Chapter 113: Meeting Gift

The vehicle traveled south, and small steles engraved with numbers like “18, 223” and “18, 224” appeared from time to time on both sides of the road.

They looked like boundary markers.

Li Shutong explained to Qing Chen that this area still belonged to City 18, and the numbers after 223 were landmarks to help identify the location.

As dusk fell, Qin Cheng suddenly said into the walkie-talkie, “It’s getting late, we’re about to reach the wire fence ahead, let’s set up camp.”

Qin Yiyi and Qin Tong in the truck bed started packing up.

The two pickup trucks drove off the highway. Qing Chen turned off the reader in his hand and looked up to ask his teacher, “Why were the characters’ personalities deleted?”

At this time, he had already recorded all the known plants and started looking at the character information provided by Lin Xiaoxiao.

That information was painstakingly collected by Lin Xiaoxiao, and it mainly included relatively important figures within the Inner World system.

From the current president of the Federation to the mayor of City 18 and the chief of staff of the mayor’s office, they were all included.

Qing Chen discovered that the mayor was more like a governor from the Outer World across the ocean, elected by the people, not in a direct superior-subordinate relationship with the president, and holding immense power.

Li Shutong explained in a low voice, “Remember what we talked about before? The outcome of the battle is determined by the ‘future,’ never calculate using information from the ‘past.’ Everything in this world can change, especially people's hearts change the fastest. So, it's up to you to understand what kind of people they are; we won’t give you any reference.”

“Okay,” Qing Chen nodded, “It means looking at problems with a developmental perspective.”

Li Shutong thought for a moment and said, “That’s well said.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shutong calmly looked around, as if he had discovered something.

However, at this moment, more than ten people in camouflage suits suddenly emerged from the fallen leaves on both sides of the dirt road.

Those people were wearing nets woven from hemp rope, with densely packed branches and leaves bound to the mesh, making their camouflage extremely strong.

Qin Yiyi and Qin Tong immediately reached for their weapons upon seeing these people, but it was undoubtedly too late; they had already been exposed to the enemy’s range.

However, Qing Chen suddenly reached out and pulled Qin Yiyi over, squatting behind Li Shutong with her.

Li Shutong glanced at the dozen or so dark gun muzzles outside, then turned to Qing Chen behind him and asked, “Shouldn’t you be showing off, standing in front of me, at this time?”

Qing Chen calmly said, “Wouldn’t that be underestimating you?”

“That makes some sense,” Li Shutong nodded, sitting on a small stool, “But I still feel something is wrong. Xiaoxiao would have shielded me.”

“I’m not as hypocritical as him,” Qing Chen said with a pout.

The young man was very clear about this. There is a fundamental difference between honing skills and taking bullets. If there was truly insurmountable danger, it’s time for the S-class teacher to step up, and it’s pointless for him to act recklessly.

What if a stray bullet hits him!

To be honest, Qing Chen also wanted to see what state a Demi-God in this world would be in when facing firearms.

From what he could see so far, Li Shutong didn't seem afraid of firearms.

At this moment, Qin Yiyi silently squatted next to Qing Chen, feeling the boy's hand, like an iron clamp, gripping her arm tightly, preventing her from moving.

The girl looked at Qing Chen’s profile, seemingly unconcerned about the people ambushing them.

She didn't even think about whether the old man in front of her could protect them, nor did she consider how dangerous things might become.

She was only seriously considering why the boy saved her.

Outside the car, someone shouted, “Put your hands up! The driver, turn off the engine and get out of the car! Put your hands where we can see them! Anyone with Cybernetic Limbs on their arms, roll up your sleeves!”

Old man Qin Cheng slowly got out of the car, “Is Lao Zhang here? Is that you, Lao Zhang? It’s Qin Cheng!”

“Damn it, it’s you, old man,” A middle-aged man slowly stepped out from among the camouflage-suited group, holding a gun, “Why did you come ahead of schedule? Weren’t we supposed to wait a few more days? Alright, put your guns down.”

Qing Chen was stunned by the conversation. He looked at Qin Yiyi beside him, “Who are these people?”

The usually wild girl felt the young man’s gaze and blushed, “Ah? What?”

“Who are these people?” Qing Chen repeated the question.

Qin Yiyi came to her senses, “Zhang Tongdan, they are Wildlanders, my dad’s old acquaintances. But these people are ruthless and can’t be entirely trusted.”

At this time, Qin Cheng skillfully took out a bottle of antibiotics and handed it to Zhang Tongdan, “We’re going to that place south, this is the toll. Tell the brothers in the wilderness to let us pass, our deal is separate.”

Zhang Tongdan carried the automatic rifle on his shoulder and took the antibiotics from Qin Cheng’s hand, “Alright, it’s not the first time we’ve dealt with each other. The Boss said there’s big fish in Zhizi Lake today, but I don’t know if we can get them. You must have encountered them on the road, right? What’s their situation?”

“We encountered two groups of people. Lao Zhang, which group are you talking about?” Qin Cheng asked.

“The one with more than thirty vehicles, and a deputy who controls more than ten drones,” Zhang Tongdan said.

“That’s the Autumn Hunt team,” Qin Cheng whispered, “Be careful, there must be experts in the team.”

“Bad luck, another untouchable tough nut. If the Boss came in person, that would be fine, but the cost is too high,” Zhang Tongdan said, his eyes scanning the pickup truck bed.

Seeing the empty iron cage, he said, “What are you catching this time?”

“Catching a falcon and a monkey, the other party offered a high price,” Qin Cheng said, “But our luck was terrible this time, didn’t catch anything.”

Zhang Tongdan patted Qin Cheng on the shoulder, with a sense of shared hardship, “You guys aren’t having it easy either.”

Saying this, he turned and walked towards the forest, “Come on, brothers, let’s…”

However, after taking only two steps, Zhang Tongdan turned back, pointing his gun at Li Shutong, “Who is this old man? And that boy beside him! Their clothes look like city people. We can’t let outsiders know about this deal, and what if they report our whereabouts?”

Qin Cheng broke out in a cold sweat, but Qin Yiyi suddenly hugged Qing Chen’s arm, “Uncle Zhang, this is my man, and that’s his father. They are family from now on. They’ve never been to the wilderness before, this is just to bring them out for a play.”

The surrounding Wildlanders whistled, and Zhang Tongdan laughed and scolded, “Alright, girl, you’ve grown up! Qin Cheng, your in-laws seem to be rich, your family is going to be attached to the city folks, huh?”

Li Shutong thought for a moment, took Thor from the backpack behind Qing Chen, and threw it to Zhang Tongdan through the air, “A meeting gift, in the future, if my in-laws are in danger in the wilderness, please look after them.”

Zhang Tongdan looked at the Thor in his hand, stunned for two seconds before giving a thumbs-up, “Generous, Boss! You're giving a Thor! I'm a straightforward guy too, I’ll take charge, we won’t collect tolls from the Qin family for five years!”