Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng's second change of heart left the cripple and the long-haired man exhausted, both physically and mentally.

The cripple was too weak to continue. "Yu Meng, just tell me, how can you take us in?"

Yu Meng blinked. "You can come if you want, but don't make me do any work or take the blame."

Both of them felt that they couldn't keep up with Yu Meng's train of thought.

The long-haired man tentatively asked, "Can Chen Ming come with you? He's the sole heir to these resources."

"Why follow me? Isn't it the same if he follows you?"

Seeing that things seemed to be going back to square one, the cripple hurriedly spoke up, "Yu Meng, that Chen Ming is too weak. Have your men take care of him, lest he get kidnapped even at home."

Yu Meng felt a little awkward when the topic of kidnapping came up. But then she realized that they didn't know, so she had no reason to feel guilty.

"It's not that this is impossible, but the training is very tough. Can he handle it?"

The long-haired man nodded repeatedly, "That kid can endure hardship."

It seemed that everything was resolved here, and Yu Meng stood up as well. "You old friends have a lot to say together, so I won't disturb you any longer. Chen Ming has Uncle Wu send him to the first battlefield; whatever choice he makes is up to him."

As she reached the door, she turned back to the long-haired man and said, "Don't forget to have someone deliver the inheritance you promised me."

Yu Meng left, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

"The one with long hair, Yu Meng is too difficult to deal with. She hasn't agreed to any of our requests."

"Take it slow. If we really need something, we can ask her for help. She should be able to help us, after all, we're working for her."

"Sigh! I say, are you really going to give her that book?"

"Hmm, I really hope she learns it. When she sees a wider world, do you think she won't be tempted?"

"Do you want her to come back with us? Would she agree? Would she give up everything she has now?"

The long-haired man spoke leisurely, "We won't lose anything by making a bet."

The cripple looked at him with a complicated expression. "You'd better be careful. If she finds out, we'll be in big trouble."

"How could that be? I didn't harm her; I just gave her another option."

Yu Meng returned to her room; she hadn't intended to refuse in the first place. Just look at the cripple; for people like him who've lived long enough, face is worthless.

But now it's good that she's agreed to let them come along, but they still have to take care of their own affairs.

But if Uncle Wu comes looking for her again, she can simply turn him away. Perfect.

As for what happened in the second and third battlefields, let's just say that the aliens were a piece of cake for her.

The important thing to pay attention to now is the Jing family's affairs. Mi Ying should be back soon, right? I wonder what kind of news he will bring back.

And what about the fourth battlefield, the research institute that has been hiding in the background? What exactly is it up to?

Yu Meng doesn't like to cause trouble, but if someone provokes her, she's not one to back down. Perhaps she could send someone from the Secret Service to investigate, and also test their capabilities.

Yu Meng sat there, her eyes closed, thinking about many things.

After sorting things out, he took out the alien mother crystal core again.

It hadn't changed much from the original. The energy liquid in the small droplet increased very slowly; almost half a month had passed before she absorbed another drop.

But some subtle changes occurred in her mind. The little black cat no longer existed in the form of a cat, but instead returned all its lines to their original form.

They were arranged in a special way, rising and falling as if breathing. Yu Meng did not interfere; she simply watched and waited quietly.

……

Two days later, Secret Shadow brought back information about the Jing family.

The old butler of the Jing family didn't discover the beautiful woman until ten days later.

The reason for this discovery was that the tea room was scheduled to be replaced periodically.

Yes, all the furnishings inside need to be replaced with new ones, something that won't be repeated.

The old steward was taking inventory of the things in the room when he realized that a small couch was missing.

In an instant, he sensed something was wrong. He ordered the courtyard sealed off and then went to find all the powerful elders of the Jing family.

The moment the truth was revealed, the Jing family's world collapsed. Instead of vying for power within the Jing family, they each found various excuses and quickly fled with their favorite members.

In the dark, damp basement, the beautiful woman no longer had her former makeup.

The old steward didn't let anyone approach; he personally placed the person in the coffin before having them carried to the mourning hall.

When Jing Ancheng arrived, everything had already been arranged. He knelt down, kowtowed, and then stood guard to the side.

The old butler, expressionless, arranged for all the guests. He kept Jing Ancheng by his side and quietly introduced the guests' identities.

Jing Ancheng had many questions, but the old butler brushed them off with excuses.

"Let's get this done first."

Jing Ancheng agreed, and half a month later, everything was settled.

Jing Ancheng then realized that the huge Jing family home seemed to be nearly empty. He couldn't find a single one of his former companions.

"Uncle Butler, could you tell me what illness Auntie has? How could it have progressed so quickly? She was perfectly fine when I came back last time!"

The old butler, his back hunched, said, "Young master, the mistress isn't ill; she was murdered."

Jing Ancheng jumped to his feet. "What did you say?"

The old butler told him everything he knew: "After the incident, I checked those mechanisms, and it turned out that someone had secretly altered the lower mechanisms. The head of the family was caught off guard and was lying on the couch when he fell into the basement."

The old butler wiped away his tears. "It's all my fault. I discovered the master was missing that afternoon. I should have checked more carefully."

"Which day?" Jing Ancheng asked.

"That morning, some things were stolen from the house, and the head of the household was very angry. At noon, she went to the tea room to rest, and I watched her go in. Later, I was busy looking for something, so I left for a short while."

"What did you lose that day?"

The old butler shook his head. "I don't know the specifics, but I do know it's very important."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"She's a tutor who teaches children; she came to report early this morning."

"Where is he? Where is he now?"

The old butler lowered his head. "She failed in her duty; she has done her best."

"Have the elders elected a new family head yet?" Jing Ancheng clenched his fists tightly. "What did they say?"

The old housekeeper knelt down with a thud, his lips trembling, "They, they've all left. Not a single one of them wanted to stay."

Jing Ancheng was bewildered. "Why?"

The old butler shook his head. "Young master, there's no one left. The Jing family is left unattended. Those wolves are coming. You'd better think of something quickly, or the Jing family will really be gone."

He lay on the ground, weeping bitterly.

Jing Ancheng went to help him up, "But I don't understand any of this either. Why did those people leave? They usually fight over things quite fiercely."

The old butler was helped to sit in a chair. I asked one of the people working there, and they said they had heard some things.

"What is it?"

"They said if they don't leave, they'll die here." The old butler was also full of doubt.

The Shadow paused at this point in the story.

Yu Meng glanced at him. "And then?"