In the early hours of one Sunday, while Samuel was still under the sweet spell of sleep, he was suddenly rudely awoken.
It was accompanied by the pestering voice of a young girl. “Dad, Dad, get up already, Dad!”
A frown came upon Samuel’s face. He was about to explode in a fit of rage but halted himself when the words approached his lips. He opened his drowsy eyes and sat up hesitantly. “Annie, let Dad sleep a while longer.”
“No. Did you forget, Dad? Today is the opening day of August’s concert!”
A girl with a pretty face and several spots of freckles on her face chirped about endlessly like a little lark. “Dad, didn’t you promise me last week that you were going to go to August’s concert with me?”
“Yeah, yeah, Dad got it…”
Samuel then sheepishly massaged his head before he put on his socks and shoes.
“Hmm, quickly get up Dad, Aunt Linda already made breakfast!”
Only then did the little girl willingly leave Samuel’s bedroom.
“Sigh…”
Samuel was not sure how to feel when he saw his childlike girl. He always found all of his anger instantly appeased whenever he looked at his daughter’s joyous face full of happiness.
The girl’s name was Annie, she just turned eighteen years old this year. Who would have ever thought that this energetic girl who had spent her days hopping around like a rabbit was bound to her wheelchair just one year ago, unable to leave the house as she wished?
Back then, the gloom never left Annie’s face. She was also incredibly skinny and weak, almost skin and bones. The only thing she liked to do was to lie by the window and watch as people her age walked by.
Whenever she found herself doing that, her eyes were full of envy and desire.
Samuel could not bear to see it anymore. He took the initiative to give up on clinical science which he was passionate about and turned to stem cell research in hopes of finding a cure for his daughter.
However, he had circled around for ten years to no avail, unable to find the ultimate cure.
Until one day, Samuel met a young man called Chen Chen.
Like a devil from the underworld, this man put his daughter’s recovery on the table as a bargaining chip to enlist him into an organization known as “God’s Forbidden Zone”.
From that moment onward, Samuel’s life was entirely rewritten.
Illegal animal experiments, illegal clinical trials, and sometimes even researching human cloning. These were the subjects Samuel had to deal with on a day to day basis.
If the Switzerland government were to catch wind of this, he would probably have to face more than a decade of imprisonment.
However, as long as it meant Annie regaining her ability to stand up on her two feet, how much did all this that he had to endure even matter?
With this in mind, Samuel dressed and pushed open the bedroom door to head down to the first floor. He noticed that the living room television was turned on.
There was a person who sat on the sofa with his back turned toward Samuel. That person was immersed in the cartoon program playing on the television.
From where Samuel stood, he could only see the person’s figure from the back. He could tell that it was a man who was relatively young.
Was it Annie’s classmate?
Samuel frowned and paid no mind to that man. He walked past the man from behind to head to the kitchen where he got himself a cup of water.
“Dad!”
Right then, Annie ran over again from the kitchen and urged him. “Come get breakfast quickly Dad!”
“You’re not going to ask your classmate to eat with us?” Samuel asked strangely.
“My classmate?” Annie was slightly taken aback. “What classmate, I didn’t invite any classmates today though?”
“Didn’t invite?”
Samuel found this even stranger. He quickly turned toward the direction of the living room and saw the figure still seated on the sofa. The man was even taking several gulps of water from the cup on the coffee table.
It was then when Annie also noticed that man. She wore a confused expression and asked, “Eh, do we have a guest?”
Samuel’s expression turned darker when he heard his daughter’s remark. It was not his daughter’s classmate and it was also far more unlikely that it was the nanny’s friend as the nanny would not dare to invite people over.
This meant that the person’s identity was largely unknown.
With this in mind, Samuel gave his daughter a look before he began slowly approaching the other person. However, this time, the figure had turned around to face him.
It was a young but also familiar look that turned to face Samuel.
“Mr. Samuel. It’s been a while.”
“It’s you?”
Samuel’s expression changed. “When did you come inside?”
“I just got here. I saw the door was unlocked so I brought myself inside.”
The young man spoke German fluently. He also had a very gentlemanly smile. “I hope you guys won’t mind.”
Annie standing beside her father glanced at her father, then at the smiling young man. She was quite puzzled.
It was pretty telling that her father was not a fan of seeing this man…
Was it her father’s coworker?
Annie wondered.
“This must be Miss Annie.”
The young man took a brief look at Samuel’s daughter standing beside him. “Very beautiful, congratulations on your recovery.”
“Thank you.”
Annie thanked him somewhat stiffly.
“Annie, why don’t you go eat first, no need to wait up.”
Samuel seemed to have made up his mind on something as he spoke to his daughter. His tone implied that this suggestion was not to be disputed.
