234: Chapter 234 Accidentally Falling into the Holy Court's Treasury, Wanxing Demands Compensation for Shock

The lighting in the Internal Affairs Zone was warmer than in the Main Control Room. Shen Wanbing lowered the color temperature of the fluorescent lights, making the entire area look like a piece of normalcy forcefully maintained in the apocalypse.

Luo Yunwei sat on the chair opposite, having changed into a black hip-hugging skirt that ended five centimeters above her knees. Black stockings accentuated her long, slender legs, and her ankles were dazzlingly delicate.

Yi Chang walked in wearing high heels and placed a data pad on the table.

She glanced at the section of neck above Luo Yunwei's collar, where the red marks covered by foundation still held a hint of color.

She let out a cold huff and sat down to flip through the charts.

Luo Yunwei raised her face, her expression steady.

"Vice City Lord."

"Send me the proposal." Yi Chang's tone was devoid of warmth. "I have thirty minutes. Get to the point."

Luo Yunwei pushed the holographic panel over and tapped open the first page with her finger.

"The belief system is divided into three layers."

Her speaking pace was steady. "The bottom layer consists of mine slaves and ordinary survivors; daily announcements and broadcasts are used to maintain basic emotional stability and generate stable belief points. The middle layer consists of technical craftsmen and combat personnel, where loyalty is driven by the visualization of battle achievements and honor rolls, resulting in the highest belief conversion efficiency. The top layer consists of high-level NPCs and core personnel—"

"That part is none of your concern." Yi Chang flipped the page directly.

Luo Yunwei remained composed.

"Of course. I am only responsible for the middle transmission link."

Yi Chang looked at the data, her mind turning over the calculations.

The logic of this proposal was tighter than she had expected, and the projected output of belief points was not inflated.

She flipped back one page.

"The third point: prop applications for public performances on the Lower Deck must go through the formal procurement process. You are not allowed to use any materials from the armory without authorization."

"Understood."

"As for the cut of the belief point output—"

"No cut is needed." Luo Yunwei placed her hands on the table. "What I want is independent scheduling rights for the performance zone and a direct reporting channel to the Lord."

Yi Chang looked up at her.

The two stared at each other for three seconds.

"Scheduling rights are fine, but direct reporting to the Lord requires approval from Internal Affairs."

"Fine."

Yi Chang signed the data pad and pushed the file back.

She didn't say anything else, and Luo Yunwei didn't either; they each went their separate ways.

But when Yi Chang left, the belief point slot on Chen Chen's panel had already jumped by a significant margin.

...

After the alarms in the Main Control Room were turned off, Chen Chen went straight to Shen Wanxing's rest cabin.

There were still some metallic rubbing sounds from the aftershocks in the corridor, and the lights had been dimmed by thirty percent due to energy rationing, making the entire passage as quiet as if the air had been sucked out of it.

The cabin door was closed.

Chen Chen raised his hand, didn't knock, and directly entered the door code.

The cocoon on the bed moved slightly.

Half a face was revealed from within the blanket, the corners of her eyes still tinged with damp redness. The strap of her nightdress had slipped off her shoulder, revealing a stretch of snow-white shoulder line.

Shen Wanxing pulled the blanket up.

"...Can you knock first?"

"It wasn't locked." Chen Chen walked in, sat on the edge of the bed, and reached back to lock the cabin door tight.

Shen Wanxing shrank half an inch inward.

"I'm on leave."

"I know."

"Then what did you come for?"

Chen Chen looked down at her. She had wrapped herself up like a bun, with only her two snow-white, slender legs peeking out from under the blanket, resting on the sheets with her toes curled.

"Shock compensation."

Shen Wanxing's eyelid twitched.

"I don't need shock compensation!"

She propped herself up to sit, the blanket sliding down a bit. The thin silk nightdress was almost transparent in the dim light. "I just used one finger to pull the city's warp success rate from fifteen percent to one hundred percent. I didn't even scare myself to death, so what do I need shock compensation for?"

"It's precisely because you didn't scare yourself to death that I came."

Shen Wanxing was stunned for a moment.

Chen Chen reached out and tucked her hair, which was scattered along the side of her face, behind her ear.

"That finger tap last night was you, and this finger tap today was also you."

"You even cried last night."

"I didn't cry!"

"Your nose is red."

Shen Wanxing raised her hand to cover her nose, wanting to argue more, but Chen Chen had already pulled away the blanket covering her legs.

She stiffened all over, her thin nightdress clinging to her waistline, her two legs scrambling to shrink into the bed in a panic.

"You... wait, last night..."

"Last night you slept and managed to pull out an SS-grade logic bomb, and today you used one finger to send the whole city into the safe zone."

Chen Chen pressed her further in, his palm pinning her arm, his voice low. "Tell me, does this reward count as something I owe you?"

Shen Wanxing's face turned red to the roots of her ears instantly.

She struggled twice, but her strength was completely useless.

"You... this isn't shock compensation, this is taking advantage of the situation—"

"Then you tell me what counts as shock compensation."

She couldn't handle this move.

Shen Wanxing buried her face in the pillow, speaking in a muffled voice.

"First... first turn off the lights."

The zero-hour system notification arrived on time.

[Unique SS-grade growth affix "Physical Overlimit" triggered.]

[constitution + 10, agility + 5.]

Qi and Blood Mutual Nourishment exploded violently, and the temperature in the entire rest cabin spiked.

Shen Wanxing was closest, her spine tensed, and her legs under the nightdress shrank inward, though there was nowhere to go.

[Forbidden Domain Blood triggered.]

[Shen Wanxing's constitution is being enhanced.]

[Shen Wanxing's Spirit is being enhanced.]

A powerful heat current wrapped around her, as if she had been pressed into boiling water.

She whimpered and grabbed Chen Chen's arm.

"...This time is more intense than last time."

"Your constitution increased."

"Then can you..."

"No."

Shen Wanxing gritted her teeth.

Waves of Qi and Blood Mutual Nourishment came one after another. She didn't know where her nightdress had been pulled to; her snow-white legs stretched out from under the blanket and then retracted, her slender toes clutching the sheets into wrinkles.

She didn't know how much time had passed; only Shen Wanxing's intermittent panting remained in the rest cabin.

She tilted her face up, water glistening on her eyelashes, her voice half-hoarse.

"Next time... next time you can't come like this... you have to tell me in advance..."

"If I tell you, you'll run."

"Then... then you still have to tell me."

She huffed aggrievedly, her forehead resting against his chest, her fingers clutching the corner of his clothes with the strength of a kitten.

"You owe me three days of leave."

"I'll give it to you."

"Really?"

"Really."

Shen Wanxing exhaled, her eyelids drooping.