Chapter 106 - 102: Showdown
「The next evening.」
The Lin family was gathered around the dinner table.
Li Wan watched her son, a pleased smile she couldn’t hide spreading across her face. He was clearly more muscular than he had been recently, and he carried himself with a growing sense of composure.
While shoveling rice from his bowl, Lin Ye suddenly spoke, as if offhandedly.
"Sis, have you ever heard of a company called Dawn Creatures?"
The moment he spoke, Lin Wei froze for an instant.
A look of surprise flashed across her face.
A moment later, she put down her chopsticks, reached out, and pinched Lin Ye’s cheek. "Well, well, you little brat," she chided, half-annoyed and half-amused. "Getting bold, are we?"
"Have you been spying on me lately?"
"You even know I switched to a new company?"
At her words, Lin Ye’s mind went blank, as if he’d been struck by lightning.
Lin Wei, however, didn’t notice her brother’s strange reaction. She let go of his cheek, beaming as she shared her happy news with Lin Ye and their mother, Li Wan.
"Mom, Xiaoye, I’m not working at that restaurant anymore."
"A good friend from school recommended me for a new part-time job, recording and organizing experiment data at a pharmaceutical company that develops Genetic Optimization Liquid."
Lin Wei’s gaze shifted to Lin Ye, and she added with a hint of pride, "It’s the one you just mentioned—Dawn Creatures!"
"I looked into them. The company is a bit mysterious. It’s obviously well-funded, but I couldn’t find out which parent company it’s registered under."
"My friend said it might be a subsidiary of Mingguang Group, but it’s hard to say for sure."
"Even though I’m just a part-time data recorder, the pay is insanely high. Over ten thousand a week!"
"Whoa! Ten thousand a week?"
At the dinner table, his sister was still sharing her joy.
The delighted exclamations of his mother, Li Wan, also rang in his ears.
But Lin Ye couldn’t hear a thing.
An icy chill crept into his heart.
Lin Ye’s mind raced, searching for a solution.
But after a moment, he stopped deliberating. He put down his chopsticks and said bluntly, "Sis, quit that job."
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a quiet finality that allowed no room for argument.
"Huh...?"
Lin Wei, who had been excitedly sharing news of her new job, felt the smile freeze on her face.
She stared at her brother, stunned, the words not quite registering.
"Make up an excuse. Don’t bother resigning in writing, just call your supervisor and tell them you’re quitting."
The warm, lively atmosphere around the table instantly evaporated, chilled by Lin Ye’s abrupt declaration.
Their mother, Li Wan, looked at her son, her face filled with confusion.
"Xiaoye, what are you talking about?"
"Your sister’s job is so great! It’s with a legitimate, major company and the pay is high. How can she just quit?"
Lin Wei snapped out of her stupor. Her delicate brows knitted together in a frown, a mix of confusion and mild reproach in her voice.
"Exactly, you little brat. What’s gotten into you?"
"Do you have any idea how hard this job was to find? My friend had to pull a lot of strings to get me in! At over ten thousand a week, if I work for one month, Dad’s follow-up treatment will be completely paid for!"
She thought her younger brother was just throwing a fit.
Lin Ye looked at the utter confusion on his sister’s and mother’s faces. He knew he had to give them a reason that would be enough to persuade them.
’For a fleeting moment, the thought of hiding the whole thing behind some other excuse crossed his mind.’
’He even considered using his sister’s position to investigate Dawn Creatures from the inside.’
But he immediately dismissed those thoughts.
’These two people were his closest family.’
’He could hide it from the rest of the world, but he didn’t need to lie to them.’
’Besides, Lin Ye believed lying would only make the situation more complicated.’
’It might even put his sister in greater danger.’
So, he decided to lay his cards on the table.
However, the full truth—the horrors of the abandoned city, the existence of the System, the secret of consuming Source Crystals, and the tragic fate of the brothers Shi Lei and Shi Hao...
...it was all too grim, too fantastical. It was completely beyond their comprehension.
Telling them would only cause unnecessary panic and shatter their perception of reality.
He had to choose a way to explain it that they could understand and accept.
"There’s something wrong with that company."
"They’re conducting human experiments, which are explicitly forbidden by the state."
His words struck Lin Wei and Li Wan like another clap of thunder.
The color drained from Lin Wei’s face.
"Lin Ye, don’t scare me... You can’t just say things like that!"
Human experiments!
For ordinary people, those two words were something that only existed in movies and on the news, something that seemed so far removed from their own lives.
Their mother, Li Wan, also looked on in disbelief, but she knew her son better.
Lin Ye wasn’t the type to make baseless accusations or speak carelessly.
"Xiaoye, you... where did you hear this from?"
Lin Ye met their shocked and doubtful gazes.
He continued, "If I told you the details, it would only make you panic."
At this, Lin Ye suddenly changed the subject.
"Dad’s surgery and rehabilitation cost over three hundred thousand. The hospital didn’t waive the fees, and it wasn’t some kind of military disability benefit."
"The chief of staff from Dad’s old logistics unit fronted the money."
Li Wan gasped. "How could we let him pay for that!"
"He’s our family’s benefactor!"
Lin Ye nodded. "Yes. And I’ve already paid back the three hundred thousand."
Li Wan and Lin Wei were even more astonished.
’Paid it back?’
’Over three hundred thousand, just like that?’
Lin Ye tapped his CR bracelet.
He projected his current bank balance.
447,639.7!
The number left the mother and daughter utterly speechless.