LWDC Chapter 115

Chapter 115 – Dreams Like the Tide

Chapter 115 – Dreams Like the Tide

Chapter 115 – Dreams Like the Tide

The Vatican finally stepped in to bring the situation at the Radell household under control.

Actually, they had no choice. The plague had already begun to spread in the capital, and swift, decisive measures were needed to deal with it as quickly as possible. The Radell family was, after all, a noble house, and they couldn’t just “dispose of” them all at once. Plus, the “Holy Son” was willing to lead the effort, so the Radell family was, in a way, pulled back from the brink of death.

Although the epidemic had resulted in the death of two elderly servants and one young one in the mansion, and two others had become incapacitated and had to retire, the family had survived. However, even though they had recovered and developed antibodies from the infection, other nobles still dared not associate with them. People in this era couldn’t understand the principle of “unlikely to recur in the short term.” They only felt that the Radell family had been the first to fall ill, making them the source of the infection, unlucky and dangerous. As a result, Radell’s so-called “friends” all left her. Aside from the occasional insincere letter of concern, not a single person was seen.

Worse, even the shops Radell used to frequent now shunned her. They were tactful in their words, but Radell understood clearly: it meant “no admittance.” After all, these shops still had to cater to other noble ladies, and if they knew Radell had been there, they certainly wouldn’t come. The shops couldn’t abandon the entire forest for one tree, so Radell became “the most unpopular noble lady in the city.” Even when her family’s carriage with its coat of arms drove through the streets, people would cover their faces and avoid it, and some children would even throw stones at the windowpanes.

After all this, Radell became completely docile.

The only people she could talk to properly were her family members, Yu Zhou, and Ning Fei, who occasionally came to see her. Radell really didn’t want to lose these last remaining opportunities for communication, and she was truly afraid of these two men’s methods. The last time she resisted, a pet died; this time, her entire family almost died. She wouldn’t dare to harbor any thoughts of resistance in the short term and could only obediently learn – mainly because she had nothing else to do. Even though she realized that this was the two men’s method of PUA, she was helpless. Once Yu Zhou disappeared for two days, she would have no one to talk to and nowhere to go, and the feeling of being isolated and ignored would drive her crazy with anxiety.

She had become a “golden canary” that couldn’t fly out of its cage and could only be manipulated.

“To control her, they deliberately allowed the epidemic to spread in her home and throughout the city, and even the deaths of people were insignificant.”

During another one of their private meetings, Yu Zhou adopted a “let me test you” attitude: “Tell me your thoughts on this matter.”

“I have no thoughts,” Ning Fei replied. “The epidemic already existed, and whether Radell was infected or someone else, the city would inevitably fall into a plague. You simply took advantage of this.”

Yu Zhou rested his chin on his hand: “You don’t blame me for taking too long to release the prescription and prevention methods?”

“What’s there to blame? These things didn’t exist in this world to begin with. It’s normal for you not to release them and let things develop as they may,” Ning Fei continued calmly. “Releasing them in my name is actually a benefit to me.”

“Giving them to you is because the Vatican is more convenient to act,” Yu Zhou smiled slightly. “With these ‘skills’ added to your resume, the nobles and those old perverts in the Vatican won’t dare to move against you easily, right?”

“Them? It doesn’t matter. Even without the prescription and prevention methods you gave me, I can balance them,” Ning Fei said indifferently. “It’s a common problem with conceited old men: they think they’re the most special. If I’m a little more special to others, it must be because I’m forced to, and they themselves will fight and restrain each other. In the end, who can gain the favor of the Holy Son first is their game and their ‘battle.’ Their competition could have continued for a while, and the things you gave me are just icing on the cake, only able to extend their patience a little.”

“You’re indeed very good at this. I knew it, someone who came from that kind of place, plus this face, must be very good at playing with people’s hearts,” Yu Zhou stepped forward, ran his fingers through Ning Fei’s medium-length hair, and chuckled, “However, I’m still protecting you for now. If you really need it, you can tell me. I won’t let you suffer a great crime and have to endure it. Debt collection is just a job, it shouldn’t force you to resign yourself to fate just to survive.”

“Don’t worry, I consider myself quite good at complaining,” Ning Fei tilted his head to avoid his hand and replied, “At least for now, I don’t need you to come up with any benefits specifically to protect me. However, I’m happy to receive the good things you come up with for Radell, by the way.”

“Haha, that’s right, I definitely have to come up with them, but I can’t give them to her directly,” Yu Zhou said slowly, “I want these methods to take effect in Radell’s environment. I want to give her the illusion that as long as she admits defeat and obeys, things will improve immediately. She will think that everything is under my control, that she can’t escape my grasp, and can only accept her fate.”

Ning Fei nodded: “I’ve learned something.”

