Chapter 14 Update
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In the family housing area of the science and engineering institute, lush trees stretched out their branches and leaves, shading the summer morning sunlight. Several elderly professors sat beneath the shade, gently fanning themselves with palm leaf fans, their motions slow and irregular.
Seeing Qiao Yuyan walking towards them, they put away their worried expressions and greeted her warmly, “Little girl, you must be Yuyan from the Xiao Yu family, right?”
Qiao Yuyan was slightly taken aback. Xiao Yu likely referred to her aunt. She didn’t know these people personally, but judging by their demeanor, news from the morning had already spread throughout the courtyard.
Facing these kindly elders, she responded obediently, “Good morning, professors. My name is Qiao Yuyan.”
“Qiao girl, how is Old Shen?” an elderly gentleman asked anxiously, straightening his posture.
Qiao Yuyan replied, “Professor Shen is still undergoing emergency treatment at the hospital. His grandson has already arrived.”
“Oh dear, still in critical condition,” the old man patted his thigh with his fan, about to say more when a perceptive old lady noticed the exhaustion on Qiao Yuyan’s face and quickly intervened, “Young Qiao has been busy since morning. You should go back and rest.”
The other professors also urged, “Yes, yes. CPR is exhausting work. Young Qiao, you should rest.”
“All right, I’ll head back then.”
Qiao Yuyan turned and entered the apartment building. As she climbed the stairs, she faintly heard the professors’ murmurs, “Thanks to Young Qiao, otherwise no one would have gone to that little garden so early.”
“Indeed, it was very dangerous this time. Let’s hope Old Shen pulls through.”
“He’ll be fine; Old Shen’s got a strong life force...”
The voices gradually faded as Qiao Yuyan smiled softly and continued upstairs.
On the third floor, the security door on the left was open. Yu Qingmei and Jiang Yunxi were sitting at the dining table in the living room having breakfast.
“Yuyan’s back,” Jiang Yunxi, facing the door, spotted Qiao Yuyan and immediately stood up, inviting, “You must be hungry. Come eat something.”
“Nan Nan,” Yu Qingmei heard the voice, barely putting down her chopsticks, hurriedly turned and gently grasped Qiao Yuyan’s hand as she approached the table, stroking it softly, “You must be exhausted. Have something to eat, then take another nap.”
Jiang Yunxi came out of the kitchen, opened the thermal container, and laid out the porridge and snacks. “I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, so I saved some especially for you.”
Qiao Yuyan looked at the steaming breakfast on the table: her favorite fresh meat porridge and steamed dumplings.
She hugged Jiang Yunxi and nuzzled affectionately, “Thank you, sister.”
“No need to be so formal with me,” Jiang Yunxi patted her back teasingly. After Qiao Yuyan washed her hands and returned, she asked, “How is Professor Shen now?”
Qiao Yuyan sat down at the table, eating as she spoke, “When I left, he was undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.”
Jiang Yunxi, no longer restrained like at the Huo family’s place, sat down and picked up her chopsticks. Hearing this, she was about to say something but hesitated, fearing it might alarm her mother, so swallowed the words.
This surgery wasn’t complicated for an experienced doctor, but the challenge lay in Professor Shen’s advanced age and declining bodily functions. His blood vessels were like aging pipes—very fragile—greatly increasing the surgery’s risk.
Qiao Yuyan tactfully didn’t pursue the topic further.
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After the meal, Yu Qingmei, feeling sorry for her, urged her repeatedly to rest.
Not wanting to resist, Qiao Yuyan went into her room and immediately fell asleep.
She awoke to the chirping cicadas; it was already three in the afternoon.
This was the hottest part of the day. The air conditioner blew cold air steadily, making the bedroom’s temperature perfectly cool and comfortable.
She rose and walked to the window, drawing back the curtains. The harsh light flooded in, and she instinctively squinted.
Outside, the blazing sun hung high and dazzlingly white in the sky. The prolonged heat caused steam to rise from the greenery, distorting the surrounding air with waves of heat.
Qiao Yuyan withdrew her gaze, picked up her phone from the pillow, and unlocked it. There were two unread messages, one from Aori, and another with the sender’s name encrypted.
She opened Aori’s message first: “The employer only paid half the fee.”
