RITAAB 92.1

Chapter 92 【o(￣︶￣)o】part 1

Qin Jiulin said, “Don’t tell me you think those powerful ones fled to avoid our pursuit?”

Liu Zhongyuan shook his head, “That’s not it. After all, we all know that semi beastman have no intelligence. They are all driven by their instinct to fight, fueled by bloodlust and the need to feed.”

Qin Jiulin replied, “Yes, that’s why their large-scale departure from the urban area of Mo City feels strange and gives me a sense of foreboding. They’re gone now, but I have a feeling they’ll be back.”

Liu Zhongyuan quietly moved closer to Qin Jiulin, trying to get close enough to subtly take advantage of him, but Qin Jiulin turned and walked towards the sofa, sitting down.

Liu Zhongyuan looked at him with surprise and a hint of hurt in his eyes. Qin Jiulin blinked. “What’s wrong? You look at me like I’ve abandoned you.”

“Isn’t that what happened?” Liu Zhongyuan said dejectedly, sitting next to Qin Jiulin. “Let’s put other matters aside. How long has it been since we’ve been properly intimate?”

Qin Jiulin looked puzzled. “Intimate? Have we ever been intimate before?”

Liu Zhongyuan declared, “I don’t care. We’re in a relationship now, and I want to exercise my rights as a boyfriend! Are you going to agree or not?”

A smile flickered across Qin Jiulin’s lips, though only for a moment. “How do you want to be intimate?”

Now the two of them were playing around in the living room, the previous topic completely forgotten. Perhaps this was more fun? Qin Jiulin had discovered the joy of teasing Liu Zhongyuan.

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Kissing, cuddling, hugging, of course…”

Qin Jiulin’s lips twitched, but he didn’t completely refuse. Although they had been busy with missions recently and hadn’t had time to spend quality time together, after such a long period of interaction and fighting side by side, their relationship had become much closer. Although he had seen through Liu Zhongyuan’s playful nature…

“Only hugging.”

Liu Zhongyuan had thought he would be shut out, but unexpectedly Qin Jiulin agreed. Even though it was only a hug, it was still good. They rarely even hugged before!

It didn’t resemble a romantic relationship at all, which he couldn’t stand. He needed to take advantage of this downtime to get some hugs and kisses.

After receiving Qin Jiulin’s permission, Liu Zhongyuan quickly embraced him, snuggling and rubbing against him, looking incredibly happy, like a dog who had just gotten a big bone.

Qin Jiulin sighed helplessly. “That happy?”

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Happy, of course I’m happy. It would be even better if I could kiss you. By the way, when can we sleep together? I can’t wait…”

Qin Jiulin felt somewhat helpless. He knew Liu Zhongyuan was thick-skinned and always liked to push his luck, taking a mile when given an inch.

He simply didn’t answer, figuring Liu Zhongyuan would let go when he’d had enough. However, he didn’t expect that while Liu Zhongyuan did let go, just before doing so, he quickly leaned in and placed a light, fleeting kiss on Qin Jiulin’s lips.

Before Qin Jiulin could react, Liu Zhongyuan had already pulled away and fled back to his room, leaving Qin Jiulin alone on the living room sofa, stunned.

When he came back to his senses, he touched the spot where he had been kissed, a dazed expression on his face. It wasn’t their first kiss, but…the previous ones had been pretense. This one was different.

Qin Jiulin couldn’t quite explain it, and he stopped dwelling on it. He didn’t know if he and Liu Zhongyuan would ultimately end up together; it depended on how their feelings developed.

In truth, he didn’t hold out much hope. After being deceived by Xia Liansheng to such an extent, he was no longer willing to easily trust anyone with his feelings.

Even if Liu Zhongyuan had confessed to him in his past life, what did it matter? He hadn’t known Liu Zhongyuan well in his past life, only having a general understanding of him. The Liu Zhongyuan he saw in this life had a completely different personality.

Therefore, he needed to carefully consider things in the future. As for Liu Zhongyuan, he would observe and test him thoroughly. At the very least, if he were betrayed, he would have enough time to react.

Qin Jiulin slowly got up and returned to his room. He decided to stop thinking about it. After all, up until now, Liu Zhongyuan had always been on his side, and most importantly, he wouldn’t harm him.

