CHAPTER 14

It took Sheng Qing a great deal of persuasion to convince the Qin siblings that they were only half-convinced.

Ning Ruyin is me, and I am Ning Ruyin. Honest and straightforward, the real deal.

As for the origin of the name Sheng Qing, he fabricated a childhood adventure to cover it up.

Finally, he made an excuse that he was going to be late for training and just slipped away.

Sheng Qing did not go to the freshman training camp, but went directly to Ning Xianyu's office.

"Are you Captain Ning's niece?" a young man with a gentle demeanor asked. After receiving an affirmative answer, he led Sheng Qing to Ning Xuanyu's office.

"Team Leader Ning has gone out temporarily and will be back in about half an hour. You can wait here for now." After saying that, he served another cup of hot tea before leaving.

Sheng Qing glanced at the clock on the wall; there was less than an hour before the training camp started. She figured she could make it in a short time, so she calmed herself and waited patiently.

They opened the folder containing the contracts again to check and confirmed that Meng Yunxi had only returned the one signed by Ning Ruyin.

Sheng Qing felt vaguely uneasy, but no matter how anxious she was, she could only ask when she reported for duty tomorrow. So she turned her attention back to the office, which had a completely different style from Meng Yunxi's.

On the left side of Ning Xianyu's desk, there was a special place on the wall used as a trophy, medal, and photo album. Sheng Qing walked closer and immediately saw the photo of the two of them.

The photo shows two young girls who look alike but have very different expressions. The one with the sweet smile should be Ning Xianyu. The other, slightly older girl with a broken yet resolute expression, is naturally Sheng Qing's nominal mother, whom she has never met.

According to information revealed during the conversation with Ning Xianyu, her mother, Ning Xianle, had left for another place many years ago for some reason, gave birth to Ning Ruyin in another place, and raised her alone.

Four years ago, the two sisters reconnected. However, Xuecheng, where Ning Xianle lived, was far from Mengcheng, where Ning Xianyu lived, and for some reason, Ning Xianle was unwilling to return to Mengcheng.

Until recently, Ning Ruyin wrote to inform Ning Xianyue that he had passed away due to illness, and that she had returned to Mengcheng to seek refuge with Ning Xianyu in accordance with her mother's dying wish.

Sheng Qing couldn't help but reach out to touch Ning Xianle's face. Is this what your mother looked like when she was young?

"Do you miss your mother? My sister is so heartless, she won't even come back to see me," Sheng Qing said, turning around and seeing Ning Xianyu standing at the door with a worried expression.

"Auntie," Sheng Qing called softly.

"I heard from Cheng Cheng that you were here, so I came back early. What's up?" Ning Xianyu's gaze fell on the folder in Sheng Qing's hand.

Sheng Qing recounted Meng Yunxi's contract in detail, naturally omitting the part about the exotic fragrance, as the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

“Meng Yunxi has good taste. My niece Ning Xianyu must be very outstanding.” As she spoke, her eyes sparkled. “I heard before that he was looking at your file. So that’s what it was about.”

Ning Ruyin is probably quite outstanding, but it's hard to say about the one in front of you.

Sheng Qing felt guilty and handed over the contract.

Ning Xianyu skimmed through the text and smiled with satisfaction.

“I was originally thinking of getting you into our team, but it was rejected by the higher-ups, who said our team is already full.” Ning Xianyu handed the contract back to Sheng Qing with a smile. “I was thinking of going to cry again and try to persuade them.”

"Auntie, you don't need to trouble yourself. I think it's fine as it is, I'm quite satisfied. Thank you for your concern, Auntie." Sheng Qing hurriedly shook her head and refused.

He thought to himself, "This is really unnecessary. I'd rather die than work under you."

If she accidentally slips up, her life might be in danger, given their deep sisterly bond.

"We're family, so let's not be formal. If anyone bullies you, I'll definitely help you get revenge."

After a heartfelt exchange of pleasantries between aunt and nephew, and some everyday family matters, Sheng Qing bid farewell as she wished.

Sheng Qing skipped the freshman training camp and went to the nearest commission hall instead.

If I lose that seemingly stable but overly precarious "iron rice bowl" due to various subjective or objective reasons in the future, I'll probably still have to rely on the agency hall to make a living.

The consignment hall operates on a 24-hour shift system, and Sheng Qing arrived after 1 p.m.

A water-flowing barrier was set up at the entrance of the hall, and Sheng Qing only realized the wonder of this barrier after entering. It not only isolated sound and sight, but even the aura and smell were completely different from what was seen from the outside.

