Xuan Ming died on the road before he could even reach the hospital. Zhuang Li, bloodied, returned home and locked himself in his bedroom, refusing food or water for three days. He needed time to process, digest, and absorb the shock of Xuan Ming's death.
Why would his homeland, his compatriots, be willing to sacrifice themselves for the so-called continuation of humanity? This was a question Zhuang Li had never been able to comprehend. His brilliant mind could solve most of the world's mysteries, but this one was the only one he couldn't unravel.
But now he understands.
He found the answer from Xuan Ming. It was about protection, about leaving the hope of life to the person he cared about most.
Zhuang Li's eyes were filled with warmth again, and two lines of wet tears slid down his cheeks and soaked into the corners of his mouth, bringing unspeakable bitterness, but making him smile with sudden enlightenment.
It took him over seventy hours of contemplation before he finally understood that Xuan Ming probably loved him. This belated realization stung his self-proclaimed cold heart and left a deep mark.
Zhuang Li covered his eyes and lay quietly in the soft chair, as if he was fast asleep.
But 7480 knew that his thoughts were more intense than ever. The various magnetic fields bursting out of his mind almost disrupted 7480's core program.
Zhuang Li was recalling the past, and those memories filled with smoke and blood had been reinforced layer by layer and sealed deep in his mind.
He thought of his homeland and compatriots who were reduced to dust under the bombardment of nuclear bombs; he thought of the scene when the captain pushed his little child into the only lifeboat when the spacecraft crashed; he thought of the more than ten years of wandering; he also thought of the survivor bases built on Mars.
He left them with a completely new metal material, and if the scientists were smart enough, they could build a spacecraft in about two years.
Two years would be enough to consume the few resources on Mars, and humanity would die on a large scale. At the moment the spacecraft was built, of the original 150 million people who survived, only 20 to 30 million would be lucky to survive.
This result was already within his expectations.
In order to get revenge, Zhuang Li deliberately leaked his manuscript containing serious errors to Poincare Johann, guiding him to build some damn Dyson sphere to consume all the resources brought by mankind from the earth; then, when all the dreams were about to come to nothing, he appeared as a savior.
He single-handedly killed 120 million survivors, a number exactly equal to the number of Chinese martyrs.
He is not a savior, on the contrary, he is a devil who crawled out of hell. He has only one pursuit in his life, and that is revenge.
Even though he had taken so many lives, he didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. The Chinese were willing to sacrifice themselves because the Federation had promised them that they would bring all the elderly, weak, women, and children to Mars safely.
But what did the Federation ultimately do? They secretly drained the fuel from the Chinese spacecraft, causing the vast majority of the crew to perish in the flames, and then refused to rescue the only ship that escaped the flames. They committed such a heinous act simply because China had the most survivors, and they feared they would unite and become a powerful force, threatening the Federation's security.
It was such a ridiculous reason that more than 100 million Chinese people died tragically.
So, how could Zhuang Li show mercy to the federal people?
Those federal people will never know who is the culprit who killed them. After successfully settling on the planet GJ536B, they will worship Zhuang Li as a god and build statues and even temples for him.
Zhuang Li smiled softly, but tears seeped out from between his fingers.
He actually had an even more cruel plan back then.
When Poincare was calculating, he envisioned the complete collapse of the Dyson sphere and the extinction of the human race. He wouldn't leave behind any brand-new metal materials. He wanted to kill all alien species on Mars, burying them along with his compatriots.
But when he was editing the revenge video, he could hear the voices of his compatriots in his ears. They repeated this sentence over and over again: May our sacrifice be exchanged for the eternal existence of mankind...
So at the last moment of action, Zhuang Li somehow left a way for him to survive.
He never understood what he was thinking at the time, but now, the answer to this question was no longer important. He was very glad that he had not exterminated humanity, not because of a change of heart, but because - if he had done so, now thinking of his compatriots and Xuan Ming, he would feel ashamed.
People always want to protect something when they are alive. This is the meaning of life.
Zhuang Li had never understood this truth before, because he preferred destruction to protection.
But now, he clenched his hands, trying to grasp this inexplicable feeling.
