Chapter 52: Sober

"Is that so, Captain."

Nie Huaishang fell silent for a moment after hearing the captain's words, then looked up and pleaded with him:

"Captain, I'd like to take a few days off to settle Ma Qitong down. Is that alright?"

"Fine, you've worked hard this past month. Zhang Xiaofan can stand in for you a few more days leading the Red Cell squad's training."

The captain agreed without the slightest hesitation. Besides, he trusted Nie Huaishang fairly well — after all, the kid had always been reliable, with his own principles and bottom line.

He completed missions brilliantly while never making a single mistake.

Meanwhile, since Ma Qitong had never been involved in any drug trafficking, the police released her very quickly.

Watching the bustling crowds on the street, she sighed. Her father and elder brother had both been arrested; in the blink of an eye, her lover was gone, and so were her kin.

Watching Ma Qitong from a hidden spot not far away, Nie Huaishang felt as though a knife were twisting in his heart. He had been following her all along, but he simply didn't have the courage to go over and greet her.

After all, he had used her in the end. Better to settle things properly for her. With that thought, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number he hadn't contacted in four years.

In East Sea City, Zhang Haiyan was enthusiastically handling company affairs. Ever since the K2 organization had been destroyed by Nie Huaishang and the others five years ago, she no longer had to worry about her identity being exposed.

Suddenly the phone on the desk rang. Looking at the caller ID, Zhang Haiyan's head spun — Nie Huaishang.

To be honest, the people she least wanted to see now were the ones who had captured Black Cat back then, since they truly knew her identity.

Still, she picked up the phone, and the moment she answered she got straight to the point:

"What do you want from me, how much money, name your price."

Hearing this, Nie Huaishang gave a wry smile and said:

"Director Zhang, you're overthinking it. What happened five years ago is in the past, and I plan to keep it buried forever — I won't say a word."

Zhang Haiyan clearly didn't believe him, but Nie Huaishang didn't explain. In a tone of negotiation, he said:

"The reason I'm calling today is that I hope, given how I more or less solved a big problem for you five years ago, you could do me a favor and arrange a job for a friend of mine."

"You called just to get me to arrange a job for your friend?"

Zhang Haiyan asked in disbelief. In her view, Nie Huaishang, as a major, also held such a big leverage over her — if he was calling her specifically, he should have been asking her for a hefty fee. Yet all he'd asked for was this.

Though she didn't understand, Zhang Haiyan agreed anyway.

That same day, Ma Qitong received an interview invitation from Zhang Haiyan's company. At that moment Ma Qitong was penniless and in desperate need of a job to support herself, so without hesitation she went to East Sea for the interview.

With Director Zhang Haiyan backing her, the interview was passed with ease. Ma Qitong felt pretty good about her first day working there.

Her coworkers were all quite friendly toward her, the work was easy, and the pay and benefits were excellent.

"Satisfied with my arrangement?"

Zhang Haiyan, not far away, asked Nie Huaishang beside her in a teasing tone.

"Thanks a lot, Director Zhang."

After thanking her, Nie Huaishang turned to leave.

"You're just going to leave like that? Not going to say hi to her?"

Zhang Haiyan asked Nie Huaishang. From the way Nie Huaishang looked at Ma Qitong, Zhang Haiyan knew he must have fallen for this woman.

Nie Huaishang gave a self-mocking smile and shook his head:

"She must hate me right now. It's better if I don't see her."

Saying that, Nie Huaishang turned and left. Walking out of the company building, he turned back for one last look and muttered to himself:

"Tongtong, goodbye. I hope you never meet a man like me again."

After saying that, he turned his head and strode away. From that moment on, he and Ma Qitong forgot each other in the rivers and lakes.

When the Red Cell squad members saw Nie Huaishang return in a brand-new state, they all cheered with joy.

"Huaishang, where have you been these past few days? We were worried sick about you!"

He Chenguang couldn't help but complain.

"Sorry for making you worry. But don't worry — as you can see, I've already moved on from that relationship."

Nie Huaishang quickly said apologetically to them.

Hearing that Nie Huaishang had completely moved on, Li Erniu said in his simple, honest way:

"Huaishang, since you've fully moved on, tonight I'll show you all what I've got to celebrate our Huaishang's triumphant return, and from now on lead Red Cell to even greater glory!"

"Good!"

Nie Huaishang led the rest of the team in cheering along. When evening training ended, everyone had a proper celebration before calling it a night.

When the two returned to their dormitory, they didn't forget to log into the chat group and update Guo Jing and Zhang Chu'an.

Nie Huaishang: "Brothers, your Director Nie has returned triumphant."

Guo Jing: "Huaishang, weren't you on leave? You've recovered that fast?"

Zhang Chu'an: "Yeah, I thought you'd need at least a month to get over it."

Nie Huaishang: "Nah, after I settled things for Ma Qitong I was already over it. Besides, who am I? I'm Director Nie!"

Zhang Chu'an: "Right, exactly. Director Nie is awesome. From now on, Director Nie, take me along on missions to act cool and soar."

Guo Jing: "Right, exactly. Director Nie is awesome. From now on, Director Nie, take me along on missions to act cool and soar."

Zhang Xiaofan: "Right, exactly. Director Nie is awesome. From now on, Director Nie, take me along on missions to act cool and soar."

Nie Huaishang: "You guys, cut it out right now. Let's discuss our next mission."

Guo Jing: "What's there to discuss? The big bosses — Ma Yunfei, Scorpion, Black Cat — we've already taken them all out. The mission is basically done."

Zhang Chu'an: "So should we go submit the mission?"

For a moment the chat group fell silent. To be honest, after being in this world for so long, the thought of suddenly leaving made them a little reluctant.

Nie Huaishang: "Can you all stop being sentimental? We haven't reached the point of leaving this world yet."

Zhang Chu'an: "Isn't our mission basically done? We can submit it any moment now. Why haven't we reached the point of leaving?"

Nie Huaishang: "Come on, given our current abilities, what could we actually accomplish?"

Nie Huaishang: "In the world of 'Under One Person,' there are countless who could kill the four of us; 'Zhu Xian' is even more crowded with great powers; and in 'Mo Dao Zu Shi,' we are mere minnows."

Nie Huaishang: "As for the 'Legend of the Condor Heroes' world, which boasts the highest safety factor, I ask: do you currently possess the ability to command a vast army? Can you resolve the threat of the supreme genius Genghis Khan?"

The questions Nie Huaishang listed caused everyone in the chat group to fall silent at once; indeed, they had indeed completed their missions in the Special Forces world remarkably well.

But whether it was the scorpion or Ma Shichang, no matter how much they boasted, they were merely bandits; whether it was Wen Chao and Jin Guangyao in 'Mo Dao,' Temujin in 'Legend of the Condor Heroes,' or Pu Zhi or Cang Song in 'Zhu Xian,' they were undoubtedly the rulers of their worlds.

Compared to these people, do bandits like Ma Shi deserve to be compared?