Chapter 908: Nervous Yuan Yan

Xia Qing's swift, ruthless movements and strength scared the watching crowd out of sight. On the staircase only Xia Qing remained, holding a suitcase in one hand, with a bloodstained rusty blade at her feet.

The restroom staff on the second floor saw how brutal Xia Qing was and were so frightened their legs went weak.

Another ordinary guard from the patrol stepped forward and aimed his gun at the woman on the ground, whose face was twisted in pain.

"Mama, mama—" the child held by another guard saw the woman being seized and cried his heart out.

Xia Qing, holding her suitcase, walked down the stairs expressionlessly toward the mall entrance, and no one dared stop her. As for whether the person she caught was a thief or an instigator, the patrol staff could check the mall's surveillance to find out—there was no need for Xia Qing to give a statement or provide evidence.

During the Calamity years, children without the ability to protect themselves were a key protected group in the Safe Zone, but also a livelihood tool in the hands of those who exploited loopholes. These people might be the children's relatives, or they might be criminal gangs.

Raising children qualified one for subsidies; those with a conscience would feed the frail children first, those with less conscience would feed themselves first—as long as the child didn't starve to death. And then there were the black-hearted ones, who forced hungry children to steal in order to feed the adults.

Although the state cracked down hard on such crimes, because law enforcement personnel were limited, the results were not obvious.

Many people who lost things, even if they caught the child, would dare not make a fuss or call the police for all sorts of reasons.

If Xia Qing still lived in the Safe Zone, she too would clutch her pockets tight and pretend she hadn't seen anything. But she now lived in the Territory, and had no need to worry about being targeted by these criminal gangs.

Seeing Xia Qing come out, Tang Huai, dressed in casual clothes, got out of the car, took the suitcase from her hand, put it in the trunk, and only after starting the car and driving off said softly, "That child won't be grateful to you, and the onlookers will only think you're brutal."

Children caught for theft were, by regulation, sent to a centralized education school for compulsory education; instigators would be sentenced and given forced labor. That child now had the right to an education, but he was forced to be separated from his mother.

"I'm brutal to begin with." Xia Qing gazed quietly at the iron-barred windows sliding past outside, and did not mention that the woman was most likely not the child's real mother.

Even if it was the remaining two in ten—a real mother who abused her child—she should be stripped of the right to raise children.

"Sister Qing, Brother Huai."

The first to climb into the car after leaving the exam site, Huo Zhun, listlessly greeted Xia Qing and Tang Huai—one look told anyone his trip had been wasted. The second to climb in, Shi Du, was in much the same state as Huo Zhun.

Hearing Zhu Li, however, was very excited. She climbed in, sat behind Xia Qing, closed the car door, then lowered her voice and said, "Sister Qing, look over there—Tang Lu's about to come out."

Xia Qing turned her head and at once spotted Tang Lu, in a pink dress, walking out of the school gate with an air of arrogance. Her manner of walking was no different from before the Sufeng Squad's collapse, but she had lost a lot of weight, and only one bodyguard remained behind her, making her look lonely.

Seeing Tang Huai's car, Tang Lu immediately put on a brilliant smile and walked over quickly in her high heels.

"Hmph." Tang Huai had no use for Tang Lu at all, and floored the accelerator, shooting off.

In the rearview mirror, Xia Qing saw Tang Lu, clutching a pink transparent stationery pouch, stamp her foot in anger by the roadside.

"So that's Tang Zhengsu's daughter?" With a show to watch, Huo Zhun switched from his listless state to melon-eating mode. "The only ordinary person in their family who didn't get arrested and sentenced? Pretty impressive."

Shi Du also asked curiously, "Brother Huai, did Tang Lu hire the bodyguard herself, or did your family assign one to her?"

"Only the bodyguard was sent by my father's Ba Sect." As for everything else, it had nothing to do with his family.

Hearing Zhu Li's focus was even more specific. "Don't be fooled by Tang Lu putting on airs—her clothes and shoes are all ones she's worn before. She's lost a lot of weight too, and if you took off her foundation, her dark circles would definitely be worse than mine."

To prepare for the exam, Hearing Zhu Li had been studying day and night during this period, and had already gotten dark circles.

"Losing weight just from sitting and studying every day means her diet isn't great." Huo Zhun, locked in his room by his father every day, had already grown a spare tire around his waist. "Sister Qing, are you busy the next few days? Shall we team up to go hunting? I'm about to die of being cooped up indoors."

