Chapter Four: Heading Towards
After finishing his morning run, Qi An didn't just wipe himself with a wet towel as usual to save water; instead, he took a thorough shower.
She went to a small restaurant not far from the main building of the research department.
Due to a shortage of supplies, this restaurant only sells tofu pudding and wild vegetable pancakes in the morning.
Although the price-performance ratio is many times lower than that of compressed rations, the restaurant is still half full just for the hot and delicious smell.
Qi An ordered a bowl of tofu pudding and joined a table in the corner with a respectful yet apprehensive feeling.
Tang Xinying, the chief purifier of the Purification Alliance of Zhongyuan Base No. 3, the leader of the scientific training research team for strengthening the spirit of the base, and a big shot with honorary positions in both the medical department and the military, sat opposite her.
"Why do you want to join the Wind Chaser team? Is it because the people from Wind Chaser brought you back in the first place, and you have feelings for them?"
A woman with short, fluffy, curly hair and alluring red lips, who was nearly forty but still charming, asked Qi An with a smile.
......
After burning the paper money, Yu Shuang and Zhao Bohan walked back in the hazy morning light.
Yu Shuang emphasized, "That purifier is indeed Dr. Qi, but she has no obligation to repay a debt of gratitude!"
Zhao Bohan, holding the basin, said, "Explain in detail. Understanding Qi An is very important to us now."
That's true," Yu Shuang snorted, lost in memories.
"Three years ago, before you joined the team, I was leading Tang Long and Xiao Zhou on a mission to escort a research team to find medicinal plants."
That time, we went to the southeast area, and Tang Long and I met Dr. Qi in the woods.
She was dressed like a little wild woman, all dirty, with several worms chasing after her.
They're all big insects!
Dr. Qi was thin and small, even smaller back then. Tang Long and I thought she was just a child. When we saw the fallen insects chasing her, we raised our guns and shot."
Many people, especially frontline soldiers, like to call the contaminated people "fallen insects," a derogatory term.
"Isn't this the one who saved her?" Zhao Bohan asked.
"Yes, but before we encountered those insects, we had already fought with a swarm of insects outside the forest. Tanglong's pollution level had already exceeded 50%."
You know he has low resistance; if you kill the bugs chasing Dr. Qi again, he'll lose control.
My contamination level wasn't low at the time either. If Tang Long had completely mutated, I wouldn't have been able to control him, and I would have been doomed too.
It was Dr. Qi, rushing over and resonating with Tang Long's spirit!
Yu Shuang couldn't help but gesture in the cold wind, "At that moment, all I could say was 'Holy crap!'"
I thought Dr. Qi was just some wild child who had wandered into the mountains after the apocalypse, but I never expected her to be able to purify! And she reduced Tang Long's pollution level so steadily!
Zhao Bohan's handsome brows furrowed. "So what exactly is the background of this Dr. Qi?"
......
Qi An nodded to the big boss: "There is definitely some 'young bird complex' about it. It's mainly because I feel that the people in this team are rare in terms of both character and strength."
I remember Teacher Tang saying that joining a good work team can make life better.
Tang Xinying glanced at Qi An with a smile, "You remembered that, but I think the real reason you want to join their team is because of the number of people."
Qi An buried his head further into the bowl and whispered, "Nothing can be hidden from Teacher Tang."
Tang Xinying was the mentor who trained her as a purification specialist when she joined the base.
This was quite novel at the time, because Tang Xinying's mental enhancement value was as high as 8, her intelligence enhancement value was 7, and her brain enhancement rating was A.
She is both a purifier and a neurobiologist, and is said to have a background in the North 1 Central Base.
Given her status, training new purification specialists wouldn't bother her at all.
Qi An already possessed purification abilities, but Tang Xinying supplemented her with more methods of mental training and basic knowledge of the base.
The teacher-student relationship between the two remained even after the training ended.
Now that Tang Xinying's mental enhancement value has reached 9, and her brain domain rating has become the legendary S, she still takes good care of Qi An.
