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January 23, the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, a little after 6 p.m.

In a luxurious office on the second floor of a tea shop in Citong City, a middle-aged man of commanding appearance was sitting at the head of a multifunctional tea table, making tea. Across from him sat another middle-aged man with thinning hair and a somewhat gaunt face.

Had Xiang Kun been there, he would have recognized this latter man—it was “Brother Chu” Chu Xiuwen, whom he’d met in Tongshi Town.

His visit to Citong City this time had of course nothing to do with Xiang Kun. He was visiting an old friend before the lunar new year.

The owner of the tea shop, Guo Lin was his high school classmate. They had studied together in the provincial capital and were quite close. In addition to their friendship, they had collaborated on numerous business projects, enjoying a good working relationship. So even without any pressing matter, they would still regularly visit each other. Sometimes Chu Xiuwen would come to Citong, other times Guo Lin would go to Jianzhou City, and occasionally they’d make a trip together to the provincial capital to catch up with a group of old classmates and friends.

After Guo Lin had prepared some fresh tea and served it, he casually asked: “Xiuwen, has there been anything significant happening in Tongshi Town recently?”

Chu Xiuwen sipped his tea and asked, puzzled, “Why do you ask?”

“Do you know about Haoguo Group? The one in Guangdong Province. They’ve been investing in our province over the past few years. Not long ago, they even partnered with a man named Liu Dabao for a project in Tongshi Town,” Guo Lin said.

Chu Xiuwen replied with a smile: “You mean Liu Feibao, right? I know him.”

“Right, right, Liu Feibao. Look at my memory,” Guo Lin said with a laugh, patting his forehead. He continued, “Recently I heard some news that the CEO of Haoguo Group, Qi Haoguo, plans to increase his investments in Tongshi Town. He seems to have run low on funds and has been liquidating a lot of his assets. The businesses he’s transferred are all quite profitable. Normally, if he wanted to expand his investments in Jianzhou City and Tongshi Town, it would be more logical to borrow from the banks, especially since local governments would definitely support these kinds of investments. Packing up perfectly viable businesses to invest in unknown projects feels odd. Oh, and another thing I’ve heard just yesterday—apparently Qi Haoguo has instructed his company to prepare for some new projects that are purely charitable in nature. I’ve never met Qi Haoguo in person, but he’s always been known for being a ruthless businessman, not some philanthropist. His alias is ‘Ge Lang Qi’, which implies ‘no profit, no action’. For him to suddenly start investing in charities in Tongshi Town, and with actual physical cash, there must be a reason for it…”

Chu Xiuwen had a rough idea of the reasons but he only knew the general direction—that it had something to do with that man, Mr. Xiang, who had a good relationship with Liu Caifu. However, as for what Mr. Xiang’s background was, and what his backers aimed to do in Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village, and their ultimate goal, Chu Xiuwen did not know.

Just as he does not know, neither does Liu Feibao have any idea. The only question is whether that man, Mr. Qi from Haoguo Group, knows more?

Despite his good relationship with Guo Lin, Liu Caifu had been clear not to reveal things related to Mr. Xiang. Also, Chu Xiuwen had his reservations concerning Mr. Xiang’s background. He decided not to disclose to Guo Lin the issues related to Mr. Xiang, nor any of Ji Hang’s suspicions. Instead, he gave a vague response, “It’s quite normal for Tongshi Town to develop and receive support from policy-based or governmental projects.”

Guo Lin nodded thoughtfully and said, “I also got some inside news. Have you heard of ‘Divine Technology’? They’re known for creating avant-garde tech, specializing in drones, VR, security equipment, electronic toys and such. They recently applied with the province to carry out a research project in the mountainous areas near Wushu Mountain. I also know for a fact that several other companies closely associated with ‘Divine Technology’ have sent people over to Jianzhou City, seemingly planning to expand their businesses there. Do you think this has anything to do with Tongshi Town? After all, Wushu Mountain Scenic Area is not far from Tongshi Town.”

“I really don’t know about that.”

Guo Lin laughed, “Come on, Xiuwen. How could you not know? You are the man in charge of Tongshi Town. If there were any big moves, you’d be the first to know.”

“Man in charge… that’s not really a commendable title,” Chu Xiuwen said with a bitter smile. “If I were really the man in charge, the commercial street project that I had invited you to join last time wouldn’t have almost capsized.”

