CHAPTER 327: CHAPTER 324 [MOTHER AND SON]

Chapter 324: Mother and Child

The helicopter slowly descended onto the helipad.

After disembarking from the helicopter, Bai Jing quickly crossed the runway, passing over the giant "H" symbol on the ground.

A shuttle vehicle stopped beside her. Two fully armed combatants quickly jumped out, guns at the ready as they surveyed the surroundings.

Then, a woman in a white suit approached, hastily took the cold-weather gear that Bai Jing removed, and respectfully ushered her onto the shuttle vehicle.

This shuttle vehicle moved off slowly, heading to the other end of the airport runway.

There, a silver-painted aircraft was waiting.

Stepping up the aircraft’s boarding stairs, Bai Jing walked into the cabin. It was decorated in a business style with a predominance of cool colors.

Bai Jing casually walked to a seat in the back, sank her aging body completely into the soft chair, and then gently exhaled. "Alright, let’s go home. This trip has been truly exhausting."

"Yes, ma’am," the woman in the white suit, clearly an assistant, quickly went to the front to relay orders to the flight crew.

Bai Jing leaned back in her seat, turned her head to look out the window at the runway, and observed the fully armed combatants vigilantly watching their surroundings.

"Would you like something to drink?" the woman in the white suit returned and said softly. "The aircraft can take off within twenty minutes."

"...Just water for me, plain water." Bai Jing rubbed her temples but then changed her mind. "Never mind, bring me a glass of wine. I need a bit of alcohol to combat this headache."

"Of course."

A glass of champagne was quickly brought over.

After sipping the wine, Bai Jing seemed somewhat more relaxed. She then tilted her head slightly. "So, tell me, what trouble needs to be dealt with?"

The woman in the white suit immediately sat up straight. She took out a small notebook to flip through and also retrieved a pair of glasses from her jacket pocket to put on.

"The B3 action team is requesting a batch of heavy equipment. The list was sent this morning and includes some heavy weapons classified by the company as sensitive items..."

"Give it to them," Bai Jing said nonchalantly.

The woman in the white suit silently glanced at Bai Jing.

Bai Jing sighed. "If we’ve committed, there’s no turning back. If this venture fails, I’ll be in for a rough time regardless. If it succeeds, no one will question the use of a few heavy weapons."

"Alright, I’ll arrange it immediately," the woman in the white suit said with a nod.

"Any other bad news?" Bai Jing asked, a smile on her face.

"The committee has informed you that the fourth meeting of this year..."

"Postpone it," Bai Jing said indifferently. "Until we have results from Antarctica, I have no interest in attending such meetings just to be grilled by a group of people. As I’ve said: if we fail, there will be dire consequences for me. If we succeed, then these fellows will all come licking my boots. Until then, there’s no need to bother with them."

"Also, Mr. X has been trying to contact you through a private channel. I’ve received three messages from him already. He requests to speak with you directly," the woman in the white suit said, her tone a bit tense.

Upon hearing this, Bai Jing pondered seriously, and then a smile slowly spread across her lips. "This guy is getting anxious... Hmph, a fence-sitter will always be a fence-sitter. He wants to cozy up to the new factions in the company to gain benefits, but he doesn’t want to lose the connection with an old friend like me. Tell him I’m not interested in speaking with him. I only demand that he give me his absolute support, according to the terms I laid out when we last spoke! Tell him there’s no wavering this time, no hedging bets. He either backs me, or he can wait for the BOSS to potentially step in and settle all accounts if I succeed! Reply to him exactly as I said, dear."

"But won’t this provoke him?" the woman in the white suit asked cautiously. "He, like you, is an elder member of the committee, and our operation needs support. If such a message is conveyed, and it angers him... He might create some obstacles for our operation..."

"He doesn’t have the guts," Bai Jing laughed. "He’s not like those new powers in the committee. He’s an old-timer; he knows how terrifying the BOSS is. This guy, he has the guts to hedge his bets. But my actions this time are an overt plan, do you understand? This operation is entirely in line with the BOSS’s consistently upheld principles and goals. At this point, anyone who openly obstructs this operation is a traitor. Those new powers, they don’t understand how terrifying the BOSS is. But he knows it very well! He absolutely wouldn’t dare. Reply to him just as I said. I’m deliberately forcing his hand! Oh, right, add one more thing! Tell him I’m saving his life! So he should stop with those damned complaints. He ought to be grateful to me."

