Chapter 122: Discussing the Deal Again

"I didn't expect you all to participate in this mission. Can you tell me why?" Ling Feng walked in, his gaze sweeping over the two figures in the room wearing cloaks before he spoke.

"No reason. Just got tired of staying in the country and wanted a change of scenery. Is that not allowed?" Mo Chen leaned lazily against the bedside, a faint, mocking smile on his face.

Ling Feng did not say whether he believed this or not; he simply adjusted his glasses and shifted his gaze to the smaller of the two cloaked figures. Although he could not see her face, based on the attitudes of the others, this was almost certainly the same little girl who had once been near death.

Though they had all gone missing together, Ling Feng was certain that Mei was not dead. The contract on his wrist remained, and he had not suffered any penalty for breach, which was proof enough that she was still alive and well.

"Has Miss Mei's illness recovered?" Although it was a probe, Ling Feng's tone was firm, as if he had recognized her long ago.

Mei, who had been curled up on the bed playing games since finishing her meal, only shifted her gaze for a brief moment once she was specifically addressed.

"It's alright. There are some lingering side effects, but nothing major. Major Ling—oh, wait, I should call you Colonel Ling now—what is the reason for your visit so late?" Having said this, Mei turned her attention back to the computer, her fingers tapping away rhythmically.

She was in the middle of a heated session of this single-player fighting game and had no interest in dealing with irrelevant people.

"Can our contract be dissolved then?"

"Huh? The contract? If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten again. Yes, it can be dissolved! Although you didn't actually solve my problem, let's just let it go; I won't hold it against you." Mei paused, only then remembering the matter of the contract.

She had intended to release him from it, but her gaming had caused her to nearly forget. With a casual "Contract fulfilled, dissolved," the runic mark on Ling Feng's wrist quickly faded away.

After dissolving the contract, Mei refocused on her game, with Lin Shaojie, a fellow gaming enthusiast, occasionally offering advice from the side. However, his speech could not keep up with Mei's speed; usually, before he could finish a sentence, Mei had already input the code for her ultimate move.

Ye Jingxuan sat on her other side, acting as a human cushion, watching her play in silence. An Ziyou was wearing headphones while reading a book. Qu Wenyuan was excitedly playing with bottles of nail polish, painting her nails. As for Xiriel, he sat with his eyes closed, mentally calculating new formulas for potions.

In short, everyone in the room seemed remarkably relaxed, as if they were going on a seaside holiday rather than a mission.

"Colonel Ling, is there anything else?" Seeing Ling Feng standing in the room, neither leaving nor speaking, Mo Chen asked with growing impatience.

"I think you all understand how dangerous this voyage is. I hope to have your full assistance," Ling Feng said, adjusting his glasses.

"Colonel Ling, what is the meaning of this? Are you afraid we'll take the reward without doing the work?" Mo Chen asked, sounding displeased.

"Of course not. I just hope you can ensure the research team arrives safely in Country A. After all, each of them is a precious asset to humanity and the hope for our future. Can you do that?" For some reason, Ling Feng had a feeling that even if everyone else died, these people would survive, which was why he made such a request.

"We will naturally act within the scope of our responsibilities. As for anything else, don't you think you're asking for too much, Colonel?" Mo Chen still harbored resentment toward Ling Feng for using the mission to coerce him into not returning to save Mei, so he was naturally unwilling to negotiate with him in good faith.

Ling Feng did not mind Mo Chen's unfriendly attitude; he knew perfectly well who held the real authority here. He looked at Mei and asked, "Miss Mei, is it possible?"

Called upon again, Mei helplessly ended her game and looked at Ling Feng. "Colonel Ling, aren't you overestimating us? Even if our ability levels are slightly higher than others, we aren't omnipotent. How can you expect us to provide such a guarantee?"

Ling Feng took this as a pretext and asked directly, "Miss Mei, what conditions would it take for you to agree?"

Mei raised an eyebrow, puzzled. On what basis was he so certain they had the means to protect themselves?

She didn't ask, however. After a moment of thought, she said, "It's not impossible for me to agree, provided that Longsheng establishes a long-term, friendly cooperative relationship with the Ye family and guarantees that future research output will be supplied to the Ye family first, without using any excuses to suppress them. If you can represent Longsheng and agree to this, then I will ensure the research team is delivered safely to Country A."

As soon as she spoke, the arm wrapped around her waist tightened suddenly. Mei patted it gently, causing the muscles to relax, though the arm did not let go.

