Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

As the mastermind behind an incredibly vast and complex interest group, Ego is practically the pinnacle of power in the entire southern America. Even the slightest thing that slips through his fingers and falls to earth could become a mountain of destruction capable of crushing a person.

Everyone assumed that his marriage would either be to the daughter of a political or business tycoon, or to a stunningly beautiful woman. But the reality was surprisingly simple.

Perhaps it is precisely because his life is so complicated that he seeks the ultimate simplicity in the limited life he has.

As for his daughter... after realizing that she did not have the talent in this area, Igor gave up on nurturing her and actively pushed her out of the turbulent political and business world.

Life is so short. It's a blessing that her family can afford to let her live her life according to her own wishes.

Allison was quite interested in dance and performance, so Igor sent her to study with Evelyn. Zhang Wusheng, on the other hand, was sent to study with him... In a sense, the connection between the two families became increasingly profound.

----

"Can you stand up?"

"..."

Faced with Alison's outstretched hand, Zhang Wusheng hesitated for a moment, pursed his lips, and did not refuse, letting her pull him up. Usually, receiving help from others always made him feel like his heart was being pricked by needles, but only when this young girl showed him care did he feel a little warmth in his heart.

From a young age, Zhang Wusheng often went to Igor's place, and naturally he often saw Allison. When it came to people he knew well, his guard would drop by about ten centimeters.

"This is a one-time thing, and it will never happen again," he thought to himself.

……

"Ah……"

A faint, disdainful laugh drifted into his ear, causing him to furrow his brow and feel a sudden surge of pressure.

……

"Oh, right, I brought you a lemon cake."

Zhang Wusheng untied the small bundle tied to his cane and unfolded it. Inside, the cakes were still neatly stacked without a single crumb falling out—this was a skill he had honed over the years, finding joy even in hardship.

"Thank you~~~" Allison said sweetly, but casually took the bundle and almost threw one of the pieces away.

"Speaking of which... why is it always lemon cake? Do you particularly like it?"

"Huh?" Zhang Wusheng was taken aback. "I only bought it because you like to eat it."

"Me? I... well, if I had to say, I don't dislike it. Maybe I even liked this flavor a long time ago?"

The girl pondered to herself, without arguing aloud. She simply smiled sweetly, brushed aside the topic, and continued walking.

Zhang Wusheng stood there, lost in his memories.

----

five years ago.

At a banquet for young people, music suddenly started playing during a certain segment—the children his age, including his two younger brothers, all quickly found dance partners and started dancing ballroom dances in an old-fashioned manner, just like adults.

But he was left aside, like a pitiful remainder in a division equation that could not be divided, chosen by no one and left to watch from the sidelines.

He clearly remembered that day, the harmonious and melodious music, like a small snake, crawled into his veins. He couldn't see clearly, but it felt as if ten thousand fingers were pointing at him, and ten thousand mouths were talking about him, turning into a buzzing sound that ripped a piece of flesh from his heart.

……

A fair, soft hand took his hand.

To this day, he still remembers the aroma of lemon cake wafting from those small, white hands.

Chapter 922: Who else would choose you besides me?

“I hear my father talking about it every day. Something bad has happened in Ukraine…” Allison looked worried. Half of her worry was about the incident itself, and the other half was about how her father, Ego, would have an even greater workload as a result.

Although the war involved no direct involvement from him, the saying "when the cannons roar, gold flows like water" applies. Once the situation necessitates the use of military force, the procurement and coordination of logistical production will require his involvement as the supreme leader.

In addition, a detailed plan is needed for the reconstruction phase after the victory—this is just one of the most ordinary of the countless events he has to deal with in his daily life.

Igor also assembled his own think tank, but his advisors were more like human databases, responsible for providing, calculating, and verifying all sorts of data for him. Based on this data, the final decision was always made by him.

The advantage of this system is, of course, unified command. Igor can fully utilize his micromanagement skills to continuously supply the soldiers on the front lines. With all orders originating from a single point, there are no contradictions or obstructions. Over time, the Sanyuan Group has developed a top-down organizational structure. With each level nested within the next, the transmission of orders is incredibly smooth. Igor's capacity for generating revenue can be amplified hundreds, even thousands of times through this sophisticated machine.

The downside is... as the operator of this machine, Igor expends far too much energy every day.

This has caused his family members to become increasingly worried.

"There was a group of people who, under the guise of opposing their father, formed a motley crew called... the Blue Shirts."

“Ukrainians are known for their tough and unruly people. In some northern cities, there are a lot of complaints about us, especially about my father. Skin color is just a superficial thing. Ultimately, it’s because the breakthroughs and development of the Sanyuan Group in various fields over the years have touched their interests.”

