Chapter 109

Notice Temporarily unedited, read at your own risk

They didnt have to wait long for the sincerity of Zhang Zhuoyuans apology to be proved with actions.

s.h.i.+ Jin put down his phone in disbelief and turned to look at Lian Jun, who was sitting behind his desk. What did you do? Why did Ruixing suddenly get several profitable government contracts? The government also relaxed many restrictions. Its like they opened the back door for Ruixing

Oh, it happened already? Lian Jun put down the file, took out his mobile phone, and called s.h.i.+ Weichong.

Upon seeing this, s.h.i.+ Jin rushed to the desk and leaned over his shoulder to listen in to their conversation.

Lian Jun raised a hand and flicked the teenagers forehead, then simply put the call on speakerphone. You can begin, he said to s.h.i.+ Weichong. Ill tell Gua Eight and Gua Ten to get in touch with you. What we want is speedit doesnt matter even if you make some big moves, it will be hidden by the government projects.

{No problem, Ive already made the personnel arrangements.} s.h.i.+ Weichongs voice coming from the phones speaker was polite and brisk, completely businesslike.

s.h.i.+ Jin frowned. The personnel arrangements? When did you make it? Didnt I tell you that you have to have a good rest over there and not work too hard? As he spoke, he looked at Lian Jun inquiringly.

When did you get in touch with s.h.i.+ Weichong? Why didnt you tell me?

Understanding his silent question, Lian Jun explained, Its not that I was hiding this from you. You were still undergoing the military training at that time so I couldnt tell you, and then I forgot.

It turned out to be like this. s.h.i.+ Jin could reluctantly accept this explanation.

s.h.i.+ Weichong didnt seem to expect s.h.i.+ Jin to be present during the call. After a moment of stunned silence, he directly ignored Lian Jun and spoke to s.h.i.+ Jin, his voice much gentler: {How are you, Xiao Jin? I heard that you won first place in the military training, congratulations.}

Xiang Aoting mustve told him s.h.i.+ Jins eyebrows twitched. Thank you. Im very well, but youyou were supposed to take a break, not spend all the time working. Rest is very important. He gave Lian Jun a glance full of meaning.

Lian Juns mouth twitched, and he reached up to pinch s.h.i.+ Jins cheek.

After his youngest brother showed so much concern and care about him, s.h.i.+ Weichongs voice warmed completely. {Dont worry, Im taking things easy, and the doctors here keep an eye on me. By the way, your birthday is coming up. How do you plan to celebrate it this year? Do you want to have a birthday party? Yujing wants to throw you one.}

A birthday party?

s.h.i.+ Jin was surprised to realize that his birthday was indeed approaching again. He glanced at Lian Jun, who was watching him quietly, and replied, The birthday party is I probably wont be in B city at the time, but thank you. After Im back, Ill invite everyone for a meal. I hope you will be able to come too, Big Brother, so we can have a proper get-together.

As expected, its like this after all.

s.h.i.+ Weichong was a little disappointed, but he quickly cheered up again. {Alright, then lets do it like this. The weather is getting colder, so remember to dress warmly.}

You too, Big Brother, s.h.i.+ Jin said, then fell silent, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

Since Xu Jies incident, his brothers att.i.tude towards him gradually changed, becoming sincere and considerate, and a little bit timid. He was still human, after allpretended care and false concern he could ignore and even sneer at, but he found it hard to cruelly reject this sincere goodwill.

And The memory of Xiang Aoting carrying him piggyback out of the training grounds during the military training flashed through his mind. He curled and opened his fingers, a little distracted. Ignoring the problem was never a solutiononly by communicating properly could he completely untie the knots in his heart.

Should he give his brothers a chance to truly reconcile with him? Maybe if he truly understood them, he could figure out at what distance he should keep them But could a broken relations.h.i.+p really be mended? And, he was not the original s.h.i.+ Jindid he have any right to interfere in his relations.h.i.+p with his brothers?

What are you thinking about?

Suddenly, hands cupped his cheeks, and a familiar face appeared right in front of him.

s.h.i.+ Jin returned to his senses. Instead of answering the question, he instinctively glanced down at the phone lying on the desk.

You didnt say anything for a while, so I hung up for you, Lian Jun explained. He turned s.h.i.+ Jins head towards him again and looked into his eyes. If you want to do something, just do it. Dont let yourself have any regrets. No matter what, Ill always stand by you.

