Homo Sapiens

June 16th.

In a hillside villa near Victoria Harbor, Xiangjiang.

Li Qingye, who had been preparing to take the Sapphire to Siam for the past few days, suddenly put his plans on hold.

"An academic exchange? An assassination plot? A lovely thought." Li Qingye had already learned the contents of Du Shuping and the others' secret conversation from the earpiece storage device that had just been delivered.

Meanwhile, Wu Heguang, who had been assigned to work here as a servant, was mechanically mopping the floor.

"Uncle Wu! It looks like your old friends will be joining you soon. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you the good news. Your sister, Ms. Wu Mingyue, died of a cerebral myocardial infarction last night. Life is so fragile, isn't it?"

Hearing Li Qingye's words, Wu Heguang, his mind under control, was in unbearable agony. He was plunged into deep fear and hatred, but unfortunately, he had no way to end his own life.

Li Qingye ignored him and leaned against the railing, calmly gazing out over the entirety of Victoria Harbor.

The sea breeze blew gently, chasing away the scorching heat of June.

The head of the Security Department in Xiangjiang, Gan Ye, appeared behind him. He was an unremarkable-looking man with tanned, bronze skin and a crew cut.

"Boss!"

Li Qingye took a sip of his lemonade. "A few guests will be coming to Xiangjiang soon. Make arrangements for them, and help me give them a proper welcome."

With that, he tossed the earpiece storage device over.

Gan Ye inserted the earpiece and quickly learned who Li Qingye's targets were. He smiled and replied, "Rest assured, Boss. I will give them a reception they'll never forget."

"Mind the repercussions. Don't draw too much attention. After all, this is foreign territory," Li Qingye reminded him.

Gan Ye's smile vanished. "Yes, I'll be extra careful," he replied grimly.

...

Du Jianxin crossed the border from Peng City into Xiangjiang with a group of his trusted subordinates from the company.

His family's ancestral home was in Congzhou, Western Shu Province. They had only moved to Peng City in Lingnan in the 1990s.

Compared to the Du Family, the Yang Family were true natives of Lingnan. Their ancestral home was in Meizhou, Lingnan, and the family had a vast network of contacts throughout Southeast Asia.

This was also why Yang Haibo was so resentful. If Yang Tianci could still manage affairs, the Yang Family could have definitely used their Southeast Asian network to suppress Du Jianxin.

Du Jianxin also knew the Yang Family had extensive connections in Southeast Asia, so he didn't head straight for Xing Island, instead choosing to stop in Xiangjiang first.

After all, his family had developed many businesses in Xiangjiang over the past few years. Especially after cozying up to the Morgan Clan, they had managed to get plenty of scraps left over from Wall Street.

Xiangjiang, Central.

The Purple Heaven Investment Fund had rented an office building here last year.

Du Jianxin was not letting his guard down. He had significantly increased his security detail. Clearly, the sudden incidents with Wu Heguang and Kong Zhao Lin had forced him to be cautious.

What he didn't know, however, was that the force watching him from the shadows was far beyond the scope of any ordinary power.

His security team, professional as they looked, might be able to handle gangsters, ordinary corporations, or even small nations.

But against an entity that even the five great powers would find troublesome, this security detail was pathetically fragile.

Besides, there were Soldiers inside the Purple Heaven Investment Fund itself.

While Du Jianxin was busy adjusting his business assets, Yang Tiancheng also arrived at his branch office in Xiangjiang.

The next day, Yang Tiancheng invited Du Jianxin to meet for dinner at his private club.

Suspecting nothing, Du Jianxin arrived at the Cyan Plum Hall in the New Territory with a dozen bodyguards.

When a servant led him into a private courtyard deep within the hall, he saw Yang Tiancheng with a placid expression on his face. No one else was around.

Yang Tiancheng waved his hand.

The servant immediately and quietly exited the living room, slowly closing the doors behind them.

"Tiancheng, do you have to be so secretive?"

Yang Tiancheng replied with a grin, "Better safe than sorry. I'd rather outsiders didn't know about our talk today."

Picking up his teacup, Du Jianxin took a sip of green tea. "Go on. What's on your mind?"

"The tea is poisoned," Yang Tiancheng reminded him with a smile.

"What?" Du Jianxin scoffed. "Heh, that's not a funny joke. Stop wasting time and just say what you have to say."

Before Yang Tiancheng could speak, the screen behind him was slowly pushed aside, revealing a figure that sent a cold sweat down Du Jianxin's back. The person was sitting at a tea table behind the screen, nonchalantly sipping tea.

He suddenly realized what was happening and frantically stuck his fingers down his throat. "GACK... GACK..."

Yang Tiancheng reminded him again, "Don't waste your energy. It's just a short-acting paralytic, not toxic."

His face pale with fright, Du Jianxin charged for the door, roaring, "You... Yang Tiancheng, are you insane? You're working with Li Qingye against me?"

But he had underestimated the effect of the paralytic in the tea. He hadn't taken two steps before his legs went numb, and he collapsed onto the floor in front of the door.

"My men are in the front hall! Your scheme won't succeed!"

"Jianxin, it's been a few years. How have you become too scared to even see me? That's not like you," Li Qingye asked with a smile.

But Du Jianxin was in no mood for small talk with Li Qingye. He screamed with all his might, "Someone, help! Help me! Li Qingye is trying to kill me!"

He screamed until his throat was raw, but there was no response from outside. Du Jianxin's heart sank. As for calling for help, he knew he wouldn't have time to turn on his phone and dial.

Realizing he couldn't escape or call for help, he finally turned his head and stared daggers at Li Qingye. "What do you want? I'm not Wu Heguang. If I die here, none of you will leave Xiangjiang alive. My father won't let you get away with this."

"It's getting late. Let's begin," Li Qingye said, clapping his hands.

Instantly, Sangjibada Laiyal emerged from a hidden door, pushing a wheelchair. Several Soldiers followed behind him.

Under Du Jianxin's terrified gaze, they lifted him into the wheelchair.

"What... what are you doing...? Li Qingye, if you let me go... I'll give you all... all my assets..."

The paralytic was making Du Jianxin's tongue thick.

But his babbling was useless.

In less than two hours, Du Jianxin had a biological chip implanted in him and had completed the initial adaptation phase.

Although he didn't undergo genetic modification, which would have allowed them to extract memories from his brain, the Security Department had already figured out all of Du Jianxin's secrets and daily habits through long-term, round-the-clock surveillance.

Therefore, even without his memories, the impersonator program in the biological chip could still pass for the real thing, preventing anyone familiar with Du Jianxin from noticing anything unusual.

Du Jianxin's secretary was called in.

"Zeqing, I'll be having lunch here. You and the bodyguards can make your own arrangements outside."

"Yes, President Du."

As he watched his secretary's retreating back, Du Jianxin's mind was on the verge of collapse. He realized he had lost control of his own body.

This discovery suddenly made him understand a few recent anomalies—like why Yang Tiancheng had betrayed him, and what had happened to Wu Heguang and Kong Zhao Lin. It all made sense now.

'But what good does knowing do?'

'Now I'm just meat on a chopping block, waiting to be carved up.'

Fear!

Unprecedented fear!

This fear even made Du Jianxin's body tremble instinctively.

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