When I went home for Chinese New Year, I spent a million times more money on my foreign wife.

The emperor's wine glass was held in mid-air, the clear liquor not trembling at all.

"List."

The Emperor addressed him with a very brief title, then pulled a dark blue leather folder from the inside pocket of his coat with his left hand and handed it to Chen Yang with one hand.

"Joint development licenses for blocks three, five, and nine in the Arctic Ocean, plus exclusive rights to lay long-distance liquefied natural gas pipelines on the East China Sea continental shelf."

The Emperor placed the folder on the desktop and took a half step back.

"Wedding gift, we can add more if needed."

In the third to seventh rows on the left wing of the banquet hall, a dozen or so executives from Western financial groups sat with their backs ramrod straight.

The Arctic Block 3 is the largest proven natural gas field in the entire polar region. Seven Western energy consortia had spent twelve years bidding for it without making any progress.

Chen Yang wiped his fingers with a napkin and opened the folder.

Three mining permits, each bearing the joint seal of the Russian Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the bottom. The last page included a handwritten note, the ink not yet completely dry—the Emperor's signature.

Chen Yang closed the folder and pushed it to Chen Yue beside him.

"Keep this safe and forward it to the legal department at the Ice City headquarters for filing later."

Chen Yue took the folder, flipped to the last page, glanced at the annotations, and pursed her lips. Without saying anything, she put the folder into the lock of her briefcase.

Chen Yang stood up and picked up the glass on the table that was filled with baijiu (Chinese liquor).

He walked up to the emperor and the rims of their cups touched lightly.

Thanks.

The emperor tilted his head back and downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp, then turned the empty glass upside down in his palm.

"I'll fly directly to Beijing first thing tomorrow morning. The top leaders of both countries should sit down and discuss the supporting agreements for your Pangu project. The energy settlement system and the framework for mutual supply of new materials cannot be delayed."

Chen Yang nodded.

"Minister Li will pick you up."

The Emperor patted Chen Yang on the shoulder, then turned and walked back to his seat. His four guards followed closely behind, the hem of their coats brushing against the crushed rose petals on the floor tiles.

Within three seconds of the Emperor taking his seat, a series of screeching sounds came from the right wing of the banquet hall.

Crown Prince Al Aal of the Middle East was the first to stand up. He led his chief advisor and two translators, bypassing the main table, and headed straight for Chen Yue's seat.

"Miss Chen, His Highness wishes to proceed to the business area immediately." The chief advisor bowed and handed over a memorandum with a gold-embossed cover.

Chen Yue glanced at Chen Yang.

Chen Yang picked up a piece of foie gras with his chopsticks and put it into the katousha bowl without turning his head.

"open."

Chen Yue straightened up and gestured "please" to the Crown Prince's advisor.

"The meeting room in Sector B is ready. Your Highness, please come this way."

As the Crown Prince rose, he straightened his robes and gave Chen Yang a slight nod as he passed the main table. Following him were the heads of two industrial conglomerates in Southeast Asia, the chairman of a Central Asian mining consortium, and representatives of three Nordic families who had long maintained friendly relations with the Chen family system.

Seven groups of centaurs passed through the side corridor and disappeared behind the biometric access control in Area B of the Snow Palace.

Twenty minutes later, the quota agreements for the first batch of specially supplied nanomaterials were electronically signed on the holographic screen. Chen Yue checked the terms one by one, and after each agreement was signed, the corresponding delegation's face was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

This batch of nanomaterials is a civilian product derived from the "Pangu Project," and it is unique in the world. Obtaining the quota is equivalent to obtaining a ticket to the next industrial revolution.

The commotion in the main hall quickly reached Section B.

The second-in-command of the European Habs family, the head butler of the Ross family, and directors of three long-established Swiss banks jointly sent a representative to knock on the glass partition door of Section B.

"Ms. Chen, our families hope to obtain the same level of nanomaterial quotas, and we are willing to increase the price by 30%."

Chen Yue didn't look up, but traced a few lines on the holographic control panel with her finger.

An encrypted file popped up in the center of the large screen.

"Three months ago, your family foundation transferred a commission of 16 million euros to a hacker group called 'Grey Raven' through a shell company in the Cayman Islands."

The representative's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Chen Yue continued swiping, and a second document popped up.

"Seven days after receiving the funds, 'Grey Raven' launched four DPI-level penetration attacks on the Snow Palace Foundation's Asia-Pacific servers. Our firewalls blocked them all, and the source of the attacks was traced back to your data center in Zurich."

There was a three-second silence in Zone B.

Chen Yue turned off the large screen and placed her hands crossed on the table.

"Forget about the quota. Go back and tell your master that Snow Palace's supplier list doesn't include any partners who have funded hackers."

"I can choose to make this report on offshore fund flows public or not. It depends on your next actions."

The representative opened his mouth slightly, but no sound came out. He took two steps back, turned around, and quickly left Section B.

At the end of the corridor, three representatives of the old Qian family leaned against the wall, awaiting news. Seeing their comrades emerge with grim faces, they exchanged glances, but none of them asked about the outcome.

No need to ask.

In the main hall, Katyusha put down her chopsticks and pressed her temples with the back of her hand.

"Quarrel."

One word.

Chen Yang put down the teacup he had just picked up and turned to look down the corridor. Through the glass partition, the holographic screen in Zone B was still displaying a flurry of data charts, and Chen Yue was confirming the quota details with the third delegation.

There are still four delegations queuing to enter Zone B.

"Chen Yue." Chen Yang pressed the call button on his collar.

Chen Yue's reply was almost instantaneous.

"elder brother."

"I won't attend the following meetings; you'll handle everything."

There was a brief silence on the call channel.

"Yes, is your sister-in-law feeling unwell?"

"She's tired, I'll go back with her to rest."

"Okay, I'll send you the list and terms tonight for confirmation."

Chen Yang turned off the call, got up, went around to the back of Katyusha's chair, bent down and lifted her up from her seat.

Katyusha placed her right hand on Chen Yang's shoulder, and her other hand on her abdomen, palm down, fingers slightly spread.

As I walked out of the side door of the main hall, Old Sun happened to be coming from the direction of the medical duty room, holding a thread-bound medical record book in his hand.

His gaze fell on Katyusha's hand that was protecting her abdomen, and he quickly wrote a line on a blank page of his notebook.

The two walked along the carpeted corridor toward the villa.

The wind outside the corridor was completely blocked by the soundproof glass, leaving only the muffled sound of Chen Yang's leather shoes stepping on the carpet.

"Old Sun."

Chen Yang stopped and turned around.

Old Sun stood at the corner of the corridor, blocking their way.

The old man, clutching his notebook, spoke directly without any pleasantries or preamble.

"Mr. Chen, that ultrasound imaging machine that was just airlifted to the third basement level."

Chen Yang's footsteps were rooted to the spot on the carpet.

"Use it tonight."