Wei'er was silent for a long moment, studying the pills like they might explode. "You need to understand something, Kai. The pharmaceutical industry in Haishi isn't just competitive—it's controlled. The major families have agreements. Territory divisions. If we try to enter this market, we're not just fighting Wang Zhou. We're challenging the entire established order."
"Good."
"Good?" Wei'er's voice rose slightly. "Do you have a death wish?"
Kai met her eyes. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life running? Hiding? Hoping Wang Zhou eventually forgets about you?"
"No, but—"
"Then we need power. Real power. Not connections or family names or inherited wealth. Something they can't take away." He picked up one of the pills. "This is power. Knowledge they don't have. Capability they can't replicate. We build from this."
Wei'er rubbed her temples. "Okay. Hypothetically, say I believe this could work. We'd need to move fast. My former company, Tianhui Pharmaceuticals, has production facilities we could potentially lease. I know the operations manager owes me a favor. But we'd need capital for the first production run, licensing fees, raw materials..."
"How much?"
"Minimum? Two hundred thousand yuan. For anything viable, closer to half a million."
Kai opened another drawer. Inside were stacks of cash, neatly bundled.
Wei'er's jaw dropped. "Where did you—"
"Liu Mei wasn't the only one embezzling from the Chen family accounts. Chen Jian has been siphoning money for his gambling debts for two years. I simply redirected him." Kai gestured to the cash. "Six hundred thousand yuan. Enough to start."
"You robbed my brother?"
"He robbed your family first. I just corrected the flow of funds."
Wei'er started laughing. It began as a chuckle, then grew into genuine, slightly hysterical laughter. "This is insane. Everything about this is insane. We're fugitives planning to start a business with stolen money to fight a pharmaceutical war against the city's elite while hiding from a vindictive billionaire."
"Yes."
"And you think this will work?"
"Yes."
Wei'er's laughter faded. She looked at Kai really looking at him and something shifted in her expression. Recognition, maybe. Or acceptance.
"Who were you?" she asked quietly. "Before. In your past life, previous career, whatever. You're not just some orphan who happened to know martial arts and chemistry. Nobody is this prepared, this calm, this..."
"Certain?"
"Dangerous."
Kai considered his answer carefully. Truth was still a luxury, but Wei'er deserved some portion of it.
"I was a soldier," he said. Which wasn't entirely false. "I served in places where planning meant survival and hesitation meant death. I learned to see patterns, exploit weaknesses, turn disadvantages into advantages. And I learned that power respects only one thing: greater power."
It was perhaps ten percent of the truth.
Wei'er seemed to sense there was more, but she didn't push. "Alright. I'm in. But we do this smartly. Controlled. No unnecessary risks."
"Agreed."
"And if this goes wrong, if Wang Zhou comes for us before we're ready—"
"He won't find us unprepared."
A notification pinged on Wei'er's phone. She glanced at it and her expression darkened. "It's from my assistant at Tianhui. She says the CEO just called an emergency meeting. Wang Enterprises is calling in their debt. The company's going bankrupt."
Kai nodded. Expected. "They're cutting off your resources. Making sure you have nowhere to return to."
"It's worse than that. My colleagues, my team, they'll lose their jobs. Thirty people, Kai. Good people."
"Then we hire them."
"With what facilities? We don't have a company yet."
"We will buy tonight." Kai pulled out his phone and dialed a number he'd memorized months ago. "Mr. Zhao? This is Kai Zhenwu. We spoke about your warehouse space in the East District... Yes, I'm still interested. I can have cash by this afternoon... Excellent."
He hung up. Wei'er stared. "You already had a backup facility?"
"Three of them. I told you. Contingencies."
******
At 10:00 AM, Chen Haotian sat in his study, hands shaking as he signed the legal documents.
Liu Mei hovered over him like a vulture. "You're doing the right thing. That ungrateful girl and her worthless husband have violated the contract. They need to face consequences."
"She's my daughter," Chen Haotian said weakly.
"She's a liability. And Kai Zhenwu is a fraud. Young Master Wang has assured me that once this is resolved, the Chen family will have priority access to all Wang Enterprises contracts. We'll be wealthy again, Haotian. Truly wealthy."
The documents were a criminal complaint for fraud and breach of contract. Once filed, the police would issue a warrant for Kai's arrest. Wei'er would be legally bound to return to the family home or face her own charges for aiding a fugitive.
Chen Haotian's pen hovered over the signature line.