The woman in the white suit quickly recorded everything, then glanced at her notebook again. "Alright, those are the important matters... As for the other tasks, I’ve categorized them by importance. Category B tasks and below have been handled, and the logs of their resolution are in your private inbox."

Bai Jing looked at the woman in the white suit before her: the slender face, the efficiently styled short golden hair, the thin lips...

She suddenly reached out, gently touched the other’s cheek, and said with a warm smile, "Dear, you will become an excellent manager. I have great confidence in you."

The woman in the white suit immediately lowered her head. "That would all be thanks to your guidance—if I am ever so fortunate."

"How hypocritical," Bai Jing chuckled, releasing her hand. She continued, "However, for a manager, hypocrisy is an excellent quality—maintain it."

The woman in the white suit suddenly looked a bit tense.

"Relax, dear." Bai Jing smiled and took another sip of her wine. "When you reach my age, you’ll understand one thing... Everything takes time."

"I will try my best to meet all your requirements," the woman in the white suit nodded, her expression returning to its usual cool composure.

"Right, that’s the look. Indifference, composure—just don’t let others easily see through your thoughts and your emotions."

The woman in the white suit pondered. "Do you... have any work that needs to be assigned?"

"Hmm..." Bai Jing thought for a moment. "Any interesting news? On our website, in our Underground World. Have any interesting things happened in the past day?"

"Yes. The high-profile incident involving the Destroyer—the Captain of the Abyss Organization—who initiated a challenge for apotheosis. The result of his challenge against the Controller, Electric General, is out."

Bai Jing was taken aback. "So soon?"

"Yes."

"So... what’s the result? Was the Captain killed by Electric General?"

"...No, he succeeded. Electric General publicly acknowledged that the Captain possesses the strength of a Controller."

Bai Jing suddenly fell silent!

After a few seconds, the old lady asked coldly, "And then?"

The woman in the white suit hesitated, looking somewhat troubled. "Lady Bai Jing... the daily management of the platform falls under another committee member’s jurisdiction. Besides, they are the ones handling this matter, so I..."

"Investigate it," Bai Jing ordered coldly.

"...Yes, I will gather the information right away."

"Investigate this matter! Investigate this person, the Captain! You must be extremely diligent, extremely careful, extremely thorough. Dig up all intelligence, news, past experiences—everything you can find on The Abyss, on the Captain, on this individual! Every single detail, unearth it all for me! I want to know at what age he became an Ability User! I want to know how old he was when he debuted! Even his first girlfriend’s name, how old he was the first time he slept with a woman, where it happened... all of it... Damn it, find it out for me!"

Bai Jing’s emotional state was clearly unusual. The woman in the white suit sensed it but dared not ask further, simply nodding cautiously. "Okay, I will make every effort."

"After you find out, send all the materials to my private, secure email."

At that moment, a crew member came over to remind them that the aircraft was about to take off. Bai Jing nodded, her face reverting to the expression of a kindly old lady. She smiled at the flight attendant. "Get me a blanket, dear."

Bai Jing shifted in her soft chair and opened her eyes.

"Ma’am, would you like to go to the bedroom to rest for a while?" The voice of the woman in the white suit came from beside her.

"No need. I don’t like the beds on aircraft," Bai Jing shook her head. "Where are we?"

"We will land in an hour. You’ve woken up right on time."

The woman in the white suit immediately stood up, quickly bringing over a warm towel and a glass of plain water.

After wiping her face and taking a few sips of water, Bai Jing looked towards the front of the cabin.

Through a security door, she could vaguely see several fully armed combat personnel at the front end of the cabin.

Bai Jing smiled.

She suddenly turned her head to look at the woman in the white suit. "Do you know what I’m smiling at?"

"...I don’t know."

"They may never realize... that the person they are protecting doesn’t need their protection at all. Don’t you find it amusing?"

"So, would you like me to remove the security personnel from your entourage?"

