Jiang Wan's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't tell whether she was stimulated by his gentle and affectionate tone or frightened by his tender and strangely smelly little gestures.
She was startled and instinctively tried to pull her hand away from him, but he held her firmly and wouldn't let her escape.
She suppressed the strange feelings in her heart and body and asked, "If we don't respond, will Zhang Hao let us go?"
A sharp, cold glint flashed in Cheng Zhen's deep eyes, and a murderous smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Even if we obey his every whim, do you think he'll let us go?"
"No, think about what they did before?"
Jiang Wan was speechless. Not long had it been since Huang Ying and Wu Xuan were arrested, which meant that Zhu Shacheng's schemes against them had never stopped.
“I was worried before that they didn’t want anything from us, which would make it difficult for me to make a move, but now… that’s perfect.”
Cheng Zhen took her hand and walked back, comforting her, "As long as Zhang Hao has any brains, he won't kill us right now. Go back and get some sleep. I'll arrange for people to go out with you to cut bamboo when it's light tomorrow."
Jiang Wan had already seen the twins standing outside the RV, each holding a cornbread bun, their little faces pale and sickly, clearly not used to such bland, coarse grains. So she didn't say anything more to Cheng Zhen, but simply nodded in agreement: "Okay."
She took two steps, then couldn't help but turn back and whisper a reminder, "Although he won't attack us now, that doesn't mean he's not murderous. You still need to be careful and not let your guard down."
Cheng Zhen immediately felt her concern, and a warm feeling washed over him. His expression softened unconsciously, and he smiled at her, revealing his teeth: "Okay, I understand!"
"Let's go back, the children look hungry."
He waved to her, watched her walk to the RV, half-embracing the twins as they got in, before turning and leaving.
The moment he turned around, the tenderness and warmth on his face vanished without a trace, leaving him expressionless, and his entire being emanated a chilling aura.
As he expected, Jiang Ling appeared in the refugee area less than an hour later.
They were stopped by Song Hui, who was in charge of patrolling. Cheng Zhen had previously instructed him that if anyone came to Zhusha City, he should stop them and bring them to see him.
Cheng Zhen sat atop the high city wall of Zhusha City, a thin blade in his hand, which he occasionally twirled and played with between his fingers.
Looking down at them from his superior position, Zhou Sheng exuded a powerful aura of dominance over the world.
Jiang Ling couldn't help but frown slightly as she watched, once again feeling that Cheng Zhen was no ordinary person, and keeping him here might not be a good thing for Zhu Sha City.
She lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting look in them, then looked up at Cheng Zhen, who was sitting casually on the city wall with no intention of coming down, and said:
"Captain Cheng, would it be convenient for you to come down and have a chat?"
Suppressing her resentment at being ignored, she continued before Cheng Zhen could raise an eyebrow and speak, "I think there are some things you won't be disappointed about."
"oh?"
Cheng Zhen curled up a wicked smile, took a long stride, and jumped down from the city wall, which was more than ten meters high, right in front of her, landing steadily.
Jiang Ling's brow twitched violently; she knew that as a superhuman, his abilities were exceptional.
But I never expected him to be so powerful!
She was alluring, a hint of something unfathomable flashing in her eyes, before giving him a friendly smile: "I'm here today to discuss a business deal with you."
"Us? Who else?" Cheng Zhen stared at him with a half-smile, asking a question she already knew the answer to.
Jiang Ling didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Long Wanzhi, Lord Long."
This is the first time she has addressed Long Wanzhi as the city lord.
Cheng Zhen couldn't help but sneer: "It seems that what you're asking for is quite significant?"
Jiang Ling maintained her usual smile, avoiding answering questions until Long Wanzhi appeared.
Cheng Zhen gave her a deep look, then asked Song Hui to call for help. In fact, he and Long Wanzhi had already exchanged information and were just waiting for Jiang Ling to come to them.
So when Long Wanzhi arrived and Jiang Ling explained their purpose, neither of them was too surprised. However, they still put on an act, exaggeratingly asking, "If we help cut the bamboo, can you guarantee the safety of all of us?"
Cheng Zhen then asked, "Who exactly was the person who kidnapped Wu Xuan and Huang Ying last time?"
Jiang Ling had anticipated that he would bring this up, so she raised her hand and made a gesture behind her.
Soon, two men brought over a thin man with his hands tied behind his back and his mouth gagged. He was clearly beaten to the point of near death and had no will to live.
She said to Cheng Zhen, "This man is a confidant of Deputy City Lord Luo. You killed his boss, so he's looking for revenge. Now I've brought him here for you. Do with him as you please."
As she said this, she stared intently at Cheng Zhen, her gaze conveying a meaning that only they could understand.
Cheng Zhen knew that Wu Xuan and Huang Ying were arrested because the other side wanted to know what the magical drug they had was.
In this way, Jiang Ling practically confessed that she was the one who kidnapped Wu Xuan and Huang Ying to find out the secret of the miracle drug!
So her glance was clearly telling him that this was just an excuse they had come up with, and that the person was just a substitute.
But her attitude was already very clear: as long as Cheng Zhen and the others agreed to complete the mission, she would never again inquire about the secrets of the divine medicine.
They will also keep this a secret and not let anyone else in Vermilion City know.
This is interesting, Cheng Zhen couldn't help but think to himself.
Seeing that Cheng Zhen understood her meaning, Jiang Ling said to Long Wanzhi, "We mean what we say. As long as you complete the task, we can also help you build the city wall."
This almost hit the nail on the head for Long Wanzhi and Cheng Zhen. Building city walls was no small matter. Moreover, the city walls in the oxygen-deprived post-apocalyptic world were not like those in the peaceful past, where a wall only needed to be two or three meters high. Now, the city walls needed to be at least ten meters high to completely stop the zombies and mutated plants outside the city, and they were severely short of manpower.
Since things had come to this point, Cheng Zhen and Long Wanzhi exchanged a glance and agreed.
Cheng Zhen said, "Sure, but 1,000 tons is too much. We don't have enough manpower. We can only complete 100 tons at most. You'll have to figure out the rest yourselves."
Jiang Ling was displeased. She tried everything to persuade her, even risking revealing her secret, but in return, she managed to increase the quantity by 50 tons.
Wouldn't that make her look incredibly incompetent? If she went back to report like this, wouldn't she be beaten so badly by Lord Zhang that she couldn't get out of bed?
“100 tons is too little, 200 tons. This is Lord Zhang’s idea. Don’t make things difficult for me. I also want to get more labor for you to build the city wall.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com