Chapter 190 - 189: Hold On for Three More Days

Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Hold On for Three More Days

Ye Zheng was going berserk inside the building.

Feng Ling stood guard outside.

As for Cat Spider and Cat Owl, one was holed up in the underground parking garage, while the other was resting on the highest point of the roof.

——They were both wary of the poisonous powder on Ye Zheng’s wings and always went out of their way to avoid her.

After carrying on until the early morning hours, Ye Zheng finally fell asleep.

No longer picky about her position, she lay down on her side in a corner of the first floor padded with soft water moss and fell into a deep sleep once her energy was spent.

Feng Ling was increasingly convinced of her own excellent judgment in choosing this place as a base.

The building was over a hundred stories tall, giving Ye Zheng plenty of room to run up and down a few times to blow off steam.

For now, the problem of her rampages was temporarily resolved.

But the matter of lowering her Pollution Value was still a pressing concern.

Every day that Ye Zheng’s Pollution Value wasn’t lowered was another day spent with a ticking time bomb.

Even with Baozi helping, she couldn’t relax for a single moment. Honestly, it was a lot of trouble.

’Just three more days.’

Feng Ling thought: ’After these three days, Li Qing should be more or less ready. Ye Zheng’s funeral is also in three days. The timing is quite fitting.’

... ℴℴ𝘮

「The next day.」

The first thing Feng Ling did after waking up was order takeout.

She needed to stock up on energy for the upcoming operation. Back in Daling Forest, she had simply starved, never getting a full meal.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but when she opened the food delivery app, it seemed like the number of available restaurants had increased quite a bit.

’Is this the convenience of being in the city center?’

Feng Ling rubbed her stomach and started ordering—Chinese, Western, small noodle shops, large restaurants, she ordered from them all.

A normal person’s breakfast might just be fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and soft tofu pudding, but Feng Ling’s breakfast was a veritable banquet, with at least twenty to thirty dishes spread across the table.

Su Yuqing hadn’t prepared a large dining table for her, but there was a very long bar counter in the first-floor hall. Feng Ling covered the counter with takeout.

After waking up and washing up, Baozi came downstairs. He saw Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao sitting at the bar eating breakfast and raised a hand in greeting. "Morning."

"Not so early. It’s almost ten. You really slept in," Huangfu Miaomiao said while chewing on a pickled long bean and minced pork bun. "I barely slept last night. I kept hearing the Pollution Body’s miserable screams. It was so unsettling."

"Yeah, I can use my spiritual power to force myself to sleep. It’s sort of like self-hypnosis," Baozi explained. "Sleeping longer helps me recover faster."

Feng Ling was eating beef noodles loaded with cilantro and green onions. She patted the seat next to her and said, "Come eat with us. We’ll be counting on you again today."

"What a feast." Baozi sat down. Faced with a sea of takeout bags, he felt a bit like he was opening blind boxes.

He opened one bag and found fragrant crab roe soup dumplings inside, a happy expression spreading across his face.

Before long, Li Qing also came down from the second floor.

Feng Ling looked up and greeted him, "Daoist, care to join us for breakfast?"

Li Qing: "..."

He was tired of repeating that he was fasting.

Li Qing slowly descended the stairs, walked straight past the bar, and sat on the sofa, casually turning on the television.

A press conference for Hunting Star International Group was playing on the TV.

The press conference was a grand affair. It started with the host rattling off a speech, and then, as scheduled, moved on to the Q&A session.

The questions were all prepared in advance; the spokesperson just had to read from the script.

Feng Ling listened to the news as she ate.

The news report was long and the content was dry—not exactly great accompaniment for a meal.

She was debating whether to ask Li Qing to change the channel when a reporter at the conference suddenly launched a surprise attack, asking:

"Hello, what are your thoughts on the comments Inspector Pei Xianjue posted on social media? Does Hunting Star International have a problem with gender discrimination in its signing process?"

Feng Ling perked up immediately and turned to Li Qing. "Turn up the volume."

’This is way more fun. Pei Xianjue sure knows how to stir up trouble.’

"...There is absolutely no issue of gender discrimination. I believe there must be some misunderstanding here. The entire Hunter Alliance project is based on the principle of cultivating stronger combat power for all of humanity and safeguarding human survival. There are no gender-related restrictions whatsoever."

"Then how do you explain the fact that on the list of signed Hunters released so far, there isn’t a single woman?"

"To my knowledge, our group’s signing process is still ongoing; it hasn’t concluded. Perhaps it’s because women are naturally more cautious and meticulous and have more factors to consider, which is why their turn in the signing queue is relatively later. I want to solemnly declare once again that Hunting Star International Group’s signing process is fair and just. There is absolutely no shady business involved, and we welcome supervision from all sectors of society."

Feng Ling clicked her tongue after hearing that and said with a laugh, "Quite the smooth talker."

She jokingly said to Baozi, "Your Young Miss is also quite the talker. Is that an inherent talent of the Pei Group?"

Baozi gave an awkward laugh.

Feng Ling couldn’t help but ask Baozi curiously, "Does this count as Pei Xianjue going against the Pei Group? When she goes home, will she and her father get into a fight?"

"Uh... I don’t think so," Baozi said thoughtfully. "The Young Miss has always had a harmonious relationship with her parents. Besides, she has always been very clear about what she wants. If she published comments unfavorable to the Pei Group, it must be because the final outcome will be more advantageous for her."

"I see..." Feng Ling opened a box of stir-fried beef ho fun, looking pensive. "Using unfavorable comments to get a favorable result for herself... Hmm... She’s quite the schemer."

Baozi thought for a moment and added, "There’s another possibility. The Young Miss might have made those comments with Mr. Pei’s tacit approval. The person managing Hunting Star International right now is her fourth uncle. Judging by how much importance the Pei Group places on Hunting Star International, the Pei family’s fourth uncle is likely just a temporary manager. Once the company’s operations are on track, her older brother is supposed to take over. So, a few mistakes in this initial phase would actually be a good thing. It would provide a reason to replace the management later."

"Rich families are so complicated~" Feng Ling said as she lowered her head to slurp her noodles.

Baozi smiled. "The Young Miss grew up in that environment, so she’s used to it."

Technically, a bodyguard shouldn’t gossip about his employer or their family affairs behind their back.

But Baozi could tell that Pei Xianjue really wanted to get closer to Feng Ling and become her friend, so he couldn’t resist saying a little more. It was an indirect way to score some brownie points for Pei Xianjue with Feng Ling.

By the time the Hunting Star International press conference ended, Baozi had also finished his breakfast.

He glanced at the many unopened takeout bags still on the bar, knowing Feng Ling wouldn’t be done anytime soon. He proactively stood up and said, "I’ll go to the other building and watch the Pollution Body."

"Okay, go ahead," Feng Ling replied. "I’ll take over for you when I’m done eating."

Baozi walked out of the sales office, his figure disappearing beyond the glass doors.

Feng Ling took a few bites of her ho fun, then saw that Li Qing was still watching TV. She asked him, "Why are you still watching TV? Weren’t you supposed to be researching the local folklore of the Maze? Are you done already?"