Chapter 42: The Death of Ji Ping & Xia An
Watching the two before him kneeling and kowtowing as if pounding garlic, sobbing with snot and tears, Lu Zheng couldn’t help but soften a little.
He hesitated, turned toward Yi Ning who wore a visibly displeased expression, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
After all, he had stood by Yi Ning’s side the entire time, so he had seen it all very clearly.
The moment she heard she had been fired, the look on Yi Ning’s face was utterly fragile.
That expression held not even a trace of acting. It was sincere, genuine sorrow and refusal to accept what had happened.
He didn’t know what being a member of an evil organization meant to Yi Ning, but that expression alone proved it mattered a great deal to her.
This was absolutely not something to joke about.
Lu Zheng turned his head to the side, pretending not to hear the pleas from Ji Ping and Xia An.
“Not planning to beg for those two guys?”
Yi Ning seemed somewhat surprised by Lu Zheng’s reaction.
She stared at him with interest.
She had assumed that, as a hero, Lu Zheng would be overcome with sympathy seeing those two in such a miserable state.
“Well…”
Yi Ning’s gaze openly swept Lu Zheng from top to bottom, making him feel a bit self-conscious.
He turned his head slightly and scratched his cheek with his finger.
“Though I don’t know the exact reason, judging from your reaction earlier, you clearly take your role as an evil organization member very seriously, right? I think… treating something so important to you like a joke was a bit too much.”
“So they should be taught a lesson.”
“Oh?”
Yi Ning was a little surprised.
This guy was unexpectedly thoughtful.
She leaned in closer to Lu Zheng, bringing her face right up to his.
Even Yi Ning didn’t realize that the scowl she wore had already started to ease, her lips subconsciously curving upward.
“What do you really think?”
Yi Ning knew very well that no matter what, Lu Zheng was a hero—there was no way he could remain indifferent to Ji Ping and Xia An’s pleas for mercy.
Especially since Xia An had always bragged in the organization about her groveling skills.
“Uh…”
Perhaps still not used to her new identity as a woman, Yi Ning was particularly unguarded in her interaction with Lu Zheng.
Her face was so close that Lu Zheng could feel her breath and the faint fragrance from her body.
Lu Zheng subtly leaned back a bit, steadying his breath to ease his nervousness.
“To say I wasn’t moved at all… would be a lie.”
“So you were moved~”
Yi Ning smiled mischievously.
She stared at Lu Zheng intently until his body stiffened slightly from nervousness, then, satisfied, she looked away and turned her cold gaze to the two people on the TV screen.
“I’ll let you off this time. No need to go to Mars—just get back to work.”
Hearing Yi Ning declare a general amnesty, Ji Ping and Xia An finally let out a sigh of relief.
They relaxed completely, their bodies collapsing limply onto the floor.
But soon, Yi Ning’s next words once again made their hearts leap into their throats.
“However, while you may escape death, you won’t escape punishment. A beating is inevitable.”
Yi Ning stood up from the sofa.
“Take it obediently, and you’ll suffer less.”
Unfortunately, neither of the two on the screen was the obedient type.
“Uh… I just remembered I have a date.”
Xia An was the first to speak, eyes darting, pretending not to have heard Yi Ning’s last words, completely ignoring Ji Ping’s traitor-hating glare as she scratched her head and turned to walk out of the TV frame.
Once her figure disappeared entirely from the screen, the sound of frantic running erupted from the television.
With a path paved, Ji Ping wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.
“Oh no, it looks like it’s about to rain—I need to go home and bring in the laundry…”
He followed suit.
But Ji Ping’s nerves weren’t quite as strong as Xia An’s.
His whole body was stiff as a robot, awkwardly wobbling out of the TV’s frame.
Only after that did the frantic running sounds start up again from the TV.
Seeing their behavior, Lu Zheng turned his head stiffly, forcing a sheepish smile.
He awkwardly glanced at Yi Ning, who was still standing in front of the TV with her head down.
“Heh heh~”
Yi Ning let out a chilling sneer.
“Trying to run?”
She walked into another room, returned carrying a screen, and connected it to the TV.
Then she looked up, smiling without warmth, and said to Lu Zheng:
“Do me a favor and wait here for a few minutes.”
Then, Yi Ning pressed a button on the screen, grabbed the frame, and crawled directly into the television, entering the organization’s headquarters.
She looked around, then walked calmly out of the screen’s view.
A few seconds later, intense sounds of pursuit and combat erupted from the television.
Screams from Ji Ping and Xia An rang out simultaneously.
“Xia An, you damned mutt! You actually betrayed me!”
“You deserve it! Everyone knows—the easiest way to escape a tiger’s jaws is to throw someone else into them! Sacrifice yourself for my happiness!”
Realizing escape was impossible, Ji Ping began a desperate struggle.
“Yi Ning, let me explain!”
“Bro! Bro! I was wrong, bro!”
“Dad! Daddy! Grandpa!”
Within seconds, Ji Ping’s voice vanished.
Then came another wave of fierce pursuit sounds.
Xia An’s voice followed.
“Wait, Yi Ning—just one word.”
Yi Ning’s footsteps stopped.
“I’ve truly realized my mistake and have resolved to repent and never repeat it. So—can we make peace?”
Hearing this kind of talk from Xia An, Yi Ning couldn’t help laughing out loud.
“At this moment? Are you kidding me?”
Then, the next second—A brutal fight broke out.
Accompanied by Xia An’s screams.
“Ancestor! I was wrong, ancestor!”
“It was all Ji Ping, that bastard! Go hit him!”
Lu Zheng sat motionless on the sofa in front of the TV.
In just those few minutes, the television emitted the following sounds—
"Sorry" — seventy-nine times.
"My bad" — sixty-three times.
"Help" — one hundred and two times.
"I'm dying" — ninety-seven times.
Terms like “brother,” “dad,” “grandpa,” etc. — one hundred fifty-six times.
Countless other howls, pleas, and screams.
All from Ji Ping and Xia An.
Finally, their voices vanished, leaving only the mechanical sounds of beatings and splashing fluids.
A few minutes later, Yi Ning reappeared on the screen.
She wiped some blood off her face and climbed out of the TV wearing clearly ill-fitting clothes.
Lu Zheng sat upright, too afraid to ask what had happened to her previous outfit.
Yi Ning frowned, tugged at the skirt she was wearing, obviously unaccustomed to the cold breeze against her lower half.