Liying

After returning aboveground, Chen Chuan followed the guidance of his boundary credential to find the safe house where Meng Shu and the others were hiding. From outside, he notified them via his credential that the matter had ended. After a brief wait, Meng Shu and Yan Yi emerged under the escort of several security personnel. Chen Chuan said to Meng Shu, "It's taken care of. If Old Mr. Meng keeps his word, then you are now the sole heir to the company." Meng Shu fell silent for a moment before saying softly, "Grandfather might not be close to me, but he does keep his word. On the surface at least, he's someone who strives to uphold the rules." Yan Yi seemed to receive a message at that moment. Looking up, she said, "Miss, Meng Huang indeed planted people beside most of the key members of the Meng family. But with Meng Huang dead, these people are of no use anymore. Miss, you can immediately send personnel in the name of the heir to detain them and place the family members under protection." Meng Shu knew what she meant. This was to announce her presence, win over people's hearts, and swiftly seize the vacancies and positions left behind by Meng Huang. "Sister Yan, handle it for me." Yan Yi nodded and immediately began hiring and assigning personnel. A notification chime sounded from Meng Shu's boundary credential as well. She looked toward Chen Chuan. "Grandfather is calling me over." Chen Chuan nodded. "I'll go with you." Although Meng Huang had been disposed of, Chen Chuan's assignment from the Disposal Bureau was not yet over. The coming period was crucial; there was no telling whether Meng Huang had prepared any contingency plans, so caution was warranted. Together with Meng Shu, he returned to the estate. Because the section of the building in the southeast corner had been practically demolished, they went to another parlor on the north side, where Meng Lai stood waiting for them. Seeing the two enter, Meng Lai looked first at Chen Chuan and said very courteously, "Mr. Chen, Aunt Yu has already told me everything. It was all thanks to you this time; otherwise, I don't know how this could have ended." Chen Chuan replied, "You're too kind, Old Mr. Meng." Meng Lai smiled. "Our Convergence Boundary Company has always been clear in distributing rewards and punishments. Mr. Chen serves as our security consultant, yet to this day you still lack a suitable independent residence. As the head of the company, I cannot simply ignore that." He paused, then added sincerely, "The company's board of directors has decided to award Mr. Chen a detached residence in Wuding District. I hope you will accept it." Chen Chuan considered it. Although he had a dormitory room at Wuyi, it was not his own after all, and the apartment left to him by this body's parents was currently unsuitable to live in. Having a house with reliable security would certainly be convenient, and he could also move the items currently stored with Wu Bei over there. So he did not refuse. "Then thank you, Old Mr. Meng." Seeing him accept, Meng Lai's expression relaxed slightly. Turning to Meng Shu, he said, "Shu'er, it's been a long time since we had a good talk, grandfather and granddaughter. Stay here for the night." Meng Shu said, "All right, Grandfather." Chen Chuan could tell Meng Lai had things to pass on to Meng Shu, so he did not linger. After exchanging a few brief words, he stepped outside. Once he had left, Meng Lai's expression grew somewhat solemn. He said to Meng Shu, "Shu'er, come with me. As the heir to the company, there are some things you need to understand." Outside, Chen Chuan saw a message notification from the bureau. Checking it, he saw it was from Director Wu, so he walked over to an empty, deserted area and initiated contact. The call connected after a moment. Director Wu said, "Enforcement Officer Chen, I've already received the reports from you, Old Wan, Xiao Lu, and the others. You did splendidly. Thanks to you, the entity from the other side was successfully expelled without leaving any lingering trouble." Chen Chuan said, "Director Wu, Meng Huang seemed obsessed with the position of company heir. He came with a very clear objective. While fighting me, he kept trying to burrow into the subterranean levels of the estate. I'm not sure what drew his attention so intensely." Director Wu said in a deep voice, "That is likely the very reason he wanted to take charge of Convergence Boundary Company. We can make a rough deduction. Although you haven't taken part in the ring curtain defense, now that you've come into contact with an entity from the other side, there are indeed things you should know. I'll send you some files shortly—remember to delete them after reading. "Also, I'll submit a commendation for your actions this time, but to prevent any relapse in the situation, you'll need to remain by Meng Shu's side for now. Return only after things have fully stabilized." Chen Chuan said, "Understood." Meanwhile, Meng Lai led Meng Shu out of the parlor, took an elevator down a hallway to the first subterranean level, and boarded a small electric railcar. They arrived at the place where Chen Chuan and Meng Huang had fought not long ago. Aunt Yu was waiting there and bowed slightly. "Master, Miss." Meng Lai said, "Aunt Yu, please keep watch here." Aunt Yu said, "Yes, Master." Meng Lai led Meng Shu in opening the heavy door and stepping into the underground tunnel. Neither encountered any obstruction when passing through the esoteric ritual wards; besides sharing the same blood, they were the master and the heir of the company, and thus recognized by the ritual. Had Meng