Gavin Carter could even hear the MMP* emotion hidden in her laughter. How long had he even slept!

　　Emily Brooks had already changed into her professional attire, smiling as she went out to welcome the visitor into the villa and received them in the living room: “Second Aunt, you didn’t even give me a heads-up, so I could have picked you up at the airport... Who picked you up?”

　　As she spoke, her beautiful eyes swept over the group of men in suits, a hint of mockery in her gaze, though she was actually quite nervous inside.

　　Half of these people were from the Yin family, and the other half, surprisingly, were from the Zhou family—the very ones she had snuck into last night. That bat-man was among them, and the face she had blasted apart with two shots was actually fully healed!

　　She didn’t know if it was the bat-man’s own regenerative ability, or if the Zhou family’s technology had reached that level.

　　Luckily, they probably couldn’t recognize her... That fox-faced mask was the only magic artifact she had ever crafted herself, its main function being to conceal and alter her aura. With it on, she was a demon fox; with it off, she was human. Emily Brooks was pretty confident in its effect—though the mental amplification was rather lackluster...

　　Sure enough, the bat-man looked at Emily Brooks in confusion. Having received intel that Emily Brooks brought a man home in the middle of the night, of course they’d wonder where she was before that... The bat-man had fought directly with that fox last night and was most familiar with her aura. Though still injured, he had come specifically to check.

　　But with such a complete change in aura and temperament, he couldn’t sense anything amiss, nor detect any trace of his own toxin. It really didn’t seem to be the same person.

　　So he quietly stood behind the woman, saying nothing, looking every bit the attendant.

　　The woman was Emily Brooks’s family cousin, Grace Brooks.

　　She didn’t answer Emily Brooks’s question, but said coldly, “I heard you’ve already downsized the old ecological park by a large margin?”

　　“Oh.” Emily Brooks replied indifferently, “It costs too much to maintain, and those plants and animals are everywhere now, so they’re not worth much anymore...”

　　“Shallow!” Grace Brooks snapped. “Don’t you know the true significance of the ecological park?”

　　Emily Brooks smiled. “It’s not as important as you think.”

　　Grace Brooks sneered, “It’s not up to you to decide whether it’s important or not.”

　　Emily Brooks blinked her eyes. “If Second Aunt cares so much about the ecological park, are you planning to have the family invest?”

　　“...” Grace Brooks changed the subject: “The No. 88 reagent you submitted to the family, the so-called enhancement of resistance to blows, is less effective than a shot of baijiu, and only lasts three minutes. Do you think the military would ever approve it?”

　　“Oh.” Emily Brooks was still unconcerned. “If it’s not approved, it’s not approved. As usual, I’ll just take it back and adapt it for civilian use.”

　　Grace Brooks snorted, “Those old ones that made people laugh in their dreams could at least be adapted for civilian use—maybe some idiots would buy them for fun. But who would buy three minutes of resistance to blows? Drink a bottle before getting caught cheating by your wife?”

　　Emily Brooks was momentarily stunned, then her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled: “See, that’s a market position right there!”

　　Gavin Carter couldn’t help but laugh.

　　This little fox really was quite amusing.

　　He’d heard from Ryan Brooks before that the Yin family mainly dealt in neural conduction and biotechnology, and it seemed Emily Brooks’s branch company specialized in biopharmaceuticals. Connecting that to last night, when Emily Brooks seemed to be stealing “serum” and was chased, he could vaguely piece together a framework.

　　Speaking of biopharmaceuticals, this was probably a field he could directly get involved in... After all, he had alchemy knowledge; even if the systems were different, there were always similarities.

　　He found it funny, but Grace Brooks only grew angrier: “You call that market positioning? Might as well just bring a bottle of baijiu!”

　　“How could baijiu be the same as our reagent? Ours can be made into a small capsule to carry around, and it doesn’t get you drunk. Lots of people in Sanyu City love our fun little medicines—the sales have always been pretty good, you know...”

　　Grace Brooks was fuming: “If your stuff actually sold, you wouldn’t even have trouble maintaining an ecological park!”

　　Emily Brooks just smiled: “I think business is going pretty well...”

　　Grace Brooks said, “No matter how good you think you are, the family is very dissatisfied with your management these past few years...”

　　Emily Brooks cut her off: “What, is Second Aunt planning to remove me?”

　　Grace Brooks smiled kindly: “Everyone knows this branch company was your parents’ hard work back in the day. How could the family do something so heartless? It’s just that, considering you’re a young woman managing alone, short on help, it’s inevitable you’ll be stretched thin. If there were a man...”

　　Emily Brooks’s heart skipped a beat—this was bad.

　　Whether it was the ecological park or the medicines, they were just excuses to pick a fight, and she knew it. The family had wanted to take over her old businesses for a long time, but since she had protection in the military, they couldn’t just remove her. However, by common custom, the family did have the right to arrange a marriage for her—outsiders couldn’t interfere.

　　They hadn’t used this move before, but was it triggered today because she brought a man home?

　　She swept a cold glance at the Zhou family members behind Grace Brooks, her smiling expression vanishing completely: “So the family doesn’t actually regret poor management, but rather plans to sell for a good price—even selling me along with it?”

　　Grace Brooks smiled, “Why would you say that? It’s just a proposal at home, still needs to be screened. Everyone wants to honor your late parents, after all.”

---

*MMP: Chinese internet slang, an abbreviation for a curse, expressing annoyance or frustration.