LWGP - Chapter 112
Chapter 112: Slander
The social scene was a vanity fair, a global pool of decay, where people danced gracefully under red lights and green wine, adding fragrance to the crystal glasses in their hands.
It was so fantastical, so unreal, yet so demanding and so forgiving.
It allowed you to mistake one person for another, to indulge in debauchery, even if you couldn't say the right things or do the pretty things.
But it absolutely did not permit your makeup, your attire, or the shimmer on your cuffs to be the slightest bit inferior.
As long as you had a beautiful shell and substantial capital, this was your hunting ground.
Were you the prey, or the hunter?
The lights cast shifting shadows, freezing a frame in the cracks of light, letting you see that scene once more, across the years, across the boundary separating civilization from the apocalypse.
On a long sofa, she sat at one end, her body half-reclined against the armrest. Her form-fitting red dress was simple in style, her figure slender and exquisite. The angle of her recline twisted her waist into a delicate line. She had her legs crossed, the curve of her long legs outlined by the fabric, extending down to the tips of her toes. A high-heeled shoe dangled precariously, alluring yet restrained and cold. Her cool, pale skin, under the flowing lights, was even more striking than that of the many Europeans and Americans around her. This paleness seemed to accentuate the coldness of her lip color and the indifferent yet gentle glow in her eyes.
She was listening to someone speak.
In front of her, a British man in a sharp suit had deliberately pulled up a chair to sit before her. This was because the other spots on the sofa were taken, and even behind the sofa stood what appeared to be well-dressed individuals. They seemed to be discussing something, with this man as the main speaker. Seemingly getting animated, he even unbuttoned his expensive suit jacket, undid his shirt cuffs, and was now raising his hands to demonstrate something in his speech. He held a few sheets of paper, densely covered in illegible text. Everyone was listening with rapt attention.
This created a stark contrast with the chaotic indulgence of the surroundings.
But the greater contrast was that Wang Jiu, the primary object of the man's address, appeared to be listening intently, yet her left hand was lightly hooked around a simple glass of water, one-third full, as if she were about to take a drink.
Light shimmered in the water, climbing up the glass to her long fingers. They were not delicately boneless; in fact, one could see the perfect contours of bone and skin. It was a hand that possessed both sexiness and sensibility, yet it inexplicably exuded an aura of desire.
But what was even stranger was the space she had created by leaning to the side... occupied by a cat, a fat blue shorthair, with a precious jeweled tag hanging from its neck. It lazily and domineeringly claimed that space, even placing its paw impertinently on her thigh. Yet, it allowed her other hand to gently stroke its chubby chin. It tilted its fat head back slightly, its eyes squinting into a line of pure comfort.
Its languid comfort was likely the same feeling as the man opposite, who had cast aside his decorum—both were delighted by her focused favor.
When this photo appeared, people like Judd seemed very surprised, quickly mentioning some banquet, pharmaceutical regulations, and the Research Institute. Piecing it together, it seemed the man, who looked like someone at a Chinese cocktail party begging for investment with a stack of documents, was an important figure in a pharmaceutical company that controlled a research institute, and he was lobbying Wang Jiu for something.
"Wasn't he lobbying that Professor Lin Zi?"
"Doesn't seem like it. It looks like he was trying to lobby her mentor and referrer through her. That one doesn't even give face to our fathers' generation, she has a huge ego."
"How come I heard he was lobbying her? Richard, weren't you standing right there? Didn't you hear?"
"I'm not in the medical industry, I couldn't understand. Didn't you notice that the few people on the side were all from pharmaceutical companies? MD, pharmaceuticals are a ridiculously profitable industry."
"So, was he successful in the end?"
"Who knows? I heard the compensation Mr. Ely offered was terrifying."
The few of them chatted idly, seemingly setting aside the romantic trifles, until Ian couldn't take it anymore and sneered, "Richard, in their China, a guy like you would be called a sycophant, right?"
Holy crap! The Chinese gossip-mongers, or rather, the gossip-mongers from all regions, got excited.
