Jiang Rui'an looked at him in confusion.
He clearly knew that she had severed ties with this daughter, so what was he playing at now?
Seeing Jiang Rui'an not moving, Zhao Rongyan increased the pressure of his hand on her shoulder, nodding slightly towards Yun Xiaoxiao with narrowed eyes.
"Say something."
Her shoulder ached from the grip, causing Jiang Rui'an to frown uncomfortably.
Having been with Zhao Rongyan for so long, she certainly understood what this smiling face and threatening tone meant.
She looked at Yun Xiaoxiao, suddenly realizing why Zhao Rongyan had abruptly changed his attitude earlier.
Her heart was instantly filled with mixed emotions.
This daughter she had despised was now her only support for maintaining her status and keeping up appearances.
How ironic!
Recalling her earlier attempts at the dog farm, where she had tried her best to be nice but Yun Xiaoxiao had barely acknowledged her, she now found herself at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, when Lu Chen and the others heard Zhao Rongyan say that Yun Xiaoxiao was Jiang Rui'an's daughter, their eyes showed a glimmer of surprise.
They looked at Yun Xiaoxiao, but saw no joy of meeting a relative in her eyes, only endless coldness and irritation.
They realized that Yun Xiaoxiao's relationship with her mother was apparently not good at all.
Observing Jiang Rui'an, they noticed she clearly had no affection for Yun Xiaoxiao either.
Upon first seeing her daughter, there was no care or concern, her eyes focused only on the man beside her.
And that man's words clearly indicated he was not Yun Xiaoxiao's father.
The way the man looked at Yun Xiaoxiao made Lu Chen and the others very uncomfortable.
His gaze was too blatant and tinged with calculation.
"Um... Xiaoxiao..." Jiang Rui'an attempted to speak.
"Don't act so familiar, are we close?" Yun Xiaoxiao retorted.
Jiang Rui'an glared, "I'm your mother, what do you mean we're not close?!"
"Heh." Yun Xiaoxiao let out a cold laugh, her gaze frosty.
"I'm Yun Xiaoxiao, born and raised by heaven, without father or mother. What kind of mother are you supposed to be?"
"You...!" Jiang Rui'an gritted her teeth, but didn't know how to refute.
Zhao Rongyan frowned and released Jiang Rui'an.
He was very disappointed in her!
He had thought that with her help, he could easily bring Yun Xiaoxiao and her group under his control, but it had backfired.
Yun Xiaoxiao clearly didn't care about her mother at all and even despised her.
What a useless waste!
He stepped forward, putting on a smiling face.
"Everyone, I'm the young leader of Rongsheng Base. I just saw you clearing zombies down there, and I'm very impressed by your abilities.
I think if you could join our Rongsheng Base, it would be a powerful alliance, and we'd surely achieve great things in the future.
Don't worry, as long as you follow me, you'll never want for food or drink, and you'll have an exalted status!"
He believed his courteous attitude would surely win their favor.
After all, Rongsheng Base was the largest base in all of Rong City.
Him, the young leader, personally inviting them was a great honor, and they surely wouldn't refuse.
No matter how impressive Yun Xiaoxiao was, she was still just a five-year-old child.
She must have survived till now because of these men around her.
As long as these men were willing to follow him, he believed Yun Xiaoxiao would surely come along.
Besides, what man doesn't yearn for power and status?
Following him, the young base leader, would offer the greatest prospects.
He was certain that Lu Chen and the others would be tempted.
However, he was quickly proven wrong.
"Who gives a damn about your crappy base? Let's go, little girl. Looking at these people makes me sick," Xiao Feng said with raised eyebrows, his entire demeanor impatient.
Seeing Jiang Rui'an reminded him.
Wasn't this the terrible mother who publicly disowned her daughter at the dog farm?
Thankfully, the little girl wasn't this woman's biological daughter, otherwise it would be too disgusting.
How could someone like this be worthy of being the little girl's mother?!
He felt somewhat sorry for Yun Xiaoxiao.
"Hey, how dare you speak like that? What do you mean 'crappy base'?" Du Wenwen immediately retorted.
She had clearly noticed that Zhao Rongyan's expression wasn't good.
As a "talented and perceptive woman," she naturally had to help ease the man's worries to win his heart.
If he couldn't speak up, she would do it for him.
From the brief exchange earlier, she had figured it out.
Zhao Rongyan's sudden change of heart must have been because that bitch Jiang Rui'an was the mother of this little girl.
He wanted to recruit these powerful people for his own use, so he had changed his attitude on the spot.
Although she was a bit angry, who could blame him when Zhao Rongyan was such a promising young base leader?
Besides, Jiang Rui'an was already out of the picture. As long as she performed well, she would be the woman standing by Zhao Rongyan's side in the future!
With this beautiful fantasy in mind, Du Wenwen became even more arrogant.
"Our Rongsheng Base is the largest in Rong City. Countless people would do anything to get in, but can't.
Our young leader saw that you have some skill, so he kindly invited you. Don't be so ungrateful!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a streak of ice and a streak of fire simultaneously shot towards her.
Her pupils dilated in shock, not expecting the sudden attack.
She had no time to react before her body was subjected to the torment of ice and fire.
"Ahh! Help me!" she screamed in agony, rolling on the ground.
Zhao Rongyan and the others immediately became alert.
"She only said one sentence, isn't this too harsh?" Zhao Rongyan glanced at the screaming Du Wenwen, his eyes darkening.
These people attacking Du Wenwen was like publicly slapping his face, wasn't it?
"You think this is harsh? You haven't seen truly harsh yet. Want to see?" Yun Xiaoxiao smirked, her aura fully unleashed.
This woman had a foul mouth. Anyone who insulted her people deserved a good lesson.
"Keep your stinking garbage to yourself. You might think it's a delicacy, but we don't share that taste," she added, then turned to walk upstairs.
"What we're looking for probably isn't on this floor. Let's go up."
She had just checked with her Scumbag Detection Panel.
This group had ten people in total, all ability users.
Although their powers weren't high, Zhao Rongyan's ability was quite strange.
It was actually Rebound!
Although Zhao Rongyan wasn't on the list of the Top Ten Ruthless People in her past life,
she had heard that the person ranked last on that list possessed the Rebound ability.
If you hurt him even a little, you'd be hurt equally.
If you tried to kill him, you'd die when he died.
While this ability seemed to lack offensive power, it could make even the strongest person fear him.
After all, such a person was like filthy water in a gutter - once you touch it, you're tainted.
That's why she hadn't attacked directly earlier.
She didn't want any of Lu Chen or the others to be harmed.
Watching them leave, Zhao Rongyan's face was full of fury.
He turned, glaring at Jiang Rui'an with a gloomy expression.
Jiang Rui'an trembled, a sense of foreboding sweeping over her entire body.
