When Shen Feng adopted an uncooperative attitude, the headquarters knew that the matter could not be resolved peacefully today and immediately resorted to threats. Although not explicitly stated, the headquarters' intention was clear: to cut off all passages between Yuzhou and the outside world!
Why is Yuzhou called the gateway to the southwest? Firstly, it is a vital hub on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with the largest city on the upper reaches located here. Secondly, both highways and railways pass through this area, making transportation convenient. Moreover, the surrounding mountains are treacherous. Most importantly, to enter Sichuan, one must pass through Yuzhou. Baidi City and Wuxia Gorge are both in Yuzhou, making its position extremely important.
However, cutting off Yuzhou's transportation would be equivalent to severing its external passages and its potential for development. Yuzhou has no coal and relies on external supplies. It also lacks oil, essentially requiring transportation by rail and water to obtain resources. If transportation is cut off, doing business would obviously become impossible.
Therefore, after hearing the headquarters' threat, Shen Feng fell silent for a moment. He felt very uncomfortable. At this moment, Shen Feng thought of his teacher, Chu Yangtian, who had once analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Yuzhou for him and warned him never to fall out with the headquarters, as the consequences would be severe.
As fate would have it, the relationship between Yuzhou and the headquarters had become very tricky.
Hearing Shen Feng's silence, the headquarters assumed they had subdued him and continued, "Shen Feng, I know you feel wronged and that you've been bullied. But in reality, this was an action taken by the ability users of the Tianlong Bureau on their own initiative. We are handling it seriously and have imposed severe punishments on the leaders of the Tianlong Bureau. This is already fair to you. You must also understand the headquarters' efforts!"
Shen Feng asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, you must quickly recall all the newspapers that have been distributed and issue a statement to refute the rumors, stating that it was an editorial error by the newspaper staff that led to the incorrect information being published. To compensate for this mistake, the person in charge will be transferred from their post. This way, the rumors will be dispelled!"
"Anything else?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
Chu Chaoyan stole a glance at Shen Feng's expression and found that his face was ashen. Although his tone was calm, his expression was extremely displeased. At this moment, he must have been extremely angry.
"Calm down, you must remain calm!" Chu Chaoyan whispered.
On the other end of the phone, the headquarters issued further instructions: "Also, you need to quickly send back the bodies of the Tianlong Bureau's ability users, including their heads. We can understand that you killed them, as this matter involved the safety of Yuzhou. However, humiliating them is going too far. This is a misunderstanding, after all. Send back their bodies, and we will pretend that nothing happened!"
"Anything else?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
The headquarters was silent for a moment, seemingly surprised that Shen Feng was so agreeable. After a mere threat, he had immediately become submissive. This seemed inconsistent with his usual character. Therefore, the headquarters replied, "That's all for now. If there's anything else needed, we will contact you at any time!"
Seeing that the other party had finally finished stating their demands, Shen Feng gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "Many people have told me to calm down, and that I shouldn't fall out with them. I've heard these words many times. It seems my anger is not worth anything. But now I've realized one thing: in this life, if you can't even protect the people you want to protect, what's the point?"
"Shen Feng! What do you mean? Calm down, I'm telling you, this is not the time for you to act impulsively!" The headquarters also sensed that something was wrong. Shen Feng seemed completely unconvinced. Was he going to throw caution to the wind?
"I'm telling you, I've calmed down many times. But I'll also tell you directly, what I want is not just to coexist peacefully. I want no one to dare covet Yuzhou again. If your Tianlong Bureau people can save face and let this matter go today, and you continue to train ability users, then next time you will still think I'm easy to bully. So, let me make it clear today, I will definitely make an example of them!" Shen Feng said angrily.
After speaking, Shen Feng directly hung up the phone, ceasing communication with the headquarters.
It wasn't that Shen Feng was not calm, nor that he was acting impulsively. It was because Shen Feng had seen through one thing: in the apocalypse, if he appeared easy to talk to, others would not see him as kind, but rather as someone easy to bully. Therefore, to avoid future trouble, the first thing to do was to appear ruthless.
Seeing Shen Feng like this, Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but persuade him, "Afeng, if you do this, you'll truly offend the headquarters. What if the headquarters retaliates against us later?"
"Then let them make their move! Back then, I traveled thousands of miles to Yanjing and fought many battles, helping the Yanjing headquarters resolve crises. And what was the result? They turned around and tried to plot against me. Why? Wasn't it because they thought if I died, Yuzhou would be weak and easily bullied? They called it a misunderstanding, who would believe that? Constant compromise will only make them more aggressive. It's better to tear down the facade. I don't believe Yuzhou can't survive without the headquarters!" Shen Feng said in a deep voice.
Shen Feng held a grievance in his heart that he had to vent. At this moment, no one could persuade him. Even Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan couldn't. Perhaps if Professor Chu were still alive, he could have persuaded Shen Feng. But Professor Chu, Shen Feng's teacher, was dead, and there was almost no one left who could persuade Shen Feng.
Chu Chaoyan shook her head helplessly, but felt that this was Shen Feng's true nature. He was usually cheerful and joking, but when his temper flared at critical moments, he became extremely stubborn.
"Forget it, forget all this. Even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I'll accompany you!" Chu Chaoyan sighed.
