Chapter 402 - Clever And Witty Shen Mei (Part 2-Last)
-While Fu Xuefeng was recovering in the perimeter area of the base.
After arriving at Bai Yong"s villa, Shen Mei was stopped by some armed soul evolvers at the entrance.
"Miss Shen, please wait a moment. I will inform Sir Mayor about your presence." Said a middle-aged man with a respectful expression.
"Hurry up. It"s urgent." Shen Mei nodded and made her voice sound slightly hurried on purpose.
The middle-aged man, who was actually the housekeeper as well as one of the people Bai Yong trusted the most easily noticed the slight discomfort in Shen Mei"s voice so after a slight moment of surprise he turned around and walked hurriedly into the villa.
Behind Shen Mei, Liu Li cautiously watched the surroundings. Although Shen Mei didn"t really seem to care about the enemy"s "messenger", Liu Li herself trusted no one but herself and Shen Mei.
A few seconds later, the butler returned and invited Shen Mei and Liu Li in quickly.
After walking down a corridor and arriving at the first large door on the right, Shen Mei found herself in a large hall with which she was already familiar.
Sitting on a couch that looked like it was made of mutant tiger fur, Bai Yong was casually reading a book while enjoying a cup of hot tea. On the small mahogany wooden table there were several small dishes with some desserts of different tastes and on both sides of the room there was a pretty maiden standing waiting with respectful expressions for his next order.
Shen Mei could not help but grimace a little at witnessing such a scene.
It was good to relax, Shen Mei herself took some time each day to relax her mind after a day that was filled with battles, blood, and death. However, wasn"t this Bai Yong too casual? A war was about to break out but he seemed calm as if he were enjoying the spring breeze.
"Some people are really interesting," Shen Mei didn"t know what to feel about it.
"Shen Mei, I hear you seem anxious to tell me something?"
Bai Yong"s voice brought Shen Mei out of her inner thoughts and when she looked at him again she realized that he had closed the book and was now looking at her with a faint smile.
Shen Mei"s expression became serious and even slightly altered as she took a step forward and said, "Mayor Bai, I think once you read this letter you will understand."
Bai Yong frowned slightly at Shen Mei"s unnatural appearance. She was always quite calm and the occasions when she lost her cool were very rare. With a slight uneasiness growing in his heart, Bai Yong gestured to the butler and the latter took the letter before handing it to him with both hands.
Shen Mei remained silent as she secretly observed the expression on Bai Yong"s face.
At first, Bai Yong"s expression was curious. However, as he read more and more of the short contents of the letter in his hands, his curiosity slowly turned to surprise and then turned from surprise to disbelief. By the time Bai Yong finally finished reading the letter, his face alternated between white and red as he trembled as if suffering from epilepsy or some similar disease.
It was clear that Mayor Bai Yong was suffering from anger and at the same time experiencing a great deal of stress right now.
"You three, get out of the room." Bai Yong said in a deep voice br.i.m.m.i.n.g with authority that left no room for negotiations.
The two maidens exchanged glances for a second before bowing and retreating silently.
However, apart from Shen Mei and Bai Yong himself, there were two other people who did not move from their previous positions; Liu Li and the butler.
"... You didn"t listen to me? Maybe I wasn"t clear? Leave the room." Bai Yong said with a frown as he looked at Liu Li.
Shen Mei did not say anything nor did she ask Liu Li to leave immediately. Instead, she waited patiently.
Liu Li looked at Bai Yong and calmly replied, "Mayor Bai, with all due respect, the only person I obey is Miss Shen."
Bai Yong"s frown deepened but remembering that Liu Li was a valuable First Order soul evolver who also possessed mysterious abilities, his expression relaxed and he looked at Shen Mei silently.
"Liu Li, wait for me at the entrance please." Shen Mei finally said, sneering in her heart.
She wanted to show Bai Yong that while he had the power to command, not everyone would listen to him. She wanted him to understand that he was not the king of the world so that he would stop being so complacent about the current situation.
"Understood." Liu Li bowed slightly to the two people and then walked out without saying a second word.
Bai Yong silently watched Liu Li"s retreat before looking at the butler and calmly saying, "Uncle Yong."
The man called "Uncle Yong" bowed first to Bai Yong and then bowed to Shen Mei before retreating, closing the door behind him silently.
Bai Yong looked at Shen Mei steadily and seeing her silent he simply pointed to the couch in front of his.
Shen Mei sat down and only then did Mayor Bai Yong slowly begin to speak:
"So, Shen Mei.... Can you explain to me what is this all about?"
Although Bai Yong"s voice was quite demure, Shen Mei easily noticed the hidden anger. She began to narrate the events that happened tonight bit by bit while trying to act slightly anxious but not too anxious to avoid being seen through.
Of course, Shen Mei changed a few things. For example, instead of telling Bai Yong that she literally let the "messenger" escape alive, what she said was that the "messenger" was an extremely skilled and powerful a.s.sa.s.sin; powerful enough to slip away from her attacks and slip away from her pursuit.
The more he listened, the uglier Bai Yong"s face got.
