Liu Hui frowned slightly and asked, "Young Master Huo and the others? Aren't they having a great time in the States with Wei Chao?"

The Sixth Miss shook her head. "They were indeed following Wei Chao previously, making a fortune with every move Wei Chao made in the financial markets. However, not long ago, due to a sudden nuclear explosion in the Indian Ocean, the global financial markets experienced violent turbulence. As a result, one of Wei Chao's major financial maneuvers ended in complete failure, and Wei Chao suffered substantial losses. Naturally, Young Master Huo and his group followed Wei Chao's lead, so they also incurred huge losses. It was precisely because of this unforeseen situation that they not only lost all the enormous profits they had previously made but also depleted a significant portion of their principal."

"Wei Chao made an operational mistake?" Liu Hui was taken aback. In his impression, Wei Chao was an invincible god of war in the financial markets, always able to anticipate events before they happened. How could he have erred because of a sudden nuclear explosion incident?

"Yes, it was Wei Chao's first operational error. It seems Grandpa was right; no one can be victorious forever. Even immortals make mistakes. After suffering this defeat, Wei Chao, for reasons unknown to me, temporarily shut down the investment firm under his management, ceasing his stirring up of the financial markets, and went to New York for a vacation. Young Master Huo and the others, who had been shadowing Wei Chao, were left idle, which is why they returned to Hong Kong. I caught up with them a few days ago and learned about their recent circumstances."

Liu Hui’s vision was now far-reaching; he no longer cared about the opinions of the Huo, Dong, or Bao families, nor did he need their help anymore. Thus, he smiled naturally, "The financial market always carries risks. When you make money, you must be prepared for the possibility of losing it. If they lost this time, they can just earn it back next time."

The Sixth Miss, however, shook her head. "Young Master Huo and the others lost a great deal this time, and with Wei Chao temporarily laying low, they have no way to cover their deficits in the short term. Consequently, even their status within their respective families is somewhat precarious. If it weren't for the sudden nuclear explosion, Wei Chao would have lost even more than them in that operation, and they even suspected Wei Chao had deliberately set them up."

Liu Hui sighed inwardly. Wei Chao encountering an unforeseen circumstance and making an investment error was unavoidable, as any human could err. What he hadn't expected was for his partners to suspect him. Liu Hui felt Wei Chao was being treated unfairly, thinking Wei Chao must have been blind to bring Young Master Huo and his group along to profit, as he could never believe Wei Chao would deliberately make a mistake to frame others.

Liu Hui immediately noticed the Sixth Miss acting hesitant and somewhat embarrassed, so he asked, "Sixth Miss, what's wrong?"

The Sixth Miss fidgeted for a moment before speaking, "Young Master Huo and the others asked me to inquire if you have any business where they could lend a hand to help them cover their current deficit and secure their standing within their families."

Liu Hui felt a touch of disdain for Young Master Huo and his group's character, so he had no intention of offering them any special consideration. This wasn't about giving flowers while they were blooming or sending charcoal in snowy weather; it was a matter of integrity. Nevertheless, he smiled and replied, "It depends on fate. If the opportunity arises, I will naturally look out for them."

The Sixth Miss finally breathed a sigh of relief. She also looked down upon Young Master Huo and his group, but as their long-time friend, she felt obligated to convey their request to Liu Hui during this critical time. As for whether Liu Hui would look after them as he claimed, that was no longer within the scope of her concern.

After disappearing for several days, Chen Changsheng reappeared before Liu Hui, this time accompanied by several senior scientists from the Research Academy.

"Director Chen, what brings you to see me?" Liu Hui asked curiously.

"Boss, we are here primarily to inform you that after considering your suggestion, we have established a specialized scientific task force to research the feasibility of deep-sea mineral extraction. These gentlemen are the members of this task force," Chen Changsheng stated his purpose concisely.

Liu Hui smiled. "So, you're saying my proposal from the other day had a bit of value?"

Chen Changsheng laughed. "Your proposal certainly had value, Boss. I have discussed it with the members of this task force, and they all agree that your idea is bold, yet highly creative and very feasible. As expected of the Boss, you not only manage the company so well but also possess such insight into scientific research."

Hearing Chen Changsheng’s subtle praise, Liu Hui was filled with delight. He chuckled, "So, you formed this scientific task force because of that?"

Chen Changsheng nodded. "Precisely. The resources beneath the ocean are simply too abundant; they make my eyes red with envy. If we don't utilize them, I feel I'm committing a crime."

Liu Hui smiled. "Then, tell me what support this task force needs from me. I will provide money where needed and manpower where required, making every effort to meet your demands."

Chen Changsheng replied, "Our task force has just been established, so the most pressing issue right now is a shortage of personnel. Although the research center has other researchers, they are all engaged in their own projects, so it’s difficult to reassign them to help."

Liu Hui laughed. "You don't need to worry about that at all. Our own headhunting company will be mobilized immediately to find sufficient personnel for your research."

Chen Changsheng and the task force members were overjoyed. Chen Changsheng continued, "We also need to ensure that the necessary research equipment is delivered promptly."

