Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 943 - 5: The Gathering

Chapter 943: Chapter 5: The Gathering

Although she knew that Bi Yun was mostly joking, when she saw Tang Zheng, Aunt Rong truly did feel a stir of emotion, especially at the moment of the handshake, when a long-absent impulse surged to her heart, causing it to beat uncontrollably.

"Please, have a seat," Aunt Rong picked up a teacup and placed it in front of Tang Zheng, pouring him some tea and asking with a smile, "University student? Or are you working? Bi Yun always mentions you."

"Aunt Rong, I’ll do it myself," Tang Zheng leaned forward, took the cup, and before he could answer, Xu Biyun already chimed in.

"He’s a student alright, but he skips classes to make money all the time. He could probably buy two or three Alaskas by now, right?" Xu Biyun rested her chin on her hand and thought for a bit. For Conquerors, money really isn’t an issue; even if you’re a female gamer, your assets could exceed two billion – and of course, it’s all in hard assets like gold and diamonds since Trojan World currency can’t be brought back.

"Even a billionaire couldn’t buy Alaska, right?" The man who had been sitting quietly by the side was startled and looked at Tang Zheng skeptically.

"Hehe, are you teasing your Aunt Rong because she doesn’t know where Alaska is?" Although she didn’t believe it, Aunt Rong looked at Tang Zheng again, this time with a hint of eagerness in her eyes.

For the moment, the young man before her met Aunt Rong’s aesthetic standards. She was a wealthy woman and didn’t mind keeping a pretty boy around, but of course, it would be perfect if Tang Zheng was financially well-off.

"Believe it or not," Xu Biyun gave the man across from her a disdainful look, hoping he’d get the hint and back off, then glanced over at her handheld gaming device and cried out, "My war god is almost dead!"

"I’m just a poor student," Tang Zheng took a sip of tea, saw the pleading look from Bi Yun, and sighed, adding another comment, "But if you ever run into trouble, you can come to me."

His statement was unassuming, and his tone was light, but the man could sense the underlying assertiveness, the smirk dying on his lips as it approached. Watching Tang Zheng sit there casually sipping his tea, for some reason, he just could not utter the mocking remark he had intended.

"Then I’ll really have to trouble you in the future," Aunt Rong tried to lighten the mood, but obviously with a certain intent. She stood up to refill Tang Zheng’s tea, and as she bent over, her cashmere sweater neckline slipped, revealing a glimpse of her snowy neck.

"Thank you," Tang Zheng looked towards Bi Yun, helpless, "Stop playing games and find a real boyfriend. Do you expect your handheld to keep you company for life?"

"It can, finding a boyfriend is too troublesome, games are easier to deal with," Xu Biyun was carefree, completely unconcerned – after all, constantly experiencing Trojan Horse Games made all of reality’s little troubles seem insignificant for a Conqueror.

The refusal was too obvious. If a man stayed any longer, that would be utterly clueless, so he got up to leave.

"Xiao Gao, next time I’ll introduce you to someone suitable," Aunt Rong sent this friend’s nephew off, offering words of comfort, but her thoughts were already drifting to Tang Zheng, figuring out how to continue building a connection.

"Sorry about that, Bi Yun is thoughtless," Tang Zheng stood by the door and apologized.

"No need, Bi Yun and I aren’t suited for each other either. Please wish her happiness for me." The man had been somewhat moody, but upon hearing Tang Zheng’s apology he felt relieved, displaying his broad-mindedness.

"What a good man!" Aunt Rong murmured, appreciating Tang Zheng’s thoughtfulness for others; she liked this kind of gentleness.

"Indeed," Tang Zheng thought she was talking about the man she had just seen off. "But I do need to have a serious talk with Bi Yun."

"Silly boy," Aunt Rong chuckled, about to enter the tea room, yet she stumbled and staggered a step, falling towards Tang Zheng’s back and instinctively grabbing onto him.

Tang Zheng had not expected such an incident; if he dodged, the woman would certainly fall, so after a moment of hesitation, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and a pair of full breasts pressed against his back.

Aunt Rong didn’t immediately stand up but hugged him for several seconds, noticing that the man’s clothing was thin, allowing her to directly feel the strong vitality radiating from his body.

Xu Biyun snickered, gestured a "V" sign at Tang Zheng, picked up her handbag, and walked out of the tea room, "I have to go, you two chat," she said.

"That impudent girl," Aunt Rong’s face was flushed, but after flicking her hair, she calmed down and casually picked a topic to talk about, obviously not ready to wrap up the meeting.

This time it was Tang Zheng’s turn to feel miserable. Aunt Rong was still charming, but unfortunately not his type, and this kind of enthusiasm made him uncomfortable.

"What’s wrong? Dislike me because I’m old and not shining anymore? Don’t want to bother with Aunt Rong?" Aunt Rong threw Tang Zheng a glance and sat beside him. A good man like him must have many women chasing after him; she felt she should be more proactive.

"No," said Tang Zheng, smiling, but inwardly complaining about Xu Biyun – ’Dead Taoist friend rather than a poor one,’ he definitely wouldn’t help her next time.

Gradually, under Aunt Rong’s guidance, the conversation took on an ambiguous tone. Her thigh brushed up against Tang Zheng’s without any trace, a tentative move. Tang Zheng’s response was quick; he stood up immediately.

"Aunt Rong, I really have to go."

