My lord, spare his life!

Zhe Meng still felt it was somewhat unreal.

Did Zhang Yang really just let him and her split up like that?

"Isn't my lord afraid of being betrayed by his subordinate?"

If she betrays him after entering the city, Zhang Yang will be in danger—although Zhe Meng didn't intend to do so, you can't judge a book by its cover, and Zhang Yang doesn't know she wasn't planning to. Putting oneself in a dangerous situation will jeopardize even the strongest trust.

Zhang Yang: "Tell the truth or a lie?"

"A lie?"

"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. Since I dared to use you, I won't easily question my decision. That's a lie."

"Is it the truth?"

"Bafeng should have already caught your whole family."

Zhe Meng doesn't mind becoming all alone, and Zhang Yang naturally doesn't mind being betrayed. She has the confidence and resources to escape unscathed, but do Zhe Meng's family have the ability to rise from the dead?

There's absolutely no need to doubt Zhe Meng.

As the old saying goes—

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

Zhe Meng's face visibly flushed red. She forced herself to look away, afraid that she might make an irreparable mistake in the heat of the moment. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Fine, fine, fine, fine, that damned Lü Bafeng!"

Zhang Yang was puzzled.

Holding hostages to prevent generals from being easily turned on the battlefield—isn't this a common tactic in chaotic times? She assumed Zhe Meng had this tacit understanding. Zhang Yang's face showed her doubt, while Zhe Meng bit his cheek, suppressing his anger: "I left people at home. In case something happens on the battlefield, or if Zongzheng County falls, those people will immediately escort the family to another place for refuge."

Normally, the reaction time is sufficient.

It takes time for news to travel from the front lines to the rear, but Zhang Yang and his men also had many things to attend to on their first day in Zongzheng County, such as pacifying the people and boosting morale. There were too many more important matters to attend to, and it was unlikely they would immediately seek out Zhe Meng's family upon entering the city. As a surrendered general, Zhe Meng was cooperative enough, and even if Zhang Yang had such intentions, he wouldn't show it so openly.

Even if we take a step back and say that we secretly search for Zhe Meng's family, it will still take time.

The fact that Zhe Meng's men did not escape immediately, but instead allowed her family to fall into Zhang Yang's hands, only proves that someone ordered a direct attack on Zhe Meng's hometown during the siege, and took her family away.

Aside from Lü Yuan, who has a close relationship with Zhe Meng and knows exactly where her home is, who else could be this efficient?

Lu Yuan deserved to be scolded.

Zhang Yang: "...Bafeng will treat your family well."

Zhe Meng didn't want to mention that son of a bitch.

Although the entire Zongren County was under martial law, Zhang Yang and his companion were small and unnoticed, so it wouldn't be too difficult for them to sneak in unnoticed, especially since Zhang Yang was following the path Zhang Dagu had taken. Zhe Meng stopped near Zongren County.

She took a deep breath and slapped herself on the back.

If you're going to put on a show, go all the way.

Lu Bafeng, she'll deal with that bastard when she gets back.

She made herself look pathetic, while at the same time Zhang Yang was like a mouse that had fallen into a granary. The enemy's protection of the granary was comprehensive, but it couldn't withstand a star beast with extremely strong reconnaissance capabilities, and an NPC named Zhang Yang with maxed-out stealth abilities.

They found their target without much effort.

It seemed that Zongren County was also prepared for a stalemate, continuously procuring provisions from outside and transporting them over. When Zhang Yang quietly landed, hundreds of laborers were unloading and inspecting the provisions. Guards stood every three steps, and patrols were conducted every five steps; any suspicious or unfamiliar targets were thoroughly screened, for fear that spies might have infiltrated.

Little did they know that someone was secretly switching things out right under their noses.

Zhang Yang looked at her current state with satisfaction; a disguise buff appeared below her name and avatar: "[Disguised as a laborer]". Taking advantage of carrying sacks of grain, she carefully observed the exact locations of several granaries. Some granaries were still busily being stocked and inventoried, while others were already full. Occasionally, soldiers supervising the grain work would yell at the laborers for being too slow, and if they got impatient, they would even crack their whips. Zhang Yang noted down the location of each granary and the status of its stockpiling.

It is inconvenient to steal items that are being put into storage.

The grain warehouses that have already been sealed and stored are open for inspection.

They won't reopen the inspection anytime soon.

She had already arranged with Zhang Dagu, who would go and search for the next target, then come and pick her up. Given Zhang Yang's efficiency, by the time Zhang Dagu returned, her business would be nearly finished. The two of them, one human and one bird, worked together to maximize efficiency.

