A deadly silence hung in the air as the attractive woman turned around to look at the group, her pair of phoenix eyes[1] revealed no emotions. Her scarlet red lips parted, and with a flat tone, she directed her question at the group: "Does anyone still have any objections toward Xu Xiaoyang being the team leader?" Xu Xiaoyang continued looking down, toying with her braids with one of her hands and did not say her word. The way she acted was as if the incident had nothing to do with her.
For a moment, nobody spoke, as their faces each held different expressions.
Just then, Tie Dao, who was slumping in one corner of the room, struggled to get up. Feeling a slight itch, he wiped his forehead offhandedly. When he lowered his head to look at his hand, he found that it was covered by a sticky layer of blood. His blood-covered hand instantly provoked his anger! Tie Dao suddenly bellowed, "You motherf*cker!". He rushed head-first toward the woman with lightning speed.
"Quick! Stop him!" Chen Jinfeng yelled furiously while he pushed the tall young man forward. The young man was stunned for a moment, he seemed slightly unwilling to do so—but just as Tie Dao was about to reach the woman, the young man quickly bear-hugged Tie Dao around his waist. With the strength of his arms, the young man actually managed to pull Tie Dao back.
Despite how fit Tie Dao looked, he was forced to the ground when the young man tackled him. The only thing Tie Dao could do was kick around and continue with his curses. Almost immediately, the room was filled with a slew of expletives that was so loud that it hurt the ears of the people in the room.
"Tut-tut. Quite the hidden talent," Septimus whispered to Lin Sanjiu.
Lin Sanjiu agreed because she knew exactly how it unfolded. When Tie Dao thrust forward, a piece of tile was crushed by the force of his feet, and a shallow dent appeared on the floor. Even with that strength, he could do nothing against that woman and the young man! If she were to fight with them…
With her heart slightly palpitating, she tried to crush the tile under her feet applying as much force as she could. She tried this a few times, but the floor remained the same, with no damage at all.
"You are all in the same squad! How could you fight amongst yourselves before even starting the mission?" once Chen Jinfeng sensed that the situation was under control, he stepped forward and berated Tie Dao with an exceedingly disappointed tone, "Student Xu Xiaoyang's strength is well-recognized by us all. We have our reasons to appoint her as the team leader. Tie Dao, such attitude like yours is not tolerated in Oasis!"
Tie Dao knew better than to argue when the odds were against him. Since he was still restrained by the young man, he panted heavily while he stopped struggling. The only thing he could do was to glare at Chen Jinfeng. Chen Jinfeng took it in stride and said to the young man, "Gao Fei, help bring Tie Dao to the infirmary…"
He looked around the room then he suddenly pointed at Marcie, "Miss Marcie, as Tie Dao is injured, could you stay behind to take care of him. Both of you don't have to join today's mission."
Lin Sanjiu was a little startled by this, so she shot Marcie a quick glance. "It might not be a bad thing for you to stay behind since it's safer here," she whispered in Marcie's ear, "but can you actually stay here by yourself?"
She remembered what Luther said before when they just got to know each other. Strictly speaking, Marcie was still a "product" of his ability so she could not stray too far away from him.
Marcie nodded, "If he is within a 20 mins walking distance, it should be alright." With that, she took a quick look at Lin Sanjiu and Septimus and said, "Please be careful out there." before she turned and followed Gao Fei out of the room.
After the three of them had left, the room felt much larger. Hu Changzai's face was pale as he shifted away from that attractive woman with a few quick steps, he was probably overwhelmed by that woman's dangerous aura. After scanning the room, he found Lin Sanjiu, whom he had previously exchange some words with, the most approachable. His face was covered in cold sweat, but he managed to force a smile at Lin Sanjiu and stood right behind her.
[You're afraid of her, but I'm afraid of her too!] Lin Sanjiu sighed helplessly to herself. When she looked up again, she found Xu Xiaoyang sitting on a chair at the corner of the room. Xu Xiaoyang rocked her two legs listlessly as they dangled over her chair. She was now looking out of the window with a bored expression on her face.
The light from outside washed over her moist skin. As she sulked with her petal-like lips, her childish innocence showed. It appeared genuine and was totally unlike Wang Sisi's calculated, manipulative pretense. But how could a normal elementary school student…
When she thought of this, she couldn't resist casting her glance at the attractive woman. The woman continued looking down with an icy expression on her face, unwilling to look at anyone. The atmosphere in the room was painfully tense, but Chen Jinfeng seemed to unbothered. He hummed a little tune as he returned to sit behind his office table and even started reading his documents contentedly. Given the cold-shoulder, Lin Sanjiu and the others waited as if they were on pins and needles. Gao Fei finally returned, and when he just pushed out the door, he said, "Executive Chen," Xu Xiaoyang jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands together, smiling, "you're finally back! Let's go!" after saying that, she pushed Gao Fei out of the door. "We will set off now!" she informed Chen Jinfeng without even turning her head.
"Oh, you're leaving just like that? Okay, I hope everything goes well and wish all of you success!" Chen Jinfeng smiled as he gave his file a tap but basically, no one gave a damn about him. The attractive woman had already started following behind Xu Xiaoyang. She turned back and gave everyone else a threatening glare which was more than enough motivation for them to move. Hu Changzai immediately chased up to them.
The six of them went out of room 306 and headed downstairs. When they were at the entrance of the compound, Xu Xiaoyang handed a piece of paper to one of the men without them even asking. The man scanned through the paper and looked at the squad in front of him. Suddenly, he pursed his lips and pulled open the metal door. Lin Sanjiu was at the back of the group, just when she was about to step out of the door, she noticed that the man was checking her out, then almost as if out of pity, he clicked his tongue.
With a sudden thought in her mind, she mumbled something under her breath while she was about to step outside. Her voice was so soft that Septimus couldn't hear her clearly even though he was just beside. He absentmindedly asked, "What did you say?"
"Nothing, it's not important." Lin Sanjiu grinned at him as she pushed the door and stepped out of the factory compound.
Sometimes, things are just odd. Even before they were ten steps away from Oasis, they were greeted with a desolation that emphasized the reality of their situation. Behind them, people working in a human basecamp with searchlights on; ahead, there was just a vast stretch of abandoned buildings with deep cracks down their sides. Once again, yellow sand whipped at their faces. Xu Xiaoyang paused and looked around, she narrowed her eyes and asked without even turning behind, "Griselda, can you look at the map and tell me the direction to where the duoluozhongs are?"
[Griselda]
The people in the group were a little surprised as the attractive woman took out a map from her pants pocket. Even before their surprise faded, Lin Sanjiu suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! I forgot something!" All five people turned to look at her. "Team Leader, can I go over there to search for it, I promise I'll be back asap. Okay? I just need one minute, just one minute!" Lin Sanjiu smiled at Xu Xiaoyang seeking approval. "If we are going to fight against duoluozhong, I can't do without it."
Xu Xiaoyang was very pleased with her attitude, she lifted the corner of her mouth and approved, "Okay, come back quickly." After that, the little girl shot a glance at Griselda who nodded back to her.
"Sure!" Lin Sanjiu thanked the little girl unconsciously and returned to the entrance of the factory compound. She did not dare to go further as she was afraid that Griselda would think that she was trying to abandon the mission. Her eyes swept over the area, between the cracks of a brick beside the metal door, she saw the white corner of a card. She immediately gave a sigh of relief. When she saw one of the men by the door standing up, looking suspiciously at her, she smiled at him reassuringly, "Our team leader dropped something here just now."
As she said that, she stuffed the Diary card into her hand quickly.
Translator's note: Phoenix Eyes describe eyes with a slight upward slant at their tails.