“Well, how about ‘local expert’ then? And with that commercial street project, we didn’t make a loss in the end, we made a small profit. It wasn’t bad at all. Just come out with it—given your insights, is it worthwhile to invest in Tongshi Town?” Guo Lin said straightforwardly. He knew that his old classmate and friend was a steady person who would never steer him wrong.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Xiuwen slowly said, “I think there is.”

“Alright, then shall we still look for those old buddies and do a real estate project together?” Guo Lin suggested.

“Well… let’s think about this in the long run.” Chu Xiuwen mused, “Old Guo, didn’t you say that Qi Haoguo is notorious for not waking up early without making a profit, and is always greedy? Have you ever thought, if he invests in Tongshi Town, why doesn’t he do real estate? As a person from Guangdong Province, why would he sell his assets and pull out hard cash to do charity in Haixi Province, in Tongshi Town?”

Guo Lin was taken aback and nodded, “Yes, I’ve been pondering over this question too, why… I can’t figure it out…”

“The practices of smart people, if we simply imitate, may not be useful, but they definitely have some reference value. Old Guo, if you’re interested, after the New Year, when I and a few friends from Tongshi Town invest locally, I’ll pull you in.” Chu Xiuwen said.

He and Liu Feibao had previously talked to Xiang Kun and Liu Caifu, so he knew that they planned to invest in farming, catering, and related scientific research and Internet industries. But like Qi Haoguo, he and Liu Feibao also worried that if they rashly brought in large funds at this time, it would disrupt Mr. Xiang’s original plans and might displease Mr. Xiang or the official bigwigs behind him. In addition, if they were left to their own devices, they wouldn’t know how to proceed. No matter the industry, the aspect, or the conditions, Tongshi Town had no advantages compared to other places.

Therefore, he and Liu Feibao discussed that they could then make investments in related industries as “support” based on the specific situation and observing Liu Ciafu and Mr. Xiang’s operations. Part of the reason was to show goodwill to Mr. Xiang, and part was to see if they could “get on the bandwagon” in this way.

They all felt that, considering Mr. Xiang’s background and the intervention of big capitals like the Zhang family, the benefits behind this must be substantial, and no matter how difficult things were, they could surely be pushed forward. Now hearing from Guo Lin, it seemed that even “Divine Technology,” a tech giant, was in action, which further confirmed their previous guesses.

“Well, these policy matters, my old man should actually understand much better, but he doesn’t want to deal with it at all.” Halfway through the conversation, Guo Lin said with some sighs.

“Is your old man still traveling?” Chu Xiuwen asked curiously.

Guo Lin sighed helplessly, “Yes! A man in his seventies insists on traveling around the country alone. I wanted to find someone to accompany him, but he refused. I called yesterday to ask where he was and whether he would be back for the New Year. He didn’t give a straight answer and just said he will come back when he wants to… Ever since my mom passed away, he hardly stays at home and goes around meeting his old colleagues and war buddies.”

As he was talking, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID, he laughed, “Did my old man sense that I was missing him?”

But after answering the call, Guo Lin froze because the voice on the other end was not his father’s.

After a few words, Guo Lin abruptly stood up, “Yes, I’m his son! What’s the situation now? Ok, I’ll be right there! Where? I’ll be there immediately, immediately!”

Seeing Guo Lin hang up the phone with a serious expression, Chu Xiuwen also stood up and asked, “What happened?”

“My old man just took a train back, but when he got to the station, he suddenly had a heart attack and passed out. He has been sent to the First Hospital. I need to go right away. How could he… He should’ve let me know if he was coming back. I could’ve sent someone to pick him up… He had a medical check-up before, and his heart was fine. How could he suddenly have a heart disease…” Guo Lin put on his coat as he spoke.

Chu Xiuwen said, “My car is parked downstairs, you can drive my car over. It will be quicker.”

The two of them rushed to the hospital together and soon saw Mr. Guo, who had regained consciousness.

Even the doctors were astounded by how quickly Mr. Guo had regained consciousness, and how clear his mind was. They credited his recovery to a young doctor who performed a resuscitation at the station and managed to save him.

Guo Lin acquired the young doctor’s name and contact details from the hospital and decided to reach out to him with a gift the next day as a token of gratitude.

However, after coming to see his father in the ward, Guo Lin felt that something was off about the old man. He seemed agitated.

This was not a good sign for someone who had just suffered a heart condition.

