Stark's troubles, however, had only just begun.
Ever since the assault incident was exposed, despite Stark Communications President Liam's immediate announcement that the security guards were temporary staff and did not represent the company's will or image, and that he harbored no discrimination whatsoever, it proved to be utterly useless. The internet was still flooded with negative reviews, traditional media outlets relentlessly criticized the company, and Liam's "temporary staff" remark became a complete joke.
If being cursed at were the only issue, it would be manageable. However, the reality was that Stark was in a dire situation.
As Malik had said, Stark Communications' financial situation was already extremely precarious. Due to a prolonged business decline, Stark was operating at a loss, barely managing to stay afloat by borrowing money or simply hanging on by a thread.
But now, even that thread had snapped. With the continuous escalation of negative news, even if Stark could ignore it, Stark's creditors could not!
The first major creditor was the banks. Stark Corporation owed three commercial banks nearly $150 million in loans. These loans had already been overdue for more than three years, with Stark Company managing to maintain its debt status by employing various means to shuffle funds.
Now, the astute banks, seeing the current disastrous negative news, immediately realized that Stark Communications might be beyond saving.
The negative publicity was bound to cause a large number of users to switch carriers. Furthermore, 35% of Stark's users were Black. If these users were to leave en masse, Stark Communications would completely lose its ability to repay its debts.
The banks could not stand idly by and let this happen. The best course of action was to freeze Stark's assets preemptively and recover the bank's due payments before other creditors could.
Thus, within a single day, all three banks issued notices to Stark Company demanding immediate repayment and, to make matters worse, froze all of Stark Company's assets.
Indeed, as a condition for these loans from the three banks, all of Stark's commercial accounts were required to be opened at these banks. Therefore, once these banks froze the accounts, Stark Communications would be unable to access a single cent.
This left Stark's President and Chairman, Liam, in utter despair. He had been hoping to transfer some assets and flee the country, but now he didn't even have a chance to escape.
Stark Communications' equity structure was quite unique, being a family business with most of the shares held by Liam. This meant Liam actually had an opportunity to abscond with the money.
But now, he had no chance to run with the money and was simultaneously facing immense pressure from the banks to repay the debt within three days. xxs one
If it were only the banks, it would have been one thing. Stark Communications' creditors also included various suppliers, contractors, and Stark's own employees. These outstanding debts were like swords hanging over Stark's head.
Previously, Stark had consistently used the threat of "if I go bankrupt, none of you will get your money back" to intimidate creditors, while also maintaining a semblance of stability by making small payments periodically.
However, now that the banks had completely sealed Stark's accounts and seized all of Stark Communications' cash, and the news of Stark's impending bankruptcy spread, these creditors could no longer wait. They directly flocked to Stark Communications' entrance, demanding that Liam immediately repay their dues, or they would seize Stark Communications' assets, including all their base stations located throughout the city, as compensation.
Just as Liam was feeling overwhelmed and trying to figure out how to escape his predicament, he suddenly found that an unexpected visitor had arrived.
“Didn’t see those two security guards today!” Huang Laoban said with a smile to Malik, as he brought Malik to the entrance of Stark Communications again after two days.
“Yes, sir. It seems no one will stop me today!” Malik also said with a smile. He was in a very good mood now, as the humiliations he had suffered before were all being returned to Stark. The feeling was simply wonderful.
“Yes, I heard those two security guards were fired. Truly pitiful fellows, they worked diligently as security guards without receiving their wages for three months!” Huang Laoban said somewhat sarcastically. Then the two of them entered the company directly, finally seeing the receptionist that Malik had never had the chance to meet before.
“Hello, I want to see your President Liam!” Malik said calmly as he approached the reception desk.
“Our President is not accepting any interviews at the moment!” the receptionist replied without turning her head. So many people had tried to see Liam over the past two days, but none of them had succeeded, and all had been turned away.
“No, I think your President would be very willing to see me!” Malik said. The receptionist finally looked up, seeing Malik’s face.
“It’s you!” the receptionist exclaimed in shock. Perhaps she didn't recognize other Black people, but she could never forget Malik’s face. It was this face that had plunged the entire company into near paralysis.
