ISWTDB Ch160

Chapter 160:  The End of the World (19, 20)

But it was clear that if Situ Shuyou intended to use this to negotiate with Deng Wendong, doing so without full preparation would be akin to seeking the skin of a tiger.

However, this wasn’t something he should be worrying about.

He was no longer the leader of the Northern Base; the management had seemingly become a one-man show by the Situ family.

This time, Situ Shuyou came to find A Heng, likely wanting to take him along to meet those from the Southern Base.

Thinking of this, Situ Ran felt a bit anxious, hoping that they wouldn’t discover that the true manufacturer of the antidote was Ying Zhao.

So he straightforwardly said to Pei Yuebin, “I’m afraid the people from the Southern Base are not coming with good intentions. You all must be careful of Deng Wendong!”

“He is known for winning people over and doing things meticulously, making him a difficult character to deal with.”

“Today, Situ Shuyou called A Heng away, which probably isn’t so simple.”

“Recently, I haven’t been able to come and go freely, so you need to keep an eye on him and ensure A Heng’s safety!”

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuebin immediately nodded vigorously and patted his chest, assuring him, “Boss, don’t worry! With the brothers here, we’ll definitely protect Sister-in-law. Not a single hair of hers will be harmed!”

He believed that even though he might not be as quick-witted as the boss, he certainly had absolute execution power.

Since the boss had spoken and trusted him so much, he would help to take care of his sister-in-law properly.

Moreover, in Pei Yuebin’s mind, Ying Zhao had helped them.

He had protected their boss and healed Situ Ran’s injuries.

For them, there was a debt of gratitude there.

Even though Ying Zhao didn’t currently have the status of sister-in-law, in Pei Yuebin’s heart, he had already regarded him as one of their own.

Thus, when it came to Situ Ran asking him to protect Ying Zhao, Pei Yuebin agreed without a second thought.

Once he fully understood the situation outside, Situ Ran instructed Pei Yuebin to temporarily wait outside with the other brothers and not act rashly.

Everything would be discussed after he broke through level ten in his abilities.

Because there were people watching outside the house, Pei Yuebin couldn’t linger here for too long.

After hastily finishing their conversation, he planned to leave.

Who would have thought he would be called back just as he was about to go?

Situ Ran suddenly remembered something and urged Pei Yuebin, “Oh, and about asking you to protect A Heng, don’t let him find out just yet.”

“Why…” Pei Yuebin was about to ask why but swallowed his question.

Looking at his leader’s resolute face, he felt a sense of admiration.

Indeed, the boss was the boss—deep feelings hidden but tenderly caring for his loved ones, deliberately leaving no trace.

This was the kind of romance that belonged to a man!

He decided he had to learn from the boss and be a true man!

So, with his imagination running wild, Pei Yuebin nodded with admiration at Situ Ran before turning to leave.

At this moment, Situ Ran, whom some regarded as a “romantic man,” was completely unaware of his brother’s thoughts.

He was still feeling uneasy, thinking that Pei Yuebin must not let anything slip!

If his beloved found out that he could contact the outside and gave him an injection, it would be disastrous!

Who knew how long the last drug, which had only lasted a day, would be effective this time?

His beloved was so talented; he might have already improved it.

Thinking about Ying Zhao’s talent, the man felt a mix of sweat and joy, which was quite contradictory.

Meanwhile, after Pei Yuebin left the courtyard, he didn’t immediately return to his brothers.

Instead, he hurried to the high-level conference room of the Northern Base.

A notice had already been sent out that they would be hosting those from the Southern Base here.

As one of the only two ability users who had reached level eight, and also the leader of the most powerful team in the Northern Base, Pei Yuebin was qualified to attend the meeting.

However, previously he had scoffed at Situ Shuyou’s invitation and was unwilling to engage in pretense with those people.

But now, the situation had changed; his sister-in-law was right there, and he had to face the pack of wolves from the Southern Base.

How could he manage without one of his own around?

Now that his boss was inconveniently unable to appear, and if his sister-in-law was being bullied, who would stand up for him?

Pei Yuebin had completely forgotten that Ying Zhao, as the head of the research institute, even received cold treatment from the base leader.

He was solely focused on the thought that his sister-in-law was just a researcher, delicate and gentle in appearance.

Those bullies who preyed on the weak would definitely take advantage of her!

As a brother, how could he not help his boss uphold his dignity?

With this in mind, Pei Yuebin hurriedly quickened his pace.

At that moment, Ying Zhao was still unaware that he had been perceived as a delicate flower by his beloved’s brother.

Sitting expressionlessly in the conference room, he observed the exchange between the leaders of the two bases, who were smiling yet hiding daggers beneath their smiles.

