Wang Yiyang's phone—the black one he took out from time to time to glance at.
At first glance, it looked just like one of the popular budget phones on the market. But on closer inspection, its texture, buttons, and other details were clearly much more refined.
An Yuxi committed it to memory, feeling as though she'd discovered a secret no one else had noticed. A flicker of excitement stirred in her heart.
She said nothing, intending to keep observing.
After everyone had toasted, they sat back down and continued eating. Dish after dish arrived.
Steamed ribbonfish, golden jade threads, flying dragon soaring through the sky, white phoenix singing, the drunkard's birthday toast, sea dragon giving birth...
The dishes arrived with all sorts of strange names, and everyone tried to guess what each one was.
They were all made from ordinary, home-cooking ingredients, but the new names and beautiful plating made them feel upscale.
Since they were dining together during work hours, everyone was dressed for the office. The men wore shirts and slacks, while the women wore black skirt suits with black or nude pantyhose.
It looked less like a gathering of friends and more like a company event.
After they'd eaten for a while, Wang Yiyang's phone suddenly rang.
Some of his colleagues had taken calls during the meal, but their ringtones had all been turned down low.
Wang Yiyang's ringtone was nothing like that. It was piercing.
Brr... brr... brr!
There was no hint of a tune to the ringtone. It was instantly nerve-racking and grating.
Wang Yiyang froze. He clearly remembered setting his phone to vibrate, but now...
He hurriedly took out his phone and smiled apologetically at the others.
"Let me take this call. I'll step outside. You go ahead and eat."
He stood up and unlocked the screen, only to find it completely bloodred.
"Warning! Warning!"
It was an emergency alert on his phone. It only activated when special circumstances arose, and it sounded an alarm regardless of whether the ringer was on or off.
Wang Yiyang narrowed his eyes, his heart tightening as a detail from the information in his mind flashed through it.
The phone's emergency alert only activated when one of the important people he'd set up in advance was nearby.
In other words...
He looked out through the private room's window.
Beyond the round glass, a silver, streamlined luxury armored car was slowly pulling up along the street.
The rear window slid down, revealing a middle-aged man with a white beard.
He wore a gray suit and a black tie. His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, and he gazed calmly at Wang Yiyang through the window.
Wang Yiyang looked away. The information in his mind let him recognize the man instantly.
Kesatirein, his rival at the Mister Pharmaceutical Group, who had always coveted his position as security minister.
Wang Yiyang pressed the button to silence the alarm. Then he apologized to the others and started to leave the room.
Bang!
Suddenly, the private room door was shoved open.
A handsome man with slicked-back blond hair and sunglasses strode in, dressed in a suit. His gaze immediately locked onto Wang Yiyang.
"Minister Wang, Mr. Ryan would like to see you." The man grinned. His muscular build gave him a vaguely menacing air.
Wang Yiyang stiffened. The man hadn't spoken in Federation Standard but in Eresa, the language commonly used within Mister.
Since Mister's headquarters were in the Maria Islands of Eresa, everyone used Eresa to make communication easier.
The others in the room had no idea what the man was saying, but they could tell he hadn't come with good intentions.
Wang Dongning glanced at Wang Yiyang and stood up at once.
"Brother Yang, is he here for you?"
"Yeah. You guys go ahead and eat. I have a small matter to take care of." Wang Yiyang smiled calmly.
The rows of data that had appeared at the bottom of his vision earlier had clearly stated that there was still a month of leeway before danger from Mister came looking for him.
So why had someone shown up so soon? What was going on?
He steadied himself and chose to trust the thing that had given him a hidden identity, something like a system.
The main reason was that the other party had come so suddenly. He had no way to predict it or prepare, so he could only adapt as things unfolded.
"I'll step out for a bit." He smiled at his colleagues, then patted Wang Dongning's shoulder to signal him to sit down.
"It's fine. I'll be right back."
"Are you sure it's fine?" Wang Dongning asked, unconvinced.
"Don't worry." Wang Yiyang smiled, then looked at the man with slicked-back hair. "Show me the way."
He answered in Eresa as well.
"Please." The man stepped aside and gave a slight bow, putting on a polite air.
The two soon left the private room, and the door swung shut behind them.
After a muffled bang,
the others in the room stared at one another in silence. They tried to guess what the foreigner who'd just appeared wanted.
"Brother Yang knows foreigners? I've never heard him mention that. Maybe he was a client the company hosted before?" Wang Dongning broke the silence with an awkward laugh.
"It looked like there shouldn't be a problem, but what did that man just say? Did anyone understand him?" Xie Xiaodan asked, still a little worried.