Qi An was able to consider switching teams because of this Teacher Tang.
However, since the approval process for a regular purifier to become an emergency purifier requires Tang Xinying's approval, it can be said that Qi An's transfer was decided by the person in front of him.
Therefore, Qi An absolutely cannot ask for a transfer; he can only try switching teams.
She originally planned to first come to Teacher Tang to gauge his attitude, and then discuss it with the people in Team 2 once she had a better understanding of the situation. However, the chance encounter in the morning disrupted her plans.
"The deputy captain of that team has a high level of resistance. If you go there, they won't add any more team members. You'll only need to take care of the remaining four people. The workload will be less than in the hospital."
"That's what you're planning, isn't it?" Tang Xinying asked with a smile.
Qi An lowered his head and agreed.
“Although there are few of them, their future missions may involve infiltrating deep into the rear of the Fallen Insect Legion to assassinate powerful Wisdom Insects. Can you handle that easily and safely?” Tang Xinying tapped the rim of her bowl, her smile still on her face, but her tone was somewhat serious.
She has always believed that mental resilience, like muscle, becomes stronger with exercise.
As a senior researcher herself, she had served on the battlefield for two years.
Qi An's unscrupulous and lazy behavior left her puzzled and disappointed.
Qi An lowered his eyelashes and whispered, "This kind of insecurity allows me to grow quickly. I mean growth in overall survival skills, not just purification level."
Tang Xinying was slightly taken aback.
......
“Qi An used to work at Southeast Base No. 4,” Yu Shuang said. “She told us this on the way back.”
Zhao Bohan, with his extensive knowledge, immediately recalled that Southeast Base No. 4 had been destroyed eight years ago due to a massive attack by the Fallen Insects.
Qi An is 20 years old. Eight years ago, she was 12. Before she wandered into the mountains, it is reasonable that she had already received basic training for purifiers from the base.
Zhao Bohan's brows relaxed slightly.
Yu Shuang said, "Dr. Xiao Qi not only saved Tang Long back then, but after we arrived at the military hospital, she always gave us priority when it came to purification procedures for me and the rest of our team."
In addition to the third-class merit we received, we've already repaid her life-saving kindness. We don't owe her anything. Don't bring up the topic of repaying kindness again.
Zhao Bohan did not refute this point, "I understand."
But we still don't understand why she wants to join our team.
Yu Shuang didn't dwell on this: "We don't need to figure it out so clearly. The most important thing is that she's willing to come."
My worry is that she won't be able to come!
For a major decision like transferring a purification specialist to our team, it needs to be approved by the team leader.
Our regimental commander is practically having an affair with Liu Hui; it's almost confirmed. If he approves it, I'll eat shit while doing a handstand!
......
Tang Xinying pushed a bowl of tofu pudding with plenty of gravy in front of Qi An:
“I forgot that you experienced the destruction of the original base and had to survive alone in the wild at a young age. It’s normal for you to have this kind of insecurity.”
Disorganized images from the past flashed through Qi An's mind: the snow-white room, the cold instruments, the smell of raw meat, the smell of rotting flesh...
Qi An felt nauseous and had a headache, but she tried her best to suppress it and silently ate the bowl of tofu pudding that looked very similar in color to the soup made with rotten leaves.
If you can't just lie low in the base forever, then choose the path that will make you the strongest possible.
The level of purification was irrelevant to her; Qi An needed to improve her combat abilities so she could survive in the harshest environments.
She must be the one who is most mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace!
Tang Xinying watched as Qi An buried his head in his food, his small face barely visible except for his pointed chin, his thin shoulders trembling slightly. She couldn't bring herself to harden her heart and said softly:
"Go for it if you want to join Team 2 of the Wind Chaser."
I can approve the medical department's application; as for the Army Defense Force, I just need to inform the Commander-in-Chief's office.
However, we must be more cautious on future missions, avoid dangerous situations, trust our teammates, and learn everything we can.
Qi An shed a tear into the bowl and nodded heavily.
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