King of the Wilderness

He picked up his encrypted tablet and glanced at the time in the lower right corner.

Wyoming, January 25, 2022, 6 PM.

It was 8 AM on January 26 in Guangzhou, China, a perfect work time.

He looked at Emily, who was gently watching the children, and said softly, "Dear, please watch the kids for me. My next meeting is about to start."

"A meeting?" Emily was somewhat surprised.

"Yes." Lin Yu’an nodded, "A meeting about how to build a future home for December and Amber."

Saying that, he took the tablet and walked into the study with an unbeatable mountain view.

Closing the heavy wooden door, he shut out all outside noise.

Then, he skillfully opened the encrypted video conferencing software and entered a string of meeting codes he knew by heart.

The screen split into three clear windows the next second.

The window on the left was a bright and busy modern design institute meeting room filled with Eastern vibes.

Li Wenbo, the Chief Structural Engineer of the Chimelong Group Group Design Institute, was leading several elite engineers, all standing by at attention. The table in front of them was piled high with drawings and documents.

The window on the right was an American-style office decorated with various zoo and theme park design sketches on the walls.

A Caucasian man in his fifties, with a well-kept beard, was smiling and nodding at the camera.

He was John Hammond, Chief Designer at PGAV Destinations, and a globally acknowledged top zoo design master.

In the top window representing the client’s experts, Dr. MacKeez was already online.

She was wearing a slightly oversized white research coat, her golden hair meticulously tied up at the back.

The background showed the office of the Alaska Arctic Biological Research Center, with the pale sky of the perpetual daylight season seen through the window, giving the room a somewhat cold and desolate feel.

He cleared his throat and focused on all the attendees.

"Good morning, Li Gong. Good evening, Mr. Hammond." Lin Yu’an smiled, greeting the two main teams in fluent English.

Then, his gaze returned to the top window, and his voice unconsciously softened a bit, "Good evening, Dr. MacKeez."

Lin Yu’an’s gaze crossed the cold data on the screen and the windows, precisely capturing a trace of complex emotion in her blue eyes.

At that moment, he clearly read the undisguised longing in her eyes.

Although he had anticipated it, Lin Yu’an’s heart still involuntarily skipped a beat.

He took a quiet deep breath, nodding slightly in understanding as a response, putting the matter aside for now.

The first tripartite online summit spanning three continents and several time zones officially began.

After simple greetings, Lin Yu’an got straight to the point, "Thank you all for being able to prepare the initial concepts in such a short time. I believe both teams have reviewed each other’s plans."

"The purpose of today’s meeting is simple. I need both sides to conduct a comprehensive discussion on a few key points of disagreement in the plans, with the final direction to be decided by me."

"Mr. Hammond, you and your team are responsible for defining the soul of this project, which includes top-tier animal welfare standards, research functionality, and visitor experience."

"And Li Gong, you and your team are responsible for giving this soul a physical body, namely the most efficient and reliable engineering implementation plan."

"Our overall goal remains unchanged: to build the world’s top-level polar animal conservation facility in the shortest time and at the most reasonable cost."

"The preliminary total budget is set at 40 million US Dollars, and I hope to control the total construction period within six months."

He paused, then looked at the window on the right side.

"Mr. Hammond, let’s start with the most ambitious part of your proposal, the fully retractable glass curtain wall in the all-weather polar pavilion."

"Please explain the core reasons for insisting on this design, especially after seeing the engineering risk assessment submitted by Li Gong’s team."

John Hammond’s expression immediately turned focused as he shared the screen, displaying a visually stunning render in which the indoor and outdoor Ice Lake seamlessly merged as one.

"Alright, Lin. Our core design philosophy is maximizing freedom of choice."

"We shouldn’t decide where an animal should be, but rather provide it with a richly varied environment, letting it decide for itself."

"To achieve a 100% seamless connection between indoor and outdoor environments, this wall composed of three independent, giant hydraulic glass curtain walls is key."

"It not only provides a visual spectacle but also grants animals the most unimpeded passage, embodying our philosophy and the soul of our design."

Lin Yu’an nodded and then turned to the left window.

"Li Gong, I’ve seen your engineering team’s evaluation report, and the data isn’t optimistic. Please directly tell Mr. Hammond your conclusion."

Li Wenbo adjusted his glasses, and his speech was full of the rigor of an engineer as he directly responded to Hammond’s ideals.

"Mr. Hammond, we fully respect your philosophy. But to achieve it, the military-grade hydraulic system from Germany mentioned in your proposal."

"After contacting for quotes, we concluded that the procurement, transportation, and installation would cost over 8 million US Dollars, with a customization and installation period of at least six months."