Upper East Side, Manhattan, Lenox Hill.
Under the night sky, only the occasional passing car in the luxury residential area brought flickers of moving light and shadow.
On the open-air terrace of a European-style villa, Mena, wearing a blue openwork silk nightgown, paced back and forth anxiously in the wind.
Her gaze frequently darted toward the star-studded night sky, only to pull back in disappointment as she muttered to herself, "Still not here? Is he still fooling around with that little girl?"
A gust of air disturbed the space behind her, and in an instant, he was back inside the house. "What's so urgent that you needed to find me?"
Mena bit her lip and thrust a yellow manila folder into his hands. "Take a look at this first."
Wade quickly tore it open and leafed through it. Inside were several files:
The first was a patent for a new type of physical enhancement potion production technology applied for by Nexus Company over the past two months.
The second was a detailed comparative analysis of the potion's ingredients, with the similarity to the core components of Vought's compound v marked in red ink next to it.
The last was a copy of the company's IRS tax information, which should have been strictly confidential and stored away.
Every file pointed to the same fact: they were being watched.
Mena picked up a bottle, poured a glass of red wine, and said with a trembling voice, "This file suddenly appeared in my car today... After I left the base this afternoon, I received a call from Mr. Edgar, the CEO of Vought, inviting me to talk at the Aman Club downtown the day after tomorrow."
She drained the wine in one gulp, her face full of panic. "What should we do? They've tracked it back to me. They know about me!"
Wade had considered various ways the company might be exposed, but he never expected it to happen like this. He tucked the files away with a cold gaze. 'To be able to get hold of confidential files from both the IRS and the Department of Defense... they really are something. It must have been a Supe sent by Edgar to steal them; otherwise, it would be impossible.'
As the thought flashed by, the air currents around him surged silently. He captured and analyzed every movement within a hundred meters, cross-referencing his Blood Sense with his Airflow Perception.
'No anomalies, no Supes, no one monitoring... I checked several times with Blood Sense before landing. It's safe for now.'
Wade felt slightly more at ease. He tossed the folder onto the table and chuckled softly, "Don't panic. Don't forget we have the Department of Defense backing us. Tell Director Richard the situation exactly as it is... see what he says. If he agrees, then you go."
"Is that what I'm afraid of?" Mena grabbed his arm emotionally. "I'm afraid it won't just be Edgar! What if... what if there are Supes at the venue? Like those mind readers you mentioned before, the ones who can see through people's thoughts?"
"If the fact that we've been digging at Vought's lifeblood for the past few months is exposed, it'll be dangerous!"
Wade took her into his arms. He could clearly feel her racing heartbeat and the trembling of her body. He knew she was truly terrified and was seeking protection and a solution.
Wade patted her back gently. "Remember, you're just a professional manager hired to run the company, an ordinary person. You pose no direct threat to them... Go there boldly and hear what Edgar wants to talk about. Is it an acquisition? Cooperation? Or a warning?"
"We at Nexus haven't launched any bloody purges against Vought's upper management. All our actions have been limited to commercial competition, leaving no actual evidence that could send us straight to prison."
"Besides, we have the Department of Defense behind us. Whether for public or private reasons, the cost for Edgar to move against you now is too high. He's a businessman, not a mobster."
While Wade offered comforting words, his mind was rapidly calculating a dozen possible intentions behind Edgar's move and the cost of responding to each.
Mena calmed down slightly, though the unease in her eyes hadn't vanished. "I understand... but just in case, before you leave, you must reinforce my memory block and those subconscious commands again."
"I'll bring those Almighty Potion accessories you gave me. If they dare to try anything, I'll fight Edgar to the death!"
"Don't. Don't take the potion there." Wade gently stroked her smooth hair. "Rest assured, I'll be watching from the shadows when the time comes."
"But you can't follow me forever!" Mena twisted her body and growled low, "I need protection. I need security I can trust! At least... at least someone to hold them off if they make a move, to give me a chance to escape."
Wade frowned. He felt that in the face of Supes, ordinary security forces were practically useless, and traveling with a large entourage would only draw more attention.
But looking at Mena's pale face and earnest eyes in his arms, he realized she needed more than just physical protection; she needed psychological reassurance.