Hearing this, s.h.i.+ Jins heart suddenly settled down. It wasnt like him to be so confused about what to do. He clenched his fist. Lets spend this years New Year in the club. They could invite his brothers over while they were at it.

Lian Jun nodded. Okay.

A frown appeared on s.h.i.+ Jins face. On second thought, thats no good after allyou have to spend winter on the island, B city is too cold. Now its critical that you take good care of your body, we cant be careless. He thought for a moment. Lets go to the island for the Spring Festival, but lets stay in the club before that. Well pick a day when all of them are free and invite them over for an early reunion dinner. In this way, they wont lose time to spend with their families. Perfect!

They both knew who in particular s.h.i.+ Jin was referring to here.

Lian Jun smiled and repeated, Okay. Ill go along with whatever you decide.

s.h.i.+ Jin replied to his smile with one of his own. He leaned to the side to give him a peck on the cheek. Then Ill let them know, and tell them to set aside a day for this, he said happily, straightening up and taking out his phone.

Lian Jun watched the teenager cheer up again. He glanced at the mobile phone on his desk and the tablet incessantly flas.h.i.+ng notifications about new files coming in and lowered his gaze to hide his thoughts. If he delayed a little longer, the New Year might pa.s.s quietly after all.

He wasnt going to let s.h.i.+ Jin be disappointed.

The officials and Annihilation suddenly stopped hara.s.sing Tarantula; not long after, a strongly-worded letter from the authorities was sent to the official email address of the leaders of all major underworld organizations. In the letter, they explained in detail the reason for their attack on Tarantula and warned that similar things had better not happen again or the transgressor would suffer the consequences.

Naturally, Lu Shan also received this doc.u.ment. Tarantula went into hiding, but their channel of communication with the authorities was maintained.

{Zhang Zhuoyuan, that son of a b.i.t.c.h! First, he almost beats me to death without a reason, then he tells me Im pardoned but I have to cooperate with him to stabilize the economy of G Province to make up for my misdeeds. What the f.u.c.k, its like everything is my fault! Hes f.u.c.king playing with me!} Lu Shan complained during the video call, spitting out her words like a machine gun. It was obvious she was quite annoyed with the authorities att.i.tude.

s.h.i.+ Jin couldnt help but feel a little embarra.s.sed, because all the shameless demands put forward by the officials were actually suggested by Lian Jun.

Lian Jun was much more thick-skinned than s.h.i.+ Jin. Not batting an eye, he asked, smoothly changing the subject, What about the companies that the government forced to shut down? Have the restrictions been lifted?

{The companies are open again, the port restrictions have been lifted, and the seized goods have been released. Ugh, just remembering this p.i.s.ses me off again. Zhang Zhuoyuan called me in person; first, he apologized, then complained about me breaking the rules, then told me how well the officials treated me since they decided to let me off, then his att.i.tude turned tough and he gave me the stick again. Finally, he promised to give me some tasty benefits if I didnt make a fuss about this matter. You shouldve heard himthe way he put it, someone a bit more naive mightve been taken in,} Lu Shan said, disgusted, then her expression changed to one of puzzlement. {Its odd though, he was never so hard to deal with before. Was he an impostor or something? I almost got fooled by him.}

s.h.i.+ Jin silently raised his tablet to hide his face, afraid that Lu Shan would see his expressionhe had no doubt that it was Lian Jun who advised Zhang Zhuoyuan how to talk with Lu Shan.

Lian Jun remained unmoved, ignoring Lu Shans complaints and only paying attention to the parts he was interested in. Good. Delay for a while before agreeing to Zhang Zhuyuans deal, dont let the situation settle down too quickly. Lets give Snake Fang a chance to see whats happening and the opportunity to react.

{Okay, I get it, Ill drag my feet. After you burned my warehouses a while ago, Snake Fang took the opportunity to make a lot of trouble for me, even on Formosa. Fortunately, you reminded me to hide everything in advance or I mightve ended up d.a.m.n miserable. Dare to provoke me? See if I dont have their guts for garters!} Lu Shan growled, angry again.

Dont be careless, Lian Jun warned. Snake Fang is not a pushover.