“Oh, okay…”
Annie did not say much by way of response. Facing this scenario, she knew that the two of them must have something confidential to discuss.
With this, she sensibly took her leave, hoping that this person’s arrival would not affect her concert plans with her dad.
After Annie left, Samuel finally took his seat opposite the young man and asked gravely, “Chen Chen, it’s been a while. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Samuel, no need to treat me like some threatening opponent. I only came back to Switzerland to discuss some matters with Mr. Wynn.”
The young man smiled faintly.
This young man from the Mainland was Chen Chen.
Little X could effortlessly infiltrate the airline network to create all sorts of random identities. This way, Chen Chen could travel to any place in the world without the government finding out about it.
“With Mr. Wynn?” Samuel was slightly taken aback. “But Mr. Wynn isn’t in my home.”
“I know, but he’ll be here very soon.”
As Chen Chen spoke, he pointed at the doorway.
At the end of his note, the doorbell rang.
Samuel was at a loss. He slowly approached the door and turned to look at Chen Chen. Then, he opened the door.
An elderly man with a full head of white hair appeared behind the door. He carried a stoic aura with him that was unique to a Swiss. Who else could this be other than the man who was the general manager of Blacklight’s branch in Switzerland, Mr. Wynn himself?
“Mr. Wynn?”
Due to his pride as a researcher, Samuel had never been a big fan of this old man. However, since the man came to his doorstep, he had to uphold his courtesy as the owner of the house.
Chen Chen did not make a move to get up and greet him, he only turned to Wynn and nodded politely. “Long time no see, Mr. Wynn.”
“Long time no see, my boss.”
Wynn handed a bottle of beer to Samuel who was standing next to him. He then hung his coat by the clothes rack. “I can’t believe that it’s been a year since we’ve last met. But when I heard about the excellent development of the Africa branch, I was able to rest my worrisome heart.”
“You’re too humble, Mr. Wynn. If it weren’t for your assistance in the backlines, keeping everything in the Switzerland branch in line, the major developments on my end wouldn’t have been achieved.”
Chen Chen smiled before handing him a silver card that was still shining. “I invited you here to give you this.”
Wynn took the card. Upon closer reading of the text written on the card, he turned up with a look full of surprise. “Eco Science City Sanatorium member card?”
Samuel stood there with his mouth agape as well when he saw the card. There was even a hint of jealousy.
The existence of this card may be largely unknown to the general masses. However, among the circle of the top millionaires, it was pretty much public knowledge!
With its reputation as the most well-facilitated sanatorium equipped with the most advanced technology, the Eco Science City had become the prime destination to receive medical care for the wealthiest members of the world.
Apart from general medical care, there was also the “Age-reversal treatment” and “Alzheimer’s Disease Reversal Treatment” subjects that could not be found anywhere else in the world. This was another reason that Eco Science City could draw in thousands of privileged individuals from all over the world.
Due to the large amount of traffic, the reservation list for the sanatorium had been backed up to as far as two years later.
With this, the sanatorium announced a so-called membership system.
The members were categorized into five separate tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
The higher-tier members would be granted quicker access to the services provided by Eco Science City. Out of all these membership cards, only Bronze, Silver, and Gold could be purchased with cash. It was impossible to purchase the Platinum and Diamond cards with any form of currency.
Rumors had it that only very few selected powerful individuals could get the Platinum and Diamond membership cards. Members with a Platinum membership card had the luxury of receiving treatment in the Eco Science City whenever they wanted even without prior appointments!
“Yes, this is a Platinum tier sanatorium membership card.”
Chen Chen nodded. “Please don’t turn this down. This is something you’re entitled to as a crucial member of the company.”
Despite Wynn’s best efforts, his hands continued to tremble upon hearing Chen Chen’s remark, the unrest in his heart was laid out in the open. As someone who silently watched Chen Chen’s gradual rise, he was more informed than anyone else of the significance of this membership card…
Although Wynn was only the general manager of the company, he at one point had held more than 20% of the company’s shares. When Chen Chen spent over a billion to purchase the company, he could very well have taken the chance to retire.
However, Chen Chen took notice of Wynn’s various connections in Switzerland and took the initiative to convince him to stay.
At this point, there was not much else that could serve to persuade this elderly man as money was no longer an object of priority for him. However, this card was Wynn’s Achilles heel.
This was something he could never refuse…
“Right.”
Just as Wynn was being overwhelmed with gratitude, Chen Chen added. “With this card, you can head to Eco Science City to receive treatment anytime you want. The treatment costs will be deducted from the company’s expense. But before that, there’s something that I need your help with.”
A smile appeared on Chen Chen’s lips as he spoke and he took out a book containing drafted plans and presented it to Wynn, “I need you to help me settle some things concerning the export of ultrprecision machinery in Switzerland…”