“In free competition, whoever has the better products will definitely get the most market share. But the market is only so big. If we take more, they will take less. In this situation, they either join us or are crushed by us... And those interest groups that are unwilling to accept defeat want to challenge us.”

"There may be northerners behind this blue-clad army. It is estimated that they are just the vanguard they sent out."

"Oh, I see..."

It's not hard to tell from her tone that Alison wasn't interested in any of this.

But Zhang Wusheng knew nothing about the things she was interested in.

The two were clearly only a short distance apart, but he felt that the girl in front of him was getting further and further away, and that he, a limping cripple, could no longer catch up with her.

……

"Oh, by the way," she asked casually, "has Honglu returned?"

"What did you ask him to do?"

Zhang Wusheng's voice suddenly turned cold, the change in tone so drastic that even he felt it was a bit excessive. The girl turned her head, her brows furrowed slightly, and looked at him with suspicion.

After a pause, he quickly added, "What I mean is... I'm not entirely sure either. He didn't come with us to quell the rebellion in Ukraine; instead, he went off on his own to investigate a weapons leak case, and he was gone for two or three weeks. Knowing him as I do, he probably used that as an excuse to go out and have some fun."

"He should be back around the time my parents return from overseas."

……

"Sit down for a bit, wait a moment." After entering the room, the girl casually placed the lemon cake wrapped in a cloth on the table and nodded slightly towards the chair. "I'll go upstairs first to see if Father is awake. I'll call you when he is."

"it is good."

"..." Zhang Wusheng, who had just answered, watched the girl's back as she walked up the stairs and gradually disappeared from his sight. The smile he had been barely maintaining finally vanished completely.

He heard the cold, mocking laughter again. Turning his head, he saw his reflection in the glass display case filled with dishes—a reflection of himself missing his right leg, with vertical pupils in his eyes, looking like a cold-blooded animal. Beneath the same long, flowing golden hair, his face wore an expression he could never have made in his entire life, one of undisguised contempt.

"What are you dreaming about?"

With vertical lines appearing in his pupils, he walked out of the glass display case with a cold smile.

The mirror, now polished to a shine, no longer reflected his own image, making it appear all the more eerie.

As dusk fell, the glow of the rosy sunset filtered through the curtains into the room, casting dappled, eerie light spots across the walls and tinging the dark brown furniture with a crimson hue.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the green vines outside the window, lightly brushing against the glass. What should have been a very subtle sound was, to Zhang Wusheng, like a thunderclap, making his already weakened nerves even more agitated.

"Didn't I tell you a long time ago not to place such vague hopes on others?"

His shadow, like a venomous snake, coiled behind him, hissing and flicking its tongue. His voice was low and hoarse as he sneered, "She has never cared about you, never, not even as a backup option."

"..."

This time, Zhang Wusheng did not yell at him to leave, nor did he even argue back.

He stared blankly at the lemon cakes scattered on the table, lost in thought. Suddenly, he felt the floor beneath his feet creaking, like a ship about to fall apart. Worry tugged at his heartstrings, and darkness once again surged forth like a tide from countless cracks in the door, walls, and floor, forming a vortex that almost swallowed him up.

"Have you ever considered that when she reached out to you that day, it might just be... a gesture of pity?" another version of yourself mocked. "No one chooses you willingly; you'd better keep that in mind and remember it well."

“I still have my parents,” Zhang Wusheng murmured, looking at the empty wall.

"Where are they now?"

"..."

Zhang Wusheng was suddenly speechless and had no way to refute it, because the fact was that his parents were at that moment overseas, thousands of miles away, not by his side.

“Dad is a hero of our time, but even heroes need to sleep. If he sleeps eight hours a day, a third of his life will be gone.”

Zhang Wusheng, with his vertical pupils, raised a finger and sneered, "My father built this huge business here. Although Mr. Igor helped manage it, he wasn't an irresponsible figurehead. He still had to be involved in some important decisions. So, I'll just say I'm taking a little less of his time, and that's not too much to ask, is it?"

"Father has three wives. If the rest of his time is divided equally among the three of them, and then half of it is taken away, is that too much to ask?"

"Your father has four sons. The only time he can spare for you is a pitiful quarter... Oh, right, I forgot, you can't practice martial arts, but Green Wine and Red Furnace can. Your father personally instructs them in their training, but he can only leave you here. The time left for you... is like a cookie, divided and divided, leaving only crumbs at the end."

"As for your mother... haha, have you forgotten again...?"

"Stop talking..." Zhang Wusheng's pupils dilated slightly, and he clenched his teeth even tighter, muttering to himself.

