Chapter 135: A New Chapter

Chapter 135: A New Chapter

Ye Yuqing quickly got this good news.

Zhou Yun chuckled while inserting the needles: "If you want to laugh, just laugh."

Ye Yuqing said seriously: "After all, he's my grandfather, and today is New Year's Eve. I'll make a wish tonight, hoping he can find peace soon."

Zhou Yun fell silent.

Ye Yuqing said: "Is he planning to use a different identity to get you to treat him? But Guan Yuanfeng knows him, so he can only gamble on not running into Guan Yuanfeng."

Zhou Yun said: "He probably wants to lure me to Zhongzhou or somewhere else with a high price and then try to control me. After all, Guan Yuanfeng can't leave his post for too long."

Ye Yuqing said: "We previously thought that Dongjun was hidden by the Gong family, and the Gong family has a cooperative relationship with Guan Yuanfeng. Now it seems the opposite—the Gong family is just a front. Dongjun is the one pulling the strings, including Guan Yuanfeng."

Zhou Yun smiled but said nothing.

Ye Yuqing pondered deeply: "My grandfather probably also believes that Dongjun is tightly controlled by the Gong family and Guan Yuanfeng. Knowing the chances of getting Dongjun's help are slim, why would he still try to test the waters through Wu Zhou?"

"He probably didn't expect me to be here with you, so he couldn't foresee that you'd see through his intentions so clearly."

Zhou Yun injected the "Revive Spring" energy into his acupoints with his fingertips: "No matter what he's thinking, we're busy with construction. Let them fight it out."

Ye Yuqing: "..."

He felt his body relax, but his mind was still racing: "I get it now. He thinks the mutated poppies Li Xiong used to control psychics are still with you."

"Moreover, he probably thinks that method could ease the side effects of psychic transplantation surgery but would lead to being controlled. Therefore, the Gong family must be researching this method of controlling psychics."

"This is a trap. He's trying to lure you into acting out of greed. In his mind, Gong Yanqing must also be eager to gain psychic powers."

It seems my grandfather is really out of luck this time. He doesn't know that Gong Yanqing is completely cut off from the Abyss, and the supposed puppet Dongjun is actually the hidden mastermind.

Besides, there are no mutated poppies. They now live in the once hard-to-investigate South Mountain Herb Garden, where Ling Dingxiu moves freely. From his chatter, this place is indeed for cultivating and growing mutated herbs, but there's no sign of producing any drug materials.

The only valuable thing is the shadow hemp, which Qin Mu eagerly showed to Ling Dingxiu.

Ling Dingxiu came back happy and described it in detail, as if he'd just seen a rare mutated plant. In his view, the Abyss once extorted a large amount of oil and gas energy from them using this.

Ye Yuqing understood the message Qin Mu was sending: this is a show of core strength, hoping for future cooperation.

He has already mastered the social rules where everyone acts for their own benefit and navigates them with ease.

Like his grandfather, he once believed that everyone in the world is driven by fame and fortune. How could there truly be selfless people? Guan Yuanfeng might not have taken those things, but he also believed the Gong family was behind it all, aiming for the same psychic activation and control methods.

Zhou Yun, unaware of his deep thoughts, had already moved on: "I brought something interesting to show you today."

Ye Yuqing said: "I can't see."

Zhou Yun said: "It's a crystal core energy stove. There's a manual. Ask General Ling to read it to you."

Today is New Year's Eve, and Zhou Yun came later than usual after watching Qin Sheng and the others slaughter a few mutated pigs in the morning. By the time he arrived, Ling Dingxiu had already gone to the cafeteria to get food.

Ye Yuqing was puzzled: "Why are you recommending this to me?" He couldn't understand the mysterious city lord's train of thought.

Zhou Yun said: "I heard the Lin Dong Base also has a military factory. We're exploring crystal core weapons. This is an idea for you to consider. If it works, when you return to Lin Dong Base, we can collaborate. Not just this—I heard Qin Mu also showed General Ling our top-grade shadow hemp. We're heavily investing in this industry. Since you had a high demand before, we can continue cooperating."

