Storm Is Brewing

Upon hearing Xiang Kun mention "Shenxing Technology," Zhang Hongpu raised his hand to touch his eyebrows and nodded, saying, "'Shenxing Technology' has indeed cultivated deep expertise and achieved great success in certain fields."

However, he paused slightly, then changed the subject, saying, "But in my opinion, there are still quite a few domestic technology companies that are doing better than 'Shenxing Technology'."

As he spoke, he gave examples of several large-scale domestic technology companies, all of which specialize in a particular field and are not well-known to the general public.

Xiang Kun said, "But I think 'Shenxing Technology' is different. They have the courage to be pioneers and not care about short-term gains or losses. Any technology company, once it reaches a certain stage of development, should have this kind of spirit."

Zhang Hongpu smiled and said, "However, your company's business areas are quite different from 'Shenxing Technology,' right? You mainly focus on internet products."

Xiang Kun said, "Actually, Mr. Zhang and I have been talking about this these past two days, and we may very well start to get involved in the hardware field in the future."

"Oh?" Zhang Hongpu looked at his granddaughter.

Zhang Qian replied, "Mr. Xiang is probably referring to the VR-related devices I mentioned to you before, as well as other terminal devices for information collection and recording, but it's still just a matter of choosing a direction."

Normally, at this point in the conversation, Xiang Kun should naturally continue the discussion about the technology they mentioned, its future development, or other topics, without mentioning "Shenxing Technology".

But Xiang Kun hadn't yet gleaned the information he wanted from this topic, so naturally he wouldn't give up. He continued, seemingly quite naturally, "From what I understand, besides Facebook in the US, there's also 'Shenxing Technology' in China that has a well-developed VR technology portfolio. Their strategy is different from Oculus, which Facebook acquired, but they also have their own core technologies. I'm very optimistic about them. If we want to save time and costs, we could consider cooperating with them."

These words seemed to have touched a nerve with Zhang Hongpu, who sat up slightly, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and appeared to be thinking.

Zhang Qian quickly added, "Mr. Xiang, our VR social idea is still at the conceptual research stage. There's no need to rush into hardware implementation. Besides, we can focus on specific application development and adapt the hardware and terminals accordingly. There's no need to get involved in these thankless tasks. Moreover, given our size, it's already too late."

Xiang Kun knew, of course, that Zhang Qian was deliberately trying to pull him out of the "trap" so he wouldn't provoke her grandfather. However, he was very sensible and could clearly grasp Zhang Hongpu's current state. He knew the appropriate scale and pace for the probing and wasn't worried.

"It's just that we're too small and entered the market too late, so we need to find established companies to cooperate with. Facebook is a social networking company and an American company, so it's definitely not easy to cooperate with them. Cooperating with 'Shenxing Technology' is almost the best choice," Xiang Kun said.

Zhang Hongpu spoke up, "Mr. Xiang, what do you think is most important for a technology company?"

" For Xiang Kun said matter-of-factly.

Next, Zhang Hongpu did not talk about anything related to "Shenxing Technology". Instead, he told several stories, some from the Western Industrial Revolution, some from the early 20th century, some from the 1970s and 1980s, and some from the 21st century onwards. Some were domestic, and some were foreign.

In general, it expresses the view that science and technology themselves have no inherent good or evil attributes, but the people who apply them do; even when conducting research, there must be a bottom line, otherwise it is irresponsible to oneself, to others, and to humanity as a whole.

It is clear that Zhang Hongpu is expressing his ideas and trying to influence Xiang Kun.

However, Xiang Kun astutely gleaned some key elements from this content:

Zhang Hongpu's dislike for "Shenxing Technology" is most likely because he believes that "Shenxing Technology" has conducted research that he considers "beyond the bounds".

Of course, Zhang Hongpu didn't say that. In fact, he never mentioned the name "Shenxing Technology" when telling those stories. After that, the topic never touched on "Shenxing Technology." Xiang Kun couldn't ask directly, because he certainly wouldn't get any answers.

