"Are you out of your mind? Does it even matter what I say?"
"Is there a place for me to talk here?"
If it were a different setting, Ren Zhong would have a myriad of ways to calm her down and even borrow some money from her.
But at this moment, Ren Zhong was quite troubled.
He had already entered Lin Wang’s core circle and was quickly approaching Yang Bingzhong. He didn’t want to appear too close to Ma Xiaoling in public.
If this straightforward woman said more than she should in her anxiety, Ren Zhong’s plans risked going up in smoke.
He couldn’t even use a temporary measure to stabilize her, like saying, "Go back first, and we will talk when no one is around."
That would still expose him.
This gullible mayor Ma Dafu indeed had a sharp-witted daughter.
A collaborator with such low emotional intelligence indeed made him anxious.
So Ren Zhong just turned his face away, staying silent.
Seeing him , Ma Xiaoling looked both regretful and angry.
In a hurry, she spoke again, "Ren Zhong, didn’t you say you..."
Ren Zhong was in a panic, knowing she was sure to mention his plan of "taking the wastelanders away."
At this moment, Ren Zhong finally understood why Old Ma kept everything hidden from this silly daughter of his.
If I had known this earlier, why did I sell the information to you back then!
Wouldn’t it have been better to lure you with stocks directly?
"Yes, so what if I said I liked you? You can’t make me a citizen, so what right do I have to live as idealistically as you? What right do you have to demand what kind of person I should be?"
He instantly spoke up, cutting off Ma Xiaoling’s words.
Ma Xiaoling was stunned, released her hold, and said word by word, "Ren Zhong, I’m really disappointed in you. I once thought you were a real man."
Ren Zhong sighed in relief.
It seems this naive girl finally realized it and braked in time.
Being a double agent is thrilling indeed.
Ren Zhong put on a forlorn expression, "I can only say I’m sorry. Apologies."
"I look down on you!"
Ren Zhong turned his face away, "I’m just a wastelander, didn’t expect you to look up to me."
"By the end of today, you must repay me, and then, we are done!"
After Ma Xiaoling finished speaking, she turned around and left.
Ren Zhong understood her meaning, which was just that she wouldn’t learn stock trading from him anymore and he shouldn’t expect any more guidance from her. They were done.
Ren Zhong looked downcast.
So sad, was originally planning to come up with another excuse to keep delaying the repayment.
When Ma Xiaoling walked away sullenly, Bei Lihui popped out from the side, patting Ren Zhong’s shoulder, "Ah, take it easy. But it’s not a big deal, out with the old, in with the new. Captain Ma may be beautiful and tough, but she probably lacks romance. Don’t be sad..."
Ren Zhong’s mouth twitched, only saying, "I failed to meet the captain’s expectations of me, couldn’t hook up with her."
Bei Lihui said, "No worries, it’s good to stay away from her. Otherwise, Mr. Yang won’t dare to trust you more. What happened today, Mr. Yang will find out."
"Hmm, thanks, Brother Hui."
"What are you thanking me for, we are all on the same side. Where are you going now? Let me tell you, in our line of work, every time we escape death, we should reward ourselves properly, otherwise who knows when we might not have the chance to enjoy again. I’ll secretly tell you, actually I support a semi-professional scavenger team full of pretty girls, want to go have fun? They’re all great, I trained them well."
Ren Zhong: "No, no, I’m going to find Zheng Tian and Chen Hanyu."
"Damn, bringing this up makes me unhappy."
"Hahaha, just kidding. Both of them are your girls, you’re not like me in that regard, I’m not interested anymore!"
"Hahaha, just teasing, when you’re dead I’ll be interested!"
Ren Zhong left Starfire Resources, walking towards Zheng Tian’s team. His wrist watch gently vibrated.
He clicked to play the bone conduction voice.
"Ren Gushen Ren Gushen, how was my acting just now? Did it have that drama flavor? My dad taught me all of that, I think I did okay."
It was Ma Xiaoling’s excited voice.
Turns out this was all arranged by Fatty Ma.
"Just so-so, I actually realized from the beginning that you were acting. You knew the situation at Starfire Resources from the start, I knew you were pretending back then."
"Ah? Really, sigh. I really have no talent for acting."
"That... about the money."
"My guild got wiped out, now I’m all alone, temporarily not fighting, no rush. Your stuff is more important. Remember to spend thirty thousand on an anti-aging potion from Sun Miao, I’ll get it from you tonight. This money counts as returning my dad’s investment, plus saves you more than three thousand in taxes."
Sigh, the Ma father and daughter, though a bit silly, are actually quite nice, only as citizens could they live so comfortably.
If they were wastelanders, their ashes would probably have been scattered long ago.
Ren Zhong sent another message: "About the guild... my condolences."
"No big deal, if you have money, you have everything. This is just a minor setback on my path to becoming the strongest chairman, I can handle it. We are not done yet, tonight let’s continue, I teach you to fight, you teach me stocks!"
Ren Gushen’s heart tightened.
How do I tell you that your stock guru teacher has actually fallen from grace?
In the courtyard of Zheng Tian’s team.
After eighteen days, Ren Zhong saw his original crew again.
Great, everyone was there, no one was missing an arm or a leg.
Moreover, everyone’s growth made Ren Zhong extremely pleased.
Wen Lei wore new gear, and his muscles had become even more robust.
Zheng Tian’s skin was slightly tanned, and her figure under the tight vest was more athletic, with a modified kinetic rapid-fire gun that was upgraded to nearly third-level performance strapped to her back.
Ou Youning had a few more pockets on his blast master uniform.
Bai Feng had even clearer white lines on his arms, a few more black striped tattoos on his face, and his restored five-fingered hands had claws reminiscent of raptors. Surely, he had fused with new genes, what a daring guinea pig.
In the previous timeline, Ren Zhong had led everyone through half a month of rigorous training in the abandoned pit.
This time, although Ren Zhong was not present, he had pointed out the direction for everyone’s improvement and invested heavily.
He also shielded everyone from Lin Wang’s threat with his own back.
He had created the best conditions for everyone.
The only worry was that they might lose the drive to climb higher due to overly generous treatment.
Ren Zhong’s little worry did not become a reality.
They endured the sweet temptations life offered.
In fact, everyone did not have grand ideals.
Their thoughts were simple.
Although it was hard to imagine who Mr. Ren’s enemies were, they wanted to keep up with Mr. Ren, hoping to maintain the qualification to fight alongside him.
Everyone worked hard; even Ou Youning hadn’t visited the nightlife for ten consecutive days.
Their current parameters, combat experience, willpower, and cooperation levels had already surpassed the forty-fifth day in the previous timeline.
Not only Ren Zhong grew at an accelerated rate in different timelines.
This was the most gratifying thing for Ren Zhong.
"Mr. Ren, a few days ago we sneaked into the abandoned pit and hunted a fourth-level tempered sandworm. Hanyu and I used the method you taught, got it enough corrosive acid."
Zheng Tian approached, showing off as if offering a treasure.
"Very good, excellent!"
Ren Zhong nodded, smiling.
Since going to the Chenhui Mine with Lin Wang’s team fifteen days ago, this was the first time he showed a sincere smile.
It turns out, I am not a real actor.
The fourth-level demolition master Chen Hanyu didn’t have any significant changes in her appearance.
Okay, maybe her bust seemed a bit fuller, possibly due to extensive exercise causing secondary development, or perhaps it was just an illusion.
All the intrigue at Lin Wang’s side, yet the scenery here was uniquely beautiful.
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