PSW - Chapter 152

Chapter 152

To be honest, it wasn't going particularly smoothly.

But Chi Heqing didn't say that out loud. It was clear this was just a topic Zheng Yi had brought up as a show of goodwill. She pressed her lips together, lowered her gaze slightly, then looked up to meet Zheng Yi's eyes. "I remember. It's just... I didn't expect you to be this powerful." Chi Heqing's words carried a hint of probing and a faint, bitter smile.

"I apologize for concealing a few things from you, Chi Jiejie, when we first met by chance," Zheng Yi said with a smile. "But my abilities weren't as strong back then as they are now. In the months since... I've just been lucky enough to have a few fortuitous encounters."

It was hard to tell if Chi Heqing believed her or not. She simply nodded in understanding, then glanced at the base leader and vice-leader, who seemed to be watching the show. She clearly didn't know how to continue the slightly awkward conversation.

Zheng Yi shook her head slightly, deciding not to make things more difficult for them. The three of them didn't seem to be skilled negotiators, so it was better to be direct. "My Jiejie and I have come unannounced; I hope you don't mind. I won't beat around the bush... we've come to Changping for the meteor fragment."

"I want to know any and all information you have about the meteor fragment."

This direct statement of her intentions actually made Lou Chen breathe a sigh of relief. "The meteor fragment... our understanding of it is also very limited."

"To be honest, I have a large piece of the meteor fragment on me. I've shaved off some powder from it, which I can offer in exchange for information." Zheng Yi blinked, a smile playing on her lips. "If the three of you don't believe me, you can find a relatively open space for me. Stand back a little, and I'll bring out the fragment. You'll naturally be able to sense its energy."

"?!" Having personally experienced just how powerful and irresistible the meteor fragment's energy was, Chi Heqing's pupils contracted once more. She looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated. Her sharp, handsome brows furrowed, and she finally asked, "How... did you do that? Is it your ability?"

Zheng Yi simply smiled without answering.

Lou Chen nodded to himself, lost in thought, while Ling Xunyun spoke up. "You're collecting the meteor fragments? How much do you know about them?"

"The meteor fragments are too unique. This apocalyptic mutation was likely caused by them. They are the source of evolution, but also the beginning of this tragedy," Zheng Yi said, her tone even and revealing little emotion. "And the vast majority of ability users can't even touch them, let alone move, seal, or take them away. If we let them be, the apocalypse will never end, and no one knows what awaits us at the final stage of this mutation."

"And I happen to have the power to approach the fragments, touch them, and carry them with me without leaking a single shred of energy. That being the case, I feel it's my duty to collect all the fragments—either to help humanity's side advance in strength, or to destroy them all. Perhaps if these sources of constantly radiating special energy are removed from the planet, the apocalypse will gradually recede until the world returns to how it was before." Zheng Yi offered this small speculation. Seeing the three of them staring intently at her, she couldn't help but spread her hands and give a helpless smile. "Of course, obtaining the fragments also enhances my own abilities and makes me stronger. You could say that's my selfish motive~"

This was half-truth, half-lie. While the fragments could help Zheng Yi to a certain extent, it was... insignificant compared to her usual terrifying rate of progress. Zero One couldn't help but complain in the system space: This is just a little trick to make them believe her words. After all, if she sounded completely selfless and noble, it would just come off as fake. Everyone has selfish desires; being honest about them makes you more believable.

Ling Xunyun's expression didn't change after hearing this. She just stared intently at Zheng Yi's face—it was so young. And she had to admit, both Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi had faces that easily inspired goodwill. As Zheng Yi spoke, her dark eyes seemed to shine with sincerity and honesty. With her and Yu Yinan's power, if they wanted to take this information by force, Changping wouldn't be completely helpless, but they would likely have to make significant sacrifices. And their visit this time was indeed full of sincerity. "I agree," she murmured. "Lou Chen?"

"Ah, me? I..." Lou Chen pressed a fist to his nose, hesitating for a second before stating his position. "I'm also inclined to agree. But the information on this meteor fragment is the fruit of the Dawn Research Institute's labor. Even if we agree, we still have to ask their opinion and see if they're willing to make a trade with you two."

"No problem. It's enough that you're willing to introduce us to the Director," Zheng Yi said gently. After speaking, she took a small glass vial from her backpack. At the bottom of the transparent vial was a bit of blue powder. The moment she took it out, the energy of the meteor fragment filled the entire room. Because it was only a small amount of powder, no one felt any discomfort. In fact, the energy seemed to give their own abilities a minuscule boost. Zheng Yi handed the vial to Chi Heqing. "Captain Chi, since you're the captain of the special squad, I'll leave this with you, then? Please help me pass it on to the Director."

"Okay." Chi Heqing carefully took the glass vial and agreed seriously. "Before tonight... I'll come find you."

