Chapter 107
Chapter 107
Beside her, Ling Fang said, “That score breaks the record.”
“Huh?” Was the record that easy to break?
Xie Qingling was mildly surprised. “Didn’t Shen Huaizhou score higher than me on the Rookie Ranking?”
After all, he had written so many self-criticisms. She would never dare compete with him.
Ling Fang shook his head. “Shen Huaizhou also passed ten thousand and topped the Rookie Ranking that year. But… you haven’t even been here a full year yet.” Mentioning Shen Huaizhou seemed to remind him of something, and he frowned out of habit.
Xie Qingling: “…”
“Director, you have to understand. My score is only this high because of everything I’ve done for the department,” Xie Qingling declared earnestly. “I wasn’t deliberately looking for trouble. It’s mainly that after I joined, the monsters and ghosts just… there were more of them.”
“Really, the Eleventh Realm has been handing me points. I’ve only been accepting them.”
Ling Fang could no longer be bothered to argue with her. “With your ranking, if you apply to stay at headquarters, they’ll approve it very quickly.”
In fact, since Ling Fang returned this time, quite a few people had already asked him about Xie Qingling, hoping to poach her.
Ling Fang had declined for now, but the specifics still depended on Xie Qingling’s own plans. Whether she left, and when, were entirely up to her.
“Then let’s talk about it when I submit an application.” Xie Qingling was neither impatient nor delighted. She remained quite calm.
After closing the Rookie Ranking, she opened the other list: the Points Ranking.
The Points Ranking was open to all department members.
It was full of talented people, with more than twenty thousand participants. Xie Qingling’s 13,000 points placed her a little below the middle.
The leader of the overall Points Ranking was someone called Fu Zihua. His score was nearly one million.
Second place was Yu Qiongzi, whose total exceeded five hundred thousand, with a clear gulf between her and first place.
Third place…
Those below also had scores close to five hundred thousand. The differences were small.
Xie Qingling instantly sobered.
Thirteen thousand. One million. What an enormous gap.
The people near the top of the overall Points Ranking must be the elite of headquarters. Their roots ran deep; they had long since grown into towering trees that could hardly be shaken.
“Director, who’s Fu Zihua?” Xie Qingling asked.
Ling Fang took a can of beer from the apartment’s little refrigerator and casually offered her one too. “Fu Zihua is the Director of headquarters. He’s responsible for coordinating cooperation among the four departments. He’s the backbone of headquarters.”
“No… five departments, actually. There’s also the Administration Department. But it has few staff, and it’s generally grouped with the Logistics Department and treated as logistics too. Their offices are all in the same building.”
Casually offering a drink to the person beside him was a habit of Ling Fang’s.
When Yu Wei had been there, they could occasionally clink glasses. Drinking alone now was inevitably a little lonely.
No one responded to his outstretched hand.
Xie Qingling was looking down at the rankings, so absorbed that she ignored the drink appearing at the edge of her vision.
Ling Fang was left speechless and could only take the beer back.
It was an unconscious gesture. Only after offering the drink did he remember that the person beside him was Xie Qingling, not Yu Wei.
Many people in the Special Incident Response Department felt immense pressure and needed a way to relieve it. Usually, all they could do was resort to something like smoking or drinking. Those were relatively normal methods. But Xie Qingling seemed to need none of them.
Come to think of it, Xie Qingling neither smoked nor drank. She was a well-behaved student… No. Only her habits in daily life could be called well behaved.
Ling Fang suppressed the urge to sigh, opened the can, and poured a mouthful of beer into his mouth. After gulping it down, he answered Xie Qingling’s question. “Fu Zihua is Donghuang Taiyi’s Chosen, one of the Spirit Wielders granted a blessing by the five ancestral gods.”
So that was why his score was so high. Xie Qingling silently marveled.
[On an auspicious day, at a fine hour, reverently we bring joy to the supreme sovereign. We touch long swords with jade fittings; jade ornaments ring and chime. Fragrant meat is steamed on beds of orchids; cinnamon wine and pepper liquor are offered. Drumsticks rise and strike the drums; with a slow, measured rhythm, we sing serenely.]
[Joined with heaven and earth, primordial chaos in its simplicity, forming all things before creation – this is called Taiyi. Donghuang Taiyi, invoked in the sacrificial prayers of shamans, is the supreme existence in this world. This deity is heaven and earth, the wind, sun, and moon above, the rivers and mountains below. This deity is the Way of Heaven, and also the void.]
[Ignorant Spirit Wielder, tremble and repent of your stupidity. This world holds countless existences you know nothing of.]
Xie Qingling: “…”
There it went again.
Could it please stop making personal attacks?
Xie Qingling scoffed at the voice in her head, then asked, “What about Yu Qiongzi? Is she also a Spirit Wielder blessed by an ancestral god?”
Ling Fang nodded. “She’s Nüwa’s Chosen. Cheng Bufan is Fuxi’s Chosen, and Pan Cheng is Pangu’s Chosen. All three are in the Special Task Force now…”
As he spoke, Ling Fang suddenly stopped and said no more.
He had said too much.
He was not worried that Xie Qingling would go out and spread it everywhere, but he still should not say more.
Fortunately, Xie Qingling did not insist on getting to the bottom of it.
After a while in silence, Xie Qingling looked up, saw Ling Fang drinking beer, and asked him for a can.
Ling Fang paused. “You need alcohol too?”
“No. I’m just thirsty and want something to drink.”
“Oh.” Ling Fang handed her one with a lower alcohol content.
Xie Qingling pulled the tab and clinked cans with him, smiling.
Having finished looking at the rankings, Xie Qingling left Ling Fang’s room and returned to her own.
Today was their first day in the Old Royal City. The real work started tomorrow. The rest of today was entirely their own.
