Reversing the Milky Way

Ye Wenbin is the current deputy manager of Northern Energy Group. Although he is the deputy general manager, he is in charge of all affairs of Northern Energy Group. At this moment, Ye Wenbin is standing on the balcony. Zhao Cuilan behind him said, "Ye Yao has searched Bai Cheng's house carefully, but did not find any trace of that thing."

At this moment, Ye Wenbin listened to what was happening outside the window and slowly said, "That old bastard Bai Daolin is very cunning. If I hadn't stolen his work back then, I wouldn't be where I am today. It's just a pity that I was discovered and kicked out later."

At this moment, Zhao Cuilan said, "The news from the US already came that they actually found the box on the first day, but the box only contained a report about that thing, not a sample of it. Over the years, we had Ye Yao deliberately get close to him and have him keep selling things from his own home, and then we bought them back, but we found nothing. Do you think Bai Qingshan was just trying to create a false impression? Did he actually not find that thing?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenbin hesitated, biting his lower lip repeatedly, revealing the turmoil in his mind. His gaze darted around, trying to find clues to the answer. He paused briefly in thought before saying, "No, I've known him for over ten years. He wouldn't do something he wasn't sure of. Since he's already produced a report on that thing, it must exist. If it's not in the box, then he must have hidden it, most likely in that house."

Zhao Cuilan slowly leaned in from behind and said, "Xin Kui had a backup plan back then. When Bai Daolin bought the house, he pretended to be close to him and lent him one million. Now the loan agreement expires in three days. Bai Cheng has already fallen into the trap. He has no savings and no money on hand. We can buy his house at a higher price under the pretext of helping him, and then search for it slowly."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenbin turned his head and said, "Then tomorrow, let's go there ourselves. After all, the sooner the better." As he finished speaking, a scheming look appeared in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up, but there was no kindness in his smile, which exuded a chilling aura.

That night, Bai Cheng was once again trapped in that dream, the same scene repeating itself. This time, however, the images were clearer, and the tactile sensation of the explosion felt more real, as if he were actually there. Upon closer inspection, the energy bursting out into the distance at the end even contained a faint blue glow, flickering in and out of existence amidst the churning red energy. Bai Cheng noticed this, but didn't dwell on it. With the familiar ringing of the bell, Bai Cheng woke up again. Staring at the ceiling, he didn't understand why he had the same dream again. However, he didn't think much of it, simply assuming that the first dream had left a strong impression, hence the recurring dream the next day—that was the only explanation.

Even after leaving home, the city streets were still bustling with people, and the large screen in the square was still displaying information about the impending electromagnetic storm, only now the countdown in the lower left corner of the screen had changed to 74:35:12.

Upon arriving at the company, Bai Cheng's boss, Supervisor Cui, was still standing guard at the lobby entrance, performing his familiar routine—clearly targeting him. Bai Cheng ignored him and went to his desk. The surrounding chatter was much louder than yesterday; it seemed everyone already knew about Zhang Ye's engagement, and the news was the talk of the company, with everyone speculating about the woman's identity. A few days ago, Bai Cheng would probably have smashed his desk in frustration, but after the events of the past two days, he was less agitated. At least he now knew that Ye Yao might have approached him with a purpose—certainly not dating him with marriage in mind.

Thinking of this, Bai Cheng touched the cracks he'd made on his desk a few days ago by punching it. He laughed, his laughter quietly breaking the silence. The laughter gradually rose, eventually drowning out the whispers of the people in the room. People then turned their attention to Bai Cheng, who was snickering. Bai Cheng noticed them, stopped laughing, and coughed twice to show his embarrassment. At this moment, an employee leaned closer and said, "Hey, Cheng, are you alright? Are you having some kind of mental problem? Should you go see a doctor?"

"No, I'm fine. I just suddenly felt like an idiot, so I'm just laughing at myself."

"Huh? ...Why don't you go and take a look?"

Bai Cheng didn't respond, but continued working. Seeing this, his colleagues also stopped talking and started working. Soon, it was time to leave work. As Bai Cheng walked out of the company gate, he suddenly saw a crowd gathered there. He went to check and saw a long, black luxury sedan parked at the gate, and a man standing in front of the car was Ye Wenbin.

At this moment, Cui Yangjian also came out of the company entrance and saw Ye Wenbin. He went up to him with a fawning expression and said, "Oh, isn't this Vice President Ye? What brings you here today? Are you here to pick up President Zhang? Um... unfortunately, President Zhang is not here today."

