Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Wisdom Biotech Company.
Nan Mu stood before the company’s high-tech entrance and looked up at the electronic screen on the building.
The screen was playing the following advertisement on a loop:
Wisdom Biotech Company is one of the nation’s leading technology giants. Guided by its mission to create a better life for humanity, the company has developed and manufactured numerous high-tech products that have transformed human life.
Examples of breakthroughs already achieved include personal aircraft that have changed the way people travel, organ printing that has saved lives and transformed medicine, DNA repair technology that extends human lifespans, and more.
…
Organ printing?
Nan Mu’s pupils contracted. His gaze turned cold and sharp as he looked toward the crowd not far away, sweeping over one face after another, each wearing a different expression.
As the leading enterprise in City A, Wisdom Biotechnology had more than a thousand employees working in its corporate building alone.
The first floor was the reception lobby. Unlike the lavish, opulent facades of other major companies, Wisdom Biotechnology’s entrance used all-aluminum decorative panels, pursuing a simple, silver metallic aesthetic.
Standing in the center of the lobby, everything within sight carried a cold, high-tech feel.
The second floor housed the security department, including maintenance, the surveillance room, and other related facilities.
The third floor was the marketing division, including the contracts department, operations department, project development, and more.
The fourth floor was the administrative division, including human resources, the administrative office, publicity planning, and similar departments.
From the fifth floor upward, things became a little more special.
Wisdom Biotechnology’s group headquarters had a total of nine floors. For the lower floors, anyone with an access card could take the elevator. But to go above the fifth floor, one had to transfer on the fifth floor.
In other words, you first had to get off the elevator on the fifth floor, walk to the opposite side, then take a different elevator in order to continue upward.
The sixth floor was the finance and legal division, including finance, accounting, legal affairs, and similar departments.
The seventh and eighth floors were both laboratories, places where researchers and scientists like Xu Lei and Jia Lingyuan worked.
The ninth floor was said to be Huangfu Junsheng’s office. The reason it was only “said to be” was because the researcher showing Nan Mu around had never taken him up there to see it.
“I’ve never been up there either. But none of that really matters. President Huangfu rarely comes to the group headquarters. I’ve been working here for two years, and I haven’t seen him even once.”
The researcher guiding Nan Mu was named Liang Mingqi. She was a round-faced young woman about the same age as Nan Mu and had a very lively personality.
“My name is Liang Mingqi. I’m a researcher under Teacher Xu. Although you’ll be working with Teacher Cheng, we’re all in the biology group, so we’ll basically be colleagues from now on. Please take care of me.”
Teacher Xu?
Without letting anything show, Nan Mu asked, “Do you mean Teacher Xu Lei?”
“That’s right. Teacher Xu Lei’s office and Teacher Cheng Wenhe’s office are right next to each other.” As Liang Mingqi spoke, she asked curiously, “Do you know Teacher Xu Lei?”
After hearing that she was one of Xu Lei’s researchers, Nan Mu, whose attitude had originally been ordinary, rarely put on a gentle smile. “Yes. My graduate advisor and Teacher Xu Lei were classmates.”
Liang Mingqi was momentarily dazzled by the smile across from her. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she blushed as she said, “Wow, what a coincidence. Before you came, I heard them mention that the new intern was a top student from A University of Science and Technology. Ah, it’s just a pity…”
She muttered that it was a pity, then stopped there.
Nan Mu had no choice but to ask, “What is?”
Liang Mingqi originally felt that she shouldn’t say anything, but the moment she looked up, she met a pair of eyes brimming with tender feeling. They shone like stars in the night sky, yet were as clear as a deep pool. They seemed profound and quiet, and as his gaze shifted, there was a softness like flowing water, sincere and fervent enough to make one’s heart pound.