After putting her belongings away and settling in, Xie Qingling asked Shen Huaizhou to go for a stroll with her. Though “stroll” was not quite accurate: they mainly wanted to familiarize themselves with headquarters’ buildings and surroundings, so they would not be scrambling about or making embarrassing mistakes when work began tomorrow.
Compared with Future City’s offices, this place was enormous.
They had already visited the Operations Department and Medical Department buildings.
That left the Logistics Department and the Technology R&D Department.
Xie Qingling thought about it. There was probably little to see at the Logistics Department.
Judging from Yang Liuqing’s workload, that department was overwhelmed even on an ordinary day, let alone during this exceptional period.
So Xie Qingling suggested visiting the Technology R&D Department. Shen Huaizhou, of course, had no objections.
But they were discouraged the moment they reached the entrance.
A sign stood outside the Technology R&D Department:
No entry except for staff of this department. Enter at your own risk!
Xie Qingling: “…”
What a temper.
Fine. They would not go in.
She pursed her lips. They changed course midway and went to try headquarters’ cafeteria instead.
Yes, headquarters had a cafeteria.
Two cafeterias, in fact.
It happened to be mealtime, and plenty of people were queueing inside.
They entered and cleverly chose the counter with the longest line. They each got a bowl of beef noodles.
Pale noodles and fresh scallions in a clear broth, with beef spread on top in generous portions. The broth was light yet true to the ingredients’ flavors, with a rich aroma.
Xie Qingling tried a mouthful and said, deeply moved, “Wonderful. For this cafeteria alone, I could consider staying at headquarters.”
“You have no ambition,” Shen Huaizhou said.
Despite his words, Shen Huaizhou actually ate faster than anyone.
After finishing his noodles, he even went to the neighboring dessert counter for some fruit and sweets.
He was clearly enjoying himself too, yet had the nerve to criticize her.
Xie Qingling rolled her eyes inwardly.
While they were tucking in, a tray suddenly appeared at the empty place beside them. They looked up to see Tang Yuanxiao, who had come to eat before finding time to clean the blood and filth from his body.
Tang Yuanxiao sat beside them quite naturally, glanced at their food, and gave a mocking little laugh. “Counter Two is the good one, especially the vinegar-fried shredded potatoes. You’ve both been fooled by appearances. The beef noodle counter has a long line only because they serve quickly and save people time.”
Counter Two. Xie Qingling silently filed that away.
“Let’s go,” Shen Huaizhou suddenly said, standing. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
Shen Huaizhou could not stand people who were uglier than he was yet even more snide.
Tang Yuanxiao: “…”
Losing his appetite as soon as he arrived – wasn’t that saying Tang Yuanxiao put him off his food?
Honestly, why did rookies these days have such bad tempers?
It never occurred to Tang Yuanxiao that he too looked like an ill-tempered Senior. Surely sitting down to talk with them was approachable enough?
Seeing that they really meant to leave, Tang Yuanxiao said urgently, “Hey, you two! Is that how you treat a superior? Is that what your Director taught you?”
Shen Huaizhou frowned at this. Xie Qingling immediately caught hold of him and spoke just loudly enough for the two of them to hear – and for Tang Yuanxiao to hear too. “Stay calm. Ignore him. The Director told us to treat him as though he isn’t there. He’s bad-tempered and unpopular. Nobody likes him. It’s rather sad.”
Tang Yuanxiao: “…”
Who the fuck was her Director? How could he say something like that?
“Absurd!” Tang Yuanxiao slammed a hand on the table in fury, spilling the soup he had collected. He glared at them. “Who exactly is your Director? Tell me his name. I’ll challenge him and beat him until his own mother won’t recognize him!”
He wanted to beat up the Director?
Fuck. A core member of an Operations Squad bullying a sorcerer – had he no shame?
Ling Fang was so wary of Tang Yuanxiao and knew his foul temper so well. Could this bastard have bullied him when he was at headquarters?
The more Xie Qingling thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Otherwise, why had their Director’s expression been so clearly off when he mentioned Tang Yuanxiao?
Given their Director’s lofty pride and physically feeble sorcerer’s constitution, he might well have been bullied without telling anyone. Afraid of losing face, he would simply have endured it in silence.
After this swift chain of reasoning, Xie Qingling’s face went livid. She slammed a hand on the table too and said angrily, “If you want to challenge our Director, you’ll have to get past me first!”
Shen Huaizhou: “…” She was hardly staying calm herself. Her temper flared even faster than his.
No, that was not quite right. This man was simply too obnoxious.
“Oh? You?” Tang Yuanxiao’s face was full of contempt. “You think you can?”
Xie Qingling looked Tang Yuanxiao up and down, her contempt surpassing his. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you keep a little dignity. I won’t hit your face. Your colleagues won’t know you were beaten up by a little rookie from the regions.”
“Dare to insult our Director, and in under ten minutes I’ll have you on your knees, sobbing and begging for mercy.”
Tang Yuanxiao: “…”
He admitted she had some skill, but those words were fucking arrogant and grating!
By now, he had completely forgotten why he had chosen to sit beside them in the first place – he had come hoping to recruit talented people.
His anger had been fully roused. With a livid face, Tang Yuanxiao issued Xie Qingling a challenge. “Fine. Fine. Tomorrow morning, the training ground. We’ll have a match. I’ll show you what it means for a Senior to have eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice.[^salt-rice]”
“From then on, the loser must give the winner a wide berth whenever they meet, or get straight down on their knees!”
“Bring it – mmph.” Xie Qingling was about to accept the challenge, but before she could finish, Shen Huaizhou covered her mouth and dragged her away.
[^salt-rice]: This Chinese saying asserts that an older person has far more experience than a younger one.