Inside the Appraisal Room
Gu Lian tapped the table lightly with her index finger and smiled. “Since we’re cooperating, shouldn’t we share our objectives?”
“Of course. Though my position in Eclipse isn’t high, I should be able to command a battalion.”
Wei smiled and gave a slight nod, the corners of his mouth curling up. The look he gave Gu Lian was the recognition of an opponent he deemed worthy.
“Then I’ll be direct. My target is the Weiyi beneath Linjiao Swimwear Base.”
Wei glanced at Tian Peng. Under the mysterious purple light, this was indeed her goal—but who said she only had one?
Gu Lian gently kicked open the suitcase beside her, pulled out her smartphone, and swiped her finger to bring up a photo of an old man. “Aside from that, before the evacuation of civilians inside, get this old man out. Be gentle about it.”
Gu Lian was laying her cards on the table. Or rather, this was just one of her goals. Another was to squeeze enough benefits out of this situation. Once the situation was confirmed, the Agency would surely swoop in like divine troops, and Eclipse probably wouldn’t be far behind.
Both were international behemoths. Evacuating civilians would take at most a day.
As for Wei’s goal? She didn’t quite believe him. His real aim was probably to recruit her or use her.
But that didn’t matter. She just needed to leech some benefits through Wei’s connections, then wash her hands clean of everything and find a decent place to settle down.
Right now, she was broke. Counting the last bar and a half of gold, she had about 200,000 yuan.
That was barely enough in the countryside, but in a town it wouldn’t cut it. If she took a gamble now, she might just turn a bike into a luxury car.
And this money was legit, no risk in spending it.
From now on, she had to be careful not to use any energy during the operation. If she revealed herself in front of two titans, she’d be drowned in a single spit.
But high risk meant high reward!
She was tired of this drifting life—always on edge, never knowing where her next meal came from.
If she didn’t take the plunge, she’d never get ahead!
Gu Lian looked up, meeting Wei’s gaze. They both smirked in unison.
‘That sneaky fox.’
‘That sly vixen.’
Both had ulterior motives. For now, Gu Lian had the advantage—she had nothing to lose. In the near future, she’d be the one doing the dangerous work, so she could still hold the initiative and add some chips to her hand.
But once Eclipse and the Agency arrived, Wei wouldn’t have the final say. It would depend on his position. Either way, she’d have to keep a low profile. In front of those terrifying powers, she was at most a capable nobody.
Both giants had plenty of people stronger than her. Otherwise, given how terrifying the Weiyi were, how could the Tianyou Federation have come this far?
Crushing her was no different from crushing an ant.
“Just tell me what you need me to do.”
Gu Lian wiggled her foot, dropping her previous cold demeanor and taking on a slightly roguish vibe. “You only have this one chance to call the shots. Make it count.”
“Of course.”
Wei clearly already had a plan. Their conversation went smoothly, like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years catching up.
Half an hour later, Wei had finalized the plan. He currently had Dao Feng (Scarface Woman), Hong Xiezi (Red-Haired Man, hadn’t met), and Nangua Tou (Fatty, hadn’t met).
According to him, all three were Tier 3 Hunters, capable of independently killing C-grade Weiyi.
They would split up. They had one day to investigate Linjiao Town. As expected, she was assigned to a group by herself, while the other three worked together.
Gu Lian didn’t argue. She wasn’t his subordinate. Even if he wanted to recruit her, he’d have to ensure her safety first. When it came to his men’s lives, everything else could wait.
This man… had guts, strategy, could take losses, and had a unique charisma.
Ten minutes later, Gu Lian squatted by the bathroom door, an apple in hand. She took a big bite—the flesh was crisp and soft, the sweet-sour juice refreshing her taste buds.
But the downside was that this was a bathroom. The smell was strong, and the apple wasn’t filling.
Earlier, Wei had promised breakfast, but after they finished talking, he just said, “Sorry, I forgot.”