"Oh, come on, stay for lunch?" Aunt Rong quickly got up and tried to pull Tang Zheng back, obviously planning to spend the entire day with him.

"I have plans!" Tang Zheng pulled out a thousand yuan and put it on the table, breaking free from Aunt Rong and heading out the door.

"Hey, no rush, there’s no need for that much money." Aunt Rong called out a few times, but it was in vain—she initially wanted to chase after him, but after a few steps, she turned back, picked up the money from the table, and pocketed it. Just having some tea would only cost two hundred; if she left, the waiter would surely take the excess as a tip.

Seeing that Aunt Rong didn’t pursue him, Tang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. He intentionally left more money than necessary just to hold up Aunt Rong.

"Thank goodness she isn’t a woman who regards money as dirt." His strategy successful, Tang Zheng hailed a taxi and left.

"Bi Yun, you’ve got me into trouble." Tang Zheng dialed the number of the gamer girl, only to hear a burst of laughter from the other end.

"Don’t grumble about being blessed. Aunt Rong might be a bit old, but she’s got a good figure, definitely enough to satisfy you." Xu Biyun teased Tang Zheng and couldn’t help but burst into laughter halfway through her sentence.

"Alright, have you joined up with Qin Yan? I’m on my way over there too." Tang Zheng didn’t want to continue this topic.

"We’re in an industrial area on the outskirts. Sister Qin Yan bought this place." Xu Biyun mentioned a location, and Tang Zheng heard other people’s voices over the phone, things like whether Tang Zheng was coming or not.

Twenty-five minutes later, Tang Zheng arrived, looking through the iron gate into the interior. The place had once been a cement factory. After it shut down, it was transformed into a warehouse, and after Qin Yan bought it, it became even more desolate. Of course, that suited them perfectly for undetected daily training.

With a leap, Tang Zheng jumped over the four-meter-high iron gate, walked down the cement road and observed the layout. Barely a minute later, a mechanical dragonfly assembled from tin sheets and various electronic components suddenly flew in front of him.

"Please come this way." A slightly stiff mechanical voice sounded, followed by the dragonfly flapping its wings and flying off to lead the way.

"Interesting, whose ability is this?" Tang Zheng noticed the dragonfly had large eyes. Along with the imaging system, he figured it probably had location-tracking capabilities as well.

After turning left and right for about five hundred meters, Tang Zheng arrived in front of a warehouse. Just as he was about to push the door, it opened by itself.

"You finally remembered to come see us!" Yu Manli greeted him with a smile, teasingly. Shen Qingshuang and Zuo Yi, not very familiar with Tang Zheng yet, greeted him proactively.

"I was tied up with other things before." Tang Zheng offered a cursory excuse.

Pang Meiqin wasn’t there. Well, it figured that the beautiful leg stewardess wouldn’t get along with these folks. It was unlikely she’d show up to catch this kind of mundane vibe. Old Soldier, Xu Liangmao, and Lu Fan were spending time with their families; Dantai had his work; as for Ruan Feifei, the proud anchor would never waste time with these folks. She was using the wealth gained from Trojan World to travel around the globe, enjoying a refined life.

"Heh, you must have been tied up with a woman, unable to get out of bed, right?" Sha Ou walked up to Tang Zheng, threw an arm over his shoulder, and chuckled in a lowered voice, "Bi Yun told us everything. But man, you were so quick—finished in less than half an hour? Want to go to Trojan and get some nutrition supplements?"

"Care to have a one-on-one?" Tang Zheng flashed the middle finger at Sha Ou, "I’m known as the ’hundred-men slayer’ after all."

"Sure, I’ll treat you tonight, find you a hundred babes, just don’t come crying and begging for mercy later on!" Sha Ou was bold and yet had a keen eye, getting closer to Tang Zheng was an important affair for him.

"Only a hundred? Looking down on me, huh? At the very least, make it two hundred. Zuo Yi, Qing Shuang, you guys okay with it? If you’re afraid of your wives, I’ll talk to them." Tang Zheng didn’t mind cracking some bawdy jokes with everyone; after all, he didn’t want to be aloof as a group leader, being approachable was his aim.

"Bullshit!" Zuo Yi gave Tang Zheng the middle finger while Shen Qingshuang smiled and shrugged.

Ai Yixin stayed in the corner, glancing at Sha Ou’s back before lowering her head again to clean the firearms.

"Tch, men never take things seriously!" Yu Manli, obviously more comfortable with this kind of talk than Qin Yan and Bai Guo, easily mixed in with them, "I have a friend who runs a club, are you guys interested in checking it out?"

"Won’t it be too much trouble?" Sha Ou glanced at Yu Manli, somewhat interested. This woman, who was a real wealthy before entering the game, naturally meant a high-end club.

Zuo Yi also showed interest. As ordinary people, they only heard of such places and were keen to experience them firsthand.

Shen Qingshuang knew this woman was courting favor, but he would only smile until Tang Zheng made his stance clear.

Jing Xiang’s cheeks flushed red as she chose to remain silent, staying with Ai Yixin and Gu Xueqi.

"Just get a membership card, it’s not like you’re short on money." Yu Manli laughed, turning to look at Qin Yan and Xin Lan, "Let’s go somewhere else. We women should also know how to pamper ourselves."

Yu Manli indeed could make people feel refreshed and was even more adept at currying favor, using another method to solidify her status in the team. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to recommend it with votes at Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)