Hidden Moth

Not mentioning Fabre’s previous actions, just seeing that puppet body on the subway in Red Port, He Kao’s disgust towards him has reached the apex, whether physiologically or psychologically.

There are some people you simply don’t want to get close to; some you don’t want to share a seat with; and others you may not want to stay in the same office with.

But there is another kind of person you don’t even want to exist in the same world as them!

This is He Kao’s impression of Fabre.

That puppet body is refined using living humans. It requires strong and healthy humans, the caster erases their consciousness to refine them into a puppet body... This is an absolute forbidden technique.

Whether it’s the Magic Sect’s Hall of Sect Rules or He Kao, both want Fabre dead the most, with many arrangements specifically targeting him. But things have to be done slowly, waiting for Fabre to acquire the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror, and feeling secure, before making a move.

Fabre’s days of hardship have just begun, while He Kao’s leisurely comfort continues.

Daily tasks are easy for him. All levels of leadership from top to bottom are "his own people," so he enjoys being a little transparent in the company, easily overlooked by others, and no one bothers him.

Besides cultivation, he also has plenty of leisure to enjoy life. Although he doesn’t have extravagant habits, what he eats, uses, plays, and sees is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and he takes time to learn the latest technological trends...

His cultivation just recently broke through Tier Six Master Yan not long ago, and the speed of cultivation advancement has inevitably slowed down. Breaking through further in the short term is almost impossible; even cultivating to Tier Six Perfection requires quite a long-term gradual effort.

Cases of advancing at such a young age aren’t absent, like Mei Guyu, who is even younger than He Kao and has already broken through Tier Seven. But He Kao doesn’t compare himself with her.

Anyone who can break through Tier Six cultivation is a rarity among tens of thousands, and cases like Mei Guyu are even rare in the history of the Magic Sect. Cultivation is about mindset and opportunity; forcing it will make it unsuccessful.

During this period, He Kao’s cultivation mainly focuses on guiding sect disciples, honing various application methods, and improving the realm of other complementary techniques.

Apart from other gains, by the end of October, his Spirit Awakening Skill cultivation has advanced from Tier Two Angler to Tier Three Performer... In fact, the work environment of a large company is quite suitable for cultivating the mindset of Spirit Awakening Skill and Qi Observation Skill.

During this period, He Kao also didn’t forget one thing, which is to continue "illuminating" the world map, mainly exploring key areas, and he specifically took along the Celestial Net Umbrella, a magical artifact.

Can’t say he left tracks everywhere, but in many places in the world, as long as he marks a location, he can basically teleport within a hundred miles.

As for the key reconnaissance areas, of course, they revolve around Fabre’s life trajectory, combined with intelligence from various sources, to grasp his usual activities, but won’t get too close to him to avoid being detected.

Besides Arthur’s manor, He Kao can say he’s almost fully explored all the places Fabre usually visits. He avoids surveillance and specifically goes when Fabre isn’t present, focusing on the time difference.

For example, the quiet room where Fabre cast the technique to unlock Yu Sifu’s sealed state, He Kao reached the vicinity.

Although no one was there at the time, He Kao was extremely cautious, trying to keep all his energies subdued and releasing the Celestial Net Umbrella, not showing any murderous intent, not even emotion, and also didn’t enter the building.

With his current cultivation, he can teleport within the range of his Divine Sense, and if needed, he can instantly appear in that quiet room, as long as he isn’t discovered beforehand.

...

This afternoon, He Kao had finished his tasks and sat at his workstation as usual, looking through technical materials. President Qian Guran entered with three vice-presidents and project director Huang Si in tow, followed by eight young people.

Despite the large area of the open office, the middle aisle was quite crowded at the moment.

Under President Qian Guran’s leadership, it became a tradition in the Qi Yuan Branch to have the company leadership team and direct business directors accompany new employees to their work department, introducing them to colleagues.

For many grassroots employees, this might be the only opportunity to communicate with the entire leadership, and it also allows making an impression in a short time.

"Digital Life" is a key project in the Qi Yuan Branch, receiving significant attention from the group’s headquarters, and has now expanded into three departments, with eight new employees hired this summer.

By late October, the summer recruitment had ended long ago. But after these newcomers were hired, they were sent for several months of intensive training at the group’s headquarters; only now are they officially joining.

He Kao and other old employees from Project Group One stood up to welcome them. President Qian Guran personally introduced the eight new employees, who would then be assigned respectively across three project groups.

Actually, Old Qian usually wouldn’t concern himself with such specific matters. Just before coming down, he read a brief report and memorized the names, ages, and universities of these individuals... If he weren’t a cultivator, this would already be quite impressive.

Among the new employees, He Kao spotted a familiar face, a girl named Bai Yao, his college classmate.

Bai Yao later pursued her master’s degree not at Qi Yuan University, but at Wuxi University in another province, has now completed her PhD, and returned to Qi Yuan to find this job.

The current environment isn’t as prosperous as a few years ago; getting employed here counts as quite the luck, probably pulling some strings... but judging by Old Qian’s demeanor, he seems not very satisfied.

When Qian Guran introduced Bai Yao, there was something a bit off, but he’s very composed, and almost no one could see it, though He Kao noticed.

Evidently, Bai Yao also recognized He Kao, smiling and nodding at him.