He thought of Wei'er as a child. Bright, determined, always trying to please him. He'd been proud once. Before the gambling losses. Before Liu Mei's influence. Before he'd become this weak, contemptible thing.
"Father, don't."
Both Chen Haotian and Liu Mei spun around.
Chen Jian stood in the doorway, his usually smug expression replaced with something haunted. "Don't sign that."
"Jian?" Liu Mei's voice was sharp. "What are you talking about?"
"I..." Chen Jian swallowed hard. "I went to the bank this morning. My account. The one I've been using for... for my expenses. It's empty. Six hundred thousand yuan, just gone."
Liu Mei's face went pale. "What?"
"Someone transferred it out. Three months ago. I didn't notice because the statements were being redirected." Chen Jian pulled out his phone, hands shaking. "But I got a text this morning. From an unknown number. It said: 'Thank you for the startup capital. Don't worry—we'll put it to better use than you did. P.S. The police have copies of your gambling debts and loan shark contracts. Fraud charges take years to resolve. Think carefully about your next move.'"
The study went silent.
Chen Haotian looked up slowly. "Kai Zhenwu."
"It had to be," Chen Jian whispered. "He's been in this house for three years. He had access to everything. He must have been planning this the whole time."
Liu Mei snatched Chen Jian's phone and read the message. Her hands clenched. "That little we'll destroy him. We'll—"
"Mother." Chen Jian's voice was hollow. "If he has evidence of my debts, if he reports them to the authorities, I'll be arrested. The loan sharks I borrowed from were connected to organized crime. That's a mandatory five-year sentence."
"Then we need Wang Zhou's protection more than ever," Liu Mei insisted. She turned to Chen Haotian. "Sign the documents. Now. Once Kai is arrested, we can leverage Wang Zhou's legal team to protect Jian."
Chen Haotian stared at the papers. His daughter was out there, somewhere, with a man who'd been secretly dismantling their household for months. A man who was clearly far more dangerous than any of them had realized.
"If I sign this," he said slowly, "Wei'er will never forgive me."
"If you don't sign," Liu Mei hissed, "your son goes to prison and our family loses everything. Choose."
Chen Haotian picked up the pen.
His hand trembled.
He signed.
******
At 11:30 AM, Kai and Wei'er stood in an industrial warehouse in Haishi City's East District.
The space was a vast two thousand square meters of empty concrete and steel rafters. The previous tenant, a textile manufacturer, had gone bankrupt six months ago. The equipment had been sold off, but the structure itself was sound.
"It needs work," Wei'er said, her professional eye cataloging the deficiencies. "Ventilation upgrades, clean room installations, quality control stations, storage refrigeration..."
"Manageable." Kai had already mentally calculated the costs. With the right contractors, they could have basic operations running within a week. "The location is good. Close to shipping routes, far enough from residential areas to avoid complaints about industrial processes."
"We'll need permits. Lots of permits."
"I have contacts for that."
Wei'er shot him a look. "Do you have contacts for pharmaceutical licensing permits?"
"I have contacts who have contacts."
Before Wei'er could respond, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and her expression fell. "It's Zhang Lin. My CEO."
She answered. "Mr. Zhang?... Yes, I heard about the bankruptcy... I understand... Of course, I..." Her face went white. "What? When?... I see. Thank you for telling me."
She hung up slowly.
"What?" Kai asked.
"The bankruptcy isn't just financial. Wang Enterprises bought out Tianhui's assets as part of the debt settlement. All employees are being terminated, but..." Wei'er's voice shook slightly. "There's a blacklist clause. Anyone on it is prohibited from working in pharmaceuticals in Haishi City for five years. My entire team is on that list. Thirty people who now can't work in their chosen field because of me."
"Because of Wang Zhou," Kai corrected.
"It's the same thing. They're being punished because I refused him." Wei'er sat down on a dusty crate, suddenly looking exhausted again. "How do we fight this, Kai? He can destroy people's careers with a phone call. What can we possibly do against that?"
Kai walked to the warehouse's main window and looked out at the city. Somewhere out there, Wang Zhou was probably celebrating. Thinking he'd won. Thinking his power was absolute.
The same mistake the Jade Emperor had made.
"We do what I should have done in the Heavenly Realm," Kai said quietly.
"What?"
He turned to face her. "We stop fighting on their terms. We stop playing their game. We change the rules entirely."
Wei'er stood. "I don't understand."
