Chapter 22 Part 3

“I guarantee he won’t lose a pound at the company!” Lin Juan patted his chest.

Money was not the point. The important thing was that this father and son pair from the Lu Family were so good—he had a responsibility to protect their safety!

At the Research Institute.

Zhuang Yufeng returned from the Lu Family and first checked on patients with pollution values fluctuating up and down like Su Min’s.

Several patients had recovered well after the pollutants in their bodies were removed and could be arranged for discharge.

“Doctor Zhuang, thank you so much.” Hearing the good news, a middle-aged woman thanked him profusely.

“It’s what we should do.” Even with the heavy future weighing on him, seeing patients recover from pollution made Zhuang Yufeng’s mood lighten considerably.

After rounds, he returned to his office.

“Director Liu?”

In the office, besides Director Liu, there were two men in white coats and one woman also in a white coat.

“You’re back, Little Zhuang. How was it at the Lu Family?” Zhuang Yufeng had reported to Director Liu before going to the Lu Family.

“Everything normal.” Zhuang Yufeng answered. “Professor Lu, did you come to see me?”

Professor Lu was the older of the two male white coats, with slightly graying temples. He was a rare mental ability user whose power enhanced his brain, making him excel in research. He had first proposed the concept of Weird Phenomena.

He was a true elder of the Research Institute.

The woman in the white coat had joined later, surnamed Chen and a doctoral candidate. The other man, Professor Zhou, was a radical who advocated developing powerful enough weapons to wipe out the Weird Phenomena before they grew strong.

“We came because we heard about the recent events. You’ve found a way to communicate with the Weird Phenomena?” Professor Lu’s eyes burned with zeal for research.

“It’s not really communication.” Zhuang Yufeng chose his words carefully. “How to put it—intimidation would be more accurate than communication.”

“How so?” Professor Lu was very interested.

If not for hearing about it from Dr. Chen, he would still be holed up in the lab.

His greatest joy in life was studying new things. The emergence of Weird Phenomena had given him a vast field, and he wished he could split himself into several people each day. Luckily, he had awakened his supernatural ability, or his body would not have held up.

“That person is very strong—extremely strong.” Zhuang Yufeng repeated it several times, emphasizing how strong Lin Juan was, afraid these research maniacs would get ideas they shouldn’t. “In front of him, the Weird Phenomena had no power to resist.”

“Based on our previous research, Weird Phenomena have levels among themselves. Perhaps they feel fear and such toward sufficiently powerful forces. This emotion blocks their instincts, giving us the illusion that they can be controlled.”

“In reality, controlling Weird Phenomena is simply impossible.” Zhuang Yufeng was certain of this. In the harsh future human survival environment, they had considered ways to control Weird Phenomena for balance.

After paying a heavy price, the plan was shelved. Bloody lessons taught them that Weird Phenomena were Weird Phenomena—they would not be tamed by humans like other animals.

“I want to meet the person you’re talking about.” Professor Lu would not give up easily. “Don’t you have two more ‘fishing’ pollutant operations? I’ll come.”

“Professor Lu.” Zhuang Yufeng’s face darkened. “If you displease Mr. Lin, I can’t guarantee what he’ll do.”

He deliberately made it sound dire. “You should know how hard Weird Phenomena are to deal with. These tough Weird Phenomena are like balloons before Mr. Lin, popping at a touch. What that means, I believe I don’t need to explain.”

“Doctor Zhuang, you’ve misunderstood,” Professor Zhou stepped in to smooth things over as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. “We didn’t intend to do anything. We’re just curious about Mr. Lin, who’s been the talk among the ability users lately. We only wanted to see if we could gain some experience from watching Mr. Lin deal with the weird phenomena.”

Seeing Zhuang Yufeng’s attitude soften, Professor Zhou continued, “Right now, we suffer heavy casualties every time we eradicate weird phenomena. If we could research some weapons to counter them, wouldn’t that reduce the losses?”

Zhuang Yufeng knew they had a point. They were indeed researching ways to combine remnants of weird phenomena with technology to create more useful items.

For example, the pollution detector was a product of such a combination.

In the future, there would only be more such products, not fewer.

He relented.

Having witnessed the horrors of the future, he hoped more than anyone that this life wouldn’t follow the path of the previous one.

“You can come, but you can’t disturb Mr. Lin, and you can’t find any excuse to take him away.”

Professor Zhou smiled. “That goes without saying. We’re just researchers, not some ferocious beasts. There’s no need for you to be so wary of us, Doctor Zhuang.”

It wasn’t that Zhuang Yufeng wanted to guard against them. In his previous life, the research institute had been embroiled in several scandals. If not for the timeline—they hadn’t started those horrific experiments yet—he wouldn’t have let them be.

Unfortunately, in the end, they never uncovered the true mastermind behind the research institute incidents.

Zhuang Yufeng didn’t want to alert the enemy prematurely.

Alerting them too soon would make the mastermind abandon the research institute and infiltrate other forces instead, which would put them in an even worse position than in the previous life.

Zhuang Yufeng had already begun cultivating his own faction within the research institute. Though the institute was nominally under the Anomalous Affairs Bureau, the two were independent entities that generally didn’t interfere with each other.

Having gotten the answer they wanted, Professor Lu and the others didn’t linger. After they left, Director Liu closed the door and asked, “Is there something wrong with them?”

Zhuang Yufeng sat down in the office chair, picked up a pen, and scribbled a few words. “I just feel that we can’t let the higher-ups give the research institute complete free rein.”

