Susanna and the others remained quiet and cooperative throughout. However, just as the plane was about to enter Chinese airspace, while Zhou Ziwei went to the cabin to check the specific landing location, she hurriedly ran to sit down next to Dwight (Zhou Ziwei) and, taking advantage of the loud noise generated by the plane, whispered in Dwight's (Zhou Ziwei's) ear, "That thing... should we destroy it or not?"
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 575: Returning Home
When Dwight (Zhou Ziwei) heard Susanna ask him if he wanted to destroy the thing, he was slightly taken aback. Then, following Susanna's gaze, he realized that what she was talking about was the three aquatic organism specimen cultivation boxes that she had brought out from the underground biological research base.
It was a specimen cultivation box with an extremely high level of secrecy, possessing the special function of directly destroying the organisms inside the box in dangerous situations.
However, this method of destroying plants is rather special. It does not use poison or explosives. As long as you have the original password for the specimen cultivation box, you can activate the biological self-destruct program at any time, causing the aquatic organisms in the box to die completely in an instant.
Zhou Ziwei received all of Dwight's soul memories from his previous life, so he naturally knew about this matter. However, the memories he received during this period were too vast and too fragmented. Therefore, although Zhou Ziwei's memories included this matter, he probably wouldn't have remembered it at all if Susanna hadn't brought it up.
"No, that thing can't be destroyed, it mustn't be destroyed."
Seeing that Susanna intended to destroy the three water sprite cultivation specimens, Zhou Ziwei quickly and solemnly shook his head, saying, "You must know something about the important uses of this plant, right? You could say... this thing is a stepping stone for humanity to escape the energy crisis and move towards a higher level of civilization. Destroying this thing could directly hinder the progress of human civilization. I know you are very patriotic and don't want something that can bring prosperity to a nation or a country to fall into the hands of other countries, but... have you ever thought that these things originally belonged to them? They were obtained by our country's agents through trickery and coercion. Now that we have done some research in this area, it is only right to give them the research results as well."
If we destroy all of these things now, it's tantamount to hindering the progress of all humanity, preventing the energy revolution from being completed within the expected timeframe, and continuing to cause irreparable pollution to the Earth. This is tantamount to committing a crime against all of humanity… Susanna, I hope you can clearly understand that on one side is our country, and on the other side… is the entire Earth, all of humanity. Which is less important, which is more important? I believe you know how to choose without me saying it, right?”
Susanna looked at Dwight with surprise, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. In her previous impression, this compatriot with Germanic blood was always a radical and anti-colored extremist. Now, watching the specimen they had painstakingly cultivated and which contained a lot of useful data fall into the hands of a country ruled by people of color, how could this guy be so open-minded and magnanimous? Was he just afraid of dying?
Susanna was puzzled, but then she remembered how Dwight had stepped forward at the crucial moment and used his body to block the evil force from harming and attacking Zhou Ziwei. She immediately shook her head. Clearly... Dwight didn't seem like a person who was afraid of death, otherwise he wouldn't have done something so selfless.
Well... thinking about it makes it even more astonishing. He actually came to the rescue of a person of color. How could that be?
Ignoring what Susanna was thinking, Zhou Ziwei, having sensed the potential danger, immediately took action. Right in front of the three researchers, he slapped each of the three specimen cultivation boxes hard, completely destroying the gene destruction program installed at the bottom of the boxes. Only then did he turn around and smile slightly at Susanna and the others.
Susanna's face turned deathly pale. She gasped in alarm, "Oh no, he...he must have planted listening devices on us. Otherwise...we were speaking so softly, and the surrounding noise was so loud, how could they possibly hear us...Oh no...now he knows I...knows I was thinking of destroying the specimen. Will he...will he just kill me?!"
Dwight (Zhou Ziwei) sighed helplessly. Only he knew the truth: there were no listening devices on them. There was no need for them. Putting aside the fact that he was a spy who had already secretly switched souls, both Zhou Ziwei's original body and the blind girl had incredibly sharp hearing. As long as they were within the range of the plane, no matter how loud the surrounding noise was, they could hear their whispers clearly.
