Chapter 131

Chapter 131

"Give me useful intel, and we’re good. Otherwise, I’ll raise hell. I follow Southern City Base’s rules and won’t kill innocents, but the reason for this matter can’t be disclosed."

He couldn’t reveal the real reason, so Cheng Jing had to disguise it by playing up his "paranoid psycho" act.

He was settling Jiang Nian’s past-life murder. Once those people entered the base, direct action would be harder.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Chen Yue’s family hadn’t crossed Jiang Nian badly this time around.

Therefore, given their current identities and positions, this had to stay under the radar. It had to be wrapped up cleanly to prevent loose ends.

Yang Kai let out a quiet sigh:

"I just don’t want this messing things up between you and Jiang Nian."

Cheng Jing denied confidently:

"It won’t."

Once he heard Xia Weiwei was bringing them in to guilt-trip Jiang Nian, he had no plans to let Chen Yue’s family enter the Southern City Base.

If they died inside the base, he didn’t want Jiang Nian feeling uneasy there later.

Since he had some prior intelligence, he should crush every possible disaster before it starts. He couldn’t let them run around, backstabbing before retaliating—that’d be downright infuriating.

"..."

After a pause on the line, Yang Kai finally agreed:

"Alright, I trust you. I’ll pin down the meet-up spot by tomorrow. I’ll send it to you then."

"Mm."

Cheng Jing nodded, then asked again:

"What about the other matter? Have you found any leads on Jiang Wenwen’s whereabouts?"

"Some leads, but nothing solid—take it with a grain of salt... But I want to know the reason. Is it also related to Jiang Nian?"

Yang Kai countered, genuinely curious.

Cheng Jing answered truthfully:

"Yes, Jiang Nian is still looking for her."

Jiang Nian hadn’t let on much in front of him, but he knew the brat never stopped worrying about Jiang Wenwen vanishing.

To keep him from risking his neck, Cheng Jing had no choice but to ask Yang Kai for help, along with investigating Chen Yue’s family.

Although Yang Kai hadn’t been at the Southern City Base for long, he was ex-undercover, better at digging up dirt. He also had access to backdoor intel others couldn’t.

Yang Kai didn’t help for free, though.

"Figures..."

Yang Kai lost interest and didn’t press further, then said:

"Jiang Wenwen’s still in the base—or close by. Xia Weiwei probably has her locked up. Call it a pro hunch, but she’s likely stashed where Chen Yue’s family’s meeting Base S’s crew."

Cheng Jing understood:

"Got it, appreciate it."

Perfect timing—we can handle everything in one go. After all, it's all a mess tied to Xia Weiwei and the S Base.

"No problem. This is my tryout for the team. You promised that if I helped you with this, you'd let me join your team."

Yang Kai let out a big laugh. Once he joined Cheng Jing's team, he could finally do whatever he wanted—there was no way he'd stay as the "base babysitter." Besides, his uncle had already said that as long as he joined Cheng's team, he'd have free rein.

"I'll discuss it with Nian Nian."

Cheng Jing didn't commit right away.

Yang Kai didn't mind:

"Nian Nian will definitely agree..."

Cheng Jing snapped, unhappy:

"Don't get too familiar. You're not close enough to call him by a nickname."

"Yeah, yeah, my bad, Cheng."

Yang Kai quickly backtracked:

"Jiang Nian will definitely agree. I mentioned going on a cycling trip with him sometime."

"Hmm?"

Cheng Jing narrowed his eyes warily:

"When? He agreed?"

Yang Kai’s tone was smug:

"Yeah, we talked about it last time you guys were out on a mission. I’ve been planning the route lately."

"..."

Cheng Jing clenched his jaw to keep cool:

"He didn’t tell me."

Just how many things had that damn little troublemaker kept from him last time he was away?

Yang Kai let out a small sigh:

"Well, you don’t have a bike. Even if he told you, you couldn’t go."

Cheng Jing: "..."

