Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

247 Aren’t These My Parents?

“This is not a system error…”

Xie Ligan’s hand was trembling slightly.

He slowly took off his reading glasses from the bridge of his nose and placed them on the table. He exhaled.

This was his company, the headquarters of the Xuanhua Group. If he wanted to do anything, this place was even safer than any of his houses.

Security system, encrypted routes, secret passageways, and loyal subordinates… Unlike those emerging large companies, an old giant like the Xuanhua Group carried some characteristics of the era where the founder was and inherited the experience of the first leader.

For example, the employment relationship between some old employees and the chairman was not only based on a commercial contract but a more reliable and traditional loyalty relationship.

Although this traditional relationship was being impacted by a rapidly changing era, at least it still looked useful now… The decline of tradition was sometimes not as fast as people thought.

Just like the stacks of information and USB drives in front of Xie Ligan.

Even with Xie Ligan’s status, ordinary methods could not obtain these things.

However, in the past 40 years, he had woven a huge net that was intertwined. He used favors, favors, and money to rope people in, be it his subordinates all along, those who left halfway, or their children.

Every year, he had to distribute money to the villagers in his hometown. He had to build roads and give gifts. He had to go to the countryside on broadband and receive free medical treatment. He had to obtain a huge scholarship. The clan forces that were still thriving in the south were natural oaths based on blood ties. He naturally became the patriarch and roped in people. Most importantly, he had to rope in the younger generation.

It was almost a luxurious reward for every child who studied seriously. Every time there was a festival, he would definitely return home and sternly ask about the studies of every junior in the village. He could name every promising disciple. The child’s report card would definitely be sent to his office. He would use the method of controlling his subordinates on the descendants of the clan to reward, motivate, and punish them.

In the end, they knew that learning was the only way out. As long as they studied hard and worked hard, they would become above others and obtain everything they wanted. This was because everything was in the Xuanhua Group. The patriarch had already prepared everything. House, car, high salary, and women could be obtained if they had the ability.

As a result, over the years, almost all the children of the clan finally entered the Xuanhua Group to work without exception. Otherwise, they would be ingrates. Their parents would not acknowledge them, and their fellow villagers would spit at them. They could forget about returning home for the rest of their lives—of course, they could not bear to go anywhere else, because the hidden benefits Xuanhua gave them were far higher than the standard they could obtain outside. Moreover, going to Xuanhua was called filial piety.

As for those who were born with insufficient brains and did not like to learn, they were not abandoned by Xie Ligan. It was fine to be soldiers, learn martial arts, go overseas to train, and go to Southeast Asia to survive in society.

In the end, they would return to Xie Ligan.

A person who had been rich for 40 years had really saved up too many pawns.

That was why he could obtain these things.

There were many more in the future that would continuously be sent over.

However, just this was enough to surprise him.

One of the pieces of information was sent by the communication operator.

Base station record.

Every area had a communication base station. The base station had a unique number. All communication in this area was even only a signal connection. Its data transmission would be recorded.

Sometimes, the police would solve cases according to this, either looking for missing people or recovering high-value stolen goods. It was only based on the relevant privacy protection regulations that only the public security department with a certain authority could use this method. Moreover, they had to write an application report before using it before contacting the relevant operator to provide information.

Xie Ligan was not a police officer, so it was impossible for him to order a police officer of that level.

However, he could mobilize the operator director at that level.

In the 40 years of development of the Xuanhua Group, personnel changes were inevitable. New blood joined and the old members left. It was only an amicable separation—it was just that some of the old members who left did not agree with their ideals, some made mistakes, but some were sent out by Xie Ligan.

Because he stood high enough, he could see the trend clearly and see the direction of the future to a certain extent. Unfortunately, the Xuanhua Group was already large enough. In some fields, the country would not allow him to cross over again.

However, he could quietly plant some people and make some investments.

Generally speaking, he might not need to return some of the investments in his life, but once he wanted this return, the other party could not reject him. After all, his money was not so easy to take.

