Chapter 115: Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

As a secret plane landed in Huaguo, Moore received an urgent call from his family.

“What? All the people in the laboratory are gone? What happened!”

Upon hearing the report on the phone, Moore shot up from the sofa. This news enraged him even more than the mysterious disappearance of Shi Liangchen.

He also felt a surge of panic.

He knew very well that the professors in the family laboratory were far from ordinary people. Over the years, the family had used every possible means—both coercion and bribery—to force these individuals to work for them. If these people were ever exposed to the public, the James family would be finished!

The person on the other end of the line was trembling with fear as they reported,

“Mr. Moore, we… we don’t know what happened. There’s no sign that any of the lab’s security measures were triggered. Everyone on the island is gone, including the staff who handled chores—none of them are left. If it weren’t for the people who went to deliver supplies today, we wouldn’t have even discovered it…”

“People don’t just disappear without a trace. We investigated the scene and found evidence that suggests they left through normal channels.”

“Normal channels? Are you saying there’s a traitor in my ranks?”

Moore’s voice turned icy upon hearing this.

Although he hadn’t officially taken control of the James family, it was practically a done deal, and he had already begun to assume family responsibilities. The laboratory was one of his most crucial assets. Now, if the people in the lab had left through normal channels without triggering the base’s alarms, didn’t that imply there was a mole? And did it indirectly suggest that his leadership had a fatal flaw?

Before officially taking over the family, there was still a chance he could be ousted. Although the person on the other end of the call likely had no ill intentions, they had touched a nerve.

“No, Mr. Moore, that’s not what I meant. I was just sharing the preliminary findings based on the traces left at the scene. This matter still needs your personal judgment…”

The person on the other end quickly tried to explain, having sensed Moore’s displeasure and growing more fearful.

Moore let out a cold snort.

“Seal off all information about this incident for now, and make sure you find out who’s responsible! Also, clean up any traces left by the laboratory. If those professors can’t be found, be prepared for the consequences. Furthermore…”

Moore calmly and methodically issued a series of instructions.

After hanging up the phone, he angrily threw it to the ground, smashing it in a fit of rage.

He paced around the room for a few moments, his face dark with anger, before finally opening the door and ordering his bodyguards,

“Investigate Shi Liangchen’s disappearance that day again. And no matter what it takes, get Shi Meijing to talk. Even if she’s mute, I want her to speak! If she dares to mess with me, I’ll make sure they can’t afford the price!”

“Yes, sir.”

The bodyguard felt a chill run down his spine but dutifully accepted the order and left.

…

The string of unexpected events left Moore overwhelmed, forcing him to temporarily put aside his previous schemes and focus on the competition. At this moment, he naturally became suspicious of Shi Liangchen’s mysterious disappearance. He couldn’t fathom how Shi Liangchen managed to escape from a building over thirty stories high, but he was certain that the exposure of the attack incident was somehow connected to him.

Moore was both furious and anxious because Shi Liangchen had been involved in too many of his important matters. Setting aside other concerns, Shi Liangchen had significantly contributed to the research results that Moer had brought to the competition. If Shi Liangchen had tampered with anything, Moer could be doomed.

However, after some thought, Moer reassured himself that the other people in his team were not to be underestimated either. Moreover, the research wasn’t solely developed by Shi Liangchen; he had merely assisted in speeding up the progress. The core data came from elsewhere, so tampering wouldn’t be easy for Shi Liangchen.

Moore deeply regretted his previous foolishness. How could someone so smart be so blinded? Back then, Shi Liangchen’s remarkable abilities had impressed him so much that he impulsively placed his trust in him.

If Fang Ziyang were present, he might have told Moore: “This is the power of fate. Shi Liangchen’s persona is designed to easily win people’s favor; otherwise, how could he have fooled even the most cautious in the past life?”

Even though Fang Ziyang had already disrupted the storyline significantly, many things remained unchanged.

