There was a moment of silence in the conference room. All the members were left speechless by Meng Feixuan, and Meng Yucheng had to clench his palm into a fist and press it against his mouth to stop himself from spitting out.

Several elders of the Meng family wanted to speak but hesitated. They both wanted to take on the elder’s posture to educate Meng Feixuan and feared locking eyes with him, becoming the next target of ridicule.

It had to be said, the young master now seemed like a weapon of indiscriminate damage, which made people very afraid, especially those of them who were older, one careless move could make them angry enough to be hospitalized… For example, at this moment, Meng Yuguan had already started looking for heart medicine.

In the end, the elders tacitly chose silence.

Dr. Yang, who was invited, also looked at Meng Feixuan in confusion. Before coming, he had specially learned about the Meng Group’s situation and had seen information about this young master, who was said to be noble and steady, like a flower on a high ridge…

The Meng family’s image packaging was really well done!

Meng Yuguan was so angry that he could not speak, fortunately Meng Sien remained calm. Seeing this, he quickly changed the subject: “Cousin, what you said — my father also considered the group’s interests. Why don’t we first take a look at Dr. Yang’s technology? This not only relates to Mr. Xie Ran’s equity plan, but also concerns our future market strategy. What do you all think?”

Only then did everyone come back to their senses and nodded in agreement.

If Xie Ran’s technology was not unique and Dr. Yang really had similar technology to Xie Ran, then Meng Group had to secure Dr. Yang as well to ensure absolute market leadership. In that case, the entire equity structure would still need adjustment.

The people from Meng Yucheng’s faction all turned solemn. If they wanted to get Dr. Yang, the shares would naturally come from Xie Ran’s equity. Dr. Yang was someone Meng Yuguan had brought back, so the advantage Meng Yucheng had just gained would be leveled again by Meng Yuguan.

Xie Ran, who should have been the most affected, showed no change. He still rested his chin on his hand, adopting the posture of someone in power, and casually waved his hand: “Then let him speak.”

Thus, the board meeting was forced to temporarily pause and turn into Dr. Yang’s technology sharing session.

Since the shareholders and directors didn’t understand the technology, they called in the technical management team to make judgments.

At first, the technical team was somewhat indifferent. The shareholders didn’t understand, but the team did.

Currently, drone technology in China was leading globally, Country A’s technology was actually not as good as China’s. Even in China, Xie Ran’s technology had a rather advanced advantage.

Although Dr. Yang had published many research results and had some international reputation, the gap between those and Xie Ran’s was still obvious.

However, as Dr. Yang began sharing and the speech gradually deepened, the technical team’s expressions changed one by one, they became serious, sat straighter, and listened attentively.

Finally, Dr. Yang’s sharing came to an end. He was a gentlemanly person, smiling gracefully: “…These are the research results from my laboratory over the past year. Detailed experimental data and materials involve confidential information, so they cannot be shown before a formal cooperation agreement is reached. I hope you all understand.”

Meng Yuguan pretended to ask the technical department: “How is it? How does Dr. Yang’s technology compare to Mr. Xie Ran’s?”

The shareholders all looked toward the technical department.

“On par,” answered the chief engineer, who looked quite surprised but told the truth: “The technology Dr. Yang brought back is very advanced and exactly matches the direction of our ongoing R&D. Although the expression and implementation paths differ slightly from Mr. Xie’s technology, the final achieved effect is the same…”

The chief engineer then gave a lengthy explanation. He was excited and very detailed, finally making the shareholders understand.

Simply put, Dr. Yang truly possessed technology equivalent to Xie Ran’s. Although the experimental processes and implementation methods were different, Dr. Yang’s technology could also achieve the same R&D goals as Xie Ran’s.

After the chief engineer finished, the whole room fell silent. The atmosphere was very delicate. Only Meng Yuguan looked pleased, sneering sarcastically: “It seems Mr. Xie is not an irreplaceable genius after all.”

Meng Yucheng’s face turned as cold as water. He vaguely felt something was wrong — the timing of Dr. Yang’s appearance and the technology he brought back were too coincidental, there must be something fishy.

