Chapter 242 – Roll Up
The young master realized he had been tricked, but there was nothing he could say to defend himself. After all, he had bragged about being wealthy earlier. If he refused now, wouldn’t that be a complete slap in the face?
“Let’s go.” Qi Tongda stood up and adjusted his collar a few times.
It was just a meal; he wasn’t short on money.
…
After the meal.
The group got into Qi Tongda’s flashy red aircraft and cruised between the tall buildings in the center of the Federation.
It was Qi Tongda’s idea.
The young master liked to go for a ride after meals.
No one had any objections.
“Ding-ding.”
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Tu Ran’s communicator rang. She glanced down and saw a work schedule from the Field Operations Division sent by Zero.
It clearly stated that they were currently supposed to be working.
“It seems like we’re… using work hours for this,” Tu Ran said as she glanced at Ye Qingcai, who was driving.
The vehicle belonged to Qi Tongda, but the young master never drove it himself, so Ye Qingcai was in charge.
Ye Qingcai felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t know how to explain to the new member that their team leader was leading the entire group in skipping work. He simply pressed his lips together, focused on the road ahead, and pretended not to hear anything.
Tu Ran: “…”
She glanced at the others through the rearview mirror.
Xiao Miao was trying hard to look calm while staring out the window.
Qiangzi was busy playing with a bomb model in his hands.
The young master had his left arm around Xiao Miao and his right arm around Qiangzi, looking up at the sky. There was a skylight in the aircraft, allowing them to see the view outside.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming had taken over the entire back row, lying down as if he were asleep, though it was unclear if he was actually sleeping.
In the back, only Qiu Jian met her gaze.
He said openly, “There’s nothing to do. Instead of being stuck in the office, it’s better to go for a ride outside.”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone, who had previously been preoccupied with their own activities, chimed in unanimously: “Exactly!”
Tu Ran: “…”
How should she put it? She suddenly felt that she fit into this group very well.
There was still something she was concerned about. “Aren’t we supposed to clock in? We haven’t clocked in yet…”
“What’s there to worry about?” Qi Tongda finally lowered his noble head, glanced at the rearview mirror, and made eye contact with Tu Ran. “I have people in the Logistics Department in charge of clock-ins. With me covering for you all, you won’t miss a single attendance record, and your salary and bonuses will be paid as usual.”
Tu Ran raised her thumb high and pointed it towards the back seat where Qi Tongda sat. “You’re amazing, young master.”
Qi Tongda enjoyed her praise, squinting his eyes and savoring the breeze blowing in through the slightly cracked window.
In the front, Tu Ran lowered her head and typed a line of text into her communicator: “Haven’t you already noticed? Why don’t you report it?”
[Of course I will report it.]
[But I can only report it to the Logistics Department.]
[The head of Logistics Department is Qi Tongda’s sister.]
[Reporting is pointless.]
As Tu Ran watched these lines appear and disappear, she felt, for the first time, a sense of sorrow for Zero, who seemed all-knowing but could only remain silent in the human world.
With no more worries, Tu Ran quickly blended in and began to enjoy the moment.
The seven of them wandered around for more than an hour until they ran out of places to visit and returned to the Administrative Building.
After parking the vehicle in the underground garage, the group took the elevator to the 72nd floor, where the office of Field Operations Group 9 was located.
The headquarters of the Executive Department occupied the 60th to 80th floors of the Federation’s Administrative Building.
Within these 20 floors, there were five external parking lots with patrol cars for duty.
Upon returning to the office, Tu Ran grabbed her gear and called out to Qiu Jian, “Let’s head to the training ground.”
“?” Qiu Jian looked at her in confusion.
Zhou Ming, who had just pulled a pillow out of his desk drawer and was preparing for a good nap: “So eager? Isn’t it lunchtime?”
Although there was no official lunch break in the Executive Department, if there were no assignments at this time, Zhou Ming would always take a nap.
Even if Zhou Ming wasn’t napping, he’d be playing games or teasing Qi Tongda. One thing was for sure—he would never go to the training ground at this time.
The others clearly felt the same way.
They only went to the training ground on Saturday afternoons.
Tu Ran hadn’t realized this yet. She explained, “The team leader told me to get more familiar with you. We’re both assault specialists, and there’s no better way to get to know each other than by training together at the training ground.”
Tu Ran didn’t have the concept of a lunch break.
Ever since she arrived in this world, her schedule had been upside down. She slept whenever she had the time, day or night. As long as she got six to seven hours of sleep in total, she spent the rest of her time working on other things.
Reluctantly, Qiu Jian stood up and followed her out of the office.
The remaining people exchanged glances. Zhou Ming, feeling deeply uneasy, had always looked down on Tu Ran, believing she only had slightly better talent than him. But what had just happened made him realize that she wasn’t just more talented—she was also more hardworking.
Instantly losing his desire to nap, Zhou Ming jumped to his feet, tossed his pillow to the cleaning robot, grabbed his sniper rifle, and stormed out of the office with a cold expression.
The four remaining people were left stunned.
Qi Tongda, who had been planning to catch up on his TV shows, couldn’t sit still either. He shut off his screen with a sigh. “Damn it! Let’s see who outdoes who!”
Grabbing a pile of reconnaissance gear, he stormed out as well.
Of the remaining three, Xiao Miao buried herself in a pile of books, retreating to the office’s equipment room to study further.
