Chapter 18: This Is My Escape Route~
Although he didn’t feel like he’d really lost out, no one would refuse a little extra benefit.
“Before you say something like that, you’d better run a bit farther away.”
Lu Zheng reached his right hand toward Yi Ning, fingers curled into a claw, a meaningful smile spreading across his face.
“Since you broke the deal first, don’t blame me for helping myself—and snagging a few more benefits while I’m at it.”
Seeing the (◠ڼ◠) emoticon on Lu Zheng’s pixel screen, Yi Ning took a few frightened steps back.
It was as if their roles had suddenly reversed.
Yi Ning watched Lu Zheng approach her slowly, deliberately, one step at a time, then suddenly raised both hands.
“Boom——”
Lightning struck at just the right moment.
Taking advantage of the instant Lu Zheng’s attention was drawn to the lightning, Yi Ning pulled a remote control from her pocket and pressed a few buttons.
A blue light enveloped her instantly.
“What a shame.”
Once again, she was in control.
Seeing the puzzled face on Lu Zheng’s pixel screen, Yi Ning smugly smiled and started asking seemingly irrelevant questions: “Weren’t you always curious? Even though we live next door and go to work at almost the same time, except for last Friday when I went out to buy clothes, we’ve never bumped into each other at the door—why is that?”
It was true.
Lu Zheng thought back and nodded.
“The reason is—I’ve always used a teleportation machine to get to work! Same today.”
Yi Ning curled her lips smugly.
“Well then, goodbye!”
She placed two fingers of her right hand to her brow and waved at Lu Zheng.
In the next second, her body transformed into a stream of blue light and floated into the sky.
“Oh right! Don’t go wrecking my lab just because you didn’t catch me!”
As if remembering something, the blue light streams re-formed into a rough image of Yi Ning.
“If I see any damage to the base tomorrow, I’ll ring your doorbell in the middle of the night!”
Then she turned back into blue light and vanished into the sky.
Lu Zheng looked at the spot where Yi Ning disappeared and helplessly shrugged.
Well, since she asked so nicely, he’d comply a little.
Though, to be fair, his doorbell had never had batteries installed.
Lu Zheng stretched his body and looked at the two doors slumped on the ground.
Might as well help her out a little.
He threw the die again and snapped his fingers.
The two doors slowly floated up from the ground, leisurely following behind Lu Zheng. When he reached the entrance, they aligned and embedded themselves into the ground at the doorway.
All done!
Now to finish the mission report and go home for the day!
Lu Zheng pulled the die from his pocket, hesitated, then tucked it back away.
Taking a leisurely stroll now and then wasn’t bad either.
……
By the time Lu Zheng returned to the Hero Association, the sky was tinged with evening clouds.
He pushed open the door and was surprised to see the room still lit.
Miss Qiu Yu hadn’t gone home yet?
“Why so late today?”
Miss Qiu Yu sat at her desk with arms crossed, casting a scrutinizing look at Lu Zheng.
It’s because I didn’t want you all grilling me, okay?
Though he muttered this internally, Lu Zheng wasn’t bold enough to say it aloud.
Especially considering that after defeating Dr. Alien today, he had fallen for her beauty trap. He really didn’t have the guts to say something like, “I have nothing to do with her—it’s all your delusion and conspiracy.”
“Well… Dr. Alien made a pretty big scene today, and the power I drew wasn’t quite right, so things dragged out a bit.”
Lu Zheng could only bow his head, walk to his desk, take off his helmet, and sit down in front of his computer to write the mission report.
“By the way, why haven’t you gone home yet?”
He kept his head down, typing his report as he asked curiously.
But to his surprise, Miss Qiu Yu’s face turned red instantly. After a long pause, she finally said, “I’m the branch director of the Hero Association. How could I leave work while a hero’s still out fighting?”
Unfortunately, Lu Zheng was too focused on typing his report to notice this rare scene.
“Wow—truly noble of you.”
He even played along.
Then, the two fell into silence again.
“All done—mission complete!”
Eventually, Lu Zheng broke the quiet.
He typed the last word of his report and stretched on his chair.
“Let’s go. Dinner’s on me tonight.”
Lu Zheng pointed his thumb at the door.
Originally, he’d planned to head home and game after finishing the report. But since Miss Qiu Yu had waited so long at the Association for him, leaving her behind now would’ve felt too inconsiderate.
“I’ll think about it.”
Miss Qiu Yu stood up from her seat.
“Huh?”
Lu Zheng was surprised by the unexpected reply.
“If you’ve got something to do, I can take a rain check.”
He scratched his head.
As the branch director of the Hero Association, Qiu Yu often had engagements. But seeing her wait here so long tonight, he assumed she had no plans.
“It’s nothing.”
Miss Qiu Yu shook her head, stood up, and without explaining further to a confused Lu Zheng, began checking the Spiritual Veins and the defensive arrays of the Hero Association in D-City.
“What kind of ‘nothing’ is that?”
Lu Zheng muttered.
He propped his head up and watched her inspecting everything nonstop.
This woman used to be much easier to hang out with.
Their families had been close friends for generations. As kids, they’d eaten together, played games together, always teasing and laughing. But at some point, the distance between them had begun to grow.
“Let’s go.”
After finishing her checks, Qiu Yu picked up her bag, stood before Lu Zheng, and looked down at his slouching figure. Her lips twitched slightly as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she said nothing—just gave him a cold look as he got up from the table.
That tone and expression too… she used to be friendlier.
“Let’s get going.”
Lu Zheng walked out the Hero Association doors with Miss Qiu Yu.
This area was pretty secluded—rarely visited.
“Sichuan food?”
Though he used a questioning tone, Lu Zheng clearly didn’t expect a reply.
This woman never ate without spice. Thanks to her, even he—who usually didn’t like spicy food—had developed quite a tolerance for it.
Lu Zheng opened the car door, got in, buckled up, and started the engine.
“I saw a decent Sichuan place the other day while out on the street. Want to check it out?”
Qiu Yu got into the passenger seat and fastened her belt.
“That during your date with your sweet little nemesis?”
That one line shut Lu Zheng right up.
He turned his head, rolled his eyes, closed his mouth, dropped the handbrake, and stepped on the gas.
When did she develop this habit of roasting him for no reason?...