Susanna's thoughts were completely seen through. If it were before, if Zhou Ziwei had discovered this woman harbored any disloyalty, he might have actually slapped her dead to avoid trouble and prevent future problems. But now… to Zhou Ziwei's utter dismay… how come he'd even inherited all of Dwight's feelings from his past life? Now, the thought of recklessly killing Susanna was simply too much for him…
Sigh, whatever. Anyway, Susanna is just a biology scholar. If she can be used wholeheartedly after missing out on the cultivation of the water sprite seeds, she should still be able to play a significant role. But if she harbors ill intentions... based on my understanding of her, the negative effects she can cause are very limited. So... Zhou Ziwei naturally won't really do anything to her.
The plane landed directly inside an important military base very close to Beijing. Zhou Ziwei then discovered that there were quite a few people who came to pick him up, including many important figures. Almost all the military and political bigwigs who had received him and discussed various matters with him when he returned from the pilot plane were present today.
Zhou Ziwei clicked his tongue inwardly, knowing that these bigwigs were not there to pick up him, a meritorious official of the Republic, but rather the seed of the Water Sprite, which was of great significance to the future of the Republic.
Although these few water sprite seeds are not the only ones, the national scientific research is still in the exploratory stage and has not yet yielded any substantial research results. Meanwhile, those American devils, having only obtained three water sprite seeds, have made breakthrough progress in cultivation in just a few days. Sigh... it's truly infuriating to compare oneself to others. Compared to them, the scientists in China involved in the cultivation research of water sprites might as well jump off a building. These guys are all talk and no action when it comes to arguing and bickering, but when it comes to actually doing something, they're a bit timid.
The plane's cabin door slowly opened, and the group of bigwigs, led by the old chief, were all taken aback when they saw the energetic members of the Dragon Group walking out. They were all puzzled.
The intelligence they had received indicated that, apart from Zhou Ziwei, a deputy member who had temporarily joined the Dragon Group, all of them had been poisoned by a deadly toxin that could cause people to lose their minds. Zhou Ziwei was temporarily suppressing it with a special method, leaving them all in a coma.
Therefore, besides the military and political dignitaries, there were also a dozen or so medical personnel lined up at the small airport, who had been prepared for rescue and treatment. However, they were surprised to find that all the members of the Dragon Group were there, with only a few minor injuries. The rest of them were all intact... Oh, of course... except for the bullets. Her legs were already crippled, and they were still crippled. Moreover, she had completely lost her wheelchair, so she had no choice but to have Long Wu carry her off the plane.
Originally, Zidan wanted to stay on the plane by herself until the airport medical staff brought over a wheelchair before getting off the plane. However, Zhou Ziwei unceremoniously picked her up and threw her onto Long Wu's back.
A disabled woman naturally needs to be cared for by her teammates, which is only natural. Although Zidan is a very confident and strong-willed woman, there is no need to portray her as a cold-blooded and ruthless woman! In Zhou Ziwei's view, refusing her comrades' help is not self-reliance at all, but rather a sign of cowardice and lack of confidence.
Zidan hadn't expected Zhou Ziwei to treat her so roughly, leaving her no chance to resist. She had originally intended to order Long Wu to put her down, but... when she saw the deep-seated respect Long Wu showed when he looked at Zhou Ziwei, she immediately shut her mouth.
Because she knew very well that although Bullet was nominally the leader of the Dragon Group, while Zhou Ziwei was only a temporary deputy leader, in the eyes of these Dragon Group members, Zhou Ziwei had long been elevated to a level that required looking up to them. In everyone's hearts, Zhou Ziwei's prestige was even more unapproachable. Almost everyone here owed Zhou Ziwei at least two lives as a debt of gratitude. Therefore, if Bullet were to give Long Wu an order to defy Zhou Ziwei, she knew that doing so would likely lead to her own humiliation, so she had no choice but to obediently shut her mouth.
"Welcome back, heroes!"
Seeing all the Dragon Group members disembark from the plane without missing a single one, the old chief and other bigwigs immediately greeted them with smiles. However, the old chief's attention was mostly focused on Zhou Ziwei, while the others were mainly concerned with Long Wu and Zidan.