Finally leaving him at a loss for words, Yang Kai felt a sense of victory and added casually:

"Alright, Cheng, that’s it for now. I’m a bit busy here. I’ll let you know once I confirm the meetup location for your ‘future father-in-law’ and the others. Remember to say hi to Jiang Nian for me—tell him the cycling route is almost ready."

Not waiting for a reply, he hung up immediately.

"..."

After the dial tone, silence fell. Cheng Jing put down his phone, gritting his teeth to control his breathing.

That Yang Kai—he was totally messing with him on purpose!

Originally, he didn't want Yang Kai to join because he was worried Jiang Nian might mind. But now, he inexplicably felt a twinge of jealousy, like someone was moving in on his turf.

"..."

"Brother Jing!"

"Brother Jing..."

A familiar voice drew closer. Cheng Jing put away his phone and turned around to see that little brat walking over with a bright smile, his mask off and a lollipop popped in his mouth.

Seeing that cheerful face full of smiles, half of Cheng Jing's irritation melted away, though he still looked grumpy. Being out in public was annoying—like when he felt like taking a bite out of someone, he could only grit his teeth.

"Brother Jing, whose call took so long? Was it something urgent?"

Jiang Nian, as if oblivious to his displeasure, crowded closer.

Cheng Jing brushed it off:

"Nothing important."

"Oh..."

Jiang Nian held the lollipop in one hand and slung the other over his shoulder, tilting his head as they walked.

"Can’t tell me?"

Compared to earlier, his tone and expression carried a hint of nosy playfulness.

Was Sister Qian actually onto something?

After a moment’s thought, he changed approach:

"If you can’t say, it’s fine... Just stay safe and handle it well, Brother Jing. I won't push it."

That sweet, teasing tone—his go-to move that always worked.

Sure enough, worried he might read too much into it, Cheng Jing spoke up:

"It was Yang Kai. He was going on about base stuff, uh... and he said he's pretty much got the route mapped out for your cycling trip."

He'd play it by ear before mentioning the rest. He wanted to deal with those people quietly, without getting Jiang Nian's hands dirty.

But what if he got mad...?

Jiang Nian's face brightened:

"Damn, Bro Kai's efficient!"

"Wait, you actually made plans to ride with him?"

Cheng Jing felt like his words carried a distinctly sour note, he thought.

Jiang Nian keenly caught the scent and immediately understood the reason for his displeasure, swiftly switching to sweet-talking mode:

"It's just a plan. I was going to tell you once it was finalized—and invite you along."

Yang Kai had told him that with proper control of gravity superpowers while biking, he could gun the throttle wide open without worry. Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?

"I don’t even have a bike," Cheng Jing replied, with a pout.

Jiang Nian hurried to reassure him:

"The Black Knight is a two-seater! Though it’s the same model as Bro Kai’s, it’s completely transformed after the heavy modifications."

"Oh..."

The little brat’s eyes were fixed on him as he spoke, and Cheng Jing’s mood improved considerably. With reluctant agreement, he said:

"We’ll play it by ear. It’s not like before the apocalypse—you gotta be careful now. I’ll have to review the route he planned."

It wasn’t entirely off the table. The two of them could ride together, while Yang Kai, flying solo, would have his own bike.

Jiang Nian grinned, eyes twinkling:

"Mhm, I know. It’s just a plan, not something we have to do right away. We’ll go when everyone has free time."

He lowered his head to lick the candy in his hand before remembering to ask:

"Mm, Brother Jing, want some candy?"

With a flip of his palm, he produced a handful of different flavors for him to choose from.

Cheng Jing didn’t answer or pick one—instead, he reached out and took the one Jiang Nian was eating.

"Hehe, the sea salt flavor really is unique..."

Jiang Nian’s ears grew hot as he smiled gently, opening a cherry one instead. Sweet.

Cheng Jing nodded reluctantly. Honestly, he didn’t like the taste much—but since he couldn’t kiss the guy, he had to make do with candy to take the edge off.