Chapter 2450: Chapter 2353: Forcing a Regime Change

Zhang Xiaomei gave Wang Yaoguo a cold smile and nodded directly:

"Alright, I know. Professor Wang, as of now you’ve been fired. As for the rest of them, whoever wants to leave can just come to me and say it. I absolutely won’t say a word to stop you. Anyone who wants to leave can get the hell out. My lab does not keep people with divided loyalties!"

Zhang Xiaomei picked up the phone in her hand and called over to the lab:

"Everyone, pay attention. Put down what you’re working on and come to the conference room for a meeting. Immediately!"

Zhang Xiaomei’s movements were crisp and efficient, without the slightest hint of hesitation, leaving Wang Yaoguo completely stunned.

She didn’t need to spell out why she was summoning everyone; Wang Yaoguo understood.

Zhang Xiaomei was going to clean house!

Originally, Wang Yaoguo wanted to force her hand, make Zhang Xiaomei give up this project. Once President Zhou acquired the project, he would take it over, and then he could press Zhang Xiaomei down beneath him, make her work for him and listen to everything he said. That was the outcome Wang Yaoguo really wanted.

But Wang Yaoguo had never actually planned to cut Zhang Xiaomei out. Even if he became the project lead in the future, he still needed this mad scientist to slave away for him. The core of the project was this woman; if she wasn’t involved, how easy would it be for the project to move forward?

What he hadn’t anticipated was that this woman would be so fierce, giving him absolutely no face and directly drawing a clear line with him. Now Wang Yaoguo was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off.

His expression shifted back and forth, and in the end he could only grit his teeth and spit out a vicious threat:

"You bitch, you’ll regret this! I’ll be waiting to see the day you crawl over here on your knees and beg me!"

Zhang Xiaomei couldn’t be bothered to waste words on someone like him and directly called security to escort Wang Yaoguo out of the building.

Wang Yaoguo hadn’t expected Zhang Xiaomei to be so ruthless. He was still cursing and jumping around at the lab entrance, looking utterly shameless.

Fortunately, the front gate and the offices were quite far from the lab, so the research staff didn’t see this ugly display, or they would definitely have been shocked.

After dealing with Wang Yaoguo, Zhang Xiaomei took Huo Sining into the conference room and waited for the lab members to assemble.

Seeing that Huo Sining had just watched the whole show without saying a word, Zhang Xiaomei felt a bit embarrassed that someone had witnessed such an awkward scene and said, somewhat apologetically:

"Girl Huo, I really am sorry. You just got here and I was planning to introduce my team to you, and instead you had to see this kind of mess."

Huo Sining just smiled and shook her head. "Staff turnover on a project is perfectly normal. You don’t need to explain anything to me. Even companies constantly have people being poached, never mind a lab. You really don’t need to feel any psychological burden."

"Personally, I think the earlier you spot problems, the better. Clear out those with ulterior motives and keep your own people—it’s easier to push the work forward. Otherwise, if someone stabs you in the back at the final critical stage, that’s what you call a real loss. Cutting out rotten flesh to stop the bleeding in time may hurt sharply for a moment, but from the long-term perspective of the project’s development, it’s a good thing!"

Originally, the whole business with Wang Yaoguo had ruined Zhang Xiaomei’s mood, sending it straight to rock bottom. But after Huo Sining’s few words of comfort, she couldn’t help but laugh:

"You’re right. Better a short pain than a long one. Problems surfacing now are better than problems surfacing at the final stage."

"I don’t mind being frank with you. Even if that Wang Yaoguo really leaves with his team, my lab will definitely be affected to some degree, but it won’t be enough to completely halt the project."

"The ones truly following me are the core members of the entire project. Those are people he can’t pry away."

"As for the rest, if they want to leave, let them. It’s really not that hard to find a few ’lubricant’ type researchers to keep things running smoothly!"

Confidence returned to Zhang Xiaomei’s face; clearly, Huo Sining’s words had talked her round.

Huo Sining smiled and nodded. "That’s good. As long as the foundation isn’t hurt, everything else is manageable. If you really end up short-handed here, my group actually has a research team too. Maybe we can lend you some people to use."

Zhang Xiaomei was taken aback at that. She had learned a few things about Huo Sining from Zhou Shitao before, but hadn’t known that Huo Sining also had a group. She couldn’t help asking curiously:

"You’ve started a company too?"

Huo Sining smiled. "I’ve dabbled a bit these past few years, set up a few companies. Last year I simply merged them and put them under unified management, over in the Imperial Capital. If you ever have time, you can come over with me and take a look. I’ve got a lab there as well, though it’s focused on security systems. There may be some gap between that and what you’re doing here."

Zhang Xiaomei was even more surprised. "You really do have a hand in everything—archaeology, bioengineering, and now a security system. That’s some serious cross-field work."

Huo Sining laughed. "Actually the underlying purpose is still to serve archaeology. I’ve filed for a private collection museum, and everything in it is antiques brought back from overseas. If I don’t put in a proper high-security protection system, I won’t feel at ease."

Zhang Xiaomei nodded. She’d already heard from Zhou Shitao that Huo Sining could donate several billion without batting an eye. That meant this young woman either was extremely good at making money or had the backing of Prominent Clans. For someone like that, building a private museum wasn’t anything unusual.

"Your work over there is research projects that don’t really overlap with my bioengineering, but that’s fine. I’ve mixed in this circle for decades; finding a few assistants is easy enough. It’s no big deal."

Zhang Xiaomei waved her hand dismissively.

Huo Sining didn’t press the matter, but in her heart she’d already made up her mind: once she got back, she’d have Wu Jun help scout out a few talents in this field and send them over to Zhang Xiaomei. She absolutely couldn’t let the progress of this experimental project be delayed.

As they were talking, the research staff from the lab who had been urgently summoned all arrived in the conference room. The expressions of the people coming in varied—some calm, some confused, some anxious, some embarrassed—everyone had their own thoughts.

Huo Sining and Zhang Xiaomei quietly studied their faces, and each had a rough sense of who among them was a problem and who could be kept.

Although Zhang Xiaomei was straightforward by nature, this whole incident with Wang Yaoguo had made her more cautious. Just like Huo Sining said, leaving people with ulterior motives in place would be like planting a time bomb in the lab. So she didn’t directly mention that she’d fired Wang Yaoguo. Her gaze swept over the faces of the researchers, and then she spoke in an even tone:

"Professor Wang has recently been following up on something. President Zhou over in Zhushi wants to acquire our project. You should have heard some rumors. That President Zhou is willing to put down eighteen million to take over our project in full—our entire team as well as our lab equipment."

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