Shen Mei was the second most powerful soul evolver in the entire base and only Mo Zan was capable of defeating her but even then his chances of victory varied depending on the circ.u.mstances! In short, the fact that an enemy soul evolver appeared in the core of the base where people like him lived scared Bai Yong very much.
If this enemy soul evolver decided to sneak into his villa instead of Shen Mei"s and recognized him as one of the top leaders of Baiquan Camp, wouldn"t his life be ended right now? Bai Yong shuddered at the thought.
Of course, both he and Shen Mei could not even imagine that in reality, Bai Zemin had no idea who they were since he did not even bother to send a spy or two to study the enemy forces. Unless an extremely abnormal Second Order soul evolver or Third Order soul evolver appeared, Bai Zemin was sure that he could flatten everything in his path by himself if it was really necessary. Therefore, from Bai Zemin"s own point of view, there was no need to go through so many headaches.
Shen Mei seemed to understand Bai Yong"s thoughts. However, she acted as if she was oblivious to this fact and instead asked somewhat apprehensive: "Mayor Bai, what shall we do...? If this person named Bai Zemin will really launch an attack in a maximum of 48 hours, then..."
Bai Yong did not respond immediately. There was a lot to think about as there was also a lot to lose. If he made a wrong decision here, then it was highly likely that everything he had built with so much sacrifice would collapse before his eyes without him being able to stretch out both hands to save it.
Shen Mei was quick to notice that Bai Yong"s face was growing paler and paler. It was clear that the overconfident mayor began to realize that if Bai Zemin dared to send that letter it could only mean either that he was an idiot or that he had something to rely on to even warn the enemy that he would launch an attack soon.
Bai Yong was a smart man; otherwise he would not have arrived at the place where he was right now. However, he refused to accept that reality.
If someone suddenly knocked on your door and told you that you had a maximum of 48 hours to live, how would you feel? Such were Bai Yong"s feelings.
For him, who was over 50 years old, it was difficult to accept all of what was happening even though events were unfolding before his eyes. It was hard for someone who had always been in control of his own destiny and the destiny of others to accept that a young man even younger than his deceased son at the beginning of the apocalypse would dethrone him.
It was hard to accept that in less than 60 days a human who could be killed by a normal bullet had reached heights sufficient to ignore the power of monstrous war tanks and their cannons.
Therefore, after nearly 30 minutes of torturous silence, Bai Yong looked at Shen Mei and said with murderous intent br.i.m.m.i.n.g over, "Since that brat will show up at our gates, there is no need to make such a long travel. That is also good. Let them come, their soldiers will be exhausted due to the long ride while ours will be able to rest to fight in peak condition."
"R- Right. That"s a good plan to start with." Shen Mei nodded and her eyes flashed quizzically before returning to normal.
Bai Yong didn"t delay and stood up immediately saying, "I"ll go find Commander Jin to discuss some matters. I will take this letter in the meantime."
Shen Mei also stood up and told him that he could keep the letter. She then followed Bai Yong to the exit before finally parting ways.
Shen Mei watched casually as Bai Yong climbed into a modified vehicle capable of withstanding the a.s.sault of mid-caliber bullets along with the escort of several heavily armed men and some soul evolvers before departing in the direction of the villa where military commander Jin Shun resided.
"Big Sister Mei." Liu Li approached her after leaving the vicinity of Bai Yong"s villa.
"What"s the matter, Liu Li?" Shen Mei asked in a casual voice.
The nerves and anxiety previously displayed while discussing what happened with Mayor Bai Yong was nowhere to be seen. Her beautiful face maintained a neutral expression throughout, neither happy nor sad, making it difficult to understand what was going on in her head.
Liu Li hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, "...It"s nothing."
Shen Mei stopped her steps and stared at her for a moment. Then, she smiled slightly and asked, "You want to know what happened?"
Liu Li couldn"t help but nod slightly at such a question.
Shen Mei chuckled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she calmly said, "Liu Li. If the faction of Bai Zemin wins, then you and I will become like homeless dogs and if the Baiquan Camp wins then we can continue as if nothing ever happened.... So, I just have to make sure that regardless of whoever wins this war, at the very least, we won"t be affected too much. Do you understand what I mean?"
Liu Li"s face changed and she looked at the surroundings cautiously as she asked in a whisper, "So.... That a.s.sa.s.sin from earlier..."
"I let him go on purpose." Shen Mei said without holding anything back. Indifferently, she pointed out, "If Bai Zemin is not an ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d and values his men, then if his faction wins he probably won"t treat us badly. Take it as him returning the favor of allowing his subordinate to leave alive and kicking after being discovered by me, someone more powerful."
Liu Li"s face lit up and her eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Shen Mei"s beautiful mature face.
"Sometimes, ambition can bring doom. In my case, I am comfortable with my current position." Shen Mei smiled like a flower in spring and said quietly, "Now, we just have to wait and see which dog has the stronger jaw. As for us, we will most likely continue our lives as usual regardless of the outcome."
* * * * * * *
Thank you very much to everyone who voted for Blood Warlock with Golden Tickets! <3