When Wen Shulin reappeared on the screen, it was two hours later.
"How’s it going? Any progress?"
Chen Cheng was also sitting up straight with grave concern.
"Chairman Wen, by tracing the funds of the Seychelles Company for the past three months back to their source accounts, we’ve uncovered some things."
In the bottom right corner of the screen, the analyst began to report again,
"We’ve found that most of this company’s business orders are related to import and export trade. They mainly import mineral resources from Africa and South America and then resell them to Southeast Asia and East Asian regions."
"Does that mean this is a shipping company?" Wen Shulin asked.
Wen Shulin asked further: "What kind of minerals are they transporting?"
The analyst quickly tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and a detailed list immediately appeared on the screen,
"Mainly iron ore, copper ore, nickel ore, and other basic metal minerals. In addition, there are some..."
At this point, the analyst paused for a moment, "Niobium."
The moment this word came out, both Hoshino Mika and Wen Shulin became restless.
The mineral Wen Shulin went to great lengths for was this one, and for Mei Xiang, the resource her family had worked hard to obtain had been unexpectedly exposed.
Then, recalling what the analyst mentioned about South America, she asked: "Is it Brazil?"
Wen Shulin relayed Mei Xiang’s question, and the analyst provided proof of export from the port, "According to our tracing, the origin port of these mineral resources is from Brazil’s..."
Mei Xiang, looking at the English on the screen, murmured: "Asu Port."
Her face turned pale; Mei Xiang certainly knew this port, which was the nearest one to the Xingye family’s mining area.
In other words, the mineral resources imported by the Seychelles Company could very likely be coming from the Xingye family’s mining area!
At that moment, Mei Xiang felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her entire body cold.
Chen Cheng sensed her distress, "What’s wrong?"
"Brother Cheng, could these be the minerals from our mine?"
Chen Cheng gestured for her to calm down, but Mei Xiang truly could not remain calm.
The continuous losses of the Brazilian Mine were the main cause of Xingye Products’ recent crisis. If it was true that someone was using her family’s minerals to make a profit, it was undoubtedly siphoning her family’s blood and draining their bones.
"Mei Xiang, don’t jump to conclusions," Chen Cheng guessed the situation, "Before the investigation is clear, anything is possible. Let’s listen to what Chairman Wen has to say."
Mei Xiang took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself down, and shifted her gaze back to Wen Shulin on the screen.
"Aunt Wen, could you help me inquire where these minerals come from?"
Mei Xiang paused, then asked directly: "Are they definitely shipped out from our mine?"
Wen Shulin looked at Mei Xiang, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.
She knew full well what this meant to Mei Xiang, to the Xingye family.
If it was confirmed that the niobium ore did indeed come from the Xingye family’s mine, then what Xingye Products faced would not just be a commercial loss but potentially a massive crisis of trust and possibly even a shake to the foundation of the Xingye family.
Wen Shulin eventually nodded, asking: "Can the production area of the ore be confirmed?"
The analyst, with a serious expression, shook his head, "Chairman Wen, I’m sorry, but we can only determine that these minerals are exported from Asu Port. We can’t pinpoint the exact production area."
"Brazil’s export control over mineral resources is very strict. Each batch of ore exported must provide detailed proof of the production area, mining rights, and other documents."
"But we’ve reviewed a large amount of public information and databases, and we’ve found no records of exports related to this batch of niobium ore."
"This means that this batch of niobium ore was likely smuggled out of the country through illegal means."
Wen Shulin’s face turned sour too; if the niobium ore was indeed smuggled out, then the matter just became much more complicated.
This implies that the hidden hand manipulating everything behind the scenes has unthinkable power, even the ability to bypass Brazilian customs and smuggle out such a large quantity of mineral resources.
Mei Xiang muttered to herself, a frightening thought suddenly flashing in her mind,
"Could it be... Someone within our company is colluding with outsiders, surreptitiously mining and smuggling ore?"
Chen Cheng was familiar with elements like hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, and boron, but he didn’t know about niobium.
He also wanted to understand why Wen Shulin was so eager to obtain this resource, to master this technology.
"Does this thing yield high profits?" he asked Wen Shulin on the screen, "Enough to take such risks?"
"More than just high profits."
Wen Shulin began to explain: "High temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, high strength, and good superconductivity, among other traits."
"These characteristics make niobium an indispensable strategic resource in high-tech fields such as aerospace, energy, electronics, and medical."
"For example, in the field of aerospace, niobium alloys can be used to manufacture rocket engines, turbine blades, and other critical components, significantly enhancing the performance and safety of flying vehicles."
"In the energy field, niobium can be used to make high-temperature alloys, superconducting materials, etc., which are important for improving energy efficiency and developing clean energy."
She continued: "For civilian use, niobium pentoxide can be used in battery electrodes, providing good energy storage capacity and accelerating the charging of lithium-ion batteries."
"Niobium tungsten oxide can serve as anode material for batteries, improving the charge and discharge rates of batteries."
Hearing this long list of applications, Chen Cheng thought quickly and asked: "Aren’t you in finance? Why are you interested in this?"