Final Civilization

Chapter 44: Threshold

Han Ming parked his car below the Tianzhou International building. Today, he needed to handle matters at the group with the legal team. In the afternoon, he had also promised Yan Jing to pick up Duoduo from kindergarten.

On the way, he opened that TTY email account on his phone. Immediately, a detailed document appeared before his eyes.

Zhong Jiawen, female, 29 years old, entertainment streamer, ex-girlfriend of 'Observer' Xu Yong.

This 'Observer' was one of the lookouts in the crowd at the Wenhai Road accident scene, responsible for observing the wedding motorcade as it passed.

He was the only confirmed person found through the on-site surveillance, except this person was already dead.

According to Sun Lulu's information, Xu Yong died in a sudden accident one month after the car crash case. By the time his family rushed from out of town, he was already at the crematorium.

Strictly speaking, this Zhong Jiawen wasn't really Xu Yong's ex-girlfriend, but rather his mistress. Through intensive online investigation, the Spirit Butterfly Detective Agency discovered that Xu Yong was previously a streamer manager at a small live-streaming company. He was mainly responsible for coaxing some university girls who wanted to take shortcuts to become beauty streamers, using newbie training as a pretext to sign predatory contracts, while also offering nude photo loans.

The reason Sun Lulu provided Han Ming with this woman's information was because they had, through some method, searched Xu Yong's personal chat account and found a key phrase in his chat history with Zhong Jiawen.

"Got a big project recently. I'll take you to the Maldives after it's done."

This key phrase appeared just a few days before the Wenhai Road accident, which immediately caught the attention of the Spirit Butterfly Detective Agency."This detective agency really has some skills..."

Out of the 8 drivers and 1 observer they could find now, some were dead, others missing. Wei Cheng, the general manager of Xing'an Energy, had been turned into human mincemeat. This lead could be said to be extremely hard-won.

After reading it, Han Ming casually deleted the information, then walked into the elevator, his expression completely calm.

In the afternoon, Han Ming and Yan Li, along with a few others, went to the Baihe Sand and Gravel Resources Company to handle matters for the day. A little after 4 PM, he left early and drove to the kindergarten.

Logically speaking, Yan Duoduo had Auntie Weng accompanying her, plus several bodyguards by her side. There was no reason for Han Ming to go pick her up in a beat-up Mercedes C-Class.

However, Han Ming had previously promised her that he would accompany Duoduo at least twice a week, so he had no choice but to act as a temporary nanny.

Arriving at the kindergarten entrance, with about twenty minutes to spare, Han Ming saw the bodyguards Yan Jing had arranged already waiting.

"Mr. Han."

A bodyguard politely stepped forward and gestured towards the Maybach parked by the roadside.

Han Ming sighed helplessly and handed his car keys to the other man.

While waiting for the kindergarten to let out, Han Ming's phone rang. Seeing it was Tao Jie calling, his expression changed slightly, and he answered immediately.

"I knew you would definitely call me."

"Yes, you're so smart, you can guess everything. Aren't you worried that I'm calling to reject you?"

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window of the Riverside Building, Tao Jie looked at the shimmering light on the Ming River and spoke softly.

"You won't reject me," Han Ming said from the other end of the line. "Just like you didn't reject the marriage your parents arranged to make up for the regrets in your life."

"Why?"

"Because you like things to be complete. If family bonds still hold value—for example, putting your parents at ease—even if this completeness is just a formality, you would still consider it your value in living in this world. Even though you know exactly what kind of person Zheng Jiaqing is."

Hearing this, Tao Jie's lips curved into a faint smile. "What did you say to him yesterday? He was so scared he was out of sorts all day. He didn't even go to the gallery, just kept saying all sorts of nice things to me. I'm sick of hearing it."

"Nothing much. I just, as a senior and alumnus, briefly explained his own problems and shortcomings to him. I hoped he would encourage himself and focus his limited energy more on art, rather than on art students."

Pfft...

Tao Jie covered her mouth with a light laugh, her eyes curving into crescents as she giggled.

