Lin Qianyi and the others didn't wait the full five days before returning to shore.
As soon as Poseidon Corporation received the news, they immediately arranged a private vessel to pick them up.
On the afternoon of the second day after Lin Qianyi's arrival, he boarded the return ship. By midday on the third day, they had already reached the port city of Hengxia in Xianghao Nation.
At Su Mandong's request, the group went directly to her villa.
Even now, Lin Qianyi still didn't fully understand the scale of Poseidon Corporation or Su Mandong's exact status and position.
He only had a vague sense that the company was impressive for developing an evolution serum that could extend human life, and since Su Mandong had access to its core operations, she must be among the highest ranks.
While riding in the car, Lin Qianyi observed the city outside. Compared to District 7, this place felt rather underdeveloped.
The society hadn't yet entered a true network era. Personal terminals could barely make calls and weren't even close to being integrated smart tools.
Soon, they arrived at Su Mandong's villa.
The villa was spacious but empty. Aside from a few servants, there wasn't even a single pet Su Mandong was allergic to fur like cat and dog hair.
After settling in, they had a celebratory dinner that day.
The next day, Su Mandong got busy.
She helped Rena buy a plane ticket back to the Marjo Nation, demanded compensation from the company behind the Wavebreaker ship, and began making plans to locate and purchase Sea God Island.
The incident with the Wavebreaker had indeed caused quite a stir socially. But under the power of capital, it was quickly swept under the rug. Natural disasters or human error as long as compensation was paid, it passed.
The fact that there were survivors surprised the shipping company.
With the involvement of Su Mandong's legal team, they finalized compensation terms in just half a day.
Each person received 1.3 million Xianghao currency.
Rena was eager to return home. The next day, Lin Qianyi and Su Mandong personally took her to the airport.
She had to go back eventually.
> "Goodbye, Xiaoyi. Goodbye, Sister Su."
Rena hugged both Lin Qianyi and Su Mandong tightly before reluctantly backing away.
> "Take care," said Su Mandong with a wave.
> "Come back soon. We'll miss you," said Lin Qianyi.
> "Mm," Rena replied.
Once Rena disappeared from view, Lin Qianyi and Su Mandong got back in the car to return to the villa.
Now, only the two of them remained in the villa. He Yanghui had gone home to see his wife and daughter. Zhou Hong also returned to his family.
Only Lin Qianyi was left.
His identity in this world had been arranged by the Main God.
And the Main God didn't give him a family.
Still, according to the records, he did have a history here an orphan who had lived an uneventful 17 years, studied all the way to university.
Su Mandong wasn't very satisfied with the background data she had collected. In her view, the Lin Qianyi described in those files couldn't possibly have survived a deserted island, let alone display the ability to conjure items from thin air.
And that foreign writing on the instant meal packaging? She still couldn't identify which country it was from.
But she didn't probe further. Some things reveal themselves in time.
In the spacious living room, Su Mandong poured Lin Qianyi a glass of juice and asked,
> "So, college student what's your plan next?"
> "Can I mooch off you?" Lin Qianyi asked.
> "Of course. In fact, I'd be delighted," Su Mandong said with a smile, sitting beside him.
> "Then I'm a lucky man," he replied, sipping his juice. He then shifted the topic,
"What are you planning to do with Sea God Island?"
> "First, buy it. If possible, extract the meteorite and all the Sea God Grass. Then, we'll cultivate and develop it independently," said Su Mandong.
> "I'm curious will Poseidon Corporation allow you to do that?" Lin Qianyi asked.
With an operation this big, she couldn't possibly hide it. And judging from what she'd revealed so far, the corporation's scale was immense meaning the Sea God Grass was extremely valuable.
There was no way Su Mandong could keep it all for herself.
> "Of course, I'll have to share," she said bitterly.
"In fact, I'll have to give up most of it."
She didn't want to share even a single blade of Sea God Grass. But she had no choice.
There was no way just a handful of people could plant and harvest it alone.
And they'd need more people for future R&D too.
Poseidon Corporation had already built a full infrastructure for this. Taking over their team would be the fastest path.
Otherwise, she might never see a significant return in her lifetime.
Lin Qianyi pondered.