"Can you guarantee that the Ye family won't commit treason?" Ling Feng countered, his gaze sharpening.

"Is that really so important? Can you be certain that national boundaries will even exist in the future? There are so few survivors left in this world; even without the threat of zombies, the dangers of natural disasters and mutated animals won't disappear. If humanity cannot unite and continues to indulge in internal strife, how long do you think you'll survive?"

"No one can predict the future, but as long as the country exists, national interests outweigh all individual interests!"

"I don't—"

"I guarantee that as long as the country exists for a single day, the Ye family will not commit treason for a single day." Before Mei could voice her opposition, Ye Jingxuan had already given his word.

"Is your guarantee valid? As far as I know, you are no longer the heir to the Ye family. If I'm not mistaken, the current heir is your cousin, Ye Jingnan!" Hearing Ye Jingxuan's guarantee, Ling Feng did not agree; instead, he questioned him.

"If you don't believe it, then forget it. It's not as if I absolutely need your agreement! Since the deal is off, I don't think there's anything left for us to talk about. Colonel Ling, please leave." Mei did not give Ye Jingxuan another chance to speak and terminated the deal.

Ling Feng seemed not to have expected her to end the deal so abruptly and wanted to say more, but Mo Chen raised a hand to block his words.

"Colonel Ling, we need to rest. Please leave."

Seeing this, Ling Feng said nothing more and turned to leave.

As soon as he was gone, Mei pulled off her hood, turned, and knelt on the bed, looking at Ye Jingxuan with reproach.

"Ah-Ye, why did you make that guarantee? You know they are the ones begging us; we should have been bargaining for the best benefits!"

"The Ye family started from the chaos of war by dealing in arms. The first family head left a family motto: the Ye family can engage in any business, except for selling out state secrets. The Ye family may have done many illegal things, but we will never betray our country. I was merely stating a fact; it wasn't a guarantee." Watching her angry expression, Ye Jingxuan thought she looked exactly like a bristling kitten and couldn't resist reaching out to smooth her fur.

Mei dodged his hand, still dissatisfied. "So what? How can you be sure that future generations of the Ye family will be willing to follow such a motto? Who can say what the future situation will be or what the country will become? By giving such a guarantee, aren't you binding the Ye family to the country's fate?"

"Mei'er, the future of the Ye family is no longer my responsibility. For me, as long as the Ye family doesn't fall right now, that is enough."

There were only a handful of people in the Ye family he cared about. As long as they could live well, everything else was irrelevant. As for what happened to the rest of the Ye family descendants, what did that have to do with him?

Mei felt a sense of meddling in affairs where her concern was unappreciated.

Unable to voice the hurtful things on her mind, she climbed onto the upper bunk and erected a barrier to isolate herself from the others.

Seeing that she seemed even angrier because of his words, Ye Jingxuan wanted to explain, but found she had already activated a dark barrier that made it impossible to see what she was doing inside.

"Mei'er, Mei'er! Can you hear me?" Ye Jingxuan touched the barrier, only to be repelled by it, so he called out.

"Be quiet! She can't hear you. Save whatever you want to say until she comes out," Xiriel said impatiently.

Ye Jingxuan sat back down, helpless.

"She wants to compensate you, to compensate the Ye family. Your departure made her feel guilty," Mo Chen said, looking at the worried Ye Jingxuan.

"I know."

It was precisely because he understood her compensatory mentality that Ye Jingxuan had said what he did. While a little bit of guilt might not be a bad thing for him, he did not want her to harbor such feelings toward him forever.

He wanted her to stay by his side willingly, to be protected by him, not because she felt obligated by guilt.

He certainly didn't need her to make any compromises or sacrifices just to compensate him.

Although he had been deeply moved when he heard her propose conditions to Ling Feng just now, being moved was one thing—he would not sit by and watch her enter into any more contracts for anyone's sake.

He would not let her life be threatened again!

Not only him, but Mo Chen shared the same thought.

The experience of constantly worrying that she would be punished by a contract was enough for one lifetime.

Even if Ye Jingxuan hadn't spoken up, he would have stepped in to ruin the deal.

"Handle your own affairs and don't let her get such ideas again," Mo Chen warned Ye Jingxuan.

What happened to the Ye family had nothing to do with him; it should only be a concern for Ye Jingxuan. After all, it was Ye Jingxuan who had chosen Mei, but he would never let Mei bear the consequences of that choice.

Ye Jingxuan remained silent, only thinking about how to resolve the matter.