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"Having money is great. It'll be so much more convenient when I visit D City in the future. No need to worry about so many things. Itās like that news story about a celebrity who, while walking around H0ng Kong, suddenly flew to London to feed pigeons and then returned in the afternoon."
After getting off the plane, Su Jie didnāt take the subway or line up for a taxiāhis pre-booked private car was already waiting for him.
Before long, he arrived outside his residential complex.
His family lived in an old neighborhood. Their apartment was just over 100 square meters, bought by his parents when they got married twenty years ago. Back then, it was cheap, but now it was worth a fortune. Of course, new homes in the area were even more expensive, and his family couldnāt afford a second one to improve their living conditions.
When he got home, he found the place empty.
It was noon, and with the new academy year approaching, his motherāa university professorāwas busy, as was his father, the head of a security team. As for his older sister, she spent most of her time in the lab conducting research.
Su Jie took out his phone and called his sister, Su Muchen, but her phone was turned off.
"Still buried in researchā¦" Su Jie knew that her lab had no signal; it was a top-secret facility.
"Forget it, Iāll just buy some supplements."
He opened the academyās website and ordered a large batch of nutritional products, spending a total of 30,000 yuanāenough for about a month. Through personal experience, he had come to realize that the academyās health supplements were incredibly effective, significantly aiding his training and further improving his physical abilities.
Of course, supplements were just one part of it. To unlock even greater potential, his diet had to keep up as well.
The academyās VIP cafeteria offered all sorts of specialized meal plans, but he couldnāt access them now.
However, in S Cityāa major international metropolisāif you had money, you could buy anything.
While browsing online for health-focused meals, he suddenly came across "Nieās Private Kitchen."
"Is this Nie Shuangās familyās restaurant chain?"
As he scrolled through the menu, he saw many dishes he had once shared with Coach Odell. When he glanced at the prices, he was stunned.
"Whoa."
Every custom dish cost several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.
The 200,000 yuan he had on hand might not even last a few days at this rate.
"Top professional fighters seem to have nutritionists who design their meal plans, dedicated chefs on standby 24/7, massage therapists, sparring partners, and entire teams to support their training. That kind of money is no joke. Letās seeā¦ Boxer Paschi spends millions of dollars a year just on body maintenance. These rich guys are on another level. My 200,000 yuan wouldn't even make a splash in that ocean."
At this moment, Su Jie realized how little money he actually had.
Back at Minglun Martial Arts academy, he could make ten or twenty thousand a day from small ring matches, so he never really thought much about money. But now that he was home without that income, he suddenly felt strapped for cash.
Though he still had some savings, they wouldnāt last long when he considered all his expenses. But he knew that every penny spent on his body was worth it.
"Forget it, Iāll figure something out. Once the academy year starts, Iāll see if I can take a leave of absence. If I can, Iāll go back to Minglun Martial Arts Academy and train for another year. That should be enough to solidify my martial arts foundation. Two months is too shortāeven though Iāve learned a lot, I need long-term training, full immersion in that environment.
I told Uncle Mang that I could stay calm and handle everything with ease, but Iām no saint. Thereās no way I can master everything perfectly. No matter what, my training canāt stop. Otherwise, Iād be letting Coach Odell down."
Su Jie quickly calculated his next steps in his mind.
Click!
Just then, the door opened.
A tall girl walked in, wearing a white lab coat and flat shoes. Her hair was a mess, as if she hadnāt brushed it, but her face was delicate and pretty. Carrying a bag, she stepped inside and, upon seeing Su Jie, suddenly let out a sharp scream.
"Who are you?! Why are you in my house?"
"Big Sis? Youāre back?" Su Jie was stunned. "What, you donāt recognize your own little brother?" He touched his face.
"Youā¦"
The girl in the white coat, Su Muchen, recognized his voice. She took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and put them back on.
"You kinda look like himā¦ Wait, are you really my little brother? Oh my god, did you get plastic surgery? Youāve grown so much taller!"
"Really?"
Su Jie touched his face. His transformation over the past two months had been drastic.
With the sculpting training from Odell, the massages, acupuncture, and electrical stimulation from Uncle Mang, his own rigorous training, and an abundance of high-quality supplementsānot to mention that he was still in his prime growth periodāhis appearance had changed almost daily.
His facial structure had become sharper, his physique more definedāleaner and more proportional than even professional bodybuilding champions. But more than that, his entire aura had shifted.
He radiated confidence and vigor, his every movement upright and disciplined, exuding the crisp sharpness of a well-trained soldier.
"Did you join the army or something?"
Su Muchen stepped closer, inspecting him carefully.
"You look completely differentālike you've been through military training."
