Chapter 48

He Jin was well-known in the mercenary community before the apocalypse. He had set up a team of mercenaries, and although the number of people in the team was small, each one of them was a top 100 master. No matter how difficult the task entrusted to him, he could complete it. Furthermore, he had maintained an unbeaten record for decades. There were few people who knew his real name, but when it came to his codename, "Poisonous Wolf", there was no one who didn't know it in both the black and white societies.

Lu Zhenxuan was able to hire him as a bodyguard for his son for two years. Lu Zhenxuan had gone to the countryside to talk about business, but he didn't intend to be kind and big-hearted. He was a compatriot though, and when he saw his people, he spent money to ransom several C-country people that were captured by a terrorist organization in the countryside. Coincidentally, these people were members of He Jin's group. Thus, He Jin looked for Lu Zhenxuan to thank him. Knowing he couldn't recruit He Jin, Lu Zhenxuan lost sleep for a few days. In the end, he turned his head away and simply bound him as a bodyguard to his son, Lu Yun.

This, of course, was overkill. However, He Jin was very principled and he believed that a favor must be returned, not to mention that several of his brothers were helped. When the bodyguard job was offered to him, naturally, he didn't refuse. Since he was there, it was natural for his team members to follow their boss, and thus also came to Kyoto, occasionally helping Lu Zhenxuan solve troubles in order to repay their debt.

He was a bound member of the Poisonous Wolf mercenary team. Lu Zhenxuan made a big profit.

Gong Xiangyi not only knew of his unknown past, but also his future. Her impression of He Jin was too strong, and she couldn't forget it because he was to become one of the top players in the future. Even Song Haoran almost died in his hands.

In her last life, although the Gong family took control of the army, he did not have his own base. They had all fled to a neighboring province and there, first joined a certain base. Later, the base was conquered by Song Haoran's cousin, Song Haoxuan. The Gong family's power was swallowed by the Song family and Gong father died of illness at the time.

He Jin was one of the most powerful subordinates of Song Haoxuan at the time. Because of the two's competition for the base, He Jin ordered to intercept Song Haoran. Song Haoran was invincible at first, but then, his life was hanging on the line. If it was not for Lin Wenbo who brought witnesses at the crucial moment, he couldn’t have opposed He Jin and Song Haoran would definitely have died by his hands.

After He Jin rebelled, he, Lin Wenbo, and Song Haoran jointly killed Song Haoxuan and took control of Song family base. However, he didn't compete for power and materials of the base. Instead, he left with his own subordinates and formed his own forces. Since then, he had no contact with the base.

Later, when Lin Wenbo and Song Haoran won the 'clean land' and prepared to establish the largest base of C-country at that time, He Jin suddenly came to their door and fought for control of the base. At that time, his power was already quite amazing and he was on par with Lin Wenbo and Song Haoran.

It was because of the unpredictability of He Jin that made Lin Wenbo tired and busy. As a consequence, Gong Xiangyi was also left alone and died around that time. Later, Gong Xiangyi failed to learn who lost and who won the base dispute, only that she knew that this person could only be a friend, not an enemy.

He Jin's heart was cold and ruthless. Apart from his own team members, he never believed in others. However, he was very human and had great principles. If someone entered his eyes or was in his good graces, even if he had to risk his life, he would definitely help them. Therefore, this person was very easy to get along with, yet also very difficult to get along with.

Looking down and silently searching her memories of He Jin, Gong Xiangyi suddenly had a revelation. She didn't understand how He Jin appeared here, as this was not the base in her memory. However, she had, after all, changed the established history so, of course, the fate of some people would be affected. The butterfly effect had taken place and Gong Xiangyi quickly calmed down the surprise in her heart and secretly hid it.

This time, she must pull herself together and get into his good graces. The current He Jin had not experienced his companions' betrayal. His heart had not become as sinister as in the past life and was not inaccessible. She's very likely to gain his favor.

When she made up her mind, she raised her head again, and the indifference and alienation on Gong Xiangyi's face had disappeared, revealing a sweet smile filled with great kindness.

The guests ate all at the same time. The dishes served were all placed on the table by the logistics staff. They were not exquisite but common dishes. However, it was the thought that mattered and the rich fragrance spread with the steaming heat, stimulating people's taste buds. It was a luxury to be able to eat such a meal during the apocalypse.

The people who had been running for two days couldn't help but gulp and secretly thank their good fortune of being able to follow Young Master Gong and be safe and alive.

Gong Lixin stared at a plate of sweet and sour fish in front of him. His cat eyes were bigger and rounder than ever before as it sparkled with light and eagerness.

Seeing his expression, Song Haoran first felt amused but then, his heart suddenly felt dull, and his face showed his gloom. The child spent two days and two nights outside fighting for survival! Song Haoran didn't know just how much Lixin had suffered. He was afraid that the child didn't even stop and have a decent meal and had difficulty sleeping.

Along with him, Lin Wenbo, Grandfather Lin, Father Gong, and others all had the same thought. The three men looked at the child at the same time with distressed expressions on their faces.

"Everyone, eat. You're welcome to have seconds, there's enough to eat." Looking at his young son's expression, Father Gong immediately picked up his chopsticks and said with a smile.

Everyone replied in unison and couldn't wait to pick up their bowls to eat.

He Jin wanted to sit next to Gong Lixin, but Song Haoran and Lin Wenbo had a very tacit understanding. Since the beginning, they already occupied the space beside Gong Lixin. He Jin's face was dark as he had no choice but to retreat to the opposite side, next to Gong Yuanhang.

Sitting there, he could still look at the child's face when he ate, He Jin thought silently.

Father Gong saw that He Jin was not uncomfortable, not as humble, and didn't have the same restraint and panic of the others. He was very fond of him and asked with a smile.

