Because of the news Ji Huan had revealed—only that it would be at night—Yuan Li didn’t know the exact time. She decided to eat dinner and then sat at the entrance of the Cleaning Department, holding ShuangTang, waiting.
By ten o’clock at night, Yuan Li was starting to feel sleepy when she finally heard the sound of approaching vehicles.
She jolted awake immediately.
To outsiders, the Cleaning Department was like a domain ruled by a mad tyrant. Very few dared to come close.
So, the people approaching…
As expected, Yuan Li saw several gray, high-chassis, reinforced vehicles approaching, looking almost like weapons on wheels.
Standing there by the entrance, Yuan Li naturally caught the attention of those inside the first vehicle.
The first car stopped right at the front.
The driver’s side window rolled down, revealing a doll-faced smile. “Eh? Yuan Li, why are you here? Did you miss me? Come to pick me up?”
Yuan Li: “?”
Are we that familiar?
The doll-faced driver said, “Come on, get in. There’s room in the car.”
Although the cars behind weren’t honking, Yuan Li felt embarrassed. She opened the door and got in, finally seeing Hong Yuan sitting in one of the seats.
Since Yuan Li had woken up, the first person who had spent a long time with her and protected her was Hong Yuan.
Seeing Hong Yuan return safely, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Hong Yuan!”
“Then get in already, stop dawdling,” Hong Yuan said, her words as sharp as ever.
Yuan Li climbed in and sat on the opposite side, the seat normally occupied by Fang Zhou, who had moved to the back.
The car started moving before Yuan Li could say anything, and Hong Yuan’s eyes immediately went to her bag.
“What’s in there?”
“A little pet I raised.” Yuan Li unzipped the bag, and ShuangTang poked its head out, tilting it to look at Hong Yuan.
Although it looked cute, Hong Yuan’s expression instantly darkened. “Doctor didn’t tell you that you can’t keep pets casually?”
“It’s wearing a collar,” Yuan Li said, brushing aside some of ShuangTang’s fur.
Perhaps due to recent good nutrition, ShuangTang hadn’t gained much weight, but its fur had grown so much that it covered the silver ring of the collar.
Seeing the collar, Hong Yuan knew Doctor must have explained just how dangerous this strange little creature could be, yet Yuan Li still wanted to keep it. Hong Yuan immediately snapped, “Are you stupid? If you want to die, just go die. Don’t waste my time.”
“Ah, Hong Yuan, why say it so harshly? I think this little guy’s cute. Yuan Li’s still young; it’s normal for her to like it. You should be more tolerant.” The doll-faced driver interjected while driving.
He then got a kick to the back of his seat from Hong Yuan.
“Shut up if you don’t want me to stab you twice,” she said.
The doll-faced driver squealed, “I’m driving! If you’re not afraid of causing an accident, go ahead and stab me. We won’t die, but Yuan Li wouldn’t know.”
Hong Yuan snorted and drew her knife. “Don’t worry. I’ll throw her out if necessary.”
“Enough, Jin Tong, shut up! And you, Hong Yuan, ignore him. Everyone’s tired these past two days. I’ll report later, and you can all rest,” Captain Lin interrupted, breaking their banter.
The doll-faced driver shrugged. “Fine, fine, I won’t say anything.”
Hong Yuan kept her cold expression but released her grip on the curved knife handle, showing Captain Lin some respect.
After all, the mission wasn’t complete, and until it was, Captain Lin had authority over them.
Yes, she and the doll-faced driver could resist, but Fang Zhou and the others, who stayed out of it, could follow Captain Lin and easily beat them both.
No need to.
Yuan Li quietly shoved ShuangTang back into her bag and quickly changed the topic. “Hong Yuan, I have good news. I’m a Mental Power Evolver!”
“Oh.” Hong Yuan appeared indifferent. “Which type is your ability?”
Yuan Li puffed her chest. “Control-type!”
“Screech!” The doll-faced driver slammed the brakes. Yuan Li, not wearing a seatbelt, nearly flew forward.
Luckily, Hong Yuan grabbed her, preventing a bump on her forehead.
Yuan Li wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, still trembling slightly.
“Ji Huan told me Control-types are rare, but you didn’t have to go this far, right?”
Unexpectedly, Hong Yuan’s face darkened at the mention of Ji Huan. “How do you even know that guy?”
“Ah?” Yuan Li was stunned.
Hong Yuan sneered. “You’d better stay away from him.”
Yuan Li didn’t know what had happened between Hong Yuan and Ji Huan, but in terms of loyalty, she trusted the first person who had cared for her—Hong Yuan.
Plus, she also felt Ji Huan was dangerous. Hearing Hong Yuan, she nodded obediently. “Okay, I’ll stay away from him.”
Seeing Yuan Li behave so obediently, Hong Yuan’s expression softened slightly. She continued the previous topic: “What’s your rank?”
“F-rank,” Yuan Li asked cautiously. “Is that very low?”
F-rank was the lowest. Although Ji Huan said Control-types were rare, she still felt a little nervous.
“….” Hong Yuan fell silent.
The Cleaning Department was spacious, and the doll-faced driver wasn’t worried about blocking anyone, so he cut the engine and looked back, shocked at Yuan Li. “How did you manage this? Among the Control-type Evolvers I know, you have the lowest awakening level!”
Control-types were supposed to be one in a hundred thousand—absolute powerhouses.
And now, an exception appeared.
Yuan Li pursed her lips and lowered her head, looking dejected.
Hong Yuan, as sharp as ever, said, “You’re lucky to be alive. You want to awaken a higher-level Mental Power? Don’t even check if you have the life for it.”
Being the only person to experience Yuan Li’s suppressed Mental Power firsthand, Hong Yuan found it unreasonable that Yuan Li had awakened F-rank Mental Power.
But seeing her pale face and frail body, it was somewhat understandable.
The stronger the Mental Power, the stronger the body needed to contain it.
Those who awakened at B-rank often had weak bodies and could only live safely in the city. Unless necessary, they couldn’t leave.
Such Mental Power geniuses were actually a burden.
—At least in Hong Yuan’s eyes.
She had planned for Yuan Li to rest and gradually promote her Mental Power evolution, but Yuan Li progressed so quickly.
It indicated that her innate talent must indeed be impressive.
Moreover, awakening without being crushed by her Mental Power was already a good outcome.
The doll-faced driver couldn’t help but glance back at Yuan Li.
Though his mouth was sharp, he knew Hong Yuan wasn’t any kinder.
If they scared Yuan Li off with their words…
But Yuan Li was used to Hong Yuan’s sharp tongue. She ignored it and filtered out the important information.
“Is my weak body why my awakening level is low?”
Before Hong Yuan could answer, she gritted her teeth and asked, “Next time… when you go clean up Mutants, can I come along?”