Chapter 148: The Greatest Scandal in Mining History
"What are you doing?!"
Alice had watched the entire scene unfold. Frozen in fear at first, she finally rushed over and stood defensively in front of Parker, confronting Li Tang.
"You're insane!"
"I'm not insane."
Li Tang calmly straightened his wrinkled suit, rebuttoned it, then squatted down next to Parker—who was still lying on the ground pretending to be unconscious.
"He's the crazy one—biting people like an animal."
"I'm going to the consulate! You'll have to answer for this!"
Alice tried to sound firm, but surrounded by Chinese onlookers, she didn't dare go too far in case someone slapped her too.
"Go ahead. Complain all you want. I couldn't care less."
Li Tang poked Parker in the back with one finger. "I know you're not unconscious."
Still, Parker didn't move a muscle.
He was a sly one—faking it thoroughly.
"You learned fast from the B-X Mining scandal,"
Li Tang whispered close to his ear.
His voice was quiet, but the mention of "B-X Mining" made Parker visibly flinch.
He slowly turned over, bloodshot eyes wide with fear.
"You know about B-X Mining?"
"Biggest gold fraud in mining history—everyone knows,"
Li Tang sneered.
"It shook the entire Canadian mining industry to its core. They still haven't recovered.
And here you are, pulling the same stunt in China."
"You must be mistaken…"
Parker lay there, shaking his head in denial.
Li Tang patted his shoulder, making him shudder again.
"I know exactly what you're up to.
If you want a fight, I'll give you one.
And here in China, I'll make sure you're sent crawling back to Canada."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Parker insisted.
"But I know what you're thinking."
Li Tang stood up, towering over the bloodied foreigner.
"You come to China, you'd better learn our culture. Learn humility.
As we say here: 'Illness enters through the mouth; trouble comes from careless words.'
Consider that an ancient Chinese proverb just for you."
Once he was sure Li Tang wouldn't punch him again, Parker scrambled to his feet, swallowing the blood in his mouth.
Finally recovering some composure, he mumbled,
"You really…"
"Don't insult me again. I hit you once—I can do it again!" Li Tang warned.
Parker didn't dare respond. He hurried into the open elevator.
"Take your teeth with you," Li Tang added, pointing at the bloodstained teeth on the floor.
Face burning with humiliation, Parker darted back, scooped up the teeth, and dashed into the elevator.
Alice, still shaken, glared at Li Tang before leaving.
"You're crazy!"
"See you never," Li Tang waved as the elevator doors closed.
"Whew—"
Inside the elevator, Parker exhaled, wincing in pain as his gums throbbed.
"This is outrageous. They actually dared to assault us!"
"We have to go to the consulate—we need justice!"
"They should be arrested and extradited to Canada! Let our courts put them in prison!"
"We must alert the media! Expose this barbaric act! Chinese people are so uncivilized!"
Parker's two assistants had watched the fight from a distance—motionless.
Of course, the Chinese staff hadn't targeted them, so they were relatively calm.
Now that they had escaped, they began to vent their frustration.
They were perfect copies of Parker in attitude.
"Shut up!"
Parker growled, trying to suppress the throbbing pain.
"Take Mr. Parker to the hospital," Alice ordered. "I'll report this to the local police.
If they don't act, I'll go straight to the consulate!"
"Just go to the hospital."
Parker waved her off. "Let's not escalate this.
That guy—Li Tang—he's dangerous. I'm done wasting time with him."
"But he beat you like that!"
Alice was furious, fuming on Parker's behalf.
They were both foreigners—shouldn't they look out for each other?
If she didn't speak up now, she figured no one would have her back next time either.
"He's trouble. Let's just stay away."
Parker had never suffered such humiliation in China before.
But now, even as rage burned in his chest, he had no intention of retaliating.
He was a businessman.
Compared to money and profit, a bit of humiliation meant nothing.
"I can't accept this!"
Alice was furious.
"This is China—but it's still a country ruled by law!"
"Enough,"
Parker said, waving her off.
"You don't know how ruthless these poor people can be. If we keep pushing, we'll only lose more."
