179: Chapter 179 Want to claim kinship now? Too late!

The Red Queen's alert sound seemed somewhat abrupt in the underground base's main control room.

"Boss. An encrypted video communication request from China has been detected."

Chen Yuan sat on the swivel chair in front of the control console, holding a glass of freshly poured Romanee-Conti. He looked at the familiar IP address on the holographic screen, his eyes as flat as stagnant water.

"Connect it."

Chen Yuan gently swirled his wine glass.

The dark red liquid left streaks on the walls of the glass. He didn't have the Red Queen apply any camouflage, instead displaying himself and the biochemical arsenal behind him directly to the camera.

The screen flickered once.

Chen Tianba's face, trying hard to squeeze out a kind smile, appeared in the center of the frame.

His background was the Chen family's antique-style council hall. The uncles and elders who once avoided Chen Yuan like the plague were now standing obediently behind Chen Tianba like quails. Each of their faces was plastered with that ingratiating and hypocritical smile, looking just like a pack of stray dogs waiting for their master to toss them a meat bone.

"Little Yuan."

Chen Tianba spoke, his voice so gentle that even he found it disgusting.

"Disturbing you so late, I hope I haven't affected your rest."

He paused, trying to make himself look like a magnanimous old father.

"You've suffered out there all these years. There were some misunderstandings in the family before, and your uncle was blinded by villains. Now, your uncle has already dealt with those who bullied you."

Chen Tianba said this while observing Chen Yuan's expression.

He noticed that Chen Yuan was just quietly drinking his wine, showing no sign of anger or excitement, which gave him a little confidence.

"Your grandfather is seriously ill, and the person he wants to see most right now is you."

Chen Tianba threw out what he considered his biggest bargaining chip.

"The family has decided. As long as you are willing to return, you will be the rightful next head of the Chen Group. All resources and connections will be yours to command."

"Your uncle has also helped you take care of those things you've been doing abroad. From now on, you will be the pride of our Chen family. Let's not talk about two families; let's merge your industries with the family, and your uncle will be your deputy."

This speech was truly filled with emotion.

If it had been some wet-behind-the-ears kid facing this "position of family head" and "elder's repentance" dropping from the sky, they probably would have been moved to tears and handed over their cards long ago.

Unfortunately, the person he was facing was Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan couldn't even be bothered to give a mocking sneer.

He placed his wine glass on the console, his slender fingers crossed under his chin.

That look of watching a clown perform made Chen Tianba on the other side of the screen feel an inexplicable panic.

"Chen Tianba."

Chen Yuan's voice was very soft, without inflection, as if he were reading an insignificant death warrant.

"Your acting is really terrible."

The fake smile on Chen Tianba's face froze instantly.

"Little Yuan, what do you mean by that? Your uncle is sincere..."

"Your debt ratio has now reached a staggering 214 percent." Chen Yuan interrupted him, his tone still flat. "The three core real estate projects in Jinghai have been completely halted, and over a dozen suppliers are hanging banners at your main entrance demanding payment. The banks have already begun bankruptcy liquidation proceedings."

Chen Yuan reeled off a string of data accurate to the decimal point.

Each number was like a dull knife, slicing back and forth across Chen Tianba's heart.

"Your so-called family resources are just a pile of unpayable bad debts. Your so-called position as family head is just asking me to be your scapegoat and go to prison for you."

"Chen Tianba, do you think that just because I left Jinghai for a few years, my brain has atrophied just like yours?"

The uncles and elders on the other side of the screen began whispering to each other, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads. They hadn't expected that Chen Yuan, far away in the United States, would have such a clear grasp of the Chen family's secrets.

Chen Tianba's face had turned a livid, iron-blue color.

He gritted his teeth, attempting one last struggle.

"Chen Yuan. Don't forget what your surname is. You have the Chen family's blood flowing through you."

"Your mother's spirit tablet is still enshrined in the Chen family's ancestral hall."

Hearing the word "mother."

A flash of extremely dangerous cold light finally appeared in Chen Yuan's eyes.

But he still didn't get angry.

"You mentioned her."

Chen Yuan leaned forward slightly, the palpable pressure that could be felt even through the screen making Chen Tianba subconsciously take half a step back.

"Then let's talk about her."

"Do you really think what Zhao Ya did back then was flawless?"

Chen Yuan's voice remained very soft.

"That Fujiwara Masako who came from Japan, the woman who took over Zhao Ya's identity. How she and her family used your Chen family as a springboard to steal my mother's genetic research data."

"And how they poisoned my medicine, attempting to stage an accidental sudden death."

"Are you really completely unaware of all this?"

Chen Tianba was completely panicked.

He widened his eyes, looking at Chen Yuan on the screen in terror. He had thought these secrets were completely buried in that rainy night twenty years ago.

"You... what are you talking nonsense about?"

Chen Tianba's voice began to tremble, that mask of hypocrisy finally torn to shreds. "I don't know anything about any Fujiwara Masako. Chen Yuan, don't make false accusations."

Chen Yuan shook his head.

He felt this conversation had lost all meaning to continue.

There was nothing to say to an old dog who was at death's door and still being stubborn.

"You indeed don't know Fujiwara Masako's true identity. Because you are just a stupid dog in her hands."

Chen Yuan stood up.

He walked to the screen, looking down from a height at the uncle who had once been so high and mighty.

"She used you to force my mother to her death, used you to control the Chen family. And you, still complacent, thinking you are some remarkable head of a wealthy family."

"Chen Tianba, you are not only vicious, but also pitifully stupid."

Chen Yuan reached out, preparing to cut the communication.

"Don't think this matter is just over."

In the last second before his finger pressed the close button, Chen Yuan's voice pierced through the screen like polar ice.

"What your Chen family owes me, I will go back and take it personally."

"With interest."

The screen went black instantly.

The underground base returned to its original deathly silence.

Chen Yuan turned around.

He picked up the glass of red wine from earlier, preparing to finish it in one gulp.

But he suddenly stopped his movement.

By the heavy airtight door of the main control room, Chen Nuo was standing there quietly.

She was wearing a thin white jacket, her hands tightly wrung together.

Her eyes were red.

Her eyes were filled with shock, heartache, and a complex emotion never seen before.

She looked at Chen Yuan, her voice somewhat hoarse.

"Brother."

"Everything you just said... is it all true?"