Chapter Ninety-Four: Ambushing Shi Ping

“Has he been sent to the laboratory?”

Seeing the short man return, Ling Nianhan barely glanced at him before turning back to the computer screen, where complex genetic programs glowed coldly.

They had found a way to sequence human genes, but the split-replacement linkage still refused to stabilize. Among so many test subjects, Shi Ping was the only one who could be considered a true success.

Ling Nianhan clenched his fist.

He had to get Shi Ping back.

“Yes.”

The short man nodded. As he spoke, the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably, as though the laboratory itself filled him with fear from the bottom of his heart.

“If I’d known, I should have taken you to Linhai from the start.”

Ling Nianhan’s tone was laced with regret. If he had not been in such a hurry to use the gene-enhancement serum on him back then, if he had been able to go to Linhai, how could that Ye fellow have gotten away? And how would he have dared to provoke the Ling family now?

More importantly, if the experiment were exposed, the Ling family could be destroyed in an instant.

“Then I’ll go to Linhai now.”

“No.” Ling Nianhan said, “Your task now is to bring Shi Ping back. Leave that reckless fool to someone else.”

“Yes, Mr. Ling.”

The short man quietly left Ling Nianhan’s office. After a moment of thought, Ling Nianhan made a call to someone else. “Go to Linhai and deal with Liu Yiran and that Ye fellow for me.”

…

“Young Master Zhang, this is the perfect chance. That Ye fellow is courting death on his own. If we don’t give him a shove, we may never get another opportunity like this.”

Chu Shu leaned into Zhang Jun’s arms, pressing her generous curves against him with deliberate force.

Zhang Jun closed his eyes, savoring the soft, resilient fullness in his embrace. It had to be said that Chu Shu had far more to offer than women like Enhui. Especially since she kept herself in shape; her skin was firm, elastic, and fit to perfection, a body made for desire.

“Young Master Zhang, say something.”

Only then did Zhang Jun open his eyes. He said carelessly, “It’s far too easy to deal with that Ye fellow.”

Besides, he had already sent the people assigned to handle Ye Qiu back. There was no need to tell Chu Shu about that.

“If it’s that easy, why haven’t we moved yet?”

Chu Shu used her best trick once more, lowering her head slowly. Zhang Jun felt as though his soul was about to leave his body, and he instinctively echoed her words: “As long as you want it, darling, we can wipe him out right now.”

As he said this, Zhang Jun pressed down on Chu Shu’s head.

…

“Old Chen, Vice Chairman Liu wants our media to cooperate with her. That means Linhai would be going to war with Jiangcheng. I think we should forget it.”

At the Cosmic Association, Old Chen and several business owners listened to a subordinate’s report while considering whether to agree to Liu Yiran’s request.

If the Cosmic Association were willing to assist Liu Yiran, the Ye-Liu Group’s artificial intelligence project could be linked to the association free of charge. In helping them grow, the association would also help fund the development of neural interfacing technology.

The offer was certainly tempting. But the risks were just as enough to make anyone hesitate.

The Ling family of Jiangcheng.

That was no ordinary rich family.

If the Ling family decided to drag others down with them in a fight to the death, anyone they targeted would be swallowed whole without a trace.

So as soon as Old Chen finished describing Liu Yiran’s request, the members were already voicing their refusal one after another.

Money was important, of course.

But life was clearly more important.

What use was money if there was no life left to spend it on? That was not something they were willing to accept.

“Our relationship with President Liu’s side has always been little more than a hollow alliance in name. If we refuse this time, I’m afraid we’ll be at odds in spirit and appearance from now on, and that would go against the original purpose of supporting the Ye-Liu Group.”

“Old Chen, our association was founded to develop the Cosmic project, not to form a commercial warfare alliance. If every company in the association is dragged into battle whenever one of our member companies enters a business war, then we’ll be betraying our original intent. Besides, this kind of organization is very likely to arouse official suspicion. In my view, anything unrelated to the Cosmic project should be left to stand on its own.”

“I agree.”

Someone else chimed in as well.

“You young people are always criticizing us old fossils for being rigid and refusing to adapt. So why are you the ones being short-sighted now?”

Old Chen’s tone grew much sterner, carrying a faint note of exasperation.

How could they not see the bigger picture?

Once the Ye-Liu Group truly gained momentum, it would absolutely become the next world-class company. Not helping now carried no risk, true, but it also meant missing the chance to take part in the fourth technological revolution.

But the association was only an association. It was not his private kingdom. Since everyone else objected, he could only persuade them; he could not simply issue an order.

And even if he did, these business owners would not necessarily listen.

“Old Chen, I think we should still let this go. At the very least, we should wait until the situation becomes clearer.”

Old Chen had no choice. He swept his gaze across the room. “Is that all of you?”

The others nodded in unison.

“Very well. Tell President Liu that all business unrelated to the Cosmic project has nothing to do with the association.”

With a wave of his hand, Old Chen left with a dark expression.

When Liu Yiran received the association’s refusal, she had already been mentally prepared. Still, hearing the rejection so plainly stirred a trace of anger and disappointment in her heart.

“President Liu, the advertising team we sent to Jiangcheng has been detained.”

The legal affairs manager rushed in from outside in a fluster: “The advertising crew got into a conflict with the property management at Jiangcheng Park, and now they’re being held in Jiangcheng.”

While legal affairs was still reporting, the executive vice president also pushed open the door and hurried in.

“President Liu, people outside are spreading rumors that our artificial intelligence collects everyone’s data profiles, that even passwords are unsafe. Our stock price has stopped rising, and people are already starting to dump shares.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yu came in from outside with a grim face. “President Liu, the security authorities are here. They want to inspect whether our artificial intelligence has collected too much data on ordinary citizens.”

So this was the Ling family’s retaliation.

The first two problems were manageable. But if the third was not handled properly, not only would the data for the robotics project be leaked, some opportunist might seize on the issue and stir up trouble. By then, the internet would be flooded with people slandering the project, and under public pressure, the robotics project would probably no longer be able to develop peacefully under the sole control of the Ye-Liu Group.

“Mr. Zhang, you handle the security authorities. Cooperate where you should, and if there’s anything outside procedure, use your flexibility to smooth it over.”

Zhang Yu opened his mouth, then swallowed back what he had wanted to say and nodded.

“You two go and deal with your own matters. No matter how much it costs, just settle things for now.”

After giving instructions to legal affairs and the executive vice president, Liu Yiran let out a sigh. She leaned back in her chair and emptied her mind for a few seconds, then suddenly sat up straight again.

You have your methods, Ling. I, Liu Yiran, am not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

We’ll see.

…

While Jiangcheng and Linhai were both in complete chaos, Ye Qiu was crouched in a tree like a statue of mud, his whole body coated in a thick layer of sludge. The mud did an excellent job of masking both his scent and his thermal signature.

“Master, based on the mucus scan analysis and comparison, it matches the mucus found on Shi Ping.”

If Ye Qiu had known that Linhai and Jiangcheng were both in such turmoil, he would never have had the mind to lie in ambush for Shi Ping here.