Liu Hui assured him, "That's no problem either. Since you are tasked with scientific breakthroughs, all the essential instruments and equipment will be fully prepared for you."

Chen Changsheng elaborated further, "The subject our task force is researching is deep-sea mineral extraction, which involves a great many interconnected elements requiring coordination with numerous departments. For instance, in your plan to build an underwater city, issues like seawater purification, large-capacity battery storage, and the maintenance of the sub-aquatic life support system will arise."

Liu Hui inquired curiously, "Can't we perform seawater purification right now?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "We can perform seawater purification now, but the fundamental technique is merely distilling water through massive electricity consumption. Put plainly, it's trading electricity for clean water—it lacks technological sophistication."

"Then can you develop a practical seawater purification technology in the short term?" Liu Hui asked.

"That’s unlikely, as our current technology isn't up to par," Chen Changsheng admitted dejectedly.

"That's not really an issue. Isn't it about obtaining clean water by consuming electricity? Then let’s just use more electricity. After all, we have so many deep-sea generators in the ocean; electricity shouldn't be scarce, right?" Liu Hui said with a smile. In truth, he lacked no power; he had already collected hundreds of millions of various-grade monster cores from the magic plane. If all these cores were converted to electrical energy, the amount of electricity he commanded would be staggering—even more than the total annual power generation of all countries combined, not to mention that Alexander was continuously supplying him with new cores.

"Then seawater purification won't be a problem. However, the technology for high-energy storage batteries has not yet been conquered. So, even if those deep-sea generators produce vast amounts of electricity, we can't store that energy for domestic use or processes like steelmaking, which leads to great waste," Chen Changsheng lamented.

Liu Hui scratched his head and said helplessly, "Then I can't help with the battery technology; that will be up to you."

Chen Changsheng sighed. "When Yang Hua invented the deep-sea generator previously, he immediately threw himself into researching high-energy batteries. He unconventionally applied energy convergence arrays to the research, and there are some initial results. We hope he can help us solve this difficult problem."

When Liu Hui heard that Yang Hua had made another breakthrough in research, he immediately took special note of him. It seemed Yang Hua’s boasts about his research prowess in front of him were not entirely exaggeration. Now that Liu Hui had provided Yang Hua with an excellent research environment, his results were beginning to emerge rapidly. This Yang Hua might bring tremendous surprises in the future.

"Boss, another issue is the scale of the underwater city you plan to build. How many personnel will the city house? And what kinds of factories will be built inside?" Chen Changsheng raised another question.

Liu Hui smiled faintly and said, "As for this question, we will need to discuss it together..."

In Liu Hui's office, Jiang Lu, the General Manager of Starry Sky Group, was reporting on recent work.

"...Under the Boss's directive, we have invited the scientific personnel from those bankrupt pharmaceutical and genetic companies (laboratories) to join our company, incorporating them into the Research Academy and setting up laboratories for them to continue their pharmaceutical (genetic) research..."

Liu Hui nodded while listening, expressing his approval of Jiang Lu's work.

However, Jiang Lu couldn't contain herself and asked, "Boss, those pharmaceutical and genetic companies (laboratories) collapsing was inevitable due to market elimination. Why did we invite their researchers to our company and spend money allowing them to continue their research? Furthermore, our current pharmaceutical and genetic technology far surpasses theirs; do we still need their low-level research findings?"

Starry Sky Group had aggressively entered the market over the past two years, sparking a potent pharmaceutical storm globally with Starry Sky Nearsightedness Drops leading the charge. Because Starry Sky Group's medications were effective and entirely free of side effects, they quickly squeezed out competing products from other pharmaceutical companies. Those manufacturers who simply couldn't hold on declared bankruptcy. Since their products had zero market competitiveness, no one was willing to take over their companies, resulting in widespread unemployment among factory workers and researchers.

Although Liu Hui felt sympathy for their plight, for the sake of Starry Sky Group's development, he had to overlook their tragic circumstances. He had merely instructed Jiang Lu to invite those unemployed researchers who hadn't found new work to Starry Sky Group, which would fund laboratories to continue their original research projects. It was precisely because she couldn't understand this decision that Jiang Lu posed her question.

Liu Hui smiled. "General Manager Jiang, I have always believed that scientific research should follow many different paths. Just because our current technology has advanced past theirs doesn't mean their research direction is flawed. The reason I preserved their research results is to safeguard the potential of alternative research directions."

Jiang Lu remained somewhat skeptical, but Liu Hui's explanation was passable. Moreover, many of Liu Hui's past decisions were initially frowned upon, yet they invariably proved correct as events unfolded.

In truth, Liu Hui wasn't feigning profundity or enacting some far-reaching strategy. He was concerned about one specific issue: Currently, relying on the Zerg from the Bug race, he could obtain vast quantities of genetic medicines to treat human diseases, devastating the research facilities of all terrestrial pharmaceutical and genetic companies. What if, one day, something happened to the Zerg, cutting off the supply of genetic medicine, and at that time, the technology for researching medicine and genetics had been lost? What would happen to the health of Earth's populace? This was why Liu Hui kept a precaution, preserving the research outcomes of those scientists. Under his unified coordination, combining the Bug race's genetic medicines with terrestrial genetic technology would allow Earth’s genetic science to advance significantly. After all, what one can produce oneself is the most reliable and cannot be constrained by others.

