Chapter 261: Fat Boss’s Threat

The next scene left Yang Bo amazed. Two plates were placed in front of him, while one was placed in front of each of the other two.

These two people appeared to be cooking together, but neither was actually cooking for the other.

Fat Boss cursed Zhou Rui in his heart: “I thought this woman wouldn’t come here and now, she’s shamelessly moved in. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have agreed!”

That afternoon, Fat Boss was preparing to cook when Zhou Rui brought ingredients over. Fat Boss was, of course, unhappy. How could a genius like Yang Bo let someone else interfere? Zhou Rui, however, was quite pleased with Fat Boss’s hostility. It only confirmed that her judgment of Yang Bo was correct; he probably had more secrets.

Of course, neither of them showed their true feelings. However, while cooking, Zhou Rui asked Fat Boss about Yang Bo’s past. Naturally, Fat Boss refused to answer.

Zhou Rui, as the President of a branch of the Bounty Hunter Guild, was displeased with Fat Boss’s attitude. This led both of them to feel dissatisfied with one another, which naturally resulted in the current situation.

“I think you should both taste each other’s food and see how it is,” Yang Bo suggested as he scooped half of the food from the two plates in front of him into his own plate, then gave the remainder to the others.

“I’ll go eat in the garden,” Yang Bo said before quickly grabbing his plate and slipping out.

When Fat Boss saw Yang Bo leave, he grew happier. As long as he deprived that woman of the chance to approach Yang Bo, it would be fine.

“Let me try someone’s cooking. By the way, women who can cook are pretty rare in this era,” Fat Boss said as he prepared to dig into the food.

“A grown man cooking? Did you get top marks for cooking back when you were in the family?” Zhou Rui teased with a smile, but despite her playful tone, she stood and took back the plate of her own food from in front of Fat Boss.

Hearing this, Fat Boss chuckled, “I’ll go eat in the garden too.”

Then Fat Boss took back the food he’d made from Zhou Rui’s table, scraped it into his own plate, and strolled out.

To be honest, there was nothing much to see in the garden. Due to the hurricane, most of the seawater had been sucked up by a tornado and dumped onto the land, killing all the plants in the garden. Now, it looked more like a beach.

Yang Bo sat on a bench in the garden, eating as he watched. Soon, Fat Boss came out and sat next to him.

“Boss, didn’t I say not to live here? You insisted, and now look!” Yang Bo couldn’t resist twisting the knife a bit.

“She doesn’t even respect herself! A woman living in the same house with two grown men,” Fat Boss gritted his teeth, clearly irritated by Yang Bo’s words.

In a villa next to Yang Bo’s courtyard, the Female Captain stood by a second-floor window, surprised to see Yang Bo emerge from the house across the way: “How is this guy here?”

When Fat Boss also came out and sat closely next to Yang Bo, the Female Captain frowned even more: “When did someone from this family become so approachable? People from prestigious families always put their own interests first. It seems like Yang Bo has shown him some abilities.”

The Female Captain knew that people from these powerful families were raised with the principle of placing profit above all else. They would never be that close to a mere resident, unless they had something the family was interested in.

“Interesting. It’s been at least 15 years since something caught my interest. I wonder how long Yang Bo can keep hiding his true nature. I’ll slowly unravel it.”

“But judging from his background, Yang Bo doesn’t seem to match up with my expectations.”

“Could it be that he has a super powerful ability?” The Female Captain mulled over several possibilities, but her expression remained unchanged.

“Is it the result of the gene experiments from the Four Seas Company?”

“Unfortunately, when the Four Seas Company collapsed, the forces behind it destroyed most of its records.”

“Otherwise, I could find out what gene injections he’s used.” The Female Captain had, of course, discovered that Yang Bo had been used in a genetic experiment by the Gene Serum Company.

As she watched Yang Bo and Fat Boss eating and chatting on the bench, the Female Captain pondered how to approach the situation.

“His abilities must be extraordinary. His genes should be top-notch…” The Female Captain thought as she observed Yang Bo. Since she had no proof that Yang Bo was who she suspected, she’d need to find a way to gather evidence bit by bit.

“I have six months to vacation here. But how do I approach him?” The Female Captain felt stuck. There was no natural intersection between their lives.

Furthermore, her current status and position complicated things. Getting involved with anyone would attract unwanted attention.

At that moment, the Female Captain noticed another woman emerging from the house.

Zhou Rui also came out holding a plate. As President of a branch of the Bounty Hunter Guild, she was skilled at handling situations.

“Yang Bo, how’s my cooking?” Zhou Rui asked as she stood beside him, plate in hand.

“Delicious. The Boss’s cooking is good too,” Yang Bo replied, catching a whiff of her natural-smelling perfume. He didn’t know what brand it was but, without hesitating, responded while eating.

Fat Boss, hearing this, grinned and said nothing.

“Yang Bo, later I’ll give you a device that lets you log into our Bounty Hunter Guild’s official website. You can learn more about the guild there,” Zhou Rui continued without any sense of awkwardness.

“Thank you!”

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“I like gaming. Back when I was in welfare housing, I’d regularly play games, listen to music, and even watch concerts.”

“Really?” Zhou Rui, unsure how to respond, realized she never engaged in such activities. She spent her free time training and improving her physical capabilities.

Fat Boss stayed silent on the side. Sensing the strange atmosphere, Yang Bo quickly finished his meal. “I’m done. I’ll wash my plate. Thanks! The food was great.” He then grabbed his plate and hurried inside.

