Chapter 82: Deal
“Deal? What deal?”
Yi Ning tilted her head.
She looked at Lu Zheng’s body, which was wearing nothing except the black orb, her eyes turning slightly as a sly smile curled up at the corners of her lips.
“Don’t tell me you want me to help you…”
Yi Ning pretended to be shocked and covered her small mouth, a look of horror appearing on her face.
“What kind of joke is this? How could I possibly become your heat-seeking weapon of desire? No way, no way!”
Seeing Yi Ning put on this determined, unyielding performance, Lu Zheng’s pixel screen displayed a helpless emoji.
Of course, he knew Yi Ning was doing this on purpose, but he didn’t have any effective countermeasures for this kind of behavior.
After all, he was a hero and couldn’t just go along with her nonsense.
Rather, it was precisely because Yi Ning knew he couldn’t do anything about it that she acted so brazenly.
Lu Zheng could only raise his left hand and flick her forehead lightly as punishment.
“Stop fooling around, I came to talk business.”
He sighed.
Business?
Yi Ning’s mind turned, and she quickly thought of that guy named Rigil.
To the Hero Association, what could be more important right now than capturing that Freedom Alliance operative?
Lu Zheng, this guy, wasn’t giving up after questioning her this morning—he still wanted to extract some concrete intel from her.
Although she had already guessed Lu Zheng’s intentions, Yi Ning still put on an act of knowing nothing.
She went limp, hanging from Lu Zheng’s hand like a dead fish.
She was playing dead!
Just completely giving up.
Facing Yi Ning’s passive resistance, Lu Zheng could only respond with helplessness.
He could only try to tempt her with benefits.
“Tell me a bit of intel about that Freedom Alliance guy, and I promise not to give you a beating this time.”
Then, thinking that might not be enticing enough for Yi Ning, he decided to up the stakes.
After a few seconds of contemplation, he gritted his teeth.
“Do you know Dr. Mandel?”
“Unilaterally.”
Yi Ning nodded.
That was the Hero Association’s chief scientist.
And unlike herself—an evil scientist whose doctoral degree was basically bought—Dr. Mandel was the real deal, a true heavyweight whose contributions to the Hero Association were second to none.
For instance, the device used by the D-City Hero Association to detect cases involving special abilities was one of his inventions.
By the way, his head carried a staggeringly high bounty in the Evil Council.
At least it was worth a lot more than Yi Ning’s own.
Seeing Yi Ning nod in recognition, Lu Zheng let out a sigh of relief.
Good, she knew him.
“If you’re willing to tell me about that guy…”
Lu Zheng paused and took a deep breath.
He was actually a bit hesitant—not entirely sure whether to make this promise.
But thinking back on all his interactions with Yi Ning and how well he’d come to understand her, he steeled his resolve.
“I can arrange a private meeting for you with Dr. Mandel.”
A meeting with Dr. Mandel?
Yi Ning stole a glance at Lu Zheng.
Logically, someone like Lu Zheng, stationed in a remote city, shouldn’t possibly have any connection to a high-ranking figure like Dr. Mandel.
Let alone be able to set up a meeting.
He made it sound like he had some kind of close relationship with the guy.
Suddenly, Yi Ning felt a bit curious about Lu Zheng.
Come to think of it, with this guy’s abilities, staying in D-City—a backwater city far from the Evil Council’s influence—seemed like an underuse of his talent.
Yi Ning looked at Lu Zheng, a secretive, smug smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
This guy might have an interesting past.
On the other hand, Lu Zheng had his own considerations.
Arranging a meeting between Yi Ning and Dr. Mandel was actually quite risky.
Dr. Mandel’s head carried a high bounty in the Evil Council. If Yi Ning were to make a sudden move during the meeting, Lu Zheng would become the greatest sinner of the Hero Association.
And their interactions had mostly been through hero activities, so he couldn’t say for certain he truly knew Yi Ning’s nature.
So there was some craftiness in his thinking.
Dr. Mandel wasn’t someone available at any time, and Lu Zheng could use this to delay things.
His relationship with Yi Ning was currently in the “honeymoon phase,” so he could wait until they truly got to know each other before arranging the meeting.
Unfortunately, all of Lu Zheng’s careful planning was useless.
“No way!”
Yi Ning cut off Lu Zheng before he could continue.
“Why not?”
Lu Zheng was confused.
As a scientist, wasn’t it a dream come true to be able to exchange ideas with a top-tier expert?
“No particular reason. Just no.”
Yi Ning shook her head.
Being able to converse with someone of similar caliber was certainly a good thing, but to her right now, it still didn’t compare to that possible “treasure basin.”
Even if Yi Ning thought the treasure basin was unlikely to exist, it didn’t matter.
Though it wasn’t obvious on the surface, Yi Ning was actually quite proud and ambitious.
So what if it was Dr. Mandel?
So what if he was a Hero Association bigwig?
Did that automatically mean he was better than her?
At most, he just surpassed her in theoretical knowledge.
And more importantly—
Judging from how Lu Zheng talked, arranging a meeting with Dr. Mandel didn’t seem like such an impossible task.
Their relationship was in its honeymoon phase. If she developed it further, becoming even closer friends, then used a few tricks…
Wouldn’t the meeting be a piece of cake?
Yi Ning kept a straight face, trying hard to suppress the laughter bubbling from deep inside.
What was truly terrifying—was her own talent!
“Ha-ka-ka-ka!”
In the end, Yi Ning couldn’t hold back and let out a smug laugh.
Lu Zheng looked at the inexplicably cackling Yi Ning in confusion.
How did this person’s mood shift so quickly?
He opened his mouth, trying to persuade her once more.
“You really won’t reconsider?”
“Not reconsidering!”
Yi Ning’s answer was resolute.
Lu Zheng tried threatening her.
He pointed at Yi Ning.
“Let me make this clear—don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re a woman. I hit hard!”
He waved his fist in front of her face.
“Ever seen a fist the size of a sandbag?”
“Then come at me head-on!”
Unfortunately, it didn’t work on Yi Ning.
Yi Ning wriggled around and shoved her face up close to Lu Zheng’s, showing a provocative expression.
She was a full-fledged member of an evil organization—did he think she’d be afraid of a beating?
Everyone knew the fate of evil organization members: a brutal beating, Dragon Prison Enlightenment, and then ascending to the heavens.
She didn’t care.