In their eyes, the strongest members of the Dragon Group should be the two of them. As for Zhou Ziwei... apart from the old leader, no one knew that Zhou Ziwei had now turned into a child who looked only five or six years old.
Without knowing the details, naturally no one would pay much attention to such a child.
Regarding Zhou Ziwei's matter, Zhou Ziwei personally issued a strict gag order to everyone before disembarking from the plane, forbidding anyone from mentioning anything related to him to others.
Even the most important leaders of the republic are no exception.
Whether it was those special agents or those scholars from the underground biological research base, everyone knew how formidable Zhou Ziwei was, and naturally dared not disobey him. The Dragon Group members also knew that Zhou Ziwei would immediately leave the Dragon Group after this matter was resolved and would no longer cooperate with them, so there was naturally no issue of competing for credit.
The members of the Dragon Group were all rather arrogant. They weren't afraid of Zhou Ziwei taking credit for their work, but they felt embarrassed that Zhou Ziwei had attributed all the credit to them.
Inside the smoke-filled conference room, a dozen or so energetic old men stared intently at the water sprite that had already sprouted in the three specimen cultivation boxes, their eyes shining brightly.
No one understands the importance of these water sprite seeds better than them. It has been quite some time since Zhou Ziwei handed over that batch of water sprite seeds, but several biological research experts in the country have been mobilized to work together on this project, yet they have not produced even the slightest research results.
In fact, domestic researchers are not really that much inferior to their American counterparts. However, what these bigwigs did not expect was that... because of their extreme emphasis on this project, they specifically organized people from several research institutions to conduct unified research, which was the main reason that hindered the progress of the research.
Because these intellectuals are usually more arrogant and haughty than the next, but in a fixed institution, the researchers have already had a lot of contact with each other, and those who need to fight each other have already fought countless times. They have long since distinguished themselves as kings and queens. Therefore, even if they are still somewhat resentful, they can still cooperate with each other in their daily work.
However, due to excessive tension, these bigwigs suddenly gathered so many of the top figures in the field in the country... This naturally created a lot of trouble. A group of proud and arrogant scholars suddenly meeting each other naturally led to everyone being unwilling to submit to each other, and no one was willing to easily listen to the other's opinions or let a respectable PhD or Master's degree holder become someone else's assistant. So... after bringing these proud individuals together, a period of mutual strife and infighting was inevitable. Before a clear hierarchy was established, probably no one was in the mood to do anything productive. Therefore, in normal research, it was already extremely commendable if they didn't cooperate with each other or even hinder each other's research.
This is why, although China obtained the Water Sprite seeds earlier and in greater quantities, and its research efforts were far greater than those of the United States, after all this time, they haven't made any progress. To date, not a single Water Sprite seed has been successfully cultivated.
On the contrary, the Americans have already made a major breakthrough in just a few days.
"What are your thoughts on the issues surrounding those researchers brought back from Country M? Everyone, please share your opinions!"
The old leader also looked at the water sprite in the specimen box with a look of delight before bringing up the important matter of the day.
“These people are extremely important. They know more information than the researchers in our research base, and they are not our compatriots. If the secret about the water spirits is revealed from their mouths, the problem could be very serious. In my opinion, we should…” A steady person offered his opinion. Although he drew out the last syllable and did not give a specific solution, everyone could understand the meaning behind his words.
“I second that…” Another white-haired old man nodded and said, “Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. Although these people may be of some help in the further research on water spirits, well… at most they will only advance our research progress a little. It is not commensurate with the risks we have to take. So… it is better to resolve this completely.”
"I second that..."
"I second that..."
Seeing these old guys all expressionless, calmly deciding life and death with an air of nonchalance, the old commander was speechless for a moment. After a while, he coughed lightly and said, "But... well... two of them are... are the people that... Zhou Ziwei specifically wanted..."
"So what?" An old man scoffed dismissively, saying, "These people are incredibly important. Even if we wanted to keep them to serve us, we must keep them firmly under our control and not give them the slightest freedom. As for giving them to a private entrepreneur... humph... that's just nonsense. If important secrets are leaked, who will be responsible? Can that Zhou guy really shoulder such a heavy responsibility?"