To his relief, he could always be rewarded.

Xie Ligan narrowed his eyes.

The data packed was extremely huge. In order to hide it and be careful, he asked for all the data of the specific base stations at that time period and searched for it himself.

Therefore, he naturally discovered that matter.

The kid who had a conflict with Guang Jun claimed to be in his hometown 100 to 200 kilometers away that night and had a perfect alibi… However, his phone signal suddenly appeared in the city.

Moreover, it moved with the phone signal of the four dead hooligans.

Until the nightclub where his son had gotten into trouble.

There was a call that did not connect and was immediately canceled.

The time and situation were exactly the same as what An Kui’s daughter had described. When his son went to the bathroom, An Youyi heard two short phone rings, but she did not see anyone.

“Why didn’t they see anything?”

He controlled the mouse and opened the video cut into the computer.

The surveillance cameras in the district, the elevator, the nightclub, and the road—the first few were easy to deal with, and the last was also a reward.

He opened a few videos at the same time and searched again with an eagle-like gaze.

The four hooligans drove into the district. Only four of them entered the elevator and went upstairs. Another four people entered the elevator and left. They drove all the way to the vicinity of the nightclub and stopped by the street for a while. Then, they started the engine again and set off. They accelerated crazily as if they had stepped on the accelerator and collided with his son’s sports car.

The two cars collided with the roadside in sparks and lightning and caught fire.

He replayed this video again and again and watched it. The light of the two cars burning was reflected in his eyes. Xie Ligan had always been expressionless.

He paused and enlarged the scene at various points in time, but he did not discover anything.

There was also the full set of surveillance videos provided by the nightclub. Apart from his son, no one stayed in that toilet. When he came out, Xie Guangjun went crazy.

While drinking in the booth, from the beginning to the end, no suspicious person approached Xie Guangjun.

It was extremely strange and unexplainable.

The police were investigating what hatred these four hooligans had for Xie Guangjun and why they wanted to kill him. They were investigating if this was a vendetta or a crazy accident involving alcohol and poison.

They were still investigating who the “Momo” Xie Guangjun had mentioned when he went crazy was.

However, Xie Ligan was different.

He knew the background of the four hooligans very well and knew Xie Guangjun’s private mischief. This child could not compare to his brother since he was young, so he became even more mischievous. When he was young, he was the king of children. When he grew up, he had to be the true king. He had to make up for some of his childhood flaws by taking life and death and showing off.

Xie Ligan secretly observed for a while and discovered that this child still knew his limits. He never did anything he should not do, so he slowly let it be. He had his own thoughts on educating children. It was not a problem to be aggressive, controlling, or even cruel. The key was to know what he was doing. The key was to control it.

After all, he was one of the richest people in this country and even in this world. His thinking method was already different from ordinary people’s because he had seen more.

In this world, most people were muddle-headed cows and sheep. They ate grass silently and were unknowingly slaughtered and peeled. There had to be lions and tigers who hunted these people and made a living from them. In that case, why could lions and tigers not be his sons?

However, something happened this time.

He was caught off guard, but it was ridiculous and strange.

In the eyes of the police, this was a huge case that could be dug deeper. However, in the eyes of a completely knowledgeable person like Xie Ligan, this matter was simply so strange that it was almost strange.

Especially An Youyi’s testimony… Only he knew about this.

The two sounds.

Kang De’s base station recorded and even the trajectory of the signal.

The police regarded Kang De as a victim. Coupled with the other party’s perfect alibi and the two huge cases on Xie Guangjun that needed to be dug deeper, they naturally could not be bothered to write a report and apply to check Kang De’s phone signal. The police resources were scarce, so who would find trouble for no reason? However, Xie Ligan knew.

The result made him both happy and worried.

The joy was that his guess and intuition were indeed correct. Those four hooligans were all his son’s lackeys. How could they risk their lives to die with Xie Guangjun? His son had not touched drugs, so how could he suddenly go crazy and expose the ugly things he had done in the past? It was strange if something was abnormal, and the core of all the strangeness was Kang De.