He hadn’t expected Deng Wendong, the leader of the Southern Base, to appear so gentlemanly.

Wearing glasses and speaking in a polite manner, he didn’t seem like a strong person at all; instead, he looked more like a researcher, even more so than himself.

But for some reason, Ying Zhao felt a strong sense of discomfort and unease coming from him.

Moreover, this feeling wasn’t directly from Deng Wendong himself.

Ying Zhao thought it must have come from someone Deng had recently been in contact with, leaving behind a disturbing aura that made him uncomfortable.

With this thought, Ying Zhao’s gaze flickered.

As for where exactly Deng Wendong’s aura came from, having seen the original storyline, Ying Zhao had a good idea.

He just hadn’t expected that the man had already come into contact with the Zombie King so early.

It seemed that the Zombie King was indeed just as complex as he had imagined.

The room was filled with prominent figures from both the Northern and Southern Bases.

Yet from the very beginning, it was obvious that the people from the Southern Base had a stronger presence than those from the Northern Base.

Even though they were on foreign ground, they showed no signs of intimidation, and their strength was quite formidable.

The Northern Base’s leadership had once been just as tough, but unfortunately, most of them had been replaced by members of the Situ family.

These people were nothing more than opportunists with no real talent.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been unable to manage even a small family, let alone lead it into decline.

Such a group was hardly capable of managing the entire base effectively.

Situ Shuyou was probably the most intelligent of the Situ family, but unfortunately, her self-interest was too strong.

It was clear that this time, she intended to give the people from the Southern Base a show of strength.

That’s why she deliberately assumed a lofty posture, trying to make Deng Wendong lower his head.

However, Deng Wendong was obviously not that easy to deal with, and Ying Zhao had to admit that his performance was impressive.

As the leader of a base, Deng Wendong was incredibly patient.

Not only that, but his words were flawless, making people feel warm and comfortable without diminishing his own position.

He successfully eased the tension between the two bases to a considerable extent.

No matter how much Situ Shuyou despised Deng Wendong, there was nothing she could do about him at the moment.

After all, no one else knew the secret history between them from their previous lives, and Situ Shuyou couldn’t reveal too much either.

After trying to engage Situ Shuyou several times and realizing she wasn’t receptive, Deng Wendong smoothly shifted his attention to others.

The fools from the Situ family were no match for Deng Wendong, and within a few words, he managed to extract a lot of useful information from them.

Ying Zhao observed the whole scene coldly. In his eyes, these people’s actions were no different from children squabbling over territory.

Even though Ying Zhao remained silent, he still managed to attract the attention of others.

Aside from his strikingly handsome appearance, Ying Zhao’s natural aura, if not deliberately restrained, was impossible to ignore.

Naturally, this also caught Deng Wendong’s attention.

Deng Wendong had heard that the antidote for the zombie virus was developed by the current leader of the Northern Base, Situ Ran’s sister, Situ Shuyou.

At first, he had planned to win her over, hoping to gain her favor.

But strangely enough, despite his usual success in interpersonal relationships, he hit a wall with Situ Shuyou.

No matter what he said, she remained cold and unresponsive, even giving him a frosty look.

Deng Wendong was puzzled by this. He hadn’t offended her, nor had he ever met her before, so why was she treating him with such an attitude?

After all, as the leader of the Southern Base, he couldn’t afford to lose face.

After a few unpleasant exchanges, he shifted his attention to Ying Zhao.

Initially, when he saw the pale and handsome young man sitting next to Situ Shuyou, he assumed he was a minor figure.

He even thought that perhaps this young man had climbed up by relying on his looks and winning Situ Shuyou’s favor.

But to his surprise, during a brief conversation with Situ Yuan, he learned that this young man named Ying Heng was actually the head of the research institute.

This revelation made Deng Wendong’s eyes light up. He hadn’t expected the man to have such a prominent background.

Even if the antidote for the zombie virus wasn’t developed by Ying Heng, the name “Professor Ying” was renowned throughout the country.

So, Deng Wendong immediately smiled and nodded at Ying Zhao.

With a look of admiration, he said, “I didn’t expect you to be Ying Heng, the famous Professor Ying. I’m truly surprised by how young you are!”

“I thought, given your achievements, you would be of the same generation as my father!”

His tone was genuinely respectful, but Ying Zhao merely nodded expressionlessly, acknowledging his greeting.

Deng Wendong wasn’t bothered by Ying Zhao’s lack of response and continued chatting cheerfully, avoiding any mention of the antidote.

Of course, it wasn’t that Deng Wendong wasn’t interested in the antidote for the zombie virus.

On the contrary, he was determined to obtain it.

However, Situ Shuyou was impenetrable and showed inexplicable hostility toward him, which was too obvious.

