Chapter 108: Development

As she had mentioned, Jiang Miao went to visit Helena Allison. On her way through the Allison building, former colleagues greeted her with surprise, saying, “Dr. Jiang? You’re back!”

Jiang Miao nodded and smiled at them.

No one asked her what she had been doing for the past year. In their sensitive industry, they had signed countless confidentiality agreements and knew better than to inquire about someone’s sudden disappearance and reappearance, where they had been or what they had been doing.

For all they knew, she might have been recruited to a secret military research project.

This saved Jiang Miao a lot of explanations. She went straight to see Helena.

Tanaka was still a bit nervous. However, after Jiang Miao spent almost an hour in Helena’s office and came out unscathed, even seeing Helena to the door, his worries eased.

The two women smiled, shook hands, and parted amicably.

Jiang Miao not only avoided the hefty breach of contract penalty but also received a substantial sum from Helena under the guise of “severance pay.”

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Tanaka was tormented by Jiang Miao’s smile but insisted, “We’ll talk more once those things are done. Oh, the time’s almost up—I need to go pick up Rui Rui from the parent-child class!”

Tanaka shouted after her, “I’ll come over to see you tonight.”

True to his word, he showed up that evening, carrying a box. “I’ve finished the things you wanted.”

While Rui Rui played with his toys, he curiously watched his mother and Uncle Tanaka install various items around the house.

Then they began testing.

“Okay…” Tanaka said, “Your house is now a fortress. No one can easily monitor you. I mean, is it really necessary? Who are you protecting against? That person?”

“Against everyone. You’ll understand what a psychological scar is if you’ve ever been breached by an ultrasonic weapon,” Jiang Miao replied.

“No, I mean that person,” Tanaka emphasized.

Jiang Miao bit her lip and admitted, “Alright, including him.”

“But isn’t he far away in Nash?”

“If he really wanted to take Rui Rui away, it wouldn’t be impossible for him. There must be people here who work for him. Although I don’t know if he has enough energy to command them…”

But Jude’s influence is certainly sufficient, and the Barddock family’s influence is definitely sufficient.

Jiang Miao was just being cautious, preparing for “what ifs.”

She had a sense that He Yan wouldn’t come back to snatch the child again.

The previous time was about taking her away as well; the ultimate goal was family reunion, not separation between Jiang Miao and Rui Rui. He Yan must understand that if he made Jiang Miao lose Rui Rui, she would never forgive him.

Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Jiang Miao had learned to be cautious after being bitten by a snake once—she now feared even the appearance of grass ropes.

“I’m not saying he definitely would do such a thing. After all, he is Rui Rui’s father,” Jiang Miao emphasized. “We’ve settled things between us, and it’s not about hatred or anything. It’s just different positions, different positions!”

Tanaka pondered for a moment, then said, “Actually, you still love him, don’t you?”

Jiang Miao denied instantly, “Impossible!”

“Your denial was a bit too quick,” Tanaka noted.

“He’s a jerk!” Jiang Miao huffed.

“A charming jerk,” Tanaka added.

Jiang Miao huffed again.

Tanaka added with a smirk, “Men are only desirable when they’re bad.”

Jiang Miao retorted, “Hey!”

“Alright, we can safely talk now.” Noticing Jiang Miao’s rising irritation, Tanaka shifted the topic and confidently looked at the surveillance panel.

To be honest, he hadn’t encountered anyone who could technically outdo him and Jiang Miao when they worked together.

“What exactly do you have? You’re being all mysterious—spill it!” He asked impatiently.

Jiang Miao chuckled, activated the light screen, and after a complex decryption process, opened a file. Complex formulas scrolled across the screen.

Tanaka stared at it for a while, his eyes widening, “Is this… space technology?”

Jiang Miao replied with a grin, “Hehe!”

After explaining the source of the data, Jiang Miao added regretfully, “I haven’t touched the real thing, and the data is incomplete.”

Tanaka’s forehead was already sweating. He asked, “How confident are you?”

Jiang Miao replied, “How should I put it? You know, it might take two or three years, maybe twenty or thirty years, or even a lifetime.”

It could potentially be a bottomless pit that just eats up money.

Jiang Miao wasn’t sharing this information just as idle gossip. Tanaka unbuttoned his shirt collar and paced back and forth in the room.

Jiang Miao didn’t rush him, giving him time to think.

After a long time, with his collar drenched in sweat, Tanaka finally stopped and said with determination, “Let’s do it!”

“You need to think this through. This is really going to burn a hole in our pockets,” Jiang Miao warned. “And I don’t plan to seek any investment.”

Capital is always predatory. If they used investors’ money, Jiang Miao would end up with nothing but the broth, not the meat.

Tanaka understood. He and Jiang Miao both held some patents, but these patents belonged to universities or companies, and their share was just a drop in the ocean.