Qiangzi took his newly assembled bomb to the demolition room on another floor.
That left Ye Qingcai, who gazed at the now-empty office with a satisfied smile.
It seemed that Tu Ran joining their Field Operations Group 9 wasn’t all bad. At the very least, it had reignited a strong sense of competition in the team—something that hadn’t happened in a long time.
The team members were all working hard, and as the team leader, he couldn’t slack off either. He opened the computer at his workstation and accessed the training website for commanders.
Tu Ran had no idea that her offhand suggestion for Qiu Jian to train together had sparked such a strong sense of competition.
At that moment, on the training ground, Tu Ran and Qiu Jian were engaged in shooting practice.
Qiu Jian glanced at Tu Ran’s target, where apart from her first shot going off course, all the remaining shots had hit the bullseye. He couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t they say your shooting skills were poor?”
Tu Ran was reloading her magazine and didn’t turn her head as she replied, “Did Zhou Ming tell you that?”
“Yeah.” Qiu Jian began to doubt whether Zhou Ming was deliberately downplaying Tu Ran’s abilities.
After thinking it over, given Zhou Ming’s personality, it was very likely he would do something like that.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming, who was aiming at a target 800 meters away, scratched his nose and thought, “Why is my nose itchy again?”
Tu Ran had finished loading her magazine. With a steady wrist, she aimed at the bullseye and fired thirteen shots, hitting the bullseye eleven times. Two other shots also landed within the ten-ring but were slightly off-center.
Tu Ran felt satisfied with the results; compared to her previous self, she had made a lot of progress.
“I’ve trained specifically in this area,” she said.
“I always thought you lacked talent in this regard,” Qiu Jian replied bluntly. “Zhou Ming has never mentioned anything else except to criticize your shooting accuracy. Clearly, you excel in other areas. Given that you’re outstanding in every other aspect, I unconsciously assumed it was due to a lack of talent. Now it seems you’re a polymath.”
Perhaps it was because Qiu Jian spoke very directly, without worrying about the feelings of himself or others, that his words of praise seemed even more credible.
Tu Ran smiled; the original owner had indeed been a polymath.
As for her? She could pass on that title, as she was merely benefiting from the brilliance of the original owner and trying her best to carry that light forward.
“Let’s go practice in the simulation room,” Tu Ran suggested.
“Sure.”
The two headed to the simulation room, selected a scenario mode in advance, then changed into their simulation suits and put on special simulation goggles. Suddenly, they felt as if they were in a dilapidated factory.
Their task was to rescue the hostages inside the factory.
Tu Ran took the lead while Qiu Jian covered the rear. Thugs continuously emerged from behind cover, shooting at them. The bullets didn’t cause any pain, but getting hit would forcibly kick them out of the game, meaning they would fail the round and have to restart.
During their first cooperation, their synergy was clearly lacking.
As Tu Ran moved forward cautiously, Qiu Jian failed to keep up, leaving her back exposed. A bullet struck her, and they were both forcibly ejected from the simulation.
“Let’s try again. I’ll slow down, and you follow closely behind me.” Tu Ran analyzed the problems they encountered and entered the simulation world once more.
In the same scenario, they safely made their way into the factory and successfully reached the floor where the hostages were located.
The cries for help from the hostages echoed faintly from behind the walls.
Tu Ran used a scanner to determine the general positions of the hostages and the kidnappers, which appeared as five dots in her goggles.
Four kidnappers and one hostage.
Based on their positions, it was inferred that two kidnappers were guarding the windows, while the other two were behind the doorframe, with the hostage located in the center.
Tu Ran gestured to Qiu Jian behind her: I’ll go in first and take care of the kidnapper behind the doorframe to draw the fire from the two by the window. You take the chance to ambush those two by the window. Got it?
Qiu Jian paused for a moment, looking a bit confused, but ultimately responded with an “OK” gesture.
Tu Ran counted silently to three in her mind and charged in. The two kidnappers at the door didn’t react in time and were quickly taken out by Tu Ran. However, the two at the window aimed their guns at her.
Tu Ran rolled on the ground, taking cover behind a pile of construction debris.
The kidnappers’ bullets hit the debris behind her.
Now was the moment!
With the kidnappers turned sideways to the door, Qiu Jian had the perfect opportunity to shoot them both.
Tu Ran could already see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Unfortunately, she waited for over ten seconds but still didn’t hear the sound of gunfire.
The two little red dots on her goggles were gradually getting closer to her.
Meanwhile, the green dot representing her teammate, Qiu Jian, stood motionless behind the wall.
What was going on?
Tu Ran called out, “Why aren’t you coming in?!”
“Ah?” Qiu Jian’s voice sounded confused. “Aren’t you supposed to handle it yourself?”
“I take care of two, and you—”
“Bang!”
A shot rang out, hitting the target squarely in the head.
Tu Ran removed her special simulation goggles and looked expressionlessly at Qiu Jian, who stood two meters away.
Even though being shot in the simulation space didn’t cause real pain, the moment she was hit, the splattering of brain matter mixed with red blood created a vividly gruesome image. The experience of being shot in the head left her feeling uneasy.
Tu Ran gritted her teeth and asked, “What did you think my gesture meant?”
Qiu Jian repeated her previous gesture while saying, “I will deal with the two people behind the door frame first, and then the two people by the window. You stay here to prevent anyone from attacking from behind.”
