Allergy

Just as Li Qingye was sharpening his knives...

Let's turn back a few days.

On the same day the soldiers secretly captured Watanabe and the others, Li Jinglan, having received instructions from Li Qingye, had no choice but to hurry out of Darte Port and head to Manila to catch a flight.

Baffart, who was driving, escorted Li Jinglan, Kang Nan, and the others toward Limanan City.

Although Darte Port was also on Luzon Island, it was about 300 kilometers from the capital, Manila. There was no railway there, so they had to go to neighboring Limanan City to catch a train.

That evening, Baffart led the convoy to Limanan. Homo sapiens Company had an office there as well, which it used to arrange transportation and lodging for its personnel.

For example, the vehicles used to escort the convoy would be temporarily left at the Limanan office. When the team returned, they could pick them up there.

The person in charge of the Limanan office belonged to Homo sapiens Company's Internal Affairs Department. He was one of the soldiers.

At the hotel that had been arranged in advance.

Li Jinglan felt that something was off about Li Qingye's sudden arrangements. With Baffart around during the journey, he hadn't been able to call Watanabe.

Now that he finally had some time to himself, he quickly picked up the phone.

"Beep, beep, beep... The number you have dialed is not in service... Please try again later... Beep, beep, beep..."

What's going on? Did something happen? A bad feeling rose in Li Jinglan's chest, and he hurriedly called his secretary, Lime, over.

"Lime, use your phone to call this number."

Completely in the dark, Lime called the number, but the call wouldn't go through either. Li Jinglan's unease grew even stronger.

He was so restless that he paced back and forth in the living room.

Lime cautiously asked, "Mr. Li, could their phone be broken, or maybe they haven't paid their bill?"

As if he'd just grabbed a lifeline, Li Jinglan soon calmed down. Then he spotted an app on his phone and remembered one of its features.

He quickly opened AhstsAPP. Although the two of them weren't friends on the app, this instant messaging software supported communication between non-friends, as long as you had the other person's contact information.

The app was widely used throughout Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. In general, even business executives who didn't use AhstsAPP regularly would install it on their phones or laptops to make it easier to communicate with clients.

Li Jinglan quickly typed out a message.

A little over ten minutes later, as Li Jinglan grew more and more tense, a reply suddenly came in.

[Mr. Li, is something the matter? Why can't I get through to you?]

Li Jinglan felt a weight lift from his heart and quickly replied.

[Mr. Watanabe, sorry to trouble you. I just got word that I have to go to Hong Kong on a business trip for about half a month. I noticed I couldn't get through to you, and was worried something might have happened on your end. We can talk about that matter next time.]

[OK. I'll arrange suitable personnel to make sure everything goes smoothly. Here's to making a fortune together.]

After reading that, Li Jinglan finally relaxed completely, and the two ended their conversation.

Just then, several mosquitoes had bitten Li Jinglan's neck, leaving welts. He swatted a few of them, then looked at the blood on his hand. He was also drenched in sweat from the tension and felt deeply uncomfortable.

He suddenly noticed his secretary, Lime, standing nearby, and his anger flared. He tossed aside his phone, grabbed Lime, and pulled her into the bathroom.

As his secretary, Lime knew the unspoken rules of the job.

Soon, the bathroom echoed with a high-pitched soprano and a deep baritone, as if they were performing the primal rhythm of life.

The next morning.

Feeling refreshed, Li Jinglan boarded the train to Manila with Kang Nan, Baffart, and the others.

"Boss, General Manager Li has already left for Manila. The mission was completed without a hitch," the head of the Limanan office reported over the phone.

"Mm. Keep working."

"Yes, boss."

Since they were using public communication signals, both sides kept the conversation brief, and their discussion didn't touch on anything explicit.

Li Jinglan and the others got off the plane.

They spent another day resting in Hong Kong.

Only then did Li Jinglan begin working on the assignment. It involved negotiating with Xinhai Company, with whom they had worked before, in hopes of having them help procure a batch of scientific research equipment. Some of the equipment was sensitive, so both sides were being cautious.

More than a week passed. The negotiations weren't going smoothly, mainly because they couldn't reach an agreement on some of the equipment.

After all, quite a few of the items were sensitive equipment restricted under the Wassenaar Arrangement. Although Luzon wasn't a restricted region, the fact that Homo sapiens Company's boss was Chinese was a problem in itself.

After another fruitless day of negotiations.

Li Jinglan sent Baffart and Kang Nan away, then drove back to his home in Hong Kong.

After a day of work, he lay on the sofa and idly flipped through the TV channels.

Seeing how exhausted Li Jinglan looked, his wife took out the Australian Wagyu beef short ribs she had bought the day before, planning to treat her husband to a nice meal.

Half an hour later, she served beef short ribs seared golden brown on both sides, with white asparagus and cherry tomatoes. She had also opened a bottle of Romanee-Conti.

"Dear, dinner's ready."

"Xiao Kai, stop playing on the computer and come eat."

Li Jinglan turned off the TV and sat at the table, expertly slicing the beef. The Maillard reaction had given the meat a rich, roasted aroma that filled his mouth with the scent of beef and fat.

After a few bites of the beef, he took a sip of red wine.

"Whew, no wonder this Wagyu costs over a thousand yuan a kilo... Hmm...?"

Halfway through his exclamation, Li Jinglan suddenly found it hard to breathe. His face quickly flushed, then he became dizzy, and his heart stopped.

"Dear? What's wrong?"

Mrs. Li was so frightened that she didn't know what to do. She hurriedly called for an ambulance.

Outside the emergency room at a Hong Kong hospital, Baffart and Kang Nan stood silently nearby after rushing over at the news. Li Jinglan's family looked distraught.

More than twenty minutes later, one of the indicator lights above the emergency room went out. The doctor who had treated him came out with a regretful expression and announced to everyone:

"I'm very sorry. The patient has no vital signs."

"Why... Why did this happen?"

"Dad..."

Kang Nan asked about the resuscitation efforts and learned that Li Jinglan had suffered a sudden case of anaphylactic shock, which had led to difficulty breathing and cardiac arrest. He had already passed away by the time he reached the hospital.

He asked in confusion, "Doctor, can an allergic reaction really be that severe? And according to Mrs. Li, General Manager Li only ate beef and asparagus. He often ate Western food on business trips before, and never had an allergic reaction."

The doctor offered a brief explanation based on what he knew:

"I can explain that. Red meat allergy isn't necessarily something you're born with. It can also develop after a tick bite. In cases of severe allergy, it can indeed be fatal."

After learning the truth, Kang Nan no longer had any questions. He comforted Li Jinglan's family, then called Li Qingye to report what had happened.

After hearing the news, Li Qingye, who was in Luzon, had Kang Nan take over Li Jinglan's previous responsibilities and sign the contract with Xinhai Company as soon as possible. The sensitive equipment they had discussed earlier would be removed from this deal.

He also had Kang Nan offer the company's condolences to Li Jinglan's family and provide them with some compensation.

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