Zhou Ziwei shrugged and said, "Who said I was going to do that kind of thing... Please don't insult my character, okay? I said... I just wanted to take a shower and get a full-body massage, but I didn't say I was going to hire a prostitute, please don't misunderstand me, okay? Even if the masseuse can be booked to come to the hotel, you can't bring the sauna from the bathhouse, can you? So... I have to go out."
Sun Xiaoyu, of course, did not believe Zhou Ziwei's nonsense. She glared at him coldly and said, "These are extraordinary times. I hope Mr. Zhou will not joke with his life. You can still take a shower in this hotel. There is no need to go there."
"No... I want to do a sauna... The showers in this hotel are not relaxing at all. I'm not a criminal, and you're just ordered to protect me. You have no right to restrict my freedom. If you can't even grant such a small request... then don't blame me for not cooperating with you anymore."
Zhou Ziwei continued his shameless act to the end, fighting for his freedom.
Sun Xiaoyu stared at Zhou Ziwei in silence for a long time. Seeing that Zhou Ziwei was unwilling to give in, she finally had no choice but to whisper a few words to Zhu Junli through her ear and then said, "Okay! If you really just want to go to a sauna and get a massage... then we'll have to arrange the specific location. Is that alright?"
“OK…it’s all the same wherever we go, arrange it as you like! I’ll go wash my face and change my clothes first, and we’ll leave after I come out. I hope you can be quick…” Zhou Ziwei said, then picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom. After all, he wasn’t thick-skinned enough. If he had to change his clothes in front of Sun Xiaoyu…it would really be a bit embarrassing.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Ziwei, accompanied by Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli, swaggered out of the hotel.
As soon as they stepped out the door, Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli tensed up, their muscles taut, their eyes darting around like spinning light bulbs, carefully observing every corner of the street and every pedestrian.
Just as Zhou Ziwei was about to go to the parking lot to get his Audi, the two men dragged him into a somewhat old-fashioned Hongqi sedan, which they had driven there themselves.
"Hey...why do I have to ride in this beat-up car? I have my own car..."
Zhou Ziwei grew increasingly disgusted with the two men's behavior and couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.
“Your car isn’t safe… Our car is bulletproof.”
Zhu Junli, unusually, explained to Zhou Ziwei, then opened the car door and, with Sun Xiaoyu on either side, helped Zhou Ziwei into the back seat before opening the front door and taking the driver's seat.
Sun Xiaoyu got into the car from the other side and sat down right next to Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei noticed that both men kept one hand in their pockets the entire time, so even without using his soul power to scan, he could guess that their hands were always holding guns, so they could shoot at any time if they spotted a suspicious target.
At the same time, Zhou Ziwei also observed that there were inconspicuous reflections emanating from five or six places on the street.
He immediately increased his vision to about six times its normal level, and suddenly a wide-open world appeared before his eyes. He could clearly see that in the locations he had just discovered, there was a person holding a long sniper rifle, aiming in his direction.
Two of them pointed their guns at them, while the others aimed their guns at different directions on either side of the street.
Seeing this, Zhou Ziwei frowned again, knowing that those snipers must also be police officers, and that the police must have some other purpose, otherwise it would be very unlikely that they would go to such lengths for him.
Although there are only two people ostensibly protecting Zhou Ziwei, he is certain that even if they are indeed from the public security agency, they are the elite of the elite, the best of the best. They might even be the legendary bodyguards who have protected national leaders in Zhongnanhai... As of now, their marksmanship is unknown, but in terms of hand-to-hand combat, they must be extremely skilled, which can be felt from their every move.
Furthermore, who knows how many more people are hiding in the shadows, constantly cooperating with Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli...
Although this matter involves a black market assassin network and may attract the attention of the police, it's likely that the guy who issued the black market bounty will focus on the key figures in the Zhou Group. A small shareholder like Zhou Ziwei, who has no power whatsoever, will definitely not be a primary target for assassination.
If that's the case, then even if the police have some ulterior motives, they should start with Zhou Ziwei's nominal father and brother... So why spend so much effort on him?
Zhou Ziwei was completely baffled by this matter. When he asked the two of them, it was like talking to a brick wall. This made Zhou Ziwei feel very uncomfortable, as if he was being used by someone.
This further fueled Zhou Ziwei's desire to break free from the two men's control.
The Hongqi sedan moved at a moderate speed and soon stopped at the back door of a medium-sized bathhouse.
Zhou Ziwei remained seated in the car, while Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli got out of the car immediately. They cautiously looked around while subtly exchanging cryptic hand signals with certain individuals in the distance.
