

From the illuminated stage, Director Kang raised his hands with a theatrical flourish, signaling the crowd to quiet down. "And now, we will open the floor to a brief Q&A session for our esteemed guests and press members, right before we ring the official ceremonial bell to launch our stock on the global market."

Jin walked slowly, deliberately, down the center aisle of the press section. He reached the central standing microphone, his cold, piercing eyes locking onto Director Kang's face like a predator cornering its prey.

"I have a question, Director Kang," Jin's voice echoed through the microphone, his clear tone instantly cutting through the lingering whispers of the room and silencing the entire hall.

Min-ah and her mother lazily turned their heads, expecting a standard reporter's inquiry. But the moment their eyes landed on Jin standing tall at the microphone, their smug, arrogant smiles instantly shattered into looks of pure, unadulterated horror.

"Jin?!" Min-ah gasped, her voice barely a breathy wheeze as her hands began to shake violently, her long nails digging painfully into her mother’s arm.

Up on the bright stage, Director Kang's hand tightened around the edges of the wooden podium so hard that the polished veneer creaked. His eyes flared with a toxic mixture of shock, confusion, and sheer corporate rage.

How did this pathetic trash survive, let alone walk into this room? Kang thought, his heart suddenly hammering like a frantic drum against his ribs.

"I am Jin, representing Sovereign Capital," Jin announced, his voice echoing flawlessly into every corner of the room, holding the attention of every multi-millionaire investor in attendance. "Before we celebrate this historic IPO, I would like to ask Director Kang to explain a sudden forty percent discrepancy in Cheonji’s internal revenue—specifically, the three-billion-dollar ghost transactions linked directly to his personal digital token."