Ye Lanzhou readied himself, walking towards the entrance to welcome them.
Throughout the journey, the question of how he would explain Chu Chenli’s disappearance was stuck in his head. He couldn’t help but feel anxious—what was with Ah Li’s sudden departure?
It was without any warning, without a sound. There was no way he could come up with a reasonable excuse for it.
He arrived at the entrance with a heart full of worry. He couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight of the approaching person.
The man had black hair and eyes, pure and dark, completely jet black.
He seemed very young, around twenty-five years old, but his demeanour was calm and composed. A faint smile lingered on his face, softening the subtle sense of oppression brought by his all-black appearance.
At first glance, he appeared gentle and amiable, like someone with a good temper.
But what really surprised Ye Lanzhou was that this man was sitting in a wheelchair.
There was a significant height difference, but his face betrayed no trace of the awkwardness one might feel when looked down upon.
This man was calm and composed and seemed to possess a strong mental resilience.
However, Ye Lanzhou, and even the people around him, couldn’t help but develop a slight sense of contempt towards this man–directed at his physical capabilities.
In this era, after a slight balance was achieved between humans and mutants, ordinary people who couldn’t run fast were usually sent to safe zones.
Not to protect them, but simply because they would otherwise hold the group back.
Those with special skills, such as doctors, researchers, and the like, mostly stayed within the base most of the time, and no one would ask them to venture into danger.
It simply wasn’t worth the risk.
And this was the person sent by the central base?
The young man showed a warm smile, “I am here to negotiate with Commander Ye on behalf of the higher-ups. I believe the letter has already been delivered to you by your subordinates.”
Ye Lanzhou opened the envelope, finding a short letter inside. The gist of its contents was that the negotiations could be fully decided by the negotiator sent in this mission. On the back was a photo ID, indeed showing a face similar to the man in front of him.
Comparing the real person with the photo, the facial features had hardly changed, but the person in the photo still had a hint of youthful vigour; he was clearly more inexperienced.
The name written below the photo was–Shen Xuanyi.
A name he had never heard before.
But the seal on the letter couldn’t be faked, and in this era, no one would bother to make such a forgery. Moreover, the one sent over was…disabled.
Ye Lanzhou glanced at him and made a “please” gesture. “Well then…Mr. Shen, please come in and rest before we talk.”
Shen Xuanyi didn’t move, his black eyes boring into Ye Lanzhou’s. It sent a shiver down his spine, as if he were facing an abyss.
“The situation on his side…is a bit complicated. We can discuss in detail after going in.” Ye Lanzhou hinted at the people around him, “This is not a suitable place for conversation.”
As he expected, Mr. Shen turned out to be a good-natured and reasonable person. After observing him for a moment, he nodded in agreement.
Shen Xuanyi turned around and waved: “April, come with me. The others can wait outside for now.”
A low, deep female voice responded, “Yes, Captain.”
Only then did Ye Lanzhou notice a woman standing not far behind him. She was tall, had short black hair, a handsome appearance, and a cold, or rather, an indifferent expression.
Very expressionless.
Logically, this kind of person, in height, appearance, or even clothing style, was not the type to be easily overlooked. However, just now, when she stood quietly there, it was as if she was invisible, her presence was astonishingly low.
Of course, it could also be because their attention was initially drawn to the man in the wheelchair.
The car that brought the two of them here was still parked nearby.
Ye Lanzhou had almost suggested inviting the people in the car to join, but when he saw the guns in the hands of the guards standing by the car, he felt a sudden sense of shock, and all his words were instantly swallowed back.
Bringing a disabled person here naturally required sufficient armed protection. If they were willing to bring only one woman into their base, it already shows their respect. Otherwise, it would be as if they were trying to purposely intimidate and cause panic.
Ye Lanzhou forced a smile and decided to take Shen Xuanyi to the meeting room personally.
However, April didn’t let him. She skillfully pushed the wheelchair with one hand, and balanced a black box on the other shoulder, the contents of which were unknown.
Ye Lanzhou didn’t dare to stop her and could only lead the way.
The internal situation of the base was currently chaotic. Both the laboratory and the medical building were in ruins. The training ground was temporarily deserted. Ye Lanzhou intentionally avoided those places, but Shen Xuanyi looked around and seemed to already gain some understanding.
Passing by the new medical building, Shen Xuanyi’s gaze lingered on a certain wall for a moment–
On the wall was a pitch-black dagger.
When Ye Lanzhou turned back, he only saw Shen Xuanyi’s sudden smile.
A sweet smile that made one’s heart skip a beat, but carried many hidden dangers.
The meeting room had not seen any visitors for a long time. When the door was pushed open, dust filled the air. Fortunately, when Ye Lanzhou went to the entrance to meet them, he had already ordered his subordinates to clean, open the windows, and ventilate, so it was clean to sit.
