RITAAB 78.2

Gao Siyang sighed deeply. “Maybe I was too obvious in my distrust.”

Qin Jiulin added, “It was clear that Captain Gao has been wary of Xia Liansheng all along.”

Liu Zhongyuan agreed. “But just because Zhou Lie is the alternative doesn’t mean he’s any better.”

Gao Siyang concluded, “There’s no point in discussing it further. In any case, I appreciate you bringing back this batch of munitions. I hope you can make a few more trips. We can never have too much ammunition.”

Liu Zhongyuan patted his chest. “No problem. The last time we went to the military base, there were fewer than twenty semi-beastman left. We’ll finish them off this time.”

“And since munitions are in such high demand, we’ll rest for a couple of days and then head back for more.”

Gao Siyang smiled. “Excellent. I’ll leave it in your capable hands.”

After saying goodbye to Gao Siyang, Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan strolled leisurely along the riverbank, their hands intertwined, as they sent Qi Yue off on his own.

Just as Liu Zhongyuan was about to speak, Qin Jiulin’s phone buzzed with a message. Not noticing that Liu Zhongyuan wanted to talk, Qin Jiulin checked the message and saw that it was from Xia Liansheng.

He paused for a moment, remembering that he had exchanged contact details with Xia Liansheng earlier. After all, pretending to be on good terms might let him take advantage of that relationship later. If Xia Liansheng ever tried to use their friendship against him, Qin Jiulin was ready to strike first.

This was a game of mutual benefit—whoever made the first move would win.

Opening the message, Qin Jiulin found it was related to Zhou Lie.

Liu Zhongyuan noticed his change in expression and leaned over to look. Seeing the message, he immediately exclaimed, “What?! You exchanged contact info with Xia Liansheng? Qi Yue didn’t even get fooled by those two, but you got pulled in?”

Qin Jiulin rolled his eyes. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Liu Zhongyuan pouted. “Then tell me why! Is there a reason your legitimate boyfriend can’t know? I want to know, so you better tell me!”

The snake was upset!

Qin Jiulin sighed, his mouth twitching. “Fine, fine, I’ll explain…”

Helplessly, Qin Jiulin recounted what had happened. Even after hearing it, Liu Zhongyuan was still indignant. “Why go through all that trouble? Why play along with him? Is it really necessary?”

“I just feel like he’s up to no good. What if he actually tries to betray you?”

Qin Jiulin’s expression suddenly turned cold. “So what if he tries? With my strength, do you think anyone could ambush me when I’m prepared? The only time someone succeeded was when you caught me off guard.”

Liu Zhongyuan immediately thought back to their first meeting and felt embarrassed. “Ah, well, that time I was just out hunting. I didn’t expect to run into you…”

“Are you still mad?”

Liu Zhongyuan leaned in and rubbed against Qin Jiulin, who sighed helplessly. “I’ve been over it for a long time. If I were still mad, I wouldn’t have agreed to be your boyfriend in the first place, would I?”

Qin Jiulin added, “Any more questions?”

Liu Zhongyuan huffed. “Fine, fine, I won’t ask anymore. I’m sure you have your reasons. Besides, I agree that Xia Liansheng is pretty suspicious. If we can get him to talk more, we might discover something unexpected.”

Qin Jiulin grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

Xia Liansheng’s message was about his decision to side with Zhou Lie. At the end, he even arranged a meeting with Qin Jiulin, specifically mentioning that Liu Zhongyuan shouldn’t come along.

Liu Zhongyuan immediately became indignant. “Not letting me come along? Why? He’s definitely afraid that I’ll expose his lies while he’s trying to deceive you!”

Qin Jiulin replied, “It’s fine. Whatever he says, I’ll repeat it to you later.”

Liu Zhongyuan wanted to argue, but after some thought, he decided not to go. “In that case, I want a consolation prize!”

Qin Jiulin was taken aback. “Huh?”

Liu Zhongyuan leaned closer, staring firmly into his eyes. “I said I want a reward. Are you going to give it to me?”

Qin Jiulin blinked, feeling a bit unsure. “What… what kind of reward do you want?”

Although they had confirmed their relationship, they hadn’t done anything particularly intimate yet. So, in the end, Qin Jiulin still felt a bit uneasy.

Liu Zhongyuan smiled and pointed to his face. “I won’t make it hard for you. Just kiss me, right here, right here. Yes, exactly here.”

Seeing him point to his face, Qin Jiulin sighed in relief. He leaned in and gave him a light kiss. To his surprise, Liu Zhongyuan didn’t try to trick him, like suddenly turning his head to make him kiss his lips or something. After the kiss, Qin Jiulin exhaled in slight relief.

Liu Zhongyuan said, “What’s with that expression? Do I look that bad to you?”

Qin Jiulin quickly shook his head. “It’s nothing. Alright, let’s go.”

Liu Zhongyuan wasn’t done yet. He leaned closer again to look at the message. “So, when and where are you meeting him?”

Qin Jiulin replied, “Tomorrow at 3 PM, at the pavilion by the river in the neighborhood. After all, he is a beastman, so if you want to follow, at least stay far enough away so he doesn’t notice you.”

Liu Zhongyuan pouted. “Alright, I got it.”

Qin Jiulin added, “I know you’re obedient and won’t deliberately cause any trouble.”

