IRCDM Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Worth It – Call Me “Gege” and I’ll Teach You to Dance

The Dawn Group’s headquarters was located in the center of East Fifth District. The geometric shape of the building seemed to float in mid-air from a distance. Luxurious hover cars came and went in the sky, and the giant advertising light screen displayed the latest 3S mecha concept holographic projection. While other districts were still subject to power restrictions, this place could be as bright as day all night long.

“They really dare to brag, designing a 3S mecha like that is basically sending relief supplies to the Heteromorphs?” Li Yao slammed the car door shut, his eyes never leaving the mecha on the advertising screen. “Is the designer’s brain filled with sht?”

Liang Huan grabbed his shoulder, pulling him out of the way of a cleaning robot. “They can just put ‘subject to change’ on it. Their target customers are collectors.”

Li Yao clicked his tongue, but couldn’t help taking another look.

This kind of fancy thing is useless for fighting, but it could barely pass for a wedding decoration.

The two separated at the parking spot and entered the Dawn Building one after the other.

“Sir, please state your name and show your invitation to the banquet.” The bodyguard was conscientiously checking the identities of the people coming and going.

Li Yao showed his ID chip, and the bodyguard on the other side asked suspiciously, “Your name is Liang Huan?”

“Yes, I’m a major shareholder of the Majestic Lion Defense Company.” Li Yao raised an eyebrow. “Any problem?”

The bodyguard looked at him for a long time before confirming that he was not the Deputy District Chief of East Third District, and smiled apologetically, “Sorry, sir, this name is not common.”

“I know, the Liang guy from East Third District.” Li Yao raised his hand to take back his ID chip. “I’ll make him take my surname sooner or later.”

After saying that, he entered the banquet hall very arrogantly. The bodyguard was silent for a moment, muttering, “Nouveau riche.”

Soon, he received another invitation. He leaned closer, staring at the name on it, and read it haltingly, “Liang… Liang…”

“Liang Huan,” Liang Huan said. “I am an outstanding participant invited to the Mecha Competition.”

The bodyguard glanced at his ordinary face, seeing that he had no power or influence, and said impatiently, “I know, go in quickly.”

Liang Huan handed him a storage chip with a considerable amount of money, “The person who just went in is my half-brother. We are currently fighting over inheritance. Can you do me a favor?”

The bodyguard glanced at the amount on the chip, his pupils shrinking slightly. He inconspicuously glanced left and right, lowered his voice, and said, “Tell me, what do you want me to do?”

Liang Huan smiled slightly, motioning for him to come closer and whispered a few words, before leisurely entering the banquet hall.

The banquet hall had a very wide view. Whether it was thanks to some designer or not, the retro furnishings and black and red metal decorations in the hall were out of place, resembling some tribal sacrificial rituals, especially the two black snakes in the middle, biting each other’s tails. Their scarlet eyes and cold, gleaming scales made them look lifelike. The two snakes surrounded a large expanse of starry sky. Perhaps to create an atmosphere, those stars looked somewhat dim.

On the first floor of the hall, people were mingling, with many military officers and administrative court officials present. Zhu Qu, the chairman of Dawn Group, was wearing a suit and leather shoes, holding a wine glass and talking to Yi Yuan with a smile. He was thin, and the smile on his face was slightly ingratiating, constantly greeting people passing by.

Following Yi Yuan was a woman in her early twenties. She wore a high ponytail and a neat black military uniform, her expression a bit weary. She drank her wine listlessly, rejecting everyone who came to talk to her very coldly.

“Is she Chen Yanwei?” The whispers of the people next to him fell into Liang Huan’s ears.

“Yes, I heard that she joined the Mecha III Department not long ago. The higher-ups value her highly… they directly appointed her as the head of the Mecha III Department.”

“Tsk, why?”

“She is the daughter of Deputy Commander Chen An. Deputy Commander Chen is Commander Huan’s most proud student. They are all their own people, so of course they use them with more confidence.” The speaker was a man in his thirties. His expression was gloomy, with dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze measured Chen Yanwei up and down.

“By the way, Zhu Ming, have you heard about the Dawn Star matter? Li Yao has been protecting the core receiver of the Dawn Project all these years… enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy load…”

Zhu Ming sneered. “I can’t understand what he’s insisting on. Giving up such a big Yi family, insisting on suffering in the military, only to end up in such a miserable state, getting nothing in the end, is pure lunacy.”

