Chapter 124.1: Die, Die, Die Part 1
When Wen Wen spoke up, she interrupted Tong Hua, who had the habit of refuting everything.
“Right now, the Wasteland Assembly is in total disarray. Those guys are all busy killing each other. For a short while, someone as insignificant as him won’t even make the cut for Lei Yaoxing’s priority list. He’s not worth dealing with first.”
In fact, Lei Yaoxing would choose not to wipe out the brothers right now. Chen Xingzhou was already on the verge of death. Chen Yubo could die too, at any time, by anyone’s hand. The only rule was that he had to not die at Lei Yaoxing’s hands. Otherwise, everything that had happened tonight would be confirmed as fact. The label of “rule-breaker” would be nailed onto Lei Yaoxing permanently, impossible to ever shake off in this lifetime.
Sometimes, underworld rules were worthless bullshit. Other times, they were heavier than mountains. If you still wanted people to trust your word, then you had better at least act like a decent human being.
Unfortunately, what happened tonight had already stripped Lei Yaoxing of half his legitimacy. If he still wanted to maintain even a shred of authority as a “word-is-law” figure, he had to preserve the other half.
“So since the people above are too busy dealing with their own mess, what we’re really facing are just a bunch of small fries, plus the flies that show up when they smell blood,” Wen Wen said slowly. “As long as Chen Xingzhou is still in the hospital, you won’t be on the threat list. And once he dies, you can completely jump ship. So from that perspective, the situation is actually working in your favor.”
Ji Jue glanced at Mr. Zhang, who pretended not to see it and continued drinking tea, so Ji Jue wisely kept his mouth shut as well.
An Ran still hadn’t figured out what was going on, and looked between the two of them in confusion. Only the straightforward Tong Hua bluntly added fuel to the fire, saying in a shocked and emotional tone, “Ms. Wen, you really know your stuff!”
Wen Wen shot her an annoyed glare, her voice slightly muffled. “Before I joined the Safety Bureau... I mean, I also needed to earn some extra income.”
“I get it, I get it.” Ji Jue nodded in understanding, suddenly feeling a sense of relatability.
These days, surviving isn’t easy. Who doesn’t have a side job, a part-time gig, or a little hobby on the side, right?
For some reason, seeing that “so you too” expression on his face made Wen Wen feel irritated. Her fists tightened, but with outsiders around and needing to maintain her image, she couldn’t just smash his head in. She could only grit her teeth and continue speaking.
“Don’t get too happy too soon. Even if the big waves don’t hit you directly, you still have to survive the aftermath. When giants fight, they don’t care how many ants are under their feet. Among Chen Xingzhou’s trusted men, there should be a few you can rely on, right?”
“Mr. Lin!” Chen Yubo answered without hesitation. “Mr. Lin is absolutely trustworthy.”
As Chen Xingzhou’s confidant, assistant, and top bodyguard, if Mr. Lin couldn’t be trusted, then Chen Xingzhou would have been dead long ago. Moreover, even before his brother rose to power, Mr. Lin had already been quietly taking care of him in the background.
“Alright. Then contact him,” Wen Wen said, making the final decision. She picked up the mediocre tea at Ji Jue’s place and frowned as she gulped it down in big mouthfuls. After the faint alcohol smell faded, she still couldn’t help but sigh.
She said, “Chen Xingzhou... that guy... When I first arrived in Cliff City to take up my post, he was the first person to hand over detailed business records of the North Mount District to me. Without his support, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this position at all. I would have been like a commander without troops. Both personally and professionally, I owe him a favor. This matter can’t be handled by an Origin Chosen One, but a White Deer Chosen One can deal with it.”
She looked up at the young boy beside her, who was holding a teacup and blinking. In the entire North Mount District, An Ran was the only one who didn’t need to worry about issues of allegiance, because he already had plenty of his issues.
As a member of the An family and a White Deer Chosen One, he had already shocked countless people just by joining the Safety Bureau. Even if he were to jump into internal conflict now, it could still be explained away as a personal action.