Initially planning to cause trouble, Liu Zhongyuan now wondered if he should still go through with it. Could he still cause trouble if he wanted to?

Qin Jiulin had said it casually, but seeing Liu Zhongyuan’s expression, he realized that Liu really had intended to mess things up. “Forget it. Do whatever you want, but when I’m talking to Xia Liansheng about Zhou Lie, don’t interrupt. After that, you can do as you like.”

Liu Zhongyuan grinned. “Deal! I’ll listen to you.”

The next afternoon, Qin Jiulin arrived at the pavilion in the neighborhood as scheduled. At this time, it was indeed empty. By the time he arrived, Xia Liansheng was already waiting there.

Xia Liansheng greeted him, “Jiulin?”

Qin Jiulin walked into the pavilion and sat down. “I’m here. You said you had something to tell me?”

Xia Liansheng nodded. “Yes, I have something to discuss with you. It’s related to Zhou Lie.”

Qin Jiulin was already aware of this. Zhou Lie was the one who, in his previous life, led the army to reclaim Modu and gained control of all the city’s power. If this were his past life, Gao Siyang’s current position would have been Zhou Lie’s.

Although Qin Jiulin didn’t know why the roles of Gao Siyang and Zhou Lie had been swapped in this life, he was inclined to support Gao Siyang’s leadership. After all, Zhou Lie was definitely not a good person.

Moreover, Zhou Lie appeared strict with his two sons on the surface but was actually extremely protective of them. He might criticize them himself, but if anyone else targeted or harmed them, Zhou Lie would react based on the situation. For example, if he had enough power, he would make those people disappear.

However, the current Zhou Lie couldn’t do that, as his power was neither here nor there. His position was quite awkward, especially with Gao Siyang keeping an eye on him recently. He definitely wouldn’t dare to make any reckless moves.

Qin Jiulin said, “So, tell me. Zhou Lie… I’ve heard you’ve already decided to side with him. You should know that Zhou Lie and Captain Gao are at odds, right? Doing this puts Captain Gao in a difficult position.”

Xia Liansheng nodded. “I know. Even the tasks I’ve been receiving lately have become more and more mundane, almost like the ones given to regular beastman. My status as a special beastman isn’t being reflected at all.”

Qin Jiulin asked, “Then why did you do it? What’s so good about Zhou Lie? Is he really worth serving?”

Xia Liansheng shook his head. “I’m not serving him. I’m just standing on his side and doing things within my own capabilities. If it goes against my principles, I won’t do it.”

Qin Jiulin sighed. “Forget it. Your thoughts aren’t something I can control. I just hope you don’t regret it.”

Qin Jiulin was certain that Xia Liansheng would regret it eventually.

“By the way, you said you had something to tell me about Zhou Lie. What is it?”

Xia Liansheng revealed, “Zhou Lie actually has a beastman under his command. He brought over eighty soldiers with him, half of whom were regular beastman. Additionally, there are six special beastman.”

Qin Jiulin blinked in surprise. “What? That many?”

Not to mention the regular beastman, but the fact that there were six special beastman—one more than Gao Siyang’s five! With such combat power, why had he kept it hidden?

Of course, if he kept it hidden, Gao Siyang would misjudge the situation and send his own special beastman out on missions. When there weren’t many special beastman left to guard the base, that would be Zhou Lie’s opportunity to act!

Qin Jiulin knew exactly what kind of person Zhou Lie was—he had stayed in Modu until his death in his previous life. Zhou Lie would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He was capable of anything!

Right now, he was likely still using Gao Siyang to help recapture Modu, which was why he hadn’t made any moves yet. But once Modu was fully cleared of semi-beastman and Gao Siyang had a period to adjust to managing the city, Zhou Lie would definitely act.

Qin Jiulin said, “This must be Zhou Lie’s secret. He’s been hiding this for a reason. Are you sure it’s okay to tell me? Revealing this will definitely ruin Zhou Lie’s plans.”

Qin Jiulin could easily guess why Zhou Lie had hidden this information. Xia Liansheng had to know this too. By telling him this secret, and considering that Qin Jiulin sided with Gao Siyang, he would surely pass this information along to Gao Siyang.

If that happened, Zhou Lie’s plans would be completely foiled. Was Xia Liansheng really okay with this?

Xia Liansheng smiled. “I know you’re concerned about me, but it’s fine. I can take care of myself.”

Qin Jiulin was confused. Was that what he had been talking about? Was he really concerned about him? He didn’t feel like he was. He was simply suspicious that Xia Liansheng was revealing this secret so easily—perhaps there was some hidden plot behind it, and he wanted to find out more.

Xia Liansheng continued, “Actually, everyone on Zhou Lie’s side knows this. I don’t think they can keep such a big secret all the way until the day they act.”

Qin Jiulin nodded. “I see.”

Xia Liansheng added, “As long as you don’t reveal that I’m the one who told you, Zhou Lie and his people won’t suspect me.”

After all, he was already ostracized by Gao Siyang as a special beastman. There was no way he could return to help Gao Siyang. That was his brilliance.

Qin Jiulin wanted to say something more, but just then, Liu Zhongyuan’s voice came from a distance.

“Ah! Jiulin, why are you hanging out with someone like him?”

Xia Liansheng paused slightly. “Someone like him?” What did that mean?

“Oh, it’s been a while, Captain Liu! Long time no see!”