None of this escaped Zhou Ziwei's eyes, and he discovered that... there were actually many of Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli's companions making arrangements here as well.
It seems they really have considerable influence. Less than half an hour has passed since Zhou Ziwei made his request, yet they have already arranged such meticulous plans. This made Zhou Ziwei both amused and exasperated.
He couldn't help but feel that even the world's richest man, or a notorious underworld boss with enemies all over the world, wouldn't have as much trouble going out as he did...
After confirming that everything was safe, Zhou Ziwei was allowed to get out of the car. Sun Xiaoyu immediately stayed close to Zhou Ziwei and helped him slip through the back door of the bathhouse.
Although the bathhouse wasn't very large, it didn't seem that way from the outside. Surprisingly, it wasn't low-end at all. The bathhouse covered an area of over a thousand square meters and offered a wide variety of services. However, at this moment, there wasn't a single customer in the entire bathhouse, which made Zhou Ziwei frown again.
Damn it... all I wanted was to take a shower. Sun Xiaoyu and the others wouldn't just kick out all the customers at this bathhouse because of my request, would they? That's... way too ruthless!
Soon, a woman who looked like the lobby manager of the bathhouse came over. She didn't say anything to Zhou Ziwei, but exchanged a strange look with Zhu Junli, and then immediately led Zhou Ziwei and the other two upstairs.
No way! This lobby manager is one of their people too?
Zhou Ziwei felt even more troubled. The greater the power that Sun Xiaoyu and her group displayed, the lower the chances that Zhou Ziwei could escape their surveillance.
And the feeling of being used becomes even stronger.
They walked all the way to the sauna on the third floor, but didn't see a single person. Then Zhou Ziwei was led into a fully equipped sauna to take a shower. This time, Sun Xiaoyu, who had been "closely protecting" Zhou Ziwei, didn't stick to his side anymore. Instead, she and Zhu Junli stood guard at the door.
This finally gave Zhou Ziwei a slight sense of relief. If that icy woman had continued to follow him all the way here, Zhou Ziwei wouldn't have known what to do.
Zhou Ziwei dawdled for over an hour before finally finishing his shower.
During this time, he had already thoroughly investigated the surrounding environment through the scanning of his soul power and the eyes and ears of the ladybugs left outside the bathhouse.
He found that at least inside the sauna, it was relatively safe. Those people weren't shameless enough to install hidden cameras or anything like that; they were still respecting his right to privacy. However, outside the sauna, there were people monitoring him everywhere. Even if he managed to break through the wall and jump from the third floor, he would still be discovered.
If he wanted to get rid of Sun Xiaoyu and the others' surveillance at this time, the only way was to climb out through the ventilation duct above the sauna. As for if there were any cameras temporarily installed at the exit, that wouldn't be difficult for Zhou Ziwei. He could use his soul power to create an independent soul body inside the camera, capture the camera, and then make sure the camera couldn't see his shadow.
The problem is that even if he can climb out through the pipe exit on the roof, leaving the building will likely be quite a hassle.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Ziwei still did nothing. The main reason he came out this time was to test what kind of methods Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli had. After understanding, he would have a better understanding of their methods.
If he manages to escape their surveillance and go out for a stroll, it will only raise the guard of Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli. It will be much harder for him to come out next time. Even if he does manage to get out, they will definitely arrange even tighter surveillance measures. In that case, Zhou Ziwei will have shot himself in the foot.
After emerging from the sauna in loose bathrobes, the woman dressed as the lobby manager immediately led Zhou Ziwei and Sun Xiaoyu to a massage room, where a middle-aged female masseuse entered, guided by the two of them.
Sun Xiaoyu snorted and said, "This is the massage therapist we selected for you. Her skills are the best in the city. All the massage therapists in this bathhouse are her apprentices, so she should be able to satisfy you. However... if you have any other requests, I'm afraid she won't be able to fulfill them."
Seeing the middle-aged woman who was a massage therapist made Zhou Ziwei quite depressed.
Although he had no ulterior motives and just wanted to relax and enjoy a massage, he didn't need to choose such an old masseuse! Even if her skills were excellent, she... wasn't as pleasing to the eye as a young and pretty girl...
However, since Sun Xiaoyu had already said so, Zhou Ziwei felt embarrassed to insist that Sun Xiaoyu replace her with another young and beautiful one, so he could only wave his hand and say, "Alright... let's go with her!"
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he saw that Sun Xiaoyu was still standing straight to the side, coldly watching him, without any intention of avoiding him. So he chuckled, lay down on the massage bed, and turned to Sun Xiaoyu, saying, "What's wrong... Miss Sun, do you also want to learn massage techniques? Hehe... That's great, that way when I have this kind of request again, you can take care of it for me, saving me from having to run all this way and bother a whole bunch of people."