Ye Wenbin ignored Cui Yangjian, only coldly saying, "Just do your job. Don't ask questions you shouldn't." Supervisor Cui, upon hearing this, politely and cautiously replied, "Yes...yes...yes..."

At this moment, Bai Cheng also walked out of the gate. When he saw Bai Cheng, he greeted him with a professional smile and his eyes narrowed slightly, giving off a kind and approachable feeling. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Bai Cheng who was walking out.

Crowd A: "Hey? Isn't that Bai Cheng from the XX department? How does he know the vice president of Northern Energy Group?"

Crowd B: "Yeah, he's just a lowly, low-level employee here."

Supervisor Cui was also taken aback, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Strange, how does Bai Cheng know such an important person? Logically speaking, if he knows such an important person, he shouldn't be an unknown employee under me."

Little did Cui Yangjian know that although Bai Cheng knew Ye Wenbin, it was only six years ago during summer vacation when he accompanied his father to a science and technology exhibition. At that time, Ye Wenbin was a member of his father's research team. At that exhibition, Bai Cheng not only met Ye Wenbin but also his daughter, Ye Yao. He would occasionally visit their home, but after his parents passed away, he never came again. This sudden visit surprised Bai Cheng. Could it be about the IOU? Bai Cheng stepped forward and said, "Uncle Ye, I will repay the money as soon as possible. Could you grant me two more days?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenbin smiled knowingly, then said, "Hey, Xiao Cheng, I'm here to talk to you about this. Get in the car, let's go somewhere else." Bai Cheng got in the car, eager to see what Ye Wenbin was up to. Only when he got in did he realize that Ye Yao's mother, Zhao Cuilan, was also in the car. Huh? Did he really have that much influence? After Bai Cheng got in, the car started and drove away from the company entrance. The surrounding onlookers gradually dispersed. "What? So it's about money he owes," Manager Cui muttered before leaving.

Soon the car pulled up in front of a high-end-looking coffee shop, a place Bai Cheng felt he absolutely couldn't afford. Inside, the three found a rather secluded spot to sit. Ye Wenbin then said, "Xiao Cheng, order whatever you like, it's on me."

After hearing this, Bai Cheng didn't stand on ceremony and picked up the menu. Good heavens, the cheapest coffee was over 100 yuan, and the most expensive was a whopping 299 yuan. Since someone was treating, he had to order the most expensive. Bai Cheng directly ordered two of the most expensive cups. Seeing this, Ye Wenbin also ordered two of the most expensive cups. After all, with his net worth of over a billion yuan, he could spend this much without batting an eye.

At this moment, Zhao Cuilan spoke first: "Xiao Cheng, we came here this time to resolve your debt problem. Your uncle and I know that you haven't had an easy time these past few years, so we've come up with a solution for you." After saying that, Zhao Cuilan and Ye Wenbin exchanged a glance, and then Zhao Cuilan continued: "The value of your house hasn't changed, so we'll buy your house at the original price of 400 million, deduct the 100 million you still owe, and give you 300 million directly, how about that?"

After listening, Bai Cheng fell into deep thought. He knew he definitely couldn't repay 100 million within two days. Besides, the house was currently valued at less than 400 million. Selling it at the original price would be the best outcome, but there was definitely something fishy going on. Seeing that Bai Cheng didn't immediately agree, Ye Wenbin and Zhao Cuilan exchanged glances again. This time, Ye Wenbin spoke up, "How about this? Your father and I are old acquaintances. Seeing that you're having a hard time, I'll add another 100 million to buy everything in your house as compensation. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng thought, "Good heavens, you two are putting on a show!" Even though he wasn't particularly bright, he could tell there was something fishy going on in his house. There was definitely a secret there, possibly related to his father, or rather, to his father's major discovery. Thinking this, Bai Cheng didn't panic, afraid they would notice something. He replied, "Uncle Ye, could you give me a day to consider? I'll give you an answer the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, but the day after tomorrow is your final deadline, so you'd better hurry."

Upon hearing the reply, Bai Cheng immediately said, "Okay, Uncle Ye."

After finishing their coffee, Ye Wenbin drove away with Zhao Cuilan, leaving Bai Cheng alone standing at the coffee shop entrance.

"Pah... that old fox, seeing that he's already achieved his goal, he doesn't even bother to put on an act anymore. He could at least have sent the person back." After complaining, Bai Cheng rushed home without stopping. He was now certain that there must be something hidden in his house that he hadn't discovered.

