Family and News

Amidst the constant discussions of the board members and the inquiries and responses from various department managers, the preparations for this incident were gradually finalized.

At night, after Lin Chenxing finished his daily workout, he had just stepped out of the shower.

"Ding-dang-dong-dang..." A ringtone erupted from his phone.

Seeing "Mom" displayed on the screen, Lin Chenxing immediately answered the call.

"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you calling all of a sudden?"

"You're asking me what's wrong? If Chen hadn't happened to visit our house, I wouldn't even know such a huge thing had happened to you."

A woman's voice, tinged with slight irritation but mostly concern, came through the phone.

This woman was none other than Cao Jinxi, Lin Chenxing's biological mother in this world.

"Mom, it's fine. See? I'm perfectly fine right now."

"Fine, my foot! I heard the rear window of your car was shattered into pieces, and quite a few students were injured."

"Don't worry. You know I exercise regularly, so even if I did get a few minor scrapes, it's nothing."

"Knowing is one thing, but how could your father and I not be worried?"

"Alright, alright. Hey, Mom, you mentioned Chen came to our house today—was there something specific going on?"

"Nothing much, he just happened to be in our city for some business and stopped by to see us. They say he'll be staying for a few days, so we invited him to have dinner at our place every night."

Lin Chenxing pondered for a moment and understood the reason for Chen Yanbing's visit to his hometown.

Lin Chenxing had an older brother, Lin Chenming, who worked in the city in a department responsible for investment promotion.

It was likely that this "Brother Chen" of his had gone to bolster his brother's standing, planning to place a major project previously decided by the group into West City to help him secure some achievements and earn favor in the eyes of his superiors.

With this thought, Lin Chenxing smiled slightly and said, "Mom, Chen is probably there to help my brother. We've been considering establishing an R&D base in Su Province recently. If West City has a suitable location, Chen will likely finalize it there, which would be good for my brother."

Lin Chenxing's mother, Cao Jinxi, was surprised and said, "So that's it! Little Chen didn't even tell us. That really is a lot of trouble for him."

Lin Chenxing replied, "It's no trouble. Chen has his own considerations. If there isn't a suitable place in West City, the project will likely be moved elsewhere."

"That won't do. Since Little Chen came all this way and has been so thoughtful toward our family, we must prepare a good meal for him when he comes over tomorrow." Cao Jinxi seemed to take this invitation very seriously and hurriedly said to someone nearby, "Old Lin, check how many dishes we have left to cook. If it's not enough, go out early tomorrow morning to buy some more."

Hearing a rustling sound, Lin Chenxing knew his father, Lin Yue, had already gotten up to check.

"Mom, are you and Dad still practicing the martial arts I taught you?"

"Oh, we are. Your father and I practice every single day without fail. It's only your brother—he's hot and cold about it. He comes home in the middle of the night, collapses to play on his phone, and can't get up in the morning. Even when he finally does, he runs off before he's practiced for long." Cao Jinxi couldn't help but sigh at the mention of Lin Chenming.

"Mom, you and Dad are both teachers; how can you not handle him? My brother and I were raised under the threat of your feather duster. I don't believe he'd dare slack off if you put your foot down," Lin Chenxing teased.

"You're the last one who should say that; we barely laid a finger on you when you were little. Besides, your brother is truly busy. His weekends are practically gone, and he's either working overtime or traveling for business every day. We can't really force him to get up that early to practice. We'll just have to urge him more when he's less busy." Cao Jinxi's tone revealed a hint of worry for her son's health.

"Well, he should practice whenever he can. I feel that given the current situation, it's necessary to train and strengthen the body to prepare for the unexpected."

Lin Chenxing began to tell his parents about the situation he had described at the meeting and the measures the group had decided to take.

Upon hearing that Xingyan Group was going to produce explosives, Cao Jinxi couldn't help but express concern. "You're going to produce explosives? That doesn't seem to comply with regulations, does it? I remember your group's business scope didn't include that."

"Yes, it doesn't," Lin Chenxing said confidently. "But it's not a major issue this time because it's technically a gray area. We've already contacted the authorities. As long as we don't produce high-yield explosives, the kind used for mining is acceptable. We just can't keep them once the military finishes their sweep."

Cao Jinxi sighed, "You're so close to the mountains, and it's so dangerous. Why don't you come back here as soon as the sweep is over?"

Lin Chenxing replied with a smile, "It's fine, Mom. We've made very thorough preparations here. No matter how powerful those monsters are, we can hold them off."

Lin Chenxing suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "By the way, Mom, speaking of which, the animals in the mountains have mutated. I wonder what will happen in the ocean?"

"You'll have to ask your father about that," Cao Jinxi said. "Here, Old Lin, you're the biology teacher—why don't you explain it to your son?"

"Ahem," a gruff male voice sounded. "Chenxing, you don't need to worry about the ocean for now. Based on what we know, mutations among marine animals are still quite rare. If you've been paying attention to the coastal seafood markets, you'd know that the seafood being caught is mostly the same as before. Only a small amount of so-called 'rare' seafood has appeared, and those are being sold for astronomical prices. It's said that people from the oceanography department of a university here even went out to sea to collect samples, and the test results were all within a controllable range."

Lin Chenxing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this explanation, yet a strange, indescribable feeling lingered in his heart.

It was just like the plots of novels he had read in the past.

But since there was no evidence to support it, he simply said, "That's good. Still, I'm a bit worried. Dad, you and Mom should be careful. In the near future, try to move to that villa I bought further away from the sea."

Lin's father said helplessly, "Fine, we'll do as you say and go stay there for a few days. I'll tell Little Chen to give us a hand. That's enough for now; you've had a long day, so get some rest."

Following that, just as Lin Chenxing replied "Okay," the call on the other end was disconnected.

Lin Chenxing couldn't help but grumble, "Dad is still the same, hanging up so quickly."

Afterward, Lin Chenxing lay down, closed his eyes, and kept pondering what that vague, indescribable feeling could be.

"The current situation is a bit like the novels I read in my past life. It feels just like those doomsday novels. I wonder what else will appear besides animal mutations."