The setting sun in the room was almost blood-red.

Zhang Wusheng, with his vertical pupils, casually recounted, "Fourteen years ago, when you came out of her belly, everyone else came out head first, but you came out feet first. Just giving birth to you took seven hours. If it weren't for her having the protection of the Rama Kung Fu, you would have almost killed her."

"Generally speaking, would a normal person choose someone who almost killed them?"

……

Zhang Wusheng's breathing became increasingly rapid, and thousands of sinews, like living little snakes, slithered through his pale skin onto his arms, neck, and forehead.

Although he was sitting alone, Zhang Wusheng's expression was extremely sinister, like a vicious dragon raising its head.

"Where are you with anyone else?"

The mockery and ridicule of that voice gradually faded, and the phantom approached from behind, its voice gradually transforming into Zhang Wusheng's own.

"Look around, besides me..."

"Who would still choose you from the bottom of their heart?"

----

"What do you mean by 'choose' or 'don't choose'... Who are you talking to?"

Allison's voice suddenly came, like a needle piercing his illusion with a bang.

He looked at the whole thing with some surprise; only a minute or two had passed.

"Go upstairs, Father is awake."

Chapter 923: If you want something, you have to get it yourself.

As you step into the room, a strong aroma of coffee hits you, almost drowning out all other smells.

Although Alison had opened the window, the smell lingered for a long time. Perhaps it was because she had been drinking too frequently, causing the odor to permeate the room and become one with it.

Igor leaned lazily against the bed, a pillow under his waist. His temples were already streaked with gray, and he wore round glasses to see. Even so, the aura of a superior emanated from his small body. It was as if the person sitting on the bed was not a human, but a lion licking its claws, ready to devour someone at any moment.

Igorinacio Zolael.

Nowadays, people rarely hear about the story of the Zolael family. They only know that this seemingly unremarkable dwarf is the core of a huge group.

While Zhang Renfeng and his group certainly provided the military guarantee for the establishment of the Sanyuan Group, simply being good at fighting wasn't enough to support such a massive and complex interest structure. They also needed a capable steward with exceptional internal affairs skills to mediate and mediate. Everyone had to believe that the benefits of following them far outweighed those of opposing them.

This bedridden dwarf is the ultimate factor that wins the hearts and minds of most people. His experience over the past decade has honed his skills to a level of unparalleled mastery in controlling and allocating profits. While satisfying the majority of investment groups, he also ensures a sufficient share for the masses who truly produce "value."

So much so that when he is mentioned, everyone praises him, and no one cares whether he is a dwarf or a giant.

However, only those close to Igor, like Zhang Wusheng, knew that... it seemed that starting last year, and continuing into the last few months, his mental state had been somewhat poor. He often felt drowsy, and sometimes slept for 10 hours straight.

Igor joked that he used to stay up all night reading when he was young and didn't feel tired, so he figured he had to make up for it now.

……

"sit down."

Because they were so familiar with each other, Igor didn't even move from the bed, just pointed randomly. But there was nothing in the direction he pointed, so Zhang Wusheng had to move a chair from the corner of the room.

“I read the note from the state of Ukraine. By the standards of a first-time commander, you did a pretty good job.”

"Ha, please don't say that, I'm really ashamed." Zhang Wusheng smiled self-deprecatingly, subconsciously switching his cane to his other hand to cover up his embarrassment. "I did almost nothing the whole time, and even the most crucial Glenburg was only broken through by force with the help of Green Wine."

"I heard you scolded him afterwards?"

"..." Zhang Wusheng was taken aback at first, then realized that there were so many people in the military tent at the time, and it was impossible to hide such a thing, so he nodded with a wry smile.

“You did the right thing.” Igor sighed. “Green Wine is just like your father—whatever he thinks is right, he does it without thinking, no matter how big the consequences may be.”

Zhang Wusheng asked, "Isn't it a good thing that he looks like his father?"

"Green Wine charged into the enemy camp alone because he didn't want the casualties among his soldiers to increase again. To put it kindly, this is called showing compassion for his subordinates and loving his soldiers like his own children. To put it bluntly... this shows a complete lack of strategic thinking! His position dictates that he can only be used as a trump card to defeat the enemy in one blow, and he cannot be easily withdrawn from the battlefield."

"To take it a step further, can he do this every time? If this continues, the soldiers will become spoiled and unwilling to fight. They will think, 'Since there will be a Chinese superman to help us handle this, why should we bother?'"

"If this idea gets out, our hard-trained team will lose its fighting spirit. A team without fighting spirit will inevitably be wiped out in a real battle, no matter how good its equipment is. What's the point of all this?"