Chang Jianyi allowed Li Keyi to approach her for half the reason she believed Li Keyi would not harm her. Yuzhou was her territory; if Li Keyi made a move, she would surely suffer. The other half was due to her confidence. Although pregnant, she was still a fifth-tier ability user, and her physical condition was excellent. If the other party made a move, she could instantly distance herself. She also had many evolution bases at home, which, if consumed, would be enough to save her life.
As it turned out, Li Keyi did not have a sudden change of heart and make a move. After examining the fetus, she did nothing else.
Luo Qing finally relaxed, holding Xiao Long and sitting to the side. Xiao Long was teething but could still only drink milk. The child began to suck on the milk bottle, looking up at the people eating with innocent eyes full of curiosity.
Xiao Long was different from ordinary children. While other children would cry and scream at strangers, and even a fart could startle them, Xiao Long liked to stare at strangers and was not shy. It seemed he was accustomed to seeing strangers frequently.
After spending some time with Chang Jianyi, Li Keyi understood that she could not replace Chang Jianyi. Therefore, it was best not to reveal her hidden feelings, as it would be bad for Shen Feng and bad for herself.
"It seems this relationship must end here. I should not have any improper thoughts," Li Keyi thought to herself, deciding to bless Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi.
Qin Kewei also asked the question that was on her mind, "You mentioned earlier that Chu Chaoyan isn't coming back for dinner. Does Chu Chaoyan also live here?"
Chang Jianyi nodded and said, "That's right. Fengshen Palace is my home, and it's her home too. I'm not afraid to tell you all, but I treat Chu Chaoyan like a sister. Now, my sister and Shen Feng live together, considering ourselves a family. This situation is actually quite common."
Qin Kewei understood and nodded. So that's how it was. She had known in Yanjing that Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan's relationship was unusual. They seemed to have gone through hardships together. She recalled that when Chu Chaoyan was seriously injured, Shen Feng had stayed outside her hospital room all day until Chu Chaoyan's condition improved before he felt at ease.
Now, it seemed Chu Chaoyan was truly with Shen Feng, and with the consent of Shen Feng's legitimate wife. It could only be said that such a situation was too common in the apocalypse. If the previous laws were still in effect, Shen Feng's actions would certainly be illegal. However, at this time, there were countless people doing more outrageous things than Shen Feng.
Fang Qinghao's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if he hadn't expected such a thing to happen.
Li Keyi was also surprised to hear about Chu Chaoyan and couldn't help but ask, "Vice City Lord, you're willing to share a man with others?"
Hearing this question, Chang Jianyi shook her head helplessly. Indeed, perhaps other women had no choice, but she was the Vice City Lord of Yuzhou. She held a high position and authority, yet she could tolerate another woman joining her family. It could be said that she was too magnanimous.
"I don't want to share either, but sometimes one is too close to the situation to see clearly. Shen Feng is unwilling to let go, and Chu Chaoyan is infatuated with him. What can I do if I disagree? Moreover, she also went through life and death with Shen Feng. If I were to be jealous and suspicious of her because of this, it would only chill the hearts of those below," Chang Jianyi said helplessly.
Hearing this explanation, Li Keyi understood Chang Jianyi's thoughts. It turned out Chang Jianyi was also willing to compromise.
"If there's a first time, there will be a second. I guess I can't give up too early!" Li Keyi thought to herself.
After the meal, Chang Jianyi presented each of the guests with a small box. Upon opening them, everyone found that the boxes contained evolution bases, made into a jelly-like substance and packaged in edible plastic.
Instantly, all six people present felt that the gift was very precious. Although since Yu Renshu of Rongcheng invented the method for producing evolution bases, laboratories in various places could manufacture them, the most fundamental raw material was still the brains of mutated zombies. Therefore, evolution bases were actually very precious. Even people in the Ability Administration could not obtain many evolution bases, otherwise, they would have already successfully evolved to the sixth tier.
Now, Chang Jianyi casually gave out so many evolution bases, which stunned everyone present. They all thought, "As expected of the Vice City Lord of Yuzhou, she can casually give out so many evolution bases. Truly rich and powerful!"
"This gift is too valuable; we cannot accept it!" Qin Kewei instinctively wanted to refuse.
But Fang Qinghao and Yue Hengyi immediately signaled to their elder sister, thinking, "Elder sister, don't talk nonsense. How can we not accept such a good thing? Accumulating more evolution bases will allow us to evolve to the sixth tier!"
Fang Qinghao and Yue Hengyi were both mesmerized by the evolution bases before them. Moreover, since it was a gift from someone else, it was fine to accept it. Could someone sue them for it?
Chang Jianyi quickly said, "This is just a small matter. Please don't mind it. You all came from afar to help Yuzhou. I know that some food or gold doesn't mean much to you. After much thought, the only thing I could offer was evolution bases. Although the gift is humble, please do not dislike it!"
Chang Jianyi's attitude was very sincere, as if she felt embarrassed for giving such a humble gift.
The expressions on the faces of those present immediately became complicated. They thought, "This thing is not humble at all. Who can casually produce so many evolution bases?"
Everyone believed that Chang Jianyi's words were mere bragging. If she had given gold or food, those would have been precious enough, as these two items were hard currency in the apocalypse. Yet, Chang Jianyi gave out many evolution bases, which ordinary people could not access. This was clearly a grand gesture, but in Chang Jianyi's words, it became an embarrassing gift. The gap between them was too vast!
