Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 597 - 29 Jilehui

The number of people at the Yan Zhao Club meeting approached two hundred and fifty.

Humming a song without words, Ju Mang walked into the meeting hall with dust and bloodstains on her shirt, and her back and neck bore the dampness of sweat, her expression showing post-exercise fatigue.

After glancing around, Ju Mang walked towards a seat in the front row, and then casually sat down next to a man with shoulder-length hair.

"Tell me, did you see Pang Chunhao?"

The man with shoulder-length hair initiated a conversation with her.

"Of course not. Have you ever seen a lone wolf hunt a tiger? Has Mr. Pang not arrived yet?"

While speaking, Ju Mang tilted her head, "Or is he out there looking for trouble with Yang Zheng?"

The man with shoulder-length hair sighed, "I think that’s very likely. Mr. Zhan’s new student also hasn’t come in; I really don’t know whether it’s just bad luck, or they’ve taken it upon themselves to do something else."

"Hey, Mr. Pang is tough, but he’s no match for Yang Zheng. If he’s a bit too stubborn, he may not even have a place in this Yan Zhao Club meeting."

Ju Mang said, hugging her shoulders, "Does Mr. Zhan really let his people run so wild? If the old third seat doesn’t show up at the Yan Zhao Club meeting, it won’t sound good when word gets out."

The man with shoulder-length hair shrugged, lowering his voice, "That’s not a concern. Someone from the old second seat hasn’t shown up either, so it won’t be our third seat who looks bad."

He glanced at Lady Dan sitting in front of him and leaned in close to Ju Mang’s shoulder, "I’ll tell you, Zheng Jinghong is down."

Suddenly, the door to the meeting hall opened, but for a long time, no one came through.

Eventually, a voice came from inside the door, "Could someone lend a hand here?"

Standing up excitedly, Gongshu in her leather jacket recognized the familiar voice. She turned to Yu Shiqie and said, "Give me a hand?"

Yu Shiqie nodded, and the two stepped through the door together.

Elsewhere, Jiao Chong’s thumbs moved restlessly as he signaled to the person beside him, who shook his head, "They haven’t come back yet."

Jiao Chong’s face remained impassive, but inside he was greatly annoyed.

Lv Jian and Wu Rong were sent to apprehend Chou Ci and had yet to provide any update, naturally not appearing in the meeting either. Two Proxies, both with potential for high-ranking Six Ministries’ positions, and they still couldn’t capture Chou Ci in five hours. If they actually let him slip into the meeting, that would truly be a farce.

However, compared to another matter, this was still deemed relatively inconsequential.

"There’s been trouble with Little Yang, hasn’t there."

In the middle of the second seats, a man with a shiny bald spot and greasy skin next to Jiao Chong inquired.

"Rest assured, Commissioner Bai, I have confidence in Yang Zheng."

Jiao Chong’s gaze passed over the few remaining empty seats of the third seats, having a rough outline in his mind of what had transpired.

"Yang Zheng must make it to the second seat this time. This isn’t just a matter for those of you in the field. We have made all the preparations for him; he cannot let us down."

Jiao Chong responded sullenly, "He won’t let us down, but Commissioner Bai."

He turned his head, "The old man has warned us not to do anything superfluous."

Commissioner Bai neither agreed nor disagreed, remaining silent.

Among the several second seat reservists, Jingang Zhi was Wuwei Sanzang’s fellow disciple with a long-standing reputation. Even without the death of the Lou Master, it was only a matter of time before Jingang Zhi would ascend to the second seat.

Weiyue Yan was nominated by Su Ling, a high-ranking researcher under his command.

Nine Phoenixes, Yang Zheng, and Taishuai, all three were nominated by Zhao Jianzhong.

Interestingly, neither Nine Phoenixes nor Taishuai were considered to be Zhao Jianzhong’s direct lineage. In the eyes of people like Jiao Chong, these two were not considered reliable allies.

Particularly Nine Phoenixes, for certain reasons, had a significant history with people including Jiao Chong and Yang Zheng...

Since both Nine Phoenixes and Taishuai were unreliable, supporting Yang Zheng for the second seat was the collective will of those following Jiao Chong and most of Zhao Jianzhong’s confidants.

Jiao Chong once boasted in front of the Ten Masters that Yang Zheng was the strongest fighter among the third seats, not afraid of anyone’s challenge.

