Settlement 2 (Thanks to Ye Xun for the Alliance Leader's reward)

"You can do whatever you want after this, can't you? Aren't Xiao Hong and the others still around? You could open a regular training class and teach the kids some simple things. Wouldn't that be a way to pass the time?" Wang Yiyang said with a smile.

Wang Xinlong watched his grandson calmly. So much had happened, and so many people had died, yet Wang Yiyang could still smile—and so easily at that.

It was as if what had just occurred at the martial arts gym was nothing more than stepping out for a meal or a stroll.

Such indifference and habituation made his heart ache faintly.

How old was Wang Yiyang? Had he already grown accustomed to such a brutal and intense life?

Perhaps the incident at the gym seemed grave and troublesome to others, but in Wang Yiyang's eyes, it might have been nothing more than a trifle.

Wang Xinlong opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.

His grandson had made a name for himself and achieved success; he should have been happy. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel any joy.

He could roughly guess the price one had to pay to reach Wang Yiyang's level.

After a long silence, he slowly reached out and patted his grandson's shoulder.

"You've worked hard."

"It's not really hard work. But Grandpa, please remember to keep this a secret for me. Mom and Dad don't know about my situation yet, and I don't want them to worry." Wang Yiyang revealed a soft smile.

He had only possessed this hidden identity for a short time, yet it felt as if years had passed.

Every single day, he was under immense pressure. He was constantly calculating and strategizing in his mind, maintaining his image at every moment.

Although he could enjoy top-tier services at any time, he simply lacked the leisure or the state of mind to do so.

Just dealing with the threats had already consumed too much of his energy.

Therefore, his grandfather's understanding truly touched him to the core.

Only when something is lost does one learn to cherish it.

The only thing Wang Yiyang wanted to do now was finish everything quickly and return to his former, stable life.

Even if that life was ordinary and plain. Even if it lacked such vast power, wealth, and luxury.

At least it would also be free of such immense pressure and threats.

Wang Xinlong was a man of great experience, and he saw the exhaustion in his grandson's eyes.

"I understand. But you must handle things carefully; some matters can be hidden, but others cannot."

"I know," Wang Yiyang nodded.

In the car on the way back, Wang Yiyang was still reviewing the entire planning process.

From the very beginning, days ago, he had used special means to expose Zhong Can to two types of poison gas and a type of ultra-micro controllable nanobot.

The former two were meant to facilitate the injection of the latter, lowering Zhong Can's guard so he wouldn't notice the nanobots.

These robots were extremely expensive and were single-use items.

They could enter the bloodstream through the stomach and flow throughout Zhong Can's body, remaining dormant for over a month.

Only after a month would they dissolve and disappear on their own.

This was the key hidden move that allowed Wang Yiyang not to worry about his grandfather clashing with Zhong Can.

These nanobots could not only monitor and collect Zhong Can's physical data at any time, but they could also instantly paralyze his entire bodily functions at a critical moment.

Coupled with the suppression from the other two poisons, and the third type of gas Wang Yiyang had secretly released at the scene, this layer upon layer of insurance meant he had held the entire situation in a grip without a single flaw.

The only variable had been the later appearance of Wu Qi.

As a Grand Justice rank martial artist, Wu Qi had a high resistance to poison gas. If Wang Yiyang hadn't deliberately provoked him with his words at the time, Wu Qi might have actually caused some casualties.

Sitting in the car, Wang Yiyang replayed the entire plan. Suddenly, he felt a sense of listlessness.

He was essentially using powerful technology developed over thousands of years to forcibly crush so-called martial arts.

Compared to modern technological advancements, the so-called school-based martial arts were still stuck in core theories from a thousand years ago.

Technology had undergone multiple industrial revolutions, while martial arts remained stagnant.

This was a collision between two different paths of civilization.

And the facts proved that the martial arts system had fallen far, far behind.

"Boss, the Martial Alliance has sent a letter of thanks for the cooperation. There is also a reply from the Yanhu Sect.

However, the difference is that Peijia, the branch master of the Yanhu Sect, has refunded half of your hiring fee. The reason given is: the incident was resolved before they could intervene, which does not align with the terms of the agreement."

Lei Wei whispered the post-incident updates from the side.

"Oh? Branch Master Peijia certainly knows how to conduct himself." Although Wang Yiyang didn't care about that bit of money now, he wouldn't turn it away either.

This Yanhu Sect branch master clearly knew how to handle people. Not charging the full amount when no action was taken was a gesture that felt quite human.

"Additionally, regarding the Mantis Sect leader Wu Qi, one of his disciples remains unaccounted for and is currently on our wanted list.

Meanwhile, the remaining Mantis Sect martial artists have confessed the locations of their strongholds. Our people have recovered a roster of Mantis Sect members from these sites, allowing us to conduct targeted strikes.

Shall we hand this roster over to the authorities for cooperation, or should we carry out our own retaliation?"

"We will handle it ourselves," Wang Yiyang mused. "And add a bounty to the official wanted list for every Mantis Sect member—double the current amount."

