Chapter 40

Chapter 3: Happy Valentine’s Day

　A severe factory accident occurred when a machine malfunctioned and went out of control. A worker on the assembly line was left disabled from injuries, while several others were also injured.

　The worker did not receive satisfactory compensation and got into a conflict with the factory side.

　Some people tried to seek other avenues for help but failed, and at the same time encountered an attack by small-time thugs, leaving many injured.

　Unable to afford the high medical costs, the disabled worker eventually died due to worsening injuries from improper care.

　Wu Guihua wasn’t in the same workshop or village, so she wasn’t an eyewitness to the entire event. She only knew the general outline.

　”Do you know the specific details of their attempts to find other ways?” Bai Ling asked.

　This was what she mainly wanted to know. In her childhood memories, her parents had intersected with Yunhai Company at this stage.

　Unfortunately, Wu Guihua shook her head: “Not very clear.”

　As expected, Bai Ling was slightly disappointed: “Do you know if anyone else is aware?”

　”I don’t know. Most of the people involved back then are no longer in the village. They might be in the city or somewhere else.”

　”…Alright.”

　Even though she didn’t gain much substantial information, Bai Ling still left behind an “interview fee.”

　……

　”Uncle He, just call me Uncle He.”

　Yuan Xiaoling thought that the sudden power outage might have been caused by Uncle He using some special ability to save her.

　Since he did her a favor, she should at least buy him a cup of bubble tea.

　Uncle He wasn’t used to drinking those young people’s drinks, so he just ordered a cup of tea.

　”Uncle He, how long have you been working at Tianhai Tower? Are you familiar with the place?”

　”Not bad. I came to the city to find work and often repair things around the building,” Uncle He showed his maintenance uniform, “I’m quite familiar with it.”

　Yuan Xiaoling’s eyes lit up: “Then can I ask you for help next time I have questions?”

　Gathering intelligence requires informants, after all.

　”No problem, if I know, I’ll definitely tell you.” Uncle He was very generous.

　”Then let’s add each other as friends,” Yuan Xiaoling took out her mobile phone, “Do you use WeChat or QQ?”

　Uncle He hesitated for a moment: “Actually, I don’t really use online apps… I used QQ before, but that was a long time ago.”

　But he still gave her a QQ number.

　Yuan Xiaoling searched for the contact on her phone and paused slightly: “Uncle He, I think you might have remembered it wrong.”

　”No, it’s this one.”

　”…This one?”

　”Haha,” Uncle He laughed heartily, “Well, I need to get back to work now. You should go back too.”

　”Um… take care.”

　Yuan Xiaoling looked down at her phone with a complicated expression.

　Uncle He’s QQ name was —— 燒愛の焱燄 (Locked Love Flame)

　Yeah, Martian characters.

　When she clicked into his QQ space, wow, it turned out Uncle He used to be a killamarat with a red headband, looking super energetic.

　The latest status update was from ten years ago, and he hasn’t posted anything since.

　Just as Yuan Xiaoling was about to check more, her phone suddenly buzzed, receiving a new message.

　[White Ling: No need to return to the villa.]

　Huh?

　[Lemon: Why?]

　[White Ling: It’s surrounded by seals. Someone must have discovered it.]

　Yuan Xiaoling thought to herself, didn’t you already handle it? How did they discover it so quickly? But there was no time to dwell on this now. The more pressing question was—

　[Lemon: Then where do I go?]

　[White Ling: Remember the first place I took you to?]

　[Lemon: Oh, the retirement housing complex, right? Of course I remember.]

　[White Ling: You can directly…]

　[Lemon: How do I get there?]

　[White Ling: …]

　[White Ling: Let’s just go to school.]

　Thus, five days later, the most dominant campus beauty pageant champion in Tianhai University history arrived at her loyal broadcasting department classroom.

　”Xiaoling, you actually came,” Gu Hui expressed surprise at her appearance, “We thought you’d take another two-day break.”

　Yuan Xiaoling was slightly stunned: “Why would I take two days off?”

　”Because you bragged so much last night,” Qiao Lili said, “We thought you’d get so hyped up that you’d want to dance in front of Bai Ling.”

　”Hmph,” Yuan Xiaoling scoffed, “I’m not stupid.”

　After saying that, she realized something was off and quickly added, “And I wasn’t exaggerating, it’s all true.”

　”Mm-hmm, absolutely true,” Gu Hui earnestly said, “We believe you.”

　Yuan Xiaoling puffed out her cheeks, thinking to herself that it was indeed true; she only spent half an hour anyway.

　”You can’t skip next week either,” Qiao Lili said at this point, “We have a thesis project to work on together.”

　”What kind of project?”

　”It’s not easy. I’ll send it to you tonight when we’re back in the dormitory,” Gu Hui smiled and said, “Anyway, you’ll definitely run off again tomorrow.”

　”Why would I run off tomorrow?”

　”Valentine’s Day!” Qiao Lili cut in, “You’re not going to prepare some little gifts and have a date with your boyfriend surnamed Bai?”

　Is there such a thing? I completely forgot.

　”Eh, whatever,” Yuan Xiaoling said with righteous indignation, “Li Yue people don’t celebrate Western holidays.”

　Gu Hui burst out laughing, “It’s not a Western holiday, it’s a homophone festival for ‘520’, similar to Singles’ Day.”

　Qiao Lili: “This is Li Yue’s unique Valentine’s Day.”

　Yuan Xiaoling’s lips twitched, “Alright, then no problem.”

　After the boring class ended, she ran to the playground to wait for Bai Ling. A few boys whistled at her by the playground, but after someone went over and said a few words, the boys hurriedly ran away.

　Yuan Xiaoling only heard bits and pieces of what they said—

　”Today she’s in a bad mood, don’t provoke her girlfriend, or she might take it out on you.”

　”She’s really not in a good mood, she even burst a few punching bags.”

　”Very terrifying, bro.”

　After a while, Bai Ling also came out, wearing a sports uniform on her slender body, but without a single drop of sweat.

　”Bai Ling, you’re done with class,” Yuan Xiaoling greeted her, “Oh, those bodies in the cemetery… I remember you went out early in the morning to bury them.”

　She knew it wasn’t the best time to ask, but she couldn’t help her curiosity.

　Sure enough, Bai Ling’s face darkened: “Just a minor mishap, don’t ask about it.”

　It was because she was accustomed to the pace of the later stages of her previous life. Back then, Spiritual Energy Manipulators frequently clashed, and when someone died, they just buried them on the spot. It was different now, and she had forgotten that point at the time.

　Yuan Xiaoling carefully observed her expression and asked, “Was today’s mission not smooth?”

　Being in a bad mood, this was the only possibility.

　”Most of the relevant people from a long time ago can’t be found.” Bai Ling gave a brief answer.

　She was indeed very troubled now. Although the clue hadn’t been lost, how to find the next link seemed like an unsolvable problem.

　Directly storming Tianhai Tower? That would mean facing half of the Spiritual Energy Manipulators in Tianhai City simultaneously. Bai Ling wouldn’t forget how she died in her previous life.

　”In that case, why don’t we change our mood?” came the soft voice of the girl beside her.

　”What?”

　Bai Ling looked up and saw Yuan Xiaoling standing prettily in front of her, her well-proportioned figure standing tall and elegant in her JK-style uniform, her chest prominently pushed up, and her short skirt revealing a pair of legs that looked as if they could drip water.

　Strands of golden hair were blown by the wind, revealing a cute and sweet profile.

　”I said, since you won’t make any breakthroughs for a while and have just gone through a fight, there’s no point in rushing. Why not take advantage of tomorrow being Valentine’s Day to relax a bit?”