"You have the temperament of a soldier. Have you been a soldier before?"

He Jin nodded, his attitude respectful. "Leader Gong has good eyesight. I used to serve in the Marine Corps of H State."

Gong Yuanhang was a regular in the army, so he had a good impression of the other. He Jin wasn't sure whether the other man would be disgusted with him being a mercenary, so he didn't dare tell the truth. So he reported the name of the army that once had hired him. It was strange that he had lived in this world for many years, met different men in the military and political fields, but the only one that could pressure and suffocate him, and the only person who he treated with respect was the one and only, Gong Yuanhang.

When he thought that Gong Yuanhang was Lixin's father, he could not help but want to leave a good impression in the other's mind.

Gong Yuanhang, with a calm expression, continued to ask, "Are you a citizen of H?"

He Jin nodded. "Yes, I have the nationality of H. Around this time, I went back to China to help my friend do something, but I didn't expect to meet the apocalypse along the way." The apocalypse. Fortunately, he came back. It was said that a homeland was hard to leave, after all, leaves don't fall far from their roots, and the further one was, the more they wanted to return to their motherland.

In fact, He Jin was an orphan and was all alone. Plus, with his line of work, he didn't have a fixed home. Whichever country he was in, to him, there wasn't any difference. But he was good at seeing through people and knew how to earn Gong Yuanhang's goodwill. Moreover, the joy in his words were also from the heart. Fortunately, he came back, otherwise he would not have met Gong Lixin and have such an unforgettable encounter.

When Gong Yuanhang heard this, he smiled. He patted He Jin's shoulder to show his support and comfort. The one had a good heart and the other deliberately catered to it. The conversation was very speculative.

On the other side, Gong Lixin only cared about burying his head, stuffing his small mouth, and chewing all the food at the same time, making him unable to talk freely. Song Haoran took the lead and smiled at him, helping him wipe the oil from his lips from time to time. Whenever he saw that the other's bowl was empty, he would immediately fill it up.

"Hey, you love salted chicken, right?" Song Haoran stood up and grabbed a chicken leg from the other large table and gave it to Gong Lixin.

"Here, have some sweet and sour fish. The bones have been picked out." Lin Wenbo smiled and put a deboned piece of fish into the child's bowl.

"Have some braised lion head [1], the taste is very good." Grandfather Lin also followed along and added a dish before patting Gong Lixin's head.

When Gong Yuanhang saw this, he stopped talking with He Jin. He saw that a lot of dishes that his young son loved filled his bowl until it was overflowing.

Gong Lixin thanked them with a smile, filling the family with warmth.

Wang Tao looked into his eyes and began to turn red. He couldn't help but ask, "Gong Bobo, when will the army go into the city to rescue people? Can I go along with them? I want to save my parents."

Gong Yuanhang's expression softened and he said. "It was hard to escape this far. You can't just jump back into danger again. You're still a child. There's an army there to save people. We're going to send helicopters into the city all day long. We'll search the area using heat source sensors. If there are survivors, we will definitely save them. Where's your home? Give me your address, I'll pay special attention to it."

Wang Tao felt grateful and quickly relayed his home address. He actually knew the city center was now a high-risk area and there were very few survivors, but reality was cruel and he couldn't break away from his hope.

Infected by Wang Tao's mood, Lu Yun was also in low spirits, and thus opened up, "Gong Bobo, when are you going to send us home?" He had not been able to contact his father and he began to feel uneasy after leaving danger.

"You can leave any time. Just tell me when you're ready." Gong Yuanhang gently offered. His son usually had little contact with his peers and his personality was somewhat introverted. He had been very worried about this yet, unexpectedly, during the apocalypse, his son went out and even made so many friends! This father felt very comforted and naturally, had to treat them all well, so that they will stay as his son's friends. [2]

"Thank you, Gong Bobo." Lu Yun was overjoyed and thanked him with a hoarse voice.

"You have to stay for two more days. We will be testing for ability users in the base in the next two days. Do you want to wait until the test is over?" Gong Xiangyi, who had not found a topic to talk about, finally found a timely opening.

Gong Xiangyi's words were addressed to He Jin. She wanted to use this to attract He Jin's interest. However, He Jin's eyes were lowered and his expression was cold. Clearly, he didn't care about her.

He Jin was a bit depressed at the moment. He wanted to give a dish to Gong Lixin, but seeing the Gong family one by one filling the child's bowl full of his favorites, he did not have the opportunity to interject. Regardless, he was unwilling to give up and set his mind to memorizing the child's favorite dishes.

Lu Yun was curious about Gong Xiangyi's words and his eyes brightened. But remembering his father whose status remained unknown and was far away in Kyoto, the look of excitement quickly faded, as well as any interest in that test. His current mood did not match what he truly felt in his heart and soul.

He Jin also wanted to go back as soon as possible. For one, he wanted to repay the favor he owed Lu Zhenxuan, and the other was that he was worried about his brothers in Kyoto. Truthfully speaking, his heart was eager to stay and accompany the child. However, he knew that he didn't have the qualification yet. When he had enough strength to protect the child, even if the child tried to drive him away, he would not leave.

When the child ran out of the unfinished building to rescue him, when he looked down from the top of that truck and looked at the smiling face of the child, He Jin's heart had been unconsciously stolen away by the child. His life now belonged to Gong Lixin. He already knew this.

Seeing that Lu Yun and his party didn't care about the test, Gong Xiangyi's smile stiffened, and she desperately tried to find another topic to talk about.

Seeing Gong Xiangyi's attitude suddenly warming up, Lin Wenbo's eyes flashed with thought and he looked at her with unclear meaning.

[1] Wuxian: wow, a lion head?!

[2] CrazedCookies: Papa Gong!!!