But he was now certain that Zhang Hongpu did indeed know some inside information.

According to the documents Xiang Kun had read, neither when Academician Shen was in charge of the research project alone in the early days, nor after Mr. Liang took over, did they conduct any excessive or inhumane research. In other words, under the threat of the so-called "mysterious forces" and "Ultimate Predator," they were unable to conduct any overly complex experiments.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that there might be something "out of line" in the part of the document that Xiang Kun has not yet seen, or in the experiments that were not recorded in the document.

However, according to Xiang Kun's speculation, it is more likely that Zhang Hongpu misjudged certain information.

Xiang Kun decided to try and peek into Lao Xia's memory that night through Lao Xia's "Dream Within a Dream".

Because of Alice's presence, Xiang Kun no longer needed to secretly place a Super-Linked Object like a ball on Zhang Hongpu for location tracking, as he had done before. Once Zhang Hongpu arrived at his resting place, Alice could naturally send him the location, whether it was a mobile phone or a car's GPS.

At that time, Xiang Kun only needs to take the Black Circle Graffiti Emotion-Infused Object he had previously established contact with Lao Xia and place it in a location close enough to where Zhang Hongpu is sleeping.

Around midnight, Xiang Kun, who had climbed over the wall of a villa area, didn't go straight back to the hotel. Instead, he found a quiet place to sit down, preparing to trigger Lao Xia's dream to activate the "Dream Within a Dream"—he had already received a notification from Alice that half an hour earlier, Lao Xia had arranged for the "Bell Apple" duo to wash up and go to bed, and now she was also asleep and ready.

Xia Libing was already quite adept at exploring people's memories and guiding their specific thought processes within a "Dream Within a Dream." She quickly made Zhang Hongpu's dream reveal why he had such a strong aversion to "Shenxing Technology."

It turns out that many years ago, the son of an old friend of Zhang Hongpu brought a female companion he had just met home. In the middle of the night, a monster with a swollen body, dark brown skin, and covered with dense, strange patterns broke into the house, killed the female companion, and took her away.

Zhang Hongpu's old friend's son was terrified. After calling the police, they were unable to find any human DNA in his home. The tattered clothes found at the scene yielded no useful information other than his DNA, and there were no traces of the so-called "giant monster."

Moreover, there were no signs of forced entry into his residence, the community's surveillance cameras happened to be broken, and nearby cameras did not capture anything unusual.

However, at the request of his old friend, Zhang Hongpu used some connections to uncover some secrets about the matter. It turned out that his friend's son had not gone hysterical, but that a hideous monster, resembling a human yet not quite, had indeed entered the place where his friend's son lived in a truck.

He also discovered that after the truck left, it entered a property owned by Lu Cheng'an of "Shenxing Technology".

Just as he was about to conduct a further investigation, officials approached him and told him to stop investigating the matter, as it was an "internal incident" that would be subject to an "internal investigation," and that no ordinary citizens had been substantially harmed, so he should not escalate the situation further.

He had no choice but to give up the pursuit and investigation, but through some other information from earlier years, he had a vague guess that the monster was likely the paralyzed son of Lu Cheng'an.

Therefore, he naturally assumed that Lu Cheng'an, Lu Cheng'an's son, and even certain official institutions were conducting research and experiments that "crossed the line." He even believed that the woman who was killed and taken away by the monster, whose information could not be found and who seemed to have never existed, was erased from all traces in order to protect the monster son who was researching and protecting Lu Cheng'an.

Based on the information revealed in Zhang Hongpu's dream, if the monster that attacked his old friend's son's house that night and killed his female companion was Mr. Liang, then the female companion was most likely another "humanoid Mutated Creature".

Although Zhang Hongpu was not a direct witness, and the image of Mr. Liang he presented in his dream would differ greatly from reality, by comparing it with the previous secret documents, it can be roughly deduced that it was between when Mr. Liang began to clarify his new direction of mutation, when his body began to break through the human form, and when he gained the ability to become invisible.

