Chapter 213: Wolf, Bear, Tiger, Leopard, and a Mouse

Always there when you need it, always just right.

Always deliberately wearing an annoying smile, speaking softly, warm and gentle, between hypocrisy and sincerity, always with a layer of paper between us, close yet distant.

As he got older, he lost his former foxy look and became more adept at this set of moves.

Unpleasant.

“It’s always time, as always.”

Ye Xian did not hide her sarcasm: "You always appear after things become simple. This is very much your style."

Lv Yingyue didn't care at all. She shook off the remaining blood, broken bones and minced meat on the two broken blades with her hands, still smiling: "According to different situations, make decisions in advance or delay. This is the most important survival philosophy for salary thieves."

"Are you really Tianyuan?"

"Guaranteed genuine." Lu Yingyue nodded.

Ye Xian sneered and sneered.

lie.

Lu Yingyue smiled: "The fixed salary is so low. Civil servants have to work part-time to support their families. As a director, you should be more flexible, right?"

"Flexibility is the way of Bai Lu and Yu Jin, but it has nothing to do with the Security Bureau." Ye Xian looked at her deeply, and said meaningfully: "If you have two minds, be careful that Tian Yuan will not tolerate it."

"Well, although it's difficult, I'll just tolerate it. How should I put it? Sometimes Tianyuan is quite generous..."

Lu Yingyue answered nonchalantly, looking around the scorched earth, becoming more and more curious: "On the contrary, you have become a fairy after not seeing you for a few months?"

"No, not even close." Ye Xian replied.

Lu Yingyue sighed and shook her head.

lie.

But it didn't matter. She held the broken blade upside down with both hands and handed it over: "Please take a look. Is it worth repairing?"

"It's hopeless. Just throw it away."

Ye Xian didn't even bother to look at it: "If you use it so roughly, no matter how durable the weapon is, it will be useless. Don't waste your money and the hard work of the craftsmen. Just continue to use whatever you can grab.

Just you? Where's Tongshan?"

"I don't know. He hasn't come back yet." Lu Yingyue shook her head. "Look at the bright side. At least he's still alive... Where are your students?"

"Same, still alive."

Ye Xian's expression was slightly complicated. "But if we think about the worst, more people might die."

"I don't really understand the relationship between you two, the master and the disciple."

"To be honest, I don't really understand."

"You are still the same as before, always saying incomprehensible things."

"No, it's real, from the heart."

……

Just like that, after some casual chatting, they walked on the road to the outpost, stepping on the jagged corpses.

In the distance, the originally turbulent night gradually returned to silence.

A dazzling light rose from the ground, and then another, and then, as the portal of the Star Core Association opened, a powerful, violent, restrained, or somewhere in between, yet omnipresent aura spread in all directions...

"The Tong family, the Lou family, the Yu family, the Jiang family..."

Lu Yingyue walked lightly, counting the identities of the visitors without caring at all.

Having fought her way through, she had already firmly and perfectly taken the credit for quelling the crisis and chaos, so she was naturally in no hurry to show off.

"Where is Mr. Tao?"

Ye Xian glanced at her relaxed look and said, "Using my students' words, at times like this, you have to be careful about 'stealing the house'."

"Tao Gong?"

Lu Yingyue smiled and said, "The one you don't have to worry about the most is Mr. Tao."

A clear voice rang out in the silent office.

A handful of chess pieces were picked up and scattered on the chessboard, disrupting the dangerous situation of the black and white struggle.

To surrender.

"I lost again."

Lu Changsheng shrugged regretfully.

The old man, who was drowsy and sleepy, raised his eyes slightly and said, "Why are you so... impatient?"

Lu Changsheng sighed, "I'm anxious."

The telekinetic vibration sounded, and a hoarse voice rang out: "It shouldn't be so fast, I thought you would prepare for a while longer.

Why are you in such a hurry?

The sudden change certainly caught the Security Bureau off guard.

But then?

Not only did it lose its original hidden advantage, but it also exposed its internal chaotic structure. Apart from breaking the blockade of Quancheng and forcibly pulling it into the world, no other results were achieved.

Even so, the pollution was still firmly contained by Mr. Tao and could not spread.

The early advantages gained from gradually developing in Quancheng without the knowledge of the Security Bureau over the years have almost been exhausted.

"I can't help it. I was hit in my weak spot."

Lu Changsheng held his chin and smiled helplessly: "I thought it was just a casual move of yours, but I didn't expect it to play such a role.

It was unexpected, really.

But since the curtain had been drawn open by the naughty children, the actors had to rush into the stage no matter how reluctant they were.

