Chapter 1 The Bizarre Scene

The scene before Zhou Ze was so strange.

The City God and the Bodhisattva were sitting on a bed, playing chess,

while Di Ting poured tea and served water.

It was as if,

everything had returned to a thousand years ago.

Of course, more than anything, he felt lost and bewildered. After all this time, all the fighting and scheming, and even getting struck by lightning and being unconscious for days;

was this the ending?

The old Taoist’s chess skills were actually quite good. After all, the entertainment industry and entertainment options weren't as developed as they are now. Back then, setting up a chess stall, exchanging rooks and cannons, and settling down for a few rounds was truly enjoyable.

Having traveled all over the country for most of his life, the old Taoist had seen many Jianghu gambits and money-making tricks, so his discernment was naturally sharp.

The young man with the mask was very quiet when playing chess. In fact, he was always a very quiet person, so quiet that sometimes the old Taoist wouldn't hear him say a word even after playing chess for half the day.

But it was this quietness that the old Taoist liked the most.

The man was quiet, but the chessboard was full of fierce battles.

Although he always lost. So far, he had played dozens of games, and the old Taoist hadn't won a single one. But every game was a thrilling battle, and he lost with satisfaction.

The lame man placed the fruit platter on the chair next to them, and then sat on the other side of the bed.

His good leg was crossed on the bed,

while his lame leg swayed back and forth below.

Although Zhou Ze now had a feeling that the Bodhisattva and the others had discovered everything, as long as there wasn't a complete confrontation, Boss Zhou wouldn't choose to give up.

Even ants cling to life, let alone a salted fish?

Zhou Ze silently walked to the bedside and sat next to the lame man.

The lame man turned to look at Zhou Ze,

and Zhou Ze also turned to look at the lame man.

Then,

both of them fell silent.

The old Taoist's phone was playing music, mostly old songs. In the old Taoist's words, when online music started to become popular, the songs back then were really good;

unlike now, the top spots on the music charts were occupied by God knows what kind of garbage, as if anyone could sing, dance, and rap.

The phone was playing:

"Ah ah~~ ah ah~~ Ten years of cultivation for a shared boat ride, a hundred years of cultivation for a shared pillow………………"

Seriously,

Boss Zhou, sitting next to him, watching the scene before him,

really felt that the song was so appropriate.

The mid-game was a fierce battle, with both sides exchanging pieces quickly.

This was also a style of play that the old Taoist had figured out. A steady, step-by-step approach is a common method used by high-level players against low-level players, relying on layout experience and deduction ability to avoid accidents and win.

But after the initial confrontation, the old Taoist knew that this quiet guy who didn't like to say anything,

was like a human-shaped AlphaGo.

There was really no chance of playing layout with him, only suffocating himself to death in boredom.

Therefore, the old Taoist now starts to make big moves in the mid-game, hoping that a miracle will happen.

Unsurprisingly,

the old Taoist lost.

But at least on the chessboard, there weren't many pieces left on either side, and it didn't look like he was completely crushed.

The game was over,

the old Taoist got off the bed and stretched.

The young man with the mask picked up a piece of apple and ate it in small bites.

"Lu Fangweng, time for your check-up."

A young nurse walked to the door and urged.

"Alright, let's play again in the afternoon."

The old Taoist made a helpless gesture.

The young man with the mask nodded,

got off the bed,

and walked ahead,

with the lame man following behind.

The two of them left the ward like this.

"Boss, I'm going for a check-up," the old Taoist said to Zhou Ze.

"Don't bother, wait a little longer, what's going on with them?"

"What's going on?" The old Taoist was a little confused.

Zhou Ze closed his eyes, his head hurt, he waved his hand and said:

"Go for your check-up."

"Okay, Boss."

The old Taoist went out,

Zhou Ze leaned against the headboard,

one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest.

Perhaps it was because of "recovering from a serious illness" or "post-lightning strike syndrome,"

although he was awake, he was physically and mentally exhausted.

As he lay there,

just as he was dozing off,

the old Taoist came back after his check-up.

It was like a battle, where the uninjured took care of the injured, and the lightly injured took care of the seriously injured.

The old Taoist warmed up a glass of milk for his boss and placed it on the bedside table.

Zhou Ze opened his eyes at this moment,

and yawned.

"Did they come looking for you, or did you go looking for them?"

"Well, when I went to buy rice, I met that lame guy in the elevator, and I chatted with him for a few words;

then I went back to our ward and returned some of the nutritional products they had left behind and forgotten to take.

I felt sorry for the young man who was burned, and it just so happened that the chess set was forgotten by a patient who had just been discharged from their ward, so I started playing chess with him."

"Cough cough…………"

Zhou Ze coughed.

"Boss, should I call a doctor?"

"No need."

Zhou Ze picked up the warm milk, looked at it, and said helplessly:

"Is there any purified water?"

