LWDC Chapter 99

Ninety-ninth Chapter – Baiting the Hook

Ninety-ninth Chapter – Baiting the Hook

Ninety-ninth Chapter – Baiting the Hook

This mother’s actions felt a little deliberate, but Ning Fei didn’t mind. Or rather, it was exactly what he wanted.

Because he knew that this woman was called Liu Min, and her husband was Wang Haiyang. And Wang Haiyang was one of the R&D personnel at the Huichuan base, Chen Yikun’s senior colleague, and Ning Fei’s persuasion target this time.

Ning Fei directly gave the soda to the little boy, letting him share it with his older sister, and also gave him some small snacks. The little boy happily went back to his seat, and other children nearby, seeing this, also came to ask Ning Fei for snacks. Ning Fei distributed all the snacks, and the children, seeing that there was nothing left to take, reluctantly left. There were still one or two who kept staring at Ning Fei, pestering him for small talk, and even suggested trying his lunch. This time, Ning Fei firmly refused. The children’s coaxing was useless, and when they tried to “take without asking,” Ning Fei’s cold gaze made them all scatter.

Only then could Ning Fei finally eat his meal properly.

He had only taken a few bites when he heard Liu Min, diagonally across from him, say, “Um… thank you for the drinks and snacks.”

Ning Fei looked up at her: “You’re welcome. Children don’t get many chances to eat these things now, so let them have a taste. I’m not worried about being hungry, I can always buy more if I want it later.”

Liu Min reminded him: “If you want to eat more, buy it and eat it yourself. Don’t leave it out in public places. It’s okay in this family cafeteria, at least the children here can usually get enough to eat, and they’re just being greedy and asking you for it. But in some places outside, there are really children and even adults who don’t have enough to eat, and they might just snatch it and run.”

How could Ning Fei not know? But he deliberately acted nonchalant and replied, “It’s okay. I’m a level three wind-type, no one can outrun me.”

“Level three!” Liu Min looked surprised. “You’re really amazing! I think I’ve only seen you a few times in the cafeteria. You haven’t been here long, have you? What’s your name?”

Ning Fei wasn’t surprised that she remembered him. After all, since Ning Fei had been able to wander around the family compound, he had deliberately “bumped into” her near the cafeteria, not too close and not too far. If she had some vague impression of him a few times, then Ning Fei’s plan was successful.

“My name is Ning Fei.” Ning Fei smiled. “I just came two months ago, and I’ve only recently been promoted to team leader. I don’t really know anyone here. May I ask your name?”

“You’re so young and promising… My name is Liu, and my husband works at the research institute.” Liu Min also smiled. “Which base were you at before? With your abilities, why did you only come to Huichuan now?”

“Something happened, so I came here.” Ning Fei’s tone was casual as he pointed in a certain direction as if making small talk. “By the way, I have a question to ask. I just moved into that building. Where do I get the daily supplies?”

“Wow, that’s right across from our house!” The little boy suddenly leaned close to his mother and interjected, “Mom, Lulu and the others took the cookies earlier, and I want to eat them too!”

He was talking about the snacks Ning Fei had given to the other children. In these difficult times, Liu Min could pretend not to see her son begging for snacks, but she couldn’t tolerate him doing it so openly. So, Liu Min scolded him, “What cookies? Have you finished your lunch? Hurry up and eat! If you don’t eat, no one will care if you’re hungry.”

As she spoke, Liu Min also took away the snacks her son had been given: “You can only eat snacks in the afternoon after you finish your meal, otherwise, no one gets any!”

The boy must have really been hungry before because, although he looked unwilling, he pouted and sat back down to eat. But he didn’t eat seriously, and while eating, he still played around with his sister, fighting over the soda. They had agreed to take one sip each, but they still argued over “big sips and small sips,” and in the struggle, they knocked over the soda. The older daughter got splashed all over, angrily stood up, grabbed the soda bottle, and threw it forcefully on the ground!

With a “bang!” the glass bottle shattered into pieces, startling everyone around. Everyone anxiously looked around to see what had happened. The ten-year-old girl was also frightened herself, probably not expecting such a big commotion. The little son was, of course, the most frightened and immediately started crying.

This awkward scene left Liu Min at a loss for words for a moment. It was Ning Fei who spoke up first: “Uh, sorry, it’s my fault for only giving one bottle of soda…”

“It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault, it’s just that the children are being naughty.” Liu Min quickly said, wiping her daughter while replying, “I need to take them back to change their clothes first, let’s chat again next time. Thank you…”

After saying that, Liu Min didn’t wait for Ning Fei to say anything more, and dragged her two children away.

Ning Fei watched them leave, lowered his head, chuckled silently, and continued to eat his meal.

*

When people say “let’s chat again next time,” you never know when you’ll see them again.

But when Liu Min told Ning Fei “let’s chat again next time,” they really did see each other the next day.

Following Ning Fei’s conversational techniques, Liu Min was somehow led to take him around to the nearby supply depot, management office, and other places related to daily life. As they walked and talked, Ning Fei used some fake information to glean a lot of details about Liu Min’s family situation.

Their eldest daughter was in elementary school, and the younger son was in kindergarten. Liu Min, on the other hand, was staying at home to take care of the children because the Huichuan base didn’t need more accountants, and she wasn’t in good health and couldn’t do any physical labor. In other words, Wang Haiyang was the only one in the family earning points, and he had to support three people.