Here it comes, here it comes, is a fight about to break out?
There was drama, but Lao Wang hadn't come online yet. It was exciting, but not exciting enough!
Richard: "Ian, you seem to know Chinese culture quite well. I just wonder if you and your good friend being the '0' for love behind your wives' backs conforms to their culture."
Fuck! Big drama! International drama?
Ian seemed genuinely enraged. In truth, this matter had long been rampant in their circle and had caused a huge stir at the time, implicating several families. However, it had not spread to the Asian circles, so it was indeed a big scoop.
Ian was, as expected, provoked. "You idiots, Lynn and I were framed! It was her and Roy who drugged us! Fuck! You think they're so clean? Those two were in my room that night!"
Richard: "Are you kidding? Roy, you, and Lynn are all candidate heirs for the Benroy family. Even if you're not related by blood, she wouldn't just deliver herself to your room. Aren't you afraid the head of the Luo family will have you killed for spouting such nonsense?"
Tailin: "Uh oh, this topic is getting a bit scary. Can I just watch and not say anything?"
Ian: "I swear on my bloodline, those two bitches were indeed in my room at the time! Lynn was there too! We were definitely framed by them! I think Scarl must have been the one who drugged me, that insidious and vicious woman. I curse her!"
The circle of international friends suddenly fell silent, until Richard coolly said, "I still don't believe it, but I'm willing to withdraw from this topic. After all, Ms. Roy is now the head of the Benroy family. Even though it's the apocalypse, she's still ranked second on our Third District's territory leaderboard. By the way, I heard your branch of the family isn't at the Benroy family's main headquarters, is that right?"
This statement was an absolute humiliation to Ian.
Ian angrily threw out a video.
A room, Ian's room. Four people, one table, four chairs.
They were each seated in a position, engaged in a very serious and stimulating activity.
For example… playing mahjong.
Richard and the others: "…"
The gossip-mongers: "!"
Looking closely, Wang Jiu was still Wang Jiu, still with her legs crossed, looking nonchalant. Her posture while playing mahjong was the quintessential national standard. In comparison, the other three were a bit… different.
The two young Western men must have been Ian and Lynn—young, handsome, rebellious, and arrogant.
The other woman, sitting next to Wang Jiu, met the most discerning standards of both Eastern and Western aesthetics. She was the epitome of cold beauty, her ice-blue eyes a manifestation of glaciers. Her entire being screamed a kind of world-weary apathy, and the watch she wore glinted with a cold light.
But she turned her head to glance at Wang Jiu and said something coldly in English, which translated roughly as follows.
"You're targeting me."
Wang Jiu: "No, I'm not."
Roy: "Then your tiles are targeting me."
Wang Jiu: "Maybe they can't stand seeing me lose my shoes and earrings, with my dress being next, while you haven't taken off a single thing."
Roy: "Haven't those two taken off enough?"
Wang Jiu: "Don't you know that in the eyes of someone who studies medicine, the bodies of both men and women have research value?"
She said it very calmly and naturally, without a hint of vulgarity.
Benroy: "…"
Then Wang Jiu tapped the table and said to the other two, "Gentlemen, if you don't start playing seriously, you won't even have your underwear left."
She provoked them. Ian shot up in a rage, while Lynn threatened her coldly, "Making me strip will do you no good, Scarl."
Wang Jiu smiled, reaching up to fiddle with the earring hanging from her ear, and said lightly, "Trying to force yourself on me before you've even inherited the Benroy family? Isn't that a bit too arrogant? I hear the head of the Benroy family doesn't mind people doing bad things, but he despises trash who do bad things and can't clean up their own mess."
"If I were you, I'd honor the bet, open the door, and let me out. Of course, as the biggest winner of this gamble, your agreement with Roy regarding the Martin pharmaceutical project has nothing to do with me."
Lynn's eyes flickered. "You even know about that. You two…"
He was suspecting that the two of them had colluded.
