Chapter 648: I Will Save You!

In the end, Meng Chao managed to persuade Su Mulian to take up the task.

After all, Leprosy Village had suffered the worst damage in the disaster. One-third of its buildings had been affected by the flames, and the remaining two-thirds had been enveloped by smog, causing the poison to enter the walls. Thus, the structures had entirely become really brittle.

Instead of trying to repair them, it would be more worthwhile to demolish them and reconstruct them.

During the reconstruction period, the villagers would have to appear in front of the public.

Su Mulian promised Meng Chao that the villagers would first appear before Broken Star Club and Blue Home, which were two small groups compared with the whole of Dragon City. That was because Meng Chao was hoping to gather some reconstruction funds for Leprosy Village.

At the same time, many of the villagers in Leprosy Village were skilled craftsmen who worked in forgeries that made dangerous weapons. They had plenty of experience and were willing to work hard. Some of them had awakened to all kinds of strange skills, and they were the best labor force in the city.

On top of that, quite a number of members in Broken Star Club and Blue Home were owners of middle or small private businesses, or they were self-employed individuals who worked in their own workshops. If they could win the pitched battle at the borders of Dragon City, everyone would definitely want to expand their business scale and territory. They would not reject good workers.

In the past, small or medium firms and grassroots workers had been sandwiched between the mega corporations and gangs. As such their work had been introduced to them by the mega corporations and gangs.

If Meng Chao introduced these people to the members, the members would not have to pay an extra fee for the middleman, and he believed that everyone would be able to find business opportunities together.

If they had a good time working together, Broken Star Club and Blue Home could serve as promoters. Then, they could spread the story of Leprosy Village to the entire city. In fact, Su Mulian would have the chance to stand in the Survival Committee’s meeting hall and ask the supreme politicians to take care of the grassroots citizens.

Right then, Blue Home politicians were taking up more seats in the Survival Committee.

The reconstruction of Leprosy Village and the lair was a good starting point for the Home Party to get more fees and power from the Colonization Party.

Meng Chao believed that the Home Party politicians would not miss this God-given chance.

Once Su Mulian finished listening to Meng Chao describing the situation to her, Su Mulian felt happy for the villagers as well.

She thanked Meng Chao once again. “I-I don’t know how I can thank you. Everything that has happened over the past forty-eight hours seems like a dream that still makes me want to faint. I… Mr. Meng, I will definitely save you!

“That’s right, it doesn’t matter what the future looks like, I will do everything I can to save you!” she mumbled.

As if she thought that she did not sound polite enough, she even nodded.

Meng Chao smiled. “I told you, I’m just feeling a little weak. Plus, I drank too much gene medicine, so I’m having digestion problems. You don’t have to say something as over the top as doing everything you can to save me, right?

“Also, I remember telling you before that we’re in the same age group, so you don’t have to call me Mr. Meng. It sounds too serious. You can call me Meng Chao, Chao, or be like A’Ji and call me Big Brother Chao. Mr. Meng sounds strange. It’s as if you’re deliberately keeping your distance from me.”

“N-No, of course not.” Su Mulian nodded obediently. “I will remember it, Mr. Meng.”

Meng Chao scratched his head and still could not hold back from asking, “From the moment we first met, I’ve always wanted to ask you a question. Are you scared of me?”

Su Mulian’s muscles tensed, and she stuttered, “H-How can that be? I’m not afraid of you at all. Th-There’s no reason for me to be scared of you at all.”

“That’s right.” Meng Chao could not figure it out either. “We’ve never known each other before this, and reviews about me in the circle might not be perfect, but at the very least, they say that I’m full of justice, I’m considerate, kind, and basically a model for thousands of young adults in Dragon City. Why would you need to be scared of me?”

However, Meng Chao soon pushed the question to the back of his mind.

His eyelids started falling.

Over the past forty-eight hours, he had drained too many brain cells and used up too much energy. Any other normal superhuman brain would have burned out a long time ago.

As Su Mulian treated him gently, Meng Chao fell asleep before long.

He had a good sleep and did not have any nightmares about the apocalypse or dreams about him “making friends” with girls of the other races.

It was as if he was a fetus in his mother’s womb, and he was being nurtured and allowed to grow without having to worry about anything.

When he woke up, it was as though a gauze that surrounded his body had been lifted, and his vision was so clear that it felt like his world had been renewed.

Meng Chao stretched his back and sensed that the originally restless and rampaging Hell’s Blood had been bound. Now, it was flowing at a regular pace between his blood vessels and spirit meridians.

It was as if more than one hundred wild and fierce Hell Beasts had been tamed and turned into a disciplined army that would carry out every order without fail. They lurked quietly in his cells and just waited for Meng Chao’s orders.

“Feels good!”

Meng Chao took a deep breath. His limbs and spine were akin to a monstrous python that had just finished hibernating. They released thunderous roars, and the movement stirred up beautiful ripples in the medicinal fluid, which was now as clear as water.

The ripples then turned into wisps of white mist that rose into the air like thousands of aquatic dragons.