But this was a board meeting, and every word and action needed caution. No matter how many doubts Meng Yucheng had, without clear evidence, he could not say anything.

He looked at Meng Yuguan meaningfully: “Second brother, you really went to great lengths.”

Meng Yuguan replied contemptuously: “It’s my duty, all for the group.”

Meng Yucheng then looked at Dr. Yang, tentatively asking: “I heard several big companies invited you before, but you refused to return to China. Why did you suddenly agree to come back this time?”

“That’s a misunderstanding,” Dr. Yang maintained his gentlemanly manner and humbly explained: “My decision to return depends mainly on whether the technology can develop better. Previously, no company offered a good environment, so I chose to stay in Country A’s laboratory. But Meng Group recently released technology that happens to match my current research interests. I was very interested, and Mr. Meng Yuguan kindly invited me, so I came back.”

His words were reasonable and impressive, leaving no room for fault. Even those from Meng Yucheng’s faction, despite inner dissatisfaction and doubt, could say nothing.

As a renowned academic internationally, no matter whose side Dr. Yang was on, offending him lightly would damage the whole Meng Group’s reputation in the industry.

Seeing that Meng Yucheng’s people had no response, Meng Yuguan felt even more satisfied. The frustration he had felt from Meng Feixuan these past few days vanished. He said proudly: “I have already reached a preliminary agreement with Dr. Yang. He is willing to join Meng Group and agree to share technology with Mr. Xie… But this means the drone company’s equity plan must be revised again. Dr. Yang’s compensation cannot be lower than Mr. Xie’s. What do you all think?”

This was the real reason he brought out Dr. Yang. The drone company was pivotal and affected the power struggle between Meng Yucheng’s and Meng Yuguan’s factions. No matter what, he could not give the drone industry to Meng Siyun.

At present, to restrain Meng Siyun, they first had to deal with Xie Ran.

The board meeting was perfectly timed to catch them off guard.

But just as he finished speaking, Meng Feixuan sneered coldly: “With just him?”

Meng Yuguan’s face turned stern: “Siyun, this is a public occasion. Watch your words.”

Meng Feixuan ignored him and looked at Dr. Yang, sneering: “Dr. Yang, I don’t think much of you except your plagiarism detection skills. I almost didn’t recognize that this was my master’s technical data. Did your doctoral thesis also pass like this?”

Dr. Yang was stunned for a moment, then realized he was being accused of copying. His expression changed, and he said sternly: “Young Master Meng, what do you mean? What do you mean by ‘your master’s technical data’?”

Meng Feixuan shrugged: “Of course, I mean you stole my master’s technology.”

Dr. Yang was speechless.

He almost lost his gentlemanly composure, his face flushed with anger: “This is slander. I demand you apologize… No, I demand an apology from the entire Meng Group!”

The conference room became chaotic. Those present exchanged glances with subtle expressions, mostly disapproving of Meng Feixuan’s behavior.

Meng Yuguan’s faction took the opportunity to attack, accusing Meng Feixuan.

“Siyun, you can’t say such things casually.”

“You can’t accuse Dr. Yang without reason just because he wants to share Mr. Xie’s shares. If this spreads, we won’t have a good explanation in the industry.”

Meng Yuguan sneered repeatedly: “Siyun, I know you have a close relationship with Xie Ran, but this is business. You must separate public and private. You can’t sacrifice the group’s interests for your own and accuse Dr. Yang of such a serious crime.”

With one sentence, he branded Meng Feixuan’s actions as favoritism towards Xie Ran and mixing public and private, which was a grave accusation for an heir still in the probation period.

Meng Yucheng’s face was also unpleasant. In truth, he had the same doubts as Meng Feixuan, but Dr. Yang was indeed a renowned academic, with a reputation hundreds of times higher than Xie Ran. It wasn’t strange for him to have breakthroughs.

More importantly, since Meng Yuguan could invite Dr. Yang to the board meeting, he must have made thorough preparations to avoid giving them any handle.

Meng Yucheng quickly reminded: “Siyun, do you have any proof for your claim?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Meng Feixuan nodded toward Dr. Yang’s slideshow: “His entire explanation just reworded my master’s technical data. This isn’t plagiarism, it’s just a Chinese-to-Chinese translation.”