“I don’t think our President will want to see you! You should leave, or he’ll tear you apart!” the receptionist said irritably.
“Tell your President that I can bring him to this state, and I can also bring his company back from the brink of death. As long as he is willing to see me, everything is possible!” Malik said in a deep voice. However, these words were spoken by Huang He, who was coaching Malik.
“Is there really a chance to bring the company back from the brink of death?” the receptionist asked with some excitement.
“Of course. If you don’t believe me, you can believe the BLm Company behind me!” Malik said confidently.
“Alright, then I’ll take you to see the boss!” the receptionist said immediately. Then she stood up and led them upstairs.
“Don’t you need to call Mr. Liam?” Malik asked somewhat surprised.
“No need. If I call, he might run away. I’ll just take you directly. Besides, he still owes me three months of salary!” the receptionist said through gritted teeth.
Taking the elevator to the sixth floor, Malik and his companions were surprised to find that it seemed everyone in the company was gathered on the sixth floor, and their gazes were all focused on a closed office door on the sixth floor.
“What’s going on?” Malik asked in great surprise.
“We are preventing Mr. Liam from escaping!” the receptionist replied after a moment's hesitation. “Mr. Liam’s secretary said that he had already booked flights to Tonga for his entire family, claiming it was for a vacation trip!”
“We believe Mr. Liam might be trying to escape. All of us have been owed wages for over three months. To get our salaries back, we have been blocking Mr. Liam in his office for a day and a night!”
“…” This time, even Huang Laoban’s mouth hung open. Being blocked in his office by his own employees, Huang Laoban inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity in this scene.
Suddenly, Huang Laoban felt a surge of sympathy for Mr. Liam. So he coughed and said, “Everyone, please make way. Let me talk to Mr. Liam!”
“Who are you?” the employees exclaimed, looking at Huang He and Malik behind him. The receptionist quickly went up to explain, and then the employees, with some doubt, made way. However, one employee said, “No one can get Mr. Liam to open the door now. I don’t know if you can get in.”
“I think I can!” Huang Laoban nodded with a smile, then forcefully knocked on the office door. His companion, Hu Jing, translated for him, “Mr. Liam, please open the door. I have something I’d like to discuss with you!”
“I won’t let anyone in, unless I starve to death in here, I will never yield to your threats!” Liam shouted from inside the office.
“I am Huang He, Chairman of Jiangnan Group, Huang He!” Huang Laoban said calmly. A few seconds later, the door creaked open. After confirming it was Huang He, the door opened fully. Liam, looking somewhat surprised and somewhat excited, invited Huang He in.
“Chairman Huang, as long as you are willing to pay a fee of $10 million, I can immediately represent Stark Communications and sign the contract plan with you. With our contract plan, your Tianxing 5 mobile phone can be directly connected to the network, and all it takes is $10 million to achieve this!” Liam said directly, seemingly having grasped Huang Laoban's intentions.
However, Huang Laoban didn't seem to be in a hurry to respond. Instead, he looked around the office, saw the overflowing ashtray filled with cigarette butts, and Mr. Liam’s greasy hair. Huang Laoban suddenly asked with a smile, “President Liam, do you know how you ended up in this situation?”
“Isn’t it all thanks to you? You’re using online public opinion to torment me, and this guy who was beaten, it’s all your plan. You called the reporters in advance! This is all deliberate on your part!” By this point, Liam could no longer suppress his anger.
“Alas, you can’t say that. The reporters were just there to follow the difficult market entry path of our Tianxing 5 mobile phone, planning to make a documentary later. Who knew your security guards had such serious discriminatory sentiments and actually resorted to violence!” Huang Laoban said with a smile. “Besides, what’s trapping you here isn’t me, but yourself!”
“What does it have to do with myself?” Liam snorted coldly.
“Think about it, since you were already preparing to escape, why didn’t you buy the tickets yourself instead of letting your secretary buy them? Even if the secretary bought them, why didn’t you buy one for your most loyal secretary? Isn’t that foolish?” Huang Laoban said cheerfully. Hu Jing behind him couldn’t help but roll her eyes.