"Has no one eaten?"

"What are you dawdling about!"

A whip lashed Zhang Yang and one of the laborers in his group, knocking him to the ground. Two heavy sacks slipped from his shoulders and pressed down on his head, leaving him unable to get up for a moment. With nowhere to hide, he could only scream and beg for mercy. Zhang Yang's gaze lingered on the laborer for a moment, but before he could react, the grain supervisor noticed the fallen laborer and the others in his group. He shouted several more angry curses and raised his whip in threat.

"Don't even think about finishing anything until it gets dark!"

Zhang Yang closed her eyes, suppressing her emotions. If she still considered these laborers who were being beaten and verbally abused as NPCs, she might not have had any other thoughts—caring about the pain and life or death of a string of data was a foolish and meaningless act. But this was the real world, the pain was real, and most people normally only had one life.

Zhang Yang used his peripheral vision to remember the person's appearance.

She was already very familiar with the emotions she was feeling at that moment.

Shu Yan said this emotion is called "unbearable," the urge to snap a soldier's neck is called "anger," the restraint from alerting the enemy is called "forbearance," and the thought of secretly remembering the other person's face to prepare for revenge is called "holding a grudge." Human emotions are far too complex and abundant; a single event can evoke so many different emotions...

Zhang Yang realized that her previous imitations and observations were not so detailed and accurate, but fortunately, the subjects she observed were relatively abstract and naive and easy to deceive, which allowed her to get away with it for sixteen years.

The maximum number of game squares is 9999.

Even if you empty these granaries, they won't take up much space.

Zhang Yang checked each item in turn, and her game inventory now contained several more food bag icons, which pleased her greatly. Since it was a free purchase, she didn't mind the inconsistent quality of the food—after all, different qualities of food would display different names, and only items with the same name could be folded in the same game grid.

"Oh, I forgot about you."

As dusk approached, a soldier supervising the grain supply had just entered his tent to rest and have a drink of cool water when he heard a ghostly voice beside him. Terrified, he tried to call for help but found no sound. A despairing cracking sound came from his neck, and his body went limp and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Zhang Yang put the corpse into his game inventory.

I stared at the corpse that took up a whole inventory slot in the game, lost in thought.

Perhaps it's because of her increased [Intelligence], but she often finds herself lost in profound contemplation. For example, right now, she's pondering a question—a soldier whips a laborer but doesn't kill him, yet she kills the soldier, thus reducing the world's life. But if she had done nothing, would the world have remained unchanged?

So, is doing nothing actually the right thing to do?

Zhang Yang: "...Indeed profound."

She patted her bottom and followed Zhang Dagu to their next target.

Fan You, Yuan Xie, and Xiao Sui had all told Zhang Yang that if he couldn't figure something out, he should save it up and ask them for answers, instead of getting stuck on it on his own. Zhang Yang wholeheartedly agreed with this.

"You rabid dog, don't make false accusations."

The scouts brought back Zhe Meng, covered in blood, and Zhe Meng also brought them a shocking piece of bad news that was enough to shake their hearts.

This devastating news left many people completely stunned.

What do you mean by saying that the troops summoned by the two prefectures didn't actually go to reinforce Zongzheng Prefecture, but instead that someone colluded with them from within and without, deliberately smuggling supplies away? This news is obviously fake. Someone, enraged, drew his sword to kill Zhe Meng: "You must have been bribed!"

Zhe Meng gritted his teeth and swallowed his pain.

"Whether it's true or false, a simple check will tell."

She wasn't flustered at all.

These people in front of him were somewhat familiar faces, people he had some connections with. Without concrete evidence that Zhe Meng was guilty, they wouldn't kill him immediately. On the surface, Zhe Meng was of impeccable lineage and had some marriage ties with the Zongren County.

If it weren't for this layer, she would have been killed right after she finished speaking.

Zhe Meng cursed Lü Yuan as a bastard in his heart, completely forgetting that the real proposer of this plan was Zhang Yang, not Lü Bafeng.

"How do you plan to investigate? You mean send troops to catch up with the people at the front lines and question them about whether they were using the pretext of supporting Zongzheng County to secretly raid the granaries of both counties?"

Zhe Meng: "Why go to such lengths when it's so close? Just check the granary."

She didn't know how fast Zhang Yang acted, but she was just following the script. If the plan failed because Zhang Yang messed up, it wouldn't be her problem. She was only responsible for her own part.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

The person speaking felt like their head was about to explode.

Was my sister-in-law drunk and acting crazy?

He's the one in charge of the grain depot's logistics!