After all, Liu Zhongyuan himself was a Variant beastman, and one of the strongest at that. The biggest difference between him and Xia Liansheng was that he hadn’t interacted with the rest of the Qin family.

He wouldn’t kill him for Qin Jiuzhen, just to get the beastman Core within his heart. That was why Qin Jiulin had initially chosen to further communicate with him.

He would give it a try. Perhaps he could find a partner in this life, even if it wasn’t perfect.

In the dead of night, Zhou Lie looked at his two incompetent sons, furious. He truly hadn’t expected his two favored sons to be so useless!

At first glance, they seemed to have some brains and ability, but when faced with anything slightly difficult or complex, they became completely lost. Absolute waste. He had kept them by his side for so many years, and they hadn’t improved at all.

Zhou Lie raged, “I told you to approach Xia Liansheng and get him to join us quickly. Why is there still no progress? And…Cheng Lin has disappeared. I put you in charge of that matter, and there’s still no news!”

Zhou Qiyang replied, “Dad, Xia Liansheng keeps saying he needs to consider it. We’ve promised him many benefits, but he just won’t budge. We did manage to find some leverage before…”

“But didn’t you tell us not to capture him? Are you saying we should go and seize him now?”

Zhou Lie, of course, knew about the weakness Xia Liansheng had previously revealed – Qin Jiuzhen of the Qin family. There had been some rumors before, when the army hadn’t yet reached Mo City and was still setting up camp outside.

But Zhou Lie hadn’t observed anything more substantial, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it. But now it seemed Xia Liansheng was hiding things very deeply. He was willing to do so much for Qin Jiuzhen.

But even after hiding it for so long, hadn’t they still discovered it?

“We can’t use force. They are ordinary survivors here, under the protection of the army. If we forcibly capture him, we’ll be directly antagonizing Gao Siyang, and we might be expelled.”

This possibility was small, but it still existed. Secondly, Xia Liansheng, who had already accepted their offer and joined their side, would definitely betray them and leave their group. Before leaving, he would surely deal them a heavy blow. Therefore, directly capturing Qin Jiuzhen was not feasible.

The only thing they could do was to win over Qin Jiuzhen! There were many ways to win over an ordinary person, but simply offering supplies wouldn’t work. After all, Xia Liansheng would definitely be providing them secretly. If they also sent supplies… Qin Jiuzhen might accept them, but their attitude wouldn’t change.

Zhou Lie said, “Think carefully. Is there any other way?”

Zhou Qiyang replied, “Dad, since Xia Liansheng has already accepted our offer, he won’t leave us now. After all, Gao Siyang already knows about his actions.”

“Even if he says he wants to leave us and rejoin the army, Gao Siyang probably won’t believe him. In that case, don’t we have nothing to worry about Xia Liansheng leaving us?”

Zhou Lie naturally thought the same, but he knew his own character best. With someone so powerful, if he didn’t have some leverage, he would always worry about losing control.

Xia Liansheng was a Variant beastman, possessing both strength and intellect. If he truly wanted to leave, they had nothing to keep him. Therefore, if possible, they still needed Qin Jiuzhen…

Zhou Qiyang cautiously glanced at Zhou Lie. “Dad, so we really need to make a move on Qin Jiuzhen?”

Zhou Lie pondered for a moment. “Let’s not touch him for now. We’ve only just discovered this secret, and Xia Liansheng is definitely on high alert right now. If we make any moves, he will definitely act first, and then we’ll completely push Xia Liansheng away before we’ve even done anything.”

Zhou Qiyang asked, “Then we’ll wait for a while?”

Zhou Lie said, “Let’s leave it at that. You two go out now. I get angry just looking at you. There’s still no news about Cheng Lin!”

Zhou Qiyang felt troubled. “Dad, Cheng Lin hasn’t been back for so long, he must have been captured. Didn’t Daxiang say before they left that they noticed Liu Zhongyuan?”

“At the time, both Lin Lou and Cheng Lin were left at the military base, and Lin Lou returned safely and even rescued their families. Cheng Lin must have been killed. We probably won’t find him now, no matter how hard we look.”

Zhou Lie sighed. He understood this reasoning, but what could he do now? After losing Lin Lou and the other two Variant beastman, they had now lost Cheng Lin as well?