"Furthermore... I'd like to know how that private entrepreneur knew about such an important secret? Who leaked such important information to him? And... what gives him the right to demand people from us? What is his leverage? Those few foreign biology experts were talents our soldiers painstakingly brought back from abroad, risking their lives. They are an important asset to our republic. What right does he have to ask us for whatever he wants? Don't think that just because you've found a backer, you can act recklessly."
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 576: Malicious Acquisition
The fact that Zhou Ziwei suddenly turned into a child due to some accident is something that no one else knows about yet, except for him. Although the big shots who attended the meeting also knew that a very capable young man surnamed Zhou had been newly placed in the Dragon Group by the old leader and had become the deputy leader as soon as he arrived.
Moreover, when Zhou Ziwei got off the plane, he had already given a gag order to the Dragon Group members and those agents, not allowing them to reveal the extraordinary things he had done in the United States during this period.
However, none of these important military and political figures in the country were easy to deal with. It didn't take long for them to learn through their own connections about how the young deputy leader had been making great strides in the United States. They were all very curious about this young man surnamed Zhou and were all planning to see if they could get in touch with him later.
A child who is only five or six years old is so fierce, how powerful must his family members be... Could there really be legendary immortals in this world? If there are immortals, then that child must be a prodigy from an immortal's family!
However, they didn't dare to put too much effort into investigating the child's identity for the time being, fearing that it might anger the forces behind the child.
However, if we could take advantage of the opportunity to deal with these M country researchers and get to know that kid, it would be a good chance.
So some people immediately suggested that the four M country researchers were actually captured by Comrade Zhou, and if anyone should be dealt with, it should be Comrade Zhou, who participated in the operation and made great contributions, who should decide? Who does Zhou Ziwei think he is, and why should he be able to take whomever he wants?
The old leader had barely uttered a single sentence when he was nearly drowned in the spittle of that group of old men, leaving him speechless.
When the old leader heard the man say that the fate of those M country researchers should be decided by Comrade Xiao Zhou, and the others echoed in unison, he really didn't know what to say.
Comrade Xiao Zhou is none other than Zhou Ziwei... Good heavens, I've been talking for so long but I've just been playing the villain. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have mentioned Zhou Ziwei's name. I should have just said that Comrade Xiao Zhou wanted those two people.
However, the old commander could not directly say that Zhou Ziwei was the "Little Zhou" they were talking about. This matter had not been approved by Zhou Ziwei, and although the old commander was the head of the military, he did not want to do anything against Zhou Ziwei's wishes.
No one knew better than the old commander how terrifying Zhou Ziwei's strength was. If when he first met Zhou Ziwei, he only regarded him as a talent with some special abilities, then now Zhou Ziwei was a big shot who could not be underestimated, and even... someone that he had to look up to.
It can be said that... no matter what conditions Zhou Ziwei proposes now, as long as they are not too outrageous, the old commander will not say "no." This is the extremely strong deterrent power that can be created when strength reaches a certain level.
Fortunately, the matter has been resolved. Since these old guys have agreed to hand over those researchers from the US to "Comrade Zhou" to deal with, then... naturally, Zhou Ziwei can do whatever he wants.
The old commander coughed lightly, said casually, "Then let's do it that way!" and then got up and left first...
Zhou Ziwei, his clone, three other researchers from the United States, and the four agents who were originally infiltrating the US military all lived in a military camp not far from Beijing.
As for the other members of the Dragon Group, they had long been transferred elsewhere.
Zhou Ziwei didn't have to stay here, but he was worried about his clone and the woman the clone was thinking about, Susanna, so... he had no choice but to stay here for the time being.
The four researchers and four agents were clearly under house arrest, which was exactly what Zhou Ziwei had expected. After all, these were researchers from the United States who had studied water sprite cultivation technology and biological weapons in the United States. Their identities were obviously extremely sensitive here, and they could not be allowed to move freely.
As for those four agents... they did indeed perform meritorious service for their country this time, but... after all, they have lived in the United States for so long, and they originally had American or British blood. No one can guarantee that they have not been exposed during their many years in the American military camp. And if they have been exposed but have not died, then they are very likely to become double agents used by the United States.
Although it was chilling to say, Zhou Ziwei had to admit that such a possibility existed, and was quite significant. Therefore, if necessary checks were conducted and procedures were followed, these four agents would definitely lose their freedom for a long time after returning to China.
