Chapter 869 - One Bed
Chapter 869: One Bed
Although the scale of the city wall could not be compared to the strategic protection walls in the Federation, it was hard to imagine that the poverty-stricken Tutankhamun was able to do this. Limestone was not found in desert areas and was considered a rare material. If they were able to use it to construct a large-scale city wall, other than providing protection, it was more a display of power and position. It could also provide a sense of security to the ordinary people in the city.
Gong Yi and Sister Hong, who were there, had already received the news that Wang Zhong would arrive. They had sent a large group of people to wait at the city gate. They saw a woman accompanying Wang Zhong and that they seemed very close as they held hands while walking. They were shocked! Before Wang Zhong came, he said that he was here to find Mu Zi. But now, it seemed more like he was going to spend his honeymoon here.
They laughed knowingly. This fellow had gotten it all sorted out. They had not known Wang Zhong for a long time, but they treated him like part of their family. They knew that he was crazy about training. Sister Hong even lamented that he might become an unmarried old man but never expected that he would be so very successful instead.
Rumble…
Gong Yi, Sister Hong, and Reynolds walked forward, while the group of people behind them hurriedly followed. Gong Yi had not intentionally arranged this formation as he knew that Wang Zhong did not care about such extravagance. The people following behind them were relatively young. Most of them were elites among the new soldiers training under Reynolds. They were relatively talented and were the future core members of Tutankhamun that Gong Yi was training. Of course, these people were not locals of the poor Katchirda area. There were very few talented people in remote places like these. Many of them had come from various places in Tutankhamun to this famous location.
What had they come here for? For the new and developing Katchirda? For the unknown Reynolds? Of course not. They were here for the mysterious city lord.
They all knew that there was someone behind the development of Katchirda. After the incident with the Scorpion King, Gong Yi intentionally used the mysterious title of Fate Trickster as their brand. Not only would the news spread among thieves and rascals, they would have more authority during business meetings. Although he had never mentioned that the city lord was the Fate Trickster, it was pretty much obvious. Every place would have people who respected experts. Their city lord was a legend who could single-handedly kill the Scorpion King and eliminate an entire mercenary army. These young people had come to chase their idol. Two days ago, they heard from Reynolds that the city lord was coming. All of them had been waiting anxiously for him to come. They stood up straight and followed behind Gong Yi and the rest. They excitedly peered at Wang Zhong.
“Ha ha, brother!!” Gong Yi walked quickly and welcomed him with a bear hug. “I missed you so much!”
“Same.” Wang Zhong smiled and hugged him tightly. Reynolds did not walk up to him. A warm smile appeared on his cold face, prompting Wang Zhong to nod his head.
The two of them nodded in greeting with smiles on their faces. Reynolds typically did not like to speak. Speaking aside, even seeing him laugh was extremely rare. But his smile at that moment was from the heart. Katchirda was like a courtyard of his dreams. Although there would still be exploitation and injustice, relatively speaking, it was much better than the darkness he had experienced. Reynolds was very satisfied to be able to participate in the rise of this city.
The group of young people behind Gong Yi caught Wang Zhong’s attention; they were full of excitement. They were disorganized and did not seem like soldiers.
“Yesterday, Reynolds exposed the news when he was drinking. These people are his apprentices.” Sister Hong smiled and welcomed Wang Zhong. “They’re all your fans!”
“Hello, city lord! You’re my idol!”
“My god, city lord, you’re so young! You don’t look much older than me.”
“City lord, your wife is so pretty!” A group of fans immediately shouted.
It was not Scarlet’s first time hearing such words, but when she was called the city lord’s wife, she started to blush. She was usually thick-skinned, but she was very happy on the inside.
Sister Hong and Wang Zhong also hugged each other, but it was only a light hug. After all, he had a female companion with him. She turned around and warmly pulled Scarlet’s hand. “You must be our sister-in-law. Hey, Wang Zhong, you cunning little bastard. I thought that you were gay, but there seems to be no problem! Introduce her to everyone. She is definitely a distinguished guest. Even as we talk about the past, we cannot treat our distinguished guest coldly.”
Wang Zhong smiled and introduced her to everyone. On the way here, Scarlet had heard about the general situation here from Wang Zhong. She knew that the four of them were sworn friends who could be trusted. Although Sister Hong’s occupation was problematic, Scarlet was not a shallow person.