Now, Moore could only try to clean up the mess as best as he could. After having dozens of expert professors meticulously inspect the research results for the competition, he still wasn’t satisfied. He brought out Yan Tong for questioning,

“Are you sure there are no issues with the sources of this information? No one else in the Lu or Fang families knows about it?”

Moore’s gaze was dark and menacing.

Yan Tong trembled with fear, not daring to use his usual tricks in front of this terrifying man. Shaking uncontrollably, he stammered in terror,

“R-really, I swear, these materials were something I discovered by chance. No one else in the Fang or Lu families knows about them. The space button, once it’s bound to an owner, can’t be used by anyone else unless the owner willingly erases the binding data. When I got the necklace, it hadn’t been bound…”

“Mr. Moore, I’m not lying to you, and I wouldn’t dare lie to you. I wish for nothing more than Fang Ziyang’s death. If it weren’t for him, Xie Wenxu wouldn’t have sold me off to the Caesar cruise. Only if you win, Mr. Moore, can I have a good life. I would never betray you, please believe me.”

Yan Tong trembled with fear.

He knew all too well how insidious and terrifying Moore could be. In the original novel, Moore was practically a madman, someone who almost managed to take down Fang Ziyang. Yan Tong had never intended to get involved with Moore, but now, he was truly out of options. There was no longer a place for him in his home country, and after enduring the dark and hopeless days on the Caesar cruise, his hatred for Fang Ziyang had deepened. Now, Moore was his only refuge, his only possible support.

Even though Moore treated him as nothing more than a pet he could exploit and kept him confined to a single villa, Yan Tong was oddly content. At least he didn’t have to worry about food and drink, and he was no longer bullied and used as a plaything. As long as he managed to carefully ration out the information from the golden finger necklace, he could potentially live out the rest of his life in relative comfort.

After everything he had been through, Yan Tong no longer yearned for glory or to stand at the pinnacle of life. His only wish was to survive in this world until old age.

The people here were far scarier than he had imagined!

Even Xie Wenxu, the supposedly gentle and deeply affectionate male character in the novel, had thought up the cruel idea of selling him off to the Caesar cruise as revenge. Who knew what the true faces of the other characters would be?

Yet, deep down, Yan Tong had a nagging feeling that his current days of comfort might not last much longer. But he had no other choice—aligning himself with Moore was his only chance for survival.

“You better hope nothing goes wrong with my plans, or your future will be even worse than your days on the Caesar cruise. Hmph!” Moore kicked Yan Tong away in disgust before turning to leave.

Having reached this point, Moore had no choice but to keep moving forward, no matter how treacherous the path. However, given what happened with Shi Liangchen, he didn’t fully trust Yan Tong’s words. He immediately ordered a thorough reinspection of all the research results brought to the competition and had all the core data parameters altered as a precaution.

…

With these anxious and troubled thoughts, the incident involving the attack on the confidential database was temporarily set aside, and the technology competition continued.

Thanks to the presence of Fang Ziyang and Tang Xun, the team defense and offense battles saw Huaguo unsurprisingly taking first place and advancing to the next round.

The result was both expected and unexpected.

After all, in the previous technology competition, Huaguo, like many other countries, was merely there to make up the numbers, getting eliminated in the first round. In just 10 years, Huaguo’s technological advancements had reached such a level—how could that not surprise people?

From this moment on, the global perception of Huaguo began to change, no longer confined to the one-sided reports from domestic news outlets.

After the ups and downs of the first round, the top ten rankings were finally announced, marking the official start of the real technology competition.

That’s right.

The first round was essentially a preliminary selection, providing an opportunity for countries with less advanced technology to participate and showcase themselves on the world stage, embodying the “international” aspect of the competition.

Starting from the second round, the competition would truly become a battle of technological prowess.

According to the competition rules, each team would be allocated a display area to showcase their research achievements. The exhibition would be open for half a month, during which the audience attending the competition would visit, experience the displays, and then vote and rate their satisfaction. The more popular exhibits would naturally have a higher advantage in the final scoring.

