“Our Little Brian has been spoiled by his mother. Back in the day, just going on a school trip to see the outside world was enough. Now he’s already graduated, and even started a company with you, yet he’s still so willful.”

“Look at you now, all the company’s responsibilities are on your shoulders alone. This is just unacceptable—he really has been spoiled by his mother.”

There was news about Brian Carter; he had contacted his family. That was David Thompson’s first reaction.

“Uncle Carter, what are you saying? We teamed up because we share the same interests. Whenever I’ve been busy, Brian Carter has worked just as hard.” Of course, since he didn’t know the full situation, David Thompson didn’t dare say too much.

Hearing this, Henry Carter smiled and praised David Thompson for ten minutes, then offered them some advice, criticized Brian Carter, and even did some self-criticism for a few minutes before finally wrapping up.

“Brian Carter said he left in a hurry, and since the company made money, he wanted to show his filial piety to us. I told the kid there was no need, but he insisted. You’re all good kids, but he’s still too careless—he even transferred more of the company’s money than he should have. So, give uncle an account number, and I’ll transfer it back to you.”

David Thompson was certain of one thing: the company hadn’t made much money.

At most, they’d just earned back their expenses and the company’s operating costs—there was nothing extra. Clearly, something was off here.

Especially recently, Brian Carter hadn’t managed company affairs for quite a while, and he hadn’t brought in any business.

But for the moment, David Thompson couldn’t figure out what this meant. Could it be that Brian Carter was forced to leave and left a sum of money as a last gesture? But if it was too much money, Henry Carter wouldn’t have put it this way...

Thinking it over, David Thompson didn’t refuse. He agreed first, then immediately sent his account number to Henry Carter.

After another five minutes of elder advice, the call ended. A few minutes later, with a “ding-dong,” David Thompson received the transfer.

“10065.”

Ten thousand and sixty-five yuan received.

Anyone else wouldn’t think much of it, but the moment David Thompson saw this number, he immediately understood something: Brian Carter was trying to send him a message.

G219, China’s longest, most beautiful, and highest-altitude border highway, stretches 10,065 kilometers. From vows by the sea to promises in the mountains, it links the most magnificent wonders and is known as a “world-class scenic avenue.”

David Thompson and Brian Carter had traveled this route twice—from the extremes of Ali to the southern Tibetan plateau, from the dream peak RKZ to the southern valleys of the snowy region, from the barren highland wilderness into snow mountains, glaciers, lakes, gorges, primeval forests, meadows, Mount Everest...

The first time, David Thompson and Brian Carter went before starting their company, because it was a “love route.” After Brian Carter got together with Julia Harris, she wanted to do it again.

By then, they’d already started the RV company, so they took two other couples along. With Brian Carter and Julia Harris, David Thompson was the only single guy.

Because of this, the memories were especially vivid—not to mention they’d encountered wild wolves attacking their camp, needed vehicle rescue, and even faced landslides. The memories of that trip couldn’t be more unforgettable.

Thinking back on it all, the clue only made things more confusing.

Clearly, Brian Carter was afraid of being found out, so he used this method to remind him. But it was too broad—they’d spent twelve days on the first trip, seventeen on the second.

In such a long time, they’d been to hundreds of places. After thinking for a long time, it was still a tangled mess.

“I’m peeking inside through the crack in the door, but you’ve already gone in and started playing riddles with me. But the clues you’ve given so far aren’t enough—looks like there’s more to come.”

David Thompson scrolled through some of Brian Carter’s social media posts, various media, and even dug up some of his diaries, but still didn’t find anything relevant.

With no other clues, David Thompson couldn’t figure out what Brian Carter was trying to tell him.

Any other guesses would have to be checked one by one, but he couldn’t just go and retrace the whole journey now.

In the end, David Thompson decided to wait and see.

He drew the curtains in the room and took out the red fruit.

“Gurgle...”

As soon as he took it out, his stomach growled. This time, David Thompson didn’t wait—he took a big bite right away.

There seemed to be a fruity aroma—not very strong, slightly crisp, but the taste was excellent. As soon as it entered his mouth, a surge of energy instantly spread through his entire body.

The fruit wouldn’t disappear in his hand, so David Thompson didn’t hesitate and kept eating in big bites.

“Mm...”

As soon as he swallowed, David Thompson let out a muffled groan—a wave of heat surged inside him.

Sweat steamed from his whole body, his muscles felt like they were being torn apart, and most crucially, his internal organs felt like they were burning. The heat kept intensifying, even his head felt the same.

With that, David Thompson was overwhelmed by intense pain.

“Ah!”

He let out a suppressed growl, nearly driven mad by the pain.

He hadn’t expected this to be completely different from eating the black fruit before—his body felt like it was on fire.

Damn, could there be something wrong with this red fruit?

No, judging by his instinctive desire to eat it, that shouldn’t be the case.

Could it be that the improvement to his body was too great—his internal organs, eyes, ears, mouth, nose...