Chapter Forty: No Way Out

The fat man changed seats, moving directly to sit beside Zhou Yi, his face filled with concern as he looked at him.

“Say something, will you? That Su fellow isn’t making things clear—was that group killed or not?”

Zhou Yi picked up his chopsticks and dropped meat and vegetables into the pot. He was calm now; seeing Zhou Yi seemingly unaffected, the fat man settled down a bit too, blinking his small eyes and helping Zhou Yi cook with the shared chopsticks.

After Zhou Yi had eaten his fill and rinsed his mouth with tea, he finally looked at the fat man.

“We have no way out. Knowing whether the other side killed a Chosen One or a slave doesn’t matter. This mission must succeed, regardless. We’ve already asked what we needed to. Now, we should find a place to rest and meet Su Yongming tomorrow.

Cheng Zhi studied computer science and wants to get into IT or network development. No matter how clever he is, he can’t know more than we do, right? Worrying too much is pointless. We just need to be careful—he might have a way to preserve memories, or perhaps some secret bunker.”

The fat man nodded.

Now that he’d calmed down, he realized it was true. Complaining wouldn’t solve anything, nor could they rely on Sophia to handle this mess. As a bargaining chip, he had to work even harder.

“Where are we staying tonight?”

Zhou Yi jerked his chin toward the window.

“Hurry and finish eating. Once we’re full, we’ll rest at the hotel across the street. After ten, I’ll message Su Yongming and let him know we’ll be back early tomorrow. He’ll send someone to pick us up—as soon as we show initiative, he’ll be more enthusiastic too!”

The fat man relaxed, picking up his chopsticks. Seeing Zhou Yi had finished, he poured the rest of the dishes into Zhou Yi’s pot.

“You’re right. At least, for these thirty days, we should eat and drink well. If we lose our composure, others will notice something’s off.”

He buried his head and ate.

Zhou Yi’s gaze drifted to the window. Since Cheng Zhi could prepare ahead of time, it meant he already knew what to expect. He was familiar with these experiences, so hiding his whereabouts was meant to change everything. But why hadn’t Sophia mentioned what happened to the previous group?

Did she not know, or was she hiding something?

In the last world, the two of them had kidnapped Sophia. Could she really not hold a grudge?

There were too many unknowns here. After all, Sophia had spent more time with Waldner. One was the lord, the other the deputy. Even with conflicts, they wouldn’t want to train someone too competitive. Waldner’s expression at that time had said it all.

If both of them were to die here, perhaps it would be an ideal outcome. At least, the intelligence brain that monitors everything wouldn’t pursue the matter of the base.

Zhou Yi sighed.

He withdrew his gaze; the fat man had finished eating, wiped his mouth, and stood up.

“Let’s go. Though it’s deep winter, eating something hot leaves me smelling a bit smoky. I really need a good wash.”

Zhou Yi paid the bill, and they went directly to the hotel across the street.

......

Early the next morning.

It was just half past seven when Zhou Yi’s phone rang. Seeing the caller, Zhou Yi hurriedly wiped his face and answered.

“Hello, Mr. Su!”

“Zhou Yi, what time will you get to Jinan Station? I’ll be at the parking lot in ten minutes. Do you need me to come inside and pick you up?”

Zhou Yi jumped, quickly signaling the fat man to speed up.

Carrying their bags, the two headed downstairs. As they walked, Zhou Yi spoke:

“We’re already out. Just washing up a bit in the restroom, and then we’ll head out. We’ll find you at the parking lot!”

Su Yongming readily agreed and hung up.

By now, they’d reached the ground floor. After checking out, Zhou Yi pulled the fat man’s arm and, instead of heading for the main entrance, went out the back door, circling to the train station’s exit before heading to the parking lot.

They’d barely run a few steps when they spotted Su Yongming beside his car, standing on tiptoe, scanning for them. When he saw them, he waved with enthusiasm and sincerity, with nothing hidden.

Zhou Yi knew Su Yongming was a man of action, with real drive and genuine care for talent. With such character, offering him a few advanced designs wouldn’t hurt in the least.