The room was bustling with people, quite lively.

"Is this your first time here, miss?" A warm female voice rang out. Sheng Qing turned around, and a girl of about ten years old handed her a brochure with a beaming smile. "This is our brochure. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions."

It turns out that the quest hall assigns quests according to the hunter's rank. After completing a certain number of quests or a specific quest, you can go to the Hunter Association to receive a certificate proving your rank.

This certificate is issued by the Hunter Association, which imprints a mark on an object provided by the hunter using the power of the five elements. It can be a badge, bracelet, token, or a piece of clothing, and is not limited to any particular form.

Whether it's the Hall of Requests, the Hunter Association, or the Alternate Tutorials, they are all directly managed by the Queen.

Sheng Qing couldn't help but sigh, "Queen Victoria is truly a modern-day Zhu Yuanzhang, managing countless affairs every day."

In addition, there are some grassroots organizations that Sheng Qing has not yet been able to contact.

Returning to the Hunter's Mark, without special concealment skills, those marked objects can be easily identified at a glance within the special barrier of the quest hall.

Sheng Qing looked around and saw that most people had chosen to hide the marks indicating their withdrawal level and instead asked staff members individually to inquire about their commissions.

On both sides of the hall, there are two rows of twelve movable screens, each composed of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) and other tasks, broadcasting various tasks according to their time and urgency.

The commissions in the Gold Element section are specifically marked with Gold as the element most suitable and compatible with them. Each commission includes the corresponding commission time and the reward that can be obtained. The difficulty level of the commission is indicated by stars, from one to five stars, from easy to difficult.

Wood, water, fire, earth, and so on.

Sheng Qing noticed that the commissions on the other mission screens did not have star rating requirements, but the contents were varied and quite complicated.

Simple tasks include finding lost cats or dogs or hiring temporary staff.

Complex ones, such as requests to develop a teleportation array to a certain secret realm, were commissions that were issued a long time ago.

There are also some uncategorized ones, such as commissions that initiate team invitations.

After taking a quick look, Sheng Qing smiled wryly. At the moment, all he could do was look for cats and dogs.

Once you've completed enough tasks to level up, you can then accept commissions that require a certain star rating.

Alternatively, you can team up with experienced players to complete star-level commissions, which will allow you to directly upgrade to one star in just one mission.

I wonder if the Qin siblings will come here to earn some extra money, maybe they can even get a free win.

It was almost 3 PM when Sheng Qing finally headed to the training camp. She successfully completed all the formalities before the administrative staff left at 5 PM.

After a quick bite at home, I hurriedly started packing my luggage, and finally got it all sorted out before Ning Xianyu's assistant, Cheng Cheng, arrived.

This is misusing public resources for private purposes. Sheng Qing didn't want to cause trouble, but he couldn't go against Ning Xianyu's wishes.

She said that given her relationship with Cheng Cheng, it was at most a private matter, and then gave Sheng Qing a knowing look.

Sheng Qing immediately understood, but isn't it said that a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow? What kind of thing is this?

Forget it, she has no right to interfere in Ning Xianyu's private affairs.

The next day, Sheng Qing arrived at Meng Yunxi's office with huge dark circles under her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Meng Yunxi frowned slightly.

"Bubu is missing. I've been looking for her all night and still can't find her." Sheng Qing pouted and couldn't help but yawn. "Is your house cursed? I just moved in yesterday and I've already had such bad luck."

"Bubu? You mean that cat?" Meng Yunxi asked with a puzzled expression.

"Forget it, I can't explain it to you." Sheng Qing glanced at the wall clock; it was almost nine o'clock. "Does this mean I've reported for duty? Is there anything else I need to do?"

I was originally planning to take on some simple jobs finding cats and dogs yesterday, but now I'll start with my own.

"Is this your cat? You dare to bring things of unknown origin into your home so casually." Meng Yunxi stood up, poured a cup of hot tea, and pushed it in front of Sheng Qing.

"Huh?" Sheng Qing was flattered and stunned for a moment.

"It's refreshing and not poisonous," Meng Yunxi said calmly.

The temperature was just right, and Sheng Qing drank it all in one gulp.

I've had several meetings recently, and whether it's discussing contracts with me or returning signed contracts, Meng Yunxi seems to prefer doing things herself.

"Don't you have an assistant?" Sheng Qing asked, puzzled.

