148: Chapter 148 Tang Qiqi Understands for the First Time: Rules Are Not Just Decorations

Inner Circle training room.

Su Muxue stood before Grandmaster Ling Suzhen, her lab coat buttoned up to the very top.

"Lin Yuan said that I will have an S-rank Superpower in the future."

"I don't want to lose control of my body when my genes go berserk."

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen smiled slightly.

"You are quite clear-headed."

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen extended two fingers and tapped below Su Muxue's collarbone.

"Your constitution leans towards cold, so you cannot take a rigid and fierce path."

"According to your Su Family's ancient martial arts training, seal the breath in your veins."

"Press the energy into the twelve main meridians, and do not let the cold backlash against your heart and lungs."

Su Muxue frowned.

"You know my Su Family's cultivation technique?"

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen glanced at her.

"Your Su Family ancestors had some old scores to settle with my Ling Family."

Su Muxue immediately pressed, "What old scores?"

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen closed her eyes.

"We will talk about that when you can control your power."

Tang Qiqi quietly stood up.

She understood, but not completely.

To sum it up: two ice-cold sisters were discussing hidden plot points, and she, an electric mouse, couldn't follow along.

She had just been bored and had snuck out following Su Muxue.

After all, Qin Yumo, who usually looked after her, wasn't around today.

The Great Demon King was away fighting a decisive battle.

As it turned out, following the "Ice Empress" out was even more boring.

Tang Qiqi did not return to Tiangong No. 1 but slipped out through the side door.

The Inner Circle villa area was very clean.

The streetlights were on.

There was no stagnant water on the ground.

Usually, Qin Yumo would bring her out here for some fresh air.

Occasionally, she would go out for a picnic with Wang Ya and Mo Tong.

But today, none of these people were around.

Further out was the second iron gate.

Tang Qiqi passed by scanning her face.

After all, her clearance was that of Tiangong No. 1, and since Su Xiaonuan had granted her level-two clearance to the B2 Energy Level, it had never been changed.

Behind the gate was another world.

Tin sheds.

Tents.

People queuing for soup.

In the training ground, the subordinates left behind by Fat Dragon were making survivors lift iron pipes.

Further away, the newly arrived female prisoner camp lived in the outer dormitories, separated from the old residents by a muddy road.

Tang Qiqi's eyes lit up, "An apocalypse-themed exhibition."

Several gazes swept over Tang Qiqi.

A clean hoodie.

A Pikachu bag.

A survivor stared at her clean shoes, then looked at his own shoes, which were full of holes and covered in mud, and swallowed hard.

Tang Qiqi was completely oblivious.

Watching these scenes she had only ever seen on surveillance monitors, she found it all very novel.

After walking for a while, Tang Qiqi smelled a fragrance.

"Huh, is there extra food in the Outer Circle today?"

She ran to the big pot.

Inside the pot were potatoes, cabbage, and a little minced meat.

The middle-aged woman serving the soup looked up at her.

"Meal ticket."

Tang Qiqi was stunned.

"What meal ticket?"

The woman frowned.

"Did you work today? Did you train? Didn't you get a meal ticket?"

Tang Qiqi pointed at the pot.

"Isn't it prepared for everyone? If you want to drink, you just drink."

The people queuing around them went quiet.

Some looked down at the chipped bowls in their hands.

Others looked at the Pikachu bag on her back.

Tang Qiqi still hadn't realized something was wrong and leaned in to look at the pot.

"There's too little meat. Wouldn't it be tastier with some canned luncheon meat?"

The man at the front of the line held his bowl, which only had two cabbage leaves at the bottom.

When he heard the words "luncheon meat," his fingers slowly tightened, his knuckles turning white.

A tall, thin man walked out.

His name was Ma Liu.

He used to hang out with Fat Dragon.

He often threw his weight around in the Outer Circle using Fat Dragon's name.

But he hadn't done anything too outrageous, so Fat Dragon hadn't bothered with him, instead letting him manage the Outer Circle cafeteria.

Now, Ma Liu saw a lone young girl.

And she dared to criticize the place he managed.

