77: Chapter 77 Questioning

Outside the window, deafening rolls of thunder occasionally rumbled by, accompanied by the dull sound of rain washing against the armor.

Zhou An sat alone on the leather sofa in the second-floor common area, rubbing his throbbing temples.

He had checked with other guilds, but none of them were selling live livestock.

He pulled up his system interface, looking at the recruitment messages from City Lord Zhao Tianyu and Su Mei that still remained in his records.

"Could it be… that I really should join a large guild?"

In all honesty, if he just gave the nod now, whether it was joining Sky Engine, Hongyan Pavilion, or any other, he could immediately obtain a high status and instantly possess power above ten thousand people. This kind of shortcut was a temptation that no survivor could refuse.

But deep within his heart, there was always an extremely strong line of resistance.

It wasn't because he was overly aloof or arrogant, but because he genuinely didn't want to shoulder that heavy burden of responsibility.

Once he joined a guild and became a superior, he would inevitably have to face complex hierarchical relationships, factional struggles, and the distribution of benefits. He didn't want to deal with tens of thousands of subordinates who each had their own hidden agendas, nor did he want to have to weigh the lives of tens of thousands of people every time he made a decision.

Deep down, he was a relatively pure person, and he preferred the current atmosphere within Cloud Top Fortress.

Muzi, Old Zhang, Lin Qing, and that Luo Ning who was always acting crazy… there were no rigid hierarchies here. Apart from him being the captain and holding the final decision-making power, everyone generally treated each other as equals in their daily interactions. In this cruel apocalypse, once human connections expanded, they only became increasingly complex and dangerous.

Just as Zhou An was lost in thought staring at the virtual screen, the metal door of the second-floor laboratory slid open with a hiss.

Luo Ning shuffled out, yawning, wearing a pair of pink cartoon slippers.

She had clearly just finished a high-intensity modification experiment. The oversized, dirty coat she usually wore over her clothes had been tossed aside in the lab, and she was now only wearing a form-fitting white cotton camisole paired with casual denim shorts.

Because she spent all year indoors, her skin was dazzlingly fair. The white camisole clung to her surprisingly well-endowed youthful curves, exuding a kind of casual, unconscious, lazy allure.

She walked straight to the freezer in the corner of the living room and took out a can of freshly chilled wind spirit spirit-stabilizing special drink.

With a "pop," she pulled the tab and tilted her head back to take a large gulp.

Turning around and seeing Zhou An with his furrowed brows on the sofa, Luo Ning rolled her large eyes and tiptoed around to the back of the sofa.

She braced her hands and, like a nimble cat, vaulted up, sitting nonchalantly on the thick backrest of the sofa. She didn't face Zhou An but sat with her back to him, her two fair, straight legs dangling casually in the air.

Immediately after, Luo Ning reached back and pressed the frost-covered can in her hand against the back of Zhou An's neck, taking him completely by surprise.

"Hiss—!"

Zhou An shuddered from the bone-chilling touch, instantly jolted out of his deep contemplation.

"What are you thinking about, Boss? Your brows are furrowed so tightly you could crush a mosquito in them."

Luo Ning pulled back the can without a care, asking softly while drinking, her back still turned to him.

"I was thinking… if I'm being a bit too stubborn."

Zhou An sighed and leaned back against the sofa, the back of his head just touching the warmth radiating from Luo Ning behind him.

He explained what had just happened.

"I rejected the recruitment offers from two major guilds just because of the issue with live livestock. If it were anyone else, they probably would have already called me ungrateful."

Hearing this, Luo Ning chuckled.

"I thought it was something major; it's just for a few cows?"

Luo Ning tilted her head slightly, looking at Zhou An from the side, her tone carrying a carefree nonchalance.

"It doesn't matter if we can't raise them ourselves! If they won't sell them alive, we'll just buy the dead meat they've already slaughtered. It's not like it's poisonous or inedible."

"But that Black Flame Dragon…"

"What's wrong with letting the kid suffer a little?"

Luo Ning interrupted him directly, her tone becoming righteous.

"Young people nowadays are just too well-fed! That little black charcoal is spoiled rotten, and it refuses to eat anything but fresh, live meat? Starve it a few meals and see if it doesn't behave! I already started mashing up epic-grade spirit wheat and stuffing it into its mouth today. It spat it out at first, but after being hungry for a whole day, it's now eating it more happily than anyone. Don't worry, with me here, I guarantee I'll train it into an eco-friendly giant dragon that loves eating vegetables!"

Listening to Luo Ning's "dragon-taming tips," which could only be described as abusive, he couldn't help but "pfft" and laugh out loud.

The gloom in his heart had actually dissipated by more than half because of this girl's thoughtless, nonsensical remarks.

"Hey, that's right. It's so much better to smile."

Luo Ning turned around, changing to sit astride the back of the sofa, looking down at Zhou An. At this moment, she had put away her usual crazy demeanor, her eyes revealing a rare warmth and sincerity.

"Boss, do you know how ridiculous you are right now?"

Luo Ning reached out with her fair, tender fingers and lightly poked Zhou An's forehead.

"From the time we were dragged into this hellhole until now, it's been less than half a year by any calculation. Others are still fighting for half a piece of moldy bread, and what about you? You've created a peak LV4 mobile fortress, supported our whole family, and even saved up a fortune of over a hundred million. You've already accomplished things that 99.9% of people couldn't do in ten lifetimes, so why are you putting so much pressure on yourself?"

Zhou An looked at Luo Ning, who was right in front of him, looking into her bright, clear eyes, and a warm current flowed through his heart.

However, this heartwarming atmosphere didn't even last for three seconds before the playfulness and mischievousness in Luo Ning's bones took the upper hand again.

She suddenly lowered her head, leaning close to Zhou An, a remarkably sly and mischievous smile curling at the corner of her lips: "Honestly, Boss… you'd rather look at my face every day than go to a place like Hongyan Pavilion, which has tens of thousands of lovely young ladies, to be an honorary elder…"

Luo Ning deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, blinking her eyes: "Did you suddenly realize that this girl's charm is just too great, so much so that it's got you so captivated that you don't even care about tens of thousands of beauties?"

"I'm captivated by your big head!"

Two veins popped on Zhou An's forehead; his defenses had been completely broken by this girl. He irritably reached out with both hands, grabbed Luo Ning's fair, soft cheeks, and pulled them outward with force.

"Mmm-mmm! Let go! You exploitative tyrant!"

Luo Ning, whose face was pinched into that of a hamster, protested indistinctly while simultaneously reaching out with her two small hands to grab Zhou An's hair.

"I'll show you 'great charm'!"

Zhou An didn't let go; instead, he intensified his efforts, tickling her sides.

"Ahahaha! I was wrong, I was wrong! Boss, I was wrong! Help!"

Luo Ning was most ticklish and instantly broke down, laughing until she shook all over on the sofa.