Everyone: “…” They thought the young master might have insight, but it was just a subjective feeling.

Dr. Yang originally worried that Meng Feixuan had found something, but hearing this, he relaxed, thinking this management-born young master had only a shallow understanding of technology.

This was already expected by Dr. Yang. His confidence grew. He immediately frowned, his face full of anger: “Young Master Meng, technology is not something one person invents that others cannot. Just because I developed the same technology, you slander me like this? Is this how you treat professionals?”

Cold light flashed in his eyes: “If you say I stole technology, then provide concrete evidence. Otherwise, I will inform my colleagues across the industry of my experience and seek justice.”

Given Dr. Yang’s reputation and status in the industry, if he went public, the impact on Meng Group would be huge.

The technical department showed disapproval. As Dr. Yang said, technology development depended on ability. Two different labs producing the same results was normal since the research directions of a time and field were generally similar. For example, current drone reform focused on autonomous driving, navigation, control systems, and battery life, it was just a matter of who was faster.

Therefore, without evidence, even if two results were identical, accusing others of theft was unjustified.

Meng Yuguan seized on this point and pressed harder: “Siyun, your words slander Dr. Yang and me. I have reason to believe you sacrifice the group’s interests for personal gain. If you can’t provide evidence, I demand you apologize to Dr. Yang and all shareholders.”

Once he said this, Meng Yucheng’s faction became restless.

Meng Yuguan used Meng Feixuan’s words to suppress the crown prince faction’s momentum. Now that Meng Feixuan was in trouble among shareholders, all their efforts would be wasted.

At this moment, Xie Ran, who had been silently observing, finally raised his head and said calmly: “Isn’t the evidence in Dr. Yang’s materials?”

His voice was not loud, but it immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Dr. Yang’s heart skipped a beat, and he squinted slightly: “What did you say?”

“Unfortunately, your level only reached this point,” Xie Ran said slowly, moving on his tablet and gesturing to the slideshow.

Everyone then realized the computer connected to the projector had been controlled by Xie Ran. He operated on his own tablet and pulled up a picture from Dr. Yang’s materials, a display of the drone system.

“If you were stronger and could modify this code, you could have lied a little longer… But it’s useless.” Xie Ran highlighted a section of code: “But you can’t even do this.”

Everyone looked at the highlighted code, confused. Shareholders especially didn’t understand. Even technical staff didn’t grasp it immediately.

This line of code was part of the drone operating system. Dr. Yang’s entire system was very similar to the system provided by Xie Ran.

But as mentioned before, technology was not like writing articles with precedence. Even if Dr. Yang directly copied Xie Ran’s system, as long as he developed it himself, no one could blame him.

Dr. Yang didn’t see the problem and asked: “What’s wrong with this code?”

At this moment, a member of the board responsible for market PR suddenly opened his eyes wide, pointed at the projector, and exclaimed: “Wait, isn’t this Mr. Xie Ran’s code?”

Others: ???

Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled. Even the technical department couldn’t confirm whose code it was, but this market PR guy recognized it?

He excitedly said: “Hey, did you forget? This code was the pattern Mr. Xie displayed in the sky during the Haimeng opening!”

At the Haimeng opening, Xie Ran’s drone performance was stunning, but most people only saw the images twice and forgot them. The drone’s final formation code was sophisticated, but they didn’t understand it, didn’t pay attention, and definitely didn’t remember it.

However, the market PR person had reviewed the images many times for press releases and thus remembered the complicated code well.

When he said this, the room was shocked. They quickly took out their phones to search for pictures of the drone show on the Haimeng opening day.

The technical department had already realized and said repeatedly: “Yes, this code was the one Mr. Xie wrote in the sky! This is Mr. Xie’s code!”

Because of many materials, the technical department had not examined all closely before but now recognized this.

Dr. Yang had just returned from Country A and didn’t know about this. His face turned pale. He glanced at Meng Yuguan but saw Meng Yuguan was also searching on his phone, looking even more baffled.

Meng Feixuan looked at them coldly: “I told you, this is Mr. Xie’s technology — the lighthouse at sea.”