Qin Wuzheng looked at Wang Wen strangely. "Do you know what'll happen when I leave the tower this time? You actually turned down Tiansheng Group's generous offer. You do know who they are, right?"
Wang Wen said calmly, "Sure. Second in the world."
A black line appeared on Qin Wuzheng's forehead. He said stubbornly, as if making an oath, "Once I take over Tiansheng, it'll be number one!"
"Good luck." Wang Wen nodded and turned toward the villa.
"Aren't you leaving the tower too?" Qin Wuzheng asked, puzzled.
Wang Wen didn't stop walking. "Now that you're leaving, it'd be a waste to let such a nice villa sit empty. I'll stay here a few days and enjoy it."
Qin Wuzheng shrugged indifferently and offered a reminder. "Everything here resets at midnight every weekend. The food's in the fridge, the wine's in the cellar, and the control switch for the fence is in the study. The shotgun shells are there too. They're not items you can take out of the tower, but they're still pretty useful while you're here."
Without looking back, Wang Wen waved over his shoulder and quickened his pace, looking rather eager.
If Qin Wuzheng hadn't reminded him,
he really wouldn't have known that the old-looking little villa had a cellar and wine!
By the end, he was practically jogging.
He rushed into the cellar, full of excitement and anticipation. Rows upon rows of wine racks stretched into the distance, and neatly arranged wooden barrels covered the floor. The sight filled him with joy.
By the time Wang Wen had poured himself a drink and walked out of the villa with a wineglass, ready to share a farewell drink with the young master of Tiansheng, Qin Wuzheng had already been out of the tower for quite some time.
Watching the sun sink toward the horizon at the end of the road, Wang Wen licked the pinch of salt resting in the web of his thumb, then drained the wine in one gulp.
Qin Wuzheng didn't return to Tiansheng Group until several hours later.
As the young master of Tiansheng Group, his return from the tower naturally drew plenty of attention. Even though he'd spent half a year living safely and comfortably in the villa, his subordinates still arranged for a whole team of doctors to examine him repeatedly before they were satisfied.
When he learned that the Group and the Academy were now at each other's throats, he made no comment. He quietly went to the CEO's office on the second-to-last floor at the top of the Group's building.
After entering, he went straight to the wall cabinet, took the tea tin from the second-to-last compartment at the top, and grabbed a handful of tea leaves with his bare hand. He dropped them into an ordinary clear glass meant for guests, then poured in purified water heated to eighty-eight degrees.
Only then did he carry the glass over to the sofa, sit down, and take a contented sip. He leaned back and sighed, "I've been craving this for ages."
The middle-aged man who had been standing silently by the floor-to-ceiling window turned to look at him. "It's good to be home, isn't it?"
"I'd say it's good to be back in the human world." Qin Wuzheng watched the tea leaves swirl in the glass, his expression relaxed.
The middle-aged man walked over to the desk and set down the wineglass in his hand. "What do you think about Xiao Dong sending Mirror to cause trouble at the Academy this time?"
Qin Wuzheng shook his head. "Just kids fooling around."
"What do you mean?" The middle-aged man looked at him meaningfully. "You're only a year apart. If he's a kid, then what does that make you?"
Qin Wuzheng blew on his tea and took a few sips.
He gently chewed the tea leaves he'd accidentally swallowed.
After a while,
he said, "None of that matters. I saw and thought about a lot over the past six months. I think our most urgent task is to launch the Summit Plan as soon as possible! We need to pool all our resources and push hard for the 650th floor, or even higher!"
The middle-aged man frowned. "I thought you'd change after six months of reflection. I didn't expect you to still be so reckless. I've told you many times: blindly pushing for the summit will destabilize the Group's foundations and cause enormous losses."
Qin Wuzheng set down his teacup and said earnestly, "Dad, you always think I'm reckless. You always want us to strengthen our foundations before we make a move. But have you ever considered that while we're improving, our rivals are improving too? If we keep moving forward cautiously forever, how is Tiansheng supposed to overtake the First Consortium?"