Upon hearing this, a hint of anger flashed in Sun Xiaoyu's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and coldly replied, "If you can handle it, then I don't mind helping you loosen your bones..." As she spoke, she raised her hand and grabbed the armrest of a solid wood chair next to her. With a sudden force, a "crack" was heard, and the armrest, which was as thick as a forearm, was snapped in two.
Although Zhou Ziwei had long realized that Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli were both formidable figures, he never expected that this seemingly slender, ice-cold beauty, who weighed no more than 45 kilograms, would possess such great strength. At least Zhou Ziwei himself didn't have that ability. If it were an enemy, Zhou Ziwei could use the essence of Niu-style Tai Chi to easily break the opponent's limbs by borrowing their force, but he couldn't do that against an inanimate object.
The chair sat there quietly, and no matter how powerful Zhou Ziwei's Niu-style Tai Chi was, he had nowhere to draw strength.
So let alone a chair armrest as thick as an arm, he probably couldn't even break a chopstick as thick as a finger...
Interesting... What does this girl do?... Even elite special forces soldiers might not have her skills...
When the middle-aged woman, somewhat timidly, sat on Zhou Ziwei's buttocks and began to massage his back, Zhou Ziwei finally realized that the woman's technique was indeed quite good.
No one knew what technique the old woman used, but her hands were incredibly strong. Every pinch and rub went straight to Zhou Ziwei's joints, making his bones crack. After a slight pain, he felt as if his body had become lighter, experiencing an indescribable sense of comfort, which made Zhou Ziwei groan softly a few times.
Sun Xiaoyu had never had anyone massage her before, so she couldn't understand why Zhou Ziwei was so comfortable when he was being abused so badly. And even if he was comfortable, there was no need for him to be moaning so loudly! So she instinctively felt that Zhou Ziwei might be deliberately teasing her and making those sounds that sounded like men and women making those kinds of things. This made her eyes immediately flash with a chilling light.
He secretly vowed that after this mission was over, he would make this scoundrel pay a price...
After going through almost the same procedures again, the group returned safely to the hotel.
Zhou Ziwei wanted to go see Liu Xiaofei and Li Yifeng first, but Sun Xiaoyu immediately stopped him with a blank expression, saying that they could see them, but they had to go to the room where Zhou Ziwei was currently staying, because Zhou Ziwei's room was the safest in the entire hotel.
Seeing that Sun Xiaoyu insisted, Zhou Ziwei was too lazy to argue with her over such a trivial matter. He took the elevator straight to the top floor and called Liu Xiaofei and Li Yifeng. He learned that the construction team working on the opposite site planned to start work overnight and demolish the entire building in one go. Li Yifeng was still there supervising the construction, so he didn't ask him to come up. Instead, he invited Liu Xiaofei upstairs to have dinner with her.
Actually, Zhou Ziwei didn't have anything wrong, but he had been facing those two cold faces all day, which made him lose his appetite.
In contrast, Zhou Ziwei began to miss Liu Xiaofei's always affectionate gaze and her endless, rambling chatter when she got excited.
Zhou Ziwei thought with some regret: Sigh... If I had known it would turn out like this, why did I hold back last night... I should have just eaten Liu Xiaofei up... If something had really happened last night, then the relationship between Liu Xiaofei and me would be completely different. In that case, I could justifiably demand to sleep with my little wife tonight... Uh... Surely Sun Xiaoyu, that ice block, wouldn't insist on being a third wheel in this situation? Hmm... I wonder if it's too late to make amends now.
Volume 1 The Rebirth of a Prodigy Chapter 149 Let's stay here tonight!
After Zhou Ziwei went upstairs and returned to his room, he immediately found a pen and quickly wrote down a long menu. He ordered four cold and four hot dishes, eight signature dishes spanning the four major cuisines of Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan and Beijing, plus a seafood soup. For his main courses, he ordered jade shrimp dumplings and crab roe buns.
Of course... we also have to order a bottle of red wine from Château Lafite Rothschild in France. Pairing foreign wine with Chinese food seems a bit out of place, but as long as I like it, that's fine with me.
After finishing writing the menu, Zhou Ziwei tossed it to Sun Xiaoyu and then ignored it.
Sun Xiaoyu had already instructed Zhou Ziwei that from today onwards, he was no longer allowed to buy food outside or order takeout by himself.
