As Yue Hengyi and Shen Feng just walked out of the clinic, they immediately saw people returning from outside the city, driving carts laden with meat. It appeared to be a group returning from hunting mutated beasts. The man leading them, in his thirties or forties, rode a horse at the front, with over a dozen ox carts following behind him. Numerous cheerful mercenaries accompanied them.
"Lord Yu is back, truly impressive! He only acts when necessary, and when he does, he secures so much meat. Truly remarkable!"
"With Lord Yu in the east of the city, who dares to act recklessly? It's thanks to Lord Yu that we can live and work in peace!"
Yu Muhe, riding his horse and hearing the flattery from the surrounding crowd, couldn't help but feel proud. He was now the leader of the largest mercenary group in the east of the city, commanding over a thousand mercenaries. After stabilizing the order, anyone who saw him had to address him as "Lord."
Upon arriving outside his own hotel, Yu Muhe immediately instructed, "Quickly send the inedible mutated beasts into the city to exchange for food coupons, and the edible ones to the warehouse!"
Shen Feng, hearing this, couldn't help but turn back and say in a low voice, "Competing for business? Just wait and see!"
Yue Hengyi couldn't understand what Shen Feng was talking about. The other person had just opened a hotel; how could that possibly steal Shen Feng's business? Shen Feng had clearly stated his business was selling fruit. Did he have other ventures?
Shen Feng soon led Yue Hengyi towards the city gate. Yue Hengyi, puzzled, caught up to Shen Feng and asked, "You said your business was stolen, what did you mean by that?"
Shen Feng explained, "Nonsense, it's because these guys are evading taxes. Originally, the mutated beasts killed by mercenaries were to be sent to the city's meat processing plant. I could collect taxes from that. But these guys are sending the unusable ones into the city, so how can I collect taxes?"
"Damn it, a skinflint!" Yue Hengyi cursed upon hearing Shen Feng's explanation. He had thought Shen Feng ran a meat shop. Now it seemed Shen Feng was figuring out how to exploit the people below.
"What do you know? This concerns whether the food coupons in Yuzhou can be used normally. Originally, the city lord's mansion decided the prices. Now that these people control the meat supply, they can avoid using food coupons, and it's not easy to collect taxes outside the city!" Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi.
Yue Hengyi didn't quite understand what Shen Feng was saying. After all, he was just a high school student, and he hadn't studied for two years. He had forgotten most of the knowledge he learned in school. At this moment, he didn't quite grasp the matter Shen Feng was discussing.
The most important thing was the battle with the esper abilities from the Tianlong Bureau. Shen Feng could clearly see this matter, so he took Yue Hengyi into the city, preparing to contact others.
...
Chang Jianyi also secretly entered the city with a group of people that day. After a trip out, she brought back eight espers. Chu Chaoyan was also with them. After several days of travel, both of them looked very haggard.
A total of ten people, dressed in cloaks, walked through the streets. Many people were looking in their direction. The attire of these ten individuals was too strange, making it impossible not to notice.
"It seems our trip to fetch reinforcements was not discovered. Yuzhou is still very peaceful!" Chang Jianyi, seeing Yuzhou looking much the same as before, said in a low voice to Chu Chaoyan beside her.
Chu Chaoyan also looked up at the familiar streets and then sighed, "Alas, I wonder what this place will look like after the battle!"
Chang Jianyi fell silent for a moment and led the group towards the direction of the Fengshen Palace. The world was unpredictable. She never expected that the crisis Yuzhou faced would come from its own people. The zombies couldn't destroy Yuzhou, and the mutated beasts couldn't breach Yuzhou. Now, at the most dangerous moment, they encountered humans!
Chang Jianyi led her people to the side of a secret passage but discovered many footprints on the ground. She immediately frowned, "Strange, these came out of the passage. Could someone have discovered this passage?"
"Then let's hurry inside! Otherwise, Sister Du might be in danger!" Chu Chaoyan said urgently.
While searching for reinforcements, the two had entrusted the affairs of Yuzhou to Du Xinshi during this time. However, she was utterly incapable of fighting. If she encountered danger, she would surely die!
Thus, Chang Jianyi quickly pressed the password, opened the door, and led the group into the passage, eventually arriving in the castle's basement.
"You're back? You brought people back so quickly, that's amazing!" Du Xinshi, seeing Chang Jianyi and her group return in the basement, was immediately delighted and hurried forward to welcome them.
Seeing that Du Xinshi was unharmed, Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling that Du Xinshi's safety was the best news.
At this moment, a woman lifted the hood from her head, revealing crisscrossing scars on her face. She stepped forward and said, "Cousin, it's been a long time. I heard Yuzhou was in danger, so I rushed here with my people immediately!"
Du Xinshi looked and saw it was indeed her cousin Lin Ying. She quickly stepped forward, took her hand, and said joyfully, "I'm so happy you could come to help me. The people from the Tianlong Bureau are simply too overbearing, and we don't know what to do!"
Lin Ying smiled and said, "It's alright, with me here, the problem will definitely be solved. And my cute little nephew needs to be rescued too!"
Speaking of this matter, Du Xinshi also quickly said, "Oh, right, Vice City Lord, yesterday I used your name to send people out to search, and we successfully found Chang Haojie. He is currently receiving treatment in the castle, but Xiaolong and Xiaohu have not been found yet!"