"No, leave them be. A frail old woman who needs others to protect her will seem less threatening."

When the aircraft landed at a private airport in Iceland, an old vintage car awaited on the tarmac.

As Bai Jing disembarked, she waved off the woman in the white suit who was following her.

The woman in the white suit did not disembark, instead remaining just inside the doorway.

She was well aware of Lady Bai Jing’s special secret: Once the aircraft landed on this soil, all company personnel, including herself, were forbidden to follow her any further. Lady Bai Jing had her own secrets on this land.

Watching Bai Jing slowly slide into the vintage car, the woman in the white suit could clearly see the driver: a middle-aged man with thinning hair, a cold complexion, and eyes that stared straight ahead.

The woman in the white suit recognized that man—every time she accompanied Lady Bai Jing back to Iceland, this same driver came to pick them up. Of course, she wouldn’t, and she wouldn’t dare to pry into Lady Bai Jing’s secrets. Nor would anyone else in the company. A senior elder committee member in the company, she possessed secrets of her own. Even other committee members wouldn’t dream of prying too deeply into them—such an act would be perceived as intensely hostile.

The woman in the white suit vaguely knew of a legend that circulated among the company’s upper echelons: This Lady Bai Jing, who once held a high position of power within the company, had willingly relinquished her authority, choosing a semi-retired life of seclusion in Iceland... She had reached an agreement with the other committee members: None of the Octopus Monster Company’s influence was to enter Iceland! In other words, Iceland was this old lady’s private reserve, her personal sanctuary. For Lady Bai Jing, who was willing to trade her power for a life of retirement, the other committee members had all agreed to honor this pact.

The woman in the white suit knew she was greatly trusted and valued by Lady Bai Jing. She had served as Lady Bai Jing’s special assistant for over ten years. In fact, she was essentially Lady Bai Jing’s representative within the Octopus Monster Company. However, the woman in the white suit was also acutely aware that when it came to absolute trust, in Lady Bai Jing’s eyes, she likely ranked lower than the classic car’s driver who came to meet her at the airport. Lady Bai Jing held secrets on this island, on this land—secrets her assistant had not yet been permitted to approach.

"Carl, you really should have changed before picking me up. Your clothes stink of fish—and so does the car."

Sitting in the back seat, Bai Jing seemed to have reverted to a complaining old woman.

"Can’t be helped. I was at the fishing port this morning and didn’t have time to go home, shower, and change," Carl, the driver, replied without turning his head. His tone was relaxed, entirely unlike the nervous deference the woman in the white suit displayed towards Bai Jing.

"How’s your son doing?"

"Same as always, fishing. But this haul was good; he should make a decent sum," Carl continued, speaking easily with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting casually on the open window frame.

"I remember your son is almost eighteen, isn’t he?"

"Yes, he’s turning eighteen next month."

"Carl, have you ever considered letting your son..."

"Forget it." Carl chuckled, glancing at Bai Jing in the rearview mirror and pursing his lips. "When I followed you to this godforsaken place, I swore... I’m bloody retired."

"But I remember you were very reluctant back then."

"That was then," Carl said with a smile. "But I’ve married a woman here and had a son. I’ve bloody well integrated into this place. You know, Bai Jing, sometimes I wake up in the morning, see my dog lying by the bed, get up to wash, and look at myself in the mirror—muscles sagging, face full of wrinkles... It feels great, you know?"

Bai Jing didn’t say anything, just silently watched her driver.

"What I mean is... I haven’t had a nightmare in years." Carl suddenly sighed. "Can you imagine, Bai Jing? The most terrifying thing I’ve dreamt of recently was merely arguing with my wife."

Bai Jing sighed. "Alright, Carl, I understand... What I was saying... I just meant, if you ever needed it, if you wished for your son..."

"NO!" Carl suddenly turned to look at Bai Jing, his tone exceptionally serious. "When you brought me here, you said we were retired! Now, my son is just a fisherman on a fishing boat. And I’m just a driver. Got it? Bai Jing, that’s how it is."

Bai Jing was silent for a moment, then lifted her head, her wrinkled face once again wreathed in smiles.