If he didn’t make it into the Yan Zhao Club meeting, the so-called second seat reservists would be a joke indeed.

Amid the astonished gazes of those present, Zheng Jinghong entered, pale-faced and barely able to walk, supported by Gongshu.

Even as Zheng Jinghong passed her by, Lady Dan’s face showed no emotion, only a flash of blue flame visible in her pupils.

In the next half-hour, numerous Proxy Travelers continued to arrive, mostly members of the old four seats, along with a few unlucky third-seaters.

"How many people are on the list now?"

"Two hundred and fifty, with one person from the old first seat absent, no absences from the old second seat, and two absents from the old third seat."

The absent first-seater was Cao Yuanchao.

On the third seat, Ju Mang yawned, "This is why I come in so late, really, if I had to sit here for five hours, my bones would turn to mush,"

While speaking, Ju Mang glanced backward and suddenly his gaze froze.

Most of the attendees were concentrated in the first to third seats. There weren’t many in the fourth seat, and the last, the fifth seat was almost empty, except for a fat man with a deranged smile sitting in the most inconspicuous corner, holding a handheld game console. Sensing the gaze from the front, he even looked up and gave Ju Mang a sleazy smile.

Ju Mang tugged at the corners of his mouth, turning away with a look of disgust on his face.

She complained to her shoulder-length haired companion, "Is the filth from Jilehui not dead yet?"

"Don’t make a scene; this fat bastard’s got something to him, keep it down."

In all of Yan Fu, thanks to Zhao Jianzhong’s iron-fisted suppression, despite the ingrained factionalism and the difficult-to-eradicate culture of forming cliques, there was almost no existence of any coercive, high-efficiency armed groups, with most being loose organizations based on interpersonal relationships and exchange of interests.

The few teams with double-digit Proxy Travelers, except for Third Eye Global, were all under Zhao Jianzhong’s strict control.

Besides the accounts, personnel lists, and plans that had to be disclosed to the Yan Zhao Club, Zhao Jianzhong also established several rules, one of which was that all team names must pass internal review by the Yan Zhao Club, and must be registered, examined, and licensed with the Bureau of Industry and Commerce—that’s right, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce—without any terms like "China," "National," or "International" in their names.

So names like "Wan’an Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd." weren’t entirely for show. As for names like Jilehui, which obviously suggest an abnormal organizational direction, theoretically, they wouldn’t pass the audit.

However, there are always exceptions.

Jilehui, because of its transcendent purity and harmlessness, was turned a blind eye by Zhao Jianzhong. As for the true character of this organization, it’s usually left unsaid once its full name is mentioned—most people get the gist.

The full name of Jilehui was HACG Paradise Enthusiasts Club, a purely recreational private exchange organization.

As they complained to each other, the door opened again.

This was the two hundred and fifty-first person. Jiao Chong looked forward with anticipation, even Zhao Jianzhong and Zhan Yuejin lifted their heads.

But the person who came through the door wasn’t someone who left a deep impression on anyone.

He had strong facial features and a cigarette in his mouth.

Cha Xiaodao.

"Ah," Jiao Chong sighed.

Cha Xiaodao felt a bit uneasy. He saw that Lady Dan on the seat was waving at him, so he waved back. But seeing Miss Mei in the fourth seat, resting with closed eyes, he couldn’t help but walk towards her.

Zhao Jianzhong opened his eyes, "We’ve already exceeded half of the people. I will now announce..." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Please wait a moment."

Yang Zheng rushed into the meeting room, holding onto the doorknob, his body covered in wounds.

Without saying a word, he walked over to Jiao Chong, "Old master, Boss Jiao, sorry I’m late."

Zhao Jianzhong shook his head silently.

Jiao Chong asked, "Pang Chunhao?"

Yang Zheng nodded.

"How is he?"

"If he’s lucky, he might just make it to the fifth seat."

"Understood, find a place to sit, we’re just waiting on you to start the meeting."

"Yes."

Yang Zheng tiredly walked to his seat, unbuttoned his shirt, and took out a silver spray can to spray on the wounds on his arm and neck.

"We’ve now well passed half of the people."

Zhao Jianzhong spoke up, "Now, let’s begin drafting the new list of members and seats for the Yan Zhao Club."