Qin Kewei could not refute. What she called valuable was merely humble in others' eyes. This was the difference!
Therefore, Qin Kewei reluctantly said, "Since that is the case, we will not refuse. We accept the gift. As for the war in the south, I believe with our help, it will be quickly conquered."
Chang Jianyi had prepared cars for the guests outside Fengshen Palace and handed over another box. It turned out that she had heard Ke Yiming was in the military camp and did not want to show favoritism, so she asked them to deliver this gift to him as well.
Afterward, Qin Kewei and her group departed towards the south of Yuzhou.
In the car, Fang Qinghao and Yue Hengyi couldn't help but constantly examine the box. At their level, the evolution bases required for further evolution were astronomical. The evolution bases in this box amounted to about five liters, which was not enough for them to evolve. However, accumulating more evolution bases would definitely allow them to continue evolving.
However, Qin Kewei, sitting in the back, looked at the box and suddenly understood. Why would Chang Jianyi give gifts to these strangers, and such valuable gifts? She had more calculations!
"I understand. Chang Jianyi wants to use these evolution bases to shut us up. Did you notice that Chang Jianyi didn't mention anything about asking Shen Feng to go to the Pacific to salvage meteorites? It's obvious that her intention is that these evolution bases are the price for our help, but she actually doesn't want Shen Feng to go out to sea!" Qin Kewei said in a low voice to the others beside her.
Qin Kewei spoke in a low voice, as she was worried that their conversation might be overheard by the driver in front. She spoke very carefully.
The others heard Qin Kewei's analysis and also understood. It turned out that Chang Jianyi had such deep considerations in giving gifts. The depth of her scheming was truly frightening.
Li Keyi also frowned. She didn't expect that in such a small matter of giving gifts, Chang Jianyi would have such profound intentions. It seemed that Cao Xueqin was right: "Understanding the world is knowledge, and mastering human relationships is writing."
"One who eats from others' hands is softened, and one who takes from others' hands is weakened! Chang Jianyi actually wants to use evolution bases as the price for us to act. She's really not simple!" Fang Qinghao analyzed.
Yue Hengyi thought for a moment and smiled, "This is simple. Isn't there a saying, 'Throwing a charming glance at a blind person'? Chang Jianyi's idea requires us to have high emotional intelligence to understand. So, why don't we pretend we know nothing? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Yue Hengyi wanted to pretend to be ignorant of social graces at this moment. Thus, he would accept the evolution bases given by Chang Jianyi but still take Shen Feng away. In this way, Chang Jianyi wouldn't explicitly say anything, and they would have gained something.
Qin Kewei rolled her eyes at Yue Hengyi and poked his forehead with her index finger, saying reproachfully, "Don't come up with such a bad idea. Unless you want to cut ties with Yuzhou forever, pretending to be so ignorant of the world will get you blacklisted."
Qin Kewei's age was not for nothing. Although the situation in the apocalypse was chaotic, there were always unwritten rules operating in society. These rules were not explicitly stated but were tacitly agreed upon, which was politeness. Chang Jianyi gave gifts to thank them for their help, and the etiquette was complete. If they were to keep the evolution bases, they would be breaking the unspoken rules. Chang Jianyi might not react, but she only needed to quietly spread the word, and the reputation of the Ability Administration would be ruined.
Therefore, Qin Kewei did not adopt Yue Hengyi's bad idea at all.
Li Keyi frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I think the key to breaking this situation is not with us, but with Shen Feng. We need to persuade Shen Feng to be willing to go out to sea with us, rather than focusing our efforts on Chang Jianyi. What do you think?"
"Yes, yes, Miss Li's method is better." Qin Kewei quickly nodded. Li Keyi's current method was better, as it would not cause any objections from Chang Jianyi's side, and they could still take Shen Feng out to sea.
The person driving the car for the six ability users was none other than a young man. Most people would not notice him, but he was actually an ability user.
Lin Yue only appeared on important occasions. In other situations, he would not show himself, so even people who knew him in the City Lord's Mansion were few. However, after using the ability potion, Lin Yue had become an ability user. His main responsibility was to gather information. Now, by voluntarily driving for Qin Kewei and the others, he was subtly eavesdropping on their conversation.
Ironically, Qin Kewei and the others were discussing in hushed tones, thinking that the driver in front could not hear anything. But Lin Yue heard everything, not missing a single word.
Lin Yue recorded the entire conversation of these people and planned to quietly tell Chang Jianyi upon his return. "These people are too careless. Even if I weren't an ability user, there might be some recording devices in the car. They were discussing in low voices in the car. Aren't they afraid of being recorded? They have no sense of secrecy at all!"
In Lin Yue's mind, he had begun to look down on these people. He was a specialist in intelligence, responsible for investigating suspicious personnel. Now, facing a group of people with no sense of secrecy, he could easily obtain their conversations.
Lin Yue calmly drove the group into the mountains south of Yuzhou. It was already dusk, and the clouds in the west were bright red, as if ignited by flames. It was no wonder people called the sunset clouds "fire clouds," as the entire sky seemed to be burning.
The teacher's poem described it perfectly: "Green mountains like the sea, the setting sun like blood."