"There are plenty of ways," the middle-aged man replied with an unconcerned smile. "Take your younger brother's little games, for example."
Qin Wuzheng's expression froze. "Dad, you don't really think those little games are enough to slow the First Consortium down, do you? There's only one way to beat them: push for the summit ahead of schedule! We have to break the World Tower record before they do. That's the only way we can truly overtake them!"
But the middle-aged man shook his head. "At the end of the day, there are only two ways to surpass a rival: either we speed up, or they slow down. I think the kind of acceleration you're proposing is too risky. If the push for the summit fails, we'll be severely weakened. We might not even hold on to second place, let alone reach first. So I'd rather go with your younger brother's approach and slow the opposition down!"
He poured a little more wine into his glass and returned to the floor-to-ceiling window. Without turning around, he said, "You can go. From now on, you and your brother should get along. I won't shortchange you when it comes to money."
Qin Wuzheng sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time.
He'd spent half a year "in seclusion" in the tower, coming up with countless ways to push for the summit.
He'd thought that once he left the tower, he'd be able to launch the Summit Plan and gradually close the gap with the First Consortium, or even surpass them.
He hadn't expected—
not a single one of those plans would be put to use.
Qin Wuzheng smiled bitterly.
Without his father's approval, he was too weak on his own to support the costs of pushing for the summit.
The Summit Plan had ended before it began.
He slowly drank his tea, one sip at a time.
Then he set down the teacup, stood up, and left the CEO's office.
Life on the tenth floor was plain, simple, and boring.
In the morning, Wang Wen woke up naturally after a good night's sleep and went to take a shower.
Then he went outside and jogged along the seemingly endless road.
Once his body felt warmed up, he began strength training.
He kept at it until he was completely exhausted, then walked back along the straight road.
When he saw the pile of corpses, he knew he was home.
The corpses had begun to rot. Clouds of flies fed on them, laid eggs, and partied away.
Keeping clear of the flies' party, Wang Wen walked through the open fence and up to the villa.
He took the shotgun from his back and held it in his hands, then circled the villa, checking that his concealed markers at each entrance were all intact.
Only then did he quietly enter the villa.
He didn't put down the shotgun until he'd checked every floor, inside and out.
He was habitually cautious in unfamiliar places. Who knew when an unlucky Tower Climber might "spawn" at this checkpoint?
And who knew what sort of bizarre monsters might show up?
Maybe those Speedster Gang members in the pile of corpses would stagger to their feet, trailing a swarm of partying flies as they came for him.
The world had all kinds of strange things in it.
The World Tower's reputation for endless variety was well-earned.
Wang Wen closed the villa's fence.
He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge to take a look. It was full of Western-style ingredients.
He took out some cod, melted butter in a frying pan, and lightly fried the fish.
Then he toasted two slices of bread and put the fish between them.
Just like that, he had a cod sandwich.
With some warmed milk, he cobbled together a modest breakfast.
He sat at the dining table, eating as he thought about what to do next.
There wasn't much point in leaving the tower for now.
He still hadn't obtained the essential item he needed for his plan. If he left the tower now, he'd just be waiting around somewhere else for it to reset.
That didn't mean this time was wasted.
He'd entered the tower intending to find a relatively safe place to let his body recover.
He'd overused his mental energy several times in the past few days, and his body was feeling the strain.
Combat wasn't training.
It did little to strengthen mental energy.
Other Tower Climbers who hadn't yet reached master level might need to fight in different ways to stimulate their potential and awaken their mental energy.
Wang Wen didn't need to do that.
Compared with the wear and tear of pointless battles, he preferred methodical training.
He knew exactly how to get back to his peak condition.
Since he didn't have to take any detours in this life, he should get there much faster than he had in his previous life, right?
Wang Wen sat at the dining table and finished his breakfast at a leisurely pace.
Then he went into the kitchen.
He began preparing the ingredients for lunch, carefully and meticulously.
And with that, the decision was made!
He'd have a good meal at noon.
Hot pot!
Before you continue