RITAAB 77.1

Chapter 77 【o(￣︶￣)o】part 1

Xi Sihan asked, “Did you figure something out?”

Qin Jiulin blinked, “Could it be…?”

Qi Yue chimed in, “What is it? What is it?”

Cheng Tianxiang sighed, “Don’t stop halfway through the conversation! It’s so frustrating!”

Qin Jiulin explained, “He’s noticed that Captain Gao isn’t as warm towards him anymore.”

Xi Sihan suddenly understood, “Ah, so that’s it. That’s why he’s considering other options, right?”

Cheng Tianxiang also sensed something off, “But if he’s thinking about other places, what does that have to do with him accepting those people’s offers?”

“In the end, isn’t the entire Modu (Mo City) still under Captain Gao’s control? Are they planning to join forces and overthrow Captain Gao’s authority?”

As soon as she said this, both Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin fell silent, while Qi Yue and Xi Sihan glanced at her in surprise. They, too, had vaguely suspected something like this, but unlike Cheng Tianxiang, they weren’t the type to blurt out everything. Sometimes, it’s better to keep things to yourself, even if you know them.

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan started eating. “Let’s eat first. Don’t talk about this too much, especially you two. You’re still part of his team. Even if you know, act like you don’t.”

Cheng Tianxiang pouted, “I know that, and I’m not a fool. I’m only saying this because I trust you all. Of course I wouldn’t say it in front of him.”

Xi Sihan chimed in, “He hasn’t exactly been secretive about meeting with those people. Even though he hasn’t told us, he hasn’t tried to hide it either. My guess is he wants us to get used to it before he starts working on convincing us.”

Qin Jiulin nodded, “In any case, they’re definitely eyeing Captain Gao’s power. Even if they can’t succeed in taking it, they’ll likely try to gather some of the mutated beastman to work for them.”

Cheng Tianxiang snorted, “I’m not interested! I can transform into a flying beast, and I’m valuable no matter where I go. I definitely don’t want to follow them. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.”

Xi Sihan agreed, “Exactly. Even if Tianxiang and I teamed up on our own, we’d still do pretty well. Honestly, I think it would be better without Xia Liansheng around.”

Cheng Tianxiang perked up, “Yeah, yeah! The other day, I went hunting with Sihan-jie, and as long as we weren’t surrounded by animals, hunting was a breeze.”

The only problem was that things went south when they took down a monkey. If it weren’t for that, none of the trouble that followed would’ve happened. Because of the monkey incident, Xia Liansheng had subtly criticized them several times, hinting that they shouldn’t act alone behind his back in the future. How infuriating! What does he mean by “acting alone behind his back”?

Aren’t they their own independent people? Why should he care where they go in their free time?

Qin Jiulin nodded, “It’s not a bad plan moving forward. After all, once Modu is reclaimed, it’ll be much safer here. Then we’d only need to coordinate with the military in special situations to help protect the city.”

Cheng Tianxiang was excited, “Exactly! I knew it would work out. By the way, are you three planning to form your own small team? A three-person squad?”

Qin Jiulin confirmed, “Yes, the three of us will remain a team. We don’t need to join the military, but if they have special missions, we’ll likely assist. After all, Zhongyuan has some special connections with them.”

Cheng Tianxiang nodded, “I see. Then we’ll coordinate with the military when needed, live by hunting, and earn some contribution points from them. These points will still be valid after Modu is reclaimed, right?”

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Absolutely. In fact, they might become even more valuable later on. After all, contribution points issued by the military can only be earned through completing military tasks. You can exchange them for many things the military has, like weapons or housing in Modu. Very practical stuff.”

As they continued talking, the conversation drifted in this direction. Soon they were chatting happily, and both Cheng Tianxiang and Xi Sihan had almost completely forgotten about the earlier issue with Xia Liansheng. By the time they finished eating and parted ways, they were reluctant to say goodbye, longing for the peaceful life they all hoped for. After all, as girls, they cherished the idea of a peaceful and stable life.

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “So, what do you think?”

Qin Jiulin responded, “Xia Liansheng is probably leaning towards teaming up with Zhou Lie, but he just hasn’t made up his mind yet.”

Liu Zhongyuan added, “Even if they team up, I don’t think they’ll act any time soon. What they want isn’t the current Modu but a safe Modu, one they can directly manage.”