In the future world, the major factions would inevitably undergo a massive purge. Until the dust settled, no one could guarantee which powers would end up at the table.

Letting the research institute develop freely at this point meant no one could guarantee what kind of monsters unchecked power and ambition would breed in people’s hearts.

Weird phenomena were uncontrollable, but human hearts were even more so.

Director Liu watched him finish writing. “You have a point. I’ll bring it up when I get back.”

“I’ll head to headquarters sometime.”

Director Liu specially convened a meeting with the highest confidentiality level for this purpose. Everyone involved was a big shot among big shots. No one knew what was discussed, only that afterward, several factions experienced subtle shifts.

These changes weren’t obvious and didn’t draw much attention from most people—but the Lu Family was not among them.

For a colossal entity like the Lu Corporation, every step of development required a clear judgment of the situation.

They had to have a precise grasp of political winds.

Before Lu Yanzhou fell ill with his strange disease, he had locked in a major project with close government cooperation. Completing it would elevate the Lu Corporation to new heights, and many coveted it. Unable to compete openly, they resorted to dirty tricks.

During that time, Lu Yanzhou survived no fewer than ten assassination attempts, including but not limited to a truck barreling out from a corner, poisoned drinks, and killers disguised as waiters… He dodged the fatal ones but still fell victim to a scheme.

Weird means were impossible to guard against completely.

That was why, at dinner, when Old Master Lu mentioned taking Lin Juan to the company with him, Lu Yanzhou didn’t object.

Lin Juan looked at him in surprise several times.

Lu Yanzhou casually picked up a crystal dumpling and placed it in Lin Juan’s bowl.

Lin Juan liked all kinds of dumplings. He picked it up, put it in his mouth, and chewed.

He had a great appetite and ate heartily. Whenever they dined together, Old Master Lu always ended up eating an extra half-bowl because of it.

Elders all liked children with good appetites. Old Master Lu grew fonder of Lin Juan the more he watched him and ladled a bowl of soup for him. “Have the housekeeper send meals over to you tomorrow, so you don’t eat poorly at the company.”

Lu Yanzhou couldn’t help glancing at his father.

Old Master Lu had always been a strict father. He and his brothers had never received such treatment growing up.

“Doesn’t the company have food?” Lin Juan lifted his head from his bowl.

“It does.”

How could a massive company like the Lu Corporation lack a cafeteria?

Not only did it have one, but it was huge, with abundant dishes covering all eight major cuisines. It was one of the main reasons many young people applied to the Lu Corporation—the cafeteria alone.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the Lu Corporation cafeteria was better than many outside restaurants.

The next morning, Lin Juan got up early.

Waking at seven was pure torment for someone used to sleeping until nine.

Lin Juan got out of bed with half-open eyes. Lu Yanzhou, who had just finished exercising, saw him swaying as he walked and stepped forward to steady him.

Lin Juan leaned into his arm, letting him guide him to the bathroom. Standing at the sink, he finally woke up a bit. “I can wash myself. You go out.”

“Or you could sleep more and go later?” Lu Yanzhou suggested.

“No need.” Lin Juan pushed at him. “What kind of assistant arrives later than the boss? Splashing my face will wake me up.”

Unable to persuade him, Lu Yanzhou left.

Lin Juan turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face.

The icy water slid down, banishing sleepiness in an instant.

After washing up, Lin Juan came out and found that Lu Yanzhou had already laid out a set of clothes for him.

A light gray suit.

Lin Juan grabbed it casually and changed in the walk-in closet. He didn’t wear suits often, but the fabric was comfortable, with no restrictive feel.

He gathered his hair behind him and emerged from the closet.

“Should I tie my hair up?” He tilted his head and asked the man holding the tie.

Lin Juan rarely wore suits—at least not since Lu Yanzhou had woken up. This was the first time.

The young man already had an overly refined face, with lush, gorgeous features that transcended gender. The simple suit Lu Yanzhou chose for him added a touch of ascetic allure, making it impossible to look away.

“No need to tie it.” Lu Yanzhou glanced once and looked away. “Do you know how to tie a tie?”

“I… do?” Lin Juan had only seen Lu Yanzhou do it.

“Come here. I’ll tie it for you.”

Lin Juan walked over and tilted his head up slightly.

So tall.

The thought flashed through Lin Juan’s mind.

Lu Yanzhou was definitely over 1.9 meters tall. Up close, Lin Juan had to crane his neck to meet his eyes.

Lu Yanzhou lowered his gaze slightly.

He had sharp phoenix eyes, deep black irises. When he stared without blinking, it felt like being pulled into an abyss.

Lu Yanzhou raised his hand, slipped the tie around Lin Juan’s neck, adjusted the angle, and slowly tied it.

Too close.

Lin Juan could smell the faint cologne from Lu Yanzhou, along with the intensely masculine aura that hit him full force, instinctively making him want to retreat.

Lin Juan stepped back with his left leg.

His shoulder was caught.

Lu Yanzhou pressed one hand on his shoulder and gripped the tie with the other. “Don’t move.”

His voice carried the low huskiness unique to mornings.

Lin Juan froze.

Once he was still, Lu Yanzhou released his shoulder and continued tying.

His hands were large, with distinct knuckles, prominent finger bones, and calluses on the pads from pistol training.

His fingers moved deftly, and with a few flips, a perfect Windsor knot was done.