Although temperatures were gradually rising, they were not high at the moment. Snowflakes were falling from the sky, and heavy snow blanketed the ruins of the city.
Several cars were lined up in a long, slow line ahead, and no one could be sure whether what lay beneath the snow was a road, a large pothole, or a sewer.
The motorcycle followed at the very back.
Xia Xiaonuan was still dressed in a black leather jacket, wearing tall leather boots, huge sunglasses, and a black helmet.
Zhang Lin sat behind her, his hands on her slender waist, his head resting on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Why did you say the city lord isn't a man? Is she a woman?"
"It's a secret. Only the city lord knows it. I promised the city lord I wouldn't tell anyone." Xia Xiaonuan's voice came muffled from inside the helmet. "I wouldn't have told you if I hadn't seen you jealous."
"I'm so curious," Zhang Lin said, extremely gossipy. "Why does she keep covering up her appearance? Is she ugly and too ashamed to show her face?"
"I can't say, don't ask!" Xia Xiaonuan continued.
"You can't even tell me?" Zhang Lin said with some dissatisfaction, gently scratching her lower abdomen with both hands.
Xia Xiaonuan burst out laughing. She really couldn't do anything about Zhang Lin, so she could only say, "Okay, I'll tell you, but you mustn't tell anyone else! The city lord is a woman, and a great beauty at that, but she has some health problems. Seventy percent of her body tissues have turned into machinery, which is why she has always kept it a mystery."
"Mechanized?" Zhang Lin immediately lost interest upon hearing this. "What's the point then?"
He had originally thought that if the city lord was a great beauty, he might try to win her over, hoping that the ownership of Hope City would be peacefully transferred to his hands.
But a woman whose entire body is 70% mechanical...
They're not even as good as a doll. At least a doll is made of silicone, so it's soft.
Although Zhang Lin was confident in his body, the body is, after all, made of flesh and blood. To pit flesh against steel is simply courting death.
"Are you even human?" Xia Xiaonuan knew Zhang Lin too well and immediately cursed, "Are you still plotting to take the city lord's place?"
"The robot is no fun, don't worry, I won't do anything with her," Zhang Lin quickly reassured her.
Xia Xiaonuan was still angry and refused to speak to Zhang Lin for the rest of the journey.
Zhang Lin felt helpless.
The difference is just that big. If only Xia Xiaonuan could be as understanding as An Qingge...
A moment later, the convoy stopped.
It wasn't that they encountered any obstacles, but rather another convoy, much larger than the one from Hope City. The lead convoy consisted of more than a dozen off-road vehicles, followed by several large trucks, several buses, and even a tanker truck at the very back.
The motorcycles stopped, and Xia Xiaonuan squinted at the convoy in the distance, wondering where it came from.
Zhang Lin also looked over.
With so many cars and so many people, it's clearly a large organization. But why would such a large organization come out in this freezing weather instead of hiding in its lair?
This is quite different from Hope City.
The people brought by the city lord are all elites.
The convoy opposite them looked like a group of men, women, and children from some powerful organization moving house together.
"It seems to be someone from Jinyu County."
People from the other convoy came out. They recognized the Hope City convoy, stopped their cars, and some of them came out to negotiate.
Xia Xiaonuan recognized the person.
Jinyu County is a county under Chengdu, located about 70 or 80 kilometers away from Chengdu.
"They must have encountered some insurmountable danger, and the entire force is fleeing," Zhang Lin offered his analysis.
He noticed that those who got off the bus were all in a sorry state, while most of the ordinary people on the bus had sorrowful expressions, probably because their relatives or friends had died in Jinyu County.
"Qiao Yu of Jinyu County requests that the City Lord come out to meet him!"
In Jinyu County, the leader was a man in his forties. He was strong and had a thick, black beard, and he looked like a generous and forthright person.
The city lord got out of the car, but she didn't approach. Instead, she asked from a distance, "Old Qiao, what's going on with you?"
It seems they are all acquaintances.
"Lord of the City." Seeing that the Lord of the City had actually appeared, Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a bitter expression, "A powerful monster completed its transformation ahead of schedule. It attacked us while we were hiding from the cold winter and destroyed our settlement."
"What?" The city lord was greatly shocked. "Such a powerful monster should not appear at this time."
“That is indeed the case.” Qiao Yu took a few steps forward, approached the city lord, and then knelt down on one knee. “We are already a group of homeless people. In the entire Jin Yu County, we are probably the only living people left. We hope that the city lord will take us in. From now on, Qiao Yu will follow the city lord’s lead.”
"Old Joe, tell me the truth!" The city lord stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "I'm asking you, where is that monster now?"
Qiao Yu's face grew even more bitter. "Right behind us, after it has eaten its fill, it is not in a hurry to kill us. It just follows behind us, waiting for it to get hungry again, which will be our death day."
"Heh..." the city lord sneered, "Just because we took you in means we have to help you deal with this monster, is that it?"
"Lord of the city, we are all human beings..." Qiao Yu pleaded.
He was also quite helpless.
The monster clung to them like a sheepdog, grabbing a few people to eat when it got hungry, and they had no way to escape.
With his home destroyed, Qiao Yu had no choice but to seek refuge with the city lord, who was widely recognized as a powerful figure within a radius of several hundred kilometers.
His destination was Hope City, but he just happened to run into the city lord who was leaving home.
Since they're going to seek refuge in Hope City, that monster will definitely be taken with them.
Qiao Yu knew that his actions would displease the city lord, but for the sake of the few remaining people in Jinyu County, he had no other choice!
"Lord, that monster is nearby. You can't get rid of it now. It will target you just like it did when it hunted us, and treat you as food. If you don't want to end up like us, you have no choice but to find a way to get rid of it!"
Qiao Yu was determined. "Even if the city lord blames me, I will wait until this monster is dealt with. In the subsequent battles, Qiao Yu will lead the charge and die without regret. I hope the city lord will prioritize the greater good!"
The big picture...
This is indeed the city lord's Achilles' heel.
Given her personality, there was no way she would refuse at this moment.
But to use the power of Hope City to help the people of Jinyu County for no reason, and even to the point that people in Hope City might die... who wouldn't feel aggrieved?
The city lord was also frustrated, but she had no other choice.
"Fine, then let's face the enemy together..."
But before she could finish speaking, a voice rang out from behind her: "The big picture? What's the big picture? I am the big picture, and I'm telling you, we're not involved in this!"
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