Zuo Feng smiled and patted her head, "It's late, go to sleep."
A Mao obediently lay down. In truth, ever since the petrification began, A Mao hadn't had a good night's sleep. Every night, she had to endure the severe pain and discomfort brought by the petrification.
Now, under the effect of the life crystal, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.
Zuo Feng stayed by her side and did not leave. He moved a lounge chair next to A Mao's bed and gently sat down.
Zuo Feng couldn't yet fully determine the extent of the life crystal's efficacy on A Mao.
He also wasn't sure if A Mao would survive the night. So, Zuo Feng decided to stay with A Mao tonight. Even if the life crystal couldn't save A Mao's life, he hoped to be with her in her final moments, at least to make her feel less alone.
As night deepened, heavy snow began to fall outside the window again. It shouldn't have snowed so heavily in this month. Having witnessed snow in July before, Zuo Feng wasn't too surprised. The previous heavy snow had caused xiao songta (little pine cone) to mature. Zuo Feng speculated that this snow should be similar to the last, and he would likely receive news of xiao songta (little pine cone)'s maturation upon his return.
This heavy snow continued for three days. Zuo Feng meticulously cared for A Mao daily, observing changes in her condition.
Fortunately, A Mao's condition did not worsen; instead, it gradually stabilized.
Her complexion regained some color, and her petrified limbs slowly gained more sensation. Her appetite was excellent every day, and perhaps because she could sleep soundly every night, A Mao's mental state also significantly improved. Her emaciated body began to fill out, and a long-lost sparkle appeared in her eyes.
Zuo Feng watched, secretly sighing in relief.
He knew that although A Mao's petrification hadn't fully reversed, at least her body and spirit were gradually recovering.
This filled A Mao with hope for the future.
During these three days, Xiao Rou delivered meals to Zuo Feng punctually every day despite the wind and snow, but the bounty and intelligence gathering still showed no significant progress.
On the fourth day, the snow stopped. Around noon, Xiao Rou once again delivered hot meals.
At the dining table, Xiao Rou spoke with some excitement, "Mr. Zuo, the information you asked me to find has yielded results!"
A flicker of anticipation crossed Zuo Feng's eyes. He picked up a piece of meat, placed it in A Mao's bowl, and asked, "Oh? What news? Tell me."
Xiao Rou lowered her voice and whispered, "The information was found by my friend. Lord Gun's forces are indeed being secretly taken over by someone.
However, it's not one person, but two people vying for control. They are both Lord Gun's subordinates, one named Shuang Wu and the other named Black Wolf."
Zuo Feng frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. Lord Gun's death had not yet reached E City, and no one suspected Lord Gun was dead. After all, in this apocalypse, it was common to be away for ten days to half a month without returning.
However, if Lord Gun's death wasn't confirmed, how would Shuang Wu and Black Wolf dare to secretly contend for power?
These two might be connected to that shadowy figure. They likely knew Lord Gun's fate, which is why they dared to act so boldly.
A smile played on Zuo Feng's lips. There was a clue.
Zuo Feng continued to ask, "Do you have their detailed information?"
Xiao Rou nodded, handing two file bags to Zuo Feng and softly saying, "It's all here, including their backgrounds, power distribution, and recent movements."
Zuo Feng took the file bags, opened one, and carefully flipped through it. This one contained Black Wolf's information, which was meticulously detailed, even including a photo. Zuo Feng searched his mind carefully; he had no impression of this Black Wolf whatsoever.
Moreover, Black Wolf had been in E City since the beginning of the apocalypse, so logically, he shouldn't have had any interaction with Firefly.
Next, Zuo Feng opened Shuang Wu's file.
The moment Zuo Feng pulled out the document, his fingers trembled slightly, his eyes narrowed, and a cold sneer appeared on his lips. The photo in the document was none other than Jun Wushuang!
He hadn't expected him to run to E City and even use an alias.
Since it was Jun Wushuang, everything made sense.
It seemed Jun Wushuang had set his sights on Mo Wentianya, intending to slowly seize control of it step by step.
Zuo Feng's fingers unconsciously tapped the dining table. Regarding Jun Wushuang, this hidden danger, Zuo Feng naturally hoped to eliminate him as soon as possible.
Before, if Jun Wushuang wanted to flee, given his strength and speed, it would have been very difficult to kill him. Moreover, Jun Wushuang was extremely cautious; he would run faster than anyone if things looked bad.
But now it was different; Zuo Feng saw an opportunity to kill Jun Wushuang.
At present, Jun Wushuang's ambition was clear. He wanted to rule Mo Wentianya, and he might even be eyeing Junlin Tianxia. He likely harbored thoughts of unifying E City.
Furthermore, Zuo Feng could confirm that once Jun Wushuang unified E City, his first act would be to integrate all high-level Mutants in E City to attack Firefly. At that time, Firefly's situation would be extremely dangerous.
Therefore, he must now disrupt Jun Wushuang's plan, or directly kill Jun Wushuang.
Although this might cause Jun Wushuang to hide again, Jun Wushuang must not be allowed to integrate E City's forces, otherwise, Firefly would definitely not be able to resist.
Therefore, Zuo Feng decided to use E City as a blade to set a trap for Jun Wushuang.
Zuo Feng sneered repeatedly in his heart, "Jun Wushuang, ah, Jun Wushuang, don't you like to use others to kill? Then this time I'll let you taste what it's like to use others to kill. Even if you're lucky enough to escape, don't even think about staying in E City any longer!"
"Mr. Zuo, what's wrong? Is there a problem with the information?" Xiao Rou asked, seeing Zuo Feng's stern expression, feeling a little worried.
Zuo Feng put away his sneer and smiled slightly, "No, Xiao Rou, you did very well this time. The information is detailed and has been a great help to me. You don't need to gather any more information now."
Xiao Rou's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. Was the mission already complete?
She never expected that the information she had just obtained today would directly complete the mission. She had thought she would have to continue gathering it in the future.
"Mr. Zuo, this information cost one six-line zombie crystal. This is the remaining six-line zombie crystal."
Xiao Rou placed a six-line zombie crystal on the table.
Zuo Feng's gaze swept over the loss crystal, but he didn't take it. Instead, he took out another six-line zombie crystal and a beauty-preserving little pepper and placed them on the dining table, saying,
"Xiao Rou, I promised before that once you got the information I needed, I would reward you handsomely. Now that you have the information I wanted, it's time for me to fulfill my promise."
Zuo Feng pointed to the beauty-preserving little pepper and the two six-line zombie crystals on the table, and continued, "This is a beauty-preserving little pepper. Taking it will keep you youthful forever. And these two six-line zombie crystals. You can choose one of these two as your reward."
Xiao Rou looked at the beauty-preserving little pepper and the two six-line zombie crystals on the table, a hint of surprise and delight flashing in her eyes.
She hadn't expected Zuo Feng to be so generous, offering a reward that far exceeded her expectations.
Xiao Rou lowered her head slightly, quickly weighing her options in her mind.
A beauty-preserving little pepper, for any woman, was an irresistible temptation, representing eternal youth and beauty.
And a six-line zombie crystal was the hard currency in this apocalypse, which could be used to exchange for various resources and supplies.
Although Xiao Rou had never heard of a beauty-preserving little pepper, she believed Mr. Zuo's words. A powerful figure like him had no need to deceive her.