While Guo Jia was still basking in the glow of his recent triumphs, Liu Hui—the man he had driven to Hong Kong—had suddenly made a comeback from the dead. Moreover, Liu's resurgence carried even more momentum than Han Tang Hospital's, achieving greater feats than anyone could have anticipated. At that moment, Guo Jia had never imagined this "fish out of water" would one day rise again. The Guo family had even allowed Liu to retreat to Hong Kong as a gesture of goodwill toward their disgraced allies, assuming he'd merely waste away in exile. But now it turned out Liu had made another earth-shaking invention.

Had Guo Jia known about this groundbreaking discovery earlier, he would have never let Liu leave Mainland China. He surely would have detained him personally to serve as his most loyal asset. After all, the market potential for a cure against myopia was astronomical—far surpassing even the HIV medication sector, something evident from Stellar Group's record-breaking sales in its first month.

Liu had grown unexpectedly cunning this time around. With his revolutionary eye drops, he'd quickly assembled a coalition of powerful allies and mutually beneficial partners who each held significant influence across various nations. These stakeholders now actively protected Liu's interests while keeping him safely based in Hong Kong where Guo Jia could no longer reach him with the same ease as before.

Since Liu's "Stellar Myopia Cure" debut, Guo Jia had begun hearing mockery at elite circles in Beijing. They ridiculed his short-sightedness for persecuting an innocent man who'd clearly been grasping at straws while squandering opportunities to build real power. The criticism stung more than he cared to admit.

Initially, Guo Jia dismissed these criticisms as typical sour grapes from envious rivals. He privately sneered at their grandiose delusions about competing with Liu's new drug when they hadn't even secured a foothold in the HIV medication market. After all, his family had still achieved something tangible with their existing pharmaceutical success.

But as Liu's momentum grew unstoppable, Guo Jia discovered unsettling undercurrents within China's highest echelons of power. The Guo clan had only managed to maintain their standing through careful alliances and strategic maneuvering that brought the Lin family into their fold at critical moments. Yet recent developments were catching them completely off guard.

Among China's political heavyweights, the infamous neutralist Luo family was now cozying up to previously disgruntled factions—showing clear signs of forming a dangerous coalition. This development unsettled Guo Jia's grandfather deeply. More troubling still, the once-eliminated Lin family was displaying ambiguous intentions toward the Guos, maintaining an infuriatingly distant yet cooperative stance.

Tonight in his study, Guo Jia's grandfather unleashed a torrent of venom against him—accusing him of making disastrous decisions that left them trapped between rock and hard place; blaming him for poor judgment that created unnecessary enemies and squandered golden opportunities; reprimanding him for failing to prevent Luo family-Liu coalition. Every misstep the elder could imagine was now squarely placed on Guo Jia's shoulders.

Silent under his grandfather's tirade, Guo Jia knew these rants were just venting from political frustrations. The old man's dictatorial nature left no room for dissent—any argument might cost him both position and influence in an instant.

When the verbal assault finally ended with a dismissive wave of the hand, Guo Jia retreated quickly, eager to escape as if fleeing a firing squad. "These decisions were all made under your supervision while you benefited from them yourself," he fumed silently after leaving, his youth clashing with his ingrained deference. He took his frustrations out by heading straight to his favorite bar with bodyguards in tow.

As Guo Jia drank heavily at the bar counter, a seemingly innocent beauty caught his eye. But his years of experience instantly identified her as the type who wore purity like armor while hiding depravity beneath—a perfect match for him. Leveraging his intoxication, he approached and quickly charmed the woman with flattery before whisking her to his preferred five-star hotel.

Inside their reserved presidential suite, they collided in a frenzy of passion—tearing at each other's clothes until both were completely bare. As Guo Jia prepared to use a condom from the nightstand drawer, the woman suddenly snatched it and threw it on the floor with an impish laugh, "This little barrier spoils the fun. Let's be honest with each other."

Typically meticulous about safety precautions, Guo Jia had always used condoms without fail. But tonight's emotional turmoil combined with his knowledge of HIV treatment secrets made caution seem trivial. He jumped onto the bed for a wild night of physical release.

Deep within a secured warehouse owned by Stellar Logistics, Liu Hui was quietly stockpiling essential goods through multiple layers of intermediaries. No one had noticed the sheer volume he'd managed to acquire this way.

Activating his interdimensional transaction device, Liu contacted Alexander in the Magic Realm. The screen lit up instantly with Alexander's familiar face.

"Dear teacher,"

"How are things progressing over there lately?" Liu asked.

Alexander beamed enthusiastically, "Everything is going beautifully, dear teacher!"

Liu immediately knew their slime expulsion and settlement operations had succeeded based on his expression.

"Have you successfully driven out all the slimes from the canyon?" Liu inquired.

"We've completely cleared every last one of them," Alexander confirmed. "Our people have already moved into the canyon."

"How did the eviction process go?"

"While the population has declined, their acidic secretions still caused some injuries to our workers." Alexander's eyes sparkled with pride. "But thanks to your teachings in light magic and my practice of healing techniques, most victims have recovered fully!"

Liu observed how differently people now regarded him. They had once merely thanked him for providing food and guiding them out of the mines, but now they actually respected him—especially after witnessing his holy light spells. "Indeed," Alexander mused, "true power always commands true respect."

"Then you must continue training diligently to solidify your position and achieve greater things," Liu advised.

"I will! But my progress feels too slow." Alexander sounded embarrassed. "You've been teaching me magic for just over a month yet I'm only reaching the peak of intermediate level, still unable to master advanced spells."

Liu suddenly choked on his saliva, coughing violently as he tried to process this shocking revelation.

"Teacher, are you alright?" Alexander asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Liu managed through his coughs. The ancient Magic Realm tome had stated even prodigies needed twenty years each for to and another two decades to reach status. Yet in just one month of training, this student had already broken through the threshold toward —a pace that dwarfed even Earth's most gifted by four decades.

"By the way," Liu changed the subject hurriedly, "how is life in your new canyon settlement?"

"We've fully moved there now, keeping only minimal staff at the old mining operations. The canyon itself is massive—forty kilometers long, twenty wide with a river and lake system." Alexander described their new home. "Though the plants are all dead from centuries of slime contamination, the soil remains rich for agriculture."

"And where have you established your living quarters?"

"We found interconnected cave systems in the surrounding cliffs," Alexander explained. "They're deep and expansive enough to house everyone comfortably."

"Good choice—caves provide natural defenses against both surface threats and wandering monsters alike," Liu approved.

"Teacher," Alexander hesitated, "our population now exceeds fifteen thousand since expansion began. We desperately need more supplies as we've yet to establish any production capabilities."

Liu chuckled knowingly. "That explains why you're so short on resources." He gestured toward his warehouse full of supplies. "Consider this your starter package from your teacher."

Though Alexander protested modestly, his eyes gleamed with gratitude.

"Remember," Liu added before initiating the transaction, "once your settlement is stable, repay me by sharing your future harvests."

After transferring the entire mountainous stash through his device, Liu finally asked about those mysterious caves. The resulting revelation—an enormous 500-meter-long x 100-meter-high cavern with a narrow entrance—ignited new ideas in Liu's mind about potential storage solutions.

Meanwhile back at the hotel room, Guo Jia lay spent beside his exhausted companion when his interdimensional communicator vibrated...

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