"Yes, Boss."

He took the purified water from the old Taoist and took a sip.

The old Taoist on the side couldn't wait to ask:

"Boss, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with them?"

Zhou Ze had deliberately not said anything before, but seeing Zhou Ze's reaction now, if the old Taoist hadn't noticed that there was something wrong with them, then he would have wasted these few years of being influenced by two bosses.

"There's nothing wrong, I just think they're too aloof, I don't really like them."

"Oh, I see."

It wasn't that Zhou Ze didn't want to tell the old Taoist the truth, because once he told him, he would also have to tell the old Taoist that you are the City God, not the old Taoist, your father is the City God, your grandfather is the City God, your grandfather's father is also the City God, your whole family is the City God.

One reason was that Zhou Ze still felt more comfortable with the old Taoist being the old Taoist,

and the second reason was that if he wanted to tell the old Taoist the truth, it should be the "old Taoist" himself telling the "old Taoist."

"Where's the cigarette?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Oh, here."

The old Taoist lit a cigarette for Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze shook his head,

and just put the cigarette in his mouth.

The Bodhisattva's side had already come to this ward to play chess. Whether they had discovered anything, whether they were waiting for final confirmation, or for some other reason, Zhou Ze didn't know.

Right now,

he could only take it one step at a time.

If he really lost this game in the end,

thinking about being struck by lightning for nothing,

he really wouldn't be reconciled.

"Boss, should I go find them to play chess again?"

The old Taoist asked cautiously.

Zhou Ze looked at the old Taoist, stared at him until he felt a little uneasy, and then nodded:

"Go if you want to."

Since you have the awareness to feed yourself to the tiger, a leader can't stop you.

With the boss's permission, the old Taoist left the ward with the chessboard.

Zhou Ze took out the cigarette he had moistened in his mouth and rubbed it in his hand.

No matter what,

since he had just woken up,

he should catch his breath first,

at least,

he had to get his body in better shape first, right?

"Hiss…………"

Suddenly,

Zhou Ze felt a sharp pain in his chest,

and at the same time, his lungs felt like a big stone was pressing on them,

he could only exhale and not inhale.

This symptom came so suddenly,

"Sudden cardiac arrest…………"

These four words immediately appeared in his mind.

Zhou Ze didn't have heart disease, or rather, Xu Le's body didn't have heart disease either. Of course, Xu Le's body, apart from maintaining a roughly similar appearance as before, had long been transformed beyond recognition by Boss Zhou on the inside.

So,

it should be because he was now in a "normal person" state,

he didn't know if it was caused by the car accident a few days ago or the lightning strike that day,

in short,

this "normal person" body had a normal person's reaction,

it was broken,

it had a problem!

If it wasn't for the fact that he was having trouble breathing now,

Boss Zhou really wanted to spit out a mouthful of old blood,

he had just woken up after being struck by lightning and being unconscious for days!

Here we go again?

Zhou Ze reached out to touch the bell by the bed,

then,

he paused,

because he was clean, he had specifically chosen the empty third bed after taking a shower, instead of going back to his "old nest" where he had been unconscious for several days, or going to the old Taoist's bed.

But precisely,

this empty bed,

didn't have that bell button!

Fuck!

For the first time in his life,

Boss Zhou began to resent his cleanliness!

………………

"Hehehe, playing chess, playing chess."

The old Taoist happily carried the chessboard into ward 1102.

"Hey, there's a new neighbor here, should we be quieter?"

The old Taoist was still a very public-spirited person. Before, the young man with the mask was in a single room, so everyone could relax and play chess. Now, that wasn't possible.

The lame man was sweeping the floor, dragging his lame leg.

The young man with the mask shook his head

and said:

"It doesn't matter."

The old Taoist then noticed that the new middle-aged male patient was holding a phone, playing Douyin loudly.

The other party probably had a problem with his leg, and was lying there with a cast.

Well,

I just like these uncivilized people!

"Come, come, let's kill, let's kill!"

The old Taoist happily sat on the young man with the mask's bed and started setting up the chessboard.

At this time,

a young nurse walked to the door of the ward and called out:

"Wang Shucheng from 1102, is that you?"

"That's me."

The man who was playing Douyin put down his phone.

"Come on, it's your turn for a check-up, come out for a bit."

"Okay."

The man got out of bed with some difficulty, leaning on a crutch, and followed the nurse out.

………………

At this time,

a group of people got out of a van in front of the hospital, all of them adult men, with fierce expressions on their faces.

"Boss, we found him, ward 1102. That bastard owes us money and doesn't pay it back. Yesterday, he went to his mistress's house for the night, and her man suddenly came back. The bastard jumped out of the window to escape and broke his leg."

"Damn it, he made me look so hard! Brothers, listen up, it's only right to pay back debts. Since this guy is playing us, we don't need to be polite!

Follow me in and cripple him!"