Upon receiving this news, Chang Jianyi was immediately overjoyed and said, "Xiaojie has been found, that's truly good news. I'll go visit him right away. Oh, Chaoyan, please make arrangements for these friends to stay at Fengshen Palace. Do not neglect them."
After speaking, Chang Jianyi immediately went to visit her brother. As for arranging for everyone to stay, that was left to Chu Chaoyan. Chu Chaoyan, with no choice, could only arrange for everyone to reside within the castle. Du Xinshi no longer needed to stay in the basement. She had hidden in the basement earlier to avoid attention, but now that Chang Jianyi had returned, she no longer needed to stay underground.
When the two went to other places to recruit reinforcements, they first found Wang Aoye. After explaining the matter, Wang Aoye immediately brought two espers to Yuzhou to help, provided they received enough evolution base. It seemed he also needed to cultivate espers. Then they found Li Xiangkang. Li Xiangkang, who resided in Yangzhou, also brought two espers. Finally, they went to the Dabie Mountains and found Mu Ying. Mu Ying had originally planned to come out of seclusion after the world was at peace, but with her cousin in danger, she had no choice but to come out with the only esper by her side.
"Thank you all for traveling such a long distance to help Yuzhou. The evolution base we promised you earlier will not be reduced by a single bit. However, for the next two days, do not leave Fengshen Palace, otherwise, you might alert the enemy. Once this crisis is resolved, we will personally arrange for you to tour the scenic spots of Yuzhou!" Chu Chaoyan said earnestly.
Wang Aoye smiled and said, "It's fine, is it really a problem to not be able to go out for two days? No problem, we will definitely do it!"
Li Xiangkang also said, "This is naturally not a problem, but after the battle is over, you must remember your promise. At that time, I will have a good time playing in Yuzhou!"
Chang Jianyi rushed to her brother's room. Chang Haojie's body was now wrapped in thick bandages. His limbs had been broken, and he had been severely whipped. The bruises and wounds on his body were countless. When the doctor first saw Chang Haojie's tragic state, they couldn't believe their eyes. To survive such inhuman torture was truly not easy. Most people, subjected to such torment, would have died long ago!
"Xiaojie, it's your sister, how are you now?" Chang Jianyi asked quickly.
Chang Haojie gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, "It's all my fault, I was captured by the enemy, and then the enemy impersonated me and captured Xiaolong and Xiaohu!"
"It's good that you're alright, focus on healing. By the way, do you know where Xiaolong and Xiaohu are?" Chang Jianyi asked urgently.
Now that her brother was safe, Chang Jianyi was still worried about her son's safety. Her son had been captured for a week. During this time, she hadn't seen him and didn't know how he was doing. He was a very sensitive child who cried easily; she wondered if he was being comforted when he cried.
Chang Haojie shook his head and said, "I don't know. We were locked up separately. I have a request, Sister, you must agree to it!"
"What is it? Between siblings, what's with requests?" Chang Jianyi said with a forced smile.
"Give me evolution base, I want to evolve, I want to become a Tier 3 esper, and I want to participate in the battle!" Chang Haojie said quickly.
"Silly child, who told you to fight? You just rest well, it's fine!" Chang Jianyi immediately denied her brother's idea upon hearing this.
But Chang Haojie said seriously, "I know everything. Sister Du told me yesterday. I know you've invited a large group of espers to help, and tomorrow is the day of the battle! I'm an esper too, and I want to fight. This is the only thing I can do now!"
Chang Jianyi was cornered by her brother to this extent and could only nod in agreement, saying, "Alright, I'll have someone send the evolution base. After you consume it, your injuries will also recover directly. However, tomorrow's battle is too dangerous, I'm worried you'll get hurt!"
Chang Jianyi knew how terrifying tomorrow's battle would be. Their side could barely muster twenty espers, while the Tianlong Bureau had twenty-two espers. A battle involving over forty espers, on such a massive scale, would have devastating consequences, making it almost impossible for anyone to protect themselves!
Therefore, even after evolving, Chang Haojie would only be a Tier 3 esper, having a negligible impact on the battle situation. He could easily die if not careful. Chang Jianyi actually didn't want her brother to get hurt, but Chang Haojie's attitude was exceptionally firm.
"It's alright, we will definitely win. At critical moments, someone will help!" Chang Haojie thought of what happened last night and knew someone was helping him, and it was likely Yue Hengyi. Thus, Chang Haojie firmly believed they would achieve ultimate victory.
"Heh, at this time, who else would help us? Forget it, let's not talk about this. I still need to discuss strategies with others later. You should rest quickly. Tomorrow will be the day to see the real outcome!" Chang Jianyi found her brother's words naive. The danger Yuzhou faced now came from the Tianlong Bureau, meaning from headquarters, from the official channels. And now she had gathered the strongest forces in the civilian sector. Where else would there be anyone to help?
And Chang Jianyi's plan for the past few days was simple: capture some hostages from the Tianlong Bureau and exchange them for her children. She believed that as long as they could win, the Tianlong Bureau would have no choice but to agree to her terms.
However, the prerequisite for exchanging hostages was their victory. Only by defeating these arrogant people from the Tianlong Bureau could the crisis in Yuzhou truly be resolved.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi felt the burden on her shoulders growing heavier. The threat from humans was truly terrifying because no one could understand what was going on in people's minds. Whether it was calculation or good wishes, only they themselves knew.
"Only by defeating the Tianlong Bureau can Yuzhou truly be saved!" Chang Jianyi said slowly.