Huang possessed the status of heir beforehand, he likewise would have faced no constraint upon entering. When Chen Chuan had entered earlier, it had been empty and desolate, devoid of any person. Yet as the two of them walked in, a long-haired woman with an outstanding figure and flawless proportions stood waiting there. Her features were exquisite, her demeanor gentle and tranquil, appearing so beautiful that she seemed unreal. With her hands clasped lightly over her abdomen, she gave them a smiling bow and said, "Master, Miss." Meng Lai said, "This is Liying, the company's active conscious entity." Meng Shu could not help casting another glance at the woman. She had heard of this conscious entity before, but had never seen her in person. "Shu'er, are you wondering why the company's active conscious entity isn't at the company?" Meng Lai said with a smile. "I had her transported here. Her body is down below that biological well ahead, where she is responsible for protecting my body. "And she is what Meng Huang was after. As long as that entity from the other side consumed her, it could remain in this world indefinitely and possess even greater power and knowledge. "Yet that objective was doomed to fail. The government and the major conglomerates might tolerate an entity from the other side helming a company, but they would never allow another entity that has obtained an active consciousness to emerge." Meng Shu caught many implications in those words. Tolerate an entity from the other side helming a company... never allow another to emerge... Only because there had been one before? Or did such an entity exist right now? She felt as though a flood of secrets had been revealed to her at once. Though startling, compared to the collision of worlds, it somehow didn't seem all that momentous. She glanced at the woman before her. Though merely an active conscious entity, on the surface she truly looked no different from an actual human. "Grandfather, so in all of this, was Liying just bait?" "Yes, and no," Meng Lai smiled and replied. "Have you ever considered that if that entity could devour Liying, could Liying not also devour that entity?" Meng Shu's heart skipped several beats, yet her eyes maintained her long-practiced calm. Meng Lai was very pleased with her composure. He said leisurely, "In truth, as for Meng Huang's contact with the entity from the other side, I was the one who provided him with the openings and clues; he simply didn't know it." Meng Shu finally couldn't help looking at him, looking at her grandfather. Meng Lai said nonchalantly, "This is nothing unusual. Quite a few people are doing the same nowadays. Just as I warned Meng Huang, working with those entities isn't off-limits; the crucial part is whether one can master them rather than be controlled." Speaking up to here, he seemed genuinely regretful. "Yet he failed that test. He was not a good company helmsman." He paused, his expression turning somewhat sterner. "The company's true plan was to trap an entity from the other side. The purpose of doing so..." He looked toward Liying, who stood there smiling, and said, "...was precisely to strengthen our active conscious entity. Whether a company is powerful depends first and foremost on the active conscious entity it possesses. "Molan Company had to withdraw from Center City and regroup in Yangzhi precisely because it lost its active conscious entity, yet in the end, they still failed..." He looked solemnly at Meng Shu. "Shu'er, if we do not wish to end up like Molan Company, we must possess a sufficiently powerful active conscious entity. Liying is the true foundation of the company. If the company is to endure, any one of us can be replaced, but she is irreplaceable. "Do you know? Over the past decade or so, certain factions within the Great Shun government and the major megacorporations have been pushing for a bill to establish rank tiers for all active consciousnesses and set binding regulations based on them. "Once this framework is established, the development of every company beneath the megacorporations will be hemmed in. They will never have the opportunity to grow or cross tiers. "The Sheni Peninsula and the Chiluojiaduo Confederation are already implementing these rules. There, small and medium-sized companies can never dream of expanding or posing any threat to those above. "Inside Great Shun, debate is still raging. Establishing such regulations may help stabilize rule, but it amounts to explicitly recognizing the status of the megacorporations and voluntarily ceding authority to them. "Great Shun's primary strategy has been to suppress global megacorporations, support small and medium-sized enterprises, and prune away insubordinate companies. At present, this works in our favor, but if things continue like this, we will forever remain mere pawns. "Therefore, the company must move forward. Under the normal rules, there is no way forward, so we can only resort to more radical methods." With absolute solemnity, he said, "Shu'er, as the heir, once you take charge of the company in the future, you must find every way to continue and execute this strategy." As they spoke, the two gradually arrived before the biological well. Meng Lai said, "Here it is." Meng Shu looked down at the seemingly bottomless entrance. She couldn't help asking, "Grandfather, what can an active conscious entity actually do once it becomes powerful?" Meng Lai watched Liying walk over and said slowly, "Many things. The most important, without question, is martial power. And... it can help us open the door between the two worlds at any time." ... ...