"We can eat noodles! I saw a seafood udon noodle shop at the village entrance, only fifteen yuan a bowl! Lots of ingredients!" Zheng Yi suggested. He was taller than the average eleven-year-old, a good 1.7 meters, and couldn't help but swallow hard when he mentioned food.
Yingyi glanced at her big, goofy brother and sighed, "Are you sure one bowl of noodles is enough for you?"
Zheng Yi froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Enough!"
“Since we’re exchanging labor for a meal, we probably can’t huddle together,” Cheng Shuang finally spoke. She was hungry too, so she pulled out a bar of chocolate from her pocket and cut it into eight pieces. “I secretly hid it. After we finish eating, we’ll find a place to have breakfast. Nothing else matters if we don’t eat our fill!”
The snacks are being kept under the teachers' supervision for now, so there's no way I can slack off today.
"Yuko, you're amazing!" Upon seeing the chocolate, Masakazu immediately took it with renewed enthusiasm and swallowed it in one gulp. He didn't mind having too little; he was the type who could eat anything if he had something to eat and endure the lack of food if he didn't.
After distributing the chocolates, the group, whose stomachs were rumbling, were filled with appetite and determined to have a hearty breakfast. The eight of them went to a noodle stall and spent a lot of money (12 yuan) on a bowl of ordinary udon noodles. Seeing that they were young, the owner gave each of them a free fried egg.
Cheng Shuang made an excuse that she had a limited appetite and gave half of the noodles to Qianli. Zheng Yi immediately turned his head and stared longingly at Li Zi, but unfortunately, he was ignored by Li Zi, who also had a large appetite.
Yoshida and Yumi were a temporary pair, so they naturally didn't have the mind to take care of each other. Yoshida thought of his friend and didn't have much of an appetite. Watching Chisato grinning foolishly as he buried his head in his noodles, he felt a little full.
Seeing that Yoshida had leftover broth, Masakazu didn't stand on ceremony and gulped it down in one go before patting his stomach contentedly.
The eight children eventually went their separate ways to find food stalls that could help them with meals. Yumi wanted to follow Cheng Shuang, but Yoshida ruthlessly pulled her away.
Although the village is large, Cheng Shuang and his eight friends chose to find work on the same street, so they could basically see each other with just a turn of their heads, and there was nothing to worry about or feel unsafe about.
In the end, Cheng Shuang was hired by a sushi restaurant because of his decent knife skills. Qianli was worried about him, so he chose to help make paper scoops for a goldfish scooping stall nearby. Of course, his only reward was goldfish.
But Qianli was quick-witted. He made a deal with the sushi restaurant owner beforehand to exchange goldfish for sushi, which barely saved his lunch.
In the morning, villagers from other villages arrived sporadically. Most of them had already eaten breakfast, so the sushi restaurant was relatively quiet, but Qianli was quite busy.
Seeing that he was extremely busy, Cheng Shuang didn't disturb him. She told the boss and prepared to find a corner to eat the hamburgers she had saved up.
The little girl felt no guilt about cheating. She wasn't there to experience life. Not having enough to eat could really affect her physical strength, and if something serious happened, it would be too late to regret it.
Unexpectedly, even stealing a bite to eat could lead to trouble. Just as she walked into a secluded alley, the bamboo basket piled at the very back suddenly moved. Instinctively, she wanted to turn around and leave to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But soon, a painful groan stopped her in her tracks.
The voice was a little muffled, but it didn't sound unfamiliar.
She sniffed, and a strong smell of blood wafted through the air.
Cheng Shuang's eyes flickered, but she didn't rush forward. Instead, she checked her surroundings to make sure there was nothing amiss before quietly walking over.
With her right hand, holding the weapon behind her back, she used her left hand to flip over the overturned bamboo basket. Inside, a spiky-haired man lay huddled with his eyes closed, slumped to the ground, having lost his support.
Cheng Shuang calmly took a half step back to avoid getting blood on the hem of her clothes.
She observed quietly. The man's light-colored shirt was soaked with large patches of blood. The blood originated from his head. Visually, it appeared that his jawbone had been blown open, but the blood flow was far more than just from this one wound.
The little girl became even more cautious, because the person in front of her was none other than Ono.
As a protector, he cannot be easily approached and ambushed by others, unless the other party also has excellent senses and can hold their breath for a long time to evade.
Ono lay on the ground, breathing shallowly, on the verge of death. Perhaps he had taken the white pill before losing consciousness, which is why he had barely survived despite his severe injuries.
Cheng Shuang was certain that Ono had used the white pill because his wound was a gunshot wound, which should have been fatal in one hit.
She calmly examined the area and found that the missile had struck the lower back of her head, avoiding vital brain structures, and pierced her jaw close to her ear.
Most people would have died long ago if they encountered such an attack.
The young girl clicked her tongue indifferently. If she chose to save Ono, it meant she would expose herself. Was it worth it? Of course not!
But the only person who could be considered to have a grudge against Ono is Tanaka.
Tanaka's firearms are also a problem.
So Ono can't die yet.
After thinking for a moment, she sprayed some colorless and odorless ointment on Ono's wound, then slipped him a red pill through her gloves to replenish his blood. Calmly, she took out her old-fashioned but expensive mobile phone, called the police, and dialed the emergency number.
After dealing with these things, Cheng Shuang searched around for the loose bullet casings. Fortunately, the dead-end alley was not cluttered despite the bamboo baskets, and she quickly found it in a corner.
She didn't pick up the spent cartridge case, but observed its model number. Seeing that it came from a very old-fashioned firearm, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She happened to have that firearm, but she rarely used it because the bullets would always veer off course regardless of the distance.
Because of the memorial service, an ambulance was nearby and ready to provide assistance. Once the siren sounded, she concealed any trace of her having been near Ono and left the scene.
However, the phone card is no longer usable; thankfully, phone cards these days are not registered.
The little girl excused herself by saying she had a stomachache and handed over her work at the sushi shop to Qianli. It was lunchtime, and the goldfish scooping stall was empty, but the sushi shop, which was offering discounts for the memorial service, was packed with people.
People from all over the world are very enthusiastic about limited-time offers. Qianli wanted to care about his friend's health, but he was too responsible and was soon overwhelmed by work to think about anything else.
Cheng Shuang took the opportunity to slip away. She remembered that Tanaka went directly to the first floor last night. It seemed that the hotel owner had mentioned that because the middle school students were holding a bonfire party, they were arranged to stay on the first floor so as not to disturb other guests.
Most of the ground floor of Shota and his wife's hotel is occupied by hot spring baths, with only four rooms.
Tanaka and Ono were clearly wary of each other, making it impossible for them to share a room.
Unlike primary school students, middle school students and boys will naturally live separately. In order to prevent certain things from happening at this age, teachers may choose to live in the middle, which will make it easier to hear what is happening on both sides.
To disperse the crowds and avoid overcrowding at the foot of the mountain, the middle school students chose to hike during the day, soak in hot springs at night, and then go to the village to participate in the memorial activities the next day.
So the room is empty. The only people to be wary of now are Shota and his wife, who have just lost their son again, and that lewd Mr. Tanaka.
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