Guo Lin sat beside the hospital bed, clutched his father’s hand, and said, “Dad, I’m here.”

Chu Xiuwen, who entered with Guo Lin, also greeted, “Uncle Guo.”

Mr. Guo suddenly grabbed his son’s hand and looked at him saying, “Guo Lin, I saw… I saw…”

Slightly nervous, Guo Lin comforted his father and then followed his father’s tone, asking, “Dad, what did you see?”

“I saw another world,” said Mr. Guo, his voice trembling slightly. “I saw the ‘Gatekeeper’.”

“Dad, calm down, take your time. What gate did you see?” Guo Lin gently reassured his father, without expressing any skepticism.

After a while, with the help of Guo Lin, Mr. Guo managed to suppress his emotions and explain clearly, “…I thought I was going to die. I was terrified of losing all sense of existence after death. Then…I found myself in a narrow, dark room with no windows, only a door and a man with many arms standing guard at the door. I was terrified at the sight of it. But I knew it was real…”

Not just Guo Lin, but Chu Xiuwen too more or less understood. However, they both had the same feeling, thinking that this was a hallucination caused by the old man’s fear during his near-death experience.

Of course, they would not argue with the old man or burst his bubble at this moment.

They also understood why the old man had such “fantasies”.

Indeed, Mr. Guo then looked at Guo Lin and said, “If that world exists, then it means… your mother is there too. I still have a chance to see her.”

Guo Lin quickly said, “Dad, I’m sure mom would want you to live well…”

Mr. Guo interrupted him, saying, “Don’t worry, I will live well. I need to see more things, experience more things, so I have stories to tell her! She would definitely berate me if I don’t take good care of myself, if I don’t live well! Now that I’ve seen that world, seen that ‘Gatekeeper’, I’m not afraid of anything…there’s nothing to fear. Haha, rest assured, Guo Lin.”

Guo Lin didn’t know what to say. As long as the old man was happy and maintained a positive attitude, enabling his body to recover, that would be good enough.

It was early on the morning of January 24th, Xiang Kun “woke” up.

Of course, he did not actually sleep.

After returning from the sub-bureau late into the night yesterday, he had first successfully used the special pair of “Emotional Infusion” chopsticks to achieve a historic breakthrough – guiding and sensing Old Xia’s dream.

Then, he spent the remaining time on the persistent “homework” he had been doing for a while – entering the “Super Sensory State” and sensing the mutant around the rabbit wood carving.

His initial plan was to memorize all the sensory information of the mutant in the “Super Sensory State” while it was still within range of the rabbit wood carving. He wanted to compare this information with that of other mutants he could physically encounter in the future, to analyze them.

However, he soon realized that his previous thought was a bit far-fetched. The sensory information represented by the mutant in the “Super Sensory State” differs fundamentally from that of ordinary objects.

Once he plunged his consciousness deeply into that sensory information representing the mutant, he discovered that the sensory information was like a road leading directly into the infinite universe, endless as long as he was willing to follow.

Once he expanded this perception, he found the sensory information represented by the “mutant” was so excessively vast, practically endless, and it wasn’t something he could fully perceive or memorize at his current level.

So he had to resort to another method, setting limits on the sensory information, similar to how research designates the smallest unit to cells or molecules, micrometers or nanometers, setting a scope constraint.

Without knowing how to specifically map this sensory information to reality, it’s less meaningful to explore too deeply into the sensory information.

So Xiang Kun merely memorized the superficial perceptions of the mutant, and then focused on the other things around the mutant. He wanted to infer, based on this, where and what the mutant was doing with the rabbit wood carving.

Moreover, he was waiting for the mutant to drink blood.

He wanted to see if he could use the rabbit wood carving to guide and perceive the mutant’s dreams after it went into its blood-drinking sleep.

Though dream perception isn’t reality, many of its contents are founded on reality, memory, and cognition, and are directly presented in visuals, auditory, olfactory, and tactile sensory information, providing Xiang Kun with richer and more direct content.

Just like how he had used the same rabbit wood carving before to sense the exploratory team members from “Divine Technology” who entered the Qinling Uninhabited Area and found Zhou Rui, who loved ant-keeping. From Zhou Rui’s information, he located Dr. Fang Pingfang.

Besides, he had an obscure feeling that if he could indeed perceive a mutant’s dreams using an “Emotional Infusion” object, the dreams might offer him an unparalleled experience.