He fell silent for a moment, then took a small bottle filled with transparent liquid from his pocket.
"This is a full bottle of Telepathy Potion. Go to the military base, look for soldiers who are about to be discharged, and form our company's security team. Inject them with this during the final round of interviews before you talk to them."
"Ensure they have clean backgrounds, no criminal records, no drug addictions, and are mentally stable. Age and physical condition don't matter as much, but they must be married with children."
Mena took the bottle, her face full of speechlessness. "With such high requirements, can you even find anyone? I've seen plenty of what those people are like on a daily basis."
Wade picked up an apple from the table and started munching. "There are tens of thousands of people at the Army base. It's possible to pick out twenty or thirty."
"When they travel, you can issue them the company's latest purely defensive potions, all mounted on portable devices, to increase their survival rate."
"Clearly explain the terms to them. No one will refuse a safe, high-paying job with benefits."
The unease on Mena's face faded as she tucked the bottle into her bag.
After a short while, she held up her phone, showing the screen with a look of resentment. "Here I am, worrying myself sick for you, busy handling all the company's affairs... while you, on the other hand, are actually having a sweet romance at school."
Wade glanced at the phone and saw the photo of himself and Jill on campus. His expression remained unchanged. "What college student doesn't date? If someone looked too closely into that funding you gave me when school started, I wouldn't be able to explain it. It's safer to just lean into the persona of being kept by a rich girl."
"Don't worry, I'm not that traditional. I don't plan to force you to marry me." Mena put away her phone, her smile a bit forced. "Sometimes I think... if, if something really happens to me, if I die in some corner... what will be left besides those cold numbers in the company account?"
Wade chewed the fruit and watched her quietly.
Mena continued with a dazed look in her eyes, "I need... I need something to prove the relationship between us, like a stronger bond."
Wade picked her up in his arms and walked toward the sofa, smiling. "It won't happen. I'm here."
"You don't understand." Mena leaned against his shoulder and murmured, "Nexus is our joint venture. A venture needs an heir, a bond that cannot be severed."
"A Supe child flowing with both our bloodlines would be proof that we existed, and it's also... it's also what I want most in this world."
"A child?" Wade felt as if a silent bolt of lightning had struck his mind. The impact of this word was even greater than the files from earlier.
Given his current physical strength and various abilities, even without longevity genes, he could live for over two hundred years relying on his superior regeneration, healing, and metabolic capabilities. He had never planned on having offspring.
Wade looked at the sincere Mena and realized that what she was asking for now was no longer just profit or companionship, but to bind the two of them together completely.
He felt a massive headache coming on, and excuses blurted out, "I'm not ready yet. Besides, being pregnant would affect how you handle company business, wouldn't it? I can't have you walking around with a big belly."
Mena clenched her fists and pounded on him in anger. "You can't be by my side twenty-four hours a day. How can you be sure I won't have a change of heart?"
Wade neither dodged nor hid. He said in a deep voice, "Are you serious? We've tried so many times and never hit the jackpot, which means..."
Mena pinned him down, her fingers poking him incessantly as she teased with a smile, "You think I didn't notice? Every time... you're overly careful, refusing to leave anything behind."
"Besides, who told you I'd do it myself? Technology is so advanced now; we can choose a more convenient and safer way."
Wade was silent for a moment. Seeing her eyes gradually redden and turn misty, he hurriedly said, "Fine, I'll give it to you."
Hearing this, Mena leaned down, giving him no more room to think, attempting to confirm it in the most primal way.
Wade held her slender waist. In the surge of sensory input, his brain calmly calculated the safety of the genetic samples, the reliability of the institutions, and how to completely destroy any redundant samples.
"Haa... You decide on the candidates and the medical facility," he said softly during a gap for air, "but the final sampling procedure must be supervised by me personally."
Mena let out a blurred chuckle in his ear and whispered, "How about we warm up first?"
"Tonight you're the boss... you call the shots." Wade used a clever bit of force to roll over, easily swapping their positions.
As they lingered in each other's embrace, he was still thinking about Edgar's overt warning and the cards in his own hand... Dealing with Vought's move of unknown intent was the top priority.
The living room lights went out; no one would sleep tonight.
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