After Gu Yin left the exquisite and luxurious presidential suite still carried the lingering scent of food, adding a touch of warmth to the otherwise quiet hotel room, as if bringing a bit of human presence to the space.

It was a fragrance that could soften anyone’s heart.

Once this guy finishes his internship and returns to school, meeting more peers, he won’t be so fixated anymore.

Xiao Zong didn’t put much thought into it.

Before the arranged meeting, Old Master Xiao had specifically mentioned that a few years ago, Gu Yin’s father had fallen seriously ill. The family had spent all their savings on medical treatments, even falling into debt, yet they still couldn’t save him in the end.

Gu Yin’s inability to continue his studies was related to this. Old Master Xiao had advised Xiao Zong not to casually bring up painful topics.

That’s why, when Fang Chi invited Gu Yin to join Leng Entertainment Company as a newcomer, Xiao Zong had asked his assistant to arrange a position for Gu Yin in his own company.

Although Assistant Wei had made a mix-up in the process, to be fair, this little assistant was actually… quite handy.

Xiao Zong opened the analyzer, carefully combing through the experimental data inside.

In the afternoon, while they were in the car, Gu Yin had casually mentioned something about interstellar routes. In fact, Xiao Zong’s father, Xiao Sinian, had proposed the initial concept more than thirty years ago.

At that time, the colonized planets were still in their early development stages, with their atmospheres just beginning to stabilize.

The main habitable planet of the Federation was overburdened, with 30 billion people crammed onto a single planet. The enormous consumption of resources had caused the wealth gap to widen further, leading to extreme inequalities.

The accumulated social tensions eventually erupted into a brutal war. After the star system experienced warfare, the Federation government was formed, and that was only about sixty years ago.

The colonized planets were discovered during the war.

The goal of expanding the star system was to solve the urgent problem at the time. The first batch of people sent over were soldiers and infrastructure equipment, followed by waves of volunteers.

Technology developed rapidly, and now the Federation’s infrastructure capabilities are incredibly fast. From small-scale farmland development to large-scale roads, bridges, and buildings, everything could be completed using AI. The key was to get the equipment in place; humans only needed to input precise parameters, and machines could handle the rest.

But crossing star systems was the biggest challenge in the expansion efforts. Every time the military deployed interstellar carriers, the cost was enormous, and the military budget for the Federation’s main army was increasing exponentially year by year—funded by taxes from the various national zones on the home planet.

“To truly develop the colonized planets, we must open up interstellar transport hubs.”

“Researching new energy sources that can stably power transportation in different cosmic environments is urgent. Only when civilian transport routes span across the stars will the light of the ‘Guiding Star’ lead them out of darkness.”

These were words recorded in one of Xiao Sinian’s abandoned experiment logs.

The effort behind developing new energy sources was the culmination of the dedication and hard work of hundreds of thousands of people. It also meant that the seemingly unrealistic ideas Xiao Sinian had proposed in his youth now had a chance to come to fruition.

However, the challenges ahead could not be ignored.

Xiao Zong opened his phone to look at a report that Assistant Wei had sent him a few days ago about a casino shooting incident.

The bold, capitalised letters [UNNAMED] were followed by an image of a mask with no face.

Xiao Zong had been at the LAVCA casino when those people opened fire. If not for Liu Ye pushing him out of the way at the critical moment, the falling crystal chandelier might have killed him instead.

His mind wandered back to the faint hint of sweetness he had sensed in the darkness.

“…”

The restlessness in his body grew stronger.

He figured his sensitivity period might be approaching, just as his phone lit up.

It was a message from Ma Weiming, the vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.

This guy must have sobered up by now, as he sincerely asked Xiao Zong why he had left the event early and expressed a desire to apologize in person for his earlier offense.

Xiao Zong glanced at the time—it was still early, only 9:30 p.m.

After replying to the message, he took off his glasses, stood up, and changed clothes to prepare to meet the guest.

Meanwhile, when Gu Yin arrived at the control room, the banquet had just ended.

The staff at the door stopped him, “Sorry, Mr. Gu. Our control room and monitoring room are combined. Someone already checked it this afternoon, so you can’t go in again.”

After speaking, he glanced at the large sign on the security door that read [No Unauthorised Entry].

Liu Jian’s report had no major issues, including the monitoring lines that Gu Yin had identified as potential security blind spots. After all, the security staff were all retired soldiers, so their methods and focus were still similar.

