Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng told Secretary Wu her thoughts, and then she put her mind elsewhere.

During this time, Yu Meng stopped traveling around and always sat in her office, staring blankly out the window.

Niannian's little head peeked through the crack in the door. "Fourth Sister, I'm coming in."

"Come in. I haven't seen you for several days. Where have you been again?"

"Hehe," Niannian chuckled foolishly. Then she whispered, "Fourth Sister, my Erhui has been raised."

As they spoke, a line appeared on the table. Yu Meng looked at it; it didn't have any unusual appearance, just a thin, limp line lying on the table. There was nothing unusual about it.

Niannian pointed at it with her index finger. "This is my fourth sister. You don't need to pretend like this in front of her."

The lines remained motionless on the table. Niannian didn't give up, continuing her enticement, "Fourth Sister has high-level energy; if you behave, she might give you some."

Yu Meng couldn't help but laugh at Niannian's expression; she was trying to comfort her.

Yu Meng unleashed her domineering lines and slammed them down on the lines on the table with a "smack".

Niannian was stunned; why did she take action?

Yu Meng looked at Niannian seriously, "Niannian, the lines are meant to serve us. They have no right to throw tantrums, and you shouldn't have raised them like this. If they throw such a tantrum at a crucial moment, it could be fatal for you."

Yu Meng spoke, but her hands didn't stop moving. The little gray dog ​​on the table tried to dodge left and right, but it couldn't escape Yu Meng's domineering lines until it was beaten to a pulp and truly unable to move. Only then did Yu Meng stop.

There was a hint of heartache in Niannian's eyes, but she also knew that Yu Meng was right.

Yu Meng gestured with her eyes to take Er Hui back. "Niannian, I suggest you give this line the cold shoulder from now on."

"Fourth sister, I didn't think that much about it. I just wanted to pamper them a little, so I started to coax them without realizing it. And I really wanted to pamper them."

"Then tell me, did you spoil Little Gray Dog back then? Why didn't it behave like this?"

Niannian slowly recalled, "Back then, I was in a great hurry, and there weren't as many aliens as there are now. We had to steal the energy we needed to absorb."

"Yes, back then you were all on the same page, always fighting over them. But now, you know there are plenty of aliens, and you don't lack any. So now you're selectively absorbing them, instead of fighting over them. Your pickiness has fostered a willful temperament in it."

"I'll be more careful in the future. Fourth Sister, what's wrong with you these past few days? What are you thinking about?" Niannian changed the subject.

"Did you go to Nangong Tianshou's place? How is his recovery?"

"I went to check on him secretly. He can only stand for short periods now. Fourth Sister, I always feel there's something strange about your relationship. Aren't you going to see him in this condition?"

"You don't understand. He wouldn't want me to see him like this. He's a proud man, and this is his most pathetic moment. Only an old friend like Aunt Qing can help him accept his current state," Yu Meng explained.

Niannian nodded, "I know. For example, if my fourth sister saw me looking disheveled, I wouldn't care, but if Aunt Qing saw me, I would feel very uncomfortable."

"It's good that you know. You should also avoid that place for a while."

"I know!" Niannian moved closer to Yu Meng. "Fourth Sister, is something on your mind? I've seen you sitting there motionless several times."

"Nangong Tianshou gave me some news: the Alien Battlefield is going to be upgraded. I'm worried." Yu Meng didn't hide anything; she knew Niannian was very smart, but she just didn't focus her attention on this.

"Upgrade is great! Won't that double the alien's energy?" Niannian said excitedly. "Fourth Sister, should we stock up on some supplies now? Just in case the initial lines can't absorb higher-level energy." Niannian rubbed her hands together excitedly, her eyes shining as she looked at Yu Meng.

Hearing her thoughts, Yu Meng's heart stirred; Nian Nian's ideas were completely different from hers. She thought of Li Yiqing again, who had said that these oddly shaped beads might increase in price in the future. But she herself was worried—worried about what?

Yu Meng felt that she had misplaced herself. A hundred years ago, the alien invasion was silent, and humanity still managed to survive to this day.

Now that there are so many ways to deal with aliens, why has she developed a fear of death? Is it because her life is too good now? She resists death; subconsciously, a thought is telling her that she doesn't want to die young like in her previous life.

Niannian's idea was like a hammer, smashing a crack in the shell that Yu Meng had built around herself, allowing her to see the outside world.

Yu Meng suddenly realized that even if the aliens eventually took over human society, she would be among the last to die.

Niannian didn't know what was wrong with Yu Meng; that颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of listlessness, dejection, and apathy) aura dissipated at a visible speed. It was her fourth sister again, the one who was always so shrewd and indifferent to everything.

"Niannian, you're absolutely right! We need to stock up on goods; I want to make a fortune." Yu Meng chuckled softly.

"Fourth Sister, don't forget about me when it comes to making money," Niannian said hurriedly, afraid that Yu Meng would forget about her.

"Let's go see those soldiers. When you have some free time, teach them some of your skills. You don't need to go into too much detail, just mention it, and they'll figure it out themselves."

"Fourth Sister, you don't know, the people who let me absorb the alien line energy before all regretted it. They said their lines are not as good as those who were defeated. Now, those later warriors don't come to me. They would rather queue up than come to me." Niannian muttered as she walked.

Yu Meng didn't know what to say; she couldn't force these soldiers.

"Fourth Sister, we have enough people for the second batch. How about I go with them into the alien battlefield?"

"Fifty people already?" Yu Meng was also surprised.

Niannian pouted, "You didn't see how crazy they were during training. It was like fighting against an enemy. Every time, they went all out." Niannian shuddered, "I don't even dare to train with them now."

Yu Meng seemed to be deep in thought, "The way they train is the only way to develop real skills. That way, we can all become their sparring partners in the future. If we encounter danger, even if we can't beat them in a fight, we can at least outrun them, right? Besides, since you're using lines in your feet, your speed shouldn't be slow. We can train your agility."

"Of course, even the young man can't catch me now." Nian Nian shook her head smugly.

"That's different. These young men can't be compared to these soldiers. Their living environments are completely different. Ten young men might not be able to beat one soldier." Yu Meng nagged at Niannian. "Young men aren't the benchmark they're being compared to."

"Can I absorb energy by grasping their lines?"

"No, but you can ask for something else under the guise of gambling. Like money or something."

Niannian rested her chin on her hand, "If I catch the lines, they'll have to pay with something else, otherwise I'll really absorb their alien lines. Fourth Sister, that's a great idea." That way, I'll be able to do it again.

Seeing how happy she was, Yu Meng shook her head helplessly, wondering which unlucky person would run into Nian Nian.