I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

The transparent cover of the treatment pod slowly slid up.

After the daily four to six-hour deep life support cycle ends, Mr. Gu Tan can temporarily leave the cabin for a short period of time.

With Gu Yan's help, the old man sat up with some difficulty and leaned against the raised headboard.

Gu Tan's gaze slowly swept over the extremely luxurious and secure ward, finally settling on the black-suited man standing like a guardian deity, lingering for two seconds.

"Xiao Yan, the family that arranged for us to stay here... wasn't it the Lin family?"

Then, the old man withdrew his gaze, looked at Gu Yan who was handing him warm water, and then looked around at the surrounding environment. Suddenly, he spoke, his voice not loud, but with a sharpness and certainty that belonged to a soldier.

Gu Yan paused as she handed over the water.

"Whose side are you on?"

Before he could answer, Gu Tan looked directly at the man in the black suit at the door with his cloudy but still clear eyes, and spoke calmly.

The air in the room seemed to suddenly tighten after the old man said those words.

The man in the black suit, who had remained as still as a statue, finally made a move.

He turned slightly to face the old man on the hospital bed, but still did not speak.

Gu Tan, the elderly man who looked frail and was being kept alive by top-notch medical technology, straightened his hunched back slightly at this moment.

An indescribable, ancient, and profound aura, like the tremors before a dormant volcano awakens, faintly emanated from his aging body.

He was once an S-class superhuman in the military, codenamed Abyss Dragon, who wielded a terrifying power called Gravity Tide.

Twenty years ago, in a top-secret joint operation codenamed Guixu that was permanently sealed away, they were tasked with covering the evacuation of their comrades and key documents.

Using himself as a catalyst, he forcibly reversed the massive gravitational field, instantly tearing apart an enemy several times his size.

This also caused his own superpower core to completely collapse, his meridians to shatter, leaving behind irreversible and terrifying hidden injuries.

The truth about that operation was kept under top-level secrecy because its brutality and certain horrors beyond human comprehension would, if made public, be enough to demoralize all of humanity.

Gu Tan didn't care about this at all. After retiring, he donated the huge amount of pension and disability allowance issued by the state, along with all the wealth he had accumulated in his early years.

Not a single penny was left; it was all donated to the orphans of fallen comrades and welfare institutions in remote areas.

Alone and without any ties.

Until that winter night, he found Gu Yan, still an infant, frozen purple, by a garbage dump.

From then on, he had a grandson.

And Gu Yan became his only one.

In the past few years, Gu Yan had sold himself to the two major families in Jinghai in order to prolong his life, and he had seen the young man's filial piety.

The man in the black suit inside the door tensed up almost imperceptibly for a moment under Gu Tan's seemingly calm yet heavy gaze.

A look of astonishment flashed across his face, then he seemed to suddenly remember some long-forgotten files and legends.

Looking at the frail old man on the hospital bed, an undisguised shock and profound respect instantly welled up in his eyes.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to explain something, but he felt that any words would seem pale and powerless at this moment.

In the end, he could only lower his head slightly, filled with deep shame, avoiding the old man's eyes that seemed to see through everything.

Silence fell over the ward for a moment, broken only by the regular, soft ticking of the medical equipment.

"Old Wang, come out."

Outside the door, a gentle yet firm male voice rang out at just the right moment, breaking the deadlock.

Old Wang felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He bowed slightly in Gu Tan's direction before turning around, silently opening the door, and stepping aside.

A man walked in.

He looked to be in his forties, wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit without a tie, and his collar was slightly open.

A pair of exquisitely crafted gold-rimmed glasses sat on his nose, and the gaze behind the lenses was gentle and peaceful.

With a perfectly curved smile, he exuded an air of refined elegance, a demeanor that came from someone who had long held a high position yet had carefully cultivated.

Gu Yan recognized him at first glance.

Chen Sinian, the richest man in Daxia.

A frequent cover star of financial magazines, a focal point of charity galas, and a man whose name alone can stir up the economic winds of half a country.

But the alarm that sounded in Gu Yan's mind was even sharper than recognizing the other party's identity!

The first novel focused on portraying two female protagonists, setting the stage for the third important female protagonist...

Chen Sinian... if he remembered correctly, he was the father of one of the three female protagonists!

What was the female lead's name again?

It seems like he is extremely weak...

A sickly beauty?

Gu Yan felt her temples throbbing again.

Having just escaped the double encirclement of the female lead, who was both fiery and icy, she thought she could finally catch her breath in Shanglu, but as soon as she landed, she bumped into someone who seemed to be the father of another female lead?!

What the hellish relay race is this?!

Lin Zhenting, you really sold me out completely!

"Mr. Lin... you're really kind. In the blink of an eye, you've completely sold me out."

Gu Yan's smile almost faltered as he looked at Chen Sinian as he walked in, his voice laced with undisguised sarcasm.

Chen Sinian walked to the middle of the ward and stopped.

"Master Gu Yan, please don't blame Mr. Lin."

"I used a favor he owed me back then to get this opportunity."

"I know this is abrupt and impolite."

He didn't take Gu Yan's words to heart, but instead bowed slightly and spoke sincerely.

He turned his gaze to Gu Tan on the hospital bed and continued to nod respectfully, "Mr. Gu, I am very sorry to have disturbed your rest."

Gu Tan leaned against the headboard, his cloudy eyes looking at Chen Sinian without saying a word, but the faint, heavy aura emanating from him did not dissipate.

Chen Sinian looked at Gu Yan again, his attitude even more humble: "Master Gu Yan, could we... have a word in private? Just a few minutes."

Gu Yan pursed her lips and remained silent.

All he wants now is to get rid of this big Buddha statue and then disappear again with his grandfather.

"Where my grandson wants to go and what he wants to do is up to him."

Gu Tan's voice suddenly rang out, "Mr. Chen, you are an important person."

"But Gu Tan, even though half of my body is buried, before I die I want to protect my child so that he can have some peace and quiet... I can still squeeze out this little bit of energy."

These words were spoken in a calm tone, but they sent a chill down Old Wang's spine as he waited outside the door.

To everyone's surprise—

Chen Sinian, the tycoon who stood at the top of the business world in Daxia, did not hesitate at all and knelt down in front of Gu Tan and Gu Yan.

With a "thump," he knelt straight down on the clean, cold floor!

"Mr. Gu, I had absolutely no intention of forcing you! I apologize for any offense I may have caused!"

He kowtowed heavily to Gu Tan on the hospital bed, his forehead touching the ground.