Wang Jiu stood up, took a sip of water, and said lightly, "That's the best-case assumption. If she didn't tell me, then you two should consider a worse possibility—for example, that Lord Benroy made this matter public precisely to test her abilities using the two of you. If she wins, she becomes the tacitly acknowledged heir. In our China, this is called a whetstone. But if two whetstones join forces, there's still a chance to turn the tables, isn't there?"
Roy glanced at her, her gaze cold. She stood up and walked towards the door. Lynn and the other man's eyes flickered, and they finally gritted their teeth and opened the door.
The two women stepped over the clothes the two young masters had thrown on the floor and left the room, one after the other. The video ended.
In the moment of silence, another person came online, slowly posting a smiling emoji.
Konoe Kenjin: "So lively. But it seems you've all forgotten one thing."
Konoe Kenjin: "What the real rules of social interaction are."
These two short sentences silenced Richard, Ian, and the others, because this person's status was higher than theirs.
Xie Lu walked over to Wang Jiu, sat down on a nearby rock, and held up the social channel tablet, gesturing towards Wang Jiu. "Are you sure you're not going to deal with this?"
Wang Jiu glanced at him. "Do you know what the first rule of social interaction is?"
Xie Lu frowned. "I'm not particularly skilled at socializing."
Wang Jiu smiled, turning her head to look at the firelight. She methodically fiddled with a tree branch and said lightly, "Reciprocity."
Reciprocity?
Xie Lu raised an eyebrow, glanced at the people on the channel, and seemed lost in thought.
At the same time, Wang Shu pulled Qiao Xuejing and Dao Dao into a small group chat and sheepishly asked what was going on.
Qiao Xuejing: "I don't know about the rest, but as far as I know, those few are all scions of some European and American financial magnates. They might seem impressive, but they all share a common characteristic."
Wang Shu: "What's that?"
Qiao Xuejing: "They are all people who have either been confirmed as unable to inherit their family businesses or are currently struggling to gain inheritance rights. In other words, none of them are the ones in charge. By the captain's standards—whatever these people do or say in a social setting is not worthy of her attention."
Qiao Xuejing: "But, the situation should change soon, because this Konoe Kenjin's status is not ordinary. He is the head of the Konoe clan, a major noble family in Japan."
Wang Shu: "It's the apocalypse, what financial magnates are there left?"
Qiao Xuejing: "Nevernight is likely backed by some of our domestic financial groups. Just look at the scale of their layout in the Luoyang area. What do you think?"
Wang Shu: "!"
Qiao Xuejing frowned. "Tonight's events are not simple. It's best not to talk about this anymore. I feel like there's a conspiracy against the captain behind all this. We have to disrupt it."
The secrets behind Wang Jiu seemed to run much deeper than she had thought. Otherwise, so many influential figures wouldn't be targeting her…
Qiao Xuejing had originally intended to step in, but Wang Shu stopped her. "You probably have some status yourself. It's better if I do it. A small fry like me is better at stirring things up."
Just then, after Konoe Kenjin had quieted the social circle, he slowly said, "Social reciprocity. She won't waste her time on a bunch of losers. I'd bet she can't even be bothered to read this stuff. But, is there anyone close to her here? Please do me a favor and pass on a message. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with her."
"Add me as a friend, or let's coordinate our online times."
After he said that, no one responded for a moment. The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Fortunately, Wang Shu came online.
Wang Shu: "Uh, Your Excellency Kenjin, I'm her disciple. She's very busy right now. Can we talk about it later?"
Konoe Kenjin: "May I ask what she is busy with?"
Wang Shu glanced over at Wang Jiu and simultaneously received a notification about an update to the territory's laws. Crap, Master was practically copying half the criminal code!
He said, "My master is writing the 'Criminal Law'."
Konoe Kenjin: "?"
Wang Shu: "Chatting with a handsome guy, and roasting sweet potatoes on the side."
Konoe Kenjin: "Hmm… that sounds like her. Well then, could you ask her if she can temporarily give up that handsome guy and discuss a deal with me? By the way, I'm not bad-looking either."