Seeing Chen Yanwei look towards him, he smiled and walked towards Chen Yanwei: “Chen—”

Bang.

A faint sound swept past his feet. Zhu Ming tripped over his left foot and almost fell to the ground, spilling the red wine in his hand all over himself. Yi Yuan and Zhu Qu, who were talking, looked towards him. Chen Yanwei glanced at him and directly went elsewhere.

Zhu Ming gnashed his teeth in annoyance, but had to wear a smile on his face. He looked at the surrounding crowd, but couldn’t find the culprit – someone had clearly attacked him just now, and the back of his heel was still faintly hurting.

Liang Huan shook the wine glass in his hand and disappeared into the crowd, speaking softly into his headset, “Where did you go?”

“Turn your head.” Li Yao’s laughing voice rang in his ears.

Liang Huan turned around and saw Li Yao with his hands on the railing on the second floor, looking at him with a smile, “Don’t get angry with a fool like Zhu Ming, it’s not worth it.”

Liang Huan said, “The dance will start in ten minutes. They will display the latest 3S mecha prototype. At that time, the power supply of the entire building will be concentrated on the first floor. Then we will act separately.”

“Not going to dance?” Li Yao was far away from him, one above and one below, but his smiling voice was extremely close, lightly tickling the nerves of his ear like a feather.

Liang Huan casually placed the wine glass on the table next to him. “Can’t.”

Li Yao took a sip of wine. “Your Majesty, if you call me ‘Gege’, I would be very happy to teach you.”

Liang Huan raised his head in the bustling crowd, his lips moving slightly.

Li Yao’s headset crackled twice, suddenly losing the signal. He initially thought it was Liang Huan’s prank, until he saw Liang Huan also raise his hand and press his ear.

The people in the hall began to become restless, almost simultaneously.

“Why did the chip suddenly lose signal?”

“What’s going on, I can’t even get a connection.”

“What’s happening?”

The lights in the first floor hall suddenly dimmed, followed by a beam of light shining on Zhu Ming. He cleared his throat and said with a smile, “Welcome everyone to the Dawn Group’s celebration banquet. First, I want to introduce myself. My name is Zhu Ming. I am the – biological son of Dawn Group Chairman Zhu Qu, and the only legitimate heir! Thank you, everyone, applaud!”

A sparse round of applause sounded on the scene. Zhu Qu’s face under the stage was already as black as could be. Yi Yuan smiled, “Zhu Qu, you really raised a good son. You weren’t planning to introduce him to Yanwei, were you?”

“Of course not him.” Zhu Qu couldn’t even squeeze out a smile. He walked quickly onto the stage with his bodyguard. The bodyguard skillfully took Zhu Ming down. Zhu Qu smiled, “Everyone, I’m really sorry, my son drank a little too much. Because the backstage is debugging the mecha, the signal in the building has been affected. It will return to normal in five minutes. Please forgive us.”

Liang Huan was watching the show in the crowd. Zhu Ming, who was dragged down by the bodyguard, passed by behind him and suddenly broke free from the bodyguard’s hand and looked at him. “Was it you who ambushed me just now?!”

Liang Huan’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Sorry, sir, our young master is drunk, sorry.” The bodyguard hurriedly came over and dragged the person away clumsily.

“I’m not drunk, let go of me!” Zhu Ming shouted while looking back at Liang Huan, “Brat, you wait for me!”

Liang Huan withdrew his gaze. The signal on the headset reconnected, and Li Yao’s voice came, “You’re the fake illegitimate brother, this Zhu Ming has a real illegitimate brother, much more favored than him. This guy has good intuition, he was actually able to find you.”

“It’s not necessarily intuition, this person is quite interesting.” Liang Huan gently tapped his headset.

The lights in the banquet hall dimmed again, accompanied by rousing music. A giant golden mecha nearly a hundred meters tall slowly rose from the ground. The mecha competition’s designated host flashed out from behind the mecha, his voice even more passionate than the music, “Hello, friends at the scene and viewers in front of the live channel! I am the mecha commentator Lu Renyi! I believe everyone is definitely familiar with me, that’s right! This Mecha Competition is also hosted by me! Okay, without further ado, let me introduce the 3S mecha Xihuang, heavily launched by Dawn Group this time—”

“Action.” Liang Huan passed through the crowd under the cover of darkness.