Of course, the quality of the location and facilities of each exhibition area would vary.

The allocation method was based on the rankings from the first round.

Since Huaguo secured first place in the first round, regardless of what some might think, their exhibition area in the second round was undeniably the best, right in front of the global audience.

On the day of the second round, the remaining teams participated in another grand entrance ceremony.

Because only the top teams were left, this entrance ceremony was even more grand and elaborate, with each team having dedicated photo ops and interview time.

Having made a big splash previously, Huaguo’s team naturally became the focus of the interviews.

However, after learning from the previous incident where Fang Ziyang’s “whimpering white lotus” attack caught them off guard, the reporters were more cautious this time. They no longer dared to provoke recklessly with their questions.

Fang Ziyang and the others had no intention of making unnecessary enemies, so as long as the reporters didn’t cause trouble, they were cooperative, responding with the unique warmth and humility of the Huaguo people—humble without being weak, confident without being arrogant. Even when they showed off, it came across as particularly pleasant and endearing.

For instance:

The inevitable question from reporters: “You seem quite confident in winning this competition, don’t you? What do you think of the other teams? It looks like your country is well-prepared this time?”

The members of the Huaguo team didn’t come off as overly proud, but they weren’t overly modest either,

“Of course! As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn’t aspire to be a general is not a good soldier. If we don’t even have the confidence and courage to aim for the championship, how can we talk about progress and catching up in technology?”

“As for the other teams… that’s a tough one. If I say we’re confident in winning, you’ll call us arrogant; if I say we’re feeling the pressure, you’ll laugh at us for being weak. So, you tell me, how should I answer?”

“Our country is definitely well-prepared this time. Isn’t that how everyone is? Coming to a competition unprepared would just be a joke, wouldn’t it?”

While these responses might not sit well with the reporters, they were hitting the nail on the head for the viewers watching the live broadcast from various countries.

“Ooh, I love that saying: ‘A soldier who doesn’t aspire to be a general is not a good soldier.’ It makes so much sense.”

“Haha, the question about what they think of the other teams really is tough to answer. This guy from Huaguo is spot on—no matter what you say, you’ll get criticized. But is it really okay to just bluntly tell the truth like that? Haha.”

“The last question was ridiculous. Asking such a dumb question at an international competition? Haha, did you see the reporter’s face? He looked so confused, he was probably thinking ‘pfft’ inside.”

“Don’t you think that in recent years, a lot of the questions from reporters at international events have been really stupid?”

“Tsk, they still think they can fool us like they did with our parents’ generation, who didn’t have much education.”

Nowadays, people from all over the world have very open and free-thinking minds. Unless it’s a particularly sensitive topic, online discussions are full of banter. Otherwise, the term “keyboard warrior” wouldn’t even exist.

So, not only do netizens have a high level of acceptance, but their skills in detecting insincerity and hypocrisy are also sharper than ever. The days when the media could manipulate public opinion with a few words are long gone—people aren’t that gullible anymore.

The live streams from various countries were buzzing with excitement.

Netizens were thoroughly enjoying watching the different teams navigate tricky questions from reporters. After all, it wasn’t just the Huaguo team facing these pitfalls; other teams from less powerful countries were dealing with similar treatment, and no one wanted to appear weak and bring shame to their nation.

But as they continued watching, some viewers noticed something peculiar.

“Did anyone else notice that the Huaguo team seems a bit different from the other teams?”

“Different how? Besides being more confident, they don’t seem all that different to me.”

“I didn’t notice anything either. I have a hard time distinguishing between Asian faces unless their looks are exceptional. Otherwise, they all seem pretty similar to me.”

“Wait a minute, there really is something different.”

“Haven’t you noticed that none of the members of the Huaguo team seem to be wearing glasses?”

“…”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right!”