Jiang Lu continued, "Boss, the 'Employee Experience Value Plan' has been implemented very well since its promulgation. Employee motivation has increased significantly; they are focused on their respective duties, starting with small matters, and no longer view promotion as their ultimate goal. As a result, our labor productivity has improved greatly over the past year. When we formulated the plan, we included employees' personal integrity records for assessment, but now several problems have arisen."

Liu Hui asked with confusion, "What specific issues have emerged?"

Jiang Lu replied, "Our employees study the 'Employee Experience Value Plan,' so they generally maintain integrity within the company. However, they still exhibit instances of dishonesty in the outside world. For example, maxing out credit cards and failing to repay them on time, sneaking onto buses (or boats) without paying fares, defaulting on private loans, making slanderous accusations against others, and so on—and these situations are quite serious. When we established this plan, we did not strictly limit the scope of the personal integrity assessment, so the question now is: should employees' dishonest behavior in society be included in our assessment system?"

Liu Hui considered the matter and replied helplessly, "The people of Huaxia are currently experiencing the most severe moral decline in history. Modern morality is even worse than the chaotic period before the Qin dynasty. The root of all this is a lack of integrity, leading to no one trusting or relying on anyone else. This aligns with the common saying among us Huaxia people: one Huaxia person is a dragon, but a group of Huaxia people are a swarm of insects. Although Starry Sky Group is just one company, we employ hundreds of thousands of people. We must set an example for all Huaxia people, establishing a benchmark for integrity. Therefore, our employees' records of dishonesty in society must also be subject to the company's performance review. Furthermore, we must add a clause: for instance, if an employee’s personal integrity record reaches a certain threshold, they will face dismissal. This principle of management must be strictly adhered to and enforced. I do not wish for Starry Sky Group to become a dishonest enterprise."

Jiang Lu nodded repeatedly, indicating she understood Liu Hui's directive.

Liu Hui and Hu Xian'er were hosting Mei Peng and Liu Lin's family at home. The King of Yue, having somehow gotten wind of the gathering, shamelessly showed up as well.

Mei Peng and Liu Lin arrived at Liu Hui's new residence with their son. Their boy was already over seven months old, chubby-cheeked, and incredibly cute. Though he couldn't walk yet, he was already beginning to babble.

Seeing Mei Peng, Liu Lin, and their child, Liu Hui said with a hint of envy, "Second Brother, you two look absolutely beautiful, and your child is already so big."

Liu Lin, now a mother, exuded maternal radiance. She picked up her son and laughed, "Big Brother, why envy us? Isn't Xian'er right there? You two should just have one!"

Hu Xian'er rushed over, snatched Mei Peng's son from Liu Lin’s arms, and joked, "Why have one ourselves? That’s too much work; I'll just steal yours." Liu Lin quickly chased after her.

Watching the two women playfully scramble over the child, Mei Peng stood nearby, looking anxious. "Hey, you two, be careful. My son cannot afford any mishaps!"

Liu Hui laughed. "Alright, Second Brother, your child will be fine. You're becoming increasingly fussy, not at all like your old self."

The King of Yue suddenly appeared from the side, roaring with laughter. "Haha! I'm here!"

Mei Peng teased the King of Yue. "Fourth Brother, this is a gathering for married adults. Why is a single little kid like you crashing the party?"

Liu Hui agreed, "Exactly. If you haven't started a family, you're just a little brat. But Fourth Brother, I suspect even at fifty, you'll still only be called a little brat."

Mei Peng chuckled. "That's right. Fourth Brother hasn't achieved his ambition yet. Until a race has been created, he won't marry. I estimate he’ll be a little brat his entire life."

Surprisingly, the King of Yue didn't argue with Liu Hui and Mei Peng this time. He said earnestly, "You all are going to be disappointed this time. I might get married very soon."

Liu Hui and Mei Peng were shocked, asking in unison, "No way! Did the sun rise in the west today, or are both our ears malfunctioning?"

The King of Yue smiled smugly. "You heard correctly. I have indeed found the love of my life. I intend to end my current wayward life and spend forever with my beloved."

Liu Hui and Mei Peng stared, saying simultaneously, "So the sun really did rise in the west."

Just as the King of Yue was about to recount the history of his romance, the doorbell rang. Liu Hui opened it to find Zhou Tengyun standing outside.

"Third Brother, you’re right on time," Liu Hui said with a smile.

Zhou Tengyun managed a stiff smile, which made his expression look rather strange. He said somewhat unnaturally, "Boss, I want to introduce someone to you all."

Liu Hui, Mei Peng, and the King of Yue stood at the doorway, looking at the cold Zhou Tengyun’s bizarre expression, wondering what kind of person he intended to introduce. Had Zhou Tengyun finally opened up and decided to introduce his new girlfriend? A string of questions immediately formed in everyone’s minds.