Chapter 261: Becoming a Bandit Today
(Let me see how much you guys have read.)
The night was damp, the ground was damp, the air was still, and the woods were silent.

"Haven't you figured out what to say yet?"

Twenty minutes have passed.

Under a parasol not far from the shore, Zhuo heard the words of the person opposite him and straightened his back.

Sitting in front of Zhuo was a man with pure black hair, a pair of light golden eyes, fair skin, and a calm temperament that was inconsistent with his appearance.

This was the first time Zhuo met him, but they were not strangers. They did not tell each other their names, because both of them knew each other's situation.

"Mr. Lu Mingze."

After Zhuo replied, he - Lu Mingze, Zero, the boss, turned his gaze to Zhuo and smiled faintly.

"It's not really our first meeting. But this should be the first time we've talked to each other knowing each other."

"...Well, yes." Zhuo paused and then said, "I think I understand why you let Renata get close to me, but now I don't know how to talk to you."

Regarding calling Zero "Renata" instead of Zero's name, the other party did not show any sign of wavering. Perhaps he saw this aspect very clearly.

Upon hearing this, the boss gave a faint smile that was almost bitter.

The impression he left on people was not cowardly but gentle. At first glance, he didn't seem like the kind of person who was full of scheming and would ruthlessly abandon others for the sake of profit. But you can't judge a person by his appearance alone. What you see now is just the surface.

"That's a long story, can I borrow some of your time?"

"Isn't that why you waited for me here?"

"Yes," the boss nodded gently, admitting this frankly, "Thank you very much for accepting such a hasty request. Although it was proposed unilaterally by me, I didn't expect you to be so quiet and listen to me."

"That's because I can't do anything to you, but I care a lot about why you treat me like this... But I think you shouldn't come to me, and you shouldn't let Ling come." Zhuo resumed his normal way of addressing Ling.

Zero's name originally came from the word "boss" Zero.

Zhuo met Ling after knowing her past completely, so he naturally understood these things. Even if he felt a little jealous, he could accept it. Since the name "Renata" could not change the boss's mood, there was no need to pretend.

"Hehe," the boss laughed, raised the glass goblet and took a sip.

Then he swallowed the 95 Perrier-Jouët Belle Hour… that was his favorite champagne… staring at the yellow liquid bubbling in his hand, “Why did you mention it twice that you can’t do anything to me?”

The boss raised his head, looked into Utsunomiya Shuo's eyes, and smiled gently, "You know, when people lie, they will keep repeating the lie."

"...Okay, I apologize." Zhuo lowered his head and nodded at him.

Because he didn't know his ultimate purpose, but considering the matter between Ling and the nanny group, Zhuo thought he should receive him in a friendly manner and have a calm chat. But it was difficult. He knew what to do, but no matter what, he couldn't help but mix a thorn in his words.

"That's true... But I can't just turn a blind eye to that guy. But the kid will probably blame me."

(Note: That guy is Odin, and that kid is Zero.)
The boss gave a wry smile, but his expression seemed to reveal regret.

Although Zhuo's overall impression of the boss would not change because of this, and he did not think that this guy was such a person. But seeing the little boy's expression, he could not help but think: the boy in front of him was not the kind of person who had no blood or tears, otherwise how could he have such a sincere expression. Perhaps, even the devil has his own difficulties.

Moreover, from the moment they met, the boss had always been in a "non-threatening" state. Even when Zhuo did something impolite, he did not get angry. On the contrary, he was trying to ease the relationship between them.

The attitude cannot be described as insincere.

In contrast, Zhuo felt that he was the aggressive one.

In fact, if I think about it carefully, my boss has never done anything excessive to me.

Not a single thing.

Whether it's letting Zero get closer, letting the nanny group get closer, or letting Zero go back suddenly... these things are reasonable and all personal freedoms, and they're not even illegal!
——Because of this, the doubts became deeper, and Zhuo also felt that he was more powerful.

Lu Mingze has always called himself a devil who returned from hell. If a devil suddenly becomes very kind and friendly to a person one day, it must be something about that person that the devil has targeted.

Zhuo admires such people.

It is not a big deal to show off and yell at the top of the negotiation table; beggars on the street can do that too. But those "weak parties" who can occupy a dominant position invisibly, achieve their goals without letting the other party notice, or even thank them... these people are really powerful.

Having said that, it is still unclear what he is thinking or what he is doing.

Perhaps because he noticed Zhuo's probing look, the boss scratched his face and smiled a confused childlike smile.

"You probably have a lot of things you want to ask me, right? Don't be so defensive. If I could do that, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you. Let's eat something first and then talk slowly."

After all, there were drinks and snacks specially prepared for him on the beach table in front of him, and they looked like they had been prepared long ago.

Zhuo indeed didn't eat.

And the snacks on the table didn't seem to be made by Zero either - to be honest, the way to provoke or mock Utsunomiya Shuo has always been very simple, just use Zero to do it, and Shuo has no resistance at all.