"What, you want to apply for the job?" Meng Yunxi seemed to be seriously considering the feasibility of this.

"No, no, no, I was just asking casually." Sheng Qing put down his teacup, feeling that his mind was indeed much clearer.

Speaking of contracts, Sheng Qing suddenly remembered that he could ask about another contract. So he asked, "What about my other contract? Hasn't it gone through the internal procedures yet?"

"What, is one salary not enough?" Meng Yunxi glanced at Sheng Qing without saying a word, her gaze falling on her wrist.

"No, it's not like that. I signed a contract, so it should be given to me in the first place." Why would she hide it? Sheng Qing held back her complaint.

"Are you looking at this bracelet?" Seeing Meng Yunxi's gaze linger on her wrist for several seconds, Sheng Qing simply raised his hand.

Actually, she had noticed the bracelet that looked out of place among the pile of documents yesterday and suspected that Meng Yunxi had put it in the wrong place. But out of curiosity, she tried it on and found that she couldn't take it off.

"Did you give me the wrong one?" Sheng Qing asked, feeling a little guilty. "But I can't take it off."

"Let me see." Meng Yunxi gestured for Sheng Qing to place his hand on the table.

It turns out I really gave it to the wrong person.

Sheng Qing was a little embarrassed, but she tried again to slide the bracelet down, her wrist turning slightly red, but she still couldn't take it off.

"Don't move." Meng Yunxi couldn't bear to watch any longer and gently pulled Sheng Qing's wrist.

"Relax, don't strain your fingers." Meng Yunxi held Sheng Qing's wrist with one hand and gripped the bracelet with the other, but it still got stuck.

Seemingly sensing that Sheng Qing's fingers were unconsciously tightening due to tension, Meng Yunxi loosened her grip on the bracelet and naturally straightened her unruly fingers.

Sheng Qing's entire hand was held in Meng Yunxi's strong and powerful hand, and the protruding knuckles of his fingers inevitably slid across his warm and soft palm.

My heart felt like it had missed a beat, then it started beating rapidly again, as if trying to make up for the missing beat.

Isn't this pose a little too intimate and ambiguous?

Sheng Qing swallowed hard, hastily withdrawing her hand. She changed the subject. "You still haven't answered me. Is this it? What's next?"

Meng Yunxi's hand paused in mid-air for a moment, then she coughed lightly. "I'll take you to meet everyone and introduce you to the team."

"Okay, you can introduce me to them, I'll ask the Qin siblings about everything else."

"You've been getting very close to Qin Feiyu?"

"Yes, the Qin siblings are all very nice people."

"Maintaining appropriate distance is important."

"Even friends need to keep their distance?" Sheng Qing realized that Meng Yunxi must have misunderstood something, so she patiently explained, "Don't worry, Captain, I'm here to work, I won't have any other ulterior motives."

Seeing that Meng Yunxi's expression had softened, Sheng Qing tentatively asked, "Is dating forbidden in the team?" He found it amusing that Qin Feiyu had mentioned the scene where Meng Yunxi cried after being rejected by a girl.

"Why are you concerned about this instead of doing your job?" Meng Yunxi frowned, then added, "I'm not that free to meddle in so many things."

During their conversation, the two arrived at a training ground. Meng Yunxi gathered everyone together, and Sheng Qing gave a brief self-introduction.

Team Zero has only thirteen members in total, including Sheng Qing, four women and nine men. Judging from their physique and aura, they are all skilled fighters, except for Sheng Qing, who is only a novice.

"This is where everyone usually trains. There's also a dedicated treatment room, logistics area, and rest room." Meng Yunxi gestured for everyone to leave and then introduced the facilities to Sheng Qing. "I'll show you around."

"No need." Since I wasn't recruited through the proper channels, if Meng Yunxi really showed me around, it would probably reinforce the team members' preconceived notions about me.

Are those who get in through connections more valuable?

"You must be very busy with official duties. I'll ask Qin Feiyan to show me around. Don't worry about me."

"I'm free," Meng Yunxi said calmly.

Seeing that Meng Yunxi had no intention of leaving, Sheng Qing explained softly, "Everyone is probably guessing that I have a relationship with Ning Xianyu. I don't want people to think that I'm doing something special."

Meng Yunxi looked at Sheng Qing suspiciously, but finally gave in.

"By the way, that bracelet was a gift from the Queen, so it should be forbidden. We'll ask about how to remove it when we have the chance. For now, you can wear it."

"You just casually gave away something this important?"