Surprised, Qiao Yuyan raised an eyebrow. In this day and age, people still dared to default on payments? That was bold indeed.
That meant the encrypted message was definitely from their leader.
Opening it, sure enough, the leader instructed her to recover the remaining payment and give that audacious employer a lesson they would never forget.
Qiao Yuyan exited the message screen and opened the team group chat of four members. The text scrolled rapidly; they were discussing the defaulting employer.
More accurately, An Chen and Aori were spamming the chat, while Lin Shiyue occasionally chimed in.
[Mechanical War God: Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen someone default on payment in the dark web.]
[Mental Mentor: Should be the second time. Eight years ago, someone refused to pay the final installment to DK.]
[Mechanical War God: Damn, even DK’s final payment got defaulted on.]
DK was the most notorious bounty hunting organization in the dark web, famed for their brutality. If the price was right, they would stoop to any crime.
DK and GSC were mortal enemies.
GSC despised DK’s lack of morals, and DK mocked GSC’s hypocrisy.
When the DK final payment default happened, Qiao Yuyan hadn’t joined GSC yet. She later heard from seniors that the employer was completely wiped out, a brutal lesson that scared others from trying to haggle in the dark web.
Qiao Yuyan clicked her tongue. It seemed GSC’s reputation was too good—people thought GSC could be bullied just because they didn’t kill recklessly.
How naive.
The dark web, as the name implies, was an underground world hidden in darkness, a gathering place for those who prowled the shadows.
Within the dark web, GSC neither killed innocents indiscriminately nor were they pure lambs to the slaughter.
Her fingers lightly tapped the phone screen.
[Sis is the legend: An Chen, get me a little toy.]
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As soon as Qiao Yuyan sent the message, the group chat fell silent. After a few seconds, a new message appeared.
[Mechanical War God: Got it.]
Qiao Yuyan continued typing.
[Sis is the legend: Shiyue, track the employer’s location.]
[Internet-addict girl: Got it.]
Qiao Yuyan put away her phone, about to leave, when a “new” icon floated over her document in her mind.
Resigned, she sat down and opened the document, taking out some ointment to apply to her battered back.
The novel had updated only one chapter today, but Qiao Yuyan found it utterly frustrating.
Yu Qingmei’s injury was just a mild sprain, already recovered enough to move freely. She sent the supporting female character to her sister’s house to play. The female character had long been infatuated with the male lead, so this was a convenient opportunity to return happily to the female lead’s home.
That night, feeling guilty for not accompanying her mother the previous day, the female lead casually complained, which unexpectedly enraged the male lead, sparking an argument.
Because of this incident, the supporting female character was forced to leave the Huo family to care for Yu Qingmei. This fueled her jealousy and hatred toward the female lead. Thus, after the couple’s quarrel, the supporting female character seized the chance to make her move.
[Huo Lingchen’s long fingers held a glass of amber whiskey. He tilted his head back and drained it. The spicy warmth spread through his throat but couldn’t quell the vexation in his heart.
Suddenly, faint footsteps reached his ears. He instinctively turned his head.
A woman approached slowly, wearing a pure white silk slip dress. The smooth fabric glimmered under the moonlight, adorned with delicate patterns at the hem and neckline. She looked like a fairy bathed in moonlight, exuding an unusual charm.
As she drew nearer, her face became clear—it was the wife’s cousin, Qiao Yuyan.]
Qiao Yuyan: “...”
[Qiao Yuyan walked calmly to Huo Lingchen’s side and took the glass from his hand. Her slender fingertips casually brushed his palm. “Brother-in-law, why are you drinking alone so late? It’s really pitiful.”
Huo Lingchen looked at her with impatience.
Qiao Yuyan ignored his coldness and smiled softly. “Brother-in-law, please don’t be angry. Sister is really thoughtless. You work so hard outside and she doesn’t understand you at all.”]
Qiao Yuyan rubbed her forehead in pain upon reading the words attributed to her.
Judging by the timeline, this troublesome scene was set to happen tonight.
Once the plot was written, it was like a predetermined track—no one could deviate. Everyone had to follow the story as laid out in the novel.
However, she already had a rough plan to avoid the original storyline and planned to test it out tonight.