Zhou Ziwei still owed those four agents a promise: he had promised to rescue their families. He hadn't forgotten that promise, but he couldn't fulfill it immediately because another equally important matter awaited him...
Before Zhou Ziwei went to the United States, he had the Mita family acquire Yunzhong International on his behalf and had already set up a scheme. Now... everything has been completed almost exactly as planned, and all that's left is to close the net.
In both his past and present lives, Huang Lianshu was the person Zhou Ziwei hated the most. If it weren't for this scumbag and degenerate, Zhou Ziwei might still be living a happy life in Zhongdu, enjoying his comfortable life, peacefully and happily married to the woman he once deeply loved, and perhaps already having children.
That kind of life might not be as colorful as it is now, but it is definitely something Zhou Ziwei yearns for and looks forward to even more. As a strong person, one might enjoy the vanity of being admired by everyone, but one would lack the peaceful and joyful tranquility.
If he had a choice... Zhou Ziwei would probably choose to live a simple and ordinary life rather than endure the pain of separation and death that day, and the feeling of being betrayed by the people he loved most.
However, whether Zhou Ziwei likes it or not, everything that was meant to happen has already happened. Even though Zhou Ziwei is now incredibly powerful, there is no way for him to change the past or alter history.
However, Zhou Ziwei can change the future. As long as something hasn't actually happened yet, then... it can definitely be changed.
On the 36th floor of the Yunzhong International Building, Huang Lianshu frowned as he flipped through the thick stack of documents in his hand, his expression growing increasingly solemn.
The female secretary named Miaomiao carefully served Huang Lianshu, occasionally bringing him a cup of hot coffee or, at his request, lighting a Brazilian cigar...
Although the cigar was lit, Huang Lianshu didn't take a single puff. He only let Miaomiao take a puff occasionally, and then exhale the strong-smelling smoke onto his face.
Huang Lianshu was essentially inhaling secondhand smoke, a rather bizarre habit. He liked the smell of smoke, but didn't want to inhale it himself, so he would have the people around him smoke from time to time while he smelled it. Of course... whether his beautiful secretary liked smoking or not was completely irrelevant to Huang Lianshu. As long as he liked it, that was all that mattered. He was rich, and with money came the power to have everything. Even if he made that woman use her genitals to smoke, she would still have to satisfy him.
Miao Miao was just one of Huang Lianshu's secretaries. In reality, she didn't have much education and only had a superficial understanding of business matters. Her only role by Huang Lianshu's side was to satisfy Huang Lianshu's various perverse demands at any time.
Or it could be something like serving tea or water, or helping to pass on a message.
However, Huang Lianshu preferred to have Miao Miao, his female secretary, by his side. This was not only because Miao Miao was the most understanding and obedient, but also mainly because Miao Miao had a low level of education and knew little about business.
Huang Lianshu had too many secrets he didn't want others to know, so he didn't want to have a shrewd female secretary by his side. If that secretary were to be bribed and betray him, he would suffer unimaginable losses.
"well……"
Huang Lianshu finally finished reading the last document in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh softly. He sat there in a daze for a while, and then gently rubbed his temples.
Seeing this, Miao Miao quickly stepped forward and stretched out her slender hands, wanting to give Huang Lianshu a head massage.
"No need..." Huang Lianshu waved his hand gently to stop Miao Miao, and said, "Go and call Vice Chairman Wang over, and... never mind, let's ignore the others for now, go and call Vice Chairman Wang over!"
“Okay…Chairman…” Miao Miao replied, then quickly turned and left.
Ten minutes later, Huang Lianshu looked up at the bald, middle-aged man sitting on the sofa silently smoking and said with a gloomy face, "Vice Chairman Wang, have you found out? Who exactly is maliciously acquiring our company's stock? Have you found the mastermind behind it all?"
Vice Chairman Wang frowned slightly on his bald head, nodded gently, and said, "We found them, but... I'm afraid they were just doing this under orders, and there's probably something else going on."
"Oh... there really is news! Who... who is pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Huang Lianshu stood up, looking somewhat agitated, and asked nervously.