King of the Wilderness

Chapter 458: Chapter 255: Mad Dog Lawyer’s Methods

The same afternoon at five o’clock, Canada, Vancouver, Archaeopteryx Global Headquarters.

In Marcus Weber’s office, the atmosphere was so stifling it was hard to breathe.

He and his top legal, financial, and PR teams sat like prisoners awaiting final judgment, anticipating Matty Singh’s arrival.

The sky beyond the large windows had begun to darken, as if foretelling an impending storm.

This septuagenarian, not very tall, dressed in a well-tailored dark suit that made him look like a retired university professor.

When he entered the office with three equally expressionless and sharp-eyed young lawyers, Marcus did not feel the slightest relief.

Marcus knew that the most dangerous beasts often wore the most unassuming disguises.

"Mr. Singh, hello." Marcus broke the silence first, maintaining a sincere posture.

"We have prepared a new three-year global brand ambassador contract, valued at 24 million US dollars (post-tax). This should demonstrate our sincerity."

Matty Singh didn’t even glance at the thick contract meticulously prepared by Archaeopteryx’s top legal team. He just gently pushed it aside, handing it to his assistant.

He slowly spoke, "My client has authorized me to come, not to accept charity, but to discuss what compensation you owe him for commercial defamation and breach of contract risk."

"Infringement? Defamation?" Archaeopteryx’s Director of Legal Affairs, a sharp and capable-looking blonde named Helen, immediately frowned.

"Of course." Matty’s lips curled into an icy smile.

"Despite Mr. Lin’s brand friend agreement with you not yet expiring, you unilaterally informed him through third-party channels of your decision not to renew."

"And provided the misleading and insulting reason of insufficient commercial exposure, which has factually constituted a public disparagement of Mr. Lin’s commercial value, i.e., commercial defamation."

"At the same time, it gave Mr. Lin ample reason to believe that you will not be able to perform the brand support obligations due during the contract term, constituting anticipatory breach."

"Now, due to force majeure, Mr. Lin’s commercial value has been proven. And you immediately turned around, attempting to cover up your previous mistakes with a new contract."

"Mr. Weber, don’t you think we should settle old scores before discussing a new contract?"

Marcus and his Legal Director exchanged glances and saw a hint of trouble in each other’s eyes. This mad dog was biting at the most painful spot right from the start.

Helen’s face turned somewhat unpleasant: "Mr. Singh, we have, of course, monitored this public opinion. But there is clear instigation from our competitors behind it."

She paused, attempting to take the moral high ground, "Using such unfounded rumors to attack a brand’s business decisions is not honorable."

Marcus also sneered inwardly; this wave of public opinion attacks was most likely the handiwork of Mountain Rat or Old Man’s Head behind the scenes.

Their tactics were quite dated, releasing rumors in the market that Archaeopteryx intended to abandon Lin Yu’an, thereby causing a smoke bomb in public opinion when they learned Lin Yu’an’s contract was about to expire.

Such operations are common in business competition, the only difference being that this time the small smoke bomb unintentionally ignited a public opinion nuclear bomb.

"Is that so?" Matty took a printed document from his assistant and threw it on the table.

"This is the heat analysis report on social media about Archaeopteryx abandoning Lin Yu’an."

"In the past 24 hours, this topic has brought more than 50 million US dollars in estimated negative value to your company’s brand image."

"If I were to leak your internal report about not renewing the contract to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, what do you think this figure would become?"

A blatant threat!

However, Matty’s next words felt like an invisible, icy probe piercing accurately into their assumed judgment.

"Rumors? Lies?"

Matty smiled, that smile like a crack on the ice, filled with dangerous coldness.

He spoke in a casual, flat tone, "Ms. Helen, what if I told you your so-called rumors match shockingly with the intel I received in their details?"

Marcus and Helen’s faces changed slightly for the first time.

Ignoring their reactions, Matty continued in that casual tone, slowly revealing the coincidental details.

"For example, I heard that internally within your company, there is indeed an evaluation regarding Mr. Lin’s renewal value. This evaluation was initiated by the Greater China Region’s marketing department?"

"And this evaluation’s final conclusion also seems interesting. The key phrase was insufficient commercial exposure? Am I wrong?"

Marcus’s heart skipped a beat! A fine layer of sweat began to form on his forehead.

If the first wave of public opinion merely made them uneasy, the second detail was like a precisely detonated bomb exploding loudly in their minds!

Their expressions instantly shifted from troublesome to pure shock!

The evaluation existed! He even knew the core, the most unspeakable negative conclusion of the evaluation—insufficient commercial exposure!