PSW - Chapter 138
Chapter 138
"…" Zhou Xiji sighed, looking at Zhou Xiyue as if she were a misbehaving child. "You know they're already dissatisfied with us, and yet you…Sigh."
"I can go meet her once. But as for the others, you'll have to arrange it yourself." After saying this, Zhou Xiji lifted his bowl and drank all the lukewarm congee. He wiped his mouth simply. "Go on. It's time you learned to stand on your own two feet."
Zhou Xiji's meaning was obvious. He wouldn't stop Zhou Xiyue from doing this, but he was only willing to meet with Zheng Yi. He wouldn't act as a go-between to help Zhou Xiyue with the others.
"Fine." Zhou Xiyue agreed through gritted teeth. Getting one was better than none. As for the others… She considered the feasibility of having Zheng Yi meet her brother first, convincing him, and then approaching the rest. Zhou Xiji would probably change his mind after meeting Zheng Yi, but she didn't know if Zheng Yi would have the patience…
Forget it. Zhou Xiyue sighed. Rather than troubling Zheng Yi and testing the limits of that powerhouse's patience, it was better for her to… try her best.
Humanity's Light stood to gain the most from this cooperation. After all, Zheng Yi wasn't lacking in resources. With her strength, if she wanted others to submit, she could easily crush them with sheer power. They were the ones taking advantage in this matter.
Zheng Yi couldn't care less how Zhou Xiyue and Yun Lingjian proceeded; she only wanted to see the results. As for their stay at Humanity's Light, she and Yu Yinan hadn't been idle either.
"So, can I go out to practice my ability these next few days?" Yu Yinan thought for a moment, then leaned close to Zheng Yi and asked softly, "Those… sisters from the New Year's Eve dinner, I wonder where they're living now. Without a fire ability user, they must be having a hard time during the extreme cold. I was thinking, I… maybe I can help them?"
"Of course you can." Zheng Yi smiled and hugged Yu Yinan. "If Jiejie wants, besides providing warmth, we can also give them hot water and some food."
"Is-is that okay? Won't it be too much trouble for you…?" Yu Yinan was slightly stunned. There were far too many ordinary people in Humanity's Light. She only wanted to do her best to save those she had a connection with, those who stirred her desire to help. Even if she was only helping a small group, she wanted to do it herself and never intended to drag Zheng Yi into it.
Zheng Yi's expression immediately turned sorrowful. "Jiejie and I… have grown distant after all," she said pitifully.
"…" Even though she knew Zheng Yi was acting again, Yu Yinan couldn't remain unmoved. She explained hurriedly, "That's not what I meant, it's just… I don't want you to change your attitude or make some… unintended sacrifice because of me. I…" Yu Yinan tried to explain, but the words came out sounding as if they truly had grown distant, making things even less clear.
Fortunately, Zheng Yi didn't continue teasing her. She reined in her smile slightly and said softly, "I understand. What Jiejie wants to do is what I want to do."
And so, over the next few days, they often went together to the various tents, lighting fires for the people, boiling water, and bringing food to the women they had met at the New Year's Eve dinner, helping them better endure the extreme cold.
During this period, she earned a trickle of Saint Points, which was just enough to offset the cost of the food she purchased.
When it came to providing food, Zheng Yi was particularly fond of frozen dumplings. A bag was cheap, contained a good number, and tasted delicious. A bowl of them during the extreme cold was a real treat.
Meanwhile, after Zhou Xiyue had shared her idea and mentioned Zheng Yi, Zhou Xiji couldn't help but turn his attention to Zheng Yi during his breaks from work, observing her actions in the shelter as a sort of assessment.
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan… their registration upon entering the base had been normal. Was that when Zhao Haiyue met them? Later, they did a mission with Grandma Xu. Looking at the contribution point transaction records, Zheng Yi seemed happy to provide water for the shelter, while Yu Yinan was… quite skilled at map-making?
From these records, Zhou Xiji found it difficult to see anything different about Zheng Yi. She was often with Yu Yinan, and Yu Yinan's records were even more conventional, utterly ordinary.
Zhou Xiji had never paid attention to gossip among ability users, so he wasn't very clear on the drama with the Yu family. He had an impression of Zhu Lanyuan's later disappearance and rescue, along with the many women she brought back, but he had no deeper understanding of it. So now, as he tried to find something extraordinary in Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan's history, he looked left and right and could only think, "It's nothing special." The only thing that stood out was the zombie horde, but… he didn't know the specific details. At the time, it was said that Zhao Haiyue had saved the day. Now that Zhou Xiyue was suddenly saying Zheng Yi was the key, Zhou Xiji was skeptical.
He thought for a moment and stopped looking at these perfectly normal records. Instead, he sent someone to find out when Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan had arrived at Humanity's Light and what they had been doing for the past few days.
To be able to travel through the snowstorm during the extreme cold suggested their abilities were indeed quite good. But to delude themselves into thinking they could support the entire shelter on their own… Zhou Xiji knew nothing about Zheng Yi's character and found it hard to trust her.
