Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 266: Laying It All Out

The cold, eerie presence gradually faded. Li Wei's slightly pale face quickly returned to normal. He had to admit — that curse was genuinely unsettling.

So did this mean the special boss was now guaranteed to appear?

The thought crossed his mind, but he didn't dwell on it. He looked directly at Liang Yuzhi and said calmly: "Second Aunt, this month I'd like you to accelerate production of Blood Resistance Potions — and take Isabel along with you. Train her as an apothecary apprentice. She should at least be capable of independently brewing Tier-One Blood Resistance Potions."

Liang Yuzhi blinked. Even Li Yue was taken aback. This guy had serious ambitions. But it was also absolutely the right call — better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Of course, Liang Yuzhi would have to pay a price for this. Training an apothecary wasn't easy.

Everyone was waiting to see how the stingy old widow would refuse. She'd definitely find a way — one card and it'd be done. Li Yue had already quietly prepared a counter-card to block Liang Yuzhi the moment she tried to wriggle out. They were strategic partners now. She wasn't going to let anyone make Li Wei unhappy. Whoever caused him grief would find themselves unhappy in return.

But what Li Yue didn't expect was that Liang Yuzhi hesitated for only a few seconds before breaking into a smile. "Of course. No problem. That little girl Isabel is very sharp. She already received systematic training at the underground base and has a solid medical foundation — especially since her mother is a nurse. It works out well. I happen to have a One-Star Apothecary Card. I'll give it to her."

What?

Li Yue stared at Liang Yuzhi in surprise. Thomas, Leon, Zhao Xuanxuan, and Zhang Jinjun were equally startled. Something was very wrong here.

When had Li Wei managed to bring this old schemer to heel?"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Second Aunt."

Li Wei nodded, unsurprised. Then he turned to Li Yue with a warm smile. "Little Yue, the boots you modified for me are excellent — a perfect fit. So this month, I'd like you to continue sewing winter clothing. Since the workload is quite large, I'm planning to have Caroline and Irina help you. Feel free to pass on any tailoring techniques to them."

"Of course, Brother. No problem."

Li Yue immediately broke into a bright smile. Caroline and Irina were both young girls — like Isabel, thirteen years old this year. They hadn't been placed in the Freemen's regular work rotation, and since they were still minors, they'd only activated and bound one profession card each. That left a lot of room to work with.

The three of them would, in time, become the Scavenger Camp's doctor and tailors.

"Xuanxuan — this month, pick a few Freemen who are interested in blacksmithing and teach them the craft. While you're at it, forge another batch of armor."

"Leon — I'd like you to train two stonemason apprentices."

"Thomas, Zhang Jinjun — you two will serve as instructors this month. When you have time, run training sessions with Benjamin, Santiago, and Xavier. Also handle the camp's daily patrols and alert duties."

"As for me — I'll be going out on reconnaissance this month. That's all."

"Oh, and while I'm away — Little Yue, you're in charge of the camp's daily operations."

Li Wei wrapped up the family meeting concisely. This was the last month before the radiation storm hit. The camp's various affairs were mostly in order, so there was no need for any dramatic moves.

The priority was to squeeze as much out of Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi as possible while the window was still open.

Li Wei spent only 100 Contribution points to issue this month's tasks — compared to previous months, this month's assignments were remarkably simple.

Everyone dispersed without objection or conflict. Harmonious and cooperative to an almost suspicious degree.

Only in passing did Li Wei exchange a brief glance with Li Yue and then with Liang Yuzhi. A kind of unspoken understanding.

Some things didn't need to be said in the family meeting. The two new players arriving this month might very well turn out to be dead weight.

In short — guard against it.

He'd worked so hard to reach a consensus of interests with these two. He couldn't afford any more surprises.

Li Wei went directly to his room on the fifth floor, sat down calmly, and waited.

Before long, Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi arrived together.

The looks they gave each other were anything but friendly — but they had to endure it. They needed to settle accounts with Li Wei. It was the last month. No room for mistakes.

Liang Yuzhi casually closed the door. Li Yue immediately activated a five-star item card — the Concealing the Sky with One Hand Card.

Using it now, outside the family meeting, was clearly better than using it during one.

["Family Member Li Yue has used the Five-Star Item Card — Concealing the Sky with One Hand. This is the highest-tier item card usable at the current mission difficulty. You will have 30 minutes during which all external surveillance is blocked. Because this card was used outside a family meeting, it simultaneously carries the effect of a Five-Star Sincerity Card and a Five-Star Conspiracy Card."]

