New Base

The clock had just struck ten-thirty when Tang Shizhe heard his front door being opened from outside. Tang Yi walked in with a miserable expression.

"Isn't today a weekday? Why are you back so early?" Tang Shizhe asked in surprise as he watched Tang Yi take off his clothes.

"Matriarch—" Tang Yi had barely begun when Tang Shizhe raised a hand to stop him.

"Call me Boss from now on. Don't call me Matriarch anymore." Tang Shizhe explained the thought he had had that morning. It would be bad if outsiders noticed something strange from the way they addressed each other.

If they called each other Boss, then even if someone saw two identical people, they would probably assume they were twins.

"Yes, Boss. Today, when I went to school to cancel your leave, all the teachers agreed that disappearing for a month without saying a word was too much. They've reached a consensus: all your usual grades will be zero. Only if your final exam score exceeds ninety will we avoid failing the course." Tang Yi relayed everything the teachers had said in one breath.

"Damn it, I was practically about to die back then. Who the hell would have been in the mood to ask for leave?" Tang Shizhe said angrily, smacking his forehead.

"But this works out perfectly. It gives us time for our initial development." Tang Shizhe was not worried about his final grades. With Tang Yi, a human cheat code, he could even have Tang Yi search Baidu from home during exams. The two of them could communicate through the Mental Network, though it would consume a great deal of stamina.

"That's right, Boss. Before the neural tissue in your brain is enhanced, you can still split off nine Splitters."

"We need to make plans for the birth of new Splitters and for our future lives." Tang Yi nodded lightly.

"First of all, we can't stay in our current home. The Splitters' appearances can't be altered yet, so I need to reduce the chances of you being caught on camera."

"Right now, there are only two of us, so the possibility of exposure is practically nonexistent. But once the number of Splitters increases, the chances of being spotted by the cameras everywhere will rise."

"Besides, so many people living here would consume huge amounts of supplies and produce a lot of trash. That would definitely arouse the neighbors' suspicions. It would be awful if they thought we were running a pyramid scheme and called the police!"

"Therefore, our first step is to move." Tang Shizhe analyzed, rubbing his chin.

He did not dare take the risk of being discovered by the outside world. If he were exposed, being sliced open and having his bone marrow extracted would be the least of his worries. He had to move out of the densely populated city center as soon as possible.

This apartment was only a ten-minute walk from his school, and the surrounding amenities were excellent, making life very convenient. Tang Shizhe had been very satisfied with it, but its mission had finally come to an end.

The security system that this neighborhood had once prided itself on had now become shackles binding Tang Shizhe.

If he sold this apartment, he should be able to scrape together two million in cash.

As soon as he thought of it, he acted. That afternoon, Tang Shizhe posted photos and information about the apartment online and began contacting various real estate agents.

He listed it at only ninety-five percent of the market price. It was not because he was foolish, but because time was money now. The sooner he split off more Splitters, the greater the returns he could gain.

The tiny profit of a few tens of thousands on one apartment was no longer worth his attention!

With such a favorable price and excellent location, Tang Shizhe's apartment received more than twenty groups of prospective buyers in just three days. During that time, Tang Yi had already moved into a nearby no-license hotel to cram all of this semester's courses.

Tang Shizhe himself stayed home to receive the people who came to view the apartment.

On the fourth day, the three-bedroom apartment with its furnishings included was successfully bought by a married couple. After paying the required sum, the two parties went through the relevant procedures under the agent's guidance.

Although the property transfer had not yet been fully completed, Tang Shizhe had already received most of the payment. Only the remaining thirty thousand would be paid after the transfer was finalized.

With money in hand, Tang Shizhe immediately went out, hailed a Didi, and headed straight for the outskirts of Jiaonan City.

While still at home, he had already contacted several individuals and companies renting out factory buildings through local apps.

The only places where the Splitters could move freely without being discovered, and where excessive water and electricity use would not raise suspicion, were the factories in the suburbs.

After leaving the city's main roads, the taxi turned onto an ordinary two-way road. Factory buildings lined both sides, but because the transportation infrastructure was too outdated, most of the factories there had been vacant for a long time.

The two-way road simply could not meet the area's transportation needs, and many companies had moved to the High-Tech Zone.

But this desolation suited Tang Shizhe perfectly. The fewer people around, the safer he would feel.

