Chapter 174
Chapter 174
Qin Lan did harbor some reservations about Yin Manqing.
But only a few.
When Xu Min had driven him into a desperate corner, Qin Lan could tell Yin Manqing genuinely intended to burn away her final spark of life to win him a path of escape.
She had not hesitated, even though his chance of survival was infinitesimal.
Qin Lan knew part of her motivation was the hope that he might avenge her someday, but that was still enough to earn his trust.
“Sister Yin, you were wrong about something earlier.”
Qin Lan pushed his hand back, returning Yin Manqing’s soul essence.
[?] Yin Manqing was stunned.
“You only taught me how to sense mental frequency, but that wasn’t a useless little trick to me.”
“Therefore, you are my teacher.”
Qin Lan spoke frankly. “I can’t hold my teacher’s soul essence hostage as leverage.”
“As for cleaning house… Xu Min tried to kill me. Naturally, I’ll return the favor someday.”
Teacher?
An indescribable ache welled up inside Yin Manqing at those words.
She had taught many outstanding students…
But almost all of them had compromised when faced with the vast power of the United Government.
And the one she trusted most had handed her enemies the blade that cut deepest.
The young man before her was entirely different.
He was pitifully weak–at least compared with Xu Min and her former self–yet he had not made the same choice as the others.
When Qin Lan lay crushed against the ground, coughing bloody foam and barely clinging to life, she had truly believed his shouted surrender was genuine.
In that instant, half her heart had turned cold.
Compared with the disbelief and agony of the first betrayal, experiencing it a second time had hurt less. There had only been sorrow and bleak resignation.
Then she discovered Qin Lan’s true plan. She felt moved, but also deeply conflicted.
Luring Xu Min into his mindscape?
Others might not understand the danger, but how could Yin Manqing fail to grasp it?
If the plan deviated even slightly, Xu Min could shatter Qin Lan’s mind with the twitch of a finger.
By comparison, letting her sacrifice herself had been the safest road.
Yet Qin Lan still chose the most dangerous method.
[But I… no longer take students.]
Yin Manqing remained silent for a long time before answering awkwardly.
Seeing her like this, Qin Lan suddenly asked,
“Sister Yin, are you feeling pretty moved right now?”
[?]
[Who asks something like that so directly?]
“Just tell me whether you are.”
[Mm…]
“Then…” Qin Lan’s eyes lit up. “Can you give me part of your inheritance?”
“Xu Min is this rich, so you must have been absolutely loaded!”
“Don’t you have some secret treasury hidden away? Just toss me a hundred or so Pure Hearts!”
[Are you dreaming?]
Yin Manqing snapped irritably. The warmth that had finally risen inside her shattered beneath Qin Lan’s few sentences.
[I’m not even dead. What inheritance?]
[Besides, a hundred Pure Hearts? You really dare ask!]
[They’re incredibly precious to mental cultivators. People normally use them the moment they obtain them. Unless someone is saving for a breakthrough, they could never accumulate so many!]
“Tch… Pauper.”
Qin Lan was terribly disappointed.
This was not how the script was supposed to go… Didn’t every old grandfather living in a ring leave behind an outrageously powerful inheritance?
Some kind of Bone Spirit Cold Flame and heaven-tier cultivation technique, for example…
[I truly don’t know what to say about you… We’ve known each other for only a few days, and you’re already coveting my inheritance?]
[What an unfilial disciple.]
Yin Manqing ground her teeth.
“Huh? Didn’t you just say you no longer take students?”
[…None of your business.]
Half an hour later, Qin Lan carefully avoided every surveillance network under Yin Manqing’s guidance and arrived at the so-called Salvage Market.
Salvage Market was the polite name.
Most people would have called it a garbage dump.
The difference was that this garbage came from the Fallen Zone, with treasures and dangerous objects mixed together.
Of course, the truly valuable items had already disappeared into private pockets.
Anything actually placed on sale was obviously worthless. You could figure that out with your toes.
Qin Lan had not come here to hunt for treasure, however.
He needed these people to carry him into the Fallen Zone–or more precisely, smuggle him inside.
The Salvage Market covered several square miles.
Countless mountains of junk transported from the Fallen Zone filled the grounds. Everything had been sorted into categories, labeled, and left for customers to pick through.
There were plenty of shoppers, but none wished to reveal their identity, so they deliberately kept their distance from one another.
That suited Qin Lan perfectly.
Like everyone else, he wrapped himself in a thick overcoat–do not ask where it came from–and wore a mask–do not ask about that either. He looked like an ordinary customer browsing for salvage.
The outfit’s original owner had been put to sleep by Qin Lan’s mental strike and now lay dreaming in a corner behind one of the trash heaps.
Qin Lan pretended to browse the piles while observing the organizers.
He soon noticed a transport truck.
It was completely empty, but not because it had just unloaded. It was preparing to leave.
Qin Lan slowly spread his mental power and immediately detected the people inside.
“Three people… and all of them have Tier Two Cores?”
Qin Lan was surprised. He had not expected a borderline gray-market operation–garbage collection, to put it bluntly–to employ people that strong.
[That’s normal.]
[They need to operate inside the Fallen Zone. Without some strength, even encountering a one-star instance would become a fight for survival.]
[The other workers are ordinary people, which shows that only the exploration teams are elites.]
Yin Manqing’s explanation made sense.
“How do I get aboard…?”
Qin Lan considered the problem.
These people had their own connections and could enter the Fallen Zone through unofficial channels.
If Qin Lan merely hid inside the truck, the current lockdown in the Central Region guaranteed a vehicle search. He would inevitably be exposed.
His only option was to “replace” someone.
“Which lucky winner should I choose?”
Qin Lan listened carefully to the conversation inside.
Before long, he smiled.
…
In the driver’s seat of the transport truck, a muscular bald man smoked a cigarette. He stepped on the brake and glanced impatiently into the rearview mirror.
“Are you kidding me? You need the bathroom again?”
“Didn’t I tell you to empty your guts beforehand?”
The young man in the back seat was deathly pale and clutching his stomach.
“I don’t know, Brother Hu… I suddenly need to take a shit so badly… But I deliberately skipped breakfast and lunch…”
“Was there something wrong with last night’s food? Oh, no. I can’t hold it…”
He screamed, pushed open the door, and jumped out before the truck fully stopped, stumbling toward a secluded corner.
Brother Hu flicked away his cigarette and cursed. “Fuck your mother! You’re nothing but piss and shit!”
“If this happens again, I’m telling the supervisor to replace you! I’m not bringing you anymore!”
An older man sat in the passenger seat.
He rested with his eyes closed as he listened. “What’s the hurry? A few minutes won’t matter.”
“Everyone starts as a rookie. Being nervous is normal.”
A few minutes later, the young man opened the door again and climbed inside, looking thoroughly relieved.
“Finished?” Brother Hu glanced in the mirror.
“Finished.” Qin Lan smiled bashfully.