Chapter 907: Shadows Behind the Service Desk

Xia Qing didn’t rush to check out what was happening behind the wall. Pushing her cart along, she did a bit more shopping, picking out half a cart’s worth of goods. After paying and boxing everything up, she left it at the service counter on the second floor and gave the address: “Send it to the Azure Dragon Squad.”

In the Outer City, people rarely buy goods in bulk. Anything you can’t hide under your clothes is almost impossible to get home safely. Even though public order in the Inner City is a bit better, carrying a mountain of supplies around is practically asking to get yourself killed. That’s why supermarkets and malls in the Inner City offer home delivery.

“Alright, please wait a moment.” The staff weighed her goods, registered Xia Qing’s personal info, then quoted the delivery price. “Eight credits.”

The Azure Dragon Squad base sits in the Outer City near the Inner City, so the delivery fee is a bit lower than average.

There was a time when Xia Qing worked herself to the bone all day and barely scraped together five credits. Now, she handed over her badge to pay eight credits without blinking, then grabbed her newly purchased gray and white briefcase and headed for the second-floor restroom.

This might have been Xia Qing’s first time shopping in this mall, but it wasn’t her first visit. She’d been here countless times—after all, she was one of its builders. The shelves, shops and partition walls could change whenever needed, but the load-bearing walls, restrooms and fire exits couldn’t be moved. Those details were etched in her mind.

That’s how she knew the noise she’d heard in the supermarket earlier came from the supply closet inside the restroom on the second floor. Since it was broad daylight, whoever was hiding there couldn’t avoid all the cameras and escape without being seen, so she wasn’t in any hurry.

As for whether this person was the missing Magnetic Sense Evolved fighter from the Planting Center—she’d know as soon as they rescued them. If so, she’d take them straight back to the Ninth Planting Center.

A cleaner was wiping down the restroom counter. The moment they spotted the gold medal pinned to Xia Qing’s chest, their eyes flashed with jealousy and spite before they quickly lowered their head and pretended to focus on their work.

Xia Qing washed her hands before entering the restroom stalls, composing herself with all the air of an Advanced Evolutionary.

While squatting in the stall, Xia Qing closed her eyes and used her hearing to pick up every subtle noise in the area.

The rush of water from the next stall stopped, and the sounds outside became even clearer. She could hear the cleaner by the sinks muttering about how unfair life was, footsteps from someone hurrying through, a parent scolding a child… Xia Qing kept her eyes closed, filtering through all these distractions bit by bit, searching for her target.

There it was!

She heard the faint rustle of air moving a plastic bag inside the closet.

That frequency and strength meant someone was still there, tied up in the storage room. Either they were unconscious or asleep, and the bag over their face fluttered with the rhythm of their breath.

Xia Qing pulled out her phone, shielding it with her body, and sent a message to Yang Jin. When she saw his reply, she paused for a moment, then pressed her lips together and let out a silent laugh.

So it really was the missing Magnetic Sense Evolved fighter hiding in the restroom. He was under protection now, and the reason they hadn’t already rescued him was to avoid alerting the enemy.

It’s just like the old saying: one hunter after another, with the real predator lurking at the end.

It wasn’t just here in the mall. Decoys and patient fishermen had been set up all over the Safe Zone by both the officials and the Azure Dragon Squad, casting a net too tight to escape.

But if every enemy was already caught in the snare, why hadn’t they pulled it tight yet?

Xia Qing didn’t ask, but she could guess two reasons. First, they were waiting for the traffickers to start moving the Magnetic Sense Evolved fighter so they could nab everyone involved—top to bottom—in one sweep. Second, the Base’s officials wanted to use this incident to flush out hidden Magnetic Sense Evolved fighters in the Safe Zone and put them to use.

“Buzz.”

Another message from Yang Jin popped up: I didn’t say anything earlier—first, because I couldn’t find a chance in the truck; second, because I know you’d never expose yourself. As for the guy in the storage room, you can’t get him out, but you might be able to do something with the others.

Xia Qing couldn’t help but smile again. Of course she’d never give herself away, but Yang Jin truly deserved his reputation as Crippled Wolf’s brother—ruthless and sharp as a blade.

