Chapter 6: Nightmare 7

  With the paving of money, everything seems so smooth. The more backward areas are prone to corruption, but for those who walk between black and white, corruption is not a bad thing, such as Peng Haoming.

  When Peng Haoming took over Zhu Meier's job, he knew that Zhu Meier needed him, and Zhu Meier also had what Peng Haoming needed.

  Zhu Meier needs someone with real power and loyalty to help her get rid of Xinyi. But Peng Haoming knows that his "power" is just a facade, far from the level she wants.

  A deal only makes sense when both parties have equivalent strength and complement each other, so that both can win together. Zhu Meier deeply understands this principle, and Peng Haoming is not stupid either. Ability is also a part of one's strength, which can make up for the lack of money and resources. He quietly brought people to Zhu Meier who she couldn't bring herself, and Peng Haoming saw the surprise in Zhu Meier's eyes.

  "Brother Ming is indeed formidable..." Zhu Meier exclaimed in surprise, her eyes filled with tender affection: "You've worked hard."

  "It's not that hard, I'm a bit puzzled, Mei Er has hidden dragons and crouching tigers under her command, how can't they even do such simple things?" Peng Haoming shrugged calmly.

  "You indeed bring me endless surprises." Zhu Meier waved her hand at the servant, letting the servant take Zhao Gongfu down to rest first. She wanted to spend some more time alone with Peng Haoming.

  "Let's go inside and talk." Zhu Meier extended an invitation to Peng Haoming, her bedroom up until now only Lin Chaohui could enter alone.

  Peng Haoming didn't move his feet, Zhu Meier asked: "What? Are you afraid I'll eat you?"

  "That won't happen, I've been through dragon's lair and tiger's den, what else can I be afraid of? It's just that entering Mei'er's boudoir as a man might not be very convenient."

  Zhu Meier naturally heard the boastful tone in Peng Haoming's words, which sounded simple to her, but was not that easy to do. Not only did one need to grasp the timing accurately, but more importantly, one needed the skill to bribe the border guards. Now it seemed that Peng Haoming's performance had exceeded Zhu Meier's expectations. That sentence, in her ears, was merely a signal to herself - I can give you even more surprises...

  "What's inconvenient?" Zhu Meier's eyes were full of emotions, and Peng Haoming could only go along with the situation, walking into her bedroom. Peng Haoming looked around the tastefully decorated room, constantly praising Zhu Meier's taste and vision.

  Flattering a woman does no harm, especially one who holds great power over life and death.

  Zhu Meier poured a glass of wine for Peng Haoming: "Cheers!"

  "Why dry cup?" Peng Haoming held up his wine glass and said to Zhu Meier.

  "Hmm... for our future..." Zhu Meier's words were laced with underlying meaning.

  "The future... is unpredictable." Peng Haoming said.

  This made Zhu Meier somewhat disappointed, and she asked: "Then why did you make a toast?"

  "A toast to the money we're about to make..." Peng Haoming's wine glass lightly touched Zhu Meier's, pretending not to see her disappointment, and he downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.

  Zhu Mei'er was somewhat annoyed, putting the wine cup on the table without drinking. Peng Haoming poured himself another cup: "Why aren't you drinking? This cup is to celebrate Mei'er making a big profit again!"

  "Hmm... Ming Ge has a good capacity for wine." Zhu Mei'er hummed, picked up her wine cup and gently swirled it in front of her eyes: "Your subordinate made a mistake..."

  "King Li Cheng?" Peng Haoming seemed unsurprised.

  "If he had half your ability, that would be good." Zhu Meier lightly sipped a mouthful of wine, her beautiful eyes filled with anger as she looked at Peng Haoming.

  "Has he lost Mei's goods again?" Peng Haoming was not afraid, he had already roughly figured out Zhu Mei's personality. If you show fear, she will enjoy that superior pleasure even more. On the contrary, she would be at a loss for words when faced with someone who is calm and composed.

  "Ming Ge seems to care nothing about the lives and deaths of those under him." Zhu Mei'er said coldly.

  "Mei Er, you're wrong. If someone doesn't take responsibility for their own life, why should I have an obligation to care about him? Unless..." Peng Haoming trailed off with a hint of mystery.

  "What's wrong?" Zhu Meier felt more and more puzzled by Peng Haoming.

