After the misunderstanding was resolved, Xu Renyi gave Zhuang Fan more promises and guarantees to "make up for it":
1. Restoring his right to paint freely, with an unlimited supply of paper, brushes, and pigments, and more glue than he could use;
2. As long as he didn't do anything dangerous or out of line, security personnel would no longer enter and search his room arbitrarily.
Beyond that, he also "thoughtfully" gifted him many glossy magazines and a large box of paper rolls.
Zhuang Fan stared at the magazines and paper rolls on the table, knowing they had taken the bait. Then let the performance continue.
In the surveillance footage, Zhuang Fan clenched his fists, feeling utterly humiliated, as if the most secret thoughts in his heart had been seen through and made public.
His face flushed red, his voice beyond his control: "Are you mocking me? This is too much..."
He took a deep breath, dragged over a stool, stood on it, and cursed at the camera: "Xu Renyi, you old bastard, do you enjoy peeping into other people's privacy that much!"
He clenched his fist as if to smash it, but after a moment's thought, quickly calmed down.
He grabbed another stool and, using all his strength, smashed the nearest camera.
Smashing one wasn't enough; he proceeded to smash four more nearby, leaving only the farthest few intact.
One could say, he smashed them just right.
To the management, except that the monitoring distance was slightly farther, the impact wasn't significant; they could still monitor Zhuang Fan's every move with precision.
"Hah, he really cherishes his life. Afraid of bleeding, he can't even bear to use his fists."
Xu Renyi increasingly found this young friend of his interesting.
At the thought that after the surgery, he would be able to control such a young and vibrant body, his body and mind were filled with comfort.
"Mr. Xu, those cameras..."
Xu Renyi waved his hand cheerfully: "There's less than twenty-four hours left. Just indulge him. Young people always need some privacy. Are you still afraid he'll tire himself out from all this fussing?"
In the monitoring room, everyone else couldn't help but laugh as well.
...
After venting his anger, Zhuang Fan seemed to have no appetite. He sat on the ground in a daze for a while, then lay down and fell asleep.
The superconducting computer conducted a detailed analysis and downgraded Zhuang Fan's threat level from fifty percent to eight percent.
The system determined that all of the target's reactions conformed to the standard psychological model, without deviation.
On the third day, less than twelve hours remained before the surgery.
Zhuang Fan finished a simple breakfast and returned to his normal painting mode.
He alternated between oil paintings, landscapes, and figure sketches. The desktop was soon piled with drawings and paper models.
With the unlimited supply of glue, he reconstructed a thicker, more concealed paper house, large enough to easily accommodate his entire person.
After building it, he even flipped the middle finger toward the distant cameras.
The monitoring personnel grew suspicious and immediately analyzed the meaning of this gesture.
"It's a cordial greeting toward the other person's family."
Xu Renyi sat in his wheelchair, teasing the bird in the cage, and said amiably with a smile: "When my great-grandfather was alive, he liked to flip the middle finger when cursing at people."
Everyone suddenly understood.
Only now did they remember that Zhuang Fan was a "fossil-level" figure who had lived in the same era as Mr. Xu's great-grandfather; having some ancient quirks was naturally to be expected.
At this moment, everyone treated Zhuang Fan as if they were watching a monkey thrashing about in a room, making all sorts of commotion, yet unable to overturn the heavens no matter what.
Zhuang Fan busied himself for most of the day before finally hiding in the paper house to rest.
That slightly exaggerated expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by extreme calmness. A sharp light flashed in his eyes before quickly being reined in.
He took out a sharpened pencil and, coordinating with his teeth, began to slowly tear and pick at his own fingernails, peeling off a thin layer.
This was a highly delicate task that consumed immense focus. If the nail was too thick, it would affect light transmission; too thin, and it would easily break. The force had to be precise.
He spent more than an hour before finally picking out four satisfactory thin shells, then trimming them to the size of an iris.
"Too slow. I must pick up the pace."
Zhuang Fan took a deep breath and began to cut xuan paper, tearing it layer by layer and peeling it down to the thinnest layer, which consumed another hour.
After separating the layers, he carefully compared the nail shell pieces with the xuan paper, judging which material was more suitable.
In the end, he settled on the nail shell pieces. Not only were they waterproof, but they were also easier to carve with patterns that wouldn't diffuse.
Zhuang Fan relaxed his mind slightly and closed his eyes.
Two complex ring-shaped patterns surfaced in his mind, covered with spots, fine threads, and stripes—precisely the iris structures of David and Xu Renyi.
If it weren't for the effort to memorize that old bastard's iris, he wouldn't have wanted to chat for so long.
He opened his eyes, picked up the finest brush, and carefully sketched patterns on the nail membrane. Throughout the entire process, he held his breath and concentrated, even lowering his breathing to the minimum.
After another hour, Zhuang Fan walked out of the paper house exhausted. He casually flipped through those magazines, utterly uninterested in the bionic beauties inside.
After resting for a moment, he burrowed back into the paper house and continued carving.
But in the eyes of the monitoring personnel, Zhuang Fan's "combat power" was truly astonishing. He could fight continuously with very short rest periods; his energy was almost excessive.
Xu Renyi, seeing this, merely smiled and shook his head.
After busying himself for another two hours, all the carving procedures were finally completed.
Zhuang Fan sat on the ground recuperating for a good while. His mind was indeed weary, but his life had entered its final countdown; he still had many things left unfinished.
This time, he began to paint portraits.
But unlike before, the figures he painted looked abnormally bloated, even no longer human-shaped, as if he were completely unfolding a three-dimensional human structure onto a two-dimensional plane.
For example, the front and back skin of a hand, the inner and outer linings of clothes—all had to be fully spread out and carefully drawn.