Meng Chao exhaled, and his breath was like white silk. He smiled and felt satisfied.

As he attempted to climb out of the medical cabin, he noticed that Su Mulian had left at some point in time.

Instead, Lu Siya was crouching beside the medical cabin and staring at him. Her gaze was strange, and she appeared to be in deep thought.

“Big Sis Ya, you’re back?” Meng Chao was stunned. “How long have I been sleeping? Are you done dealing with the gangs?”

“You slept for a total of six hours. Ms. Mulian said that you’ve severely drained your body over the past two days, and you stuffed a large amount of medicine with vicious effects into your system. She had a hard time temporarily calming down the chaotic spirit energy in your body and making it harmonize with your body. Hence, she asked us not to bother you so that you could wake up naturally.”

Lu Siya took out a document covered in red fingerprints and said, “I’ve helped you handle the gangs, including Golden Tooth, Black Bone, Poison Scorpion, and Wild Wolves. Forty-one of the more influential gangs in the lair have agreed to form the Lair Reconstruction Committee, and they will handle the effects and consequences caused by the Vortex’s ambush. They also unanimously elected you as the committee leader who will be in charge of representing the lair to communicate with the outside world.”

“That’s good. With this document, we can legally help the lair with its reconstruction!”

Meng Chao took the document from Lu Siya’s hands and looked at it carefully. In the end, he heaved a long sigh and said with a happy smile, “I didn’t expect the plan that we cooked up in the secret lab to actually work! Big Sis Ya, it must have been hard for you to convince those ambitious and wild gang leaders to let me be the gang leader! Thank you for your hard work!”

“It wasn’t that difficult. In fact, it was easy,” Lu Siya said coolly. “When it comes to true power and authority, you definitely aren’t fit for the position, but it’s precisely because of that you’re the most suitable candidate for it.

“To the outside world, since Jin Wanhao is already dead, the government will not want another master of the lair who is just as aggressive as the Underground Emperor. They would rather choose someone who is weaker, rather cooperative, and has closer connections with the outside world.

“To the gangs, the more unfit you are for the position, the more you’ll need to rely on the gang leaders to maintain their interests and even increase their profit.

“You are the ‘greatest common divisor’ between the outside world and the gangs. You were coincidentally dragged into this scheme, but you killed the Vortex, prevented the lair from being destroyed, and even gained Jin Wanhao’s legacy. The position as the committee leader for the Lair Reconstruction Committee can only be for you.

“But I have to give you a reminder. This document might be filled with bloody fingerprints, but it’s not a legal piece of document that will let your words bear weight. You can even say that it’s just a scrap of paper. You have to rely on your strength and performance in the future for them to listen to you.

“I believe that plenty of the gang members, including the senior gang members of Golden Tooth, think of you solely as an image spokesperson and a mascot. They gave you this position for you to clean up the mess, that’s all. We have to rely on ourselves to see whether we can really gain the control that Jin Wanhao had through the Lair Reconstruction Committee!”

“I understand, that’s only natural.” Meng Chao grinned and spread his fingers before he slowly curled his hand into a fist. It was as if he was holding an invisible ball of fire. “The old foxes have been in the lair for decades. They’re certain that I was just lucky to be able to inherit Jin Wanhao’s legacy. Even though I’ve learned Celestial Tyrant’s Star Shattering Slash, I can only use it to fight in battlefields. I don’t know how to manage the lair and the secrets behind it.

“They could hang me up like I’m some golden signboard and carry out illegal dealings in my name. In fact, they could become even more fearless and do worse things. In any case, no matter what happens, they can just shove me to the front, because I’m the committee leader of the Lair Reconstruction Committee.

“In their eyes, I’m just a university student in my early twenties who is pretty good at martial arts and intelligent to some degree. As long as they flatter me properly and use riches and women to blind my sight, they can toy with me however they want.

“Heh, unfortunately, these old foxes would never have expected that we have a trump card called A’Ji in our hands. Besides…”

Besides, only half of Meng Chao’s soul was that of a native university student, the other half was of a true veteran from apocalyptic times!

Compared with the schemes and deceit between the races in the Other World, the tricks from the gangs were just child’s play to him.

“Don’t worry, Big Sis Ya. Before long, we will definitely deliver a major ‘surprise’ to the gang leaders.” Meng Chao grinned and said, “No matter what, we have a good start. It’s worth a small celebration. There’s no need for you to be so troubled and think so hard over it, right?”

Lu Siya frowned a little. “Do I look like I’m very troubled and thinking hard over this?”

“Of course, not only do you look troubled and look like you’re thinking hard over it, but you’re also staring at me with a really strange gaze,” Meng Chao said. “Speaking of which, how long has it been since you entered? It can’t be since I laid down in the medical cabin to sleep, right? Have you been watching by the side all this time? That’s too weird!”

“Five minutes. I’ve been in here for five minutes,” Lu Siya said. “And as for why I’ve been staring at you for five minutes, it’s because before I entered, Su Mulian was staring at you with the same posture, same expression, and same gaze. It’s as if she was thinking about something while watching you. I have no idea how long it had been going on.”