Chapter 26: Does Your Fan Spin Without Being Plugged In?
“What?”
The question came too abruptly—Lu Zheng and Miss Qiu Yu were both caught off guard.
“I said, where’s your power outlet?”
Yi Ning repeated.
“Power outlet?”
Lu Zheng and Qiu Yu couldn’t quite understand why she was bringing up outlets at a time like this.
Did this thing actually need to be plugged in?
Seeing the looks on their faces, Yi Ning more or less guessed what they were thinking.
Yi Ning gave the two of them a look like she was staring at a couple of appliance-idiots: “Does your fan at home blow air without being plugged in?”
Whatever the machine, it needed power to run, alright?
Even she had to occasionally respect the laws of physics.
Seeing them still frozen in place, Yi Ning grew a little impatient.
She pointed at the plug at the end of the machine: “You want me to save your friend? Then hurry up and plug this in!”
Yi Ning urged them on.
“Oh.”
Lu Zheng quickly ran over to pick up the plug, walked to the wall, and awkwardly realized—the cable wasn’t long enough to reach the outlet.
He instinctively tugged on the wire and applied some strength, trying to force the plug into the socket.
As Lu Zheng pulled, the machine began slowly shifting toward the wall.
“What are you doing?”
Feeling the machine beneath her shift, Yi Ning panicked and looked over at Lu Zheng—only to find him dragging the machine toward the socket by force.
Was this guy not worried about damaging the cable?
She glanced around and, seeing nothing handy, pulled a wrench from her pocket and chucked it at Lu Zheng.
“Argh!”
Lu Zheng clutched his head, catching the falling wrench, and looked at Yi Ning with an innocent expression.
“Couldn’t you just go find a power strip? Do you trust that cable so much?”
“I saw the plug was already halfway in, so I instinctively gave it a little tug.”
Lu Zheng looked a little embarrassed.
Even so, he didn’t stop.
Click.
The lights on the machine all lit up.
Seeing that it was now running, Yi Ning decided not to argue with Lu Zheng anymore.
She rolled her eyes at him, turned the machine back toward Ye Qin, and pressed a button on the control panel.
White light gathered at the machine’s front end, then fired straight at Ye Qin lying on the bench.
The white glow enveloped her instantly.
Only after a while did the light gradually fade.
Miss Qiu Yu quickly ran over to check Ye Qin’s condition.
The wires embedded in her body and the countdown display on her chest had all vanished, replaced by a complete time bomb lying off to the side.
She carefully examined the bomb and turned to Lu Zheng with a command.
“Call the bomb squad. Have them disarm it and trace it back to the source. I don’t care if you have to dig three feet into the ground—find whoever did this!”
She spoke through gritted teeth.
Lu Zheng nodded and walked out of the room.
Miss Qiu Yu squatted beside Ye Qin, gently cupping her face.
“Ye Qin! Ye Qin!”
As she lightly patted her cheeks, she softly called out her name.
But Ye Qin, lying on the bench, showed no reaction.
Could something have gone wrong?
Miss Qiu Yu quickly checked Ye Qin’s vital signs. Only after confirming everything was normal did she breathe a little easier.
She turned to look at Yi Ning: “Why hasn’t Ye Qin woken up yet?”
“The person who grabbed your friend pumped her full of sedatives. Honestly, if she didn’t have such strong constitution, she probably wouldn’t have lasted until I got here.”
Yi Ning jumped down from the control panel, picked up the wrench she’d thrown at Lu Zheng, walked over to the water dispenser, opened the lower cabinet, and pulled out a disposable cup.
She filled it with water, took a sip, and leaned against the dispenser.
“Use a little force—or go with something more direct—give her a slap.”
“Of course, if you can’t bear to, I don’t mind lending a hand.”
Yi Ning smirked, shaking the cup in her hand—her meaning unmistakable.
“No need.”
Miss Qiu Yu rolled her eyes at Yi Ning.
Suppressing her worry for Ye Qin, she grabbed Ye Qin’s shoulders and shook her vigorously.
With that intense shaking, Ye Qin quickly regained consciousness, thrashing like a fish out of water.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
Ye Qin pushed Miss Qiu Yu’s hands away and sat up from the bench.
She rubbed her eyes, her face full of confusion.
Seeing her friend awake, Miss Qiu Yu was overwhelmed with emotion.
Her nose tingled, and tears quickly welled in her eyes.
“Ye Qin! I thought... I thought I’d never see you again.”
She hugged Ye Qin tightly, pouring out her worry and fear.
“Ah... oh...”
Ye Qin instinctively hugged her back, gently patting her back, her eyes full of confusion.
Where was she now?
Why had Miss Qiu Yu suddenly hugged her?
She looked around in a daze.
This was the Hero Association?
Her brain couldn’t catch up.
She had just arrived at the alarm-designated location—how had she ended up back at the Hero Association with just a blink?
Nearby, Yi Ning walked over with her paper cup, watching the drama unfold.
She leaned closer to Ye Qin, bent down, and stroked her smooth chin with her free hand.
“Hmm, looks like you’re in pretty good shape?”
Under Ye Qin’s startled gaze, she curled her lips.
“The surgery went smoothly. You’re now a boy.”
“What!”
Ye Qin cried out.
She quickly pushed Miss Qiu Yu away, looked down, and started examining her body with her hands and eyes.
Thankfully, all her parts were still intact.
And nothing new had been added.
Ye Qin stood up from the bench, stretched out her left arm to shield Miss Qiu Yu behind her, and glared at Yi Ning warily: “Dr. Alien, why are you in the Hero Association?”
Just as Miss Qiu Yu was about to explain, Yi Ning interrupted.
“Actually, during the year you were unconscious, I’ve already successfully conquered all of D-City! This is now my new evil lab! Mwahahahaha!”
She finished her cup of water, tossed the paper cup into the trash, raised her arms, and let out an exaggerated villain laugh.
“Keep dreaming! None of us at the Hero Association will ever—mmph...”
Ye Qin had struck a defiant pose and started shouting in protest—but her words were cut short by Miss Qiu Yu covering her mouth.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense.”
Still moved just a moment ago, Miss Qiu Yu was now completely speechless at the two of them.
She took Ye Qin’s hand and began explaining everything.
After the explanation, Ye Qin still looked utterly unconvinced.
“Seriously? You guys... and even Brother Lu Zheng...”
She gave Miss Qiu Yu a gentle hug and whispered a quiet thank-you in her ear.
Then she walked up to Yi Ning: “Even if we’re on opposite sides, I truly thank you for saving me.”
Ye Qin bowed deeply to Yi Ning.
At the same time, Miss Qiu Yu also bowed beside her.
“Thank you as well, for saving Ye Qin.”
Their formal gratitude made Yi Ning feel somewhat awkward.
She stepped back a bit from the spot the two had bowed toward.