Otherwise, the audience will boo.”

After so many years of painstaking preparations, collective efforts, and step-by-step progress, we have finally achieved such a scale. What is the point if we cannot seize the initiative?

Isn't it the same as before?

The villains worked hard to develop, but once the heroes arrived, the villains fled in panic...

How ridiculous?

"What about my secretary?" Mr. Tao asked.

"Huh?" Lu Changsheng was puzzled.

"Where has my secretary gone?" Mr. Tao raised his eyes, looked at him, and waited for an answer.

"I understand what you mean."

Lu Changsheng laughed at himself and spread his hands: "Do you think I killed him and replaced him? That's not the case.

I am your secretary, Mr. Tao, from the very beginning."

Lu Changsheng laughed: "From the moment you woke up, from the moment you prepared all this, the person you knew was me."

"Besides, where is there any perfect alternative in the world? Where is there any foolproof plan?

However, sometimes when the workload on both sides is too heavy, I do feel that Tianyuan is not easy. But there is no way, there are really not many useful people, sometimes I have to do it myself-"

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, walked to Mr. Tao's side, pulled out a silk scarf, and carefully wiped away the dirt in his eyes and the water stains from the corners of his mouth.

And Mr. Tao also cooperated by raising his chin, exposing his neck to this powerful enemy, and letting him do whatever he wanted, not caring at all.

"I'm really flattered." The ambiguous voice sighed, "I thought he was just a spy or a secret agent, but I didn't expect that the chief saint of the evil cult would take care of me for nine years like a nanny?"

He said: "The determination and perseverance are admirable."

"Each each other."

Lu Changsheng sighed, "For nine years, Mr. Tao has been running around and making appeals day after day. He has devoted so much to Quancheng, a city that no longer exists and has been forgotten by others. Even a treacherous person like me cannot help but admire him from the bottom of my heart."

"Ancient people said that one can emerge from the mud without being stained. But if the white lotus knew, it would probably also despise the mud, right?"

He folded the scarf and placed it on the table in front of Mr. Tao. After fulfilling his duties as secretary and assistant for the last time, he returned to the opposite side of the table, sat upright, and asked solemnly, "Why can't you come over to my side?"

Tao Gong smiled and sneered: "The dirt in a house can still be swept away. But if you jump into the mud pond like an old turtle and roll around and think you are happy, then you are hopeless."

"But you know everything, right?"

Lu Changsheng shook his head: "You should have known it all along...it's not just the identity of the secretary next to you that's problematic."

"Central City is perfunctory, and the Parliament is contemptuous. The Federation has made up its mind to move westward. Quancheng was abandoned decades ago. Otherwise, how could they let you hold on alone for so long?"

"I have used up all my energy, overdrawn all my credit, gambled my future and myself, and taken over Haizhou to guard such a mess, but the people around me are all guys like me who are scheming and have their own ulterior motives.

The governor of Yacheng who pretended to be dead every day after being exiled, the lackey of Chuancheng who joined Zhongcheng and only cared about making money for his master, the incompetent man of Chaocheng who was greedy for power and couldn't leave, the cruel and brutal military, and the group who just wanted to take this opportunity to kill...

And the so-called directors of the Security Bureau, those who do things perfunctorily, those who take advantage of opportunities to gain power, those who respond hypocritically, even the one you trust the most, Lv Yingyue, is a speculator who does not release the eagle until he sees the rabbit, a politician who expects others to pave a bloody road for him first, and then he can leisurely reap the fruits... With such ambitions, if things go wrong, she may have already coveted the position you, Haizhou, are guarding."

Lu Changsheng asked, "Is this the Tianyuan you follow? How can you accomplish anything with this bunch of guys?"

Mr. Tao didn't say anything.

Look at him.

It wasn't discouraging or unpleasant, but more like looking at a fool.

"…Isn't this Tianyuan?" he asked as a matter of course.

This made Lu Changsheng's expression slightly stunned.

"This is Tianyuan, Lu Changsheng."

Lord Tao shook his head with pity: "Don't you understand? Even if they are just mediocre people, even if they have their own ulterior motives, if they gather together now, won't it make you rats feel uneasy and fearful?"

Disputes, internal friction, ambition, hatred, conspiracy, mercy, courage, greed...

These don’t really matter; they are insignificant details.

It doesn’t matter what your background is, what your purpose is, or whether you are male or female, old or young, or any other race - people who should have been at loggerheads and incompatible can actually walk side by side, integrated into the same framework and order, and behave in accordance with the rules.

After the scattered sands were integrated into one place, they became one and united, and could even trust their backs to those who were completely different from themselves and even looked down upon by themselves...

