The turmoil within Jiankang City spread rapidly like a wildfire on a dry autumn day, catching everyone off guard.
Cheng Jinyang quickly took Wang Wanrou and rushed to a nearby hotel to get a room.
Hotels, especially high-priced ones, were the best refuge during times of unrest.
On one hand, they had hotel security guards stationed inside, and on the other hand, there wasn't much worth looting, so the two quickly got a room and hid inside.
Wang Wanrou stood by the window, bored, looking down at the street below. A group of refugees had already started smashing the shops along the road, and sporadic clashes had broken out with the synthetic security forces stationed nearby.
High unemployment rates lead to such problems; there are unstable refugees everywhere. Normally, with welfare vouchers in hand, there isn't much reaction, but as soon as there's an opportunity for a "zero-yuan purchase," they immediately become actively involved.
However, this is near the Longxi Li family's territory. Soon, the descendants of the Li family cooperated with the security forces and subdued all these rebellious refugees.
As for Miss Wang, she couldn't even be bothered to sneer or mock. She quickly lost interest and lay on the bed, half-closing her eyes, starting to doze off.
Cheng Jinyang lay beside her playing with his phone. In half an hour, he received more than 10 calls confirming safety, from Princess Sister, Ah Zhi, Qingqing, cousins, and even grandfather...
It seems even the Cheng family, who had long been planning, were somewhat caught off guard by this unrest, so much so that they didn't even inform him beforehand.
But since they had already made up their minds and prepared, Cheng Jinyang quickly got the news.
The patriarch, the head of the main branch, had left the ancestral land and headed upriver towards Jingzhou due to the "failed rebellion for power".
This is also the official explanation given to outsiders. Although privately, "one cannot erase two strokes of the Cheng character," everyone knew this was just a move the family made to hedge risks. But from now on... meeting on the battlefield would mean being enemies.
"Wanrou." Thinking of this, Cheng Jinyang curiously asked, "In your Taiyuan Wang family, are there any rebels going to join Jingzhou this time?"
Wang Wanrou naturally understood his implied meaning and said lightly:
"What do you think? Isn't Jingzhou where my rebellious uncle is?"
Cheng Jinyang: ...
Well, how could I forget that?
"Lean back, the hotel pillow is too big and uncomfortable."
Saying so, Wang Wanrou directly rested her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and began to sleep.
Although it was an extremely ambiguous sleeping posture, Cheng Jinyang strangely had no romantic thoughts.
Perhaps because he had slept with Miss Wang too many times, he had long been accustomed to being "used as a pillow."
Feeling the softness and warmth at his chest, he himself also squinted for a while, suddenly hearing a knocking sound from outside.
Alertly opening his eyes, Cheng Jinyang saw Chu Qingqing hovering outside the window, using a prosthetic arm made of flowing metal to open the window.
She relied on these arms to climb up from the outside of the hotel facade, just like Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man movies.
"Why not use the main entrance?" Cheng Jinyang was speechless. "I thought it was an enemy, almost reached for the gun under the pillow, you know?"
"The hotel is full, security doesn't allow non-guests to enter," Girl Qingqing explained succinctly, her gaze shifting to Wang Wanrou. "Well, I was worried about you guys, and here you are sleeping."
"What else then?" Cheng Jinyang retorted, "What were you expecting besides sleeping?"
"Hmph!" Chu Qingqing asserted confidently, "I'm here to catch you cheating. How dare you flirt with Miss Wang from the Five Great Family? I'll report to the Taiyuan Wang family and have them castrate you."
"Well, you'll be disappointed," Cheng Jinyang laughed, "Miss Wang and I are just innocent friends. Renting a room was just for sleeping, nothing happened."
"You're such a wimp, she's practically throwing herself at you and you still don't make a move," Miss Qingqing mocked him, "Pfft, I look down on you."
Cheng Jinyang: ???
Wow, no wonder she's from a humble background, her bold style is different from the noble ladies. Like Ah Zhi, even saying "damn it" is difficult for her, but Miss Qingqing can effortlessly speak vulgar words. Talking to her indeed brings a unique sense of excitement.
"How does it feel to hold Miss Wang in your arms?" Chu Qingqing, seeing Wang Wanrou still sound asleep, curiously asked.
"It's almost like covering yourself with a blanket," Cheng Jinyang replied.
"Is it that comfortable?" Girl Qingqing exclaimed, looking at Miss Wang's sweet sleeping face, gradually feeling a bit sleepy herself.
"I'll give it a try too." She ran to the other side of the bed, also trying to lie in his arms, finding a more comfortable position, murmuring, "Actually, it's not nap time now..."
Cheng Jinyang: ...
"No, you came at just the right time." He cleared his throat, imitating the tone of Li Xunhuan from his memory, smiling.
However, girl Qingqing didn't understand the reference at all, so she didn't pay him any mind, just closed her eyes, facing in the direction of Miss Wang, and soon fell asleep.
With two warm and fragrant beauties in his arms, it would be false to say he didn't feel pleased, and even more so to deny the tingling sensation.
So he patiently waited for a moment, confirming that the two girls in his arms were both asleep, before reluctantly slipping out of bed quietly.
Great, he didn't wake them up.
Then he took out his phone, ready to call Ah Zhi and ask about the situation, casually mentioning that they got a room here and asking if she wanted to come over.
The call went through, and the other side answered quickly.
"Jinyang!" Xing Yuanzhi spoke quickly, "I was just about to call you. There's a new mission from Tianluo!"
"What mission?"
"To pursue the defectors of the Sanchuan Zhu clan!" Xing Yuanzhi quickly said, "They stole a fishing boat and are fleeing upstream along the Yangtze River, about to reach the 5th bridge! Tianluo Headquarters requires all Tianluo stationed in Jianye District and Pukou District to immediately head towards the 3rd bridge upstream and cooperate with the Shenwu Army to intercept them!"
Cheng Jinyang was also startled. If the court deployed the Shenwu Army, these defectors must be formidable. There might be high-ranking extraordinary individuals among them, or they might have taken away some top-secret equipment or technology.
Their small team only had a maximum of eight grade supernatural, so they couldn't directly confront this wave of enemies on the battlefield. Since all nearby Tianluo were mobilizing together, it's best for us as newcomers to just observe to avoid being misunderstood by the headquarters as slacking off.
Agreeing to meet with Ah Zhi over there, Cheng Jinyang turned around to wake up the two girls who were still asleep.
Then he saw that the two girls had already gotten out of bed at some point.
Wang Wanrou said lightly:
"From the 5th bridge to the 3rd bridge, it's about 4.7 kilometers. The engines of Yangtze fishing boats are hardware-limited, with a maximum speed not exceeding 8 knots, which is about 19 minutes."
"From here to the south bank of Dashengguan Bridge, the straight-line distance is about 8.5 kilometers. It's unlikely to make it in time by ground transportation; a helicopter ride is needed. Just to be safe, Jinyang, you can fly over first," Miss Qingqing added.
"So, were you two actually asleep just now?" Cheng Jinyang was dumbfounded.
In fact, Miss Wang was asleep, and Miss Qingqing was not.