Before long, the taxi stopped outside an industrial compound. It contained only an old concrete factory building and a two-story structure. Ivy covered the factory's exterior walls, while several shattered xenon lamps hung around it.

At the compound gate, Tang Shizhe also saw a rusted sign reading "Longs Machinery." Clearly, the original owner of this property had been a company called Longs Machinery.

The factory covered a full thousand square meters and came with a twenty-thousand-square-meter yard. However, due to years of neglect, the gate in the surrounding wall had long since disappeared.

"You must be President Tang, I presume." The factory owner Tang Shizhe had contacted had been waiting for quite some time. However, he visibly faltered when he saw Tang Shizhe's somewhat youthful face.

"That's right. I contacted you this morning." Tang Shizhe nodded and extended his hand to the balding middle-aged man before him.

"President Tang is truly young and promising. Ha, haha." The middle-aged man was somewhat embarrassed. The person in front of him was simply too young, but his years of experience in society told him not to underestimate anyone. He could only suppress his surprise and shake Tang Shizhe's hand.

"Manager Long, show me your factory." Tang Shizhe pointed at the building behind Manager Long.

"Oh, oh, please follow me." Manager Long made an inviting gesture and led the way toward the factory.

"Our factory may look a little run-down, but its structure has been preserved very well. After all, it has only been abandoned for a little over two years."

"Because of some creditor issues, this factory had been impossible to rent out before. But I just settled things with them recently, which is why I can finally lease it out."

"Our factory isn't an ordinary factory. Look, inside, it actually has a second floor built in a square loop, and we left frosted glass panels in the ceiling for lighting."

"The two-story building next to the factory was originally the industrial compound's office building." Manager Long showed Tang Shizhe around the entire compound, and the two eventually returned to the main gate.

"Manager Long, give me a sincere price. You know how run-down this factory is. Your asking price of one hundred fifty thousand a year is outrageous! I'm willing to offer one hundred thousand a year. What do you say? If not, I'll go look at the next place." Tang Shizhe shook his head lightly in dissatisfaction.

In truth, he had already taken a strong liking to this place. With a few modifications, the factory could house dozens of Splitters, while the two-story building could serve as his own residence.

As for whether one hundred thousand was too low—what a joke. There were barely any factory buildings in this area that could be rented out, and this one had not even been maintained. His offer was absolutely fair.

"One hundred thirty thousand!" Manager Long gritted his teeth, pretending to make a huge concession.

"Impossible. One hundred thousand at most!" Tang Shizhe shook his head and turned as if to leave.

"Fine, fine, one hundred thousand it is!" Manager Long frowned and finally made up his mind.

After all, he had posted rental notices online and through agents for a full month without anyone showing interest. People these days had all gone to that high-tech industrial park with ten lanes in both directions, which was also close to the train station and high-speed rail station. If he missed Tang Shizhe, he had no idea when he would be able to rent this place out.

Besides, he had heard that this area would be demolished in a few years to build a residential district. Renting it out for some income in the meantime was better than nothing. He was really just waiting for the demolition compensation!

"But the one hundred thousand must be paid in full upfront, and there's also a fifty-thousand deposit." After thinking it over, Manager Long spoke up.

"No problem. Let's find a print shop and draw up the contract." Tang Shizhe nodded. As he looked at the industrial compound before him, his eyes shone with eagerness. This place would be the starting point of his rise!

Two days later, after finalizing the lease agreement, Tang Shizhe brought Tang Yi—whose entire head was wrapped in a scarf and the hood of a down jacket—to their new home.

Fortunately, it was December, and a cold wave had made the weather bitterly cold, so Tang Yi's outfit did not draw any curious looks.

"Remember, tomorrow you need to contact a construction crew and raise our walls by another two meters!" Tang Shizhe pointed at the compound wall, which was only two meters high, with dissatisfaction.

That height could not guarantee privacy inside the compound at all!

"Also, replace the gate with one made entirely of alloy. Don't use the kind with gaps in the middle."

"And while you're at it, have someone inspect the factory's electricity and water systems, and replace the overhead lights!" Tang Shizhe pointed around the compound as he gave orders. He was finally experiencing what it felt like to be a boss. He did not have to handle everything himself. It felt incredible.

"No, Boss, I'm not trying to discourage you, but if we follow your plan, I'm afraid we won't even have enough money to get this industrial compound into shape." Tang Yi promptly spoke up, shattering Tang Shizhe's fantasy.