Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1077 - 532:

Upon hearing this name, even though Fang Cheng was already mentally prepared, he still appropriately showed a trace of just the right amount of confusion:

"Oh, Ideal Land?"

Cheng Jiashu’s eyes were sharp, seeming to want to discern something from Fang Cheng’s face, but the calm expression on the other person’s face left him a bit frustrated.

He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked:

"Fang Cheng, let’s not beat around the bush."

"Last night I heard some rumors about a particularly vicious bomb attack in the East Suburb, making quite a noise, it even got on the TV news... Could this have something to do with you?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if trying to recall his activities that night.

Then he shook his head, flatly denying it:

"Last night I was drinking at the bar, drank too much and fell asleep as soon as I got back, knowing nothing about it."

"This morning, I’ve been busy bringing a friend over for a competition, didn’t even have time to watch the news."

Cheng Jiashu stared into his eyes for a few seconds, attempting to catch even the slightest hint of guilt.

But Fang Cheng’s gaze was clear and straightforward, not at all like he was lying.

After a moment, Cheng Jiashu sighed somewhat helplessly:

"Alright then, it’s okay if you don’t admit it."

He said as he leaned back lazily:

"I just want to give you a piece of advice, if you really had something to do with last night’s incident, or if you’ve provoked someone... it’s best to keep a low profile for a while, and don’t stick your neck out at this critical moment."

"You should know, right now East Capital is far murkier than you think."

Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow, catching the hidden meaning behind the words.

Then he put down the teacup in his hand, leaned slightly forward, and looked directly at Cheng Jiashu:

"Did you receive some kind of intel? No need to hide anything between us, just say it straight."

Cheng Jiashu didn’t answer immediately, adjusted his sitting posture, and slowly asked:

"Have you really not watched the news recently?"

Fang Cheng shook his head:

"You know, being a training partner is busy work, no time to care about national affairs."

Cheng Jiashu chuckled, not exposing his lie, just said lightly:

"Then you might have missed two very important pieces of news."

"The first, just before the stock market closed on Friday, the Xiao Family’s giant enterprise ’Taijiang Pharmaceutical Group’ officially announced that it would fully acquire the scandal-plagued Xia Country branch of Noah Pharmaceutical."

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng’s eyes flickered:

"So, it means that all of Noah Pharmaceutical’s frozen assets, equipment, and even research data and personnel from those experimental projects will be transferred rightfully to the Xiao Family?"

"Smart."

Cheng Jiashu snapped his fingers:

"Like I said before, the Xiao Family is essentially the real protector of the Noah Organization in Xia Country. This deal is essentially a left-hand passing to the right-hand kind of move, under a new pretense, thoroughly laundering those unsavory assets."

"This situation is quite normal in business."

Fang Cheng’s tone was flat, not showing much surprise:

"It’s an old routine of capital operations, as long as the procedures are compliant and legal, and the prosecutors don’t dig deeper, we really can’t stop it."

"If it’s just money laundering, that would be one thing."

But Cheng Jiashu shook his head, his expression gradually becoming serious:

"The key is the second piece of news."

"Four days before the acquisition announcement, Taijiang Pharmaceutical Group also held a high-profile press conference, declaring they had reached a deep strategic cooperation agreement with the military-backed Life Science Ethics Committee, called the ’Human Genetic Lock Decryption Project.’

"Human Genetic Lock Decryption Project?"

Fang Cheng repeated the convoluted and somewhat scientifically fanatical-sounding name:

"Sounds like quite an extraordinary project?"

Cheng Jiashu curled his lips, letting out a slight sneer:

"This project claims outwardly to be a great endeavor to conquer cancer and extend human life, committed to the genetic evolution of all humankind."

"Although the specific content of the cooperation is classified, I found out through some special channels that there’s a core clause..."

At this point, a hint of disgust flashed in Cheng Jiashu’s eyes, and his tone became a bit lower:

"Their experimental project requires a large amount of ’active material,’ and by ’active material,’ they mean live humans, especially those mutants who have just awakened their abilities."

"To this end, they have already issued high-level bounty tasks on the Black Market of Night City, to capture all new power users who are not on the government census list and have no organizational backing. The task rewards are exceptionally generous."

Fang Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, remaining silent, just quietly listening.

Cheng Jiashu continued, his words carrying a chill:

"The assassin organization ’Black Shark,’ which has always had a cooperative relationship with Noah, has undertaken the primary capture missions this time."

"The recent series of missing person cases in East Capital are undoubtedly related to these mad dogs."

"Those who disappeared were mostly lone wolves, vanishing as if evaporating from the world."

"And regarding the bombing incident in the East Suburb last night, although the officials are still keeping a lid on the news, I speculate it’s very likely Black Shark people encountered fierce resistance while executing a capture mission."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng immediately understood.

His hands gently caressed the edge of the teacup without a trace, his mind racing.

Indeed, he had arranged for Xiao Shuai and Xu Hao to anonymously spread information about White Owl and Ideal Land, intending to confuse the situation.

But evidently, the news shouldn’t have reached Cheng Jiashu’s ears so quickly in such a short time.

Most likely, the commotion from last night’s battle, along with numerous eyewitnesses seeing the explosion in the sky, made this "old comrade" of his smell a familiar scent.