Su Jie knew a child from a neighbor's family who was quite mischievous and carefree, almost like a good-for-nothing. Later, the child was sent to join the army, and in just two or three months, he completely transformed. He became polite, composed, and radiant, as though he had been completely re-made.
"No, I just enrolled in a short-term martial arts training course at Minglun Martial Arts Academy during the summer," Su Jie said. "Mom and Dad don't know about this yet, so donāt tell them."
"After youāve changed like this, it would be strange if they didnāt ask when they come back. You said you went to an English-speaking summer camp, but instead you went to a martial arts academy to learn kung fu?" Su Muchen scrutinized her younger brother up and down. "It wouldnāt be because of Feng Yuxuan, would it?"
"Big sister, last time, I really did catch him at a club saying that he was going to take you under his control. He even said you were completely under his thumb now and that he could make you do whatever he wanted. But the evidence I took was snatched away by his subordinates, and they even threw me out. All the records I saved online disappeared too. I have no evidence at all," Su Jie said, as if he had repeated this explanation several times.
"Alright, alright, I know." Su Muchen waved her hand. "Feng Yuxuan is indeed pursuing me, but he hasnāt done anything inappropriate. Honestly, Iām not interested in him, but he works at Haoyu Group, and the project I'm leading right now is very critical. I absolutely canāt leave. If this project succeeds, my team and I will have a stake in the company, and by the smallest valuation, Iād make several hundred million. Once we have the money, Iāll leave Haoyu Group and start my own business. By then, our parents wonāt have to work anymore and can just enjoy their retirement. Look at how old this house is. We can buy a few new houses and hire a caregiver for them. Plus, when you start dating and getting married, youāll need a new house too. The way things are now, no girl would want to marry you."
"Alright, alright." Su Jie immediately yielded. "I havenāt even graduated from high academy yet. Marriage and relationships are too far off for me. Also, big sister, I donāt want people to call you a āsupportive sister'. But youāre into research, and you definitely wonāt be able to deal with those businessmen. Be careful with all the contracts and donāt get tricked. Also, any verbal promises donāt count; they need to be written down first."
"You donāt need to remind me of that." Su Muchen knew her younger brother was very mature for his age, even more so than many adults. "The team Iām leading is working in a high-level research environment, and only Haoyu Group is funding us. If I leave now, it would be morally wrong. Moreover, I canāt afford the breach of contract penalty stipulated in the contract."
Su Jie fell silent. He knew the situation wasnāt simple. He needed to stay vigilant and protect his sister in the background. Now that he had learned martial arts, he believed he could do many things in secret to safeguard her. But thinking of Feng Hengyi, he still felt uncertain.
"By the way, recently, many companies have been reaching out to our team, trying to poach us. Some even offered to pay the penalty for breaking the contract. In order to keep morale high, the company gave us a large bonus. Iāll transfer some to you, so you can buy some good food," Su Muchen said as she picked up her phone to make a transfer.
"Donāt, donāt, donātā¦" Su Jie quickly protested. "Iām making money now too. Keep your money for yourself."
Despite Su Jieās insistence, his sister Su Muchen still transferred the money. It was an astonishing 100,000 yuan.
"Big sister, why so much?" Su Jie was shocked. "How much bonus did Haoyu Group give you?"
"Just a few hundred thousand." Su Muchen said, "By the way, donāt tell mom and dad about the money I sent you, or Iāll get scolded. Anyway, Iām going to take a shower and sleep. I havenāt had a proper bath in days, and I stink."
"By the way, big sister, Haoyu Group is famous for being stingy. Their employees have low salaries and long hours. How come they gave you such a large bonus this time? Is the project youāre working on really that important? All I know is that itās about artificial intelligence," Su Jie quickly asked.
"If we succeed in the research, this artificial intelligence could change human life." Su Muchen paused.
"By the way, I heard that artificial intelligence can even help people train in martial arts. Have you researched this project?" Su Jie asked again.
"Youāre right." Su Muchen quickly responded, "Recently, weāve been helping Minglun Martial Arts Academy create a training system, and itās part of our project. Itās in the testing phase right now. When itās ready, Iāll get you a special Haoyu Group phone with the system installed. But Iām off to shower and sleep first. Iām so tired!"
"Haoyu Group is involved in so many industries. Theyāve even started making phones?" Su Jie hurriedly opened Haoyu Groupās official website, but found no information about phones.
Haoyu Group was a typical internet company. They initially ran a portal website, then expanded into gaming, film and entertainment, technology software, security systems, social media, and more, gradually forming their own brand and accumulating many technical teams. They had ventured into many high-tech industries.
"This company has a lot of cash flow, and it seems like theyāre brewing some big move to dominate the market and become a global commercial giant." Su Jie browsed through the official website and various news articles. For some reason, his mind was unusually sharp lately, and he had a vague sense that something wasnāt quite right.
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