Besides, this was only skirting the edge anyway.
Wen Wen patted An Ran’s head. “Ji Jue’s safety will be in your hands.”
An Ran was stunned for just a moment, then broke into a grin without any resistance. “Okay.”
For a brief moment, Ji Jue caught from the corner of his eye that Mr. Zhang seemed like he wanted to say something but ultimately held back. He just lowered his head and sipped on his tea, as if trying hard not to laugh.
Beside them, Chen Yubo was completely stunned. As he watched Wen Wen lay out the arrangements, if it weren’t inappropriate for his status, he probably would have already blurted out, What about me? What about me?! Don’t I deserve to be at least mentioned? They even assigned bodyguards to guard a bodyguard? What kind of nesting doll[1] situation is this?
But then he thought about it again. An Ran would protect Ji Jue, and Ji Jue would protect him. So if you rounded it off, wouldn’t that basically mean the Safety Bureau was protecting him directly?
Somehow, his sense of security drastically increased.
Before they parted ways, Mr. Zhang patted An Ran on the head and gave his final instruction. “Protect him, understand?”
“Of course!” Ji Jue whistled, slung an arm over An Ran’s shoulder, and gave a thumbs-up, full of confidence. “An Ran and I are totally solid as a team!”
We’re back! The team’s back!
Chen Yubo’s sense of security just shot right up again!
Mr. Zhang just smiled without saying anything more. Wen Wen, on the other hand, gave Ji Jue one last look, then suddenly waved him over.
“Come here. I’ll give you a buff.”
Ji Jue was confused. “Huh?”
Suddenly, he felt his body involuntarily bend forward. What followed was an unprecedented impact and pain from an utterly merciless punch.
Pow!
Ji Jue’s vision went black, and he almost let out a dog-like yelp.
When he came back to his senses, he realized external spirit matter had been forcibly embedded into his body. Lifting his shirt, he saw a complex and almost alluring-looking emblem on his abdomen. It was a blessing from Minerva.
Wen Wen’s spirit matter was like crystallized matter, sinking into his body. He could feel a terrifying force within it, like a flood bursting through a dam or a volcano erupting, yet it was eerily still and as calm as stone at the moment. Even the surrounding spirit matter had slowed in its circulation, as if it too was being frozen.
Extreme motion and absolute stillness coexisted within a single person’s spirit matter, switching freely. The explosion and stability of matter existed within a single thought.
Ji Jue couldn’t help but marvel at the level of transformation and divine interference it must have taken to reach such an elevated state.
The only problem was... the placement and the design felt a bit... off?
Wait, I feel like I’m becoming the Safety Bureau’s “star laborer.”
“Couldn’t you put it somewhere else?!”
Wen Wen laughed. “Where, your hand? That would actually work, since that’s the usual place, but then you wouldn’t be able to use your matrix anymore.”
If it were purely for convenience, then the palm or the back of the hand would indeed be the best location. Unfortunately, those places had already been fully occupied by Pacifier, with not a single cun left available. Any external spirit matter inserted there would interfere with the matrix’s operation and could even cause instability or damage. So she had “no choice” but to punch him in the stomach.
But after pondering for a while, Wen Wen realized that the head could also work. Should she give him another buff?
Sensing Wen Wen’s increasingly dangerous enthusiasm, Ji Jue instinctively took two steps back and pulled Chen Yubo in front of him as a shield. Wen Wen clicked her tongue in disappointment, but she did not actually smash Chen Yubo’s head.
“Alright then. The Sword of Minerva is yours.” She waved in farewell. “Fight if you can, run if you can’t. With An Ran around, at least you’ll be able to keep your life. As for the rest... you’ll just have to rely on your luck. I can only do this much.”
1. A matryoshka doll or matryoshka, also known as a Russian stacking doll, nesting doll, or simply a Russian doll, is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. I’ve attached a picture for your reference. ☜
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