Chapter 1090 - 538:

Originally a university lecturer, Lin Chuqiao carried a scholarly aura.

Yet at this moment, the gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, paired with a professional suit and the straight, slender calves wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, added a touch of businesswoman’s decisiveness to her.

The two completely different qualities harmoniously fused in her, creating a unique allure known as "elegant dominatrix."

As if hearing the engine sound, Lin Chuqiao lifted her head, and her beautiful eyes behind the lenses lit up instantly.

She quickly moved forward, and the originally serious expression on her face melted like snow and ice, turning into a radiant smile, while she raised her arm and waved vigorously.

"Squeak——"

Fang Cheng smoothly parked the car at the roadside, turned off the engine, and pushed open the door to step out.

Before he could speak, Lin Chuqiao had already walked briskly to him, cheerfully greeting:

"Brother Cheng, you arrived so quickly?"

"Yes, I rushed over right after lunch, thankfully there was no traffic."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, responding with a smile.

Then, his gaze swept over Lin Chuqiao’s high heels, slightly dirtied by some mud dust, and the few inconspicuous smudges on her skirt hem.

Seeing this normally sophisticated lady now looking worn for his matter, Fang Cheng’s eyes flickered, and his tone naturally grew more solemn:

"Thank you for your hard work these days, Chu Qiao."

"It’s not hard work; I find it much more interesting than lecturing at school."

Lin Chuqiao pursed her lips into a smile, confidently meeting Fang Cheng’s gaze.

She raised her fair hand, gently tucking a strand of wind-blown hair back behind her ear.

A simple greeting caused a trace of sweetness to well up in Lin Chuqiao’s heart.

The tiredness from handling paperwork, negotiating acquisitions, and overseeing renovations seemed to evaporate in that instant.

She adjusted her glasses on her nose bridge, concealing the joy in her eyes.

Then she turned to the side, gestured invitingly, her voice mellow and light:

"It’s windy here, and dust abounds, Brother Cheng, let’s head inside first."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, casually locked the car door, and followed along.

As they approached the factory gate, a piercing wave of noise greeted them head-on.

"Ziz—Ziz—"

The grating sound of metal cutting shattered the afternoon’s quiet.

Accompanied by the dull roar of pneumatic drills, making the entire factory clamor relentlessly.

Crossing the rusty iron gate, a choking mix of cement dust and the burning smell of welding rods assaulted them.

In sight, over a dozen workers wearing yellow safety helmets busily shuttled across the scaffolding.

Welding sparks flew, and dust danced freely in the sunlight.

The formerly silent and desolate abandoned factory now resembled a bustling construction site, brimming with "vitality" named rebuilding.

"This way, watch out for the steel bars beneath your feet."

Lin Chuqiao turned sideways, guiding Fang Cheng to avoid a heap of construction debris on the ground.

Although the sun bore down above, and dust underfoot made walking in high heels quite difficult, her enthusiasm remained high.

"Brother Cheng, here’s the plan for the first phase of refurbishment."

Lin Chuqiao pulled a neatly folded stack of A2 blueprints from her briefcase, indicating the red brick factory building with scaffolding being erected as she walked.

"That’s the former main factory area, initially I intended to refurbish it thoroughly, make it more impressive."

To drown out the surrounding noisy construction sounds, she had to raise her voice a bit.

"But after discussing with the designer, decided just to reinforce the load-bearing structure and repair the leaking roof."

Lin Chuqiao pointed at the walls, marred and peeled, revealing green and red bricks, her eyes gleaming with frugal calculation:

"We’ll keep this semi-abandoned industrial style outside, not only saving a massive renovation expense, but most importantly, it’s inconspicuous."

"In this industrial park full of rundown factories, the more rundown, the less attention it draws; it’s the best camouflage."

"After all, our core office and training sites are in the underground bunker area, the surface buildings merely camouflage, no need to spend much here."

Fang Cheng nodded approvingly upon hearing this.

For the Illuminati now, developing low-key is the way to go.

The money saved could be well-invested in more crucial internal facilities and equipment, spending wisely matters.

One after the other, they stepped onto the gravel path, entering the factory’s west side section.

Here stood a high-ceilinged steel structure building.

Previously the textile factory’s production workshop, its equipment long dismantled, leaving only the dust accrued over years and scattered debris.

Sunlight streamed through roof skylight gaps, forming beams in the dim space, countless minute particles twirling within.

Lin Chuqiao stood in the vast workshop’s center, unfolded the blueprints, her slender finger traced the intricate engineering lines.

"Brother Cheng, according to your proposal, our base will be registered as ’Yuanhang Storage Logistics Company’ to the outside world."

"But this won’t just be an empty shell; we must meet the standards of a proper logistics park, so there’s quite a workload."

Lin Chuqiao tapped the blueprint’s functional zoning with her penpoint, introducing articulately:

"After initial planning, we’ll construct two ambient temperature warehouses, one cold chain warehouse, along with cargo transfer and sorting centers."

Saying this, she turned to indicate the warehouse door’s direction, gesturing a height: