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However, he paused slightly, and then changed his tone, “But in my opinion, there are plenty of domestic tech companies that are doing better than ‘Divine Technology’.”

He then cited a few examples of large-scale domestic tech companies that were also specializing in certain fields, yet were not well-known to the public.

Yet, Xiang Kun argued, “‘Divine Technology’ is different. They possess a spirit of paving the way for the world, not being overly concerned with short-term gains or losses. Any tech company, once it reaches a certain stage, should have this spirit.”

Zhang Hongpu laughed, “However, your company’s business field is quite different from that of ‘Divine Technology’. Your main focus is still on internet products.”

Xiang Kun said, “Actually, Director Zhang and I have been discussing recently, and it is very possible that we will begin to venture into the hardware field.”

“Oh?” Zhang Hongpu looked at his granddaughter.

Zhang Qian responded, “What Mr. Xiang may be referring to is the VR-related equipment I mentioned earlier as well as other data collection and recording devices for various endpoints. However, we are still only in the stage of direction selection.”

Under normal circumstances, at this point in the conversation, Xiang Kun would naturally lead the conversation towards the development of the technology they mentioned, or other topics, and away from “Divine Technology”.

However, Xiang Kun hasn’t yet probed for the information he wants from this topic and won’t give up so easily. He seemingly naturally added, “From my understanding, as for VR technology, aside from the American company, Do-or-Die, the only other company that has a well-laid-out plan is ‘Divine Technology’. Their strategic direction is different from Oculus, which was acquired by Do-or-Die, but they also have their own core technology, which I am very optimistic about. If we want to save time and reduce costs in the future, we could consider cooperating with them.”

With these words, it seemed as if he had hit a nerve with Zhang Hongpu. He straightened up slightly, crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly deep in thought.

Zhang Qian quickly said, “Mr. Xiang, our VR social networking concept is still at the conceptual research stage. There’s no need to research the hardware implementation so quickly. In fact, we can focus on specific application development and make adaptations on the hardware and terminal. There’s no need to step into these thankless areas. Not to mention that given our scale, it’s already too late.”

Of course, Xiang Kun knew that Zhang Qian was intentionally trying to steer him away from his grandfather’s sensitive spot, but he was very measured. He clearly understood Zhang Hongpu’s current state of mind, knowing what kind of pace and scale he should use to probe, and wasn’t worried.

“It’s precisely because our scale is too small and it’s too late for us to enter the market, that we need to cooperate with mature companies. Do-or-Die is an American company and also a social networking service, with which cooperation would certainly not be easy. Cooperating with ‘Divine Technology’ is almost the best choice,” said Xiang Kun.

Zhang Hongpu spoke, “Mr. Xiang, what do you think is the most important thing for a tech company?”

“Well, for a tech company, the most important thing is of course the technology,” Xiang Kun said naturally.

Next, Zhang Hongpu didn’t talk about “Divine Technology”, but instead told several stories from the Western Industrial Revolution and the early 20th century, the 70s and 80s, and even the 21st century. Some were domestic stories and some were foreign.

In general, he was expressing one point of view: science and technology itself has no attributes of good or evil, but those who apply it do. Even in conducting research, there must be a bottom line, otherwise it’s irresponsible to oneself, to others, and to mankind as a whole.

Clearly, Zhang Hongpu was expressing his ideology while trying to influence Xiang Kun.

However, Xiang Kun keenly picked up on some key points from the conversation:

The reason why Zhang Hongpu disliked “Divine Technology” was likely due to his belief that they conducted some form of research that he considered to be “beyond acceptable limits”.

Of course, Zhang Hongpu didn’t say this explicitly, nor did he even mention the name “Divine Technology” when recounting his stories. Moreover, the conversation never seemed to directly involve “Divine Technology”. Xiang Kun wouldn’t be able to ask directly, as doing so would almost certainly yield no answers.

But Xiang Kun was certain that Zhang Hongpu was privy to some inside information.

According to the documents Xiang Kun had read, be it when Academician Shen was in charge of the research project in the early days or when Mr. Liang took over, there was never any extreme or anti-human experiments conducted. Or rather, under the threats of the so-called “mysterious power” and “ultimate predator”, they wouldn’t have been able to conduct any complex experiments.

Of course, it’s not entirely impossible that there were some “beyond acceptable limits” elements contained in the section of the documents that Xiang Kun has yet to read, or unrecorded experiments.

However, according to Xiang Kun’s predictions, it’s more likely that Zhang Hongpu misjudged some information.

Xiang Kun planned to explore his memories pertaining to the matter through Old Xia’s “Dream in a Dream” that night.

Thanks to Alice’s presence, Xiang Kun didn’t need to secretly plant a super-connected object like a ball or bead onto Zhang Hongpu for tracking in advance. Once Zhang arrived at his rest stop, Alice would naturally send Xiang Kun the location, regardless of whether it was through a cell phone or car GPS.

At that time, Xiang Kun would only need to place the black circle graffiti, with which he had previously established contact with Old Xia, at a location close enough to where Zhang Hongpu is sleeping.