"Why did you have to expose him? He acted so hard."

"Actually, I didn't want to. But he thought I had encroached on his territory and wanted to issue me some kind of warning. So, I gave him some friendly advice."

Tao Jie fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then asked, "But you really did encroach on his territory, you know."

"I know. But I never tire of it."

Hearing these words, Tao Jie's ears flushed slightly red. Her gaze swept over the ripples on the Ming River, and a few ripples stirred in her heart as well.

She said, "Thank you, Han Ming."

"You're welcome."

"Han Ming." Tao Jie took a deep breath, suppressing the hesitation in her eyes, and spoke into the phone. "I... thought about it. If you really want to join the Sacred Realm of Science, I can introduce you to someone. Two weeks from now, there's a charity banquet in Hangzhou. Would you be able to come with me?"

Han Ming's expression immediately brightened upon hearing this, and he agreed, "I'll definitely go."

"I have to tell you, the Sacred Realm of Science has certain thresholds for new members. Besides a recommender, there's also an assessment to judge whether you share the same aspirations and ideals."

"I understand."

"What I want to talk about is the threshold for this assessment." Tao Jie said seriously, "Their minimum standard for members, besides being elites in various fields, is that they must be high-net-worth individuals. Only such people can exert a certain influence on society and invest money in areas like public welfare, charity, scientific research, and culture. In short, you must... be very rich."

"How much money counts as rich?" Han Ming asked.

"I'm not very sure. Perhaps a net worth of at least fifty million or more."

Han Ming took the phone away from his ear and looked at the seemingly endless balance number on the screen, sighing. "That really is quite a high threshold."

This didn't surprise him either. Both Chen Yufeng and Tao Jie came from wealthy family backgrounds. From Tao Jie's description, the activities of organizations like the Sacred Realm of Science genuinely required substantial financial investment. This indicated that these people weren't just spouting empty slogans about saving the world. As for the direction and purpose of their investments, that couldn't be confirmed for now. But being able to engage in charity and public welfare meant they were, to some extent, contributing to society.

"Don't worry." Tao Jie seemed to have already considered things for Han Ming in advance and now spoke calmly, "Although you might not meet the conditions yet, your professional qualifications and potential are excellent. Regarding the car accident matter, I've already communicated with people from the Sacred Realm of Science. They are very concerned about this. The person coming to this charity banquet might be a Sacred Realm specialist sent to Jinghai to investigate. The organization is highly focused on this incident, and quite a few people might come to Jinghai one after another."

"If we can find some of the masterminds behind the scenes through the car crash case and provide effective information to the Wallfacer's Apostles, the Wallfacer definitely won't let such an opportunity slip. So, for someone like you who can see through this matter, you've actually made a very significant contribution. Even if we don't solve the case, they might make an exception to recognize your ability and stance and let you join."

Hearing this, Han Ming's expression turned serious. The Wallfacer organization was sending people!

He took a deep breath and said to Tao Jie, "That's a good idea. But if you want to strive to save the Earth, it's better to earn more money. With greater capability, you can do more."

Tao Jie also smiled gently upon hearing this. "Then... what do you want to invest in? How about I be your angel investor?"

"Angel investor? Are you planning to just give me money directly?"

"Yes. Did you forget? I'm a wealthy woman."

Han Ming broke into a cold sweat. "If you just give me money, wouldn't that be different in nature for the Sacred Realm of Science's vetting process?"

"It might be. But I think, with your ability, your vision for investing and business far surpasses ordinary people. So, I have no doubt you can earn money."

"Thank you. Then when I find a suitable investment project, I'll come to you, the wealthy woman, for money."

"Deal."

"Oh, right, Han Ming, about the Sacred Realm of Science..."

"I'll keep it confidential."

"Mhm, good."

Hanging up the phone, Han Ming looked at his phone and murmured, "Strange... Now that I'm not short of money, people are instead rushing to give me money."

The problem now facing Han Ming wasn't how to make money.

It was how to spend it.