Wang Shu: "Okay, Your Excellency Kenjin."
Wang Shu did indeed ask Wang Jiu. Wang Jiu turned to look at him. "Konoe Kenjin? That guy lives up to his name, quite the bastard. Forget it…"
Wang Shu, determined to stir the pot, returned to the channel. "My master says you live up to your name, you're quite a bastard, forget it."
Konoe Kenjin: "…"
Wang Shu thought that was the end of it… when he suddenly heard a voice message.
"You tell her, the two hundred and fifty million US dollars I owe her, I'm considering converting it to the game's exchange rate and giving it to her."
The voice was hoarse and cold, enough to send a chill down one's spine.
He looked at the prefix. Roy.
Holy crap! That's a lot of money!
Wang Shu hurriedly asked Wang Jiu.
Konoe Kenjin of the Konoe clan, Roy of the Benroy family?
Hearing these two names, Xie Lu's expression grew a little more profound. He also received a private message from his superior.
But he also saw Wang Jiu, who had previously been too lazy to even bother with the social channel, quickly come online.
Wang Jiu: "Oh, my dear Roy, long time no see."
While Konoe Kenjin was silent, Richard and the others almost burst out laughing.
To hell with social rules. As long as there was money involved, she came online faster than a speeding arrow.
Roy: "Accept my friend request."
Wang Jiu: "Give me the money first."
Roy: "Is gold the only way to get you to accept a friend request?"
Wang Jiu: "I'll accept it converted to silver or even copper. I'm not picky."
Konoe Kenjin: "Hold on, let me interject. This two hundred and fifty million US dollars, it wouldn't happen to be the payment for when you two secretly conspired to seize the inheritance and helped get rid of Lynn, would it? That's not a low price. I doubt one Lynn is worth that much."
The insinuation was palpable.
Wang Jiu: "Slander?"
Ian: "So it's true! You two women are too vicious! I will definitely apply to the council of elders for arbitration against you, Roy!"
Wang Jiu: "Let her give me the money before you arbitrate."
Ian: "You think this has nothing to do with you? You and Roy drank the same water as us, you were drugged too. You probably got together right after you left! And you released the video of me and Lynn. It must have been you two. No wonder you deliberately guided us to discuss countermeasures at the end, it was all to let the drug take effect on us."
Wang Jiu: "The drugs were yours. Didn't you just assume that since we all drank it, we two would be the ones at a disadvantage? You even installed surveillance cameras inside, just to record a video to threaten us with later. The hotel has searches for entry and exit, no surveillance equipment would get through. The only ones who weren't checked were you two, the hosts. How can you turn around and slander me?"
Ian: "Do you think we did it to ourselves?"
Wang Jiu: "Forcing yourself on him, then turning the tables and using the leak to pressure Lynn into being with you, only for him to refuse and commit suicide in despair—that's not impossible."
She even had a script ready.
After a moment, Ian, who should have been furious, did not respond.
A long while passed.
Konoe Kenjin: "Truly impressive. I just received news that Ian's territory was destroyed. Ms. Roy drained all his HP, and he's completely dead. You deliberately coordinated with her, didn't you? You cunning Scarl."
A bloody aura of death washed over them.
Wang Jiu: "So don't get addicted to social networks. Who knows when death will come? Of course, Kenjin, you shouldn't get addicted to slandering me either. After all, you've already caught my attention."
Konoe Kenjin let out a low laugh. "Alright, it seems I've succeeded. So, can we talk about cooperation now? We're both in the Ninth District. Calculating our positions, we could form a north-south alliance. At the very least, I'm closer to you than Roy, who's far away in the Third District, wouldn't you say, my dear Scarl?"
Roy said coldly, "You cooperated with Ian, deliberately blowing this up in the social circle. Firstly, to incite the council of elders to sanction me and let Ian take my place. Secondly, to use the family backgrounds behind us to cause Scarl's national personnel to investigate her and hinder her development. Don't you think that's very interesting?"
Konoe Kenjin: "Slander?"
