Lin Fan picked up the crumpled report from the ground, carefully smoothed it out, and then stood up, looking somewhat reservedly at Su Tang at the door.

His cheeks were still flushed from the humiliation he had suffered, and he pushed up his thick, black-rimmed glasses.

When Lin Fan saw Su Tang's face, which was so fair it was almost transparent and so beautiful it seemed unreal, his heart skipped a beat for no reason, and he stammered a little.

"Comrade... who... are you looking for?"

"My name is Su Tang. I'm here to look up some information," Su Tang said calmly.

The veteran team members, who were sitting together smoking, all turned their gazes toward Su Tang, staring at her with unabashed sizing.

"Su Tang?"

An old team member pondered the name for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh, "Oh—I remember now, it's Comrade Su from Commander Qin's family, the one who made the new furnace!"

Upon hearing this, the veteran team members exchanged a knowing glance, and then their previously warm gazes suddenly turned strange and hostile.

So this was the woman who had just lost her temper and threatened to drag them to their deaths at Devil's Slope in the Western Hills.

The thought that Su Tang might be here again to persuade everyone to go to that awful place to suffer was unbearable.

Fang Da, the most senior member and the backbone of the group, slammed his enamel mug on the table, stood up, and walked over to Su Tang with a forced smile.

"Oh, who do we have here? It's Comrade Su, gracing us with his presence." He said sarcastically, "What, our Engineer Geng didn't agree to your grand plan, so you're still not giving up and have come to us roughnecks to try your luck?"

"Lady, it's not that we're uncooperative. We're all roughnecks here, not very educated, and we wouldn't dare go on an adventure to your death with you in a place like Devil's Slope."

Su Tang's gaze swept over his face, which was etched with arrogance and self-importance, and her tone was calm, yet every word was piercing:

"Comrade, I remember that a soldier's duty is to obey orders, and the needs of the country are the greatest orders. How come in your case it's become an expedition to your death? Or is this the extent of your awareness?"

In short, it directly links personal fear of death with ideological awareness.

Fang Da's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He hadn't expected this seemingly delicate girl to be so sharp-tongued, immediately accusing him of something he shouldn't have, leaving him speechless for a long time.

"You...you're just making excuses!"

Su Tang was too lazy to argue with him anymore. She walked straight past him and fixed her gaze on Lin Fan, who was looking embarrassed and uneasy in the corner, and the report paper he had just picked up and was clutching tightly in his hand.

"I need the most accurate topographic map of the western hills of Sunshine City, as well as hydrological data for the surrounding area. Can you provide it to me?"

Lin Fan was taken aback, not expecting Su Tang to come to him directly. He quickly nodded and said, "Yes...yes, I'm familiar with the files in the archives. I'll go find them for you right away."

"Thank you." Su Tang nodded politely.

Seeing this, the veteran team members in the office looked at each other, and then burst into suppressed laughter.

Fang Da found an excuse, crossed his arms and sneered, "Hey, what an arrogant little brat, you really plan to go and die alone?"

Another team member chimed in, shouting at Lin Fan, "Lin Fan, your chance has come! Don't you love researching all that mystical stuff? Perfect! Go be our expert Su's guide and conduct a field investigation of your 'trace element enrichment theory'! Maybe you'll even discover a gold mine!"

"Hahaha……"

The office erupted in another unrestrained burst of laughter.

These laughs were like needles, pricking Lin Fan's body.

He lowered his head even further, his cheeks and ears burning, so embarrassed he wished there was a crack in the ground he could crawl into.

Su Tang slowly turned around, her eyes coldly fixed on the group of veteran team members. "Taking advantage of your seniority and suppressing newcomers, is this the style of you old comrades?"

"You lack the ability and courage to solve the country's problems, yet you spend all your time mocking a young comrade with ideas and drive. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Fang Da, embarrassed by the retort, retorted with a stiff neck:

"We're doing this for his own good! Young people should be down-to-earth and stop thinking about nonsense all day! We've lived longer than he's lived!"

"Really?" Su Tang walked up to Lin Fan, stretched out her slender, fair finger, and pointed to the crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

"Can I see the report?"