After the leaders finished introductions, the crowd applauded warmly, and then this group moved to the adjacent Project Group Two, where Mei Guyu worked; it is customary to go through all three departments.

At this point, Bai Yao took the initiative to walk over, looking surprised and delighted, "He Kao, I can’t believe you’re here too, what a coincidence!"

Having just become a Tier Three Performer, He Kao could hear this tone was somewhat feigned; while the delight was genuine, the surprise felt a bit fake—Bai Yao likely knew he’d been working here for some time.

He Kao replied with a smile, "Yeah, I didn’t go for a PhD. I started working here right after finishing my master’s."

With this little incident, everyone else stopped in their tracks, and Qian Guran asked in a caring tone, "You guys know each other?"

He Kao: "College classmates."

Bai Yao added with a cheerful smile, "Same class for four years!"

A colleague said in a slightly exaggerated tone, "Wow, childhood sweethearts then."

Sweethearts my ass, if you don’t know how to use idioms, don’t just throw words around. Besides, I never had a sweetheart; I only played with Bamboo Thunder as a kid! Some people just love to stir trouble for no reason, He Kao couldn’t help but complain in his heart.

As they talked, not only were there glances from colleagues, but also a Divine Thought sweeping over... There are three people in the company with a cultivation of Tier Three or above, Qian Guran and Huang Si were present, and the Divine Thought came from Mei Guyu next door.

Gao Xue’e’s cultivation is only Tier Two, but her glance is almost like a Divine Thought too; she mainly aimed it at Bai Yao.

He Kao shrugged, "Don’t make stuff up, we’re just regular classmates, haven’t been in touch for six or seven years."

Bai Yao lowered her head slightly, seemingly shy, "I even confessed to you back then, such a pity."

Pity what? She didn’t continue.

As soon as she said this, the open-plan office was filled with "oh" sounds. To speak such words in this kind of setting, meeting the company’s leadership and so many colleagues for the first time, was a bit too much drama.

Gao Xue’e squinted her eyes, scrutinizing Bai Yao carefully, her gaze becoming playful.

Bai Yao is about one meter sixty, wearing a typical OL professional suit, making her figure look pretty good... Gao Xue’e glanced at her own chest, of course, she couldn’t compare to herself.

This girl’s looks are above seven out of ten, well dressed up she could reach eight, not a typical face but very recognizable since everyone has seen her around a lot this year.

She’s that almost universal oval face model in short drama, short videos, with an eighty percent similarity to Bai Yao.

This girl showing such behavior right upon meeting He Kao, her level isn’t low, she’s probably trying to seduce He Kao, regardless of future plans, she wants to bag someone already familiar with the company situation first.

In big companies’ technical departments, there’s always more men than women. Out of 600 employees at the branch, there are only over 160 women, mostly in administrative, logistics, finance, and other managerial positions.

The Digital Life Project team is mostly seasoned tech nerds, a girl like Bai Yao could easily stand out, if He Kao were still that ground-level programmer, he would be easily captured.

But now He Kao isn’t the shy little guy she knew in college anymore.

No need to consider what Gao Xue’e was thinking, He Kao showed a confused expression, "Really? How come I don’t know?"

As a Great Success Cultivator, when he says he doesn’t know, he truly doesn’t know.

Bai Yao: "You don’t even remember that? Think again, if you can’t recall..."

Before she could say more, the highest-ranking leader present, Qian Guran, suddenly raised his voice and said, "Let’s catch up later, we still have to go to other departments, let’s finish the work first."

It didn’t feel right to have the leaders stand there listening to their private conversation, but chatting a bit wouldn’t matter. No one present minded. The leaders seemed very friendly and approachable; who wouldn’t want to catch the first-hand gossip?

Unfortunately, President Qian interrupted, so everyone had to turn and leave. However, no one noticed that Old Qian was already sweating on his forehead.

What Gao Xue’e could see, how could Qian Guran not notice? This new Bai Yao had set her sights on He Kao, she must have known He Kao worked here and checked his background before coming.

After meeting, her target was clear, and her actions decisive, just wanting to seize an opportunity to win over He Kao first.

He Kao was almost equivalent to originating from Qidian Orphanage, lost his father early, and his mother went abroad and lost contact when he was a child; he is alone, without much family background, and without much burden.

In a countryside town, there is a three-story villa with a yard, and near the city center, there is a large river-view flat in Guanliu District. It’s said his father left him a large inheritance in a bank safe, a huge amount of gold.

The only aspect he is lacking is his not-so-high position in the company, still a ground-level programmer, but his level is high. He has already been promoted to level five, still a technical backbone with quite a decent income.

In Bai Yao’s impression, He Kao’s appearance is great. Upon seeing him in person, he seems even more handsome and stylish than before!

Bai Yao had considered this beforehand, and after meeting, she was even more satisfied.

But this frightened Qian Guran; he wouldn’t pry into what position He Kao held, nor say what kind of relationship He Kao and Gao Xue’e had... He couldn’t figure out what Mei Guyu meant to He Kao, but he didn’t dare to even guess.

Old Qian knew He Kao wasn’t interested in Bai Yao, likely not only uninterested but also wary, but he was worried there might be other troubles.

Remember two years ago, the branch also hired a new employee, that girl named Yang Lingxi, turned out to be someone secretly sent by the Huiming Shi Family just to secretly approach and test He Kao.

**