Isn’t this a miracle?

Isn't this the most majestic, vast and boundless power in the world?
“Great is Tengen! Great is Tengen!!”

Tao Gong laughed, his voice was unclear and hoarse, and he stretched out his thin arms from the reclining chair to show his achievements: "Hasn't the thing I pursued and admired been right in front of you for the past nine years?

I clearly didn't hide it, but why didn't you notice it, Lu Changsheng?
When I see the high mountains and the vast waters, I know that the vastness of the universe is endless. What do the mountains and waters you see look like?"

Lu Changsheng was silent.

for a long time.

From the long dead silence, I sighed with admiration.

"Mr. Tao's heart is as solid as a rock. I'm afraid it can't be shaken by a lewd person like me. I admire you."

"I don't care." said Mr. Tao.

"I know."

Lu Changsheng lowered his eyes and looked at the messy chessboard between the two of them. He stretched out his hand and pressed on the Tianyuan position in the middle: "I still want to play a game of chess with you."

"speak."

"It's still the same as before, it's still the same as just now, just do what you want - you and me, the Security Bureau and the evil cult, Haizhou and the evil fools, fight it out."

He said, "Don't worry, I won't blow up Quancheng and cause the situation to be irreversible. If the gods don't intervene, the ownership of Quancheng will be determined by the victory between you and me. How about that?"

He suggested: "If you win, you can take Quancheng and I will leave. If you lose, you can just throw the agreement aside and fight to the death with us.

how is it? "

Mr. Tao did not answer.

His cloudy eyes drooped and looked drowsy, as if he was distracted. But after a long time, when those eyes raised up again, they became sharp.

It was like a sharp blade washing away the dust and rust, chilling me to the bone.

"I see……"

He suddenly murmured: "This is what you planned from the beginning, right?
You have been entangled with so many evil and foolish people and prepared for so many years, just like you want to overestimate your own strength and fight the Security Bureau head-on in the real world? Why?"

"Why?" Lu Changsheng suddenly asked back the same question.

"Ok?"

"Why do we have to hide our heads and show our tails in Tao Gong's opinion?" Lu Changsheng asked curiously, "I don't understand why a character like me has to be like a rat that cannot stand the light, hiding in a corner where you can't see me and eating carrion for a living?

To the point that even everyone in the cult felt: This is right, this is normal?
The rats have been crawling in the gutter for too long, afraid of the light of day. But why do you despise me as a matter of course?
I have been thinking about this question for many years—"

He grinned, “If one day, a rat that doesn’t know its own limits takes the lead and raises its arm to call out, and the snakes and rats crawl out from under the manhole, follow their peers through the streets, and dance in broad daylight, will those terrified and screaming gentlemen understand: There are other people who coexist with them under the same sky?
Or will you continue to plug your ears and cover your eyes, deceiving yourself and others, pretending that you can't see anything?"

Tao Gong lowered his eyes, restraining the coldness in his eyes: "Are you ready to be crushed to pieces if you challenge Tian Yuan?"

"Does Tao An know that I don't have the ability to shake up the world and turn it upside down?"

Lu Changsheng raised his head and asked, "How can you be sure that I am afraid of being torn to pieces?"

For a moment, the silent room seemed to be filled with endless waves, and the malice lurking under the ocean rose up like an iceberg, showing its hideousness.

But in the end, everything disappeared quietly.

Hiding again.

From beginning to end, Lu Changsheng did not move or show any emotion.

Only the old man on the chair sighed softly: "Unlike those fools who pursue power and ambition and throw themselves into evil and foolishness, you are indeed a great harm to the world."

"Perhaps so, but in time, great harm may come to Lord Tao, the Federation, the Empire, and to you good people!"

Lu Changsheng laughed and stretched out his hand.

wait.

Until Mr. Tao's skinny hand slowly raised.

Collision in one place.

High five to make a deal.

Within five days, the outcome will be decided in this Spring City!
The moment the applause faded, Lu Changsheng disappeared like a phantom.

The office returned to dead silence, with only the frail old man lying on the recliner, his eyes drooping as he gradually fell asleep.

And on the chessboard, in the chaos of the chess pieces, a strangled black piece slipped down, revealing a white piece that was buried underneath.

I couldn't help but bathe in the turbulent flames reflected outside the window, and trembled continuously with the earthquake.

It lay crookedly in the corner of the unfinished game, unable to control the approaching storm, but with nowhere to escape.

I can't live, and I don't want to die.

Just like that, in the turmoil, helplessly and reluctantly, I moved...

(End of this chapter)