"Understood."

Wang Yiyang let out a sigh of relief; the Yuekong Martial Arts Hall incident could finally be considered closed at this stage.

Although it was clear the Mantis Sect was not the true mastermind and that a greater power was lurking in the shadows, he only cared about eliminating those who had committed the murders directly. As for the mysterious forces behind them, based on the intelligence gathered, the Mantis Sect was merely an peripheral, drifting organization, and the targeting of Yuekong Martial Arts Hall had been their own independent decision.

Therefore, ending the matter here was the best possible outcome.

Of course, more importantly, he had to face the internal power struggle within Mister Pharmaceutical immediately.

Having gained the status and support of Mister Group, he naturally had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities and risks.

Now that he had enjoyed the power and wealth, it was time to confront the new problems head-on.

"What is the date today? What day of the week?" Wang Yiyang suddenly asked.

"March 20th, Friday," Lei Wei replied promptly. As his life assistant, she naturally had to keep such information at her fingertips at all times.

"In other words, only nine days have passed..." Wang Yiyang muttered.

He remembered waking up after his rebirth on the 11th.

And now, only nine days had gone by.

There were still twenty days left until the one-month deadline.

Twenty days, all told, was only three weeks.

A wry smile appeared on Wang Yiyang's face. He had just resolved the matter here, and now he had to continue without pause to the next wave.

Fortunately, he had a bit more breathing room this time.

After some thought, he sat in the car and opened the chip menu, navigating to the intelligence option to review the information he needed.

Upon checking, Wang Yiyang finally realized the sheer power of this mysterious system.

His first hidden identity, the behind-the-scenes director and concurrent Security Department head of Mister Pharmaceutical, did not appear out of thin air.

It came with an extensive network of interconnected relationships.

Because Wang Yiyang had only received a simple infusion of information, the data in his mind was merely a summary, and he hadn't had the time to organize it while busy with the martial arts hall incident.

Now that he had relaxed and focused his mind on studying this identity, he grew increasingly astonished.

As a member of the board of directors for Mister Pharmaceutical, Wang Yiyang held a 2.3% stake.

While this percentage was not insignificant, it was hardly enough to rely on to secure his position as head of the Security Department; that would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.

After all, the position of Security Department head controlled all the nominal armed forces of the entire Mister Group.

Entrusting such a critical role to a young man in his twenties would certainly leave many feeling uneasy.

Therefore, there must be a sufficiently powerful force supporting Wang Yiyang in stabilizing his position as head of the Security Department.

And now, Wang Yiyang was only just beginning to make contact with the forces supporting him.

He looked at the information in the intelligence option, then took out his phone.

In his contacts, he quickly found the corresponding names.

I'll spend time memorizing all the data, figure out the troubles I'm facing, and then start planning. Wang Yiyang was in no rush.

As a director of a pharmaceutical group with three weeks to spare, perhaps he could even randomly acquire some useful identities as trump cards during that time.

After all, his greatest strength right now was his identity within Mister Group; if even this identity found a threat troublesome, it would be far too difficult for him to turn the situation around with his current capabilities.

Rather than forcing it, it was better to wait and see if a new identity provided a turning point.

Having roughly mapped out his subsequent arrangements, Wang Yiyang arrived back at Green Tree Residential Complex by car. Once home, he quickly cast aside all the messy thoughts.

Whether it was planning or intelligence, he didn't want to deal with any of it.

He just wanted to relax completely today, thinking of nothing at all. Emptying himself.

Back in his rented apartment, he looked at the familiar furniture, the familiar computer, and the familiar keyboard covered in stains.

And the familiar, messy single bed. Especially that strange quilt rolled into a cylinder on the bed.

Wang Yiyang liked to roll his quilt up when he slept, then roll around in it, wrapping himself into a cylinder.

Sleeping this way, with his whole body enveloped, was extremely comfortable.

However, rolling it up every day was a bit of a chore, so Wang Yiyang came up with a solution.

He would roll the quilt into a cylinder once, and after waking up each day, he would simply crawl out from the top of the cylinder. He never folded the quilt.

Then, when he returned home from work in the evening, after washing up, he would crawl back into the cylinder.

This way, the quilt was warm and comfortable, and it saved him the trouble of folding it.

However, Wang Yiyang had no intention of taking a nap right now.

He picked up his phone and opened the "Eat, Drink, and Play" app, currently the most popular software dedicated to helping people live a better life.

As soon as it opened, a stream of short videos began playing, all showcasing interesting and fun things from various shops and venues.

Wang Yiyang cleared his mind, lay back on the bed, and scrolled through the phone page by page, looking for somewhere worth visiting.

He felt as if he had returned to his original self—no hidden identity, no doctor or Mister board member, just a white-collar worker who had recently resigned.

Re-engaging with life from the perspective of a white-collar worker allowed Wang Yiyang's heavy, suppressed heart to slowly stretch and relax.

Soon, he settled on a location.

A swimming pool that looked quite nice.