Chapter 262: Teaching a Lesson
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Come in." Huang Shi Yao looked toward the door, her face cold.
Meng Lanfang, who had already cleaned herself up, walked in with a burly bodyguard, her face plastered with a fawning smile.
Miss Huang was wearing a casual dress, leaning elegantly against a red velvet high-backed chair.
Her legs were lightly crossed as she held a glass of red wine, her disdainful gaze sweeping over Meng Lanfang.
"What is it?"
"Yaoyao, Zhong found some news."
Huang Shi Yao interrupted impatiently. She raised a long, slender finger and pointed it at the bodyguard. "You. Speak."
"Miss. I’ve found out that Song Kexin’s family arrived at the base four days ago. The identity of that Miss Xie Ning has been confirmed."
"She is indeed a Fourth-rank Gold Ability User, which is extremely rare at the base. They have now registered a team called the Starfire Team."
"Yesterday, Captain Xie accepted the No. 7 cotton search mission. She left the base early this morning with a few teammates, presumably to carry it out."
Huang Shi Yao shot upright, like a swift leopard poised to strike and sink its teeth into an enemy’s throat.
A sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
"Zhong, take a few men and go. Go now."
The bodyguard named Zhong looked up and met his miss’s bright, shining eyes, but didn’t dare to hold her gaze.
Huang Shi Yao’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
’As long as they’re outside the base, this will be easy.’
’I don’t care if she’s some Fourth-rank big shot. All I know is that two fists are no match for four hands.’
’So what if she’s a Fourth-rank expert? I’ll deal with her first, then clean up Song Kexin and the rest of that trash.’
"Get over there, quickly."
"Wait until their guard is down, then strike fast and capture them. I don’t care if you cripple or maim them, just keep Song Kexin’s cousin’s worthless life intact."
She had suffered such a huge loss last night; revenge was inevitable.
Who was she?
She was the only daughter of the base’s committee chairman, Miss Huang Shi Yao of the Huang Family.
At Golden City Base, no one dared to treat her like this. Not even Zuo Li, the daughter of the current base director, would dare to be so disrespectful.
’A common farming family before the apocalypse thinks they can blot out the sky with one hand and ignore the Huang Family after it?’
’That’s because she hasn’t suffered enough of the apocalypse’s hardships.’
’Then let Miss Huang teach her how to tuck her tail between her legs and behave in front of her superiors.’
"You may go." Huang Shi Yao waved a hand, giving Zhong a meaningful look.
Meng Lanfang opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but seeing that Huang Shi Yao’s expression was still foul, she didn’t dare to overstep. She could only follow Zhong and retreat dejectedly.
Huang Shi Yao called out for 00009425 a few more times. Seeing no response, she felt an inexplicable sense of panic.
’Don’t tell me 00009425 has lost control?’
’It’s been a whole night. Why hasn’t it recovered yet?’
Frustrated, Huang Shi Yao raised her hand and smashed the wine glass on the floor.
’Song Kexin’s cousin, Xie Ning, right?’
’I’ll make her pay a price so painful she’ll wish she were dead.’
’This is the consequence of provoking a Miss of the Huang Family.’
...
Meanwhile, Xie Ning and her group left the base gate without issue, driving straight toward the small cotton workshop five kilometers away.
Along the way, they saw plenty of vehicles coming and going.
Amidst a number of luxury and modified cars, Captain Xie’s little Jinbei van and pickup truck were rather inconspicuous.
This was exactly the effect Captain Xie wanted.
Keep a low profile, act cautiously, don’t stir up trouble but don’t fear it either. And if trouble came, she would deal with it and its mastermind all at once.
Xie Ning pulled three chocolate bars from her bag and handed them to the two children, Zhu Nanxing and Su Xiyue.
As she unwrapped one for herself, she saw the young man Cres in the second row turn and stare at her like a tiger watching its prey.
Xie Ning silently passed him the chocolate bar and pulled out another one from her bag.
CRUNCH. She took a bite, and her mouth immediately filled with a sweet, rich flavor.
Zhu Yong kept a hand on the steering wheel and said with a smile, "I signed up for the construction team this morning. From now on, whenever we’re not on a mission, I’ll go work there. They settle Contribution Points daily—one point per day."
"Only one Contribution Point?" Cres muttered around his chocolate bar, pouting. "That’s not even enough for half a day’s rations!"
After all, rice costs six Contribution Points per jin.
Zhu Yong laughed. "You can’t look at it that way. Working on the construction team includes two meals, you know. Even if it’s only half a steamed bun and a bowl of thin porridge each time. This way, you get to be half-full while working, which means the Contribution Point is pure profit, right?"
"That’s true," Song Youxuan nodded slightly. "The Contribution Points you save are all yours."
"Exactly, and long-term workers get monthly bonuses. If you do the math, you can earn thirty Contribution Points a month."
"Lots of people are fighting tooth and nail to get in."
"Sigh," Song Youxuan sighed. "Prices at the base aren’t cheap. It’s tough for ordinary folks to get by."
"There’s nothing to be done about it," Zhu Yong nodded. "Right now, natural water sources can’t be used, and the land is too dry and scorched to grow anything. Food is only going to get more and more expensive."
"Heaven never seals off all exits. Since Water Ability Users can provide clean water, Wood Element Superpower Users will probably be able to produce more food in the future."
Su Xiyue was pressed against the rear window, looking back at the cars passing them one by one.
"Are they already heading back?"
Zhu Yong suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Usually, the teams that leave early for missions set out around four or five in the morning."
The weather is scorching now, so leaving before sunrise, when it’s still twilight, is much more bearable.
Xie Ning finished the last bite of her chocolate bar with a deadpan expression. "Uncle Yong, we’re almost there."
Through the car window, everyone saw a crooked sign: Yongkang Road, Yunlin Yuan.
"The environment here seems decent."
Zhu Yong grunted in agreement. "The base plans to expand in this direction. The construction team’s current job is to continue reinforcing, heightening, and widening the old city walls on the outskirts. This whole Yunlin Yuan area will be enclosed within the walls."
"They say the base is too small right now. With a constant stream of people arriving in the future, there won’t be enough room."
There are many residences around the old town, and Yongkang Road’s Yunlin Yuan is just one of those residential districts. They’ll probably continue to search and expand into the surrounding areas later on.
"The area stretching from around the old city walls to the Huai River Waters will probably all be expanded into the safe zone."
"With our current manpower and resources, this is probably the biggest we can go. It should be no problem to accommodate several hundred thousand people, but any more than that..." Zhu Yong shook his head.
The car was forced to stop more than five hundred meters away from the small cotton workshop.
The vehicles ahead were jammed together in a circle, making it impossible to pass.
Xie Ning led everyone out of the car, feeling that her captaincy was starting off a bit ridiculously. The very first mission she’d accepted for the team didn’t seem to be a good one!
"Why are there so many people?"
Song Youxuan was speechless. "Mission No. 7 is probably pretty simple, so a lot of people accepted it."
Song Youzhi and Wang Zongxuan got out of the other car and walked over to them. "Ningning, should we leave a couple of people here to watch the cars?"
Xie Ning nodded in agreement. She had her uncle and Zhu Yong stay behind to guard the vehicles while she led the others forward.
...