Ye Yuqing: "..."

Zhou Yun added, "I know that the Ling Dong Base is not short of energy, but this crystal core is biological energy, pollution-free. Perhaps weapons or shields made from crystal cores could outperform the current ones? Or, from a civilian perspective in the future, crystal core vehicles, crystal core aircraft..."

Ye Yuqing asked, "Where would the stable crystal core energy come from?"

Zhou Yun replied, "There will be more and more psychic animals and plants; they can be farmed." He slowly twisted the needle: "Actually, raising zombies seems feasible too. They don't eat and don't die, making it much easier than farming other mutated plants and animals..."

Ye Yuqing: "..." Who exactly is the villain here?

He was somewhat confused: "Are you really not angry at all, not hating those villains?"

Zhou Yun: "Justice is clear; those who crossed me are dead." Those who aren't dead have already faced retribution, and he mercifully didn't continue to provoke Ye Yuqing.

Ye Yuqing: "..." Dead or crippled, right?

Zhou Yun smiled: "There will always be people with conflicting interests in the world, always villains who like to seize and plunder. Hating and killing endlessly is a waste of time. It's better to seize the moment to continuously strengthen oneself."

"Take plants for example, dominant plants can seize and squeeze the living space of other plants."

"Your light abilities are the same; light and dark are relative. Where there is light, there is shadow. If the sunlight is bright enough, the shadowy areas become smaller."

Zhou Yun, speaking of this, remembered Ye Yuqing's activation of light psychics and asked him, "Do you feel the energy flow?"

Ye Yuqing: "...Is it warm?"

Zhou Yun: "No."

Ye Yuqing: "..."

Zhou Yun: "Didn't General Ling tell you?"

Ye Yuqing: "He just said that having psychics means you just know it's psychics."

Seeing Zhou Yun silent, Ye Yuqing keenly asked, "Is the city lord amused?"

Zhou Yun flatly denied: "No, I was just thinking about how to describe that feeling to you. Then I think General Ling actually put it quite correctly."

Ye Yuqing: "..."

Zhou Yun checked his limbs: "The wounds show clear signs of healing and growth, with new flesh already forming. Your psychics should have activated, but you're too rational, you might not feel it. Reflect on it more."

Ye Yuqing hesitated: "Maybe I lack the compassion to save people, so I can't grasp it?" He was full of hatred now; perhaps healing psychics also requires some kind of saintly compassion... which he certainly lacks.

Zhou Yun smiled: "Psychics are psychics, I think it has nothing to do with a person's character."

Ye Yuqing thought for a moment: "True, otherwise why doesn't Guan Yuanfeng have light abilities, and Ling Dingxiu should have wood abilities."

Zhou Yun: "..." He stifled a laugh and pulled out the needle: "Alright, Happy New Year."

He summoned a Ganoderma and used a calming technique on Ye Yuqing, who clearly wasn't sleeping well, likely due to anxiety, even though he always seemed cheerful and carefree during their conversations, as if he had no worries about his current situation.

But that was precisely the problem.

Consider someone as strong-willed as Guan Yuanfeng, who still sank into depression after amputation and returning home.

Ye Yuqing caught a whiff of a bitter, woody mushroom scent, assuming Zhou Yun was brewing some medicinal wine, and didn't pay much attention, simply saying, "Happy New Year, thanks for coming by on New Year's Eve."

Zhou Yun said, "It's my duty. Rest well and get some sleep."

He pulled the blanket over him, watching Ye Yuqing calm down under the soft glow of the mutated Ganoderma, his breathing evening out.

He got up and went out, just as Ling Dingxiu came up from below with a pot of ginseng and Astragalus chicken stew, along with some New Year pastries, and whispered, "He's asleep, don't wake him."

Ling Dingxiu was puzzled, "So... should we still turn him over? And it's almost time for his medicine."

Zhou Yun: "..." He thought for a moment, "Turn him over gently when he's sound asleep, once every two to four hours, mainly to let him sleep better, try not to wake him."