Once it was mentioned, viewers quickly focused their attention on the Huaguo team, who had already walked past and were now standing in the corner of the video. Sure enough, not a single member of the Huaguo team was wearing glasses.

“Could they be wearing contact lenses? After all, they’re on TV, so they need to pay attention to their appearance.”

“Impossible. While contact lenses are convenient, they can’t be worn for extended periods, especially when using a computer. Over time, they cause dryness and can seriously harm your eyes… Even though the second round is about showcasing research, many operations still require the use of computers. These researchers wouldn’t harm their eyes just for appearances. They know how important their eyesight is.”

“So it’s not possible that every member of the Huaguo team has perfect vision, right? I mean, considering how much time tech people spend in front of electronic devices, even regular folks find it hard to avoid nearsightedness.”

That point was hard to argue with.

In this era of increasingly advanced electronic devices, people’s lives and work are almost inseparable from mobile phones and computers. Under such circumstances, it’s rare to find someone who isn’t nearsighted, not just among adults but even among students!

And it’s even more common among researchers, whose levels of nearsightedness are usually more severe.

So, why is it that none of the members of the Huaguo team are wearing glasses?

The livestreams across different countries quickly filled with similar comments, even in the Huaguo livestream. People were curious about why none of their team members wore glasses. It was indeed a bit of a mystery!

The on-site reporters quickly noticed the chatter in the livestreams. Their eyes lit up, and they hurried over to interview the Huaguo team, following the curiosity and expectations of the viewers.

“Hello, could you help us with an interesting phenomenon that the viewers in the livestream have just noticed?”

This time, the reporters chose to interview Jin Yu.

Their choice wasn’t random; it was well thought out. Previously, they had interviewed the male members of the team, assuming they would be more concerned with appearing gentlemanly and careful with their words. However, to their surprise, each interview turned out to be tougher than expected.

Jin Yu, on the other hand, was the perfect interview target. She was quiet, seemingly harmless, and as gentle as a little princess when she wasn’t speaking or acting. Protected by her family, she exuded a sense of innocence, making her the ideal person to interview.

Jin Yu didn’t disappoint. As soon as she heard the question, her eyes sparkled, and without holding back, she eagerly began to share,

“Oh, you’re talking about that? Well, I have to brag a bit now!”

“First, let’s start with my face. Take a good look… isn’t my skin great? Not a single pimple! Dark circles and dull, sallow skin from late nights? Completely nonexistent! Am I fair? Am I glowing? Do I look good?”

“I could go straight to the eye issue, but you probably wouldn’t understand right away, and even if you did, you might not believe me. We have plenty of time, so let me explain it slowly…”

Jin Yu excitedly began her enthusiastic pitch. While she loved the product that had cured her nearsightedness, for her as a girl, the beauty serum was even more thrilling. Since she usually spent her time doing research and experiments, she rarely had the chance to be in the public eye. Now that she had the opportunity, she wasn’t going to miss the chance to show off.

After all, she was a super VIP at Dongsheng Pharmaceuticals, with special privileges to skip lines when buying products. It had to be known worldwide to truly reflect her high status!

Jin Yu, blissfully unaware of how long-winded she was being, launched into a lengthy and off-topic rave about the beauty serum.

The reporters suddenly had the urge to run away.

But for the sake of the eagerly waiting viewers and the chance to win the Best Reporter Award for this competition, they gritted their teeth… and endured!

Half an hour later, the reporters, feeling dizzy, summarized, “So, it’s because you used a product called ‘Mingyan Liquid’ that cured your nearsightedness?”

“Yes, yes, that’s it! Mingyan (bright eyes) Liquid is just as amazing as the beauty serum. If you’re not too familiar with it, you can check out the customer videos of the beauty serum—it’s already gone viral, so I’m sure you can find related videos on the international web…”

Jin Yu seemed a bit disappointed that she hadn’t finished her speech. She had barely started, and these people had already gotten the main point. How annoying!

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