Ma Liu swept a glance at her clean shoes and Pikachu bag, and seeing no one around her, the slight wariness in his eyes slowly dissipated.

A couple of days ago, the zombie-hunting squad brought back a group of survivors from a high-end residential area; he figured this girl must be one of them.

He smiled.

"Luncheon meat?"

"Has the princess grown tired of eating, so she came to our place to experience life?"

The people nearby cast scornful glances.

The phrase "Why don't they just eat meat porridge?" had been personified.

Tang Qiqi took half a step back.

"You speak very strangely."

Ma Liu's mistress beside him reached out to grab Tang Qiqi's bag.

In her eyes, this young girl was the perfect stepping stone to establish authority.

Tang Qiqi clutched her bag.

"What are you doing!"

The woman sneered.

"Let's see if you've stolen anything."

Tang Qiqi panicked.

But how could a pampered little princess be a match for a survivor who worked every day?

In a few moves, the bag was snatched away, and the woman even grabbed a handful of candies from inside.

"The evidence is solid! This is evidence, it's being confiscated!"

She threw the candies to the onlookers nearby.

The surrounding people nodded and bowed as they took them, stuffing them into their mouths without even tearing off the wrappers.

Sometimes, giving a little sweetness was also a good way to establish authority.

"Tomorrow we will hand you, this thief, over to Boss Fat Dragon. You'd better honestly confess where you stole this from!"

Tang Qiqi bared her teeth.

"This is what was left over from my birthday!"

"If that dead fatty Fat Dragon knew you treated me like this, he would skin you alive!"

The smile on Ma Liu's face vanished.

"Birthday?"

He stepped forward.

"We have dead people here who aren't even buried, and you're celebrating a birthday?"

"And you called our Brother Dragon a dead fatty?!"

"I think you're tired of living!"

Ma Liu raised his hand to slap Tang Qiqi.

Tang Qiqi raised her arms and shouted: "I am Tang Qiqi!"

"I even shared cake with you all a few days ago!"

"Now you're snatching my bag and eating my candy, are you even human!"

The crowd went silent for a moment.

Some people's expressions changed.

"Tang Qiqi?"

"That Princess Qiqi from Tiangong No. 1?"

A few people who heard this had already started moving their feet backward.

"That's impossible, what is she doing out here?"

"An undercover visit?"

Ma Liu also froze for a second.

But the next second, his eyes became even more ruthless.

Ma Liu lowered his voice: "You all ate her candy. If Lin Yuan comes back and finds out, we're all dead."

"Do you think Lin Yuan will investigate who snatched it? He will only look at who was present. Have you forgotten the fate of those who hid crystal cores last time?"

The few people who had wanted to run stopped in their tracks.

"Then what do you suggest? It's all your fault, why did you go and push that young girl?"

An old woman who had just eaten the candy began to complain to Ma Liu's mistress.

Another middle-aged man whispered: "If she really goes back, none of us will be able to escape."

He didn't look at Tang Qiqi, just stuffed the candy wrapper into the mud, as if trying to bury the evidence.

Ma Liu spoke up: "Just say she ran out on her own and was dragged away by zombies."

"The surveillance camera here faces the women's restroom and has been wrapped up for a long time. As long as none of you talk, no one will know."

Tang Qiqi's back went cold.

She finally understood Su Xiaonuan's words.

Rules are not just decorations.

"Princess, don't blame us."

"Blame yourself for coming to the Outer Circle."

Two women held down Tang Qiqi's shoulders.

Someone brought a sack.

Tang Qiqi's legs went weak, and she could clearly feel her own heartbeat.

Her mouth, which could usually make a snarky comment about anything, couldn't open at all.

At this moment, a frail old man in the crowd suddenly quietly stepped back and turned to run.

His granddaughter had the same birthday as Tang Qiqi, and before she passed away, she had eaten a piece of Princess Qiqi's birthday cake and left with a smile.

He wanted to repay the kindness.

The frail old man had bad legs and ran with a limp.

Someone behind him shouted, "Where are you going, you old thing?" but he didn't even dare to turn his head.