She pressed her lips together. “Actually, before you arrived, our group already knew a top student from A University of Science and Technology was coming. It just so happened that someone in our group had resigned, so you would have fit in perfectly. But for some reason, Teacher Xu transferred an intern over from Teacher Cheng’s side and arranged for you to go to Teacher Cheng instead… It’s just really strange. Since both groups were adding people anyway, why make it so complicated? Everyone thinks it’s odd!”
Nan Mu let out a cold laugh inwardly. He had a pretty good idea why.
After Nurse Xiao Ai finished texting him, she had mysteriously fallen from a building. From Xu Lei’s perspective, he had every reason to believe Nan Mu was the last person Nurse Xiao Ai had met.
So it was hardly surprising that Xu Lei would do this. If Nan Mu were in Xu Lei’s shoes, he wouldn’t feel comfortable letting someone like that trail along behind him either.
Liang Mingqi led Nan Mu to the elevator and pressed the button.
“I’ll take you to the administrative office on the fourth floor. You probably haven’t gotten your card yet, right?”
“Card?”
“Yeah, the card for taking the elevator. I noticed you don’t have one hanging around your neck.” Liang Mingqi pinched the blue work ID hanging from her own neck. Her name and position were printed on it. She flipped it over, and only then did Nan Mu see that a card had been tucked into the back of the badge.
“Besides the elevator, you need it for places like the cafeteria too.”
Nan Mu nodded. “The company is pretty strict.”
“Well, we’re a big company, after all.” Liang Mingqi didn’t catch the implication behind Nan Mu’s words. She even sounded a little proud as she said, “Why else would everyone say our company is so hard to get into?”
She pointed at the elevator in front of them. “Didn’t we switch elevators on the fifth floor just now? For every floor above the fifth, you need to take this elevator, and it requires a passcode. The passcode changes once a month, and it isn’t sent out through AO. It’s passed along by word of mouth. Our labs also have passcodes, but the labs use iris recognition. I’ll take you to get yours registered in a bit, and next time you’ll be able to go in and out freely.”
Nan Mu quietly watched the elevator. In those clear eyes of his, deep as a still pool, there was a thoughtful look.
For a tech company, the rules were awfully tight. Even an elevator passcode had to be changed once a month. It was hard not to wonder what exactly was up there.
The two of them took the elevator down to the administrative office on the fourth floor. With Liang Mingqi there to guide him, the paperwork went extremely smoothly.
Just as they were about to leave after finishing the procedures, someone outside the office suddenly led another person in. Nan Mu turned to glance at the newcomer, and when he saw the person’s face clearly, he froze for a moment.
The other person raised an eyebrow but did not greet him.
As the two brushed past each other, they silently exchanged a knowing look. In the next instant, their gazes slid away again. Each lifted his head and walked on, both of their eyes carrying an air of casual indifference.
Nan Mu followed Liang Mingqi up to the laboratory on the seventh floor to register his iris recognition.
“Besides the biology group, what else is in the lab on the eighth floor?”
“Quite a lot. The physics group is over on that side. The botany lab is in the middle. The more dangerous ones, like the chemistry group and materials group, are upstairs.”
After Nan Mu had gotten a rough understanding, he asked, “Which way is the restroom?”
Liang Mingqi pointed in a direction. “Straight to the end. Do you want me to take you?”
Nan Mu smiled. “No need to trouble you. I’ll go myself, then come back and listen to the rest of your introduction. You should go get some water first. You’ve talked so much, you must be thirsty.”
She hadn’t noticed it before, but once he mentioned thirst, Liang Mingqi really did feel a little parched. She didn’t realize at all that the man across from her was trying to send her away. Instead, she thought Nan Mu was gentle and easy to get along with.
“All right, I’ll head to the office first. Make it quick.”
Nan Mu watched Liang Mingqi leave with a smile. Only then did the smile on his face gradually fade. He strode quickly to the men’s restroom.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw someone already standing with his head lowered, washing his hands at the sink.
Hearing the door open, the man looked up and smiled at Nan Mu through the mirror. “You sure took your time.”