Chapter 188: Do You Still Have a Choice?
Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Do You Still Have a Choice?
Sensing the descending crisis, the surrounding crowd once again began to retreat outward. But just as they cautiously prepared to flee, a figure appeared behind Lu Jingyu.
Xu Qingsui opened her arms and hugged Lu Jingyu directly from behind, simultaneously injecting her spiritual power into his body.
"You did great. The Mutants have all been taken care of. You can relax now."
A cool sensation flooded Lu Jingyu’s mind, instantly clearing his growing disorientation. The mist clouding his pupils vanished, and the black veins rapidly faded away. Feeling the softness against his waist, he turned his head to look at Xu Qingsui. Seeing her resting her cheek against his back, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. He was so greedy for this feeling that he didn’t speak immediately, until...
"Captain, are you alright?" Meng Donghua untimely appeared in front of Lu Jingyu again. Seeing that he was awake, he couldn’t help but cheer.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the smile vanish from Lu Jingyu’s face, replaced by a cold glare directed right at him.
"You’re alright!"
Seeing Xu Qingsui poke her head out from behind Lu Jingyu and release her arms around him, Meng Donghua finally realized what the problem was. He realized their captain must have been thoroughly enjoying the moment, only for him to ruin it with his interruption. The captain must absolutely hate him right now.
Figuring out what had happened, Meng Donghua wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to run his mouth? He had finally completed the task the captain assigned him, which should have made up for his previous mistakes, but now he had gone and done this. Was he destined to always receive the cold shoulder?
"It’s fine. Thanks for your hard work," Lu Jingyu said, turning back to Xu Qingsui with his smile restored.
"I should be thanking you. You just arrived and immediately ran into such a huge mess, yet you still stepped up to solve it."
Lu Jingyu chuckled and shook his head. "It’s nothing. In a way, it created an opportunity for me. Since I pitched in, they shouldn’t keep ostracizing me."
Xu Qingsui pondered for a moment and nodded. "It might really be a good opportunity for you."
Earlier, Lu Jingyu’s sword strike had eliminated the majority of the remaining Mutants. The few that luckily escaped also met their end when they were intercepted by the members of the Survival Team.
The riot was finally over, but the 27th District had paid a heavy price. The laboratory building was completely destroyed, not to mention all the experimental data stored inside. The ground was littered with the corpses of Mutants, along with those of Survival Team members and lab staff. The tragic scene brought about a strong sense of discomfort, making it unbearable to stay there any longer.
The aftermath had nothing to do with Xu Qingsui and her group. She immediately led Lu Jingyu and his people back to the dormitory building.
On the way back, Meng Donghua tentatively edged closer to Lu Jingyu. "Captain, I successfully completed the task you gave me."
"But you made another mistake!" Lu Jingyu retorted, thoroughly extinguishing the little flame of hope in Meng Donghua’s heart.
Meng Donghua’s lips twitched, and he awkwardly retreated to the back of the group.
"What are you two talking about?" Xu Qingsui asked.
"Nothing. He just made a small mistake and needs to be taught a lesson so he’ll remember."
Xu Qingsui didn’t ask any further questions. It wasn’t her place to interfere in how Lu Jingyu disciplined his own team members.
Traveling had already been exhausting, and running into so much trouble right after arriving at the 27th District left Lu Jingyu’s group looking visibly drained. Upon returning to the dormitories, the others stated they were going back to their rooms to rest. Lu Jingyu had originally intended to use this chance to spend some alone time with Xu Qingsui and find an opportunity to confess his feelings.
However, Xu Qingsui spoke first. "You must be exhausted! Hurry back and get some rest! I’m going to take a break too. I feel a bit tired."
The denial died on Lu Jingyu’s lips. Hearing that she was tired as well, he could only swallow his words.
"Then have a good rest. I’ll be in the RV; just call me if you need anything!"
Xu Qingsui nodded and returned to her room. However, she didn’t go to sleep immediately. Instead, she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, recalling what had just happened.
Chu Tian’s performance had greatly shocked her. What kind of sheer willpower had allowed him to hold on for so long on the brink of death? Although Chu Tian’s chauvinism had struck a nerve earlier and made her despise him, his actions this time made her view him in a new light. It just went to show that people were truly multifaceted, always possessing commendable traits.
Aside from that, she also thought of Shen Yan’s reaction. Shen Yan likely knew that she had killed Chu Tian with her own hands. It seemed this would become an insurmountable chasm between them.
Lying in bed lost in her thoughts, Xu Qingsui didn’t even realize when she fell asleep.
By the time she woke up, it was already pitch-black outside. She didn’t know what time it was, but she heard some noises coming from the next room. She knew it had to be Shen Yan returning.
After mulling it over, she got out of bed, stepped outside, and knocked on his door.
The door opened, and Xu Qingsui saw a completely different side of Shen Yan. From their very first meeting, Shen Yan had always worn a tailored suit and rimless glasses, his hair meticulously combed to present an elegant and refined appearance. Even when things went wrong later on, he had always paid attention to his image, maintaining his signature look.
But right now, she saw a Shen Yan with disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes, unkempt clothes, and an utterly exhausted face. If she couldn’t still recognize some traces of his original features, she would have doubted the identity of the man standing before her.
Seeing her astonishment, Shen Yan simply turned around and walked back into his room. Xu Qingsui snapped out of her daze and hurried in after him.
However, Xu Qingsui’s attention was completely captivated by Shen Yan. She didn’t notice at all that when she left her room, Lu Jingyu had also stepped out of the RV outside.
Seeing her knock on Shen Yan’s door, he frowned. He wondered why Xu Qingsui would knock on Shen Yan’s door in the middle of the night if they weren’t together.
He felt a surge of displeasure and wanted to go over and ask, but the next second, Shen Yan opened the door. Lu Jingyu also saw Shen Yan’s state, which made him stop in his tracks. He wondered how a mere riot could have reduced Shen Yan to such a state.
For a moment, his curiosity subtly overtook his displeasure. But then, seeing the two of them say nothing as Xu Qingsui walked into Shen Yan’s room and closed the door, he grew irritated once again.
Acting on impulse, he strode directly toward Shen Yan’s room. Aside from looking for Xu Qingsui, he had come to the 27th District to expand the Heiyu Alliance. Although Shen Yan wasn’t the leader of the Survival Team, he was its primary spokesperson.
It was perfectly normal for him to seek out Shen Yan to talk business!