If it were now, if Mr. Liang wanted to hunt down a "humanoid Mutated Creature," it wouldn't cause such a commotion, and there wouldn't be any witnesses—because it simply couldn't be seen.

However, according to Xiang Kun's interpretation of those secret documents, neither Academician Shen nor Mr. Liang would have used such a direct, violent, or even somewhat reckless method to deal with the newly discovered "Mutated Creature." This approach is not conventional.

It seems that Mr. Liang is somewhat out of control and emotional.

He had some vague guesses about this matter and might be able to verify them later.

Suddenly, the dream collapsed, and Lao Xia broke free from the "Dream Within a Dream," seemingly waking up directly.

Xiang Kun, who opened his eyes in a dark corner outside the villa area, was momentarily stunned. Although he had already figured out the reason why Zhang Hongpu disliked "Shenxing Technology" through Zhang Hongpu's dream, their purpose this time was to gather information, so usually Lao Xia would erase the dream memory, but this time he had skipped that step entirely?

Surprised, Xiang Kun suddenly realized what had happened through feedback from the "Super-Sensing Item System"—something had happened in Chongyun Village.

Tongshi Town.

Earlier, while Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and others were having dinner and chatting with Zhang Hongpu, Xia Tianhuo was having tea with Chu Xiuwen at a newly opened tea shop on a pedestrian street.

They had dinner with Chu Xiaoting and Zicheng at the "Youlong Restaurant". After dinner, the young couple went to play elsewhere. Xia Tianhuo was naturally embarrassed to follow them and be a third wheel, so he and Chu Xiuwen went to have tea nearby.

"Mr. Xia, how long do you plan to stay in Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village?" Chu Xiuwen poured tea into Xia Tianhuo's cup and asked with a smile.

"It's really comfortable staying here. I feel like I can't live without the rabbit meat at 'Youlong Restaurant.' As for Chongyun Village, I don't know if it's the climate, environment, oxygen content, or magnetic field or something, but I feel particularly comfortable and at ease living there. Sigh, I think I might set up some business in Tongshi Town or Chongyun Village sometime in the future. I might need Brother Chu's help then!" Xia Tianhuo said with a smile.

He meant it sincerely; the few days he spent in Chongyun Village after returning from Myanmar were the most peaceful nights he had slept.

However, when Professor Li Yang was still around, he would usually chat with Professor Li. After Professor Li left, he was never bored with Xiang Kun and Yang Zhen'er around. But now that Xiang Kun, Yang Zhen'er, and Tang Baona are all gone, the only people in the building where they live in Chongyun Village besides him are Lao Xia with his two children, Little Bell and Little Apple, oh, and a cat and a bird.

Although he was Lao Xia's cousin, to be honest, he always felt like the younger generation in Lao Xia's presence. So, when he was with Little Bell and Little Apple in front of Lao Xia, he always felt like he had become a child himself, being led by Lao Xia, which felt rather awkward...

He also noticed that when he was around, Little Bell and Little Apple would often huddle together and whisper to each other, making him feel "ostracized" and even more awkward...

So during the few days that Xiang Kun and Tang Baona were away, he basically spent his days playing in Tongshi Town and Zicheng. Sometimes he would go back to sleep at night, and sometimes if it was too late, he would just rent a room in town to sleep.

To be honest, he sometimes found it quite strange. Even though he was related to Lao Xia and Yang Zhen'er by blood, he inexplicably felt that Lao Xia, Yang Zhen'er, Xiang Kun, Little Bell, and Little Apple seemed more like a family. They seemed to know each other very well and had a kind of tacit understanding and trust that was hard to describe, making it difficult for others to get involved.

