“What did you say?” Jiang Tao slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
He paced back and forth in the office. Another man in a white lab coat stood there with his head lowered, not daring to speak. He had been working under Director Jiang for a while now and knew well how ruthless this man could be. He also knew that this man was ambitious and had dealt with many people who went against him
When the man first arrived at the base, Jiang Tao was not yet the director, just an ordinary researcher. It took him only a few years to climb to his current position, which spoke volumes.
He knew that the new arrival, Li Shu, was this man’s new target. No, Li Shu couldn’t be considered new. The base had always reserved a position for this young man named Li Shu. It was only because of the merman that Li Shu had been spending more time at the base in recent months.
The man unexpectedly ran into Li Shu in the corridor late at night. Initially, he didn’t think Li Shu was taking something out of the base. Of course, he still didn’t know what Li Shu was doing, he only saw him leaving the base.
“He took a sealed box out late at night, what do you think he’s up to?” Jiang Tao stroked his chin, puzzled. “Did you follow him to check?”
As soon as he asked, he knew it was pointless. As expected, the man looked up blankly. “Follow him? For what?”
“Alright, alright, I got it. Don’t go spreading this around.”
With a few words, he dismissed the man and sat back in his office chair, staring at the computer screen, his mind full of questions. Jiang Tao knew Li Shu was different from the other researchers, so he hadn’t made a move without being fully confident.
What should he do about this situation?
Jiang Tao couldn’t figure out Li Shu’s actions from last night. He was unable to spare time now, so he called his nephew to investigate what Li Shu was up to.
He always had a bad feeling.
Before leaving, Li Shu had instructed Yi Ziqi and the others on how to handle probes from Jiang Tao and his men. It was crucial that no one knew he had left the base until everything was settled. Otherwise, some sharp individuals might deduce his true intentions from the slightest clues.
This move was meant to catch everyone off guard, and it could only be effective if it was completed before anyone could react. Naturally, the fewer people who knew, the better.
Fortunately, Li Shu rarely communicated with other researchers at the base. He spent most of his time in the lab, hardly moving elsewhere. When busy, he would even go days without leaving the lab. Gu Li was very meticulous, and under her guidance, no one else at the base knew Li Shu had left.
Jiang Tao’s nephew also couldn’t have imagined that Li Shu had left. This was actually a misconception because the base had explicit rules about how often one could leave. It was even stated in the agreement all the researchers had to sign before entering the base. They didn’t know Li Shu was the owner of the base, so naturally, they didn’t think he could leave whenever he wished.
Li Shu needed this time difference.
The merman was placed in a sealed box, specifically designed for transporting him. The interior was arranged to make the merman as comfortable as possible, but no matter how comfortable it was, it was just a sealed box. To avoid any mishaps, Li Shu administered a sedative to the merman before placing him in the box, and soothing agents in the water as well.
The purpose was simple: to keep the merman calm and not go berserk during the prolonged darkness.
Given the merman’s strength, if he wanted to do something, this small team couldn’t stop him.
Taking the merman out was very risky. If Li Shu hadn’t established a certain level of trust with the merman during this time, he wouldn’t have dared to do this.
Not to mention, arranging a meeting between the merman and the higher-ups was extremely risky.
Only the Li family, and only the two generations of the Li family in power who have always doted on their youngest son/brother, would dare to take this risk.
In fact, when they first saw reports about the merman, they knew things would go awry. This was a keen intuition. They were able to develop the Li family to its current scale because their intuition on some aspects was frighteningly sharp. It is also because of this that they dared to take the risk of letting Li Shu give it a try.
This was a large gamble. Winning would bring them great success, but losing would mean the entire Li family would be buried with it.
They hadn’t anticipated such events when they secretly sent the merman to the base after catching him. At that time, they had considered whether to report the merman’s existence. But after spending significant effort searching the area where they found the merman and failing to find a second one, they decided to keep the merman’s existence a secret.
At that time, humans truly knew nothing about merfolk. They hadn’t even considered that merfolk might be intelligent beings.
Li Shu’s elder brother personally came to pick him up. The private plane landed at one of the Li family’s estates. The vast estate was silent, so quiet that even the sound of insects couldn’t be heard.
The atmosphere was tense.
The people in the estate had been secretly moved elsewhere. Those who could still stand there were those the Li family trusted absolutely. What happened tonight had to remain a secret among those present.