But this investigation only puzzled him more. Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan's movements were far too regular. Every day, no matter how severe the blizzard, they would invariably make a trip to the sheds built for the ordinary people who had no housing and had to endure the extreme cold. It was said they provided fire, warmth, and helped them boil a large pot of water. And it went without saying that they also had to visit the camp of women rescued by Zhu Lanyuan. However, those women were highly vigilant and didn't allow casual observation, so the ability user couldn't find out if Zheng Yi gave them the same treatment. But… according to that person, every time Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan left, the aroma of delicious food would waft from the sheds.
Perhaps Zheng Yi was also providing them with extra food.
But where did they get the food? According to the contribution point records, they hadn't made any purchases in the shelter for a long time. Could it be something they had scavenged from outside? Ah, yes, they seemed to have a modified vehicle, but he hadn't seen it now… Zhou Xiji belatedly remembered that either Zhao Haiyue or Zhou Xiyue had mentioned that Zheng Yi was a multi-ability user.
He decided that thinking about it any further was pointless; it was better to just meet her. He had no idea what Zhou Xiyue was up to. So many days had passed with no news, and no meeting date had been set. All she had to do was ask those uncles and elders to find time to meet with Zheng Yi. Was that really so difficult? If she was afraid they would refuse outright upon hearing the topic of discussion, she could have just kept it vague until they met in person.
However, Zhou Xiyue was just that honest. She had explained her intentions with perfect clarity, and after being rejected, she had persistently visited each of them, pleading again and again, until she had worn down the high-level managers into agreeing.
So, it wasn't until a week later, after Yun Lingjian's instrument had completed its initial tests and was undergoing improvements, with several updated prototypes already in trial production, that she finally arrived at Zheng Yi's door, bringing the time for the meeting.
"You're really stubborn. Even if we meet, I won't agree. We're not in a desperate situation yet; everything is improving. This extreme cold is about to pass, so why do we need to promote some ability user and make her the hope of the shelter?"
Even minutes before the meeting began, Uncle Ji, who had been invited by Zhou Xiyue, was still complaining with some dissatisfaction, feeling that it was a waste of time. In such cold weather, it wasn't as if the shelter had no other matters to attend to. Why did they have to come and meet some wet-behind-the-ears little girl?
Zhou Xiyue bowed her head and took the scolding in silence, only asking Uncle Ji to take the seat of honor before going to greet the other high-level members one by one.
"You haven't even met her, and you don't know her actual strength. You shouldn't jump to conclusions. Let's wait for her to arrive and hear what she has to say first." An older woman pulled out a chair and sat down, raising a hand to cut off Uncle Ji's rambling complaints. She then beckoned to Zhou Xiyue. "Come, Xiyue, sit here. They have hands and feet; you don't need to wait on them."
Zhou Xiyue gave a wry smile and thanked her for the kind offer, but she didn't dare sit down just yet. Zheng Yi hadn't arrived, after all. Greeting the others was just something to do while she waited for Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan to arrive. This whole table of people had no idea of Zheng Yi's true value. If they spoke rudely and angered that powerhouse… a fight would not be good.
Soon, Zhou Xiji also arrived, looking travel-worn. He stood outside to brush all the snow off his clothes, wiped the frost from his eyebrows, and straightened his attire before finally stepping inside.
"Almost everyone is here. Why isn't that ability user you mentioned here yet? So young, yet she puts on such airs. Even if she has all the skills in the world, to be so ill-mannered is also-"
Before the old-fashioned scolding could finish, a Ms. Song sitting next to Uncle Ji stood up, poured hot tea, and placed it in front of him. "The appointed time has not yet arrived. You should drink some tea and calm your heart. You're not that old yet, but you sure do love to nag."
Zhou Xiji composed himself, stood up directly to pour tea, and served everyone one by one, offering a sincere apology. "The snowstorm is heavy during this extreme cold. I'm sorry to have troubled you uncles, aunties, and Ms. Song to come all this way. My little sister's preparations were inadequate, and she has been neglectful."
As they were speaking, Zhou Xiyue's anxious expression softened, and she went to the door with great excitement to greet them.
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan arrived hand in hand. Despite the raging blizzard outside, they showed no trace of being disheveled or wet. On the contrary, when Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi stepped into the room, everyone clearly felt the indoor temperature rise rapidly, making them feel as if they had returned to a warm spring day.
"So you are the high-level management of Humanity's Light?" Zheng Yi smiled lightly and gave a bow. "I am Zheng Yi."
Yu Yinan, at Zheng Yi's left side, hesitated for a moment before adding, "Junior Yu Yinan."
"This meeting is to resolve any doubts you may have, so that you can properly consider the matter of cooperation." Zheng Yi pulled Yu Yinan directly to the empty seats at the head of the table, making herself completely at home. "Whatever you want to ask, whatever you want to know, feel free to ask. If you want to test my strength, you can propose any challenge you like." Her tone was gentle, but her actions and words were incredibly arrogant.
"…" Zhou Xiyue was dumbfounded, not expecting Zheng Yi to be so direct. She looked at Zhou Xiji and the others. Their expressions had also turned strange, clearly not expecting Zheng Yi to have… such a side to her.
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