With sweet greetings of “brother and sister”, as well as the fact that Wang Zhong directly introduced Scarlet as his girlfriend, Scarlet was not treated as an outsider. Even Sister Hong, who was most fussy about women, was full of praise for Scarlet. She constantly observed Scarlet. Although she often looked at other women with a sinister gaze, she had nothing to nitpick about Scarlet’s appearance and physique. Furthermore, her candid disposition was very rare. Even Sister Hong, an expert in women’s looks, had never seen such pure beauty. She silently marveled at how her brother had good taste. No wonder he did not take a liking to the girls that she had arranged for him to meet when they were in Katchirda.
There were many beautiful bodies, but interesting souls were rare.
With so many people around, the two young people were too embarrassed to stick to each other for now. The two ladies split themselves from the crowd and walked into the city mightily, causing the entire Katchirda to turn their eyes to the commotion. They were able to cause the three tycoons of Katchirda — Gong Yi, Sister Hong, and Reynolds — to appear at the same time. Furthermore, people gathered around them. What kind of people were they? Some guards opened the way for them, so they did not need to squeeze their way into the city. But the two sides of the street were filled with peering heads, bustling crowds, and noisy chatting.
Wang Zhong curiously observed the city, which had been built in a desert. It had only been a short span of two to three months, but massive changes had occurred here since he last came. Not only had the population increased significantly, the main business district and the residential district, which were only in the planning phase back then, were already built. As they had to maintain a large amount of vegetation in the oasis, the city had started to expand into the desert area near the border of the oasis. There was no city wall there as it was easier to expand this way. Furthermore, the original desert area was not stable enough for a base to be built. A large amount of desert vegetation had been moved to this area. This was not simply a city; they were preparing to build a man-made oasis. They would not have been able to do this with the initial amount of capital they had gathered.
“Assassin helped a lot, including the planning of the city, the blueprints for construction, technological support, and even in terms of finances and resources,” Gong Yi explained these to Wang Zhong as they walked.
He smiled and said, “Without his help, we would not be able to do this. After all, it is not our area of expertise. It can be said that Katchirda was able to develop so quickly partly because of Katchirda’s natural advantage but also because of the help from Brother Ma Dong.
Wang Zhong understood. No wonder it felt as if this place changed with each passing day. Previously, when he came here after the incident with the Scorpion King, Katchirda had been under development for half a year, but the rate of development then was not even half of the current rate. It had started as a small village or small town that was backward and messy. However, in the short span of one to two months, it had developed rapidly. At least, it looked like a large city in terms of appearance. In the end, the technology used was the most important.
The standard of city design and planning, as well as the construction technologies used in Katchirda, far exceeded that of Tutankhamun. In particular, there were large-scale runic patterns that were exclusive to the Federation. These patterns could protect the city, clean the air, and cut off radiation, among other things. To Tutankhamun, these were extremely advanced technologies that they desired.
This was not something they could achieve just by paying huge sums of money to hire technical personnel. There were many complex segments that were added and joined together to form an entire technological system. After all, Assassin had been involved in the development of the Disorderly Burial Lake Region in Tianjing; Ma Dong had even designed most of the city. His family had paid a heavy price under the system of the Federation to produce the various design blueprints and technological plans. These were important assets to them. When they went underground, the family had taken the plans along with them. Secretly circulating first-class technologies from the Federation to the Empire was a severe case of treason, but Assassin was no longer operating under the system of the Federation. After all, he was still a criminal to the entire Federation. Naturally, he never talked about whether he had ever betrayed the Federation. No matter whether the Federation conducted checks or not, who cared?
“A significant portion of the resources came from Assassin.” Gong Yi smiled and said, “Based on the allocation we had previously discussed, we have confirmed the contract with Ma Dong as well. Katchirda has one-third of Assassin’s shares. Now, the only thing that is lacking is the opportunity for both parties to meet face-to-face. However, at the border, the checks and patrols by the Federation have become rather strict. I think that it will be some time before we can officially sign the contracts. Luckily, we have you in the middle. Both sides trust you, so a verbal agreement will not hinder us. After dealing with them a few times, I really feel that you guys are not simple. Although you’re both young, you do things swiftly and decisively. You’re both rather daring and have sufficient execution abilities. Working together with you two saves us a lot of trouble. You guys are talents.”