Whether asking Ling to prepare snacks, cook meals, or simply stand by the boss's side, Zhuo can be easily hurt.

There's no way these bosses didn't know this, but he just didn't do it.

Zhuo nodded and agreed to the boss's suggestion, then picked up a piece of bean curd and started to eat it.

"Just order whatever you like. After all, it's so late and I'm sorry to bother you to come here," said the boss.

Although he said so, Zhuo was not invited here by him, and this was not Zhuo's first time here.

The two sat face to face, and Utsunomiya Shuo was not polite. He was indeed very hungry. He was chased after school, and then taken to the suburbs, and then "flew" here overnight, without a sip of water. The gentle-looking boss smiled and recommended a drink to him.

“It’s alcohol-free and tastes exactly the same.”

Zhuo said, "Thank you for your kindness," raised the highball glass on the beach table and drank it all in one gulp, then started eating again. The boss looked at him with a smile and brought out another different snack.

From then on, until Zhuo had eaten and drunk his fill, he kept a calm expression and said nothing.

He was silent probably because he didn't want to disturb Utsunomiya Zhuo's meal. But Zhuo was meeting him for the first time after all, and he still felt a little uncomfortable eating while being stared at by a "stranger" sitting opposite him.

In order to relieve this emotion, Zhuo chewed and sorted out the things he was going to ask while flying in the air today. After sorting it out three times, Utsunomiya Zhuo swallowed the food in his mouth.

"So, what do you want from me?"

After making sure he had swallowed everything in his mouth, Zhuo spoke first.

Although it was still a bit impolite, the boss didn't seem to mind and smiled gently.

"Well, I heard you were dating that kid, so I wanted to ask you how that kid was doing...that's about it."

"..." Zhuo was silent for several seconds, "...nothing special."

"You are very wary of me."

"You don't think so."

"Yeah, it would be strange if you weren't on guard against me."

The shop owner nodded in agreement and bit the flesh on the inner wall of his mouth, not knowing what to do.

If Zhuo said that he couldn't do anything to Lu Mingze, that was indeed a lie. Zhuo still had one [Nothing] weight left, which he could use to exchange for Lu Mingze's life. According to the calculations of the Great Sage, before Lu Mingze and Lu Mingfei made a deal, his life was so worthless.

But Zhuo wouldn't do that.

Because there was no benefit at all and it was completely an act that harmed others and did not benefit oneself, he used up his last bargaining chip, Lu Mingze died, and the only boss left, Odin, started a team fight at the speed of light, and then Zhuo called GG.

It was because of this idea that Zhuo didn't believe that Lu Mingze had no way to deal with him... Let's not talk about the ability he had previously shown to blur reality. Just talking about his power in society, Lu Mingze was fully capable of destroying Zhuo's family and making it difficult for them to survive in society. If he was a little more brainless, he could continue to hire assassins all over the world, endlessly, until he succeeded.

But he didn't do that either.

Same reason, because there is no benefit.

It was completely that both sides held hands and blew themselves up together.

If Lu Mingze treated Zhuo like a villain, Zhuo could take a tough stance and there were various ways to deal with it.

However, he gave people the feeling of a helpless victim, and he didn't seem to be calculating others. If we only consider today's conversation, he even seemed like a kind boy.

Therefore, Zhuo was very curious about what he meant.

Maybe he was just trying to paralyze Zhuo by showing such a friendly attitude, and would show his fangs when the time came. But Zhuo's intuition told him that this was not the case, and Lu Mingze would not do that given his character.

When did he need to be humble and act like a snake to treat others?
"I also want to ask, why did you think of letting Zero approach me?" There should be other options.

Zhuo added a sarcastic tone to this sentence, because he knew that Ling escaped from Black Swan Harbor with Lu Mingze. Compared with Jiude Mai and Su Enxi, Ling might be the least prominent in terms of role, but in terms of the closeness of their relationship, he should be more trusted in Ling.

But now, everything shows how correct Lu Mingze's choice was. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have achieved the results they have today.

Thinking of this, Zhuo couldn't help feeling powerless.

For Zhuo, who wanted Ling to be with him but didn't want her to be embarrassed, he didn't want Ling to be hurt any more. He hoped that this matter could be resolved satisfactorily today.

Living in peace, swallowing one's anger, and living apart...

All possibilities have been considered.

“…You really cherish that child.”

The other party did not respond to hostility with hostility, but simply cast an admiring look at Zhuo.

"Don't disgust me by saying these things. Do you want to fight?"

"I don't intend to take the child away or anything, nor do I intend to do the kind of thing you're worried about. I won't affect the child's future life."

"really?"

"That's natural... At least, I hope she can live the life she wants in the future. Besides, I think you're a pretty good person, and I kind of approve of you."

"Then why did you suddenly let her come here?"

"...If you ask me that, it's hard for me to explain. I just came to see her."

"I see."

"That's it."

"Poof!" "What a lousy snack! Great Sage, stop the rotation of the earth. Don't live anymore. Become a bandit. Today is the day!"

(End of this chapter)