The logistics team dug out some well-preserved tea leaves from the warehouse and served tea to the guests. Once done, they tactfully exited the room and closed the door behind them.
The empty meeting room now had only three people left–April had quietly positioned herself in the corner after entering.
So, in the end, it was only Shen Xuanyi. He looked around the room with interest, and suddenly asked, “I heard that you have a very capable assistant named Xiang…what was his name?”
Ye Lanzhou instinctively responded, “Xiang Renxi.”
As if suddenly remembering, Shen Xuanyi nodded, “Oh, right, Mr. Xiang Renxi. Did he go out? Why haven’t I seen him?”
Ye Lanzhou was immediately reminded of the previous incident and couldn’t help but stiffen up.
However, in front of outsiders, he didn’t want to expose his “family affairs” and tried to cover up, “He…he has been under a lot of pressure lately…He hasn’t been feeling well these days and is currently resting.”
Shen Xuanyi raised an eyebrow, “So fragile?”
Just by walking all the way here, it was obvious that the people of the base were very busy, some of them even fell asleep on the spot after their shift ended, only to be carried back to the dormitory by their comrades.
Even Ye Lanzhou, at this moment, still had dark circles under his eyes, showing clear signs of exhaustion.
Yet, the second-in-command of the base was leisurely lazing around.
Ye Lanzhou was momentarily speechless.
He felt a bit uneasy hearing those words, finding them a bit insensitive, but it wasn’t worth arguing with the people from the central base over such a trivial matter.
“He…he used to handle all the affairs of the entire base by himself. He hasn’t been resting much,” Ye Lanzhou reluctantly found a reason to brush it off.
Shen Xuanyi raised an eyebrow in thought.
Ye Lanzhou, feeling a bit uneasy, began to take the initiative, “But speaking of which, I’m still unsure of Mr. Shen’s identity—Since we are here to negotiate, we should know basic information about each other.”
Although he knew that the central base wouldn’t carelessly send irrelevant people over, this matter concerned his future status. He had to maximise his leverage in this situation, so he had to be cautious.
He especially didn’t want to be criticised by a ‘nobody’, especially one who’s crippled.
Faced with Ye Lanzhou’s sudden aggro, Shen Xuanyi didn’t get angry. He still kept his gentle disposition, nodding to indicate that what Ye Lanzhou said made sense.
“We may work together in the future after all. There’s no harm in getting to know each other in advance.”
Shen Xuanyi looked at Ye Lanzhou and said slowly, “About Commander Ye, I already have some knowledge—before the disaster, he was an ordinary college student, all his relatives died in the early years of it. Ten years ago, he awakened the thunder attribute, built the first base 8 and six years ago, it was nearly wiped out, with less than ten survivors. Five years ago, he rebuilt the base and now, it’s the Sourthern base, and one of the only two large bases remaining. Oh right, ever since the awakening factor detection machine came out, Commander Ye’s detection value has always been 98, second only to the two 99s at the central base.”
At this point, he paused, seeming to genuinely praise, “In these past few years, Commander Ye, you truly have been a top-tier powerhouse.”
Otherwise, the central base wouldn’t repeatedly compromise and go to great lengths to try to absorb him into their camp.
Ye Lanzhou’s face twitched slightly.
Clearly, it was a compliment, and the tone was very gentle, but it made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because the other party could recount his past in such detail, while he knew nothing about the other. It created such a huge sense of inequality.
“I sped through the information before coming. I only remember these…Is there anything else Commander Ye would like to add?” Shen Xuanyi asked, seemingly sincere.
“…No.” Ye Lanzhou replied stiffly.
He began to speculate whether this was a warning from the other party, so his expression became somewhat unpleasant.
“As for me…” Shen Xuanyi changed the topic, “My father is Shen Zhaoyi.”
Ye Lanzhou was momentarily stunned, stuttering, “Shen….General Shen?”
Shen Xuanyi said, “If you mean the one who commands the military region, that’s him.”
Ye Lanzhou was truly shocked.
Shen Zhaoyi could be said to be the highest-ranking leader in the military region.
The military region was a unique department of the central base, completely independent of the awakened system and composed mainly of the pre-disaster military forces. After the disaster, they were integrated into one region, becoming the central pillar for building bases to resist the infected during the early days of the disaster.
Although most of them were still ordinary people who hadn’t awakened, with rigorous training and sufficient equipment, they were one of the few forces capable of confronting awakened individuals.
To this day, they remained a formidable force.
Shen Zhaoyi, General Shen, came from a military family, holding a high position even before the disaster. In the chaos of the early disaster, he played a crucial role, reorganising the troops in the shortest time, creating the prototype of the central base.
Although he never awakened and only managed military affairs, he still held an irreplaceable position in terms of identity, status, and prestige.
Shen Zhaoyi’s son would naturally receive good treatment, but it was only “good treatment.”
