235: Chapter 236 Good kill

The wooden floor on the second floor had seen some years; it would emit a faint creaking sound when stepped on.

On the wooden table, several plates of steaming hot dishes just brought back by the men in suits were already laid out, alongside an opened bottle of strong liquor, the heavy liquid swaying slightly within two glass cups.

The father and son sat facing each other.

Zhou Yun used his chopsticks to poke at the beef in the plate before him, his gaze falling on the liquor in the cup, as he broke the silence first:

"Dad, after what happened last time, has that man named Chen contacted you again?"

Zhou Tianhao did not answer immediately.

He simply picked up his wine glass and downed the liquor in one gulp.

The strong liquor surged straight down his throat, bringing with it a searing, spicy heat.

He grabbed a peanut, tossed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, swallowed, and then said slowly:

"The Wang Group has deep, tangled roots; the water is too deep. It's not as simple as those few small fish floating on the surface eating bait."

He set down the cup, his eyes appearing somewhat profound in the dim light:

"According to the information I've gathered during this time, behind the Wang Group, there is an eighty percent chance it is one of the four princes in the Heavenly Dao World... the Prince of the Southern Suppression."

Hearing this name, Zhou Yun's gaze darkened slightly.

When they were in Flower City, Strategist Zhu Ge had speculated that Wang Shuai had an Intermediate City-level prince backing him.

Now, his own father had reached a similar conclusion.

Combined with those few burly men in suits who appeared suddenly...

It seems...

During the time he had been away from Blue Star, some unusual things had also happened.

Besides, if the roots of the Wang Group really went as deep as one of the four kings, the Prince of the Southern Suppression, then the Great Han Nation officials would indeed face enormous resistance when dealing with the Wang family's assassination attempts.

"But before I set off, that man named Chen promised me..." Zhou Yun said.

"The nation has not sat idly by."

Zhou Tianhao picked up a piece of cold beef with his chopsticks, interrupting Zhou Yun.

His expression did not change much, but his voice lowered slightly:

"It's just that some things can be solved for a moment, but not for a lifetime."

Zhou Yun fell silent.

He understood what his father meant.

Even if the Great Han Nation officials withstood the pressure to punish them according to the law, the existence of a prince like the Prince of the Southern Suppression was simply too heavy a weight for the Great Han Nation, which was currently seeking an overall ascension.

In other words, on Blue Star, if the Wang Group truly decided one day to go to any lengths to deal with a person or an organization, the resistance the nation could offer might not be so substantial.

Yet, in this situation, his father could not go to the City Lord World and had to remain on Blue Star.

Thinking of this, his heart could not help but tighten.

He had to bring his father to the Heavenly Dao World as soon as possible.

He thought to himself.

Only by settling his father in Flower City could he be at ease.

And to bring his father to the City Lord World, there was only one path.

That was to promote to a Higher City Lord and create an Imperial Dynasty!

Zhou Tianhao seemed to have guessed Zhou Yun's thoughts.

He saw him chewing the beef unhurriedly, picking up his wine glass, and saying:

"Don't worry so much about the matters on Blue Star; with the laws of the Great Han Nation supporting things, they can't stir up any big waves. As for the City Lord World, if you can avoid getting involved, then don't."

Hearing this, Zhou Yun's fingers tightened slightly on his chopsticks, and a heavy yet helpless bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"Dad, it's too late."

?

Zhou Tianhao's action of picking up food paused.

He shifted his gaze from his chopsticks to look at Zhou Yun, somewhat confused.

Zhou Yun met Zhou Tianhao's gaze and said:

"Wang Shuai was killed by me."

The room fell silent in that instant, with only the faint, bustling sounds of the old street echoing in the air outside the window.

Zhou Tianhao's body stiffened for a full two seconds.

Then, he continued to put the beef on his chopsticks into his mouth, chewing slowly.

He swallowed the food, casually refilled the empty wine glass, and downed it in one gulp again.

Only after setting down the bottom of the cup did Zhou Tianhao let out a slight breath.

He looked at his son and spat out three words:

"Well killed."

...

That night, the crowd outside the old street did not disperse until very late.

The gray rolling shutter door blocked the camera flashes and also blocked those rising and falling shouts.

Unknowingly, the bright moon hung in the sky, yet the voices outside the window never truly quieted down.

Occasionally, the humming of drones would sweep over the old street, only to be quickly forced back by the military's security drones.

Further away, the crowd outside the cordon line was still holding up their phones, trying to catch a glimpse of the shadow belonging to "Duke Zhou" through the old buildings and the gray rolling shutter door.

And as the footage of Jianghai City Mayor Zhang Ze personally delivering the invitation was uploaded to the internet, the news that Zhou Yun would head to the Forbidden City in two days to attend the Congress of Kings and Dukes spread like a spark thrown into boiling oil, exploding across the entire Great Han Nation in just a few hours.

The Congress of Kings and Dukes.

These four words carried immense weight for the people of the Great Han Nation.

It concerned the Great Han's supreme power in the City Lord World, and it also concerned whether the entire nation could complete its overall ascension in the future.

Every time the Congress of Kings and Dukes was convened, it would draw the attention of countless people.

Even if ordinary people had no qualifications to know what was truly discussed within the meeting, they would still guard in front of the live broadcasts, trying to piece together a bit of the trend from the ceremonial motorcades, seating arrangements, official press releases, and the few words uttered after the meeting.

Not to mention that this time, the person attending was Zhou Yun.

The Great Han's seventeenth Duke.

The youngest Duke in global history.

In the first hour the news spread, the local forum of Jianghai City crashed once.

In the second hour, the trending search lists of several national social media platforms were occupied in turns by terms like "Zhou Yun," "Duke of Flower City," "Congress of Kings and Dukes," "Jianghai City Fruit Shop," and "Two Days Later, Forbidden City."

By the second half of the night, even the trending search for a new song just released by a singer named Wang was forced out of the top twenty, pushed down from second place.

The people in the comment section who were originally discussing the song also had their tone become subtle.

[Sorry, Teacher Wang, this time it's really not against you.]

[It's fate, Wangzi!]

[Too miserable, it's really too miserable!]

...

People continued to joke while scrolling through the videos leaked from the scene at the old street.

In the footage, Jianghai City Mayor Zhang Ze stood before the gray rolling shutter door, bowing as he delivered the invitation.

Inside the door, Zhou Tianhao opened it first; his figure was not tall, yet like a silent stone, he blocked most of the prying eyes.

Further back, in the dim fruit shop, Zhou Yun wore a gray robe, his face handsome and refined, just lowering his head to accept the gold-stamped invitation.

No excitement.

No ostentation.

Not even a single extra word was spoken.

But the more it was like this, the more the netizens couldn't stop watching.

[Tsk tsk, Duke Zhou is indeed Duke Zhou; he is different at a glance!]

[So handsome, so handsome, so handsome, so handsome!!!!]

[Half a month, from a new City Lord to the Duke of Flower City. Brothers, I wouldn't even dare to write this in a power fantasy novel!]

[The point is he is still so calm. If I were made a Duke at this age, I would want to laugh all the way from Jianghai City to the Forbidden City.]

[That's why you are not Duke Zhou.]