“I thought you would think this method is too inefficient,” Yu Zhou asked, “You only used the act of strangling a bird to scare her, don’t you think I’m making too much of a fuss?”

“As long as you achieve your goal, it’s a success. As for how much the process costs, I can’t control it,” Ning Fei thought for a moment, “But your methods of controlling people are indeed very ingenious. With so many things strung together, Radell didn’t even suspect the details. You only need to step in at the most critical moments to make her think that you controlled everything from start to finish. You’ve become almost godlike in her mind. From that perspective, the cost-effectiveness isn’t low.”

“Just like you guessed that killing a bird would be enough to scare her, I can also guess her habitual thinking. I only need to let her see the ‘reversal of fortune’ after she bows her head and admits her mistakes, and she will subconsciously think that every step is under my control,” Yu Zhou replied, “She will think that the infected vagrants were arranged by me, and that her entire family was infected, even the entire city was infected, were all pushed by me.”

“In fact, as long as we draw away the luck of these time-traveling debtors, they will inevitably start to have bad luck. Then, based on their bad luck, we can prepare to give them a hand at critical moments. Whether it’s illness, accidents, or even life-threatening situations, as long as we return the luck to these time-travelers, they will be blessed with good fortune and turn bad luck into good. If that’s not enough, we can add a little bit of the luck that we debt collectors lend them, as well as targeted solutions based on our rich experience, which is enough to solve the difficulties these time-travelers face. So as long as we keep an eye on them, we just need to avoid killing these time-travelers.”

“Finally, when our mission is successfully completed, the luck we lent them will be returned with interest. Therefore, as long as we can complete the mission, it’s okay to lend a little. Earning a little extra income is also good. Of course, there are also those who lend out a lot of luck, but the mission fails in the end, and the luck they lent out is lost. For these debt collectors, I can only say that their brains are messed up. They not only don’t know their own abilities, but also don’t learn to stop the loss in time, and in the end, they only lose both the lady and the soldiers.”

Ning Fei listened quietly and attentively and gave feedback: “I’ve been taught. It seems that what I lack most now is the knowledge gained from a lot of mission experience.”

“Oh? It seems that you’re very confident in manipulating luck,” Yu Zhou said, “Then next time you take on a mission, you can judge for yourself whether to draw away the time-traveler’s luck, when to return it to him, and whether to lend him luck, and how much to lend him. I won’t say anything if you’re wrong, you’ll have to suffer a little.”

Ning Fei raised his eyebrows: “I thought this should still be one of your teaching contents.”

“Haven’t I already taught the theory? You’ve also seen my practical operations, what else do you want me to teach? Be smart, little Ning Fei, use the pretty head on your neck,” Yu Zhou said, “Practice makes perfect. You have to do it yourself to know if you really know how, right? Don’t worry, it’s very simple to operate, just like this, a light snap will do.”

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers crisply.

*

The dream receded like the tide, and Ning Fei opened his eyes.

The room was dark, and there was no sign of light in the direction of the curtains. Ning Fei turned over and reached for the phone on the bedside table, pressed it to light it up, and sure enough, it was only a little after four in the morning.

Even so, Ning Fei woke up completely and didn’t feel sleepy for a while. He sat up and was just about to look for where his clothes had been thrown when he turned around and heard a hoarse male voice behind him: “…It’s not even dawn yet, what are you going to do?”

Obviously, the man had been “awakened” by that little bit of movement, but his voice hadn’t fully woken up.

“I had a dream and suddenly couldn’t sleep,” Ning Fei replied, “I’m going to have a cigarette, don’t worry about it.”

Duan Yunhong also glanced at the time on the phone and commented, “You can’t sleep after sleeping for less than three hours? It seems that Team Leader Ning is indeed energetic and can continue to mess around.”

“How else do you want to mess with me, Director Duan?” Ning Fei pinched his face, without holding back. Duan Yunhong also unceremoniously put his arm on his leg, pinched the best-feeling place on the inside, also without holding back.

“Hiss—Duan Yunhong!” Ning Fei kicked him. Duan Yunhong couldn’t avoid it on the bed and took the kick, saying calmly, “You pinched me first.”

“Where did I pinch, where did you pinch?” Ning Fei was already a little stuffy because he dreamed about the past, and now he was really annoyed by Duan Yunhong, “Damn it, the usual bad habit of old perverts. If you didn’t look good, I would have strangled you to death…”

Duan Yunhong asked, “Who else has pinched you like this?”

“It’s none of your business,” Ning Fei climbed out of bed, found his bathrobe on the chair next to him, and put it on, “In short, when you’re having fun, if you can’t control yourself and do it occasionally, I can be generous and not care. Don’t do it like this normally, it’s annoying.”

After speaking, Ning Fei really took the phone to light the way and left the bedroom.

Duan Yunhong watched him leave in the dim light, gently closing his eyes, concealing the dark light in his eyes.