The Way of Restraint

Inside the office, Xia Shang gestured for Zhang Jinchuan to sit down.

The sofa was not comfortable, but Zhang Jinchuan was very satisfied in his heart. He knew he had truly entered Xia Shang’s field of vision. Even among the internal employees of Mingxia Group, very few received a private audience.

To be honest, Zhang Jinchuan was still an outsider, not an internal employee. The absolute control of his company still belonged to him, not to Mingxia Group.

Mingxia held only twenty percent of the shares.

For someone like him, Xia Shang granted private audiences even more rarely. Unless there was some special project that could enrich Mingxia Group’s business model, otherwise, the strategic investment department below would handle everything completely.

But Zhang Jinchuan did not show his satisfaction on his face. Instead, he was analyzing his own psychology and Su Jie’s psychology. Suddenly, he felt that he was still far behind.

*”If Su Jie were here, his mindset would definitely be even higher than Xia Shang’s. He would absolutely not feel flattered by receiving a private audience from such a big-shot. On the contrary, he would feel that the other party was lucky to meet him. My realm is still too low. I haven’t been able to reach the Living Dead realm, and I don’t understand the exceptional mindset of that realm…”* A wave of melancholy surged in Zhang Jinchuan’s heart.

Since childhood, he had been first in everything he did. Even now, he was still a favored child of the heavens, a dragon among men, a phoenix among birds. Everyone thought he was an undeniable genius. But in cultivation, he was completely outshone by Su Jie.

Facing the Su Jie of now, he couldn’t even muster any jealousy. Instead, he felt admiration.

That was why he was researching the “Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Ministry Orthodox Method” together with Su Jie, improving alongside him.

Deep in his heart, he also felt that having Su Jie as a friend was far better than having him as an enemy.

“What are you thinking about?” Xia Shang keenly perceived Zhang Jinchuan’s state of mind. “It seems your friend Su Jie is indeed very outstanding, to the point that even you admire him. I can see that deep in your heart, you have never completely submitted to me, but you admire him.”

Xia Shang spoke very directly.

As a big-shot of the underworld, he had weathered countless storms. Although his psychological constitution had never undergone professional training, he could still see through layers of secrets and point directly at a person’s heart.

He had long seen that Zhang Jinchuan was an extremely proud person. Although he was respectful every time he faced Xia Shang, he had never genuinely admired him.

Just as Zhang Jinchuan opened his mouth to deny it, Xia Shang suddenly said, “Tell me the truth. I pulled you alone into the office precisely to hear your true thoughts. If you exchange pleasantries with me, then get out.”

“What I truly care about deep in my heart is cultivation, not business. That’s why I admire Su Jie’s cultivation,” Zhang Jinchuan said. “He is a miracle.”

“Can martial art really be that miraculous?” Xia Shang was silent for a moment before asking.

“It’s not martial art. It’s the combination of kinesiology, psychology, and environmental science, forming a Dawnthrough in the individual human’s genetic code,” Zhang Jinchuan articulated specialized terminology. “Most people’s achievements are no more than those of professional combat fighters. Although individual physical strength is very great, it ultimately cannot stir up big waves in society. But someone like Su Jie is different—he has already entered the exceptional. Relying solely on his individual combat power and brain analysis ability, he can accomplish missions that even a squad of soldiers cannot complete.”

“Can an individual be that strong?” Xia Shang asked again.

“Such people are very rare. In the past, they appeared even less frequently—perhaps one every few hundred years, requiring all sorts of coincidences and fortunate circumstances. But with the advancement of science, such people have become more numerous. In the world’s mysterious organizations—Typhon Training Camp, Honey Badger Training Camp, several life sciences institutions, and even Larry—they are all researching in this area, investing enormous amounts of money and resources,” Zhang Jinchuan said. “However, I do not suggest that you, Uncle Xia, invest in this. Because it requires a great accumulation of technology, requires too much money, and the prospects are very slim. You can understand it as research that ancient emperors conducted in pursuit of immortality.”

“Mingxia indeed has no involvement in this area of research,” Xia Shang nodded. “Let alone life sciences—even research in artificial intelligence and robotics has just begun. We simply cannot compare to Larry. The future is the era of technology. Business models will be completely overturned by technology. I can see that in the future, companies without independent core technology will be eliminated. Even with Mingxia’s current scale, decline would be unimaginably fast.”

Zhang Jinchuan listened quietly, saying nothing.

“I’ve digressed,” Xia Shang pulled the topic back. “Jinchuan, I haven’t paid attention to Su Jie’s file, but his sister Su Muchen’s file has been on my desk the entire time. I don’t care about martial art, kung fu, or sports, but computer science research is my most important piece. After her team—Morning Dawn Studio—was poached by Haoyu, over the past few years, Haoyu’s technology has made great breakthroughs. Now I’m giving you a task: through Su Jie, poach his sister’s entire team back.”