The hooligans went to Kang De’s house and bumped into Xie Guangjun after coming out.

Xie Guangjun had a conflict with Kang De before becoming like this.

Kang De had been in the center of the storm, but he claimed to have been in his hometown. His alibi was perfect.

It was definitely not a coincidence.

The results of the investigation told Xie Ligan that his guess was right.

However, there was joy and worry.

The worry was… how did he do it?

He picked up another confession.

Haunted house.

The core of the conflict was that house.

In the past, the owner said confidently that it was haunted. Even if he sold it at a low price, he did not care and moved away almost as if he was escaping. Later on, Kang De and Wang Yongzhi’s daughter bought this house.

Then, nothing happened.

Later on, it was Xie Guangjun who wanted to buy a house and offered double the price. Not only did Kang De flatly reject him, but he also spoke vulgar words and was extremely hostile, causing Xie Guangjun to choose this path.

“If not for you, things would not have come to this.”

Xie Ligan whispered, “But I want to know why.”

Why was he not tempted by twice the price? Moreover, he spoke ill of his son and was not polite at all. From Kang De’s past evaluations and records, he was not a sarcastic person.

“Unless you know something…”

“How did you know…”

A haunted house.

He was so frightened that the previous resident had to move away no matter what.

Kang De lived in it, but nothing happened.

Was everything really fine…

In another video, his son was shouting crazily in a nightclub. He knelt and kowtowed, admitting to the crime of killing.

The four hooligans collided without hesitation.

Kang De, who came and went without a trace.

These things and methods revealed a strange aura.

Ghost.

Haunted house.

“Were you possessed by a ghost, or did the two of you reach some kind of agreement? There’s such a scene in novels.”

Xie Ligan did not only read online novels, but he also watched short videos, online dramas, and everything young people liked. With his age, he still forced himself to continuously understand the rapidly developing world. Compared to his peers, he knew many things—for example, the computer he was using now was never connected to the web.

He knew that this move was enough to make the world’s most brilliant hacker curse in anger.

“No matter what…”

He knew that this guess was ridiculous.

However, an even more ridiculous fact was in front of him. Even if he could not believe it, he could only believe it.

Fortunately, he had been in a high position for decades. The information he saw and heard was something most ordinary people could not come into contact with in their lives. He had originally believed those more, and now, he believed them even more.

Was he afraid?

A little, but he was a big shot after all. On second thought, he was not afraid at all.

In China’s 5,000 years of history, when had these messy and black things caused waves? Even if there was really such a thing, there must be a way to deal with it.

As long as there was a way to deal with it, he would definitely be able to find it. With Xie Ligan’s current status, wealth, and energy, it would not be too difficult to find anyone in this country.

After being surprised, enlightened, afraid, and relieved, even… excitement appeared in his eyes.

It was something called ambition.

It was the most important personality that he, Xie Ligan, had climbed to his current status from a small youth.

He ruthlessly took all his savings to set foot in a foreign place and resell things. He ruthlessly took all the money he had earned to open a factory. He gritted his teeth and sold his house to support himself. He even continued to annex and acquire other competitors. He had always gambled and won because he was ambitious and unsatisfied.

Now, he saw a new opportunity.

After the reform and opening up, the introduction of commodity houses, and the finance of land, there were new opportunities.

“Kang De…”

He muttered, “All of this better not be a coincidence, or else…”

Xie Ligan pressed the call bell.

A moment later, someone pushed open the door and walked out. “CEO Xie.”

This was one of his most promising nephews and he was completely trustworthy. Xie Ligan asked, “I asked you to be in charge of contacting the team studying gait recognition overseas. How’s it going?”

The other party replied, “The other party has expressed great interest in cooperation and is seeking a new round of negotiation.”

Xie Ligan pulled out a USB drive and handed it to the other party, “There are two videos inside. Let the foreigners show their ability and analyze if the four people who appeared in the two videos are from the same batch.”

