Meng Qing, seeing her hesitation, softly persuaded, “Since you’re in this line of work, such things are inevitable. You’ll have to get used to it.”
Yu Yi took a deep breath, telling herself that Tu Feibai had committed many crimes and deserved to die. Thinking of the children’s miserable conditions in the underground cell, she reached out to take the gun.
Meng Qing, seeing her hand trembling, sighed and took the gun back. “Forget it.”
Yu Yi was stunned, looking at Meng Qing in surprise.
Just then, a demanding voice came from outside, “Tu Feibai! Come out!”
Meng Qing clicked his tongue, “They’re here so soon!” He then told Yu Yi, “They’ve probably surrounded the place. If we drag this out, they might rush in. You’re in your true form, so find a place to hide. Once Tu Feibai dies, you can go back.”
Yu Yi looked at him, not asking how he would handle the situation, assuming he had a plan. She simply said softly, “Thank you.
Meng Qing shrugged, “Don’t thank me. Since I’ve already received two-thirds of the mission payment, I might as well see it through!
Yu Yi hid in a concealed spot, watching Meng Qing walk to the living room door, hands gripping the doorknob, slowly pulling it open. In this instant, winter sunlight burst directly inside, spilling onto him. Meng Qing stood in a narrow, bright beam of light, turning towards her hidden corner, winking at her with his right eye. Then his eyes suddenly became lifeless, gazing blankly into space.
The door, following its momentum, slowly opened to both sides.
Seconds later, Tu Feibaí awoke, looking around in surprise, then seeming to remember something as he lowered his head to check the area on his chest where he should have been injured.
“Be careful, he might shoot!”
Tu Feibaí was startled, instinctively gripping his gun and turning towards the soldiers outside with loaded weapons. Before he could even question which unit they were from, he was riddled with gunfire, his body staggering backwards from the bullet impacts, blood splattering onto the wallpaper behind him.
Before Tu Feibaí fell, Yu Yi returned to the white room. The divine voice said: “This mission is successfully completed.”
Chapter 33: Village Scoundrel (1)
Returning from Tu Feibaí’s mansion to the quiet white room, the deafening gunfire vanished in an instant, yet the sound of gunshots seemed to continue ringing in her ears.
Yu Yi steadied herself, listening as the divine voice continued: “Mission reward is 3 points, if split with Meng Qing…”
Yu Yi said: “Divine Lord, it should be two-thirds.”
“Two-thirds?”
Yu Yi nodded: “Yes.”
“…Alright, your reward should be 1 point. After deducting your purchases, you ultimately receive 651 points.”
Yu Yi, who had previously calculated the reward, was surprised: “Shouldn’t it be 62 points?”
“Those infrared glasses are considered necessary equipment for completing the mission and can be reimbursed.”
“Then the drug to make those two soldiers forget I attacked them should also be reimbursable, right?”
“Hmm… alright, it can be reimbursed. So your mission reward is 851 points. You still owe me 279 points…”
“Divine Lord.”
“What? Do you have more to reimburse?”
“You’re not actually a divine being, are you?”
“Ah, you figured it out?”
“How did you guess?”
“I thought that if you were truly a divine being, you wouldn’t allow me to negotiate with you.”
“That’s because I’m soft-hearted!”
The “divine being” seeing Yu Yi silent, continued: “You’re not angry, are you?
I didn’t intentionally deceive you. It’s just that you’re an ancient person suddenly transported here, seeing so many strange things. If I said I wasn’t a divine being, you’d be scared and unable to complete the test mission. Additionally, I initially couldn’t confirm if you could stay. If you ultimately returned to your own time and space, treating this as a divine manifestation would be easier for you to accept.”
Yu Yi listened quietly, smiling and shaking her head: “I’m not angry, I won’t blame you. In fact, I’m very grateful to you…” After a pause, she curiously asked: “How should I address you from now on?”
“Boss.”
“Just call me Boss, drop the ‘Lord’ part.” Boss changed the subject, “This mission took quite long. Rest for a few days.”
“I don’t need rest. I want to select a mission right now.”
“You really don’t need rest?”
“The previous mission was mostly Meng’s credit. I just cooperated, so I don’t feel tired. By the way, is Meng doing okay?” Yu Yi thought about his wink to her, then being hit by random gunfire.
“Him? He’s fine.”
Yu Yi sighed in relief and began reviewing the mission brief Boss sent.
She slightly furrowed her brow; most were small missions with rewards of a few hundred points, even some with just dozens of points, though these dozens-point missions were relatively easy to complete.
After Ding Jingman and Yu Taoer were sent to the countryside to avoid disaster, Yu Yi had nothing much to do. She recalled the entire mission, repeatedly thinking about what Boss said when she selected missions. Perhaps this mission wasn’t truly suitable for her, and the mission’s success ultimately depended on Meng Qing.
She had once greedily wanted to clear her debt with one mission, but instead, she was counterproductive. She spent months and ultimately only received a third of the reward. Now she understood that when choosing missions, besides considering reward levels, she also needed to consider completion time and her own strengths.
These few-hundred-point missions could also be done, as long as they could be completed. After carefully comparing, Yu Yi chose a mission to rescue someone in a mountain village.
—
Yu Yi looked down at herself. Her thin body wore a short, light gray jacket, black coarse cloth pants washed to near-whiteness. Her pant legs revealed two small feet wearing oversized black cloth shoes. Stretching her hands forward, her thin wrists peeked out from the insufficiently long sleeves.
She had become a girl named Min Ling.
She picked up the bundle from the ground, felt inside to confirm that everything she needed was there, and then looked around. Behind her was a small mountain village, and it was dinnertime, with white smoke rising from many rooftops.
So the Min clan ancestral hall is just ahead.
Yu Yi ran along the gravel path, but she couldn’t run well and had to adjust her cloth shoes every few steps.
The Min clan ancestral hall was located not far from the northwest of Luo Shang Village, hidden among two rows of century-old trees. After running for a short while, Yu Yi saw a black roof ridge emerging through the lush green branches.
The ancestral hall’s door was half-open. As Yu Yi ran over, before even entering, she saw an elderly man with graying hair sitting in the courtyard. She waved and called out loudly, “Third Uncle, Third Aunt asks you to come home for dinner.”
Master Min slowly stood up, stretched his back, and asked curiously, “Why is dinner ready so early? The shift replacement hasn’t even arrived yet.”
Yu Yi said, “Third Uncle, I’ll watch things here. You go eat.”
Master Min asked hesitantly, “Ling, are you sure you can handle this alone?”
Yu Yi nodded, “Of course! I’m just watching things here.”
Master Min reminded her, “Don’t run off. Your Second Dog Uncle will be here soon.”
“I know!” Yu Yi answered brightly, sitting on a small stool looking obedient.
Master Min shuffled away. Once he was gone, Yu Yi quickly ran inside the hall. A large bamboo pig cage lay on the ground, with a woman tied up inside like a zongzi.
The woman was named Xiu Yun, wife of Min Da’an. Da’an had been having an affair with her sister Xiu Shui. According to clan rules, he couldn’t divorce her without cause. Xiu Yun was virtuous and capable, so Da’an couldn’t find any reason to divorce her. After much thought, he devised a plan.