Xiao Zong was surrounded by veterans. Gu Yin was the only newcomer. He didn’t know why he was so concerned, or maybe it was just out of habit.

This was a seven-star seaside resort hotel that had recently been renovated. The lights were dazzling, and every detail exuded luxury. From a high vantage point, it looked like a glowing pearl by the sea.

Waves rhythmically crashed against the shore’s rocky cliffs, and as Gu Yin passed by the sky garden, he overheard someone cursing, “That bastard Xiao Zong stood me up! Just because he’s a CEO, he thinks he’s all that? If Xiao Sinian hadn’t died early, who’d even care about him?”

Someone beside the speaker tried to quiet him down.

Gu Yin’s temples throbbed.

Ma Weiming raged, “He texts me to apologize, and then leaves me hanging in the cold wind for half the night! What, am I not allowed to curse him out?”

Gu Yin quickly pulled out his phone and called Xiao Zong’s work number.

“Beep… Beep… Beep…”

The line was busy.

The night wind by the sea was icy and biting. Gu Yin’s knuckles quickly went numb from the cold. He took a sharp step forward and grabbed Ma Weiming by the tie. “When did he send you that message?”

Ma Weiming was surrounded by two or three others, all there to watch Xiao Zong make a fool of himself. When they saw someone rush at him suddenly, they were startled. “What are you doing? Let go! Or we’ll call security!”

At first, the vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce was startled. But when he realized it was Gu Yin, he sneered, “Oh, it’s you, Secretary Gu? Why aren’t you in bed with your boss—”

Before he could finish, Gu Yin kicked him, sending him flying.

None of them expected Gu Yin to be so strong. Ma Weiming crashed through a flowerbed and hit the ground, covered in dirt and mud, completely losing his dignity.

“I asked you, who sent you that message?” Gu Yin’s voice was colder than the north wind.

The two or three people around him immediately sobered up. They prided themselves on being cultured individuals, and cultured people don’t fight. One by one, they started talking.

“Why did you hit him? That’s not right!”

“It was Xiao Zong who sent the message, or else why would we even be here?”

“He pushed us away at the event and then chickened out behind our backs. What, do you feel bad for him?”

“Don’t make trouble for your boss. Do you really think he’ll keep protecting you once he gets bored?”

Ignoring their words, Gu Yin walked over. Ma Weiming was trying to sit up, but Gu Yin stepped on his chest. The others were too scared to come any closer, and the smart ones quickly ran back inside to call security.

Gu Yin found Ma Weiming’s phone in his coat pocket, unlocked it with face recognition, and checked the messages. Sure enough, there was a message from Xiao Zong’s work number.

It roughly said that he regretted his impulsiveness at the event and wanted to meet the vice chairman to apologize.

Gu Yin accessed the backend through the sender’s information and input a series of program codes. Immediately, a sharp, prickling sensation ran up his spine and into his head.

Ma Weiming was still yelling:

“You… you’re invading my privacy! Do you know that? I can sue you!”

“Where are the security guards? Why aren’t they here yet?!”

The cold wind howled, and the shouting in the sky garden soon attracted more attention. A growing number of people gathered around.

Gu Yin’s face was lit by the glow of the phone screen, his expression as cold as ice.

“The system was hacked a long time ago. Privacy? You should check how much you’ve lost.” He coldly threw the phone back at Ma Weiming, lifted his foot off him, and turned to leave.

Gu Yin walked quickly, and the crowd instinctively parted to make way for him.

Ye Yumeng was among them. He saw how ruthlessly Gu Yin had beaten someone. When he passed by him, he stammered, “You…”

Gu Yin acted like he didn’t hear him and walked straight ahead.

Behind him, Ma Weiming’s panicked voice could be heard, “What the hell is this? Why is there a Trojan virus? What did you do to my phone?!”

Many of the business elites present often used their phones for work. Their phones were linked to their company’s internal network, and despite the encryption, everyone dreaded the thought of a virus.

The crowd became restless.

The head of security at the Fu Hua Hotel had just been told that some drunk people were fighting. He hurried to the sky garden with a team of guards, only to find everyone standing in the cold wind, playing with their phones.

The security guard was stunned. “… Is everyone’s health that good?”

Before he could figure out what was happening, one person walked quickly toward him. The security guard was about to stop him to ask some questions, but the young man, without breaking stride, said, “Take me to the control room.”

On the phone, the bodyguard’s voice was incoherent:

“No… no sign of the boss yet, Secretary Gu. Please, think of something!”