Chapter 38: The Ending of the Story Will Be Decided by Me
Lu Zheng stood beside the sofa and slammed his hand hard on the backrest.
He didn’t really know why he did that.
Logically speaking, Yi Ning being expelled from her evil organization was a great outcome for him.
It meant he could easily recruit her into the Hero Association.
A villain who once dreamed of dominating D-City would vanish, and the Hero Association would gain a talented scientist in her place.
It was nothing short of a massive win.
Double joy!
Besides, Yi Ning wasn’t exactly a qualified villain anyway. Letting her endure this brief pain and guiding her into the Association would ultimately be better for her.
And yet—when he heard her expulsion, when he saw the fragile look on her face—he found he simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
Because at this moment, staying in her organization clearly meant everything to Yi Ning.
What’s more, Yi Ning had risked herself today to help him save Ye Qin.
He absolutely couldn’t accept this as her ending.
He would change this ending himself!
Seeing Lu Zheng stand there silently, Ji Ping finally lost patience and spoke up.
“This is internal business of our villain organization. You Hero Association lackeys have no place here.”
He turned his head with a sneer, as if the sight of Lu Zheng was some kind of stinking filth.
But Lu Zheng only responded with a disdainful grin.
“I just didn’t expect the trust between you villains to be so fragile. All it took was me sneaking into your little video chat, and you immediately cast out your most valuable member.”
Yi Ning’s expression flickered.
She understood that Lu Zheng was trying to help her regain her place by shifting the blame onto himself.
Unfortunately, it was futile.
She knew those two too well—such a flimsy excuse wouldn’t work.
Moreover—
“We’re not blind, you know. We saw your cozy little chat earlier!”
Xia An glared at Lu Zheng in disappointment, clearly dissatisfied with his explanation.
“Uh... you might not believe this, but that ‘friendly’ conversation was actually brimming with hidden killing intent.”
“What killing intent?”
Lu Zheng regretted his words immediately, but with Ji Ping and Xia An pressing him, he had no choice but to keep digging.
“Well, even though you couldn’t see it, I was using spiritual energy to lock onto her during our talk. If she deviated even slightly from my script, I would’ve immediately struck her down—right there on the sofa!”
Stop making stuff up if you can’t commit to the bit!
When did you start cultivating immortality?!
Even Yi Ning, still in an emotional slump, couldn’t help but twitch at that one.
And Lu Zheng’s story had a gaping flaw.
“If this was all part of your plan, why reveal it now? Wouldn’t it benefit you more to just let the plan continue?”
Exactly. This line of logic was impossible to justify.
Cornered, Lu Zheng gave a feeble reply that even he didn’t believe.
“Because... I thought this kind of underhanded scheme was unbefitting of a hero?”
Don’t phrase it like a question when you’re not even sure yourself!
And now you’ve broken your character completely!
Yi Ning began to suspect that Lu Zheng’s real intention was to break her out of her depression by deliberately staging this absurd scene for her to mock.
And she had to admit—if that was the goal, it worked.
The melancholy soaking her heart had nearly been replaced by sheer confusion and mockery.
“That’s it? No other reason?”
Xia An crossed her arms, visibly skeptical.
Had Yi Ning been in her usual, rational state, she would have noticed a glaring hole in their act.
If they truly wanted to expel her, why keep arguing with her and Lu Zheng like this? Why focus on such irrelevant details?
But her head was still a mess from everything that had happened, and she missed the opportunity.
“Yes, that’s the reason! A hero mustn’t stoop to such disgraceful tactics!”
“Nope, nope. That’s not a convincing reason. Try again.”
The two on screen shook their heads vigorously.
They clearly weren’t satisfied with the answer.
Lu Zheng gripped the sofa back tightly, his brows furrowing into a deep crease.
So he couldn’t take the fall for Yi Ning after all.
“Can’t you just be a little more forgiving? Aren’t you her friends? Don’t you remember the good times you shared together?”
He placed both hands on the backrest, leaned forward, and stared into the camera with a pleading gaze.
From their earlier casual interaction, Lu Zheng could tell that Yi Ning and these two had a close friendship.
If he could appeal to that...
Maybe, just maybe...
“Think back to your joyful memories. Can you really stand to see her walk away forever?”
Upon hearing this, the two on the screen recalled their “happy” times with Yi Ning:
Getting dragged into space after she launched the invigilator…
Getting turned into a platypus by one of her bizarre inventions…
Getting tied to a flagpole and raised like a banner for yelling at night…
Getting volunteered to conquer D-City alone while she was away, then chasing twenty miles as punishment...
Ji Ping and Xia An’s expressions turned strange.
Why did all their memories feel like traumatic experiences?
Where were the good times?
Seeing their expressions shift, Lu Zheng pressed the advantage, hoping to awaken their friendship and get them to reverse their decision.
But just as he opened his mouth, Yi Ning clamped her hand over it.
“Let me give you some advice: shut up. Or I’ll get expelled even if I wasn’t already.”
After this absurd sequence, Yi Ning’s mind finally cleared, and she noticed the inconsistencies.
Unless the Evil Council had discovered her friendship with Lu Zheng and pressured the organization, there was no reason these two would expel her on their own.
But if there really were Council inspectors monitoring them, how could these two be joking around with Lu Zheng so openly?
Weren’t they afraid of being accused of fraternizing with the enemy?
Yi Ning narrowed her eyes and studied the pair on screen.
How had they shaken off the Evil Council’s surveillance? These reporting sessions were usually fully monitored.
She furrowed her brow, deep in thought—so much so that she completely forgot her hand was still clamped over Lu Zheng’s mouth.