Shi Du and Hearing Zhu Li also looked at Xia Qing with eager eyes. Tang Huai, who was driving, spoke first. "We'll talk about teaming up later. I'm taking you guys out to eat, to celebrate you finishing the exam. Sister Li, ask Sister Yan and Lord Wen Nengjie where they are."

Everyone mixed in the same alliance—of course a group dinner couldn't leave out Yuan Yan from Territory Five. Lord Wen Nengjie was currently learning insect-raising from Tang Huai, and the two of them got along very well.

"Okay!" After Hearing Zhu Li contacted Yuan Yan and Lord Wen Nengjie, she didn't need to report back to Tang Huai, because Tang Huai was an auditory evolver and had already heard that both had returned to the Green Dragon Squad's base, waiting to take the helicopter back to the Territory.

The Green Dragon Squad's base was in the outer city, so Tang Huai changed the dinner location. The Tang family's business was big, and not far from the Green Dragon they also had a restaurant.

After arranging a private room, Tang Huai actually called Yang Jin. "Brother Jin, are you busy? Huo Zhun and the others finished their exams, we're planning to have a meal… Okay, we'll get together next time we get the chance."

Hearing Tang Huai invite Yang Jin to eat together, Hearing Zhu Li felt something was off. She stole a glance at Xia Qing and didn't dare speak.

Tang Huai, hands on the steering wheel, said to Xia Qing beside him, "Brother Jin can't make it. Brother Yue and Brother Tao and the others haven't gotten back from the hospital yet. Today it's just us."

Xia Qing's face remained calm. Yang Jin was busy casting nets to catch fish—how could he possibly have time to eat with a bunch of idle people like them?

When Tang Huai parked the car at the entrance of the Tang family restaurant next to the Green Dragon Squad and saw Hu Zifeng actually come out with them, Tang Huai immediately wanted to get out and chase him off with a scolding, but remembering today's purpose, he forcibly held it in.

Although Hu Zifeng was annoying, damn it, he was Xia Qing's boyfriend!

Watching Tang Huai's unhappiness become visible to the naked eye, Huo Zhun got out of the car and cheerfully clapped him on the shoulder.

Hu Zifeng also cheerfully walked over to greet everyone, then showed concern for his girlfriend. "You've been out all day—are you tired?"

"Not tired."

Xia Qing said she wasn't tired, but she truly felt that spending a day in the Safe Zone was more tiring than working a day in the Territory, or prying stones all day on Mountain Fifty-Five.

Heart-tired.

Yuan Yan walked over and said to Xia Qing, "Uncle Ping's materials have already been put on the helicopter."

Xia Qing nodded her thanks.

Hearing the tension in Yuan Yan's voice, Hearing Zhu Li turned and gave her a questioning look.

Yuan Yan shook her head, indicating she was fine, perfectly fine. Xia Qing knew what she was afraid of, and it wasn't convenient to speak now,

Tang Huai gave a heavy snort, then shot Hu Zifeng a fierce glower with his eyes, before leading everyone into the reserved private room.

Tang Huai was treating, and very generously at that. Six meat dishes, four vegetable, ten dishes and a soup, all green-light. Everyone ate so busily they didn't even have the heart to listen to Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai bicker.

After the helicopter took off, once Xia Qing had finished checking on the Ninth Center staff and given Yan Yue and He Hui each a pink briefcase, Tang Huai squeezed over, stuffed two bags of packed food to Yue Haiying and Zhong Tao, then squeezed in front of Xia Qing and pleaded softly, "Sister Qing, when you team up for missions, can you take me along? I promise I won't hold you back."

As for why he was asking now, Tang Huai said, of course, because someone wise had given him a tip.

Xia Qing had drunk his soup at noon and eaten his big dinner in the evening, so in front of so many people she didn't refuse him face, and nodded.

Lord Wen Nengjie, who had been watching Xia Qing closely, also smiled very happily. He wasn't an evolver, so he couldn't team up with Xia Qing to go out. But today he had ridden Territory One's helicopter, ridden in the Green Dragon captain's car, and eaten at the Tang family restaurant with Tang Huai and Xia Qing—he was already very content.

"Thanks, Sister Qing!" Tang Huai was so happy he wanted to jump. After retreating to his seat, he couldn't resist immediately messaging his sister: Sis, Xia Qing agreed to team up with me!

It wasn't until the helicopter was flying back over the Territory that Tang Ning replied with a single character:

Get lost.