220: Chapter 219 I'm Actually a Clown

Wang Lin is Zeng Aniu's nephew? He recalled asking him to meet on the Rooftop.

At that time, he thought Wang Lin was just a student with no background who used connections to get in.

Now he knew that Wang Lin's backer was Zeng Aniu, the Twelve Zodiacs.

Zhao Meng's back was soaked in cold sweat, his legs were trembling, his lips were quivering, and his entire body was shaking.

He remembered just now asking Old Zhao to teach Wang Lin a lesson. If Old Zhao had actually gone, what would have happened to him?

Would he have been beaten to death by Old Zhao? Or beaten to death by Zeng Aniu?

Zhao Meng didn't dare to think about it.

Old Zhao grabbed Zhao Meng by the hair and dragged him in the direction of Wang Lin.

With his hair being pulled, Zhao Meng could only wail, but his cries seemed powerless in the mist.

Old Zhao dragged Zhao Meng to where Wang Lin was and threw him onto the ground like a bag of trash.

Zhao Meng fell to the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt, looking utterly disheveled.

Old Zhao forced a smile and said to Wang Lin, "Wang Lin, I'm truly sorry. I didn't expect my nephew here to have had some misunderstandings about you before."

"I've brought him over now to apologize to you."

Wang Lin looked down at Zhao Meng on the ground, then glanced at Old Zhao.

"Uncle Zhao, the matter between me and Zhao Meng is already in the past. It wasn't really a big deal anyway."

Lying on the ground, Zhao Meng heard Wang Lin's words, and his eyes turned slightly red—not from pain, but from shame.

He recalled his sense of superiority from just moments ago, and all those petty schemes of his.

In front of Wang Lin, he was like a clown.

Zeng Aniu walked over, looked down at Zhao Meng, and grinned:

"Kid, your uncle is one of my people, and since you're his nephew, you're one of us from now on."

"Whatever happened in the past is water under the bridge."

Zeng Aniu reached out, pulled Zhao Meng up from the ground, and patted his shoulder—a slap that nearly knocked Zhao Meng back down.

Zhao Meng steadied himself and nodded: "Understood, Boss Niu."

Zhou Zhenghao stood in place, watching the group of people wearing Zeng Aniu Slaughterhouse uniforms, his eyes widening.

At first, he thought they were just ordinary The Slaughterhouse employees,

but when he saw the giant demonic beasts they were dragging behind them on iron chains, each one exuded an oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe.

His heart began to race.

Those were Level 7 and Level 8 demonic beasts, not the low-level exotic beasts of Level 3 or 4 found in the safe zone.

People capable of hunting demonic beasts of that level couldn't possibly be ordinary employees; they had to be high-ranking members.

High-ranking members of the The Slaughterhouse meant high-ranking members of the Twelve Zodiacs.

Then he heard Zhao Meng call out "Boss Niu."

Boss Niu?

Zhou Zhenghao's brain worked at lightning speed. The owner of the Zeng Aniu Slaughterhouse was surnamed Zeng, and everyone called him Boss Niu.

So the person in front of him was none other than Zeng Aniu himself, one of the members of the Twelve Zodiacs.

A chill ran down Zhou Zhenghao's back. He had never imagined he would meet a core member of the Twelve Zodiacs in a place like this.

That was the most mysterious and powerful organization in the Holy City; countless people would break their heads trying to get in.

And now, Zeng Aniu was standing right in front of him, chatting and laughing with Wang Lin, and acting like brothers with Zhao Meng's uncle, Old Zhao.

An indescribable emotion surged in Zhou Zhenghao's heart.

He looked at Wang Lin, then at Zhao Meng, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

It turned out the clown was actually himself.

Wang Lin, whom he thought was just a freshman who used connections to get in, and whose record-breaking physical test result was just luck.

Now he knew that Wang Lin's backer was Zeng Aniu, the Twelve Zodiacs.

Zhao Meng, whom he thought was just a reckless brute with a bit of brute strength and no brain.

He hadn't expected that Zhao Meng's uncle, Old Zhao, was a supervisor of the The Slaughterhouse's inner district and was on brotherly terms with Zeng Aniu.

Su Wanqing, needless to say, was a direct descendant of the Su Family, with wealth that could rival a nation.

Qiao Shuwan appeared to be a girl who was strong but cold-tempered.

Her father, Qiao Bo, although seemingly just the owner of an advertising company, was well-connected across various factions and had dealings with all of them.

Yet he himself came from an ordinary background, with no connections, no backers, and no influence.

He had been the squad leader for so many days, thinking he was superior to the others.

In the end, he was the one with the least background in the whole team.

Zhou Zhenghao took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment in his heart.

Now was not the time to dwell on these things. The opportunity was right in front of him; if he missed it, he would never have a second chance in this lifetime.

Zhou Zhenghao stepped forward and forced a smile: "Zhao Meng, I had no idea your uncle was so impressive, working within the Twelve Zodiacs. You really hid that well!"

Zhao Meng chuckled: "You know now? Yeah, my uncle has been working at the The Slaughterhouse for many years."

His tone carried a hint of pride, but it was much more restrained than before.

After what just happened, he didn't dare to be cocky anymore.

Zhou Zhenghao nodded and then turned to Wang Lin, his smile deepening:

"Wang Lin, you too. I didn't expect you to be so close to Boss Niu. Why didn't you say so earlier when we were in the team?"

"What's there to talk about? I'm not going to be a butcher after I graduate. Besides, I'm not a member of the Twelve Zodiacs."

"What? You're not joining the Twelve Zodiacs?"

Wang Lin nodded: "I joined the Holy See."

Zhou Zhenghao's brain couldn't process this for a moment.

The Holy See? The organization based on ancient martial arts and bound by faith?

He had assumed Wang Lin's backer was the Twelve Zodiacs, and that Wang Lin's goal after graduation was to join the Twelve Zodiacs.

He hadn't expected Wang Lin to go straight into the Holy See.

"Brother, what were you thinking?"

Wang Lin thought for a moment: "The Holy See offered me terms I couldn't refuse."

Zhou Zhenghao really couldn't understand what kind of terms could be more important than joining the Twelve Zodiacs.

The Twelve Zodiacs was the most powerful combat organization in the Holy City; joining them meant strength, status, resources, and protection.

Although the Holy See had a long history, it hadn't been as active as the Twelve Zodiacs in recent years,

and joining the Holy See required faith, obedience to religious rules, and strict ancient martial arts training.

Zhou Zhenghao shook his head, but didn't ask any more questions.

He knew that with Wang Lin's personality, if he didn't want to say anything, asking more would be useless.

"Then what is your relationship with Boss Niu?"

Wang Lin looked at him. "He's my uncle."

Uncle? A biological uncle? Or a godfather? Or some other relationship he didn't know about?

But Zhou Zhenghao didn't pursue it; he was afraid that asking too much would annoy Wang Lin.

He turned his head toward Zeng Aniu and forced a smile: "Hello, Uncle Niu! I'm Wang Lin's classmate. You can just call me Little Zhou."

Zeng Aniu's gaze swept over Zhou Zhenghao: "Little Zhou? Sure, Little Zhou."

"Keep following Wang Lin, and you'll have a bright future."

Zhou Zhenghao's eyes suddenly lit up.

Was this a hint?

Zeng Aniu was a core member of the Twelve Zodiacs; if he said "following Wang Lin" had a future, did that mean as long as he stuck close to Wang Lin, he would have a chance to join the Twelve Zodiacs?

Zhou Zhenghao's heart began to race.