Wang Jiu: "Don't copy me. But Ms. Roy, why do you think so many people want to mess with me? They even used special items to preserve these videos and photos that should have been destroyed. Is it just because I refuse to submit to their authority? It's a good thing I have you to protect me."
Roy: "How do you know I don't want to mess with you?"
Wang Jiu: "…"
Konoe Kenjin: "So after you drank those drugged beverages, how did you resolve it? I checked. Neither of you called anyone to solve your… physiological problems that night."
To be able to gossip like this even after tearing each other apart—this was the mark of a top-tier socialite.
Wang Jiu: "Couldn't we just endure it?"
Konoe Kenjin: "Is that so? I don't think you endured."
Wang Jiu: "Oh?"
Konoe Kenjin: "After you two separated, I saw on the surveillance footage that you pulled a man into your room."
Konoe Kenjin: "If I saw correctly, the family crest on that person was Song. A rare young talent. By my calculations, you should call him Seventh Uncle, right? Must have been very exciting."
When masters clash, the moves are low, vicious, and fatal.
He was dragging the political powerhouse, the Song family, into the mud with them.
Wang Jiu: "A small matter of turning off the lights and waking up to daylight the next morning. Is it really worth all your concern?"
She naturally didn't care about the Song family's reputation, so she was dismissive.
But someone did care, and chose to cut off the messy accusations against Wang Jiu.
A person came online.
Song Yuanqiao: "No blood relation. They were engaged, but because my ex-wife disagreed and Wang Jiu didn't like it, the engagement was called off. Any problem with that? Mr. Konoe, perhaps you should first deal with your father's illegitimate son trying to usurp your position."
Song Yuanqiao: "Wang Jiu, make fewer of these messy friends in the future."
Wang Jiu: "Okay, old man Song. I don't usually like to socialize, and I don't have many friends."
At this point, many people had started to get a sense of what was going on. Rather than being aimed at Wang Jiu, today's events were more of a probing and stirring of the pot by the European, American, and Japanese factions.
After all, Konoe and his group were also in the Ninth District region.
With the Advent, nations had disintegrated and civilization was destroyed. Many things were no longer clear, but the ambitious were stirring restlessly.
Qiao Xuejing also told Wang Shu and the others, "This has nothing to do with romance. Many of those families like Richard's have anti-China tendencies, and the Konoe family goes without saying. They're using Wang Jiu to stir up trouble. They're so fast. How many days has it been?"
But it also proved that Wang Jiu's experiences abroad were very complicated and probably wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. There were likely private grudges as well, which was why they had ganged up for revenge.
It was quite a show.
But it seemed that Roy was on Wang Jiu's side.
Just as Qiao Xuejing thought this.
Wang Jiu: "250 million. My dear Roy, are you still there?"
Roy: "I wasn't considering giving it to you. And I think you still need to accept my friend request."
Wang Jiu: "So brazen for someone who owes money. It really is the apocalypse, hooligans everywhere."
Roy: "The earring you left in their room had a camera function, but my watch has a recording function. Have you forgotten what you said to me after we left?"
That had the flavor of reverse blackmail. The rich really played with high-tech toys.
But it probably recorded a confidential conversation, the kind that could expose Wang Jiu's secrets.
Wang Jiu was silent for a moment, then she smiled, a rippling laugh. "You want to add me that badly? Don't tell me you've fallen for me. Why didn't you come find me when I got divorced then?"
Roy said lightly, "How do you know I didn't?"
Wang Jiu: "Hmm?"
Roy: "The Guiyuan Garden in Suzhou. There was someone in your room."
Oho, back to romance again?
Wang Jiu: "Oh, so that's why there was a sniper outside. You brought people. You'd personally come all the way to assassinate me even when I wasn't abroad. You're truly terrifying."
Roy: "Likewise. Wasn't it you who blew up my car?"
So it wasn't romance, but brutal slaughter.
Both of them ended the conversation lightly. Konoe Kenjin also logged on and sent a small flower emoji.