As soon as he got home, Bai Cheng immediately started searching. He frantically turned the house upside down, opening all the drawers and even checking every corner of the wardrobe. He moved everything he could move, carefully examining the space underneath. In the end, he even lifted up the sofa and bed to check for hidden compartments.

Bai Cheng worked late into the night, searching every corner of the house but finding nothing suspicious. Had he guessed wrong? Was the item not in the house, or perhaps it simply didn't exist? But it was already very late, so he could only go to sleep. In his dreams that night, the familiar scene continued to haunt him.

The next morning, when Bai Cheng arrived at the company lobby, he found that his boss, Supervisor Cui, was not standing at the door as usual. It seemed that what had happened between him and Ye Wenbin the day before had made him wary and he dared not do anything to him again. This was a good thing for him, at least he wouldn't have to see Supervisor Cui's greasy face, which made Bai Cheng feel much better.

Before Bai Cheng could even sit down at his workstation, his colleague immediately leaned in close. "Wow, Bai Cheng, I didn't expect you to know the vice president of Northern Energy Group, you don't seem like much. Tell me, what's your relationship?" Bai Cheng smiled and said dismissively, "Nothing much, I just owe him money."

"Huh? How much do you owe that someone has to come pick you up personally? Is it some small sum?"

"Uh...hehe..." Bai Cheng could only laugh awkwardly and remain silent, because he knew that others weren't stupid. Ye Wenbin wouldn't personally come to pick him up for a mere 1 million. After all, he was a man with a net worth of over 100 million, so naturally he wouldn't care about 1 million. No one would believe him anyway.

Night fell quickly again, and this time he rushed home as fast as he could. He had a premonition that the thing was still somewhere in the house; he must have forgotten something. After searching thoroughly again, this time even removing the plywood from the bed and sofa, he still couldn't find it. Had he already sold it? Or had Ye Yao taken it? But that shouldn't be the case; if they had found it, they wouldn't have anything to do with him.

Now, only the floor and walls of his house remain untouched. However, these were all renovated before he bought the house, so if there were anything there, it wouldn't be inside. It's impossible that someone later broke open the floor and hid something inside, but that would be too obvious. After observing for the past two days, Bai Cheng hasn't found anything suspicious.

Could it be that the item wasn't at home, and the other party misunderstood? Hmm... that's possible. Tomorrow is the last day; it seems he has no choice but to sell the house. Thinking of this, he tidied up the house and then went to sleep. It was the same dream, the same scene, the only change being that the images in the dream were becoming clearer.

The next morning, which was the last day of the IOU's deadline, Bai Cheng packed his things since it was Saturday and he didn't have to work. He put everything into his suitcase because Ye Wenbin had said he couldn't take anything from the house. Although he could sneak around and take things, given the old fox's personality, there was likely someone watching him outside his house, so he couldn't act rashly. Therefore, he had to go out and find another place to stay.

Just as he was about to leave, Bai Cheng's hand had already turned the doorknob. He was about to open the door when he suddenly remembered something. He had searched everywhere in the house; could it be...? Thinking this, Bai Cheng stopped rushing out. He took out some tools from his room and, after 20 minutes of disassembly, successfully removed the doorknob.

Bai Cheng stared at the door handle that had been removed. It was shaped like a curved bell, with an unusually large grip area, and a thin layer of rust covering its surface. This type of handle was standard on all the doors in the complex, but some residents found it too ugly and had replaced it with a more advanced smart lock. These locks had a sensor next to them; as soon as someone placed their hand on the lock, the system would automatically recognize their information and open the door. Because the lock had its own power supply, it could still be used even during a power outage, making it more convenient and sophisticated.

At the time, the family hadn't replaced their doors with this type, saying they were used to traditional doors and wouldn't feel comfortable with anything else. Bai Cheng hadn't paid much attention then, but now it seemed the problem lay in the door handle. With a heavy heart, Bai Cheng began to smash the handle open with a hammer, but this old-fashioned handle was very sturdy, which took Bai Cheng quite a bit of effort, but thankfully he managed to break it open.

A gleaming stone fell out, about the size of an egg, but not perfectly round, with various irregular edges. The stone emitted a mysterious blue light, and although it was broad daylight, the light could be clearly seen emanating from its surface, seemingly radiating some kind of mysterious power under the light.

When Bai Cheng held it in his palm, he could clearly feel a continuous flow of energy surging into his body from the stone.

"This stone, it won't emit any radiation, will it?" Bai Cheng couldn't help but sigh. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had been touching a doorknob for so many years without any major problems, so it shouldn't be any kind of radiation. It seemed that this was what Ye Wenbin was looking for.