"…His physical condition was quite unexpected," Wang Xiao said.
The voice on the other end of the call perked up. "Oh? How so?"
"He just broke the Body Refinement Club's gravity chamber and resistance machine records," Wang Xiao replied.
A chuckle came through the line. "So you're telling me he's all brawn, no brains?"
Wang Xiao took a breath, collecting his earlier impressions. "I have to admit, physically, he's on another level."
The man on the other end laughed again, sounding dismissive. "Then he's just a moment of sentiment from Lin Wei—bringing back a bastard son out of guilt, giving him a name and some food to eat. Nothing to worry about."
Nothing to worry about.
The call ended.
Outside the club, Lin Wei's bright red sports car had just roared off down the road. Wang Xiao watched it disappear, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"Wayne Enterprises…"
Wayne Enterprises was a military-industrial firm, and its lucrative supply contracts with the Empire's military had long made it a prize worth coveting.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was one of the competitors vying for that prize.
The company had long challenged Wayne Enterprises in several military development projects on Riverbank Star. As long as Lin Wei—robust and in command—led Wayne Group, Mitsubishi had no opening.
But recent years had not been kind to Lin Wei. His health was failing, and he was gradually withdrawing from managing company affairs. With his influence waning, internal factions within the Lin family were stirring. Certain uncles had begun grooming their own sons to challenge Lin Hao as heir.
With infighting eroding internal strength, Wayne Enterprises was left vulnerable to both domestic turmoil and external pressure. And Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was ready to strike a killing blow while the Lin family stumbled—hoping to step over their corpse and become the military's next major supplier.
Zhao Yinlai of Mitsubishi was pushing on multiple fronts.
On one hand, he was trying to get close to Lin Wei's daughter Lin Wei, working to win her favor. If he could seduce the woman who effectively ran half the company, he could claim control through her. Though it was a long shot, conquering a woman like Lin Wei would be a trophy for any ambitious man.
On the other hand, he was gathering intel—probing every angle.
A bastard son appearing out of nowhere naturally caught his attention. If the newcomer was exceptionally strong, he could shift internal power dynamics, potentially revitalizing the Wayne family's leadership. That was something Zhao Yinlai couldn't afford.
But now, after this public appearance, the bastard was clearly… not worth worrying about.
"Have you trained with mechs before?"
Inside the car, Lin Wei broke the long silence, turning her gaze to Lin Hai. One hand on the steering wheel, her long, fair leg resting against the accelerator, she casually picked up the white towel she'd brought from the club and handed it to Lin Hai to dab at his bruised and swollen face.
When she'd seen him fighting Lu Ming earlier, a spark of hope had briefly ignited in her—a fragile shoot breaking through soil, trembling with possibility. For a moment, she had hoped, perhaps, the family's outcast might actually possess the makings of a professional mech pilot.
A single professional pilot within Wayne Enterprises could bring a surge in prestige, possibly revitalizing the company's crumbling public image. Fame often worked better than marketing. A skilled pilot could represent the company in tournaments, aid their R&D department, and even help resolve current technical bottlenecks.
Her eyes had shone with light back then. Her hands, gripping the railing tightly, had scratched deep grooves into the paint from the sheer tension.
But, as always, reality shattered the dream.
Though Lin Hai's performance was impressive for a novice, his true level was likely just a mid-tier pilot at best.
To even qualify as a high-level pilot, one had to break through a harsh threshold. And only after that could they hope to be licensed as a full-fledged professional. Many could never cross that divide no matter how hard they tried.
A mid-tier pilot... What use was that?
Wayne Enterprises had several such pilots on salary in their testing departments. Even she, Lin Wei, could qualify as a mid-tier pilot herself.
Her gaze now carried a hard-to-describe sense of loss.
In the passenger seat, a stunning woman in a low-cut dress zoning out like that—Lin Hai couldn't help but feel a wave of dizziness and a familiar rush of nosebleed coming on.
He took the towel from her, and while she was distracted, he unabashedly let his eyes wander across her proud, prominent figure.
Well, he thought with a dark little smirk, today hasn't been a total loss after all.
"Yeah… There are a lot of trash heaps on Haizhou Star," Lin Hai grinned, wiping his face. "Sometimes you find old tech magazines buried in there. And I've piloted some garbage-processing mechs here and there."
Lin Wei blinked.
No one from a slum could have touched a real modern mech. At best, they would've jury-rigged their own ridiculous contraptions—or worked with decrepit, retired utility mechs.
Hearing him mention the landfills of Haizhou Star pulled her focus back.
Yes… Those towering mountains of trash. What else stood out more vividly from that kind of place? Life there was hopeless and gray.
And yet the youth beside her had clawed his way to mid-tier pilot level with nothing but scrap journals and broken-down garbage mechs…
That was… quite something.
It made her reflect on her own life. Had she not been taken in by Lin Wei and raised in privilege, would she really have been so different from the average person? Perhaps not.
Maybe—just maybe—if Lin Hai had been born legitimate, if he'd had access to real education and proper resources, he might have turned out very different.
But now… it was too late.
Too many pressing issues weighed on Lin Wei lately. Even someone as capable as her felt worn down. Loose strands of hair drifted in front of her face; she brushed them away with slim, elegant fingers—only to catch Lin Hai openly admiring the exposed curve of her chest.
That snapped her right back.
This was the same man she'd brought today to humiliate—to vent her anger on him for the injuries her younger brother Lin Hao had suffered. She had hoped he would embarrass himself publicly.
Instead, he had turned the tables with sharp wit—and now he sat here in her prized sports car, ogling her without shame.
A flush rose to her ears, her face turning pale with anger. Without hesitation, she slammed the brakes and barked:
"Get out."
…Get out?! Right here on the highway?
Lin Hai looked around—this wasn't even an area he recognized yet!
Miss, do you have to be this intense?