Xie Xiaolei was frank and sincere in his words.

His main point was that Spirit Creation Creatures' brand was ruined. If they wanted to make a comeback, they had to get a clean brand to put on themselves.

But he did not want to lose his control over Spirit Creation Creatures, so he did not want to get affiliated with some mega corporation.

If they joined Superstar, they would lose some immediate benefits, but would retain a chance to rise from the ashes.

Of course, to Meng Chao, this trade was not a loss.

Right now, no matter how Superstar developed its business, it would be stuck in the field of harvesting monster materials. It was a field that did not require a high skill level and where compet.i.tion was very fierce.

This was especially the case since the northern offense. To target the lack of harvesters, many of the businesses, including Agricultural University, set up night schools and training cla.s.ses to quickly train up low-grade harvesters.

They had rather crude skills, but their fees were also really low.

Many of the resource recovery companies were going all out to hire people, which created a price war, so Superstar's profit was much lower than they had antic.i.p.ated.

Middle-grade and high-grade superbeasts like h.e.l.l Beasts and Apocalyptic Beasts did not often end up in Superstar's hands.

They could not handle the difficult monsters, but they did not want to be stuck harvesting low-grade monsters either. Hence, there was a hidden problem in Superstar's development.

In a few years' time, the Monster War would come to an end. To solve the problem of tens of millions of people's employment and development, Dragon City would definitely not stop and launch the colonization war.

At that time, Superstar would die, because it only knew how to harvest monsters.

They had to be in control of necessary skills and set up their plan ahead to ride the tides.

Xie Xiaolei's suggestion was basically the same as him handing Meng Chao a free lunch.

There were naturally risks that came with it, however.

Xie Xiaolei was an ambitious person who had a lot of tricks up his sleeves and Spirit Creation Creatures was too big for Superstar.

If Meng Chao were the slightest bit careless, their cooperation would end up with Xie Xiaolei supplanting him, and he would have done something as stupid as inviting an enemy into his abode.

But as long as his strength continued increasing and the coattails he was riding on remained strong, the chances of this happening were not high.

If Meng Chao had no knowledge of the future, he might have rejected Xie Xiaolei's offer just to avoid any unnecessary danger.

After all, with Superstar's current state, it was enough for his family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

But since he knew that the apocalypse was around the corner, he had to gamble everything he had time and again to expand his power so that he could influence Dragon City's development.

Compared to the survival of Dragon City, being in control of Superstar was insignificant.

After coming to this conclusion, Meng Chao said, “I need to think about this carefully. But President Xie, you need to be prepared for the worst. I'm not part of the real operations of Superstar. My father and President Qin might be among the shareholders, but Elder Ning, Yan Organization, and Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu are among our shareholders. Recently, a company under Sky Pillar Organization has also begun working with us. This is an important matter, and I can't make the call alone.

“Besides, even if we're as thick as thieves, it's useless. Right now, Spirit Creation Creatures is still under investigation. Who knows when you'll be released? We don't know whether you will be allowed to break down your company to sell it either.”

“Got it. But the fact that you'll consider it is enough for me.” Xie Xiaolei smiled with confidence. “Don't worry. As long as both parties have the will, the government will do its best to make the cooperation work. You're worried that Superstar does not have enough capital and skill to merge with Spirit Creation Creatures, right? Don't worry about that. The government will think of a way to solve it. All the industries in the biochemical modification field will help you.”

Meng Chao was stunned. “Why?”

“It's simple. Gao Ye's betrayal doesn't just affect Spirit Creation Creatures, but the entire biochemical modification field,” Xie Xiaolei explained. “Look. Once the truth of this matter comes out, not only will Spirit Creation Creatures face the threat of destruction, the entire biochemical modification field, countless genetic editing companies, biotechnology industries, and our beloved Agricultural University will suffer a huge blow.

“The runic symbol machines faction will regain the upper hand, then. This is something that the biochemical modification faction will not just watch happen without doing anything.

“Right now, the most important thing for us to do is solve this problem as soon as possible so that it will not fester. It's fine even if Spirit Creation Creatures loses the construction deal for Subway No.20. I'm fine with letting any other biochemical modification company take it, but we can't let it fall into the hands of the runic symbol machines faction.

“So, you should talk about this with your tutor and the higher-ups in Agricultural University. Trust me, you'll get the green light in all areas, and they'll provide you with various resources. This is a once in a blue moon chance, so you must seize it!”

“I will.” Meng Chao nodded.

Strategies in the business field were not his field of expertise.

But he could ask a lot of people for advice, like Qin Hu, Ning Shewo, Yan Hengbo, and Lu Siya. Of course, he could also go through Gu Jianbo and ask Black Tortoise Zong Yue.

If he could get the support from the various leaders in the field, he might actually be able to swallow the dinosaur.

Once they were done with serious matters, the two men relaxed and started chatting.

Of course, the moment they started, their topic couldn't help but stray to Gao Ye.

“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d… I've been friends with him for more than ten years, so how could he attack me?” Xie Xiaolei sighed sadly. “He's mad. The viruses invaded his brain and he went through a complete spirit energy deviation. How could I not tell? I should have been able to tell. I should have been able to tell a long time ago that he's a complete lunatic!”