Since she wasn’t someone he could win over in the short term, Deng Wendong didn’t want to waste his time on her.

He figured that no matter how capable Situ Shuyou was, the antidote couldn’t have been developed by her alone.

Besides her, as the head of the research institute, Ying Heng must have had some involvement with the antidote.

It would be better to build a good relationship with Ying Heng. That way, he could still achieve his goal through a different route.

Deng Wendong himself was not someone who avoided either meat or vegetables, and when he saw Ying Zhao’s handsome face, he couldn’t help but have other thoughts.

After chatting with Ying Zhao for a few moments, he discovered that although Ying Zhao’s attitude was cold, his words were substantial, and his conversation was extraordinary.

This deepened his interest, and he felt that if Ying Zhao shed his cold and ascetic exterior, he would be extremely seductive.

Seeing that Ying Zhao’s attention was not on him, Deng Wendong began to quietly and brazenly size him up.

However, even though Ying Zhao’s gaze wasn’t on Deng Wendong, with his incredibly sharp senses, how could he not detect the disgusting intent in the other’s stare?

Yet before he could react, a rough voice rang out.

A dark-skinned, muscular man stood at the doorway.

He was glaring at Deng Wendong with displeasure and shouted at him, “You bastard, what kind of look is that you’re giving our Professor Ying!”

“Let me tell you, stop looking at others with those lustful eyes! Do you think Professor Ying is someone you can covet?”

Pei Yuebin’s words were so blunt that even though Deng Wendong was adept at dealing with people, his face couldn’t help but darken in embarrassment.

His expression soured as he sneered at Pei Yuebin, “I don’t know what nonsense you’re spouting.”

“I just found my conversation with A-Heng interesting, admired his talent, and exchanged a few more words with him.”

“But what about you? Who exactly are you? You suddenly burst in and insult a guest— is this how your Northern Base treats visitors?”

Although Pei Yuebin had never interacted with Deng Wendong before, he had seen him from afar.

Now that he had calmed down, he recognized who this person was.

He thought to himself, this Deng Wendong is indeed as eloquent as they say.

Just as their boss had warned, he was a cunning fellow.

Luckily, he had arrived in time. No matter how much this guy denied it, Pei Yuebin had seen it all clearly.

That scumbag had been ogling their sister-in-law, and even called him A-Heng so intimately.

He was obviously trying to seduce their sister-in-law!

Caught red-handed, and yet he still had the nerve to defend himself— a shameless pervert.

But now was an important moment for the leaders of the two bases to meet, so Pei Yuebin knew he couldn’t make a big scene.

So, he didn’t say much more and just spat heavily on the ground to express his disdain.

Situ Shuyao was also a bit surprised by Pei Yuebin’s sudden arrival.

After all, she had previously invited Situ Ran’s subordinates, trying to get them on her side.

Unfortunately, those people around Situ Ran were as stubborn as he was— completely unmoved by any persuasion.

After several failed attempts, Situ Shuyao had given up.

This time, she had only invited them because of their strength and position in the base.

Of course, their leader, Pei Yuebin, had also refused as expected and had shown her nothing but disdain.

After all, the Situ family had been relentlessly suppressing the original mercenary group for some time now.

She had thought none of them would show up in this room.

But unexpectedly, not only did their leader come, he was also fiercely protective of Ying Heng.

Why had they suddenly changed their attitude toward the institute, when they used to hate it so much?

Could it be they only acted this way in front of the Southern Base?

This stark contrast made Situ Shuyao feel a bit puzzled.

However, no matter what caused the sudden change of heart, since his reprimand was directed at Deng Wendong, the female lead had no intention of stopping it.

Situ Shuyao did nothing, but Situ Yuan felt his face had been greatly undermined.

In Situ Yuan’s mind, they had just managed to eliminate Situ Ran, and now this base had changed its surname to Situ.

Although Situ Shuyao was the official leader of the base, as her father, he naturally held absolute authority as well.

He had finally tasted the joy of power, sitting in the main seat, standing on equal footing with the Southern Base leader.

Just a moment ago, he had been basking in the praise from Deng Wendong.

But suddenly, this damned Pei Yuebin jumped out and dared to shout at the people from the Southern Base right in front of him, acting completely out of line.

Feeling that his dignity had been trampled, Situ Yuan immediately scolded Pei Yuebin, “Pei Yuebin, shut up! How dare you cause trouble out of nowhere! What kind of behavior is this?”

“Mr. Deng is a distinguished guest of our Northern Base, and you will not behave so insolently here!”

Pei Yuebin gritted his teeth in anger at Situ Yuan’s words.

However, he knew that the Situ family currently controlled the Northern Base.

