Hearing her father swear such a vicious oath, Mei finally let go of her doubts.
Ever since her mother passed away, her father had indeed fallen apart. But one thing was beyond question. In his heart, her mother was still the most important person of all.
As long as her father was not an impostor, he would never lie using her mother's name.
At the same time, guilt welled up inside Mei again.
When had she stopped trusting her own father? When had it reached the point where he needed to swear on her mother just to prove his innocence?
Out of the corner of his eye, Li Mu caught the guilt on Mei's face and silently declared victory.
To be honest, he did not even know what Mei's mother's name was.
But at least for now, the suspicion had been dealt with.
With Mei reassured, Li Mu moved on to the next step. Selling the dream.
"Mei, with your talent and the technology I have, if we work together as father and daughter, we can definitely build something great."
Seeing how fired up Li Mu was, Mei could not help but feel interested as well.
"Dad, since you have decided to start a company, have you thought about what to call it?"
Li Mu turned the question back on her. "Mei, do you have any suggestions?"
"Huh?" Mei froze for a moment. "Dad, you want me to name it?"
"I said this foundation is for you. Of course you have the right to name it."
Hearing that, Mei fell into thought. After a long pause, she finally said, "If that's the case… how about Hyperion Electric?"
"Hyperion Electric?!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Li Mu's forehead.
"Mei, why that name?"
Her eyes lit up. "Dad, do you not think it sounds cool?"
So the Mei lineage all hides a bit of chuunibyou, huh?
Li Mu shook his head. "No. Absolutely not."
Disappointment flickered across Mei's eyes.
This time, though, Li Mu did not give in. Raiden Mei, research-focused, Hyperion Electric…
That name felt dangerously cursed.
After circling around the issue for a bit, Li Mu finally said, "How about ME Corp?"
"Huh? Naming it directly after me?" Mei was surprised. (T/N: Yeah this doesn't translate well since its different)
"This company was built for you in the first place. Of course it should carry the name of the daughter I care about most."
Hearing those words and thinking back on everything that had happened recently, the contrast hit her hard. Mei's eyes grew hot.
This warmth. This feeling of being cherished.
How long had it been since she last felt something like this?
Mom… did you see it? Dad really has changed.
"Dad…"
Seeing Mei suddenly tear up, Li Mu was completely baffled.
Naming it ME Corp was just to keep the plot on track. If he picked some random name and the system refused to acknowledge it, that would be a disaster.
As for why he went through all this trouble, it was simple. He wanted Mei to feel involved.
He had no intention of letting her scientific talent rot unused. Once ME Corp was established, this good daughter of his would become the chief researcher.
Physical items in the system shop were expensive, but knowledge was cheap. He could form a research team and turn system knowledge into real-world products.
That was where Mei's genius would shine.
So naturally, she needed to feel involved. People worked harder when they felt ownership.
"But Dad, starting a company requires a lot of capital," Mei said carefully. "We do not really have that much money."
Entrepreneurship required startup funds, especially for a manufacturing-oriented company. Factories, skilled workers, land.
The initial investment would be astronomical.
But Li Mu had already accounted for this long ago.
"Do not worry. Funding is not an issue."
Unfortunately, Mei misunderstood him.
"Are you planning to seek investors? With your technology, plenty of corporations would be interested…"
"Of course not. I never planned to work with those conglomerates," Li Mu said seriously. "Once you take someone else's money, you are bound by them."
"This is a foundation I built for you. A gift from a father to his daughter. How could I let outsiders lay a hand on it?"
ME Corp would play a crucial role later on.
To complete the major storyline check-in, Escape from Nagazora, he would likely offend several local powers.
If he took outside money now, it would only tie his hands later.
Besides, he did not need investors at all.
Simply put, he planned to stand upright and earn the money himself.
A gift for his daughter…
Mei's eyes, which she had just wiped dry, reddened again.
But even with all that emotion, reason pulled her back.
"Still, Dad, we do not have funds. If we do not seek investment, how do we get the first pot of gold?"
Instead of answering, Li Mu pulled a card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
"Miss Eden's concert ticket?" Mei said in surprise after taking it.
"Do not push yourself so hard," Li Mu said, gently wiping her tears with a tissue.
"Go watch a concert with your friends when you have time."
…
Time passed quickly, and soon it was another weekend afternoon.
Li Mu sent a message and asked Kiana out. As usual, they met at the cold drink shop they frequented.
They sat across from each other, a chilled drink in front of each.
Kiana wore a short blue jacket over a tight black top. Her silver-white hair was tied into a ponytail. Overall, her outfit was not much different from last time.
She rested her cheek on one hand, sipped her drink through a straw, then looked at Mu.
"By the way, Mu, what have you been busy with lately?"
Li Mu stirred his drink with the straw. "Preparing to start a business."
"Huh?"
Confusion filled Kiana's eyes.
"Saving the world also needs material support," Li Mu laughed. "We cannot just shout about friendship and bonds and charge headfirst into Honkai like in anime, right?"
"That… is true."
Kiana accepted that easily, then quickly thought of another issue.
"Starting a business needs a lot of capital though. Do you really have that much money?"
They had been brothers for so long, yet she had never heard him talk about his family background.
"That is a problem, yes. But I have already thought of a solution."
Seeing his confidence, Kiana froze for a second. Then something clicked.
She straightened up, rummaged through her pockets, and pulled out a black card with gold patterns, sliding it across the table.
"Here. Take it."
Li Mu stared at the card in a daze. "What is this?"
Kiana took another sip of her drink, completely unconcerned. "Pocket money my family gave me over the years. I never really had anything to spend it on, so I saved it. There should be quite a bit."
Looking at her calm expression, Li Mu suddenly remembered that his good brother came from a prestigious European family.
He looked at Kiana, then at the card.
This felt… strange.
Very strange.
…
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