The Nian family was a large clan. While there was no imperial throne to inherit, it was nonetheless a family of stature, industry, and reputation—one where the juniors were expected to compete fiercely for a spot at the top, to fight for a place in management.
Under the influence of such a family background and atmosphere, even though Mr. Nian and Doctor Nian were closely related cousins, it was a struggle to maintain even a façade of harmony, let alone genuine friendliness.
When Doctor Nian quit his job, he did it decisively. His parents, who cared deeply about appearances, were vehemently opposed, going so far as to confront not only their son but also his superiors at the hospital, trying to persuade everyone involved. Their main argument was that their son was too young to understand the significance of his actions, and that his supervisors should not let him make such impulsive decisions—or else, they'd have no choice but to report the matter to higher authorities.
Doctor Nian’s supervisors were all reasonable people. Even though his parents repeatedly called with warnings, they still approved his resignation without hesitation.
When Doctor Nian left for Capital Transportation University, it finally dawned on his parents that their son had truly quit.
They tried to make trouble with his former bosses, but were promptly warned off by their own superiors after leaving the hospital—these face-loving parents immediately backed down.
But if they couldn’t vent at the hospital leadership, they could still take out their anger on their son.
Doctor Nian was berated at home for an entire night. Without even packing his things, he moved straight into his workplace dormitory.
His parents hoped to use their old tricks again—maybe the university authorities would be easier to deal with than hospital executives. But when they glimpsed from afar the tight security around the experts’ building and the main gate leading from Capital Transportation University to the laboratories, they wilted once more.
At this point they were forced to admit their son had clearly found a better opportunity.
Though they were annoyed by his refusal to tell them the truth, over time their anger faded and their tone softened when they spoke to him. They no longer scolded him high-handedly for leaving the hospital “as if he had mud for brains.”
They thought their more conciliatory stance gave their son an opportunity to save face, but Doctor Nian simply ignored his parents altogether.
Just a few days ago, the parents, proud of their son’s new job at a “high-security, confidential organization,” boasted about it at a family gathering, naturally attracting the attention of Mr. Nian, who had just returned to the country and was seeking crucial news.
Accompanying his cousin, Mr. Nian, to visit Mr. Zhang was not, as his parents assumed, a matter of paying respect to their family dignity—it was actually an “operation” assigned to him by the organization, a mission to set bait.
At that moment, as he watched his cousin so eagerly interested in Gu Sheng, Doctor Nian inwardly cursed him for being an idiot. How could you bite at a hook like this? Did all you learn overseas amount to lowering your own intelligence?
Mr. Nian, utterly unaware of his cousin’s thoughts, studied Gu Sheng for a moment, then turned his attention to Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang was strapped into his seat, his gaze darting all around, his expression contorted—by any standard, he didn’t look capable of normal conversation.
So Mr. Nian asked Gu Sheng, “Did you come just to see for yourself whether he’s gone mad?”
Gu Sheng shot a cold look at Mr. Nian. “My dad told me to see him, to get an education out of it. He said if I weren’t his own son by blood, my outcome wouldn’t be much better than Mr. Zhang’s.”
Mr. Nian feigned surprise. “Isn’t Chief Mi only allowed one son?”
Gu Sheng stood up. “Save it. As long as my dad is still lecturing me, it means he hasn’t given up on me.”
To be honest, ever since he truly accepted the reality that he was “the only ordinary one in the entire family,” Gu Sheng felt his father’s disdain for him was completely justified. He couldn’t even understand his father’s graphene processor introduction, for crying out loud. Controlling his father’s mecha spiders, he’d get dizzy before they even took two steps. How could he possibly be expected to take over the family business as the only son? Was he really qualified for the inheritance?
Thankfully, he really was his father’s biological son—he was just painfully oblivious, not unfilial. After being told to calm down, he moved into his father’s lab to study... including running errands.
After three days of errands, Gu Sheng became even more convinced he was just an average person. What was worse, even the drivers and security staff in his father’s laboratory were overachievers.
He was left feeling anxious and inferior.
Very soon, whatever ambition he had was exhausted. After adjusting his attitude, he threw himself seriously into his studies with the diligence of his student days.
That was when his father assigned him to come visit Mr. Zhang.
Upon meeting Mr. Nian, he could more or less guess what his father was planning—his father, after all, was an old hand at fishing for information.
But for Mr. Nian to take the bait so quickly—wasn’t that a bit too obvious? So after saying what he needed to, Gu Sheng turned and left.
Mr. Nian watched Gu Sheng go, narrowing his eyes.
“That’s enough,” came a raspy, unfamiliar voice.
Mr. Nian turned toward the sound to see Mr. Zhang, his head tilted, eyes bloodshot yet suddenly clear and focused—in short, he was lucid again.
Mr. Nian immediately asked with concern, “You’re awake?”