{You kid} Enjoined by her junior, Lu Shan looked a little helpless. {Im your elder, you know? Dont act as if youre some gray-haired grandpa or s.h.i.+ Jin will dislike you. Anyway, thank you for everything. Thanks to your plan, a large number of Tarantulas low-level members managed to let themselves disappear. At long last, the burden on my shoulders lightened a little.}

Its nothing, Lian Jun said, finally losing his expressionless look. Im sorry it made you suffer such heavy financial losses.

Lu Shan waved her hand to dismiss his apology. {Its people that are important, money is nothing compared to that. Alright, Id better get busy, Im gonna run,} she said and hung up.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translators site to get the fastest updates!

When the government not only spared Tarantula but was even going to compensate it, the situation in the underworld changed again. The moment the news was known, the leaders of Epoch and Meridian Gate immediately withdrew from G Province, without even bothering to contact Snake Fang.

Zhang Zhuoyuan, that coward! Xi Fan, Snake Fangs deputy leader, cursed. He looked at the tall, thin man sitting opposite with eyes closed in thought, and said anxiously, What should we do, Boss? I dont know what sort of luck they have, but Tarantula actually managed to pull through. Now that Meridian Gate and Epoch have left, our alliance plan

Calm down. Yuan Peng, the leader of Snake Fang, opened his eyes and gave his deputy a cold look. The alliance didnt fall through, well just let Tarantula join as well. Dont be short-sightedour real target is Annihilation. The attempt to swallow Tarantula was incidental, just taking advantage of the opportunity.

Xi Fan still looked worried. Youre right, Boss, its just Our newest branches still havent been set up properly, and our ammunition reserves are not enough. Whats more, after Nine Eagles and Phantom collapsed, we absorbed so many of their businesses that were struggling with supplying them all, some goods havent been prepared yet Were desperately lacking fundswe need Tarantulas resources.

Yuan Peng frowned, feeling a little unhappy. Goods and moneythese were the most important factors hindering Snake Fangs growth. If it werent for this, he wouldve long developed Snake Fang to be on par with Annihilation.

He suppressed his displeasure and began thinking. After a while, he asked, Are Tarantula and Zhang Zhuoyuan still negotiating?

Xi Fan nodded. Yes. Lu Shans p.i.s.sed off, and no wonderhow the authorities justified this whole matter is ridiculous. Right now, shes still wrangling with Zhang Zhuoyuan, not even caring that the restrictions on her businesses have been lifted.

If memory serves me right, she had a large s.h.i.+pment of goods detained at the port? Yuan Peng continued to ask.

Xi Fan nodded again. He paused mid-move as a thought struck him, then his eyes lit up. Boss, are you thinking of

I can allow Tarantula to join the alliance, Yuan Peng interrupted him, a cold glint flas.h.i.+ng across his eyes. But before that, it has to be weakened a little. I must occupy the absolute dominant position in the alliance.

If youre seeing this notice, youre reading this chapter on pirate site the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

On a clear autumn afternoon, s.h.i.+ Jin covered Lian Juns legs with a thin blanket and pushed him out of the villa.

Weve been cooped up in the house for more than half a month, and I feel like theres mold growing on my body. Today, we have to go out and relax, s.h.i.+ Jin stretched himself a little, his eyes narrowing in enjoyment as the islands fresh, gentle breeze caressed his face.

Lian Jun turned his wheelchair so that he could look at his lover, and took his hand. The islands economy is mainly dependent on tourism and marine products, and there are many seafood snack bars here. Do you want to have a taste?

Of course I do! Lets go! s.h.i.+ Jin nodded enthusiastically, pus.h.i.+ng Lian Juns wheelchair towards the nearest snack bar.

Gua Two and Gua Six followed behind them, one with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking bored to death as he kept an eye on the surroundings, the other engrossed with scribbling something in a small notebook. Finally, after turning another corner, Gua Two could stand Gua Sixs incessant mutter no longer and s.n.a.t.c.hed the notebook out of his hand. The heck are you doing? You sound like something out of a horror movie.

Gua Six hurriedly s.n.a.t.c.hed the notebook back. Dont treat it so roughly, he said, smoothing the pages carefully. Im making a list of things to prepare for Jun-shaos wedding, stop bothering me.