“This is also what I wanted to discuss with you,” Zhang Jinchuan nodded. “I didn’t expect you to have foresight this early. But this matter is very troublesome now. Right now, he is also looking for his sister.”

Zhang Jinchuan explained a series of matters and analyzed in detail how the Feng family of Haoyu might be colluding with hidden overseas forces.

Xia Shang listened very carefully, without any surprise, as if he already knew this intelligence.

“Haoyu is not clean—I know this—but I can’t find any evidence. Feng Shoucheng is a formidable figure.” Xia Shang rarely praised someone like this. “But I will not let Haoyu acquire talent in the area of technology. Regarding poaching, you should coordinate more with Xiao Yi. I will give you a position—her senior advisor.”

“I will definitely complete the mission,” Zhang Jinchuan said, knowing that Xia Shang had given him tremendous trust. He struck while the iron was hot: “Actually, Su Jie is also a scientific researcher. His field is life sciences research.”

“Mingxia Group cannot handle him,” Xia Shang stated plainly, which surprised Zhang Jinchuan. “And even Larry cannot handle him. Regardless of his achievements, his personality is such that he cannot be driven by anyone. He cannot be a good subordinate. So I have no interest in him.”

“Perhaps in the future, when you travel abroad, Uncle Xia, you will really need him for security,” Zhang Jinchuan said. “Larry’s important security is now his responsibility. With him around, Larry can travel alone without any problems.”

“I still don’t quite believe that an individual’s ability can reach this level,” Xia Shang shook his head. “But if there is truly a need, I wouldn’t mind seeing his ability.”

Zhang Jinchuan said nothing more, only nodded silently.

Xia Shang then raised several more questions about other aspects—investment, market analysis, user experience, overall business public opinion, and so on.

Zhang Jinchuan had his own unique insights and perspectives in these areas.

Xia Shang nodded repeatedly, already treating him as a true senior advisor.

This was trust that Zhang Jinchuan had accumulated bit by bit over several years.

Bringing Su Jie to support his position this time had deepened that trust further.

If this happened a few more times, he would become a “confidant.”

Meanwhile, Su Jie waited outside, calm and composed, as if even if the sky fell, it would not affect him in any way, nor shake any of his thoughts.

Greenland was discussing business cooperation with Huang Mulan and the others. Xia Yi, very interested in Su Jie, came over to him as the negotiations neared their end and took the initiative to greet him: “Mr. Su Jie, do you feel regretful today that you didn’t get to face Greenland?”

“Not really,” Su Jie said with a smile. “Actually, I’m quite interested in facing Solomo.”

“Solomo goes without saying—he’s very difficult to invite. His net worth is ten times that of Mr. Greenland,” Xia Yi shook her head. “Actually, I want to hear the truth from you. If you were to face Mr. Greenland, what do you think your chances of victory would be?”

“He is not my match,” Su Jie told the truth. “I should be able to finish him within ten seconds.”

In truth, when experts clash, life and death hang in an instant. Especially in street combat—there are far fewer rules than in the ring. A match in the ring might take several minutes. On the street, a few seconds are enough.

“So confident?” Xia Yi asked back. Once upon a time, Greenland was like a god in her heart. But just now, when two of the club’s top experts struck Su Jie, they ended up Dawning their own hands and legs. This had greatly shaken her faith in the god that was Greenland.

Moreover, when Su Jie spoke, he did not hesitate at all, was completely confident, and had a powerful infectious quality.

“That’s exactly how confident I am,” Su Jie nodded.

“How about I put up two million US dollars right now and have you two fight?” Xia Yi’s heart was itching. She was a young woman who loved fighting—otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone specifically to Greenland’s club to train.

When she was studying abroad, she had originally wanted to join Solomo’s club to learn, but she didn’t pass the assessment and had to settle for second best. Her study-abroad companion, Huang Mulan, had passed the entrance exam and, after two years of training, emerged as a true expert.

“Meaningless,” Su Jie shook his head.

“What if I also give you two million US dollars?” Xia Yi asked.

“Money isn’t meant to be spent like this either,” Su Jie’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Xia Yi. “You love fighting this much? You’re willing to spend so much money just to watch one match?”

“You don’t understand the weight of Coach Greenland in my heart. Although he is ranked second in the world, he has never lost. I spent four years studying abroad, all of it in his club, training session after session. He is a god. I want to see whether a god can truly fall.” Xia Yi’s eyes looked at Su Jie, filled with anticipation, like a child yearning day and night for a beloved toy. The intensity of this anticipation actually moved Su Jie.

He knew that the realm of “enlightenment” was also the search for the satisfaction of this kind of “childlike heart’s desire.”

When a lifelong pursuit of some wish is suddenly realized, the satisfaction of that exact moment—that person becomes the happiest person in the world. Maintaining that feeling of satisfaction in every moment.

That is “enlightenment.”

“Consider it done,” Su Jie stood up. “I don’t need any money from you. Just give Mr. Greenland enough money to agree to the match.”

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