On the other side, Li Yao had already sneaked into the elevator entrance of the Dawn Building. He couldn’t help but complain, “What a bad name to give to such a good mecha, not auspicious at all.”

Liang Huan laughed, “Why does it have to be auspicious?”

“Of course it’s, good to hear.” Li Yao cleared his throat. “I’ll go to the control room on the top floor to cover you, you go to Zhu Qu’s office on the eighteenth floor to find the key, we have fifteen minutes left.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Liang Huan was puzzled. They had previously estimated ten minutes.

“This host is famously verbose. As long as he hosts the event, it will definitely run overtime.” Li Yao said with a toothache, “I hate watching the competitions he hosts the most.”

Liang Huan walked into the empty corridor, about to comfort him, when he suddenly caught sight of the person waiting at the end of the corridor.

The headset signal was interfered with and cut off again.

Chen Yanwei, in a military uniform, stood in front of the window and nodded to him coldly. “Director Lin, long time no see.”

Liang Huan stopped, took off the buzzing headset. “Chen Yanwei.”

“Director Lin still remembers me.” Chen Yanwei tugged at the corner of her mouth. “It’s really surprising.”

Liang Huan smiled slightly. “Among the defeated, you’re considered one of the better ones.”

Chen Yanwei lit a cigarette. “That’s not important. I’m here today to discuss a business deal with you on behalf of the military.”

“Now?” Liang Huan was a little surprised.

“It can only be now. Your East Third District is defended so tightly that the military can’t get in at all. You and Li Yao seem to be stuck together. I waited so long to wait until you separated.” She spat out a puff of smoke, and looked at Liang Huan. “I know you value Li Yao very much. You used the same unscrupulous methods to get Ye Zhen back then – coercing and enticing, reasoning with emotions and moving with etiquette. The people in the Mecha I Department are all devoted to you.”

Liang Huan remained noncommittal. “What do you want to say?”

“Here’s the 50 billion back to you, let Li Yao return to the military.” Chen Yanwei said.

Liang Huan chuckled.

Chen Yanwei also laughed. “Plus the Mecha I Department.”

The corners of Liang Huan’s mouth slowly flattened, and the smile in his eyes faded.

“The Mecha I Department is all your hard work in the past few years, and it’s also the core resource of Dawn Project II, much more useful than a Dawn Star with only a D-grade ability.” Chen Yanwei looked at him, “Commander Huan means that the people of the Mecha I Department and all the mecha are yours. In the future, whether it is the military or the Administrative Court, they will not interfere in anything in East Third District.”

Liang Huan smiled. “It seems that Dawn Star is crucial to you, that you are willing to let the Mecha I Department go to me.”

“The core signal receiver is on Li Yao. He has already told the military the location of the seven signal stabilizers. The main orbit is also based on the military. If he really trusted you, he should have let you control the location of the stabilizers.” Chen Yanwei sighed, “We all know what kind of person Li Yao is. He is the hope that Chen An left for the military. He is absolutely loyal to humans, to the military, and to his teacher. Even if he is now blinded by love, he will definitely not stay by your side when he sees clearly what kind of person you are. You are simply not on the same path, so you might as well let go sooner, so that everyone’s face looks good.”

Liang Huan rubbed the headset between his fingertips that had lost signal, and said, “Commander Huan’s conditions are indeed tempting.”

He could take back the Mecha I Department and an additional 50 billion without lifting a finger, completely control East Third District. The core signal receiver, now in his possession, could be used to restrain the military. Li Yao would be useless without the receiver if he went back, and with a little effort he could make Li Yao lose the military’s trust and return to his side… Using Li Yao to trade for the Mecha I Department was indeed worthwhile.

“Commander Huan cherishes talent, this is already giving you the greatest concession.” Chen Yanwei extinguished the cigarette on the windowsill. “Director Lin, you still have time to consider.”

“No need to consider it.” Liang Huan raised his head.

Outside the windowsill, the person hanging in mid-air clearly heard their conversation. Li Yao’s head ached from the cold wind, and he frowned as he waited for Liang Huan’s answer, but suddenly caught a glimpse of an extremely familiar figure in the window downstairs.

He shook his head in disbelief, confirming that it was not a hallucination caused by mental disorder. Seeing that the person was about to turn the corner of the corridor, he immediately let go and jumped into the window on the floor below.

Liang Huan’s answer was drowned out in the crackling headset.