"Wang Zhou controls the pharmaceutical industry in Haishi through established channels. Legal frameworks. Business relationships. Political connections. So we don't enter through those channels." Kai pulled out his phone and made a call. "Mr. Zhao, add thirty names to our potential hiring list... Yes, all from Tianhui Pharmaceuticals... I'm aware they're blacklisted. I don't care... Because we're not registering as a pharmaceutical company. We're registering as a cultivation resources supplier. Different regulatory bodies, different licensing, different industry classification... Exactly. I'll send the details within the hour."
He hung up.
Wei'er's eyes widened. "Cultivation resources. That's brilliant. The Cultivation Affairs Ministry operates independently from standard commerce regulations. Wang Zhou's pharmaceutical connections have no jurisdiction."
"And cultivation resources are exploding in demand. Every family wants their children to have advantages. Every sect needs supplies. The market is fragmented, quality is inconsistent, and prices are inflated because nobody's optimizing production." Kai gestured around the warehouse. "We fix all three problems. Consistent quality, efficient production, fair prices."
"We'll still face resistance. The cultivation supply market has its own power players."
"Different power players. Ones who don't have Wang Zhou's resources or organization. Easier to compete with." Kai started walking toward the warehouse's office section. "Your team—the thirty people from Tianhui. Contact them. Offer positions. Fifty percent higher salary than they were making. Explain the situation honestly."
"They'll think we're insane."
"Some will. The smart ones will recognize an opportunity." Kai opened the office door, revealing a space that would need significant renovation. "We'll need a lab manager, quality control specialists, production supervisors, and sales representatives. Do your people have those skills?"
"Yes, but..." Wei'er hesitated. "Kai, even if they agree, even if we get licensed and start production, we're still going to war with Wang Zhou. He won't just let this go."
"No. He won't."
"So what's the endgame? We build a company, make some money, and hope he eventually forgets about us?"
Kai turned to face her fully. His expression was calm, but something cold flickered in his eyes. Something that made Wei'er take an involuntary step back.
"The endgame," Kai said softly, "is that six months from now, Wang Zhou will be the one hoping we forget about him."
Wei'er opened her mouth to respond, but her phone buzzed. A text message:
POLICE ALERT: Warrant issued for Kai Zhenwu. Charges: Fraud, breach of contract, theft. If you have information about his whereabouts, contact Haishi City Police immediately. Harboring a fugitive carries criminal penalties.**
She showed Kai the message.
He read it without expression. "Faster than I expected. Chen Haotian signed the complaint."
"Your father-in-law just had you declared a criminal."
"Former father-in-law," Kai corrected. "And yes. Which means we have less time than I hoped. We need to accelerate the timeline."
"Accelerate? Kai, there's a warrant out for your arrest. How are we supposed to—"
"The warrant is civil, not criminal. They're claiming contract fraud, not violent crime. That means it's a low priority for actual enforcement. They'll watch transportation hubs and monitor bank accounts, but they won't actively hunt me unless I give them a reason." Kai pulled out a second phone—a burner Wei'er hadn't seen before. "We work fast, stay mobile, and ensure we're too valuable to arrest by the time they do find us."
"Too valuable?"
"Once we start supplying cultivation resources to the right people, we'll have our own protection. Cultivators don't care about business disputes. They care about results. If our pills work, if our prices are fair, they'll shield us from conventional threats."
Wei'er processed this. "You're planning to create a customer base that's more powerful than Wang Zhou's political connections."
"Yes."
"That could take months."
"It will take three weeks."
"That's impossible."
Kai smiled. It wasn't a warm expression. "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
Despite everything the warrant, the danger, the insanity of their situation, Wei'er found herself smiling back. "Alright. Three weeks. But if this goes wrong—"
"It won't."
"You can't possibly know that."
"No," Kai admitted. "But I can make it significantly more likely."
He pulled out the vial of golden pills again and handed it to Wei'er. "Take these to your most trusted contact in the cultivation community. Someone with connections, influence, and enough integrity to give an honest assessment. Have them test one pill. Once they confirm it works, the word will spread naturally."
Wei'er held the vial carefully. "My college roommate married into the Shen family. They're small-tier cultivators, but respected. She might—"
"Perfect. Contact her today. Tomorrow, we start recruiting your former team. By this time next week, we'll have production running."
"And Wang Zhou?"
"Will realize too late that he's already lost."
Wei'er wanted to believe him. The confidence in Kai's voice, the precision of his planning, the way he moved through obstacles like they were minor inconveniences should have been reassuring.
Instead, it was terrifying.
Because she was starting to realize that whoever Kai Zhenwu really was, whatever he'd been before this life, he was someone who'd learned to topple empires.
And Wang Enterprises had just declared war on him.