Miss Beautiful C.E.O and her system

Chapter 791 791: Ling Qingyu's layers of conspiracy

While Kate exploited the opportunities given by her friend to raise her influence among the board members and deter even the slightest thoughts of betrayal, she also prepared to face investigations.

In the land of capitalists, any death of a wealthy figure drew attention from national law enforcement.

At the lowest level was the state police, while the highest could reach the federal bureau. If the wealth involved was greater, attention from agencies like the CIA wasn't impossible.

Should the IRS get involved, it would be an extreme headache. Nonetheless, in the coming days, the investigation didn't progress further.

Perhaps from that man's subordinates' testimonies, the federal agents held suspicions toward her.

She could feel it intuitively—they were surveilling her nearby. Of course, the effort wasn't extensive, since the benefits were too small for higher-level authorities to gain by targeting her.

So their actions remained secretive. Still, Kate managed to find several bugs in her office and company building through Ling Qingyu's jamming device.

Kate even wondered if Ling Qingyu lacked any naming ability, because this so-called jamming device possessed multiple functions.

Not only could it emit radio waves to jam signals, but it could also detect the locations of bugs easily. There were several other functions which Kate didn't know yet.

She didn't know that Ling Qingyu herself hadn't fully figured out Athena's device before gifting it to her friend.

Otherwise, Ling Qingyu would have presented a stripped-down version. Naturally, it was also possible Ling Qingyu had guessed that the functions weren't too high-tier but were enough to instill awe in Kate, and had given it generously on purpose.

Also, Athena hadn't warned her at all. So whatever the device held wasn't too important.

Pissed as she was after discovering the bugs and the presence of agents nearby, Kate didn't make any moves.

She left the bugs as they were and acted completely clueless, rendering the federal bureau's efforts a waste. Although the latter figured that Kate had a higher chance of being the culprit, there wasn't any evidence—only speculation and some people's accusations.

Not to mention, Ling Qingyu had already reassured her that their email communications were completely secure. What was shown was what she intended; what she didn't want would never appear.

Besides, Kate hadn't done anything at all. She wasn't even part of the acts apart from being a beneficiary. So long as, she stayed away from Ling Qingyu, nothing would suffice.

As for whether agents would go to an extreme length to investigate Ling Qingyu, Kate wasn't too worried with Ling Qingyu's assurance.

After all, who dared to peep into the local official's favorite with substantial background. And an unrelated future investor coming for market research. Their authorities hadn't reached this far yet.

Later, those who had provided clues suffered from trumped-up charges, with solid evidence quickly seized by the IRS and state police. All of them were the dead victim's subordinates.

By now, the agents had already confirmed that the speculation didn't originate from those people. This was a fierce internal business war—a leader eliminating dissidents.

But they couldn't keep bothering Kate without proof. The local officials weren't cooperative and even pressured their work.

At the same time, several other accidents elsewhere drew away their resources. The victim's former partners and friends somehow collectively suffered mishaps.

From electric shocks and car accidents to, unfortunately, becoming the first and only victims to die in active shootings—each scenario, with no apparent connection, happened as if orchestrated by a single invisible hand.

Even if the events erupted in states miles away, news among the elites was still fast and explosive.

Particularly among her board members, whose terrified expressions couldn't be hidden from Kate's eyes. She was speechless at her friend's ruthlessness.

For the first time, she felt that the Ling Qingyu she had known back then might have been a cover.

Looking at the board members, she really wanted to confess that she wasn't involved at all. However, after careful consideration, the results weren't bad. It was better to be seen as a fierce, merciless maniac who would bite anyone who crossed her than to bear the infamy of a promiscuous lady with entrepreneurial talent.

In fact, how could she know Ling Qingyu's thoughts? The reason the latter didn't spare other wealthy figures was that they were more or less involved in Kate's assassination.

It was her greatest mercy and restraint that she didn't involve further people like spouses and children.