Qin Jiulin nodded, “So, they’re planning to wait until Captain Gao completes the reclamation of Modu and then swoop in to steal his success?”

Liu Zhongyuan smiled, “Don’t worry. With us around, they won’t be able to. We’ve contributed to this effort too. If they take it, what would happen to the contribution points we’ve earned?”

Qin Jiulin rolled his eyes for once, “Not only would they count, but they’d probably double in value.”

Liu Zhongyuan laughed, “True, but that’s not how we operate.”

Qin Jiulin stood up, “Alright, let’s head back for now. When we have time, we can clear out some of the nearby semi-beastman. Their numbers around here have definitely decreased compared to before. Captain Gao plans to expand the territory a bit since more and more people are fleeing here.”

Liu Zhongyuan agreed, “Yeah, the numbers are indeed increasing. I heard the residential area for civilians and their families is already full, and there aren’t enough jobs for them. Recently, they’ve been providing just enough food to keep them from starving, but that’s not a sustainable plan.”

Qin Jiulin pondered, “So they need to find new jobs for those people?”

Liu Zhongyuan shrugged, “Seems like it, but that’s not really our concern.”

Qi Yue blinked. Today was another day spent following these two big shots around. He knew that with his beast form, he’d be in demand anywhere, but it was definitely easier and more enjoyable sticking with these two.

His eyes flickered, and somehow, he ended up spotting Qi Jinglan again. She was in the middle of the road, at the intersection, sweeping the street with a broom.

He pretended not to see her and quickly turned his head, hurrying after Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan to leave the intersection. He didn’t think much of it at the time, but once he got back to his place, something felt off.

He remembered hearing Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin mention that jobs were hard to come by these days. A lot of people were out of work and had to rely on the military’s bare-minimum food rations.

So how did Qi Jinglan manage to get a job? She didn’t have any special status!

Did Duan Qiufeng help her? But who was Duan Qiufeng anyway? Sure, he was a strong, able-bodied man, but just an ordinary person. How could he have any say in job matters?

There had to be more to how Qi Jinglan got that job. What price did she pay?

Just then, he thought of Lin Yuze and Wang Boming, two ordinary beastman. Could she be relying on one of them?

But Qi Jinglan was with Duan Qiufeng, wasn’t she? Where would she find time to sneak around with those two? Or could it be that she’d hooked up with someone else besides Lin Yuze and Wang Boming?

Qi Yue shook his head. Whatever. It wasn’t his problem anyway. He didn’t care about this messy business. But Qi Jinglan’s cleaning route just happened to be along his way home every day, didn’t it?

Such careful planning. Luckily, she hadn’t spotted him this time.

Qi Yue thought he’d left before Qi Jinglan noticed him, but what he didn’t know was that she had seen him and had been waiting there on purpose. She had simply decided not to be too obvious about it, since she also noticed Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin. She figured she’d just wait for Qi Yue to notice her and come over on his own.

But now it seemed like Qi Yue hadn’t seen her at all. He passed through the intersection, leisurely following the two men in front of him. Qi Jinglan was a little annoyed, but there was nothing she could do. After all, this wasn’t something that could be rushed. She could wait a few more years if necessary.

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Qi Yue, what are you doing?”

Qi Yue snapped back, “Nothing, just thinking.”

Qin Jiulin teased, “What’s wrong? Did you see your sister and miss her?”

Qi Yue blinked, “Qin-ge, you saw her too?”

Qin Jiulin laughed, “She was standing right there in the middle of the road. How could we miss her?”

Although she wasn’t in the middle of their path, she was still hard to miss, wasn’t she?

Qi Yue thought the same. Of course, these two big shots would easily notice their surroundings. Was he the only one feeling awkward?

Qi Yue said, “Yeah, I was thinking about her. Didn’t you say earlier that it’s been tough for ordinary people to find jobs? Most of them are barely getting by on military rations. So how did she get a job?”

Qin Jiulin narrowed his eyes, a smirk playing at his lips. He knew exactly why she had a job—Qi Jinglan and Duan Qiufeng had definitely cozied up to Xia Liansheng!

Of course, not in that way. Xia Liansheng was probably anxious about his own situation, so he’d teamed up with Duan Qiufeng and Qi Jinglan.

Qin Jiulin was increasingly certain that Xia Liansheng knew something about the future. Otherwise, why would he get close to two ordinary people like Duan Qiufeng and Qi Jinglan?