While he didn’t care about confronting these fools on a regular basis, now that people from the Southern Base were present, he knew better than to cause internal strife in front of outsiders.

Otherwise, it would be nothing but a laughingstock for others.

So Pei Yuebin only glared fiercely at Deng Wendong, cursing Situ Yuan internally.

But this logic, which even Pei Yuebin, often mocked as a brute, understood, seemed lost on Situ Yuan.

He was smug, thinking he had finally put this usually defiant guy in his place.

Pei Yuebin’s team was clearly the most powerful combat unit in the Northern Base, and they had once protected them on their way to H City.

Yet now, not a single person in the meeting room stepped up to mediate or even offered him a seat.

Ying Zhao watched the scene before him with interest.

Of course, he recognized Pei Yuebin. He had intentionally come today with Situ Shuyao, deliberately creating an opportunity for his brother and him to meet.

But he hadn’t expected Pei Yuebin to rush over so quickly. Ying Zhao didn’t even need to think deeply to know who had given the order.

It must have been his man, unable to leave that house freely, who had entrusted someone he trusted to watch over him from the outside, ensuring he didn’t encounter any danger.

Hearing Pei Yuebin instinctively defend him, Ying Zhao felt quite pleased.

He wondered what Situ Ran had said to him, as it seemed this guy’s attitude toward him had completely reversed.

After all, ever since Situ Ran had been taken into the institute, whenever Ying Zhao had occasionally encountered Pei Yuebin’s group outside, they had always glared at him as if they wanted to kill him.

But since there were always many people around Ying Zhao, Pei Yuebin never had the chance to approach and cause trouble.

Seeing this sudden change in behavior, Ying Zhao more or less understood that Pei Yuebin must have learned the whole story by now.

Since this person was loyal to his man, Ying Zhao wasn’t about to let him suffer unjustly. 

So, he raised his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He tapped the table lightly with two fingers and called out, “Captain Pei, please come sit.”

“The institute’s security still depends on your protection!”

As soon as Ying Zhao said this, several people from the Northern Base exchanged strange looks.

Situ Shuyao felt that Ying Zhao was using this as an opportunity to mock Pei Yuebin.

However, only Pei Yuebin understood that Ying Zhao was actually helping him out.

In fact, he hadn’t expected Ying Zhao to be the one to smooth things over for him, especially given how poorly he had treated him in the past.

But then he quickly realized that their sister-in-law definitely knew he was a trusted subordinate of their boss. Seeing him in an awkward situation, she immediately thought of a way to give him a graceful exit.

He thought to himself how foolish he had been before and was relieved that he hadn’t actually harmed his sister-in-law; otherwise, it would have been an unforgivable mistake.

With that in mind, Pei Yuebin grinned sheepishly at Ying Zhao, then naturally grabbed a chair and boldly wedged it between Ying Zhao and Deng Wendong, sitting down with a flourish.

He nodded to Ying Zhao first and then turned his head to glare daggers at Deng Wendong, as if guarding against a predator.

Seeing this, Deng Wendong couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

He had planned to take this opportunity to chat more with Ying Zhao and build a closer connection.

After all, it wasn’t often that he encountered someone like Ying Zhao—both valuable and to his taste. But he hadn’t expected Pei Yuebin to barge in and disrupt everything.

Now, with all eyes on him, Deng Wendong couldn’t act too blatantly.

Internally, he wished he could kill Pei Yuebin for getting in his way, but outwardly, he had to maintain a polite smile.

Ying Zhao watched as the people from both bases circled around in conversation for a long time before finally getting to the main topic.

Although Deng Wendong didn’t speak first, his subordinate finally mentioned their primary goal—the zombie virus antidote.

Seeing that the people from the Southern Base couldn’t hold back any longer, a hint of satisfaction appeared on Situ Yuan’s face.

Feigning helplessness, he said to the people from the Southern Base, “Actually, the main reason we invited you here this time is to discuss exactly that!”

“However, although the antidote has been developed, it still requires extensive clinical trials.”

“You know, this is not a small matter. If we are to put it into use, a lot of preparation is needed.”

“For so long, our Northern Base has invested a great deal of manpower and resources into this research, and our Shuyao has worked tirelessly.”

“The raw materials used to develop the antidote are also extremely rare, so you see…”

Situ Yuan trailed off, clearly waiting for the people from the Southern Base to offer benefits on their own, so he could gauge their bottom line and perhaps gain even more advantage.

Listening to Situ Yuan claim the raw materials were rare, Ying Zhao couldn’t help but silently agree, while also mocking them in his heart: Yes! The materials used in this research came from the spiritual spring in his beloved’s hand—of course, it’s truly rare!