"Are you… scared of Li Tang?"
Alice finally realized it.
"When he mentioned B-X Mining—what was that about?
Do you have a connection to that scandal?"
"No. Don't listen to his nonsense!" Parker denied it immediately.
"I think you're hiding something from me."
Alice's eyes narrowed. She was now suspicious of Parker too.
The B-X Mining scandal had made international headlines just a few years ago.
She knew how serious it was—and how far-reaching its consequences were.
Even today, the ripple effects were still felt in Canadian and U.S. markets.
"I'm going to the hospital. You can go back yourself,"
Parker snapped, cutting off the conversation.
Alice stood still, watching them leave.
Her mind replayed every word Li Tang had said.
"That madman was polite at first.
Why did he suddenly turn cold and refuse the deal?"
"Was it really just Parker's foul mouth?"
…
Inside the office, He Runqi finished directing the others to clean up the broken glass and blood. Then he followed Li Tang into the back room.
"Your hand's bleeding. Should we go to the hospital?"
"No need. It's just a scratch."
Li Tang glanced at his hand. The bleeding had stopped, so he ignored it.
Now that things had calmed down, He Runqi still looked worried.
"We just beat up a foreigner… are we going to jail?"
"If they press charges, we'll pay for medical bills—worst case, we get detained for a few days."
Li Tang wasn't particularly concerned.
Fights like this weren't uncommon.
The only difference was that this time, the opponent was a foreigner, so it might draw extra attention.
"But that foreigner—Parker—he struts around China like he's an emperor. I just couldn't stand it."
Li Tang considered himself cultured. He preferred words over fists.
But hearing Parker's endless stream of insults had pushed him past his limit.
"You're sure we won't go to jail?"
He Runqi was still uneasy.
"That guy came here to scam money. He hasn't made a dime yet—he won't want the hassle.
And I know exactly how he plans to fake the gold data."
Li Tang laughed.
"If he tries to mess with us again, I'll make sure he leaves with nothing."
"When you warned him, he really looked terrified."
"He knows I know his secrets."
Li Tang snorted.
"If he's smart, he'll leave quietly."
Now fully relaxed, He Runqi was curious.
"What's this B-X Mining Company you mentioned?
The moment you said it, that guy practically woke from the dead."
"Interested, are you?"
"You didn't notice? Just saying the name scared him stiff."
He chuckled.
"You got dirt on that guy?"
"Something like that.
He wanted to forge assay results and boost the stock price for a pump-and-dump scheme.
He came to me looking for a fall guy. I take the blame for falsifying data; he cashes out quietly.
That guy's got guts!"
"I think you went too easy on him.
So what's the story with B-X Mining?"
"A few years ago, they claimed to have found a massive gold deposit in Indonesia—6,000 tons of gold, grades over 10g/t.
Said it was the biggest gold mine in the world!"
Li Tang sat down and explained.
"The Indonesian government even got involved.
Eventually, it was revealed to be a massive hoax.
There was no gold.
B-X's stock price skyrocketed hundreds of times—then crashed.
Thousands of retail investors lost everything.
The scandal devastated Canada's trust in mineral exploration."
"Wow, that's intense."
He Runqi was already excited after just a few details.
"Stuff like that couldn't happen in China," Li Tang said, sharing the story as a cautionary tale.
"Canada's model brings investment, but it also invites disaster.
This scandal was a result of both coincidence and inevitability."
"No wonder that guy freaked out when you brought it up."
"He thought he could run the same scam here.
He figured the Chinese were still clueless—easy to trick."
"How'd you figure it out so fast?"
"The moment Parker walked in, I could tell he was trouble,"
Li Tang said righteously.
"Damn demon in disguise."
"What?! Demon?" He Runqi was stunned.
"Just messing with you."
Li Tang patted his shoulder.
"Do me a favor—get the contact info for the Yunnan Geological Bureau.
Call and warn them that Xinan Resources might be faking assay data."
"On it."
He Runqi left immediately.
As for the Baika Gold Mine—there wasn't much more Li Tang could do.
He leaned back in his chair, rocking gently.
His mind spun with bits and pieces of memory.
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