  "Unless... his life or death is related to my money, a lot of money..." Peng Haoming said slowly, staring at the dark red wine in his glass that looked like blood: "Mei, so is Wang Licheng dead or alive now?"

  "He's still alive, but he exposed my secret passage and killed a policeman." Zhu Mei'er said: "Let's see how Ming Ge is going to make up for this basket."

  "Mei'er you're absolutely right, this little brother really can't be recognized casually..." Peng Haoming joked: "What do you think should be done to make up for it?"

  "It seems now that the water in your mouth is not small either, as for Wang Licheng... it seems I was wrong about him."

  "Don't be impatient, without Wang Licheng, how would you have known me? If you didn't know me, how would you have new channels?"

  "What do you mean?" Zhu Meier seemed to understand something.

  "If I can bring a living person out from there, don't I have the ability to bring things over?" Peng Haoming poured some wine for Zhu Meier: "Meier thinks, is this worth drinking a cup for?"

  "You're indeed a bastard who brings me endless surprises!" Zhu Mei'er's earlier displeasure vanished, and she gazed at Peng Haoming with charming eyes, downing her drink in one gulp.

  "What... Wang Licheng, what are your thoughts?" Zhu Meier asked aloud.

  "Everyone has value to be used... Mei'er, you'd better not rush into things." Peng Haoming heard the implication in her words, but he was confident that he could persuade Zhu Mei'er.

  "Ming Ge is so protective of him, I don't know if he will be grateful to you," Zhu Mei'er said.

  "He only needs to make money for me, that's the greatest gratitude to me." Peng Haoming felt that he should end the conversation quickly, stood up: "After many days of rushing around, I'll go rest first."

  "Everything in the bathroom is ready for you."

  "No, I'm used to using my own." Peng Haoming declined Zhu Meier's kindness: "I think Meier still has a lot of things to do, I'll rest first, you should too." Before Zhu Meier could speak, he pushed open the door and walked out.

  Zhu Meier looked at him disappointedly as he left her, like a wisp of clear wind, and she couldn't catch up no matter what...

  Peng Haoming returned to his room, turned on the shower, and let the hot water wash away the dirt that had accumulated on his body for many days. However, his mind was preoccupied with plans for the future - Wang Licheng couldn't die now. To Peng Haoming, Wang Licheng was a pawn, but even if he died, it had to be a valuable death. At this moment, Peng Haoming had just established himself in Zhu Meier's place, and Lin Chaohui was eyeing him covetously. Moreover, there were undercurrents between Zhu Meier and Xinyi. Earlier, Zhu Meier's words clearly indicated that she wanted to find an opportunity to get rid of Wang Licheng. She was testing Peng Haoming; if Wang Licheng died now, Peng Haoming would be left isolated and helpless, allowing Zhu Meier to manipulate him at will.

  Peng Haoming thought to himself, what other trump cards did he have up his sleeve? Wang Licheng had just revealed Zhu Meier's secret passage, which in some sense was a good thing - she needed new transportation channels, otherwise all her goods would be stockpiled, and if he could provide this channel, then he would have bargaining chips...

  But Zhu Meier has been mixed up for so many years, she can't possibly not know the importance of transportation channels. Peng Haoming is thinking, whether this chip in his hand is heavy enough or not.

  Peng Haoming suddenly thought that Zhu Meier letting Wang Licheng deliver the goods might not be as simple as it seemed. She was looking for an opportunity to cut off her own arm, and if that was true, then this passage in his hand would be dispensable to Zhu Meier, but Lin Chaohui, who had been eyeing him covetously, would definitely not let him go easily...

  Peng Haoming had not rested well for several days, and his mind was now a mess. No matter how strong the water flow was, it couldn't calm down his high-speed brain...

  He must find enough chips for himself, and suddenly a person flashed in his mind, this person may become a very heavy chip, but how to use him?

  Peng Haoming was at a loss, he didn't like this step-by-step situation, it's a torture for anyone, Peng Haoming could endure this torture, to make money, often need to endure this torture, these complicated threads need time to sort out, and require high processing skills, people in this industry are not easy to deal with, Peng Haoming had just entered the industry, he was still far from making a lot of money.