She will be responsible for arranging Zhou Ziwei's three meals a day. Breakfast and lunch will be relatively simple, while Zhou Ziwei will be allowed to order his own dinner. As long as Zhou Ziwei doesn't order random things like dragon liver and phoenix gall, she will try her best to meet his requests.
Since someone was treating, Zhou Ziwei naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony and ordered whatever he wanted to eat, regardless of whether he and Liu Xiaofei could finish it.
As for Sun Xiaoyu... although she had to stay by Zhou Ziwei's side 24 hours a day, she never ate a single meal with him from morning till night.
Sun Xiaoyu is certainly not an ethereal fairy who doesn't eat, she also needs to eat. However, she is now in the role of a bodyguard, so naturally she cannot eat with the person she is protecting. This is not because Zhou Ziwei is being unreasonable.
In fact, it was always Sun Xiaoyu and Zhu Junli who were explaining the rules to Zhou Ziwei, and Zhou Ziwei seemed to have no choice but to obey.
In fact, Sun Xiaoyu had already eaten. Zhou Ziwei discovered that this woman probably ate at least five meals a day, and if she ate something in the middle of the night, she might eat six or seven meals.
However, Sun Xiaoyu always eats very quickly, almost never taking more than a minute.
So even if she eats ten meals a day, the time wasted is definitely less than the time wasted by eating one meal a week.
Sun Xiaoyu's food was also very strange. It was a dark, paste-like substance in a bottle. When the lid was opened, it emitted a slightly pungent smell.
Sun Xiaoyu would always drink the black paste in one gulp, then drink a glass of water, which was her meal.
The memories Zhou Ziwei absorbed included those of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, pharmacists, and of course, chefs. Most importantly, after being filled with the power of his soul, Zhou Ziwei's sense of smell could be instantly enhanced by about six times. Therefore, as long as Sun Xiaoyu opened the bottle and sniffed it, he could discern the ingredients of what Sun Xiaoyu was drinking with great accuracy from the smell.
After a little analysis, Zhou Ziwei discovered that the nutrients in what Sun Xiaoyu drank were very balanced and could basically supplement most of the nutrients the human body needs every day.
Moreover, the mixture of extracts from those natural medicinal herbs should produce an effect similar to a stimulant.
The stimulating effect is not very strong, but it is long-lasting, and it is estimated that there will not be any serious side effects, and the possibility of addiction is not high.
Therefore, this dark, paste-like substance can practically be considered a highly safe stimulant. If the sports world were to obtain this formula, they would treasure it like a precious gem, because drinking it could have a slight effect similar to taking a stimulant, but it would be undetectable by tests... This shows just how valuable it would be.
No wonder Sun Xiaoyu eats this every day. After all, her job requires her to be alert and vigilant 24 hours a day. You could say that she has to keep her nerves on edge even when she goes to the toilet or sleeps.
If this goes on for too long, no one would be able to stand it.
By consuming this paste-like food every few hours, Sun Xiaoyu can keep her nerves in a state of low excitement, thus avoiding unnecessary mistakes at work.
Sun Xiaoyu is, after all, a girl, and normally she wouldn't have a big appetite. Every three or four hours she had to drink a bottle of that sticky stuff, so naturally she couldn't eat anything else and could only use that stuff as her meal.
Zhou Ziwei guessed that the person who invented this food must have been very knowledgeable about traditional Chinese medicine, but was a complete novice when it came to cooking, which is why it was made like this.
The smell was pungent, let alone the taste. If Zhou Ziwei had designed the cooking process, even if it wasn't cooked into a delicacy, it wouldn't have tasted so bad.
This idea suddenly sparked a flash of inspiration in Zhou Ziwei's mind, and he suddenly thought of something.
Zhou Ziwei also knew that although gambling on stones could bring in money quickly, it was not a long-term solution. If he wanted to truly develop and expand his business, he would eventually have to move towards manufacturing and trade.
However, even if he manages to successfully dig up a large number of fragments of jadeite this time, and accumulate enough funds, Zhou Ziwei doesn't yet have a mature plan in mind on how to rationally use these funds or what kind of business to create.
However, Zhou Ziwei was inspired by the nutritional supplements that Sun Xiaoyu ate to maintain a low level of excitement. His main advantage lay in the knowledge and information he gained across almost every industry by merging the memories of other people's souls. If each of these pieces of knowledge were taken out individually, it might have given Zhou Ziwei a place in his respective industry. However, most of the souls that Zhou Ziwei merged with were only successful people in their respective industries in their previous lives, and very few could truly be called elites.
Therefore, if Zhou Ziwei had only ventured into any one industry, he probably wouldn't have been able to achieve outstanding results.