Around midnight, Xiang Kun, who had just jumped over the wall of a villa area, didn’t head back to the hotel. Instead, he found a quiet place to sit down and prepare to trigger Old Xia’s dream and launch the “Dream in a Dream”. Alice had notified him that Old Xia had already put “Bell Apple” to bed and sleep about half an hour ago, readying herself as well.

When it came to exploring a person’s memory information and guiding their specific thought direction in a “Dream in a Dream”, Xia Libing was extremely proficient. She quickly revealed in Zhang Hongpu’s dream why he harbored such a strong aversion to “Divine Technology”.

It turned out, many years back, one of Zhang Hongpu’s old friends’ sons brought home a girlfriend he had just met. However, in the middle of the night, a monster with a bloated body, dark brown skin covered in intricate, weird patterns infiltrated their home, killing the girlfriend and taking her away.

Zhang Hongpu’s friend’s son was deeply frightened. When the police arrived, they couldn’t find any human DNA at the crime scene. The only things they found were some torn clothing, which held none other than the son’s DNA. There were no traces left behind of the supposed “giant monster”.

Additionally, there were no signs of forced entry into his home. The surveillance of the housing estate was conveniently malfunctioning at the time, and nearby CCTVs didn’t capture any unusual occurrences.

However, trusting his old friend, Zhang Hongpu pulled some strings and discovered the truth regarding this incident. It wasn’t just a case of hysteria; a horrendous monster that seemed neither human nor beast indeed boarded a truck and made its way into his friend’s son’s dwelling.

He also found out that the truck, after leaving the scene, entered a property belonging to Lu Cheng’an of “Divine Technology”.

Just as he was about to conduct further investigations, officials approached him, asking him to abandon his inquiry labeling it as an “internal affair” which would be subject to an “internal investigation”. Since no ordinary citizen suffered material harm, they urged him not to amplify the situation.

He could only abandon his pursuit and investigation. However, using snippets of information from various sources, he had a vague notion that the monster was likely Lu Cheng’an’s paralyzed son.

Thus, he naturally held the belief that Lu Cheng’an, his son, and even some government institutions were possibly involved in some “beyond acceptable limits” research and experiments. The woman who was killed and carried off by the monster, leaving no traces behind as if she never existed, was likely erased completely in order to protect the research and Lu Cheng’an’s monstrous son.

If the monster that attacked his old friend’s son’s residence and killed the girlfriend was Mr. Liang as shown in Zhang Hongpu’s dream, then the girlfriend was more likely to be another “human-shaped mutant.”

Although Zhang Hongpu was not a direct witness and his dream representation of Mr. Liang would significantly differ from the real individual, by comparing this with the previously read confidential documents, it can be deduced that it happened when Mr. Liang had started to determine a new mutation direction and his body began to break away from the human form, eventually leading to gaining invisibility ability.

If it were now, Mr. Liang wouldn’t cause such a commotion to hunt a “human-shaped mutated creature”, and there would be no witnesses—because it wouldn’t be visible at all.

However, according to Xiang Kun’s interpretation of those secret documents, neither Academician Shen nor Mr. Liang would handle a newly discovered “mutant” in such a direct, violent, and even reckless manner. This method is not standard procedure.

It seemed that Mr. Liang was somewhat out of control and emotional.

He had a vague suspicion about this matter and perhaps he could carry out some verification later.

Suddenly, the dreamland crumbled, and Old Xia exited the “dream in a dream,” seemingly waking up directly.

Xiang Kun, who opened his eyes in a dark corner outside the villa area, was stunned for a moment. Although he had already understood Zhang Hongpu’s disdain for “Divine Technology” through his dream, their purpose this time was to gather information. Normally, Old Xia would perform an operation to erase the dream memory, so why was it omitted this time?

Amid his surprise, Xiang Kun realized through the feedback from the “Super sensory Item System” what had happened—there was an incident in Chongyun Village.

…

Tongshi Town.

Earlier, when Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and others were dining and chatting with Zhang Hongpu, Xia Tianhuo was having tea with Chu Xiuwen at a newly opened teahouse on a pedestrian street.

The two of them had dinner with Chu Xiaoting and Zi Cheng at the Youlong Restaurant. After the meal, the young couple went off to have fun elsewhere. Naturally, Xia Tianhuo didn’t want to intrude, so he and Chu Xiuwen went to have tea nearby.

“Mr. Xia, how long do you plan to stay in Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village?” Chu Xiuwen filled Xia Tianhuo’s cup with tea and chuckled.

“The place is really comfortable to live in. I feel like I can’t live without the rabbit meat from the Youlong Restaurant. And for some reason, whether it’s the climate, environment, oxygen content, or magnetic field, I just feel so comfortable and at ease living in Chongyun Village. I think I might open up some sort of business in Tongshi Town or Chongyun Village. I might need Brother Chu’s help then!” Xia Tianhuo replied with a laugh.

This was indeed how he felt. Ever since returning from Burma, the days he had spent in Chongyun Village were when he had slept the most peacefully.