This caught Meng Chao's interest. “What's wrong? Did Gao Ye often do something shocking?”

“Yes!” Xie Xiaolei gritted his teeth. “He's a cultivation maniac and a mad scientist. When he was still in Agricultural University, he spent entire days going only to the labs and the cultivation rooms. He didn't even go to the cafeteria often. I was the one who brought him his food every day and he just took a few bites in some corner of the lab.

“After graduation, he got his own lab, and it became worse. Not only did he sleep at the lab, he also conducted all sorts of crazy experiments. Because of bacteria spilling out and the drugs rus.h.i.+ng into him, he turned into something that resembled neither a human nor a ghoul. From that moment onwards, he had already turned into a monster!”

Meng Chao could not help but laugh. “President Xie, there are plenty of powerful people who are also cultivation maniacs. That's not exactly shocking behavior.”

“Well then, there's another thing.” Xie Xiaolei drew closer. He had a mysterious look on his face as he said, “Due to an accident in his experiment, Gao Ye was heavily injured. He suffered disabilities from it and his organs were damaged. He had to deal with endless neuropathic pain.

“To repair his organs and reduce the pain, he had to stay in the hospital for a few days every month to receive treatment.

“With Spirit Creation Creatures' financial power, we could send him to a quiet, private hospital for his treatment, but he never went. He insisted on going to a h.e.l.lhole that is a government hospital!”

Meng Chao was slightly stunned. “It… is a h.e.l.lhole?”

“Of course. Let's talk about their suite ward. They don't have an air ventilation system, so the air here is the same as in low-grade wards. I can even smell the scent of rot,” Xie Xiaolei grumbled. “If I had a choice, I would never stay here!”

Meng Chao looked around.

Even though it was a single ward, the air and environment were indeed not comparable to the VIP suite wards in Feng Shui Medical Center.

Xie Xiaolei was kept in isolation to be investigated. The abnormal beast research department placed him here, and there were two stoic, large, and built men standing guard outside the door. Xie Xiaolei could, thus, not do as he pleased and nitpick loudly.

“I wouldn't have minded him going to a government hospital to receive treatment, but at the very least, he should have stayed in a single ward, right?” Xie Xiaolei asked. “But Gao Ye refused it. I don't know what's wrong with his head. Every month, when he was admitted to a hospital, he insisted on staying in a low-grade ward, which has the worst possible environment. It's the type where more than ten people stay in a single room. No matter how I tried to convince him otherwise, he refused to change wards.

“He told me that he's spent too much time in the lab where he faces cold research equipment or monstrous-looking biochemical beasts. He has to be in touch with normal people and breathe in the scent of the world. But this is a hospital we're talking about! I've seen those low-grade wards with more than ten people inside. Those places aren't for people. Scent of the world? Bah! He's absolutely nuts!”

“Something like that happened?”

Meng Chao remembered how he had often accompanied his mother to the hospital for her physiotherapy, and she had stayed in a ward with more than ten people.

He knew what sort of environment it had.

It was not as if Gao Ye did not have money. He had a lot of Spirit Creation Creatures shars and had developed all sorts of tech, which he had personally patented. He did not spend much usually either, so why would he do this to torment himself?

Meng Chao could not understand it.

Xie Xiaolei continued bitterly rebuking Gao Ye's actions for a while more.

After some time, Meng Chao got up to bid farewell.

“By the way, President Xie.” When he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something Gao Ye had mentioned before and asked casually, “Let's say, hypothetically, Spirit Creation Creatures really has the chance to rise from the ashes and you manage to turn it into a mega corporation with a lot of power and wealth. Once you have an astronomical amount of money in your hands, what will you do that with that wealth?”

“Of course I'm going to buy cultivation resources and reach Deity Realm!” Xie Xiaolei blurted out without thinking.

Meng Chao nodded and followed up with another question. “What if you really manage to reach Deity Realm. What are you going to do next?”

“If I reach Deity Realm, I'll be in control of more resources, and I'll develop Spirit Creation Creatures even more. I might even expand the company throughout all of the Other World.”

Xie Xiaolei became excited. He paused for a moment and added. “Of course, if we can really end up with a full-on cooperation, it would be Superstar expanding throughout the Other World. I don't care about superficial reputation. I just want to enjoy the feeling of expansion.”

“What then?” Meng Chao insisted with his line of questioning. “Let's say you manage to expand the company all over the Other World. What are you going to do after that?”

“Then… I'll definitely acc.u.mulate more resources and reach a higher realm,” Xie Xiaolei said matter-of-factly.

“But you've already reached Deity Realm.”

“That's nothing. Deity Realm is not the end. There's no limit to life.” Xie Xiaolei's eyes shone, and he said with longing on his face, “Isn't that the dream of all superhumans? To see the world behind Deity Realm?”

Meng Chao's lips moved. He really wanted to say 'At the very least, that's not Gao Ye's dream', but he held it back.

While thinking about it, he pushed the door open and left without turning his head back.