Book 3, Chapter 170: Inherit

“Powerful active biosentient entities are the constructors of the World Ring, and they participate in its defense too. They can open gaps between the two worlds, allowing the defenders to enter the intersected areas and fight against the existences from the other side. The companies can then bring back artifacts and improve their technology.”

Meng Lai started climbing down the metal staircase and said, “Come with me.”

Meng Shu went to the metal staircase and started climbing down as well. Around four meters down, her feet landed on solid ground.

The space below was much larger than it seemed from above.

Snap.

The lights turned on and stretched all the way through the tunnel before them.

At the end of it was an elevator. Once Meng Lai went inside, he beckoned her over.

Meng Lai pulled the safety gate shut and motioned at Meng Shu to go to the control panel. “Open the panel and pull the lever.”

Meng Shu did as she was told and went to the control panel. She then slid the panel open and grabbed the lever, only to find that she wasn’t able to pull it. It was only when she used both her hands that she was able to pull it all the way down. The elevator trembled before descending slowly amid loud chuffs.

Meng Lai continued, “Li Ying can only be considered a vassal of the government right now. When she opens a gap, she needs to borrow the government’s power. We need to apply for it beforehand, and our application has to be reviewed.

“And while we can research the artifacts we bring back, they belong to the government. The artifacts aren’t ours.

“But if Li Ying were to get stronger, she could come and go as she pleases through the intersected areas. She could even assign martial artists to help us search for artifacts. Then, our company would have a bright future and power to develop further.

“This is a special right only mega corporations and big companies have. We have to think of a way to become one of them. It’s the only way for us to protect ourselves when the Great Crash comes. We can’t become pawns other people can cast aside at any moment, or sacrifices they use to push themselves forward.”

Due to the lights beside the elevator, Meng Shu saw light and shadow intersect on Meng Lai’s face and body. She wondered whether she looked like this too at that moment.

“I’ve made you the successor in haste, but I had to do it.”

They passed the light before sinking into darkness, and Meng Shu heard Meng Lai’s voice coming from ahead.

“Meng Huang came to believe the existence’s words entirely and joined its cause, so I couldn’t let him continue down this path. You also successfully fended off his attack, which showed that you have the ability to become a proper successor. I arranged this meeting in order to not give him too much time to react to what had happened.

“Honestly, I started planning how to capture an existence from the other world a long time ago. All conditions were in place, and we had a chance to succeed.

“In my plan, Aunt Yu and the guards were going to whittle down the existence’s strength. Once it arrived here, we’d use the ritual and Li Ying’s power to capture and absorb it.

“But a plan is just that, a plan. After talking to it, I realized that this existence was of a much higher grade than I thought, so the subsequent steps of the plan became much more difficult to execute.

“Honestly, I wanted to give up on the plan back in the study. I brought the Resolution Department to protect you because I needed them as a safety net for the plan. I didn’t want things to go out of control if something went wrong.

“But I didn’t expect your friend to kill the existence by himself. He didn’t need anyone’s help with it. Aunt Yu seldom praises people, but your friend is one of them. I heard that you’ve given him all the special medicine the company allocated to you.”

“I did, yes.”

Meng Lai nodded. “You did the right thing. You’ll only get to reap sufficient rewards after investing a sufficient amount of resources into something. Now that you’re the successor, give your friend the special medicine allocated to Meng Huang too. Either you don’t invest in something or go all in, yes?

“I told you before that power is the ultimate guarantee. Aside from active biosentient entities like Li Ying, you also need to befriend martial artists to side with you.”

Meng Shu was silent for a while before saying, “I understand.”

With a clang, the elevator jolted and finally landed on the ground.

Meng Lai opened the safety gate and walked down the industrial lamp lit tunnel. When Meng Shu walked out, she noticed that Li Ying was standing ahead of them, as if she had been waiting for them a long time ago.

The area was huge, and it was covered with intricate ritual arrays. When Meng Shu walked on them, the multi-colored fluorescent ritual materials flickered occasionally, as if there was something flowing inside them.

Not too far ahead was a gentle light, and under it was a flat metal tank with floral patterns. Kettle-shaped spouts extended out from its sides, and at the top was a lid with a jiaotu[1] handle.

“Li Ying’s body is in there, and my body is further down,” Meng Lai said and pointed forward. “Xiao Shu, go over and stand there.”

Without any hesitation, Meng Shu walked over and stood at one of the spouts.

“Put your hand on it,” Meng Lai instructed.