Didn't they like to plan and write down the scripts of someone's death? How about a polite reciprocation? At least, she was merciful enough not to desecrate their corpses as a satire of "falling out of a building because of sex."

Right now, Ling Qingyu didn't care how the events unfolded because she had already foreseen and controlled them. Nothing was out of her hands.

She was currently seeing Xiao Yue off at the airport, along with the flight crew who had doubted their misfortune a while ago.

Yes, Ling Qingyu intended for Xiao Yue to join Tang Ziyi's campaign in the Middle Kingdom. The latter rolled her eyes when she heard Ling Qingyu's plan.

Here she thought she could travel around more rather than eating sand in the desert. But Xiao Yue didn't refuse, because her greatest role as a strategist would be better utilized alongside Tang Ziyi.

Furthermore, it wasn't bad to fight and adventure alongside Tang Ziyi, as she also missed her dear.

Nevertheless, if she didn't squeeze enough promises and benefits out of Ling Qingyu, she wouldn't be the devil warlord.

Watching the huge, colorful A380 with the Spirit Emblem take off, Ling Qingyu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

This young miss must have copied her style from Tang Ziyi's rogue banditry. She even robbed her of ten bodyguards.

Well, it wasn't like she hadn't intended to send her guards to accompany Xiao Yue. Hopefully, those two would cause some headaches for the evil factions.

She and Xiao Yue had discussed the possible route for her business empire's hegemony. It wasn't hard to flourish through investment and cooperation with several governments.

A few years of waiting would yield great returns. However, to completely gain independence and authority, more was needed—especially in creating allies, particularly within the armed forces.

On the surface, like in Country E, she could drive investment under the Spirit Group and expand her empire, slowly encroaching on logistics and transportation hubs under her control.

Taking ownership of a nation's main arteries meant she became a decision-maker. As Athena had warned her about the downsides of appearing at the forefront, monopoly was impossible.

So, using different names and methods, as discussed with Xiao Yue, was the only option. But controlling standardization and the economy wasn't enough for true hegemony.

Having military alliances would further solidify control and influence. Not a military presence like Country A's, which aroused local dissatisfaction.

When foreign military bases were present inside your sovereign state, was your country even sovereign and independent?

It depended. The answer was never simply yes or no.

While Country A retained its superpower status with bases nearly all over the world—where its logistical capabilities could strike anywhere on earth for a sustained period away from the homeland—it also created jealousy and vigilance from others.

Unlike in her past world, the current Country A was excluded from most of the Alyssia Continent, with the World Government holding greater authority.

So, their plan wasn't to increase their own armed forces and bases—that was entirely impossible given the scale required and contrary to their preferred secrecy—but rather to build specialized forces composed of allies spread across the world.

In addition to the previous incognito plans that Ling Qingyu and Xiao Yue had discussed while mapping the world, the military strategy was to train a local force loyal to her group—a trustworthy one at that.

The journey of trial began with the Kurds, Country E, as well as surrounding countries. Whether their plan would work out in reality depended on how the Kurds behaved in the coming years.

To implement an army comparable to that of a truly powerful nation relied on Ling Qingyu's plan to set up a collective treaty alliance organization later.

These matters would take time to unfold. For now, Ling Qingyu laid out an intricate web of groundwork that seemed ordinary on the surface but would be terrifying once combined.

After a while, Ling Qingyu called Tang Ziyi to inform her of Xiao Yue's incoming assistance and asked how she was doing.

The initial contact and friendly banter with the local forces had been completed. She was surprised to learn that Tang Ziyi and her team had already repelled ISIS elements and government forces several times, gaining the locals' trust and forging deeper relationships.

Because she trusted Tang Ziyi and never pried, she hadn't realized the development had progressed so quickly. Tang Ziyi had already registered a mercenary group called Global Sentinel Service—GSS.

Ling Qingyu's eyelids twitched at the name because she was certain this despicable bastard had definitely been inspired by the Umbrella Corporation—the infamous USS.