Chapter 147 : Chapter 147
147. You Can’t Morally Blackmail Someone With No Morals
Lu Zheng gave the envelope in his hand a quick flip, confirming there was no other information on it, then set it back on the coffee table and picked up the letter he had pulled out earlier to read.
“Hmm…”
His brows furrowed slightly.
It seemed to be a letter of condemnation.
There wasn’t much content—basically, it was a strong protest against Yi Ning’s endless dumping of garbage on Planet No. 9611451469.
At the end, there was even a line: “A fine has been attached with this letter. Please pay promptly.”
…This was the “help” Yi Ning wanted from him?
She wanted to borrow money?
Just how big could this fine be that Yi Ning couldn’t afford to pay it herself?
Lu Zheng was puzzled.
As far as he knew, the income of evil organization members far exceeded that of their Hero Association counterparts.
He set down the letter and picked up the other sheet of paper from the same envelope—then froze.
Why were there so many zeros in the fine amount?
Carefully, he counted the zeros one by one, silently reciting “ones, tens, hundreds, thousands…” in his head. The final number nearly stopped his heart.
Even if he sold himself, he still wouldn’t be able to pay this astronomical fine.
Lu Zheng looked at Yi Ning with trembling voice: “Uh… I really want to help you, but with this number… even if I died, crawled out of my grave, and worked for the Hero Association for a few thousand years, it still wouldn’t be enough!”
In the end, he even pulled out his phone, glanced at his balance, did some quick math, and then held up a number to Yi Ning.
“This is the most I could lend you. Any more and I’d have to starve.”
But Yi Ning only tilted her head in confusion at his gesture.
“When did I ever say I wanted to borrow money from you?”
She sat up slightly, reached over to take the paper from him, gave it a quick glance, and tossed it aside.
“This isn’t something you need to worry about.”
“You can afford to pay that fine?”
Lu Zheng stared at her fearless expression with thinly veiled envy.
He knew the evil business was lucrative, but he hadn’t expected even an evil scientist like Yi Ning—whose schemes had never once succeeded—to have such a fat wallet.
As D-City’s ace hero, his monthly salary was nothing to scoff at. He had also spent several years working in the borderlands, so his savings weren’t small.
But even if he added all his savings together—plus the value of his fully paid, well-decorated home and his commuter car—it still wouldn’t amount to a fraction of the number on Yi Ning’s fine.
And now she could actually afford to pay that sum!
“Alright, alright.”
Seeing Lu Zheng’s growing frustration, Yi Ning made a calming gesture, pressing her hand downward.
“When I said you don’t need to worry, I meant I’ve never paid this fine at all.”
Lu Zheng: “?”
…You can not pay fines?
It had never even occurred to him that this was an option.
Yi Ning pouted.
She stood from the sofa and headed deeper into the base.
A moment later, she returned with a thick stack of papers, handing them to Lu Zheng.
A quick skim revealed that every single sheet was either a fine notice or a condemnation letter from the Cosmic Environmental Protection Association.
And the amounts had been steadily increasing over time.
“…”
Lu Zheng mulled over his words, unsure how to even start.
Finally, he managed to ask, “And nothing bad happens if you ignore them?”
“What could happen?”
Yi Ning waved dismissively.
“They’ve been sending me fines and condemnation letters non-stop for years. I’ve never paid them any mind, and they haven’t really done anything about it.”
“Oh, wait. That’s not completely true…”
She paused, lifting her chin slightly as if recalling something.
“When I first ignored them, they started sending letters more frequently. They even went on the cosmic social network to spam @ me, accusing me of having no morals or sense of responsibility, calling me the culprit of the universe’s environmental crisis, trying to rally the masses to force me to apologize.”
“Heh~”
Yi Ning let out a scornful laugh.
She was a member of an evil organization, and they thought they could morally blackmail her?
Morals?
Never heard of them~
If she had no morals, there was no way to morally blackmail her.
She continued, “Though, their trick worked well enough that a bunch of brainless idiots started mailing all sorts of annoying junk to my pickup point. To keep my pickup point owner from getting too annoyed, I sent their headquarters a little gift—let everyone there, including their whole HQ, experience what it’s like to be an astronaut.”
“After that, they didn’t bother me much online anymore. But every few months, they still send a fine and a condemnation letter. I guess that’s their last bit of pride.”
She chuckled at the thought.
But as the listener, Lu Zheng wasn’t part of Yi Ning’s chaotic-evil alignment.
He was more concerned about another issue.
“Are you sure this won’t cause problems?”
“What problems?”
“I set foot on that planet before it even developed life. By regulation, that planet is my territory! I throw trash in my own house, and they want to police me? If we’re going there, the Starsea Empire dumps more garbage than I do, and no one fines them!”
Yi Ning shot back.
Noticing Lu Zheng’s uncertain look, she realized what he was thinking.
“Relax. That crappy organization is just a private group that stirs up drama and manipulates public opinion online to make money. It’s nothing serious.”
She picked up the letters.
“I could take them home and use them as toilet paper, and nothing would happen. The paper’s actually decent quality—sturdy yet smooth. They must be using some fancy tech.”
She plucked up one sheet and waved it in front of Lu Zheng, lightly rubbing it between her fingers to prove her point.
“Here, you can have it.”
She stacked the letters neatly on the table and offered them to him.
Unfortunately, Lu Zheng didn’t appreciate the “gift” and waved her off.
With a shrug, she took them to the bathroom instead—just in case she ever ran out of toilet paper, she’d have a backup stash.
While Yi Ning was away, Lu Zheng reached for another envelope.
It looked almost identical to the one from the Cosmic Environmental Protection Association—except for the sender.
In the sender’s field, it read: Cosmic Civilization Protection Committee.
His instincts told him—this was the real reason Yi Ning had come to him for help.