Jun-shaos wedding? Gua Twos voice rose sharply, attracting the attention of tourists and residents pa.s.sing by.

What are you shouting about like a fool! Gua Six smacked him on the back of the head. If you do this again, Ill ask Gua One to come over and send you back to guard the house! He motioned for the tourists and residents to continue doing whatever they were doing, then glanced at s.h.i.+ Jin and Lian Jun walking ahead. Seeing that they hadnt been disturbed, he let out a sigh of relief and said, lowering his voice, Jun-shao has proposed to s.h.i.+-shao. Isnt it normal for me to prepare for this? You should take things more seriously, too, and help me collect information, such as what kind of wedding s.h.i.+-shao would prefer, and so on.

This gave Gua Two such a scare that the cigarette fell from his mouth. Face scrunched up, he said, Arent you hurrying too much? Jun-shao said, s.h.i.+ Jin has to reach the legal marriage age before they even start considering marriage, and thats still three or four years away. If you start preparations already and the trends change in the meantime, wont all those things you prepared be pa.s.s?

This was a problem Gua Six hadnt considered before. As he looked at the densely written notebook in his hand, his expression changed several times, finally settling back on the determination. Then Ill focus on the parts less depending on fas.h.i.+on and make several alternative plans. At any rate, its never a mistake to start preparing early. Im pretty idle anyway, so it would be nice to have something to busy myself with.

Pretty idle Thinking how busy he and the others were, Gua Two choked. Support staff has it good he mumbled weakly.

Gua Six glanced at him expressionlessly. Want me to trade duties with you? he asked.

No, no, how could I let an esteemed elder toil on the front line? Just leave the sweat labor to us young people, Gua Two hurriedly waved his hand. As if he would want to stay in the rear and deal with all that boring, troublesome logistics work!

Gua Six snorted and turned away from him with disdain. As he looked at s.h.i.+ Jin and Lian Jun, who were standing in front of a snack stall, his expression warmed up in an instant. He watched them for a moment with a fatherly expression, then suddenly jumped up. Oh no, I forgot to ask about Jun-shaos dietary restrictions, he said anxiously, digging out his phone to call Uncle Long. Even if those snacks are prepared by our own people, Jun-shao still shouldnt eat them randomly.

Calm down, s.h.i.+ Jins on it. Gua Two put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, motioning towards s.h.i.+ Jin, who took out a list from his pocket and was looking through it. When it comes to taking care of Jun-shao, none of us is as attentive as s.h.i.+ Jin.

When Gua Six looked at s.h.i.+ Jin, he saw that not only did the young man check the list, but also approached the shop owner and began asking in detail about the snacks ingredients. His heart settling down, he squeezed the notebook in his hand and said, It seems that the only way I can repay s.h.i.+-shao is to give him a grand wedding!

Gua Two took back his hand, his expression difficult to describe in a few words. Youd better not let Jun-shao hear you because you kind of sound like you want to dig his corner.

Gua Six ignored him.

Completely unaware that someone was already planning his wedding, s.h.i.+ Jin put away the dietary restriction list and walked back to Lian Jun with a bunch of snacks. He handed one to his lover, saying, You can eat this type of snack, but its very oily, so you can only eat one skewer.

Okay, Lian Jun said compliantly, urging him in turn, You shouldnt eat too much, either, or you wont be able to eat anymore. Theres a lot of snack stalls here.

Dont worry, I have a good appet.i.te, I can eat super much! s.h.i.+ Jin replied confidently.

They ate as they strolled around. The more of the surroundings s.h.i.+ Jin saw, the more he sighed with feeling. The scenery here is really nice, and the air is good as well. I remember that Gua Six said that all the residents within three blocks from the villa are our people. This is amazing. With the branch members integrated into the local population to such a degree, their livelihood would be ensured even if they break away from Annihilation. It was hard to imagine that the roadside stall owners and the locals pa.s.sing by were in actuality all members of an underworld organization who could pull out weapons and engage in combat at a moments notice if need be.

Within the range of three blocks seems to be quite a large area Are there any ordinary people living here? he asked curiously.

Lian Jun shook his head. No, but some of the organization members families and orphans live here as well. This island is in a good location and has a pleasant climate, as well as a high level of security. Its about the most suitable place for them to live.

s.h.i.+ Jin glanced around, at the members of the underworld who looked and acted no different from ordinary people, and couldnt help but lean down and give Lian Jun a kiss, exclaiming, My Darling is absolutely amazing! Who couldve expected that it was possible for an underworld organization to look like this?