The old man fell into the mud, and his knee bled.

When he scrambled up, one of his shoes fell off, but he didn't even dare to pick it up.

He ran all the way to the gate of the Inner Circle and shouted at the camera: "Rebellion! Ma Liu is going to kill Princess Qiqi! Hurry to the cafeteria!"

Third-floor server room.

Su Xiaonuan's face turned cold.

"Captain Han Xue."

In the communication channel, Captain Han Xue immediately responded.

"Present."

"Take the enforcement team to the Outer Circle cafeteria."

Su Xiaonuan's voice was very soft.

"Tang Qiqi is surrounded."

Thirty seconds later.

Outer Circle cafeteria.

Ma Liu had just opened the sack.

A gunshot rang out.

Bang!

Ma Liu's wrist exploded, and the sack dropped to the ground.

He fell to his knees, screaming.

Captain Han Xue rushed in with Xiao Li and ten armed team members.

Black tactical gear.

Glock pistols.

The rabbit tail behind her waist swayed near the muddy water.

Captain Han Xue saw the blood on Tang Qiqi's knee and then saw the camera covered by a strip of cloth.

Ma Liu clutched his wrist and shouted: "Officer Han! It's a misunderstanding! We were just joking around!"

Captain Han Xue looked at him.

"Tiangong No. 1 does not joke around."

With a thud, everyone around them knelt.

An old resident immediately shouted: "There's no evidence! The camera is broken! You can't frame us!"

Captain Han Xue crouched down and helped Tang Qiqi up.

"You tell me."

Tang Qiqi couldn't stand steady.

She looked at Ma Liu with tears in her eyes.

Then she looked at the meat soup pot.

Those people had just wanted to stuff her into a sack.

Now they were all kneeling.

"They snatched my bag."

"They said they would throw me out and frame it on the zombies."

Captain Han Xue nodded.

She didn't ask a second time.

She didn't look for witnesses either.

She turned around and aimed at the center of Ma Liu's forehead.

Ma Liu collapsed on the ground.

"Officer Han! Listen to me, my boss is Fat Dragon..."

Bang!

Ma Liu fell into the muddy water.

Captain Han Xue hadn't listened to his nonsense at all.

The surrounding area was dead silent.

Captain Han Xue swept her gaze over everyone.

"Those who participated in the siege, cut off food for three days."

"Those who watched and did not report it, deduct one day's food ration."

"Those who blocked the surveillance, cut off one hand."

"Go register yourselves. If I find out anyone tries to escape, the outcome will be the same as Ma Liu's."

Someone cried out: "We were just afraid of being implicated!"

Captain Han Xue pulled the slide of her gun.

"Then remember."

"From now on, if you see people breaking the rules, report them immediately."

"Otherwise, you are accomplices."

Xiao Li led people to drag away the corpse.

The enforcement team started making arrests.

The mistress's hand was broken on the spot.

The frail old man was arranged by Su Xiaonuan to enter the Inner Circle.

Tang Qiqi stood beside Captain Han Xue, looking down at her own hands.

She used to think she was very capable.

She could make snarky comments.

She could act cute.

But just now, if it hadn't been for that old grandpa risking his life to save her, she would have almost died.

If Lin Yuan hadn't brought her back to Tiangong No. 1.

If Qin Yumo hadn't protected her before.

Someone like her would have been torn to shreds outside long ago.

Tang Qiqi hugged her Pikachu bag tightly.

Her voice was very low.

"Sister Han Xue."

Captain Han Xue looked at her.

"I want to train."

Captain Han Xue paused for a second.

"Tomorrow morning at five, training ground."

Tang Qiqi nodded.

This time, she didn't bargain.

Third-floor server room.

Su Xiaonuan watched the screen and pressed record.

[Outer Circle cafeteria incident: Handled.]

Liu Qing suddenly sat up straight.

Six screens turned red simultaneously.

"Housekeeper Su."

"In the direction of the East Suburb cruise ship, a horde of zombies has begun to assemble."

"The number... is in the tens of thousands."