When Professor Li Yang was still around, Xia would chat with him. Once Professor Li left, Xiang Kun and Yang Zhen Er buoyed him up so he wouldn’t get bored. But now that Xiang Kun, Yang Zhen Er, and Tang Baona were gone, only he, Old Xia, two kids, Xiao Lingdang and Xiao Pingguo, a cat, and a bird were left in the building they stayed in at Chongyun Village.

Even though he was Old Xia’s cousin, to be honest, he always felt younger in Old Xia’s presence. Therefore, with Xiao Lingdang and Xiao Pingguo, he always felt like he himself became a child when facing Old Xia. It felt weird…

Moreover, he also found that when he was around, Xiao Lingdang and Xiao Pingguo would often whisper to each other. He somehow felt “left out”, which made him feel even more uncomfortable…

So in the days when Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and others were away, he generally spend the day hanging out with Zi Cheng in Tongshi Town. Sometimes he would return to sleep at night, and sometimes he would just get a room in the town if it was too late.

Honestly, he sometimes found it strange that although he was related by blood to Old Xia and Yang Zhen Er, he felt that Old Xia, Yang Zhen Er, Xiang Kun, Xiao Lingdang, and Xiao Pingguo looked more like a family. They seemed to be extremely familiar with each other and had a hard-to-describe tacit understanding and trust, which others found hard to fit into.

Chu Xiuwen laughed and said, “If Mr. Xia is willing to invest in Tongshi Town, as a resident here, we would welcome you with open arms. But isn’t your family business mostly in bulk raw materials trade? I’m afraid there’s not much market for that in Tongshi Town.”

“What I’m doing in Tongshi Town definitely isn’t our family’s business. I was initially pondering over opening a farm in Chongyun Village. A lot of new restaurants are opening in town, so I guessed the demand for fresh food would be high. But after checking out a few of the farms under construction and understanding the situation, I figured it wouldn’t suit me. So I’m thinking of opening a franchised chain restaurant in town. It’d be good to have something to do, so I won’t be accused of idleness and forced to return home by my family,” Xia Tianhuo joked.

“That sounds good. If you have some ideas, we can discuss them. I’m quite knowledgeable about this town. I know where it’s best to open what type of store, where there are shops with leases about to expire, and where the cost performance of the shops is high,” Chu Xiuwen replied with a smile.

As their conversation progressed, they naturally steered toward Qi Haoguo, with whom they’d both dined two days prior.

“Did I hear Boss Qi got…arrested?” Xia Tianhuo asked, looking unsure.

Chu Xiuwen nodded. “Well, strictly speaking, he turned himself in. His situation is rather complicated and I couldn’t clarify it within a short time. Actually, I don’t deeply understand it either. But it appears that a lot of things he confessed to the police may not be as criminal as he thinks. And considering how many years have passed and the fact that he turned himself in voluntarily, I predict his sentence won’t be too heavy. I don’t quite understand his thoughts, but one thing for sure is that he seems quite calm dealing with everything.”

Xia Tianhuo nodded. “That’s what I think too. Boss Qi gives me the impression of… enlightenment.”

The pair chatted into the late evening over snacks at the tea shop before Chu Xiuwen drove Xia Tianhuo back to Chongyun Village.

As soon as they got in the car, Xia Tianhuo received a phone call from a journalist who had interviewed him previously in Burma. The journalist wanted to discuss his kidnapping incident again and asked if it would be convenient for him to talk.

Xia Tianhuo had initially planned to decline but the journalist mentioned some new information about the illusions in Myitkyina. Intrigued, Xia Tianhuo gave her the address of the Youlong Restaurant in Tongshi Town and asked her to meet him there.

Indeed, his primary reason for coming to Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village was to seek answers from Old Xia about his rescue and the peculiar existence he felt. However, since his arrival, he found it impossible to get any conclusive answers from Old Xia but he couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of his involvement either, thus he stayed.

On the bright side, the stay was quite comfortable and made him almost forget why he was here in the first place.

“Is there some journalist asking about the Burma incident?” Seeing Xia Tianhuo hanging up the phone, Chu Xiuwen asked on reflex.

“Yes, they had interviewed me before in Burma, but I still don’t think they look like actual journalists,” Xia Tianhuo replied, shaking his head.

“Mr. Xia, you have a great attitude. I believe if I were in your situation, I would still be traumatized,” Chu Xiuwen exclaimed.

“It wasn’t as exaggerated as you imagine. It didn’t last long enough for me to get scared before it was over,” Xia Tianhuo joked.

But as they were talking, they drove onto a newly built village road and suddenly, there was a power cut. Even the newly fitted streetlights turned off, plunging the entire village in darkness.

Xia Tianhuo looked surprised as he observed the night sky through the windshield. “What’s happening? Why is even the moonlight blocked now? We were dining just a little while back and the sky still looked fine. You could see the stars and the moon. How come it looks like it’s about to storm so soon?”

In the midst of the darkness, their car’s headlights seemed to transport them to a different world. The situation felt surreal.

The wind gradually escalated, and the car lights shed light on leaves and other trash blowing across the road. In the distant forest, strange animal cries could be heard.