"Haha, we're not in a hurry. Replying tomorrow is fine too," Zheng Yi laughed. "After all, we just rented a house for a week~"

With the matter of the meteor fragment settled, Zheng Yi paused for a moment and glanced at Yu Yinan. Understanding the cue, Yu Yinan stepped forward, took out a map, and spread it open. "This is a map of Ling Country. On our way here, we noticed that Changping seems to have explored and cleared out some of the nearby cities. I wonder how much you all know about the cities outside of Changping?"

"We've only explored the surrounding areas. After all, between the periods of extreme heat, extreme cold, and that time with the special heavy rains... there isn't much time left for us to explore cities and gather resources." Ling Xunyun seemed to guess Yu Yinan's intention. She nodded slightly as she replied, "Are you two from another city... from a base similar to ours?"

"Saying we're from one might not be accurate. However, we do have cooperative relationships with a few bases." And the less friendly bases... were all cleaned up by Zheng Yi. Yu Yinan didn't say the second part out loud. She just drew a few circles on the map, marking Pujie, Xuancheng, and Zhongshan. Then she moved the tip of her pen to Yongdu and, after a moment's hesitation, drew a line through it. She organized her thoughts for a moment, then briefly described the current situations at Humanity's Light and in Xuancheng. She also explained the cooperation they had established with Humanity's Light, and... how they had taken out Xuancheng's previous "divine messenger." After that, Yu Yinan recalled for a moment before speaking about Zhongshan. They had visited that base during the last period of extreme heat, so a long time had passed since then—at least, it felt like a long time to her and Zheng Yi—so the situation there might have changed slightly. But there shouldn't be any major problems, since Feng Shuxian had a mark that allowed her to contact Zheng Yi at any time.

After briefly introducing Zhongshan, Yu Yinan adjusted her tone and began to talk about Yongdu. She didn't hide what Si Haotian had done there, nor did she skip over how Zheng Yi had cleaned up Yongdu and killed the ability users who had been the perpetrators. Perhaps these actions might seem extreme in some people's eyes, but Yu Yinan never thought what Zheng Yi did was "wrong."

"You two could hold a... high-level meeting later? If you're interested, you can send people to these places to establish cooperation or trade." Yu Yinan paused, then suddenly smiled. "We can guarantee the character of these bases' upper management. For the next few years, they shouldn't change at all."

They probably wouldn't dare to change. Lou Chen couldn't help but grumble inwardly. But on second thought, this information was indeed very important to them. The fact that these bases had survived an encounter with these two... powerful individuals and had even established some sort of cooperative relationship with them suggested that their core values were at least intact. Cooperation was indeed feasible. He glanced at Ling Xunyun and saw that the vice-base leader also seemed tempted.

"And our purpose in coming here, besides wanting to arrange a trade and cooperation with the Dawn Research Institute regarding information on the meteor fragment..." Yu Yinan's tone shifted. She placed her hand on the map and looked directly into Lou Chen's eyes. "...is also to establish a cooperative relationship with the Changping base."

As for the content of this cooperation, it was naturally the same as their arrangement with Humanity's Light. It wasn't necessary to force people to believe in Zheng Yi or worship her as a god, but... promoting her, acknowledging her, tying the name "Zheng Yi" to "Saint," and establishing her as the savior, the Holy Mother walking the earth—that shouldn't be too difficult.

Regardless of whether "Saint" was a positive or negative term in other people's minds, as long as Zheng Yi was associated with the word, it was enough.

What could they offer Changping? A map of Ling Country that they had personally explored, as well as certain resources, including a large supply of water. During the week Zheng Yi stayed in Changping, she alone could provide the entire base with a stable and abundant water supply, helping them get through the upcoming period of extreme heat with relative ease. In addition, Zheng Yi could place a mark on one of the two base leaders, allowing them to contact her at any time. And with three opportunities to contact her came, naturally, three opportunities for help.

"This promotion... is it related to your ability?" Ling Xunyun looked at Zheng Yi. When Zheng Yi nodded in affirmation without any attempt to hide it, even Ling Xunyun's typically indifferent expression showed a hint of resignation. Such honesty and directness... it was actually a bit unsettling for her. But she didn't like convoluted schemes either. "We can cooperate, but we can't guarantee the effectiveness of the promotion."

"But we will definitely do our best to promote you. We won't agree on the surface and then just go through the motions behind your back," Lou Chen added. "Uh, should we sign a contract? An agreement? Or is a verbal promise enough? By the way, how does Humanity's Light promote you? Can I have someone make up some stories about your saintly deeds and broadcast them every day?"

"A verbal agreement is fine. In this apocalypse, a paper contract doesn't have much effect," Zheng Yi said with a gentle smile. "Besides, I don't think anyone would want to break a promise with me~ As for the promotion, you can handle it however you see fit."

"The ability users at Humanity's Light have codenames. There, Zheng Yi's codename is 'Saint,' so it's relatively simple to promote her." All they have to do is publicize this powerful individual, and the codename and name are automatically linked. Yu Yinan explained. She felt that... broadcasting fabricated stories of saintly deeds sounded a bit cringe-worthy.

It didn't sound very reliable.

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