The wind carried the sound of propellers. Li Shu’s older brother looked up; the night sky was filled with stars, without a hint of haze. It was a very good night.
However, his heart was far from as calm as the night sky. In fact, he was extremely tense, a feeling he hadn’t experienced even when he first entered the company or secured a major business deal. The children of the Li family received elite education from a young age, learning to suppress instinctive reactions like fear and nervousness when facing the unknown.
But now, it was different. It wasn’t because this matter concerned the survival of the Li family, but because it involved their family members. How this matter was handled, the biggest impact would be on Li Shu. Li Shu’s older brother knew clearly how much was at stake in this situation—enough to ruin years of the Li family’s efforts, destroy Li Shu’s future, and even make them sinners in the history of the two races’ diplomacy.
Of course, if this matter was handled well, it could also serve as a springboard for the Li family, a breakthrough they had been seeking.
Everything that rises must inevitably decline; this is a fate that cannot be escaped, whether for nations or individuals. The Li family was at its peak now, and any mishandling could lead to decline. This was unavoidable.
The premature exposure of merfolk brought a huge crisis to this behemoth. However, from another angle, it was also an excellent opportunity. Outsiders might use this chance to crush the Li family into dust, but the Li family could also use this opportunity to achieve great wealth.
Nothing was impossible.
Standing on the vast lawn, Li Shu’s older brother maintained a suitable smile, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
As the eldest son of the Li family, it was his duty to be the pillar of support. When the existence of merfolk was first exposed, he realized something was wrong and immediately thought of various countermeasures, but he dismissed them one by one.
Profit was secondary; the most important thing was to protect his younger brother in the face of the unprecedented crisis that was coming.
His thoughts lasted only a moment. The sound of the propellers grew louder, and the airplane’s outline became visible in the night sky.
Slowly, it descended.
Under Li Shu’s older brother’s gaze, the airplane landed smoothly.
The cabin door opened, and the first person to emerge was a man in a simple shirt and trousers. The man wore silver-rimmed glasses. Through the lenses, their eyes met.
Li Shu’s older brother stepped forward. “Little brother, welcome home.”
“Big brother,” Li Shu nodded.
Used to his younger brother’s cold temperament, Li Shu’s older brother patted him on the shoulder. “Are you confident?”
He actually disagreed with his younger brother’s approach, as it exposed himself completely, which was extremely disadvantageous. Any mistake could render all preparations futile, and the greatest harm would fall upon Li Shu.
By acting personally, Li Shu could minimize the Li family’s losses, but he would also bear greater responsibility. Initially, Li Shu’s older brother was absolutely against this approach, but Li Shu refused to give in. Knowing his younger brother’s stubbornness, he had no choice but to agree.
In this situation, there was very little he could do.
After Li Shu disembarked, a large sealed box was carried out of the plane.
“You put it… in here?” Li Shu’s older brother looked at the box that was at least two meters tall. Its exterior was an unremarkable dark color, gray and simple. It was impossible to tell how much money such a box cost, or the intricate mechanisms inside.
Li Shu nodded. He knew what his brother left unsaid. To be on the safe side, only the Li brothers knew that the box contained a merfolk race that has been on the news recently..
The box had an automatic movement function, and didn’t need someone to push. Li Shu controlled the box as it moved towards the house his brother had prepared.
Apart from the Li brothers, everyone else was left outside to ensure the estate’s security and were not allowed to let anyone approach.
Once alone, Li Shu’s older brother finally felt free to ask questions he couldn’t before.
“Little brother, do they really have independent thinking like us?”
In the spacious room, only their footsteps could be heard. All the lights in the room were on, and the shadows of the two similar-looking brothers stretched long as they walked side by side.
“Why would I joke about this? Besides, I’ve learned some information about their race from Lu Xi.” Some things couldn’t be detailed in emails, so Li Shu had only briefly outlined his plan to his brother, saving the details for their meeting.
Li Shu’s older brother: “I remember you mentioned before that merfolk are highly aggressive. Someone at your base got hurt because of this, right?”
Li Shu replied coldly, “Those people broke the rules. It’s normal they got a lesson.”
As they talked, they reached their destination, an indoor swimming pool. The water had been changed to seawater suitable for the merman as per Li Shu’s request.
Li Shu opened the sealed box. As he did, the merman gradually appeared before Li Shu’s older brother.