When he was staring at his fist in a daze, Chang Dongming's voice came from outside the door: "Zhuang Li, President Yao asked you to go to the company for a meeting immediately." After he finished speaking, he knocked on the door a few times impatiently.
Zhuang Dahai's voice followed, "He hasn't eaten or drunk anything these past few days and is very weak. He doesn't have time to attend the meeting. Don't disturb him."
Chang Dongming said in a stern tone, "He has to go even if he doesn't want to. President Yao has already taken over, and as the head of the R&D department, he must submit this quarter's work plan and performance report immediately. President Yao waited for him for three days, which is already giving him face. He didn't answer the phone or reply to the text message, what does that mean?"
Zhuang Dahai's tone was also tinged with anger. "You knew Xiao Li was frightened, but you still forced him to go to work. What's your intention? He's a minister. Don't he have the authority to ask for a few days off?"
Chang Dongming suddenly sneered, "Minister? Who knows after today. The Haiming Group is now named Yao, not Xuan. Xuanming's direct descendants have been leaving and dispersing these days. They have all been cleaned out by President Yao. Who do you think will be fired next?"
Chang Dongming knocked harder, his voice filled with contempt. "As a father, you know best how capable Zhuang Li is. If Xuan Ming hadn't taken a liking to him, how could he be where he is today? President Yao spent a fortune hiring a team of experts from abroad. They will soon replace Zhuang Li's team and become the R&D backbone of our Haiming."
"By the way," Chang Dongming stopped knocking and smiled with a gloating smile, "You should quickly rent a cheap house outside. The property management fees here are too expensive. I'm afraid Zhuang Li can't afford it. Without Xuan Ming as a backer, where can he find a job with an annual salary of 40 million?"
Because the government protected Zhuang Li so closely, his laboratory, while affiliated with the Haiming Group, operated completely independently, and information was not shared. Consequently, many within the Haiming Group were unaware of Zhuang Li's daily activities and considered him merely a figurehead.
Zhuang Dahai was frightened by the bad news.
Chang Dongming knocked even harder on the door and threatened, "Zhuang Li, if you don't go to the meeting today, you don't have to come to work tomorrow. Mr. Yao asked me to tell you something. He said he doesn't like to keep useless people. You'd better take care of yourself."
The door that had been tightly closed suddenly opened from the inside.
Zhuang Li emerged from the darkness, dressed in a luxurious royal blue suit. Three days of self-isolation had left him considerably thinner, his complexion almost translucent, yet his narrow eyes were more profound and unfathomable than ever.
He adjusted his cufflinks and whispered to Zhuang Dahai, "Dad, I'm sorry I made you worry these past few days. I'm going to the company to take care of something and will be back soon. You don't have to move. I'll buy you a bigger house later."
Zhuang Dahai sighed worriedly, then ran to the kitchen to get him a box of lunch to take with him on the way. As for the idea of buying a bigger villa, he dismissed it as his son's pretentious nonsense.
Chang Dongming chuckled a few times with ambiguous meanings, then followed Zhuang Li.
"Send me to the funeral home first." After getting in the car, Zhuang Li gave the order as a matter of course.
Chang Dongming pretended not to hear and drove straight to the company.
Zhuang Li opened the car door and was about to step out, not caring that the car was still moving.
Chang Dongming was startled and quickly stepped on the brakes. He turned around and growled, "You're not afraid of death, are you? Fine, I'll take you there! You can only be proud for one day. Without Xuan Ming, who the hell cares about you?"
Half an hour later, Zhuang Li was standing before the black coffin, his eyes lowered as he gazed at the man lying quietly among the white daisies. His face was as handsome as it had been in life, his thick eyebrows slanting into his temples now fully relaxed, echoing the faint smile on his lips, as if he were dreaming an exceptionally sweet dream. It was just that this dream was too long, and he would never wake up again in this lifetime.
Zhuang Li looked at his face seriously for the first time, and the warmth in his eyes kept emerging and turned into tears as big as beans.
He quickly turned his head away to prevent his tears from falling on Xuan Ming's face. It was said that if he did so, Xuan Ming's soul would be burned and he would not be able to enter the reincarnation cycle.