“Mr. Su, you’ve been waiting long?”

Su Yongming waved his hand.

“Get in, quick. I just arrived. But you two—came back last night and returned today. Didn’t get much rest, did you?”

Zhou Yi smiled, shaking his head without comment. The fat man piped up.

“His mother’s nothing serious. She just refused to come along. No choice but to have a distant relative from the same village look after her—a thousand yuan a month for meals and company, plus conversation. She prefers the old home, so this is the only way.”

Su Yongming nodded.

“The elderly are always nostalgic. Every blade of grass and tree in the old house means something—they can’t leave. You’ve done well already. Let’s go eat, then talk about the design. The sooner you start, the sooner you get paid. Don’t worry—nothing will be delayed!”

They got in the car.

After breakfast, they headed straight to Su Yongming’s company. Only then did Zhou Yi realize how low-key Su Yongming truly was. In a vast industrial park, his company was the largest enterprise.

With Su Yongming’s introduction, they learned that the Su family had been the biggest pharmaceutical merchants in the region since the Republic era. After the reforms, the original industries were returned to the family, and Su Yongming began building factories for medicine and medical devices. The family had practiced medicine for generations, so their expertise was indisputable.

They entered a newly built two-story building, which was sparsely staffed. Su Yongming led them upstairs, introduced the research team, and took them to a spacious office.

It housed all kinds of laboratory equipment, and computers that were top-of-the-line for the era. Before the introductions were complete, the fat man headed straight for the computers, checked them over, and nodded at Zhou Yi, who understood—the fat man was satisfied.

Zhou Yi smiled at Su Yongming.

“Mr. Su, is this where we’ll be designing and developing? Then we’ll get started.”

Su Yongming nodded and waved at the woman in a white lab coat behind him.

“Yes, this is the research room. The equipment was just imported—supposedly the most advanced. The network’s newly installed too. The research staff aren’t all here yet. Zhang Linna is the person in charge. If you need anything from her, just ask.

We’ll fully support your research and development. For samples, let Xiao Zhang arrange workers to make them. Here, it’s all about capability. But there’s no rush—let’s sign the contract first.”

He gestured to Zhang Linna, who handed him several documents, which he laid before Zhou Yi and the fat man.

Zhou Yi picked one up and flipped through it. It was a research and development contract: if they designed a device or tool that passed the clinical medical team’s evaluation, they’d receive fifty thousand yuan as a design fee, regardless of how well it sold. If they applied for a patent, ownership would be shared with the company.

Such a contract surprised Zhou Yi. He’d known Su Yongming was forward-thinking, but now it was clear his future prospects were remarkable. He could accommodate and discover talent, retaining them—that was the foundation of real development.

He picked up a pen and signed his name. The fat man followed suit, signing his own. His contract was just for salary, but the amount was comforting, entirely supporting Zhou Yi’s work. During the design phase, he’d get one hundred yuan per day, and could terminate the contract at any time.

Zhou Yi handed the contract to Su Yongming and said,

“I’ll make a list soon—I’ll need to assemble a small lab team to manufacture the cervical collar we’re designing. It would be best to test a variety of materials, so we can compare and find the best performance. Everyone involved should sign a confidentiality agreement—we don’t want leaks as soon as we start developing.”

Su Yongming’s eyes lit up.

“Alright, I’ll arrange it personally. You get started.”

With that, Su Yongming left. Xiao Zhang came and went several times, bringing all sorts of snacks, supplies, coffee, tea, cigarettes—anything one could imagine, and plenty that one couldn’t.

Zhou Yi ignored it. He’d drawn up the design last night, with all the data clearly marked. Now he was simply using a professional ruler to check the measurements.

The fat man had already turned on the computer. His talents were wasted on drawing alone.

His fingers flew across the keyboard. As Zhou Yi adjusted the data, models appeared—three-dimensional diagrams, front, side views, and depictions using various materials, all presented one by one.

Zhou Yi sipped his coffee and examined the printed diagrams. There were no issues; he just needed to create a set of sizes for different collar measurements, and the rest was straightforward.

“Alright, get to work.”