Even if Shen General was highly esteemed, his reputation and prestige after the disaster were earned through his own abilities. His son could at best bask in his father’s glory, his life would be more comfortable, but it wasn’t easy to gain the trust of others.
So, Ye Lanzhou quickly came to his senses, closed his dropped jaw, and with a scrutinising gaze, he sized up Shen Xuanyi—
He brought up his father without even discussing any business. Could this guy be relying on his father’s connections to brush up his qualifications?
Shen Xuanyi seemed to feel that Ye Lanzhou’s suspicious look on him could be even worse. He patted his thigh and sighed deeply.
“As for me, as you can see. I’ve been unwell these past few years, bedridden for the past few years, and I’ve only recently been able to sit up…”
It seems like he’s really a useless person.
April, standing in the corner, couldn’t help the corners of her mouth twitching up, but no one noticed.
Ye Lanzhou, with a light and polite tone, said, “If you’re not feeling well, you should rest properly. Travelling long distances might make your condition worse.”
Shen Xuanyi, seemingly unable to detect Ye Lanzhou’s sarcasm, nodded with a serious expression, “They also advised me not to come or at least wait for awhile. But I heard that Commander Ye is an important talent our base has been trying to negotiate with for a long time. You’re finally willing to make an exception, so no matter what, I wanted to personally make a trip to show our sincerity.”
Is this also considered sincerity?
Ye Lanzhou was on the verge of bursting into laughter.
The fluctuation of his emotions made him, intentionally or unintentionally, ignore one thing—the fact that Shen Xuanyi never brought up Chu Chenli’s departure again.
He didn’t have time to dwell on it, because the next words from Shen Xuanyi made his blood boil even more.
“After all, in the future, I might be your supervisor. You could say I’d be your direct superior.”
Let this useless person be his supervisor?
Ye Lanzhou didn’t know the extent of his jurisdiction, but upon hearing that this person would be his direct superior, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “You?”
Shen Xuanyi remained calm, still wearing a faint smile as he looked at him. “Yes, me.”
Ye Lanzhou scrutinised the man—he had an ordinary adult physique, not too thin but not muscular either, not someone who seemed to have undergone extensive training, and still sitting in a wheelchair.
This couldn’t be an awakened individual.
There tends to be a subtle feeling when facing awakened individuals. This person’s body seemed like a blank sheet of paper, there was nothing.
Ye Lanzhou began to suspect whether the central base was intentionally playing him.
He wasn’t someone without a temper.
Over the years, not only did everyone within the base unconditionally trust and admire him, but even when going out to support other bases, everyone was polite. Occasionally, when there was a need for a decision, the leaders of the other bases would voluntarily step back, giving the chance to command to Ye Lanzhou.
And Ye Lanzhou never held back.
He had developed such confidence in himself that it had gradually become ingrained in his bones.
Once someone is in a position of power for a long time, it was challenging for them to bow their head again.
To have him submit to someone like Shen Xuanyi was like having his face slapped. A single slap wasn’t enough—he had to have his face pressed into the ground and rubbed around the rubble back and forth.
Even the usually calm Ye Lanzhou and the rational Xiang Renxi might find it hard to suppress their anger in this situation.
“Why-” Ye Lanzhou started to protest.
Swish—
A sharp breaking sound brushed past Ye Lanzhou’s ear.
Ye Lanzhou’s pupils suddenly trembled, and the anger he was about to vent abruptly stopped.
A bullet flew past, grazing his cheek and leaving a hot open wound.
Apart from that sound, there was no unnecessary movement. It was so silent that Ye Lanzhou almost thought it was his imagination.
However, the bullet lodged in the wall, the residual warmth of gunpowder filled the room and its muzzle pointed directly at the back of his head.
April, who had been standing in the corner, had disappeared without a trace.
Ye Lanzhou knew she was standing behind him.
But he completely failed to realise when this person had made a move.
It was as if she had appeared behind him out of thin air.
Like a ghost, he could hardly feel the person’s presence behind him.
Cold sweat began to seep from Ye Lanzhou’s forehead.
He dared not make another move, stiffening in place. He could only let his eyes shift slightly downward to glance at Shen Xuanyi, who was sitting in the wheelchair.
Shen Xuanyi still wore a smile, just like when he first appeared at the entrance of the base.
“Because my subordinates are more obedient and capable than you. Isn’t that enough?” The words were mocking, but the tone was still gentle and polite.
This only made Ye Lanzhou feel worse.
Shen Xuanyi’s earlier words were indeed deliberate provocation!
Unfortunately, Ye Lanzhou had no choice.
The woman behind him could take his life at any moment.
And these two dared to act like this, which meant they had the confidence to.
Ye Lanzhou thought of the armed people outside the base and the many unarmed ordinary people inside. He grit his teeth and chose to endure it.
