100: Chapter 100 You've Grown Up

Zhou Tianhao nodded as he listened, occasionally interjecting with a sentence or two— "This Minister Wang Fugui sounds quite interesting."

"That young man in the wheelchair is impressive."

Zhou Yun continued.

Many refugees came, and he took them all in.

Someone tried to poison the supply, but he found out. He didn't kill the poisoners because those people had also been coerced.

City Lord Zhang Hao had kidnapped the refugees' families to force them to poison the supply, so he led his troops to Han City and killed City Lord Zhang Hao.

He paused when he reached this point.

Zhou Tianhao did not rush him.

He simply poured himself another glass of wine.

Zhou Tianhao hummed in acknowledgment, not asking for details.

Zhou Yun skipped over some things and continued.

He spoke about the White Tiger Clan—a group of intelligent desolate beasts farming on the wilderness.

He had summoned rain for them, and later they blocked the Desolate Tide for Flower City, suffering many casualties.

"Do you feel very guilty?" Zhou Tianhao asked.

"Yeah."

"And then?"

"Later... I figured some of it out. Not entirely, though."

Zhou Tianhao nodded, also not asking for more.

Zhou Yun finished the summary of the seven days and took a sip from his wine glass.

It wasn't as choking this time; the spiciness slid down his throat, leaving a warmth in his stomach.

But he knew he had left out the most important thing.

The System.

The Infinite Return System.

The spiritual rice was given by the System, the equipment was given by the System, the black jade connection paste was given by the System, and the City Lord Skill was given by the System.

Without the System, Flower City wouldn't have lasted the first day.

Those things he said about "luck," "just happened to recruit a few powerful people," and "getting help during the beast tide" — they were all fabricated.

He actually really wanted to tell him.

His father was the person he was closest to in this life.

He could hide it from anyone else, but he didn't want to hide it from his father.

But he couldn't say it.

In the City Lord World, he had the Kings Army, with 120,000 people to share the damage, making him immune to blades and spears.

His father had nothing on Earth.

A middle-aged man running a fruit shop, with no supernatural powers, no means of self-defense.

If someone were to target his father...

He didn't dare to think about it.

Therefore, he constructed a logically consistent version: he was lucky, encountered a few Silver Rank powerhouses willing to follow him, and survived the seven days with their help.

He spoke smoothly.

The details matched, and the Karma made sense.

Zhou Tianhao listened quietly until the end.

He was silent for a while.

He picked up his wine glass and took another sip.

Then he set the glass down and looked at Zhou Yun.

"Xiao Yun."

"Yeah?"

"Before, Dad was always worried about you. I thought you were still young, impulsive, and afraid you'd suffer losses out there."

Zhou Tianhao's tone was very flat, as if he were talking about something he had thought about for a long time.

"It was Dad's fault."

He poured himself another glass.

His movements were slow; the wine flowed from the bottle into the glass, making a faint sound.

"You have grown up."

Four words.

Zhou Yun was stunned for a moment.

He looked into his father's eyes.

Zhou Tianhao's gaze was gentle and calm, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, much like how he usually greeted customers in the shop.

But Zhou Yun suddenly felt that there was something different in those eyes.

Zhou Yun's hand holding the wine glass tightened slightly.

He lowered his head and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Dad."

"Yeah?"

"The wine... tastes terrible."

Zhou Tianhao laughed: "That's all you've got."

He patted Zhou Yun's shoulder again—it was the third time today.

"Get some sleep early. There's more to be busy with tomorrow."

"Yeah."

The light in the small room was turned off.

The freezer was still humming.

Through a wall, after about ten minutes, a familiar snoring sound began.

Zhou Yun lay on that small bed, listening to that sound, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

He closed his eyes.

That night, he slept very soundly.

Early the next morning, before the fruit shop had even opened, people arrived outside.

Zhou Yun was awakened by the knocking.

It wasn't ordinary knocking—it was the kind with an even rhythm, restrained force, and sounded like it had been trained.

He climbed off the small bed, rubbed his eyes, and looked out through the window of the back room.

Three black sedans were parked in front of the shop.

The car bodies were shiny, with no license plates—no, wait, they had them, but they were special series.

Beside the cars stood several people wearing dark suits, their backs straight, eyes fixed forward; one look and it was clear they weren't here to buy fruit.

Zhou Tianhao was already up.

He was wearing an old T-shirt and slippers as he went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a man in his forties leading the group stepped forward, smiling appropriately, and handed over a business card.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou, I am from Huasheng Capital—"

"Sorry," Zhou Tianhao didn't even look at the card and handed it straight back, "Our family doesn't need investment."

The man was stunned for a moment, but his smile didn't change: "Mr. Zhou, you haven't heard our terms yet—"

"No need to hear them."

Zhou Tianhao leaned against the doorframe, his tone polite but leaving no room for negotiation, "My son just got lucky; he isn't worthy of your investment. Thank you, take care."

The man opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but his colleague behind him tugged at his sleeve.

The few exchanged a look, nodded politely, got into the car, and left.

As soon as the cars left, the second group arrived.

This time it was a local corporate group, led by a gray-haired CEO who spoke ten times more politely than the previous group: "Boss Zhou, we aren't here to talk about investment, we just want to get to know you. Your son is number one in the world, his future is limitless! Our group is willing to provide some..."

"Thanks."

Zhou Tianhao interrupted him with a smile, "We really don't need it. We're just fruit sellers, we can't afford to climb high."

The CEO was a bit embarrassed by the retort, but couldn't lash out, so he exchanged a few pleasantries and left.

The third group.

The fourth group.

The fifth group.

There were companies, funds, and local governments.

All were blocked at the door by Zhou Tianhao.

His script never changed from beginning to end— "No need," "Got lucky," "Not worthy," "Thanks, take care."

His attitude was neither humble nor pushy, a smile always on his face, but he wouldn't let them step across the threshold by even half a step.

Zhou Yun listened from the back room all morning, his initial lack of understanding slowly turning into admiration.

He had secretly heard some of the conditions these people offered—some offered direct cash, some offered shares, and some promised it was "just to make friends, no return expected."

Any one of them would be a huge temptation for an ordinary person.

Yet his father didn't accept a single one.

Near noon, the last group arrived.

There were only two people.

A man and a woman, dressed plainly, no black sedans, they walked over.

The man was in his thirties, with a square face, his temperament completely different from the previous businessmen—steady, reserved, with a calm sharpness in his eyes.

The woman looked like an assistant, carrying a briefcase.

Zhou Tianhao blocked the door as usual.

The man didn't hand over a business card, just bowed slightly: "Mr. Zhou, I am from the capital."