Chu Xiuwen smiled and said, "Mr. Xia is willing to invest in Tongshi Town, so as residents of Tongshi Town, we certainly welcome him with open arms. However, it seems that Mr. Xia's family has always been involved in large-scale raw material trading? In that respect, Tongshi Town probably doesn't have much of a market."

"What I'm doing in Tongshi Town definitely won't be the family business anymore. I was originally thinking about setting up a breeding farm in Chongyun Village. With so many new restaurants opening in town, I reckon the demand for fresh ingredients will be quite high. But after looking at those breeding farms under construction and learning about their conditions, I think they're not really suitable. So I'm thinking of opening a franchised chain restaurant in town instead. At least I'll be doing something, instead of just idling around and getting dragged back home by my family," Xia Tianhuo said half-jokingly.

"That's good too. If you have any ideas, you can talk to me. Putting everything else aside, I know quite a bit about what kind of shops are suitable to open in Tongshi Town, where there are shops with leases about to expire, and which shops offer the best value for money," Chu Xiuwen said with a smile.

As they chatted, the topic naturally turned to Qi Haoguo they had eaten with just two days prior.

"I heard that President Qi... has been arrested?" Xia Tianhuo asked with some doubt.

Chu Xiuwen nodded. "To be precise, it was a surrender. Sigh, his case is rather complicated, and it's hard to explain in a short time, or rather... I don't actually know much about it either. But now it seems that many of the things he confessed to the police, in terms of the charges, might not be as serious as he thought. Plus, so many years have passed, and he voluntarily surrendered, so I guess he won't get a very heavy sentence. Sigh, I really can't understand his thinking, but what's certain is that he himself is quite at peace with it."

Xia Tianhuo nodded in agreement. "I think so too. President Qi gives me the feeling that... how should I put it, that he's figured things out."

The two chatted over tea until after 10 p. m., then went for a late-night snack before Chu Xiuwen drove Xia Tianhuo back to Chongyun Village.

As soon as he got on the bus, he received a phone call from a "reporter" who had interviewed him in Myanmar before. The reporter wanted to talk to him again about his kidnapping in Myanmar and asked if it was convenient for him to speak.

Xia Tianhuo originally wanted to refuse, but the "reporter" mentioned some information from their latest investigation about the illusion of Montamira, which immediately piqued his curiosity. So he gave them the location of the "Youlong Restaurant" in Tongshi Town and asked them to come and find him.

Actually, he came to Tongshi Town Chongyun Village hoping to find answers from Lao Xia, to see if Lao Xia knew the truth about his rescue, and what the existence he vaguely sensed was.

But after arriving here, he found that he couldn't get any answers from Lao Xia, yet he couldn't be completely sure that Lao Xia had nothing to do with this matter, so he was stuck here.

Fortunately, he was quite comfortable here, and before he knew it, he had almost forgotten why he had come here in the first place.

"Are there reporters wanting to interview about things in Myanmar?" Chu Xiuwen, who was driving, asked casually after Xia Tianhuo hung up the phone.

"Yes, they interviewed me once in Myanmar, but I always felt that those two weren't proper journalists," Xia Tianhuo said, shaking his head.

"Mr. Xia has a good attitude. If I had encountered that, I would probably still have psychological trauma from talking about it now," Chu Xiuwen sighed.

"Actually, it wasn't that exaggerated. It didn't take very long. I didn't even have time to be scared before it was over," Xia Tianhuo joked.

As they were talking, their car drove onto the newly built village road when suddenly the power went out, and even the newly installed streetlights along the road went out, plunging the entire village into darkness.

Xia Tianhuo looked at the sky through the windshield in surprise. "What's going on? Why is even the moonlight blocked? The sky was fine when we were having supper, we could even see the stars and the moon. How come it looks like it's going to rain heavily now?"

In the darkness, the light from the two high beams of their car converged, as if they had been abruptly transported to another world, which was rather eerie.

The wind picked up in gusts, and the car headlights illuminated the road ahead, blowing fallen leaves and other trash around. From the distant mountains, strange cries seemed to echo.