After Yang Bo left, Fat Boss spoke slowly, “Assistant Zhou, Yang Bo is part of our company. Try not to cross the line.”

“Does Yang Bo have some hidden talent? Based on my understanding of family heirs like you, there’s no way you’d be so friendly to someone like Yang Bo without reason,” Zhou Rui calmly said as she sat down.

Fat Boss clenched his fists but felt stuck. If he didn’t act, someone else might steal Yang Bo away entirely.

After all, Yang Bo’s displayed talents were impressive enough that Fat Boss couldn’t help but take notice, but pushing too hard would raise suspicions.

This whole situation was a deadlock. Fat Boss now regretted taking on the task on the Mining Planet.

“You’re right. I can’t hide this situation any longer, but I hope we both know our limits,” Fat Boss finally admitted bluntly. Zhou Rui had already figured it out; there was no point in pretending.

Fat Boss still didn’t know Zhou Rui was the President of a branch of the Bounty Hunter Guild. Otherwise, he would have spoken differently. As President, she held considerable authority, far from the reach of ordinary citizens.

The Alliance had developed into its current state, with major powers controlling various fields. These families placed their descendants into key positions, generation after generation.

Whether in terms of superpowers, wealth, or education, ordinary people had no way of competing with these elites.

Occasionally, a rare genius would rise against the odds, but such individuals either joined a major family or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

These major powers had a tacit understanding: the current elite domination must not be disrupted.

“Sorry, but I have a mission to complete here. How about you provide me with Yang Bo’s detailed information, and we work together to cultivate him?” Zhou Rui shook her head.

Fat Boss chuckled bitterly. “You’re dreaming. If you push me too far, I’ll reveal that Yang Bo has unlocking skills.”

“Do as you please. You’ll only offend the Thief Sect by doing so. I’m sure someone in your family is just waiting for you to make such a rookie mistake. Those family feuds in the gray and black zones are ruthless.”

“Each generation’s power struggle is soaked in blood. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fled to this remote place to run a business alone.” Zhou Rui smiled sweetly.

Fat Boss burst into laughter and stood up, saying, “Fine, I’ll spill Yang Bo’s other talents. Plenty of people would be interested in him. If I can’t keep him, no one can.”

With that, Fat Boss grabbed his plate and went back inside. Zhou Rui watched him leave, her smile growing wider. His nervousness and threats only confirmed that Yang Bo possessed even more talents.

In this world, only geniuses get preferential treatment. As long as you’re talented enough, many people are willing to help you, support you, or even recruit you.

If not, you’re just a waste, even worse than a robot, in most people’s eyes.

“I’m really looking forward to discovering what other talents Yang Bo has,” Zhou Rui thought as she grabbed her own plate and returned indoors.

Inside, Yang Bo had already washed his plate and returned to his room.

“I have to admit, both of them can cook. I’ll be eating quite well from now on,” Yang Bo mused, fully aware of their intentions. But so what? They were partners, after all, making money together.

Yang Bo wasn’t expecting anyone to be truly sincere with him, not even Fat Boss, who treated him well enough.

But let’s not forget how Fat Boss had left him behind several times. It was only because they were stuck in the dormitory that Fat Boss didn’t run this time.

Yang Bo suspected Fat Boss stayed simply because there were police drones outside.

If it were any other situation, he might have already fled. His type always prioritized profit.

Not that it bothered Yang Bo. After all, in his last life, he lived in a society built on interests.

He didn’t expect anyone to risk their life to save him. That’s just unrealistic.

In the end, he could only rely on himself.

Yang Bo re-entered the game. After respawning, he found a group of players arguing nearby.

Apparently, two groups had been scheming against each other in the city. Their battles drew in a bunch of zombies, wiping out 90% of the combined forty-plus players.

Their losses were huge, and now they were cursing each other at the respawn point. But since the game didn’t allow swearing, some words were censored, making their insults sound odd.

Controlling his android, Yang Bo left the respawn point and continued exploring.

The respawn point was on the edge of a city. The city was wedged between a mountain and a river in the distance.

A small residential area seemed to be across the river, though it wasn’t very big. There also seemed to be buildings further into some mountain valleys.

He could only see an outline of the city because most of it was dilapidated, overrun with wild grass, shrubs, and vines.

Wild animals also roamed the area. Yang Bo spotted a rat darting through the brush, briefly looking back at him.

In such a terrible environment, you never knew when or where a zombie might pop up.

“There are five zombies in that house.”

“That one has one zombie,” Yang Bo muttered to himself as he descended the mountain, cautiously moving along the ruined road, always observing his surroundings.

Due to the limitations of his android’s body, the amount of equipment he could carry was limited, as was the performance of the equipment itself, due to the energy system.

The android’s radar had a detection radius of about 300 meters, but it clearly wasn’t very effective, nowhere near as good as the radar on a mecha.

“The radar’s recognition rate is poor. Its ground-penetrating capability is bad too,” Yang Bo muttered, comparing the android’s radar to the one on a mecha, which was significantly more functional. The android’s radar displayed information in a mini-map format.

A rat scurried by. Catching one would earn 200 credits, but Yang Bo wasn’t interested.

Chasing a rat through this overgrown mess was difficult, and for 200 credits, it wasn’t worth his time.

Plus, his character had a weight limit. Carrying too much would drain more energy.

“Should I check up there?” Yang Bo stood beside a building, preparing to clear out the monsters and set up a temporary safe zone in case he ran into a large group of zombies ahead.