Evan Lin didn’t linger here; it was already half past midnight. He stepped out of the elevator, hands in his pockets, and walked outside, where Big Tank was waiting respectfully, ready to open the car door.
"No need. You should get some rest early too—after eating, it’s best to let your stomach settle for a while."
Evan Lin shook his head, turning down Big Tank’s offer to drive him back. He strolled alone through the midnight streets of Minghai, cold wind on his face, his heart growing ever calmer.
"Setting up a company means I’ll have enough resources to train my own team of alchemists. Once the conditions are right, we can mass-produce Nourishing Spirit Pills and even other types of medicine. These pills can improve human health—and more importantly, supply what I need for cultivation."
"If I had a hundred alchemists, and each could refine one Nourishing Spirit Pill per day, that’s a hundred pills daily. With that, breaking through the early Foundation Establishment bottleneck would be a lot easier."
Evan Lin took a deep breath, the crisp night air clearing his mind and lungs.
All this time, only the Grand Dao Foundation Art has let me gather even a little spiritual qi. The Nourishing Spirit Pills I refined before are almost used up. If this were the Immortal Martial Continent, with its abundant qi and my cultivation method, I’d have broken through ages ago.
"Luckily, I haven’t run into any truly tough opponents yet. Still, breaking through sooner is definitely a good thing."
Evan Lin shook his head. Now that he had a clear goal, everything seemed much more straightforward.
The real challenge was training alchemists and securing enough herbs. But with the Youth-Preserving Beauty Pill—a simpler formula—as practice, plus the Heart Sutra of the Pill Master, it was only a matter of time before someone succeeded.
Evan Lin walked along the roadside, deep in thought, and soon arrived at Brightsea Garden Court.
Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu were already asleep, and all the lights were out inside. Evan Lin stood at the door, about to find a hotel for the night, when suddenly the door was pulled open from within.
"You’re back. Your room’s already set up."
Lynn Chen looked at Evan Lin standing at the door, putting on a casual air. "I just got up to use the bathroom and heard footsteps outside—then I remembered you’d gone out. You should be grateful I saw your face, or I might have mistaken you for a thief and beaten you up."
As soon as she finished, Evan saw her toss a broom into the corner of the yard, acting all serious. But he’d controlled his footsteps so well even a dog wouldn’t have heard him, which meant Lynn Chen must’ve waited in the cold winter night just to welcome him home.
Maybe she was just trying to make up for all those times back in Minghai when she’d deliberately stall before opening the door, playing the spoiled rich girl.
"You should get some sleep too."
Evan Lin nodded slightly and walked past her.
As the wind blew, Lynn Chen caught a whiff of a fresh, sweet perfume, instantly making her face fall. But Evan was already inside, out of sight. Lynn could only sigh, close the door, lock up, and head back to her room full of questions.
Early the next morning, at six o’clock, Evan Lin got up and went out for a run around Brightsea Garden Court—just in time to run into Lynn Chen and the others.
Claire Sheng shouted about wanting to join the workout, Nina Pei looked eager, and Lynn Chen refused to be outdone. The three girls followed right behind Evan Lin out the door.
At seven o’clock, Evan Lin got a call from Lily Zhong, who excitedly praised Manager Zhang’s performance last night.
"After just ten minutes listening to my pitch about the product and plan, he agreed to join us. Then he spent the whole night organizing company priorities and mapping out all the contacts we’d need."
"On top of that, he suggested five different publicity strategies, and some of them were things I hadn’t even considered. This guy’s seriously talented."
Lily Zhong sounded wide awake and full of excitement.
"Alright. If possible, I’ll have Summer Mu’s team take care of his family. You focus on getting the company started—I’ll handle the product side."
Evan Lin nodded, glancing ahead. Claire Sheng and Nina Pei were having a snowball fight, while Lynn Chen paused, casting a sharp look over at Evan as she overheard him on the phone.
"I told him to go get some sleep. By the way, was there something in those dumplings you gave me last night? I feel kind of different today."
Lily Zhong sounded puzzled, but Evan Lin just smiled and didn’t explain.
After hanging up, Evan Lin called Summer Mu next. Summer only asked if he needed enough funding to support everything.