What the — she was loaded.

Li Wei jolted upright. Honestly, he genuinely couldn't understand Li Yue. How much money did she have?

"Don't ask. This is my last reserve. Which means I've bet everything. Li Wei — we need to talk properly."

"Haven't we already talked?"

"Not just that. I didn't expect you to actually get Liang Yuzhi on your side. So I need to understand — between the two of us, how are you going to choose?"

Li Yue spoke with unusual gravity. It sounded a little strange.

But Li Wei didn't overthink it. He understood what she meant. She was afraid of being betrayed.

"Sister, don't worry. Our agreement stands. If a special gold card drops, I'll hand it to you directly — no games. As for this Yang Aunt here, all I promised her was to lend her Adai to help her complete the Rare Scholar Card. Of course, there's no item card binding that arrangement."

Li Yue wasn't surprised by this. She glanced at Liang Yuzhi, then said seriously: "Li Wei, I recommend you head out tonight. Scout the Flame Duke's territory to the west first. If you take down the Flame Duke, you'll get at least ten Universal Gold Cards."

"But the risk is enormous. We both know what kind of creature the Flame Duke is. He may be right on the edge of losing control — one spark and he explodes." Liang Yuzhi immediately pushed back.

Li Yue didn't hold back either. She smiled coldly. "The Flame Duke's territory is less than seventy-five kilometers from here. You know he's about to lose control — he's a ticking time bomb. Even if we survive this radiation storm, what about next year's? Within three years, he will definitely detonate. Li Wei — if we trigger the Flame Duke now, we still have the two of us to absorb the damage. Next year, no one will be here to help you. Your boss Night Owl has already placed her bet on Hathaway. The fact that she didn't send Lu Ziming here is the clearest proof."

"Li Yue, don't muddy the waters. I never said we shouldn't trigger the Flame Duke — I said we should wait a little longer. I'm very close to rolling a One-Star Rare Scholar Card. Why not wait until I have it before we trigger him? We both know that once the Flame Duke loses control, even the two of us together might not be able to hold him. But a Rare Scholar Card would let me brew higher-tier magical potions."

Liang Yuzhi argued her case firmly, refusing to yield an inch.

Ah. So that was what they were both after.

"Can either of you tell me — what exactly is the situation with the Flame Duke?" Li Wei asked. He'd always had a gut feeling the Flame Duke wasn't simple. He'd thought Li Yue was being reckless earlier, but now it sounded like she actually knew a lot about this type of Magic Zombie.

"I can't go into detail. But it's essentially certain that the Flame Duke has at least a thousand natural persons under his protection. For the past decade or more, he's been protecting them — and they've been supporting him in return. But that kind of relationship can't solve the fundamental problem. The Flame Duke will inevitably lose control. And the moment he does, he becomes a special boss."

"So, Li Wei — you understand what I'm saying. This needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later." Li Yue's gaze was intense.

Liang Yuzhi was also looking at him. Two people, two positions. The choice was Li Wei's to make.

In that moment, Li Wei asked a different question entirely. "The two players coming tonight — do you know anything about them?"

"Never heard of them. They might be random matches — or they might be players on a suicide mission, the kind who could undo everything you've built with one wrong move. Either way, don't put any hope in them."

"Understood."

Li Wei nodded again, then looked at Liang Yuzhi. "That town to the north — does it also have a mutant creature? Could we go deal with it first?"

"In theory, yes. But I wouldn't recommend it. If a fight breaks out, the library could be destroyed. That mutant creature has already formed a strange ecological balance with its surroundings. Any reckless action could trigger a cascade of consequences."

"Then within the area around our camp — are there any other mutant creatures worth hunting?" Li Wei pressed. Liang Yuzhi was currently the second family member who regularly traveled far afield, given her herb-gathering duties.

Liang Yuzhi shook her head again. "Within a hundred-kilometer radius, aside from the Flame Duke and that Level 5 mutant creature, there's nothing else. Even within two hundred kilometers, there's at most one mutant plant — probably somewhere in the forest to the south. Li Wei, I'd actually suggest you take Li Yue and go have a look. You'd almost certainly find something."

"No need. That mutant plant to the south — I already killed it last month." Li Wei finally told the truth.

Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi fell into a brief silence. They tried hard to stay composed, but the faint disruption in their breathing gave them away — they were, just slightly, rattled.

"Did you get any magical materials? Mutant plants often yield extremely rare magical materials. Quite valuable — though also extremely difficult to deal with."