Was she disappointed that she couldn’t bring the target back to her own turf?

Xia Qing admitted there was a hint of regret, but mostly she felt happy.

After all, this whole thing proved that by clearing out Tang Zhengrong and the Sufeng Squad—those two festering tumors—the Hui Three Safe Zone really was safer now.

Leaving the stall, Xia Qing strolled past the resting staff member sitting at the storage room door. At a leisurely pace, she washed her hands, took a moment in the long-forgotten full-length mirror to fix her slightly messy short hair, and, after confirming both Tang Huai and Crippled Wolf were gone, she shook the water from her hands, picked up her briefcase, and walked out.

This time, Xia Qing felt truly at ease.

She wandered over to the trinket section on the first floor, browsing stall by stall. This time she wasn’t hunting for decoys and fishers; she was seeking the officials’ hidden hunter.

In the end, she figured the real threat was either disguised as one of the armed soldiers patrolling the mall or watching from behind the ever-present cameras.

Just as she tucked an elastic band—a perfect collar for Little Fei Mao—into her bag, Xia Qing’s phone rang. It was Tang Huai.

“Sister Qing, where are you? Want to go pick up Huo Zhun and the others together?”

Xia Qing replied calmly, “I’m at Baiye Mall in the Inner City.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you at Baiye Mall’s east gate in ten minutes.” Tang Huai ended the call, sounding as cheerful as ever.

Since she had a free ride waiting, there was no point wasting credits on mall delivery. Xia Qing headed upstairs to the service counter to grab her box.

With both hands full carrying the box, her gold medal was hidden from view, and she couldn’t protect the pockets on her protective suit either. That’s when several pickpockets, lurking for easy marks, began to circle closer.

Xia Qing’s face betrayed nothing as she walked down the stairs, arms still full. A young woman and a little kid—maybe four or five years old—were coming up the stairs. As they passed, that tiny hand shot out, holding a razor blade, and tried to slash open Xia Qing’s pocket where her phone was.

But the sharp blade failed to slice her clothes. Before the kid could react, Xia Qing had already grabbed him by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground.

“What do you think you’re doing? Let go of my child! Somebody help! Somebody! She’s going to kill him!” The woman just stood to the side and screamed, voice high but without a shred of real fear or urgency, making no move to save the kid.

“Help! Help—”

But as the kid met Xia Qing’s cold, expressionless eyes, he fell silent, terrified. His skinny arm drooped, barely thicker than a cornstalk. The bloody blade hit the stairs, ringing as it bounced away.

The child was so small and thin you couldn’t even guess the gender. Xia Qing had grabbed his throat because while his clothes looked fine, they could rip with the slightest tug.

She’d seen this trick in the Safe Zone too many times—if you tore a child’s clothes, their family would use it as an excuse to start trouble.

The child felt weightless in her palm, barely heavier than Monkey and so thin his giant terrified eyes all but swallowed his face.

“Look at this kid, how many days has it been since he ate?” someone in the gathering crowd whispered. A few echoed the sentiment, while the woman started bawling even louder.

Seeing Xia Qing neither scold nor retaliate, the onlookers got bolder, voicing their opinions all at once. “Kids born after the cataclysm have it the worst. Some have never had a full meal.”

“Let him go. He’s just a kid trying to eat.”

“Yeah, and you’re carrying such a huge box—”

Before that person could even finish, Xia Qing tossed the kid down the stairs. He shrieked. The crowd scrambled back in terror, afraid they’d be next.

Downstairs, an ordinary soldier managed to catch him, then looked up with a mix of shock and awe at the Advanced Evolutionary who’d tossed a kid like it was nothing. The whole lobby fell silent, except for the coughing child, lying there, his ragged clothes slipping to reveal more bruises than even his thin arms.

“Thief,” Xia Qing stated evenly.

The woman—clean clothes, chubby cheeks—realized things had taken a bad turn and tried to bolt, but Xia Qing caught her by the throat. The woman screamed in terror. “Mercy! Let me go! Please!”

“Bang!”

Xia Qing flung her to the bottom of the stairs, voice icy as ever. “Instigator.”