bioinnovel Chapter 457 Rewarding Meritorious Service!
Chapter 457 Rewarding Meritorious Service!
The doorbell rang three times at the villa.
When Zhang Yan came out of the kitchen, he was still holding a spatula in his hand. Nie Qingcheng was sitting at the dining table flipping through her tablet without even looking up.
"Qin Changfeng," she said.
Zhang Yan glanced at the surveillance footage at the entrance. A black military SUV was parked outside, and Qin Changfeng, dressed in civilian clothes, was standing on the steps without anyone behind him.
He opened the door.
Qin Changfeng looked him up and down for two seconds.
You look good.
"Just finished a vacation."
"I know," Qin Changfeng said calmly. "Qin Xiao sends me your schedules every day."
Zhang Yan stepped aside to let him in.
Qin Changfeng walked into the living room and saw two sets of bowls and chopsticks and a pot of steaming soup on the dining table. Nie Qingcheng nodded to him.
"Uncle Qin".
"A beauty that could topple a city".
Qin Changfeng didn't sit down. He took out a dark blue velvet box from the inside pocket of his coat and placed it on the coffee table.
"The highest military honor award order is jointly issued by three departments, with a top-secret serial number that is not made public."
Zhang Yan glanced at the box but didn't reach for it.
"What is the content?"
"Thank you for your decisive contributions to global security incidents. You are hereby awarded a special honor, and will enjoy all corresponding benefits and privileges, valid for life."
Zhang Yan remained silent for two seconds.
"I don't need public recognition."
"It will not be made public. This award order exists only in the highest-level archives, and no more than seven people in the entire country know its contents."
"I only have two requirements," Zhang Yan said. "The right to use the underground laboratory remains unchanged, and control of all the mechs remains in my hands, not belonging to any organization."
Qin Changfeng showed no surprise whatsoever.
"That's all?"
That's all.
Qin Changfeng looked at Nie Qingcheng.
Nie Qingcheng put down the tablet.
"Whatever he says goes."
Qin Changfeng's lips twitched slightly, and he pushed the box forward.
"Take this. It's not for you to show off," he said. "In case something goes wrong again in the future, this will allow you to mobilize any resources without going through any procedures."
Zhang Yan thought for a moment, nodded, and put the box into the cabinet behind him.
Qin Changfeng didn't linger; he paused at the door before leaving.
"That kid Qin Xiao is always clamoring to take over the Great Wall Group's business."
"He can do it."
I think so too.
Qin Changfeng took two steps and then turned back.
"Did Qingcheng swallow up all the remaining assets of the Gatekeeper?"
"It was completed half a month ago," Nie Qingcheng's voice drifted over from the dining table.
Qin Changfeng shook his head and got into the car without saying anything more.
The door closed, and Zhang Yan went back to the kitchen to bring out the last dish.
"This Uncle Qin is quite straightforward." Nie Qingcheng picked up her chopsticks.
"He's always been like this."
"He's the only one in the military who understands this." She picked up a piece of pork rib. "If anyone else has even the slightest ulterior motive, I'll make sure they can't even find their files."
Zhang Yan did not respond.
But what she said was true. During the two weeks of the holiday, Nie Qingcheng's hands never stopped. The remaining assets of the Gatekeeper in six locations around the world were taken over one by one by Qingcheng International's legal team under the guise of counter-terrorism cooperation.
All equipment and data involving high-dimensional technology were transferred to a vault directly under her control, and the last remaining secret thread of the Zefeng Consortium was completely severed.
Now, Qingcheng International's asset size has reached the top spot globally, not through mergers and acquisitions, but by eradicating any threats that stand in its way.
The doorbell rang again.
When Qin Xiao came in, he was carrying two bottles of wine and a bag of snacks. His dark circles were much lighter than before he left, and he looked very energetic.
"Brother Yan, sister-in-law."
Have you eaten?
"I've already eaten." Qin Xiao placed the wine on the coffee table, found a seat, and said, "There are a few things I want to tell you."
"explain."
"The framework of the Great Wall Group is complete. We borrowed a group of technical soldiers from the military because we were short-handed. The daily maintenance agreement for the Sky Anchor has been connected with the Star Observation Station. The frequency band is checked every 72 hours. It's fully automatic and doesn't require human supervision."
"Where's the locksmith?"
"It's been restored. He physically removed the 30,000-year-old listening module from the locking protocol. The old man said that he would send someone to do an external inspection of the door every year, without getting close to the core of the door."
Zhang Yan nodded.
"There's something else." Qin Xiao's tone changed. "Ito sent word that since his retirement, he's been cooperating with their internal cleanup efforts. He said there are still a few people in the military who are restless, but he's keeping an eye on them."
"Let him handle it himself; he knows what's important."
"receive."
Qin Xiao paused and then added a sentence.
"Brother Yan, I can actually handle all of these things. You don't need to worry about them anymore."
Zhang Yan glanced at him.
Qin Xiao straightened his back.
"Leave the Great Wall Group to me, don't worry."
"It was already entrusted to you."
Qin Xiao grinned, unable to hide it.
He sat for ten minutes and then left, glancing at the wine on the coffee table as he went.
"Keep the wine, we'll open it next time you treat us, Brother Yan."
"OK."
Goodbye, sister-in-law.
Nie Qingcheng raised her chin in response.
After the door closed, she got up to collect the dishes and chopsticks. While Zhang Yan was washing the dishes, she leaned against the kitchen door frame.
"You really don't want those things."
"unnecessary."
"They won't even let us mention our names."
"Let Guantiange and the military explain themselves; I only need the laboratory and the mecha."
Nie Qingcheng's lips curved into a smile.
"So what do you plan to do in the future?"
Zhang Yan dried his hands.
"I'll cook for you, fix your mechs, and play the piano when I have time."
"Sounds like a retired senior official."
"almost."
Nie Qingcheng walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her face against his back without saying a word.
Zhang Yan looked down at her hand wrapped around his waist, where the ring on her ring finger remained clean and still.
An encrypted message popped up on the tablet, sent by Guanxing.
"Zhang Yan, there's something I need you to look at. While organizing copies of ancient books from 30,000 years ago, I found a star map hidden in a compartment."
Zhang Yan opened the attachment.
A scanned copy of a yellowed thin paper has seven points marked on it in Mohist runes. Six of them match the existing coordinates of the Six Paths Gate perfectly, while the seventh is marked in a position far away from the other six.
This is not surprising in itself.
What's unusual is that on the edge of the star map, there is a line of small characters hastily engraved in handwriting from 30,000 years ago.
The stargazer attached the translation to the end of the message.
There's more than one group outside the door.
Zhang Yan stared at those four words, his hand hovering over the edge of the screen for three seconds.
He turned off the message and put down the tablet.
Nie Qingcheng was still leaning against his back.
Who posted this?
"Stargazing, something from ancient books."
Does it matter?
Zhang Yan turned around and looked down at her.
The setting sun shone through the window, bathing her profile in a warm golden hue. The ring on her left ring finger, which he had personally washed and put back on, sat quietly there.
"No rush," he said.
Nie Qingcheng looked at him for two seconds but didn't ask any further questions.
What do you want to eat tonight?
"You decide."
"Japanese food, you promised."
"it is good."
She let go of her hand, turned around, and went to the living room to find her phone to make a reservation.
Zhang Yan stood in the kitchen for a few seconds.
He glanced down at the birthmark on his right wrist; the light-colored, irregularly shaped mark sat there quietly, neither glowing nor vibrating.
He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.
Then she went out of the kitchen to change her clothes.