Zhuang Li supported the sides of the coffin with both hands, leaned over and whispered in Xuan Ming's ear: "Thank you. Also, I will definitely protect the things you left behind."
Yes, protect everything related to Xuan Ming. This was the answer he found after three days of meditation. Apart from this, he really couldn't think of what else he could do for this person who no longer existed.
He stared at the sleeping face with a smile on its face for a long time, until the tears in his eyes dried up, until the dull pain in his heart subsided, until there was no longer any confusion in his mind, then he withdrew his hand and turned to leave.
Xuan Ming's father, mother, old man, and old lady stood by him, nodding, without any anger towards him. The autopsy report from the medical examiner also showed that Xuan Ming died of internal bleeding. Aside from Zhuang Li, no one else could see the bloody muzzle of the gun behind him.
The reason why the Lord God is called the Lord God is probably because of his ability to change the cause and effect in the world.
But Zhuang Li didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. On the contrary, as he walked out of the dark and cold funeral home, the light in his eyes was unprecedentedly resolute.
---
More than an hour later, Zhuang Li pushed open the door of the conference room and walked slowly to his seat.
The room was packed. Yao Xin, the new president of Haiming Group, sat at the head of the table, flanked by his confidants and major shareholders. Xuan Pei, sent by his family to attend the meeting, huddled in a corner, all alone and unattended. He held nothing but the 30% stake his brother had left him.
Xuan Ming originally held 45% of the Haiming Group's shares, making him the absolute majority shareholder. But a while ago, for some unknown reason, he suddenly gave 15% of his shares to Zhuang Li for free, causing an uproar in the outside world.
Yao Xin forced Zhuang Li to attend today's meeting just for the sake of these 15% shares.
Seeing his main target approaching, Yao Xin threw out several folders and announced condescendingly, "Mr. Zhuang, these are the employment contracts for Dr. Al and his team. Starting today, they are employed by the Haiming Group and will fully take over all of your current work. Since you're not in good shape, I'll suspend you. I understand how you feel."
First, he would have someone take over Zhuang Li's lab, force him to suspend his duties, investigate the lab's specific conditions, find any irregularities, and then bring him to court. The price of an out-of-court settlement would be the 15% stake. By then, he would have pushed the price down to the lowest possible level.
This was Yao Xin's master plan. He firmly believed that Zhuang Li lacked real skills and would inevitably make mistakes at work. If he could find something to hold against him, all problems would be solved.
These blunt words made the meeting room exceptionally quiet.
Xuan Pei looked at Zhuang Li with a worried look on his face, while the others looked as if they were watching a show.
Chang Dongming, who had been promoted to the CEO's chief secretary, adjusted the frame of his glasses to hide the sneer in his eyes. Without real skills, Zhuang Li wouldn't be able to stay in Haiming.
However, Zhuang Li, who was looked down upon by everyone, curled the corners of his lips and smiled strangely.
He stretched out his arm, dragged over a nearby shareholder's laptop, exited all pages, and inserted a memory card he had brought into the card reader. His fingertips clattered for a while, and finally, he turned the screen to everyone and said casually, "I choose to suspend my duties, and I also choose to stop selling you the patent rights."
Everyone didn't understand what he said at first, but after carefully looking at the information on the screen, their minds suddenly exploded.
Of the more than 3,000 patented technologies controlled by the Haiming Group, 2,581 belonged to Zhuang Li personally! Even the nine most fundamental patents were signed with his name!
In other words, he has the absolute power to terminate all cooperation with Haiming. Once Haiming loses the patents he authorized to use, the 5G network built at a cost of tens of billions of dollars will become a pile of useless junk!
The aircraft carrier Haiming Group, which could shake the entire communications field with just a stomp of its feet, could be wiped out overnight!
Seizing Zhuang Li's shares? Not happening!
Forcing Zhuang Li to resign? That's unbelievable!
In the end, everyone discovered that the person who could decide Hai Ming's life and death was not Yao Xin, not Xuan Pei, nor the shareholders, but Zhuang Li, whom they had always ignored.
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