There was no way around it—universities and companies, especially large ones like Allison’s, have extremely stringent contract terms. If they wanted to develop on that platform, they had to agree to those terms.

“Let’s do it!” Tanaka said, “You have to take a gamble in life!”

Jiang Miao breathed a sigh of relief. If she couldn’t get Tanaka on board, she would likely have to find another way to raise funds, which would significantly reduce the benefits.

“Let’s figure out how much money you and I can actually put up,” she said. “The money Helena gave us is really a blessing.”

Tanaka came over and said, “My total assets are about this amount. Subtracting fixed assets, it’s this amount…”

“Wow~, that’s more than I expected!” Jiang Miao was pleased.

“Ugh, I knew you were eyeing my money!”

“No, no, I’m also eyeing you!” Jiang Miao replied with a grin.

Tanaka didn’t immediately resign from Allison.

This matter couldn’t be done immediately; a lot of preparation was needed. First, they needed to establish a laboratory. Additionally, Jiang Miao was currently single and raising a child, and it would be another year before Jiang Rui could enter kindergarten.

“Rui Rui’s IQ is high enough to go straight into the big class,” Tanaka said. “He could graduate from kindergarten in just a year.”

“His IQ might be high, but other aspects aren’t up to par yet. He’s too young and doesn’t know how to interact with older kids,” Jiang Miao replied. “Even if he skips grades, he needs to learn to interact with others and develop a proper understanding of people outside his family.”

“Take a look at these few laboratory sites. They’re a bit far, but the costs will be significantly lower if we go there.”

It has always been difficult to live in the capital city.

The cost of land and real estate in the Capital Star is considered the highest in the entire Republic, with Capital Star being the most expensive of all. Tanaka and Jiang Miao settled here because their work was based here.

However, if it’s their own laboratory, there’s no need to stick to Capital Star. Once they leave the Capital Star region, especially moving to secondary and tertiary cultural planets, real estate prices drop dramatically.

“Not too far, and not too close to the border,” Jiang Miao warned Tanaka seriously.

Tanaka blinked and asked, “So, exactly…”

“I can’t say,” Jiang Miao said helplessly.

“Alright then,” Tanaka said.

Jiang Miao didn’t explain further, only mentioning “potential for large-scale war” and “diplomatic capabilities of Nash and Gita.”

“Considering only the six major star regions and excluding the twenty-one border regions,” Tanaka began re-evaluating the options.

At that moment, Xiaona prompted, “Doctor, there’s news content that you might be interested in.”

Jiang Miao had preset keywords for alerts. Xiaona would notify her if related content appeared.

“Play it,” Jiang Miao instructed.

It was a news broadcast. After a long period of ceasefire, Gita and Nash had finally advanced to the stage of negotiations. The meeting would be held in the Starfall Free Zone, and the delegation was set to depart at the end of this month.

Tanaka: “……”

What Jiang Miao had mentioned had already begun.

Tanaka quickly sifted through the information and looked up: “Two best options: Lily Star and Kunan Star.”

Although Kunan Star, a tertiary cultural planet, would be more economical, the local living conditions and educational resources had to be considered.

Neither Tanaka nor Jiang Miao were people who could tolerate a rudimentary lifestyle, and Jiang Rui would be moving with them. The educational resources on a tertiary cultural planet might not meet Jiang Miao’s standards.

In the end, they chose Lily Star, a secondary cultural planet.

In this era, not everything needs to be done personally; many tasks can be handled remotely via the internet.

The Gita delegation arrived first with their impressive spacecraft equipped with a warp engine, reaching the destination ahead of the Nash delegation, which set off later. The negotiations, which were grand and intense, continued for three months. During this time, Jiang Miao and Tanaka had already remotely set up the laboratory on Lily Star.

Jiang Miao began packing, preparing to move to Lily Star with Jiang Rui.

When the house was in disarray, it was definitely not the ideal time for guests, but of course, that’s when guests arrived.

And not just any guests.

Honestly, while Jiang Miao might feel some lament for Yan He’s situation, considering their complicated past, she internally… really didn’t want to see Yan He again.

So when she found out that the visitor at the door was Yan He, Jiang Miao rubbed her face a few times before telling Xiaona, “Open the door.”

The door opened, and the man in the black high-collar uniform looked up. Under the brim of his hat were sharp eyes.

The scene was almost identical to the time when He Yan had disguised himself as Yan He and first met Jiang Miao.

This was precisely the reason why Jiang Miao did not want to see Yan He again.

Worse, although both of them knew they were being insincere back then, they had indeed had some intimate contact.

At the time, being in the thick of things, it didn’t feel significant. Now, with everything in the past, meeting again was… awkward beyond words.

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Sansukini: Jiang Miao is Yan He’s TOTGA. Have I mentioned that this novel has 2 alternate endings and a happy ending for Yan He.

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