Does he not know whether he has a problem or not?

Zhe Meng insisted that the information he brought was correct.

"Fine, you won't admit it until you see the coffin! Go, send someone to the granary to check if the grain is still there!"

When the news reached the grain depot, the person in charge of supervising the grain transport was also puzzled.

They just inventoried and put the goods into stock, and now they're checking them?

When I opened it and took a look, my legs almost went weak.

"Empty, empty... How, how could this be..." She rubbed her eyes again and again, but the granary was still empty, as if the memory of watching the grain being stored not long ago was just a figment of her imagination.

The message was relayed back at lightning speed.

The scholar who was nominally Zhe Meng's elder brother-in-law: "..."

He almost crushed the armrest.

What does it mean when the granary is empty?

"How come such a large grain warehouse is empty?"

His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly ordered people to check the other granaries.

The results that came back were like a thunderbolt to everyone.

It's empty, completely empty.

Every grain depot and every granary was spotless, as if someone had licked them clean; not a single grain of millet could be found. When Zhe Meng heard this, she was also taken aback, but her injuries were severe, and her pale face concealed any abnormality: "Now is it believable? I escaped alive, so why didn't I seek help from them, but instead came here to ask for help?"

She looked at her brother-in-law, who seemed to be questioning the meaning of life.

He said, "We're related by marriage, how could I possibly harm you?"

The elder brother-in-law had no one to confide in.

If this isn't considered harmful, then what is?

He was in charge of procuring and managing the grain supplies. If the supplies went missing, the blame would fall directly on him, and his entire family would be in danger. He gritted his teeth, pacing anxiously in place.

"How can we retrieve this grain...?"

Zhe Meng secretly rolled his eyes.

My brother-in-law is still thinking about finding the grain.

It's clear that no one believes the reinforcements would abscond with the supplies; it's simply too absurd. But even the most outrageous accusation can't overshadow undeniable facts. If they don't believe their own troops stole the supplies, they must believe someone secretly looted the entire granary. Consider how many grain silos were in those three granaries combined? And each one was full. How much manpower and time would it take to empty them all?

Because we understand this, we know it's impossible.

They had to choose between two outrageous options.

They either believed their own people had tricked them, absconding with the grain and over ten thousand elite troops, or they believed that several thousand laborers had indeed worked under the watchful eyes of the granary guards for a day or two without alerting anyone, successfully transferring the granary.

For a moment, it was hard to say which was more outrageous.

The elder brother's face turned ashen, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Zhe Meng, his face deathly pale, added in a low voice, "Actually, there is a third possibility: a highly skilled infiltrator might have secretly infiltrated several granaries and stolen the grain using their own spatial abilities."

The elder brother-in-law said with a bitter face, "...Do you even want me to talk like that?"

He suspected that Zhe Meng was being sarcastic or sarcastic.

Where in this world can such a vast space come from?

Even if such a person were strong enough, they would at least be able to lift a mountain hundreds of meters high with one arm, and casually weigh the mockery.

No, perhaps even more strength is needed.

Zhe Meng said, "You have to believe one of them."

These days, nobody believes you when you tell the truth.

Brother-in-law: "..."

He closed his eyes tightly, his despair beyond words.

Zhe Meng sighed, feeling a little sympathy for her brother-in-law. If she hadn't been in the know, she would have been completely bewildered by this. She kindly reminded him, "Now is not the time to make choices. You should first think about how to explain the loss of the supplies."

She never expected that the person in charge of the supplies was her brother-in-law.

If you had known, why would you have to be so cruel to yourself?

Just do a quick, perfunctory job; as long as it looks passable, that's fine.

The elder brother's lips trembled: "How are we going to explain this?"

It's like someone coming up to him and asking how to fix a collapsed sky. He's not Nuwa, how would he know how to fix it?

Zhe Meng's tone was icy: "If you don't confess, not only will you lose your life and fortune, but your entire family will also be in danger."

The cold reality dealt him a heavy blow.

He panicked so much that his breathing became heavy.

Yes, now the responsibility lies with him.

If he doesn't choose one of the three outrageous possibilities and shift the blame, not only will he die, but his whole family will die!

When he came to his senses, he saw that his hands were trembling.

The incident happened so suddenly that he didn't even have a chance to move his family away.

"Even if we take a step back and say that the supplies weren't moved by our own people but stolen by the enemy, have you ever thought about how to feed the more than 10,000 troops at the front? How do you think we should fight this battle?" Zhe Meng's voice was weak, yet it seemed to haunt him like a ghost.

??|??w?`)

The mammogram results are good; there's nothing to worry about.