"I've watched foreign TV dramas and heard that kind of accent before. Was it Eresa?" replied a woman who liked watching TV. "I don't know what it means, though."
"But that guy was wearing a Kersi suit. I saw the logo," Xia Ying said with a laugh. She knew luxury brands well, so she'd recognized it at a glance.
"Could it be that after all this time, Brother Yang's actually some rich second-generation kid?" Wang Dongning joked.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Xia Ying replied with a smile.
"Are Kersi clothes really that expensive?" An Yuxi wasn't very familiar with such brands. She'd heard of some women's labels, but she didn't know much about menswear.
"A basic set costs at least fifty thousand," Xia Ying said casually.
An Yuxi's breath caught.
Fifty thousand?!
Her monthly salary was only a little over six thousand. One outfit cost nearly a year's income.
What kind of absurdly expensive brand was this?
She quickly lowered her head and looked it up on her phone. Sure enough, Kersi was listed among the world's famous menswear brands.
It was a relatively obscure first-tier brand, unlike the other labels favored by celebrities and famous figures.
The brand had always kept a low profile, and its high prices were due to its extremely expensive raw materials.
After reading up on it, An Yuxi kept her expression composed, but her curiosity about Wang Yiyang had grown considerably.
"But that foreigner was pretty polite to Brother Yang just now," a young woman remarked in surprise.
"Okay, okay. We'll ask Brother Yang when he gets back. No more guessing. Let's eat!" Wang Dongning quickly urged everyone on Wang Yiyang's behalf.
Their speculation and chatter had been interrupted, but An Yuxi lowered her head, her eyes flickering as new thoughts began to stir.
She'd always kept herself untouched, waiting for the right opportunity to cash in. Why else had she worked so hard to move up the social ladder, if not to change her life through marriage?
As things stood, if that foreigner hadn't suddenly come looking for Wang Yiyang, everyone would have finished eating and gone their separate ways without ever realizing how much he'd been hiding.
An Yuxi's thoughts were clear. She wasn't close to Wang Yiyang, but this was an extremely rare opportunity.
She had a vague feeling that the world Wang Yiyang had kept hidden was likely the highest level she'd ever had a chance to reach.
The opportunity was right before her, so close that a single touch might make it vanish. The thought left her feeling strangely unsettled.
She still remembered how, in college, she'd worked part-time and saved for a long, long time to buy a handbag she liked.
Then one day, she saw a classmate she'd never gotten along with casually carrying that very handbag, chatting easily with people in class.
From that moment on, she completely lost interest in the bag.
She couldn't forget the look in that girl's eyes.
Maybe the girl had no idea she liked the same bag. But to An Yuxi, every time the girl's gaze swept over her, it felt like being cut by a knife.
From then on, she'd resolved to change her fate completely.
Wang Yiyang followed the blond man out of the private room. Flanked by two bald men, he slowly walked out of the restaurant.
The commotion drew everyone's attention—not only that of the people he knew, but also the diners coming and going, the servers, and the manager. They all came out to stare.
Wang Yiyang didn't mind. Now that the other party had come looking for him, there was no avoiding it. He might as well face it calmly.
Shielded from view by the others, he quietly walked over to the car. He opened the door, got into the back seat, and sat beside the middle-aged man.
"Did you need something?" Wang Yiyang asked evenly, doing his best to keep his voice steady.
His phone kept vibrating, but he didn't have time to check it.
"I thought you'd run away." Kesatirein smiled, a strange look on his face.
"I just came back to my hometown for a visit." Wang Yiyang shrugged.
"I heard you'd reassigned some men. I had a meeting nearby, so I decided to come by and have a look. Since you're fine, I won't keep you." Kesatirein smiled.
"You're being kind all of a sudden?" According to the information Wang Yiyang had received, this middle-aged man was no kindly soul. He was like an old wolf waiting for an opening; the moment he spotted a weakness, he'd pounce like lightning and never let go.
This was also Wang Yiyang's first time meeting one of the group's bigwigs. Kesatirein was in charge of the R&D Department, which was relatively important. It wasn't as influential as the Security Department, but it still carried considerable weight.
"I need your help," Kesatirein said softly. "I need an elite team to escort some important cargo in Gelanwo. My people aren't strong enough."
"Why should I help you?" Wang Yiyang sneered.
"I can help you. So why not help me in return?" Kesatirein smiled.
He seemed to be remembering, or perhaps regretting.
"Do you remember when we worked together in perfect harmony? Back then, the group was incredibly powerful, capable of anything. What a shame..."
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