Swishfrom the tourists wandering around to the owners and employees of the roadside businesses, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare at this scene, expressions foolish.

Lian Jun hurriedly put his hand on s.h.i.+ Jins head to prevent him from looking up for a moment, at the same time glancing warningly around his extremely-sucking-at-acting subordinates. When they all looked away, he gave s.h.i.+ Jin a kiss on the forehead and let him go. Im not amazing. If it wasnt for me, some of the people living here would have never lost their loved ones.

That isnt something anyone wouldve been able to help. s.h.i.+ Jin sighed quietly, then straightened and continued pus.h.i.+ng Lian Juns wheelchair forward. In your position, what you have achieved is already very good.

Lian Jun didnt reply, only reaching up to find and grip his lovers hand.

The range of three blocks really was a big area; it took s.h.i.+ Jin and Lian Jun the whole afternoon to walk around it all. The outside of the boundary was bustling with noise and excitement, as apparently a film crew was there to look for a suitable shooting location, attracting a large crowd of tourists. However, s.h.i.+ Jin didnt go over but sensibly pushed Lian Jun back to the villa once they finished strolling through the territory under their control. After that, he continued to accompany Lian Jun, studying while his lover was busy working and never asked to go out to play again.

Two days later, finally, there was news from Lu ShanSnake Fang was moving. It seemed that they were planning to rob the s.h.i.+pment of goods Tarantula was about to move from the port.

Although your goods are valuable, its not nearly enough to solve Snake Fangs budget shortfall, Lian Jun a.n.a.lyzed calmly. Pay attention to Formosa, Snake Fang might make a move there. Ill send Gua Three and Gua Five over, you can ask them to help if necessary. Theres no need to stall anymore, so you should accept Zhang Zhuoyuans terms and work with him to stabilize the economy of G province. Also, contact the leaders of Epoch and Meridian Gate and take the initiative to discuss an alliance with them. Try to make your relations.h.i.+p closer.

Lu Shan agreed and hung up, in a hurry since she had much to do.

Finally done with work, Lian Jun put down his phone, ma.s.saging the bridge of his nose. Instinctively, he glanced towards the place where s.h.i.+ Jin usually curled up to his homework, only to see an empty sofa. Surprised, he held still for a moment, then maneuvered his wheelchair from behind the desk, eyebrows knitting.

The study was empty, the living room was empty, the kitchen was empty, the bedroom was empty, and the garden outside was empty. No one had any idea where s.h.i.+ Jin had gone. Lian Juns frown grew deeper and deeper. Suddenly, he thought of something and turned his wheelchair towards the bedroom again.

He pa.s.sed through the bedroom to go out on the veranda, then crossed the veranda to follow the raised wooden walkway leading to the beach.

At the end of the walkway, s.h.i.+ Jin stood alone, watching the place where the beach met the sea. For some reason, his silhouette against the sky looked very lonely.

When Lian Jun saw this, his heart tightened painfully. The hands turning the wheels stopped, then immediately sped up their movements. Once he was close enough, he got up from the wheelchair and hugged s.h.i.+ Jins waist from behind. Tightening his embrace, he asked, Do you want to go play on the sea? Ill go with you.

s.h.i.+ Jin came back to his senses and turned his head to look at him. You came all the way here? he asked with a smile. Have you finished talking with Aunt Lu?

Lian Jun felt even more guilty upon hearing his words. Theyd been on the island for so long already, but they only went out once, upon s.h.i.+ Jins request, and even then, they didnt leave Annihilations territory. Heart aching, he said, Im sorry, Ive been busy with work and neglected you.

Neglected Are you overthinking things again? s.h.i.+ Jin saw through his lovers thoughts at a glance. He smiled and gestured in the direction hed been looking towards. Im here to watch the excitement. Gua Six said that a film crew came here walking along the beach. They liked the look of our private beach and wanted to rent it to shoot a scene of fighting and falling into the sea. Gua Two directly refused, but the crew didnt give up and is still waiting outside.

A film crew?

Translators Notes:

Youd better not let Jun-shao hear you because you sound like you want to dig his corner