That person immediately nodded. “Yes.”

After watching the other party leave, Xie Ligan made a call, “Secretary Wu, it’s me. I want to find capable monks and Daoists who can exorcise evil. Just say that my house has been in chaos recently. With such a thing happening, I suspect that there’s a ghost causing trouble. I have to ask a master with cultivation to resolve it. Remember, you have to have true ability.”

He picked up another phone and said a few words, “I want wine, both national and foreign.”

After hanging up, he picked up a document on the table and dialed another number with this phone. “Contact them for me. Are there any hyenas in Africa that can be used now? I want domestic dogs too.”

He made calls one by one. When the arrangements came to an end, he heaved a long sigh of relief. His heart was beating violently, and an excited feeling was burning.

It had been a long time since this happened.

Nervous, excited… anticipation, and joy.

He had once thought that this was the peak of his life.

However, now…

He saw a new opportunity.

At this moment, his phone buzzed and began to vibrate.

Xie Ligan frowned. It was an unlisted number. He was about to reject it when his expression suddenly froze.

He recognized this number.

He had just personally entered it.

The excitement in his eyes disappeared. He took a deep breath and picked up.

“I’m Xie Ligan.”

“I’m the pitiful, weak, and helpless university student, Kang De, who was forced to frame by your son’s power and minions, but by a freak combination of circumstances, dodged a bullet and laughed at the near-death of your son.”

A series of provocations sounded from the phone with a teasing tone.

Moreover, from the static coming from the microphone, the other party seemed to be high up.

Before Xie Ligan could say anything, Kang De, who was on the phone, clicked his tongue and said, “President Xie, your office is really quite large, like the presidential suite. Oh f*ck, although they say that happiness and the future have to be fought for with both hands, when I discover that the bedrooms attached to your office are all larger than the entire house that others painstakingly bought with a loan of decades, I feel that the proletariat revolution is not too complete.”

The sound of the wind whistling and the faint sound of traffic could still be heard through the microphone.

Xie Ligan was first stunned, then he revealed an incredulous expression and looked out the window.

The huge French window had a wide vision. Standing here, he could look at the beautiful skyline of the city.

Apart from that, there was nothing else.

He stood up and walked to the window. He stared at the building opposite, wanting to find the other party. “You’re monitoring me? What do you want to do?”

“No, I just arrived. The wind is too strong outside, so it’s quite difficult to climb up. I’d better come in and talk.”

“By the way, President Xie, there aren’t any cameras in your office, right? I guess not. Otherwise, when your male secretary squats at his desk and does indescribable things to you, it’ll always be very awkward. I think you’re a decent person. You shouldn’t have such a hobby—by the way, there aren’t any burly bodyguards in those rooms, right?”

“If there is, I advise you to be quiet. If this blows up, there’s no way to resolve it.”

The other party chattered.

However, Xie Ligan had a bad feeling.

He said, “You…”

Of course, Xie Ligan did not notice that when he was seriously listening to Kang De, a small piece of paper floated in through the open window.

In the next moment, space shattered and the door opened.

Under Xie Ligan’s unbelievable gaze, Kang De appeared out of thin air. He only saw scattered blue starlight splashing around the other party’s body, and a dazzling light slowly disappeared in his eyes. Such a way of appearing out of thin air with shocking sound and light effects seemed to be unrelated to ghosts and demons.

Xie Ligan vaguely realized that he seemed to have made a mistake.

Kang De walked towards him and smiled. “What were you busy with just now? I think you’re on the phone.”

Even when facing the head of the country and the politicians of the various countries, Xie Ligan was not as nervous as he was now. He immediately grabbed the file in front of him, but Kang De was faster than him.

A shadow flashed in front of him. Xie Ligan discovered that he was sitting in a chair. Then, he turned in an arc and moved to the opposite side of the desk. Kang De was already sitting at the table and picking up the top document.

Then, he looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

“Aha… aren’t these my parents?”