"Then, as you wish, Carl. To... dying old in our beds!"

"Exactly. To dying old in our beds!" Carl laughed heartily and continued driving.

"Everything okay at home?"

"Don’t worry, all is well."

The car drove slowly, passing through a fishing port, a small town, across a plain, and then through another small town...

When it finally stopped, it was at a farm bordered by a small forest.

A large house built in the local style stood there, enclosed by a wide, sturdy wooden fence and a rusted metal gate.

After the car drove in, it stopped beside the house.

When Bai Jing got out of the car, Carl also exited the vehicle.

Only when he pushed open his door and got out did it become apparent that the driver, startlingly, had only one leg—his right.

He quickly produced a crutch for support, then hobbled to the front door of the house and opened it. Bai Jing went inside.

In the room, the fireplace held only ashes, but the air was still relatively warm.

On the sofa in the living room, a woman in a sweater sat with yarn and crochet needles beside her, dozing with her head tilted to one side.

Carl went over, added some firewood to the fireplace, and rekindled the flames.

Then, Carl went into another room.

In this room, an elderly man lay on the bed, fast asleep.

Carl went over, lifted the man’s eyelid for a look, then touched the wall heater to check its temperature.

He then hobbled out. By the time he reached the living room, Bai Jing had already draped a worn-looking sweater coat over herself and unpinned her hair, letting it fall loosely around her shoulders.

"Everything is normal, just as it was when you left," Carl nodded.

"Good. See you next time, Carl."

"See you next time."

With that, Carl turned and left, closing the door behind him. Soon, the sound of a car starting and driving away faded into the distance.

Bai Jing stood still for a moment, then turned and went up the stairs.

Pushing open the door to the largest room, Bai Jing walked over to the enormous, soft bed and checked the sheets. Then, she moved to the window and slowly settled into a chaise lounge positioned to catch the sunlight.

After finding the most comfortable position, Bai Jing gently retrieved a small bell from beneath the chaise lounge.

Softly, she shook the bell in her hand.

The crisp sound, as if imbued with some magic, penetrated the room, the doors, the walls, and the ceiling... It spread throughout the entire large house, reaching every corner!

In the living room, the woman dozing on the sofa suddenly woke up.

In the other room, the old man sleeping soundly on the bed sat up.

JINGLE! JINGLE! A bell on the wall rang simultaneously.

The woman on the sofa immediately rubbed her eyes, set aside her yarn and crochet needles, glanced at the fire in the fireplace, then walked to a cabinet and picked up a small cap—a symbol of her nursing profession—to put on.

Two minutes later...

The door to Bai Jing’s room was pushed open.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Baijing. Are you awake?"

The woman wearing the nurse’s cap came in with a smile.

Following her was the old man. Unlike the nurse, he had a stethoscope hanging around his neck.

Bai Jing greeted them with a warm smile. "Is it time for my checkup?"

"Of course. My apologies, I fell asleep... I thought you would rest for a while after breakfast, so I dozed off. Ah, how long was I asleep?"

Bai Jing smiled gently. "Not long, just an hour."

The old doctor with the stethoscope quickly examined Bai Jing and nodded. "Excellent, Madam. Your health is quite good."

Bai Jing’s smile was radiant. "So... another beautiful day?"

"Yes, another beautiful day."

After the nurse and doctor left, Bai Jing continued to sit in the chaise lounge, basking in the sun for a while longer.

Then, she slowly picked up the telephone from the stand beside the chaise lounge.

After dialing the number and waiting quietly for a moment, the call connected.

"Dear... where are you?"

On the other end of the line, a deep voice with a metallic timbre replied, "Mom? Are you awake?"

"Yes, my dear. I just had a checkup, and they say I’m doing well. It’s a beautiful day."

A soft chuckle came from the other end. "That’s good to hear."

Bai Jing continued with a smile, "When are you planning to come see me this time?"

"...Very soon, in the next few days. I just need to handle some things... you know, that thieving rat, I’m about to catch him."

"Alright, don’t overexert yourself. I mean, this sort of thing shouldn’t be an obstacle to my seeing my son. By the way, where are you now?"

"I’m in Jinling, Huaxia."