Ling Dingxiu was a bit aggrieved, "But every time I turn him over, he wakes up, and I do it very gently."

Zhou Yun: "...He probably won't this time." He whispered a few more instructions, left them with the crystal core stove, and then returned to Yunding Mountain Villa.

That evening, Zhou Yun, Guan Yuanfeng, Qin Mu, Qin Sheng, Zhu Zhuan, and others gathered for a New Year's Eve dinner at Yao Huan's place. They set off a large bundle of firecrackers, and after the deafening noise, the familiar New Year atmosphere set in. Yao Huan even handed out red envelopes to each of them: "Take it home and tuck it under your pillow for good fortune."

Qin Mu, feeling overwhelmed, said, "We're all adults, Yao Lao, you're too generous."

Qin Sheng opened the red envelope with a smile, took out the shiny Abyss coins inside to play with, and said cheerfully, "Brother, since we're not married yet, we're still eligible for red envelopes. Thank you, Yao Lao!"

Yao Huan smiled kindly, "Even after marriage, you'll still receive one. You're all wonderful children."

Zhou Yun cast a guilty glance at Guan Yuanfeng, who returned his gaze.

Yao Huan, being elderly, went to bed early. After setting off the firecrackers, the two of them walked on the red paper scraps scattered across the snowy ground, holding Comet, and returned to the thirtieth floor amidst the lingering smell of gunpowder, ready to stay up for the New Year.

After his shower, Zhou Yun emerged to find Guan Yuanfeng lying on the bed, idly flipping through a book. As Zhou Yun appeared, his gaze intensified.

Zhou Yun walked over, leaned in, and kissed Guan Yuanfeng. With one hand, he gently caressed Guan Yuanfeng's broad, strong shoulder. Guan Yuanfeng seized his hand, pulling him into an embrace and pressing him down into the cloud-soft bedding.

Feeling Guan Yuanfeng's urgency, Zhou Yun responded to his fiery, aggressive kisses while gradually unbuttoning his shirt.

Encouraged, Guan Yuanfeng's hand slid into Zhou Yun's soft and smooth pajamas, his rough palm from gun handling caressing Zhou Yun's smooth skin, not overly gentle, applying some pressure, feeling the trembling of the body beneath his hand.

His gaze lingered on Zhou Yun's smooth forehead and straight nose, the starlight veiled by long lashes. His lips moved fervently along Zhou Yun's neck, teeth grazing lightly, aware of Zhou Yun's pleasure.

Caught up in Guan Yuanfeng's passion, Zhou Yun felt the kiss's fierce, domineering aggression ignite a heat throughout his body.

The two were on the brink of passion, the quiet of New Year's Eve and the undisturbed peace allowing them to fully enjoy their own world.

In the aftermath of their intense passion, they clung to each other within the warm bedding. Zhou Yun, resting on Guan Yuanfeng's chest, murmured, "Is it snowing again?"

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Hmm?"

Zhou Yun, unable to open his eyes, still remembered, "Pull the curtains and see."

Guan Yuanfeng, holding the warm body in his arms, was reluctant to leave, just waved his hand, a gust of wind lifted the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window, and sure enough, snowflakes were fluttering in the night outside.

But separated by a window, they were cozy and warm inside. He couldn't help but think of the first New Year they spent together when the apocalypse had just begun. The person in his arms had given him another world.

His hand slid down along the firm and beautiful waistline and abdomen, but when it reached the target, Zhou Yun caught his fingers, smiling contentedly, "It's snowing, auspicious snow heralds a good year, past midnight, it's a new year again."

We've spent another year together.

On New Year's Eve, amidst the fluttering snowflakes, above the southern mountain herb garden, along with the snowflakes, there were also scattered light spots like fireflies.

The light spots fluttered and scattered with the wind, flying over the hillside planted with large patches of mutated agave.

In the heavy snow, the deep green radial sword-like leaves, connected leaf by leaf, like a sea of swords and blades, each sharp long sword exposed its edge in the snow.