Shen Feng thought this matter was over, but unexpectedly, a call came from Rongcheng. He knew without thinking that it must be his parents contacting him, and the timing was too coincidental.
"Don't answer the phone, just pretend you know nothing!" Shen Feng ordered directly.
Shen Feng knew that his parents were likely on the other end of the phone. They couldn't possibly not be monitored in Rongcheng. Chang Jianyi had mentioned when she went to Rongcheng that the entire Shen family of three was under strict surveillance. Their safety was not a concern, but their freedom was.
Therefore, for Shen Feng, his family had become hostages. Shen Feng was worried that others would use family ties to blackmail him, so he chose not to answer the phone.
Chu Chaoyan hesitated and said, "Why don't I answer the phone? It wouldn't be right to ignore it, would it?"
Chu Chaoyan was very polite and felt that their current attitude would embarrass her in-laws. Since Shen Feng didn't want to answer the phone, she would answer it herself.
However, Shen Feng immediately stopped Chu Chaoyan and said, "No need. I'll go to Rongcheng myself in a few days and bring them back, along with Xixi. Calling only allows us to hear voices, but we don't know the situation on the other side. That's not good!"
It turned out that Shen Feng had already made up his mind not to let his parents and sister become hostages. Therefore, he wanted to go to Rongcheng himself to bring his family to Yuzhou. This way, he could reunite with his family and would not be threatened by family ties.
"This, alright, I believe you can handle this!" Chu Chaoyan could only agree when she saw Shen Feng's determined attitude.
...
The eastern district of Yuzhou City was already Yu Muhe's territory. Yu Muhe's method of developing his power was simple: he monopolized the meat industry in the eastern district and then promulgated rules for the eastern district. Residents in the eastern suburban areas had to abide by these rules, and mercenaries flocked to him. Even if they didn't join Yu Muhe's mercenary group, they wouldn't become enemies.
Yu Muhe also had his own strategist, his son, who had become a genius. He had read many books and could often offer his own opinions. The rules for the eastern district were basically formulated by Yu Zhijing.
Yu Muhe walked on the street, and many people greeted him. Yu Muhe responded with a smile, clearly enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by admiration, being the center of attention, and no one daring to ignore him.
Yu Muhe also knew that his power seemed considerable now, but this was only on the surface in the suburbs. If he were to provoke people within Yuzhou City, his current abilities would be far from enough. Therefore, Yu Muhe had always been very deferential to the important figures in Yuzhou, but unfortunately, he hadn't found a good opportunity to establish a connection.
However, under these circumstances, Yu Muhe still found an opportunity. Lu Kaiwen, from the Yuzhou laboratory, needed a safe residence outside the city, seemingly to keep a woman. Yu Muhe immediately agreed. Whether Lu Kaiwen wanted to keep a mistress or a plaything, he would try his best to satisfy his request. If he wanted a safe place, he could arrange it near his own home, which was safe enough.
And Yu Muhe was specifically visiting Lu Kaiwen today. He had already found out that Lu Kaiwen had been staying in a small clinic nearby for the past few days. It went without saying that he must be enjoying himself here. This was a good opportunity to build a connection.
Yu Muhe carried a food box containing various braised delicacies. Carrying such a gift in the apocalypse was quite impressive.
When he reached the outside of the clinic, Yu Muhe was about to knock when he suddenly heard a baby crying. He was immediately startled and seemed to have thought of something. He thought to himself, "He already has a child, that's not simple. He could have taken people to live in the city, but he didn't. He must be afraid of his wife investigating, so he arranged for the child to be outside the city. Clever!"
Then, Yu Muhe gently knocked on the door and asked, "Excuse me, is it convenient for me to come in now?"
"Please come in!" Gu Yanxiao's voice also came from inside the house. Yu Muhe quickly pushed the door open and entered. As soon as he entered, he saw Gu Yanxiao reading a book, with a sleeping infant in her arms. The baby was holding a milk bottle and still sucking on it even in sleep.
Seeing this scene, Yu Muhe became even more convinced of his guess. There must be some unspeakable relationship between Lu Kaiwen and this Gu Yanxiao, otherwise, the child wouldn't be this old.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Lu Kaiwen here?" Yu Muhe quickly asked.
Gu Yanxiao pointed to a room on the side. Yu Muhe nodded and walked over. He then saw Lu Kaiwen holding a child who was over a year old. Yu Muhe was stunned. He hadn't heard that the woman Lu Kaiwen had arranged for had such a big child.
"Yu Muhe, why are you here?" Lu Kaiwen asked when he saw Yu Muhe appear.
Yu Muhe quickly handed over the food box and said, "Mr. Lu, I came specifically to visit you. I've met you a few times before, but we haven't had a chance to talk in depth. Now that I have this opportunity, I naturally want to communicate closely. Here are some braised delicacies, made by our hotel. Please don't mind."
"Oh, you've come at the wrong time today. I still have to host a distinguished guest later. You should leave quickly. Oh, and leave the things here!" Lu Kaiwen said immediately.
Lu Kaiwen had already learned of the deputy mayor's impending arrival, so he did not want to be disturbed by irrelevant people and directly issued a dismissal order.
However, these words took on a different meaning when they fell into Yu Muhe's ears. He thought to himself, "This Lu Kaiwen is truly heartless. He wants to eat my braised delicacies but doesn't give me a chance to talk. Are all scholars this heartless?"