In a rules-based game, what matters is having something others don't. That's how you negotiate partnerships.
Right now, Su Mandong's knowledge of Sea God Island gave her some leverage but not for long.
Eventually, that information would be exposed. Once it was, it would lose its value.
Unless she was the only one who could grow Sea God Grass then she could dictate terms.
> "Is this place secure enough? I have something to show you," said Lin Qianyi seriously.
Su Mandong's expression turned serious.
> "Let's go to my bedroom."
> "No, I'm not joking..." Lin Qianyi replied.
> "Neither am I. My bedroom is the safest place," she teased.
"What did you think I meant?"
> "I thought you were inviting me to play a round," Lin Qianyi said bluntly.
> "You could say that," Su Mandong smirked.
They bantered as they headed into the bedroom.
The windows were made of alloy-reinforced bulletproof glass a testament to how much she valued her own safety.
After closing the curtains and doors, Lin Qianyi sat on the bed and took out the Super Sea God Grass.
Instantly, a glowing green light illuminated the room.
> "What is this?" Su Mandong's eyes sparkled.
She could feel the unusual radiation emanating from it.
> "A stronger form of Sea God Grass," said Lin Qianyi.
> "I can see that. But... should it look like this?" she asked.
"Did you harvest it?"
> "No. I created it with my talent," Lin Qianyi said mysteriously.
"There's only one in the whole world. Only I can make it. Compared to normal Sea God Grass, it's much stronger."
> "What about the yield?" she asked.
She didn't ask how he made it just wanted to know how much he could produce.
The thought of a superior version of Sea God Grass made her heartbeat quicken.
> "In three months, I only produced this one. I'm still learning I'll increase production over time," he replied.
"Also, it can't survive or grow outside. It's a product of my ability, not a real plant."
It was a half-truth just enough to mislead Su Mandong without lying.
Using the truth to mislead is the most effective strategy.
It holds up to scrutiny because the real trick is the information gap.
> "So what's your plan?" she asked.
> "Can this serve as a bargaining chip?" Lin Qianyi countered.
> "Absolutely," she replied, trying to suppress her excitement.
"Just a single leaf could overturn the current logic behind Sea God evolution serum. I could even meet Poseidon himself!"
Every drug has diminishing returns.
Sea God Grass was no exception.
Those rich elites and politicians who had been using the serum for years could already feel its waning effects.
But the grass Lin Qianyi revealed? Even without testing, Su Mandong could already feel the difference just from its glow.
For people who had plateaued with the standard serum, this could be revolutionary.
And now, she controlled that resource.
> "Good. I can help you," Lin Qianyi said, storing the grass away.
This wasn't just helping Su Mandong it was helping himself too.
> "Xiaoyi, I love you..." Su Mandong wrapped her arms around his neck.
> "Don't say 'love'."
He gently laid her down.
> "Then what should I say?"
> "Say you 'hate' me..."
> "Mmhmm... I hate you..."
---
The logic of the world isn't all that complicated. People just tend to overthink it.
If you excel at something society demands, you inherently hold greater value.
And Lin Qianyi's resource was both extremely rare and in universal demand.
His value naturally skyrocketed.
In theory, even if he left Su Mandong and went to Poseidon Corporation directly, he'd still get a good deal.
But for long-term development, Su Mandong was the better partner.
Relationships built solely on interests were fragile. Add a little emotional investment, and everything changed.
Of course, partnerships can be plural.
Lin Qianyi could work with many people. But for now, Su Mandong was the best investment.
He cut a leaf from the Super Sea God Grass and gave it to her.
He even wore protective gear during the process.
Still, the sap corroded through both the protective suit and the scissors, leaving a small pit.
This thing could easily be used as a weapon normal human flesh wouldn't withstand it.
Su Mandong personally delivered the sample to Poseidon Corporation's lab for testing.
That evening, she returned to the villa and shared the results with Lin Qianyi.
Compared to ordinary Sea God Grass, the Super Sea God Grass outperformed it by nearly ten times across all metrics including fiber toughness.
The most astonishing part was the Sea God energy component seventeen times higher than standard grass.
Something that even refinement and concentration couldn't achieve.
If normal Sea God Grass contained the "power of Poseidon," then this was nothing less than the power of the Sea God King.