Chapter 299: External Brain

He finished signing, pushed the documents aside, kept his deep, gloomy seated posture, but his gaze drifted even more into emptiness.

Meng Kexin picked them up, checked whether the seals were clear and intact, then stored everything properly.

Two men who resembled old stewards stood afar, their eyes taking in everything, not daring to even draw a breath.

Shen Zexi, Qi Hengyu, and Min Tianyou stood at the doorway, took it all in, and settled into an indescribable silence.

It was unlike any scenario they had imagined.

Although they had expected Chen Mo Zhi might be unable to handle some family affairs, seeing him seated at the main seat, unflustered, at least his intimidating appearance was fully on display.

But those who knew him could tell that, despite Chen Mo Zhi's calm façade, Meng Kexin was handling the documents entirely under his orders, and in fact he had been gone for a while.

Ying Duo's golden eyes calmly swept the hall, lingering a moment on Meng Kexin; although she had only changed her hairstyle, her aura was completely different.

Meng Kexin straightened up, as if only then noticing the movement at the doorway.

She did not speak immediately; instead she bowed slightly, leaning close to Chen Mo Zhi's ear.

"Young master, Captain Min and your classmates have arrived."

Still in a trance, Chen Mo Zhi's body jolted; he lifted his head, his gloomy gaze turning to the doorway, and when his eyes met Ying Duo's Ying Guang Lu, a fleeting, subtle feeling of "relief" flashed through his eyes.

He cleared his throat at once and spoke toward the doorway:

"...... Come in."

His voice was low, even a bit hoarse, yet unusually clear in the silent room.

The group entered one after another, with Min Tianyou last; he saw far more than Shen Zexi and the others.

He had originally thought Chen Mo Zhi asked him to fetch Meng Kexin merely out of concern that the girl might be harassed by the Zhao Family.

But Meng Kexin's skill and shrewdness in handling commercial contracts were far beyond what a dependent young woman could possess.

Recalling the guards' fear and the Chen Family's rapid, efficient cleanup…

Chen Mo Zhi never asked him to retrieve his little tusiflower; he was clearly taking over his own External Brain.

After everyone entered the hall, for a moment they didn't know how to speak.

Eventually Meng Kexin broke the silence; she signaled a servant to bring chairs, invited them to sit, then personally carried a tea cup to pour for them, as if she had reverted to the obedient, sensible vase.

Only her unusually tied‑up bun silently reminded everyone that what they had just seen was no illusion.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work," Meng Kexin gently placed the tea cup before Shen Zexi, "especially you, Ying Duo, I heard you were injured on the ground? We've been making you run around; the young master has been very worried about you, just not good at expressing it."

As she spoke, she glanced at Chen Mo Zhi still seated at the main seat, and he slowly nodded.

Shen Zexi lifted the tea cup, using it to mask the tremor inside.

He looked at Meng Kexin, trying to make his tone sound natural, "Thank you, Classmate Zhao, how is the head of the Chen Family now? The attack and poisoning last night…"

"If you like, Shen classmate, just call me Meng Kexin."

Meng Kexin gave a sweet smile, but the others would no longer be fooled by her appearance.

Shen Zexi readily corrected himself, "Alright, Meng classmate."

When Chen Xiaoshuang was mentioned, Meng Kexin's expression dimmed slightly.

"Also thank you, Shen classmate, for your concern; the head's condition has stabilized for now, but it's still far from optimistic…"

She paused, then looked at Min Tianyou.

"Captain Min, regarding the 'Bee Queen' leads, the Supervision Bureau…?"

Min Tianxi nodded, "We're already pursuing it vigorously, but I heard this attack was due to an internal problem within the Chen Family?"

He cast a pointed glance at Meng Kexin.

Meng Kexin met his gaze and said calmly,

"The internal traitor has been completely eliminated; all evidence and testimonies have been handed over to the Supervision Bureau. As for whether a 'Bee Queen' or other forces are behind them, that will be up to Captain Min and the officials of the Supervision Bureau to investigate thoroughly."

Qi Hengyu was more direct; he looked around, lowered his voice, and said to Chen Mo Zhi,

"Hey, you guys actually did this? Clean the whole house in a day? How did you manage that? And…"

His eyes signaled the quietly standing Meng Kexin, the meaning obvious.

Chen Mo Zhi's mouth twitched involuntarily, his gloomy expression almost breaking.

"Qi classmate overpraises me; the young master is the true pillar of the Chen Family. It's just that the matters have piled up, and the young master taught me some handling methods."

She suddenly interjected, again shifting all credit to Chen Mo Zhi, positioning herself as a negligible assistant.

Chen Mo Zhi listened to Meng Kexin's airtight reply, gave a barely perceptible nod toward Qi Hengyu, effectively acknowledging her statement.

Qi Hengyu saw his desperate need to save face, then glanced at the sweet‑smiling yet unnaturally calm Meng Kexin, rolled his eyes, but wisely refrained from further questioning.

Every family has its own hard‑to‑recite sutra; Chen Mo Zhi has held together so far probably thanks to this "External Brain" stubbornly supporting him from behind.

Shen Zexi smoothly steered the conversation back to business, after all he had just learned from Min Tianyou about the circumstances surrounding Min Xingyao's death.

In any case, his escape from the Dome's grasp is inevitably linked to Min Xingyao's incident; calling him a beneficiary of Min Xingyao's death would not be inaccurate.

Although he does not wish to be seen that way.

"Speaking of it, have the details of the Chen Family head's poisoning and the clues left by the attackers been handed over to the Supervision Bureau? That's crucial for further tracing the Bee Queen's involvement."

Meng Kexin immediately understood his meaning, turned slightly, and whispered to Chen Mo Zhi,

"Young master, Shen classmate and the others have traveled far and endured chaos on the ground; they must be exhausted."

"Since it's getting late, why not let you all rest in the guest rooms for the night? We've kept a careful watch over the scene at the head's side, not moving an inch, and can have you return tomorrow morning for a thorough inspection, what do you think?"

Chen Mo Zhi nodded immediately, "As you suggest."

Meng Kexin, having received approval, turned to Shen Zexi and the others, her face showing a suitably measured apology.

"How do you all feel about that? The guest rooms in the manor are well prepared; you can rest well tonight and continue the investigation tomorrow."