“Yeah. I take my medication every day, so I get a few moments of clarity.” Mr. Zhang coughed lightly. “Elizabeth really can’t let go, can she... She’s doing this on purpose, waiting for all of you to walk into her trap, one by one. Almost all my escape routes have been wiped out—take care of yourselves.”
Mr. Nian’s smile did not fade, but his pupils contracted. He replied glibly, “Sure. I’ll make sure to look after Elizabeth for you.”
With one eye on his cousin, who stood at the door, arms crossed, apparently lost in thought, Mr. Nian considered seriously whether he could buy his cousin off.
After leaving the tightly guarded sanatorium and saying farewell to his cousin, Mr. Nian returned home looking relaxed, but he was inwardly plagued by worry. He could read between Mr. Zhang's lines, since they’d worked together more than once.
Chief Mi seemed determined to sweep them all away in one fell swoop. But what exactly had they done to cross him?
Would he really resort to such measures just because Mr. Zhang tried to pursue Mi Xiaoxiao? Or was it because Elizabeth was threatening Gu Sheng with his child, forcing him to comply?
To him, these petty details hardly seemed worth making a permanent enemy.
But he was not Chief Mi. In truth, his main task was to investigate exactly what Chief Mi was working on. The fragments sent out by Mr. Zhang via Elizabeth were barely enough to hint at Chief Mi’s real technical skill or his role in the project—all he knew for certain was that the project involved extremely high-level secrecy.
He needed to consider his next move very carefully.
Meanwhile, after Gu Sheng left the sanatorium, his personal bodyguards arranged for him to wait at a nearby location.
Soon after, Doctor Nian arrived. He volunteered an explanation. “Just sent my cousin off. The task force reevaluated Mr. Zhang, and he’s still genuinely insane.”
Gu Sheng waved him off. “I don’t think my dad cares if Mr. Zhang is truly insane or just faking it. Forcing a sane person to play crazy for months, eventually they’ll go mad for real. Besides, a sane person pretending to be crazy probably doesn’t enjoy the role much.”
Doctor Nian laughed. “That makes sense.”
Gu Sheng continued, “I never really understood before, but now it looks like this group of men and women, led by Mr. Zhang, have formed some kind of international crime syndicate? Are they trying to start another secret society?”
Doctor Nian nodded. “That’s likely.”
Gu Sheng laughed. “But they’re the privileged kids of tycoons and big capitalists. Maybe they’ll call in the parents if you knock down the juniors, but if my tech-giant dad says he’s going to wipe them out, then he actually could, son of a gun!” He covered his forehead. “By that logic, I’m a rich kid myself. Just thinking about it makes me feel relieved.”
Doctor Nian laughed with him. “You’re really opening up. It’s science that determines the future and fate of humanity, not capital.”
“Is that why you get all starry-eyed every time you see my dad and want to cling to his leg?”
“Exactly.” Doctor Nian shot back, “So, do I have good taste or not?”
Gu Sheng let his hand drop, then lifted it back up to his forehead. “You’re definitely more perceptive than I am.”
Still, even with his newfound perspective, Gu Sheng was a little downhearted.
Returning to his father’s lab, he sat in on a lecture but found himself as bewildered as before, so he pulled out the basic tutorial his father had written for sixty students and read through it instead.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nian stayed low for several days after returning home.
He had a bad feeling, so he kept his head down and tried to sort out the situation. That’s when he discovered that Mr. Zhang’s original grudge against Chief Mi was stirred up because someone told him that Chief Mi’s daughter resembled Elizabeth and could serve as an acceptable substitute.
Mr. Zhang had gone through multiple stand-ins—each easily employed and easily let go. So even when he learned that Chief Mi’s daughter was also Gu Sheng’s half-sister, he pursued her without hesitation.
The result was a sudden and worsening illness, culminating in permanent isolation.
He couldn’t help but become interested in this mysterious someone.
Looking deeper, he found that before targeting Yu Guan and Mr. Zhang, this person was always a step ahead, nearly infallible in their schemes. The patents in their hands were highly valuable, but before filing any applications, they had no background in relevant academic study or professional work.
It was well known that before retiring from handmade prosthetics, Chief Mi had spent nearly twenty years investing in solitary research at home.
Even so, Chief Mi never managed to live up to all the boasts he posted on Mechanical Heaven.
That day, Ling Yu came out of her regular prenatal checkup, and as she sat on a bench waiting for her boyfriend to buy her an ice cream, she was suddenly surrounded by a wall of black-clad bodyguards.
The guards were polite; they only said their boss wished to speak with her, and she could choose the time and place.
Through the gap in the human barricade, Ling Yu saw Mr. Nian standing across the street, beaming at her.
A shiver ran involuntarily down her spine, and a cold sweat nearly soaked her clothes.