Tentatively, Meng Shu did, and she felt a sting on her hand, as if something bit her. She pulled her hand back by instinct, and when she looked, she found a tiny wound on her palm.

“Li Ying has exchanged her tissue with your blood. From now on, you can have her serve you and send messages or orders at any moment, but only within a certain distance,” Meng Lai explained.

Meng Shu lowered her hand and looked at Meng Lai. “I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“You’ve been plotting to make Li Ying stronger. Aren’t you worried about the Resolution Department learning about it?”

Meng Lai smiled at that. “If we succeeded in letting Li Ying absorb the existence and become stronger, the Resolution Department wouldn’t have said anything about it. They might have some resentment toward us for what we did, but when dealing with things concerning us, they’d exercise more caution.

“If we had failed, I’d announce my retirement and have you take over the company as an apology to them.”

Then, while still watching him, Meng Shu asked, “I’ve always wondered why you chose me as your successor.”

“Among the younger generation, you’re calm, rational, open to suggestions, and decisive during crucial moments, even when you know that the road ahead is going to be difficult.

“While some of the other younger generation possess these qualities too, there’s one more important reason aside from the things I mentioned just now that made me choose you. Biosentient entities don’t form a friendly relationship with just anyone. That means that even if one can control Li Ying, whether or not they can synchronize with her is a different matter.

“Among the younger generation, only you and Meng Huang had a high synchronization rate with Li Ying.

“Now, you’re the only one.”

Meng Shu had no way of telling whether Meng Lai was telling the truth, but she had no choice but to accept it as the answer. So, she asked another question. “You said that Li Ying is the key to the company’s continued survival and that no one else in the company is irreplaceable, including you and most definitely me. Then, who is the company built for?”

Meng Lai smiled at that. “You might find certain things difficult to understand now, but soon, you’ll find your answer. As the company’s successor, you’ll be the one closest to it. Before you find it, just do as I say.”

***

While Meng Shu and Meng Lai were in the biowell, a no-nonsense-looking woman with shoulder-length hair had a cigarette between her lips and sat with her knees crossed. She was in a building in Glowing Dew District talking to someone on her Realm Pass.

“Big Sis Huan, the higher-ups aren’t pleased with us. After losing the goods from the Gong family, we were forced to Plan B. Now, Meng Huang is dead too, and we can’t proceed with Plan B either. The higher-ups want to hold us accountable,” the person on the other end said.

“Hold us accountable for what? What do those things have to do with us? Gong Zhanyi was the one who failed to ship the goods, and Meng Huang’s failure is his own fault—which is a huge joke, by the way. We’ve been working together with him the whole time, and we’ve done everything we could. They can’t blame us for this,” Big Sis Huan said.

“But no matter how much we try to defend ourselves, it’s useless. Right now, we can’t carry out the plan, and the higher-ups are doubting our abilities. They’re talking about replacing us with another group,” the other person said.

Big Sis Huan twirled her hair and smiled faintly. “Sure. Let whoever wants to take over do it. I’d like to see just who they think is more suitable than us for this job.”

The person stayed quiet for a while before saying in resignation, “But we can’t just continue like this. The higher-ups have limited patience...”

“If you have something to say, just spit it out already,” Big Sis Huan said.

The other person fell silent before whispering, “If we can’t make any progress, the higher-ups asked us to get rid of the targets Wu Qi listed.”

“Wu Qi?” Big Sis Huan raised an eyebrow at that.

“I know that you hate Wu Qi’s suggestions, but we’re not making any progress, so we can only try out Wu Qi’s suggestion now.”

Big Sis Huan stood up from the sofa and started pacing around the room. “What’s this about targets?”

The person sighed in relief and immediately sent a document over. Then, Big Sis Huan saw a number of people’s information on her screen. One of them was Chen Chuan.

When she saw Chen Chuan’s name, her eyes stopped on him for a moment, and she asked, “Isn’t this kid the one who defeated Wei Wusheng?”

“Yes, and he’s also behind Meng Huang’s failure. Wu Qi believes that he’s going to stand in the company’s way in the future and pose a huge risk to us. That’s why it’d be best to get rid of him as soon as possible.”

Big Sis Huan took issue with that. “I’ve never believed in crap like the future. Not that it matters.”

She went to the window and looked outside. A large ferris wheel spun slowly nearby. “Since this is the company’s plan, I’ll take the assignment.”

1. One of the nine sons of the dragon, who loves closing things and keeping things closed. Its image can usually be seen on door handles or knockers in ancient Chinese homes. ☜