Wang Zhong knew what kind of person Ma Dong was, better than anyone else. There was no need to be modest on behalf of his brother, especially in front of Gong Yi. He smiled and said, “How’s Mu Zi? Have you contacted him?”
Mu Zi was the person they had come to find and look for help this time. He did not seem to have gone to the Fifth Dimension recently. It was a pity that his Skylink seemed to be turned off, and Wang Zhong could not contact him. Earlier, when Wang Zhong talked to Gong Yi, Gong Yi said he had a way to contact Mu Zi.
“I’ve contacted him, and he is rushing back.” Gong Yi calculated the time. “But we might need to wait for three to five days. The place where he was at is rather far.”
Mu Zi’s coffin could not be used at will. There were many restrictions. If it was not an urgent issue, he would not make use of it.
As long as Mu Zi was contacted, it was fine. Wang Zhong did not seem to mind waiting for a few days. Scarlet did not mind as well. Yesterday, when Wang Zhong told her that they were looking for Mu Zi for help, he described Mu Zi using two words, “very impressive”. Scarlet felt that anyone who Wang Zhong described as “very impressive” would be unimaginably amazing. If they could find someone like this to help them — no matter whether it was the Wanderlust Team or Wang Zhong himself — their safety in the Holy Battle would increase significantly. They had to wait for a few days? So what? Furthermore, she was waiting with Wang Zhong… She would not mind waiting three years.
The construction of the city was unstoppable. In particular, when they came to the new city area, they could see projects under construction everywhere. The residences, as well as the offices of Gong Yi and the rest, were also found here. They were not extravagant, but they were simple one-story buildings that were very large. There was a large empty plot of land outside. They were probably planning to decorate the entrance hall and carry out large scale construction there. Thus, they had demarcated this area as the city lord’s palace.
At night, they gave Wang Zhong and Scarlet a welcome dinner. In the afternoon, they had started to prepare for a magnificent bonfire party at the empty space in the city lord’s place. There was no need to doubt Sister Hong’s abilities. There were various novel and festive songs, dances, and acrobatic performances, as well as drumbeats unique to Tutankhamun.
The night in a desert oasis was probably the most beautiful scenery on Earth. Compared to other places, the night sky here was very clear. In particular, after Katchirda followed how the Federation cleaned the air, the night scenery here was even brighter and clearer. Although it could not compare to the Mizobudapi world, where it was free and clean, this place felt very intimate. After all, it was their hometown on Earth. To every single human, there would be an unusual sense of belonging.
As she watched the entire place fill with joy and listened to the lively beat of the drums, Scarlet unconsciously got slightly drunk. She snuggled up to Wang Zhong and completely forgot that she was an expert from the Holy Land. Wang Zhong was constantly forced to drink by Gong Yi, Reynolds, Sister Hong, and even the young men in the training team. Wang Zhong did not refuse any of them, but his right hand never let go of Scarlet’s hand.
The atmosphere was bustling. Scarlet did not know what she was thinking either. She secretly used her finger to fiddle with Wang Zhong’s hand playfully. Wang Zhong was talking to Gong Yi but immediately reacted and gently rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand.
These small movements between the two of them were hidden among the bustling bonfire and the uproar of voices. No one noticed their intimate gestures.
Scarlet’s face turned red from the light of the bonfire. She could not help but chuckle secretly. She had never felt as peaceful as she did now.
The grand bonfire party only lasted until midnight. Sister Hong had started shouting for the party to end. This was not the rhythm that usually occurred when they gathered together. Gong Yi was somewhat drunk. His eyes were red, and he pulled at Wang Zhong, not willing to let go. Reynolds pulled him away. “You should go to sleep.”
“That’s right! Your wooden brain is no match for Reynolds’!” Sister Hong smiled as she scolded. “Wang Zhong, Scarlet, don’t care about this alcoholic. Come, I will bring you to a place you can rest!”
Of course, it was at the city lord’s palace. Although there were only single-story houses, they were not shabby. The inside of the residence seemed more like a mansion. The greenery was lush, and it was very peaceful.
“This is the place. You should rest early. Tomorrow, I will bring you to see my favorite place, the desert hot springs. It’s one of a kind.”
Then, Sister Hong hurriedly left, as if she was afraid of being called back by them. Scarlet stood at the door, her mind blank.
There was only one room and only one bed.