??Chapter 212: Chapter 211: Business Master
Chapter 212: Chapter 211: Business Master
As expected, upon entering the laboratory, Qianyuan iko imdiately saw her elder brother Qianyuan Nagaya, her second sister Qianyuan Asahara, and her third brother Qianyuan Shinki gathered around the central experint room’s bed, engaged in a fierce argunt with the old butler Yandao.
“This family can’t afford to let Father continue to exhaust himself like this! His experint is completely on the wrong track and will never be successful; do you know how the Chidori Family mocks us? They say we’re all being dragged down by a madman!”
“We might as well let him rest; look at him, eating, drinking, relieving himself all on one bed, how is he any different from a vegetable?”
The second sister and third brother’s expressions were filled with two hundred percent disdain.
The eldest brother Qianyuan Nagaya, however, was much more indifferent. He pushed the butler aside, “If you aren’t willing to turn off the power, I’ll do it myself. If you stand in my way again, I’ll take your life.”
“He is your father!” The old butler was pushed to the ground but crawled back on his knees, grabbing onto Nagaya’s legs, “And Mr. Hirakawa said the experint hasn’t completely failed; it just needs ti to compute… right, Mr. Hirakawa, you say sothing!”
“Uh… I won’t deny that, but the key issue is ti,” said a middle-aged man with glasses on the other side of the bed, rather awkwardly, “Maybe after another three or four decades, we might see so results.”
Qianyuan iko recognized this man; he was Hirakawa Nagase, the chief scientist who often accompanied her father, and the director of the research institute.
“Three, three or four decades?” exclaid the old butler in surprise.
“What, Mr. Hirakawa didn’t tell you?” the eldest brother sneered, kicking the man aside, “I’ve already warned you. Once I’ve dealt with this matter, I’ll co and settle the score with you.”
These people are really slow on the uptake.
Standing at the door for so long, and yet nobody noticed her presence.
If it were Mr. Xue’s “business war,” they’d probably all be dead by now.
After a series of trials in the Paradise gas, Qianyuan iko felt her understanding of business competition had improved significantly.
She tapped her foot on the floor, emitting a clear tap-tap sound, which finally made everyone aware there was an extra person in the room.
“Yo, isn’t that our youngest sister? Finally decided to co back?” Qianyuan Shinki first showed a surprised look, then it turned mocking, “How was your study trip? I bet it was fun! After all, even though Father had lost consciousness, you insisted on finishing the trip before returning.”
“It was fun,” Qianyuan iko said without hesitation, “and what I saw was beyond imagination.”
“You…” The forr was at a loss for words.
“Moreover, going on a study trip is a tradition of the Qianyuan family. I didn’t want to break the rule carelessly, so I ca back a bit late,” Qianyuan iko raised her eyebrows, pointing to the father on the bed, “Now it’s your turn to explain. Why was he fine before I left, but now he has beco the vegetable you refer to?”
A brief silence fell over the room.
“Ask him,” Qianyuan Nagaya said after a mont, nodding towards the chief scientist.
Hirakawa scratched his head with a stiff look, “This is the situation… Your father’s experint was not making progress, so he decided to take part himself to get a more hands-on feel for the ‘Divine Chariot’s’ performance and to figure out its flaws. But sothing went wrong, and we’ve been unable to wake him up.”
Qianyuan iko knew her father was an unusual man. He was not like other family heads who were obsessed with wealth and power; he was more like a scholar, a researcher. The wealth accumulated by his ancestors was enough for him to choose the path he liked, and he often said that the level of technological developnt determined the efficiency of wealth acquisition, especially for a company that started in pharmaceuticals. By so stroke of luck, the family’s wealth didn’t decrease after massive investnts in scientific research; on the contrary, it increased significantly.
Fifteen years ago, her father took interest in a new project—electronic life. By using an algorithm to describe the vast neural responses of life forms, it was possible to recreate a person’s consciousness in so form. Compared to the physical limits of lifespan, an electronic form of life clearly had an advantage. As long as the storage dium remained intact, one’s consciousness could be preserved indefinitely, until a highly advanced future arrived.
The prospects, of course, were beyond doubt. Every wealthy person wanted to live longer, so they invested crazily in every longevity project, even if so were clearly scams.
The research institute at the mountain’s peak was established during this period.
However, this ti it seed that luck had abandoned the family; the massive investnt did not yield any returns, and the company’s financial reports gradually started to suffer. While the family’s heritage was still there, the keen sense of capital slled sothing, and more and more people were questioning the project. If not for the father’s stubbornness, the research institute would not have lasted until now.
After hearing Director Hirakawa’s account, Qianyuan iko found herself unexpectedly calm—maybe she wasn’t surprised at all that her father would do this. During their last eting, her father had ntioned that his ti was short, perhaps referring both to himself and the Divine Chariot project itself.
“Let’s stop here for today,” Qianyuan iko pointed towards the door, “I ca today to see Father, not you all.”
“What? How dare you speak to your elder brother like that!” Qianyuan Shinki, the third brother, was furious.
“Hmm?” She touched the hilt of the sword behind her.
Shinki imdiately shut his mouth.
Everyone knew that her swordsmanship teacher was the heir to the top sword school of the day, Shini-ryu.
“You can’t even respect your elders… You don’t deserve the Qianyuan surna!” Qianyuan Asahara, the second sister, said bitterly.
“You weren’t the one who nad . Besides, have you respected your elders? In the way you treat your own father.”
“I— “The other’s face turned green with anger.
“You’ve beco quite sharp-tongued since I last saw you a few months ago,” Qianyuan Nagaya took two steps forward, leaned in close to her, and said, “Don’t forget, I am the head of this family. Although Father likes you, you are ultimately an outsider. You should be grateful for having the Qianyuan surna. Only if you obey
will I consider—”
“Leave,” Qianyuan iko interrupted curtly, “or fight?”
Qianyuan Nagaya’s expression turned ice cold, “Perhaps you’re more suited to being a street thug. We’ll see.”
After speaking, he left for the laboratory without looking back.
The other two hesitated but when Mingzi drew her wooden sword, they imdiately followed their elder brother’s steps.
The old butler Yandao breathed a sigh of relief, his voice trembling, “Miss, you’ve co back just in ti! If you were half a day later, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to protect the old master…”
“Rise, it’s all right now,” Qianyuan iko then turned to Hirakawa Nagase, “Why are you still here?”
“Eh? I…”
She pointed behind her.
The other party imdiately understood, bowed, and quickly left the laboratory.
Yandao looked at her, sowhat dazed.
“What’s the matter?” Qianyuan iko asked, tilting her head.
“No… nothing.” The old butler hesitated, “I just feel that you seem a little different from before.”
“How so?”
“In the past, even if you thought soone was wrong, you rarely pointed it out in front of them… especially in front of your elder brothers,” he paused, “I used to think you were always very quiet, focusing on your swordsmanship and archery, but the way you refuted them just now reminded
a little of your mother.”
Her mother was not the biological mother of the other three.
This was also why she didn’t fit in with the other Qianyuan children.
“No, I have changed, but not in the ways you’re talking about,” Qianyuan iko shook her head.
“Then what changes do you believe you have undergone…?”
“I understand business and trade better than before—whether it’s making deals or competing with others,” she stated confidently.
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