To avoid being discovered during surprise inspections, every time he finished one such "unfolded diagram," he needed to paint several normal group portraits to confuse the issue.
Even if the monitoring personnel truly stood beside him, they probably would find it difficult to determine his true intent from this mountain of drawings.
By evening, Zhuang Fan, who had forgotten to eat or sleep for more than ten hours, finally remembered he had to eat something, otherwise he wouldn't have the strength to escape.
He requested the logistics team send a double cheeseburger, specifically clarifying that it needed the authentic Maidanglao flavor.
A burger? Maidanglao?
Seeing the logistics personnel's confused expressions, Zhuang Fan impatiently drew the appearance of a burger and repeatedly urged:
"Remember, don't forget the pickles and diced onions. The beef patty must be fresh. If you don't understand, go ask Xu Renyi."
To him, the pickier the better; all he needed was to buy more time.
After hearing the report, Xu Renyi quite understood this "fellow townsman's" way of thinking: "Knowing he's about to eat his last meal, it's reasonable to make some requests. My great-grandfather loved eating this kind of burger. Alright, just do as he asks."
He added another sentence, "Right, add a cup of Nuclear brand cola. Remember to add ice and plenty of carbonation."
An hour later, the burger and cola were delivered to Zhuang Fan. He had also secured the final finishing time for himself.
When he saw that familiar burger, Zhuang Fan suddenly felt quite emotional. He picked it up reverently and took a large bite.
Mm, it was the flavor of the old era.
The cola wasn't quite authentic though. After drinking it, he still had a slight numbing sensation on the tip of his tongue, and couldn't help frowning at the glass bottle.
There shouldn't be radiation, right?
No matter what, after finishing this meal, it was time to do proper business.
Half an hour later, he glanced at the props in the paper house. The glue had pretty much solidified. He burrowed into the paper house and removed all his clothing.
The grand deception officially began.
...
On the other side, the blond doctor had also debugged the experimental equipment and had people bundle the messy tubes and wires to keep the venue tidy. After all, the upcoming experiment brooked no mistakes whatsoever.
As long as the surgery succeeded, he would be promoted to director of the corporation's experimental department, never again having to spend his whole life in this remote shelter.
As for the consequences of failure... that terrifying man named Max hadn't said anything.
But he knew very well that Max was Xu Renyi's most trusted iron-blooded general. A single word from him could make the doctor's head hit the ground.
At this moment, Max was supervising on-site. His eyes were as cold and sharp as an eagle's, and he noticed the blond doctor's state wasn't quite right.
"Doctor Jin, something wrong?"
"Nothing."
The blond doctor immediately collected himself and hurriedly shook his head. "I was just thinking about the details of the craniotomy."
Max gave an "Mhm" and paid him no further mind.
Outside the operating room, twenty-four armored soldiers stood by, forming an impenetrable line of firepower, with all three upper and lower levels within the security cordon.
"Doctor Jin, I'm leaving this to you."
"Rest assured, I will do it well."
"You must do your utmost."
"Yes, I will definitely do my utmost."
The blond doctor watched Max leave before his tense upper body finally relaxed slightly. This man was too oppressive.
Max carefully inspected everything once more. After confirming there were no errors, he returned to Xu Renyi's exclusive living quarters.
At this moment, under the care of specialized personnel, Xu Renyi had already changed into entirely pure white clothing. His face was withered and darkened, but his spirits were still good.
Only he and a dignified middle-aged woman remained in the room.
"Shan, you must be around two hundred and thirty years old this year too, right?"
Seeing Xu Lanshan nod, Xu Renyi said slowly: "After I figure out this resurrection route, it will be your turn."
"Master Xu, there's no hurry for this matter."
Xu Lanshan stated the key point: "What matters more now is making all high-level executives of the corporation, including external partners, recognize your new body."
"You're right. In the short term, the company will certainly experience some turmoil. However, it won't affect the overall situation."
Xu Renyi's confidence stemmed from his absolute control over the corporation.
Max was his sharpest sword; all affairs of the legion were managed by him, his loyalty self-evident.
Xu Lanshan was his youngest granddaughter, currently in charge of the entire corporation's purse strings, extremely reliable.
Xu Tiansheng was his eldest grandson, similarly the top hand in corporate affairs, personally holding down the fort at headquarters to stabilize the rear.
With the three-horse carriage advancing side by side, plus his own Sea-Stabilizing Needle, no one dared to easily shake them.
As for the shareholders making trouble and stirring things up, they probably wouldn't be able to cause many waves. On the contrary, once they all jumped out, Xu Renyi would deal with them one by one.
At this moment, seeing his subordinate wheeling the wheelchair in, he directly refused:
"I've sat in a wheelchair for so many years. Let me walk this time, to feel the strength of this body one last time."
"Master Xu, let me help you."
With Xu Lanshan's help, he slowly stood up. After adapting to gravity, he tried to step forward.
However, before he could walk a few steps, he nearly fell to the ground. In the end, he was helped back into the wheelchair.
"Mhmm, it truly is time to bid farewell to this body."
He seemed somewhat reluctant to part, but more than that, it was anticipation for a phoenix nirvana.
After passing multiple inspections, Max entered the room and stood at attention before Xu Renyi.
Xu Renyi said with a smile: "Are the arrangements over there all set?"
"Mr. Xu, everything is prepared."
Xu Renyi's face was full of satisfaction: "Then please invite the young friend over."
Max nodded and was about to turn and leave.
But right at this moment, the entire shelter rang with emergency alarms. Sharp, piercing humming sounds penetrated every wall.
Xu Renyi frowned: "What happened?"
Max's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly inquired about the details. When the monitoring center transmitted the news, his eyes were filled with coldness.
"Mr. Xu, Zhang Dafan has escaped from prison."