  Surprise…… Peng Haoming's mind suddenly flashed this word, and there was also a special ambiguity in Zhu Meier's eyes when she looked at him. Yes, at least temporarily, Zhu Meier's ambiguity would make Peng Haoming have no fear for his life. But who can guarantee that Zhu Meier's interest in himself will last how long? Maybe it's just a few days or a few months later, Zhu Meier will get tired of his "strength" that is actually empty inside, and by then all means of compensation will be too late. Peng Haoming now regrets a little, if he had gone along with the situation earlier, maybe things would have been better.

  Peng Haoming is playing a dangerous game, he needs time, and time can prove his strength, but time will also slowly expose his "strength". He thought of the boss, but it's clear that the boss won't give him any help at this time. The boss has his own plans, and Peng Haoming can only rely on himself to prove it, or rather, rely on Zhu Meier's interest in him to drag out the time...

  Peng Haoming was somewhat annoyed and rubbed his head fiercely several times, as if this could make the tangled threads in his mind clear up, but it was all in vain. Suddenly, a person flashed into Peng Haoming's mind, on the shaded path of De Bao Scenic Area, that infinitely familiar yet strange person. He was still so young and full of vitality, but from his demeanor, these years had left mature marks on him. Perhaps not long in the future, they would meet again, but when they met, what should he say to him?

  Soldiers and bandits have no common language. Peng Haoming doesn't remember who once told him this sentence, yes, soldiers catch bandits, bandits hide from soldiers, this cat-and-mouse game has been performed on the world stage for thousands of years, and no one can change this rule!

  Unconsciously, Peng Haoming had been in the bathroom for over an hour. He couldn't think of a better solution and instead made himself even more exhausted. He dried his body and looked at his robust figure in the mirror, sighing and saying to himself: "You, you, why do you have to leave your hometown when you can live a comfortable life?"

  But Peng Haoming understood that he had chosen this path and couldn't turn back... He simply stopped thinking about anything, now he needed to rest, really rest, let his high-speed brain cool down, and then consider what to do next. He put on his clothes, fell onto the bed, it seemed that Zhu Meier was still taking care of him, although he hadn't returned to this room for many days, but the sheets were obviously newly changed. Peng Haoming tried his best to stop his brain from thinking again, and finally closed his tired eyes...

  In the jungle, Peng Haoming opened his eyes wide and stared at a valley mouth. The valley mouth had just experienced something very frightening, but Peng Haoming didn't know what happened. The rocks and trees around him seemed to be twisted, like a scene in a fantasy world, floating and uncertain. Only that dark and gloomy valley was so real, like a black hole attracting Peng Haoming's gaze, making it impossible for him to move his eyes away.

  Suddenly, intense gunfire came from the valley, accompanied by screams of people being shot. Peng Haoming became excited, stood up, raised his gun, and rushed into the valley, like a wild beast charging into darkness without any purpose or hesitation. Everything around him was rapidly retreating, and Peng Haoming rushed towards that battlefield which didn't belong to him.

  However, when he arrived, everything became quiet, so quiet that it was frightening. The surroundings were empty and desolate, with no one in sight, no sound. The intense battle seemed to have occurred centuries ago, leaving no mark on his body. Peng Haoming looked around at the rugged rocks, confused, and suddenly saw a figure flashing behind a rock.

  Peng Haoming excitedly raised his gun and pulled the trigger without thinking. The figure fell down, and Peng Haoming ran over to look at him. His mind was blank... Dengzi... This is Dengzi! How could he be here? Didn't Dengzi die? Where was he himself?

  Peng Haoming felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed a pair of eyes behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Zhu Mei'er standing behind him, with a gentle expression on her face but holding a long sword in her hand. Peng Haoming looked at the sword slowly being inserted into his body, feeling no pain.

  He stared blankly at his own blood flowing out along the sword, then raised his head to see another person's face, cold and indifferent. The person whispered: "You deserve it..."

  The sentence was like a hammer hitting his heart, and Peng Haoming sat up suddenly. Outside the window, it was still quiet, so quiet that there was no insect chirping. Peng Haoming smiled wryly, he had another nightmare again.

  I hope the person who stabbed himself with a sword in his nightmare won't be him... Peng Haoming prayed silently.

  But who would know? Soldiers and bandits will eventually meet one day!

  If this day really comes, what should I say? Peng Haoming asked himself, but this question is destined to have no answer!