Gu Lian was about to curse him out, but Wei kept apologizing so sincerely that she couldn’t bring herself to yell. That would’ve been too petty.
Just then, Wei’s car sped in from the left side of the street. It was a black Mercedes-Benz SUV, looking quite upscale.
The car stopped, and the door opened from inside. Gu Lian got in, closed the door, and sat down.
The engine revved, tires kicked up black dust, and the car lunged forward.
Lei Zi was in the driver’s seat—he was probably the support personnel for all operatives in Linjiao Town. In the passenger seat, Scarface Woman wore a pair of colorful sunglasses, leaning back and smiling at Gu Lian in the back.
“What a coincidence. We meet again.”
“Oh, since it’s such a coincidence, want to switch seats with me?”
Gu Lian glanced sideways at Nangua Tou and Hong Xiezi beside her, then instinctively scooted closer to the door.
Sitting next to her were a round-faced chubby guy and a red-haired punk. No wonder Scarface Woman took the front seat—those two were really… distinctive!
“What do you mean by that? You lookin’ down on ugly people?”
“Yeah, what’s your deal?”
The two chuckleheads started stirring up trouble, but Gu Lian couldn’t be bothered to talk. She just raised her hand, stuck out her thumb, slowly rotated it 180 degrees, then abruptly pointed it down.
It wasn’t that she was arrogant, but she felt she could take both of them without breaking a sweat.
And that one called Dao—oh right, the scarred woman codenamed Dao Feng—was also pathetically weak. Beating her with one hand might be a stretch, but finishing her within three moves was totally doable.
If all Tier 3 Hunters were like this, what level was she? B-grade Weiyi? A-grade Weiyi?
“You… how dare you…”
Before Hong Xiezi could finish, Gu Lian’s hand shot out like lightning, her fingers forming a claw to grab his hair, and she slammed his head against the car’s storage compartment. Thump, thump, thump.
“You!”
Nangua Tou’s chubby face tensed, but what met him was Hong Xiezi’s already swollen face.
Bang—
Gu Lian grabbed both their heads and knocked them together in the back seat. The thump, thump sounds were nonstop.
In the front passenger seat, Dao Feng stretched lazily, settled into her seat, and muttered a single word: “Serves you right.”
***
[The wind light, the rain fading; candlelight, so lonely; seems time’s desolation a trace~]
The phone on the bedside table vibrated gently. The eyelids of the old man lying in bed twitched, then he opened his eyes, picked up the phone, and said, “Who is it?”
“Dad, how’ve you been lately?”
A middle-aged man’s voice came through the line—it sounded a bit greasy.
But that voice made the old man’s body jolt. His wrinkled, weathered face broke into a smile, revealing the few teeth he had left.
“Doing great. Couldn’t be better. Eat well, sleep well. You know, I’ve taken in two little girls—one’s a mischievous little rascal, adorable; the other’s a bit cold. Watching those two little lasses is a joy. Anyway, you…”
The old man went on for several sentences. The middle-aged man on the other end was silent for a moment. He knew his dad was lonely, but his work… he really couldn’t get away.
[No time is really peaceful—someone is just carrying the burden for you.]
“What, jealous? Hey, you little brat, when are you gonna bring a wife home so I can hold a grandkid? You don’t know how cute that naughty girl is.”
The old man—no, Xiong Daye—laughed heartily. He hadn’t laughed this happily in a long time.
“Soon, soon.”
The middle-aged man gave an awkward laugh, then said, “Dad, I’m thinking about finding a wife. How about you come over and help me check things out?”
“This…”
Xiong Daye wanted to say yes, but then he thought about the two girls at home. He felt reluctant to leave them. Bringing them along didn’t seem right either.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come back and pick you up.”
The middle-aged man chuckled. He could tell his dad was tempted. What empty-nest elderly needed was care. If the higher-ups allowed it, he would’ve brought his dad over long ago.