Konoe Kenjin: "A flower~ Thanks for the reminder. I just dealt with an attack from my dear brother. A pity he escaped. By the way, since you two ladies didn't manage to hook up, does that mean I still have a chance? How about we form a golden triangle?"
To have crashed and burned so spectacularly and still be like this, this man was a real piece of work. Unfortunately, the other two ignored him.
Xie Lu closed the social channel and returned to his conversation with his superior.
Superior: "The Benroy family is a financial group with a background in arms dealing. The Konoe family has always been involved in anti-China activities… Even if we don't consider whether she was involved, at the very least her past abroad is very complicated. At the very least, the funds she obtained from outside have left no trace in the country. You should know we've investigated her several times. This is very sensitive, do you understand what I mean?"
Xie Lu: "Yes."
Superior: "Come back. She currently doesn't meet the conditions for recruitment. She's too complicated. Perhaps we can cooperate in the future. Wait, never mind. I'll ask the higher-ups again. The Old Lady's passing was too sudden. We don't know if she left anything for Wang Jiu. That pharmaceutical project… the higher-ups just told me it might be related to the Old Lady's previous work. For them to find Wang Jiu so precisely means that the secret was leaked many years ago."
The hesitant and wavering attitude was obvious.
The information the superior revealed to Xie Lu was actually a state secret. The latter was only a military elite, not a core technical personnel. The Old Lady was.
Even Song Yuanqiao had no right to know those secrets.
This was also one of the reasons Xie Lu had appeared at the funeral—if the Cai Market hadn't accepted the commission, Xie Lu would have eventually made a move against Yang Yu and his son.
Unfortunately, Wang Jiu beat him to it, and she, in turn, became the target of their investigation.
Xie Lu couldn't help but say, "I don't think she would expose these secrets. Besides, the Old Lady herself refused to let Wang Jiu join and would have strictly adhered to the rules. She wouldn't have leaked that information to her."
Superior: "That's true, and we're not investigating her. In fact, you should know that the higher-ups probably wish she knew and hope she would join, but she herself has no intention to. This conclusion was reached many years ago. I don't know the specifics, I'm not part of that team. But I know the situation is more severe than we imagined—we just received news an hour ago that one sector has completely fallen. All our people who descended there have lost contact. Do you know what that means?"
Xie Lu was shocked. "Where?"
Losing contact was almost equivalent to complete death. At least one of the central government's regional defense deployments had collapsed.
Superior: "J Province. You can probably guess… Miao Mountain is in Lin City, J Province."
Xie Lu sucked in a cold breath, finding it hard to believe. "No news got out at all?"
A level 10 social circle was equivalent to being able to transmit intelligence. It wasn't very difficult for military elites. J Province was a key defense area, just like a cultural center like Luoyang. He had come here, so people not much weaker than him should have descended in J Province. Yet they were completely wiped out?
Superior: "The last message sent back by a secret agent an hour ago before he died was only two words—Demon King."
Demon King, a terrifying title.
It represented the horrific bloody slaughter of the past ten years, and a ghost-like trail.
Just as the political struggles were showing their fangs, the evil Black Witch Organization also revealed its bloody horns.
While Xie Lu and his superior were privately discussing the Demon King, the Cai Market was only just discussing the secrets of the Benroy and Konoe families. But they were all at varying distances from Wang Jiu.
At a place just the right distance away.
418 Novice Village. Bian Moshu repeatedly reviewed the information on the social channel, his brow slightly furrowed. Soon, he switched channels and opened a private chat.
"443, Wang Jiu, a troublesome figure. Affects the upcoming layout of the Luoyang sector. Requesting headquarters to send someone over."
"Please arrange for an expert who can completely kill her as soon as possible. Attributes must be at least 1500 across the board."
After a while, the other side replied with a '0' symbol.
Meaning the request had been accepted.
Only then did Bian Moshu breathe a sigh of relief. He glanced at the small territory belonging to Mei Qingshu outside, his expression icy.
Comments
Post a Comment