But even though Wang Haiyang’s work unit was the prestigious “Base Central Research Institute,” his actual salary was probably not ideal, resulting in a tight life for the family of four. Ning Fei noticed that Liu Min fell silent when he exchanged for snacks, drinks, cigarettes, and other non-essential items at the supply center.

She didn’t say anything, and her expression actually looked quite normal at first glance. But Ning Fei had seen countless people, and he immediately understood her embarrassment. So, Ning Fei exchanged for a can of milk powder and handed it to Liu Min.

Liu Min was surprised: “No need, my family doesn’t lack food.”

“I know your family doesn’t lack it. This is a snack for the children, just consider it my thanks for showing me around. You’ve worked hard.” Ning Fei smiled. “When your husband is free, let’s have a meal together. I don’t know anyone in Huichuan, so it would be nice to make friends with your family. I don’t know any researchers either, I feel like they’re racing against time to save the world, while I can only go out and fight.”

“Haha, Little Ning, you’re too modest. Everyone thinks that you ability users, the military police who fight, are the great heroes saving the world. My daughter and son dream of awakening an ability, but during the ‘Great Awakening’ a few years ago, our whole family didn’t budge. I’m hoping the children might have a chance during their development.” Liu Min smiled slightly, actually quite gently, concealing the stiffness and awkwardness in her emotions. “As for my Lao Wang… I don’t even know what he’s busy with all day, either he comes home late at night, or he doesn’t come home at all, and he doesn’t have a day off. Sometimes when he’s not home for dinner, I don’t even want to cook for myself, so I just take the kids to the cafeteria. That’s how I met you.”

“It’s good to be busy, does that mean he’s about to produce some results? I still think that completely restoring world peace in the end depends on these scientists.” Ning Fei smiled. “I’m not saying we have to eat a fancy meal, the cafeteria is fine too. When I go out on missions, I only eat dry rations, so the cafeteria is a delicacy to me now.”

Liu Min sighed: “You’re high-risk, high-reward. Besides, you’re level three, so your abilities are so strong, it’s not that dangerous.”

Ning Fei looked at her with some surprise: “What, sister, aren’t researchers also high-reward jobs? You don’t need to envy us people who risk our lives.”

“It’s not that good… Sigh, why am I telling you this?” Liu Min forced a smile. “Thank you for the gift, I won’t refuse anymore. If my husband has a day off, he will definitely have a meal with you and get to know you.”

Ning Fei also smiled: “Okay, it’s a deal.”

*

Before meeting Wang Haiyang, Ning Fei regularly talked on the phone with Yu Zhou to communicate the “mission progress.”

“One bad news.” Yu Zhou said, “I still haven’t found Duan Yunhong you mentioned in the Tianyue system. Either he changed his name, or he didn’t come, or… he didn’t put the persona he cut into the world in the Tianyue base.”

Ning Fei frowned: “Then he didn’t enter Tianyue.”

“Oh? You’re so sure he’ll come?” Yu Zhou teased, “What if he suddenly thinks this bet is boring and simply doesn’t come?”

Ning Fei didn’t even bother to answer his question.

“Alright, if he didn’t come to Tianyue, then where did he go?” Yu Zhou leaned back in his chair, tapping the table with his fingertip. “Could it be… Huichuan? Chen Yikun’s adopted daughter, I kidnapped her from Huichuan. Originally, she was supposed to be met by Chen Yikun, who was going to Huichuan for academic exchange, at the end of this year. I didn’t want to wait, so I brought her over ahead of time.”

“The way you say ‘kidnapping,’ how exactly did you take away a living person?”

“A living person, but an orphan girl that no one cares about.” Yu Zhou replied righteously, “I had someone drive into Huichuan, find her, and stuff her into the car. I didn’t go through any procedures, I just took her away. On the way, I lied to her that there was a distant uncle looking for her and wanted to adopt her. Plus, Chen Yikun’s family was indeed good to her, so didn’t she just stay quietly in the Tianyue base?”

Ning Fei sharply criticized: “… No wonder you’re blacklisted by Huichuan, no wonder you always have to hide things from Yue Fengping. Once you’re exposed, you’re dead.”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Yu Zhou looked up and laughed. “As long as I maintain a strong enough relationship, with all the prerequisites set up, even if I’m exposed, he will only think that everything I’ve done is for him. I’ve put in the effort, and I haven’t even said it, doesn’t that add points in his heart? Even if he doesn’t agree with me morally, he won’t bear to part with me. So he can only think of ways to restrain me, not denounce me or leave me.”

“I don’t want to hear your thirty-six strategies of love and weird play settings.” Ning Fei complained. “Can’t you just try harder and hack into Huichuan’s population system to check?”

“You’re so funny. If I had the ability to come and go freely in Huichuan’s system, why would I bother calculating them here? Wouldn’t it be easier to just attack directly?” Yu Zhou finally stopped laughing, and his tone became more serious. “However, I’ll give you the information of the organization that originally found that little girl. It’s better than nothing, so you should be on your guard.”

Ning Fei didn’t waste words: “Okay.”

“I’ve also transferred this month’s points to you. You’re not short of money, so take it easy when you go on missions. I’ve heard how ruthless you’ve been.” Yu Zhou added, “Remember that you’re going to abduct people, not to risk your life fighting. Don’t die too early.”

Ning Fei heard the concern in his words, lowered his eyes, and said leisurely: “Don’t worry, I won’t die yet.”