Since Su Yao insisted on tagging along to school, Su Ling had to make one more lunch box.
Ji Lingyuan had gone home.
Without her, Su Ling felt a sudden, lingering sense of loss.
But at least she was financially independent now.
Last night, Shao Hua and her team had acted incredibly fast.
A wave of turmoil had swept through the Lower City as many of Shao Nian You’s industries were shut down.
Correspondingly, her family’s debt had indeed been cleared.
As soon as she opened her short-video app this morning, the Anti-Organized Crime Campaign in the Lower City was already trending.
Shao Hua had also sent her a message.
Shao Hua: “Don’t worry, the department in Shao Nian You that handled the loans has been completely dismantled by us.”
Shao Hua: (Small puppy acting cute.jpg)
I Am Truly a Transmigrator: “I am really grateful to you all.”
Life finally seemed to be getting better.
She sat on the bus with Su Yao, scrolling through short videos.
The hottest news right now was, of course, the report of Meng Dalei stepping down.
“Reportedly, the former Director of the Police Department, Meng Dalei, abused her power for personal gain and ignored discipline while in office…”
The comments below were very uniform.
They were all filled with thumbs-up and three flowers.
It made sense; under an official government account, very few people were short-sighted enough to try and be clever or edgy.
Su Ling didn’t have much interest in the news itself.
She only knew that Meng Dalei was apparently Wen Ruyu’s wife.
Coincidentally, just as she thought of Wen Ruyu, she scrolled to a news story about her.
It was a self-media news account showing Wen Ruyu announcing her impending divorce from Meng Dalei in front of the cameras.
“Mrs. Wen Ruyu — ah, no, Miss Wen Ruyu, what are your plans for the future?”
Wen Ruyu smiled toward the camera.
“I think I will go to the Witch Academy to be a teacher.”
The Witch Academy…
Su Ling’s thoughts drifted for a moment.
With her current grades, she probably wouldn’t be able to get into the Witch Academy anyway.
In the comment section, a small number of people mentioned her.
Golden Beef Bishop: “Where is that pretty girl from before? She didn’t elope, did she?”
Doran’s Dinosaur: “Hmm, it seems there might be a hidden story behind their divorce.”
However, most people simply expressed their well-wishes.
With Meng Dalei out of power, many of her scandals were being exposed.
A fair number of people were now standing up for Wen Ruyu.
Sister I’m So Thirsty: “I knew it! That bratty girl was short and ugly. Who would have thought she would be the one to cheat first and then try to frame her? Poor Lady Wen Ruyu.”
As expected, one’s morals follow one’s looks.
This was incredibly fitting when applied to Witches.
Take My Big Fireball: “Mommy!”
Area: “Where did the underclassman above come from?”
“…”
This comment section was quite lively.
The next video was about the new Director of the Police Department.
“Yun Liuxue?”
Su Ling tilted her head.
She didn’t recognize the name.
However, she did recognize a figure behind Yun Liuxue — it was Shao Hua.
It seemed she had been promoted.
How wonderful.
But Su Ling also suddenly wondered if the sudden Anti-Organized Crime Campaign last night was just the new leadership making their mark.
Regardless of the reason, it was a good thing for the Lower City.
The Lower City had suffered under Shao Nian You for far too long.
Since Shao Nian You’s largest shareholder had died suddenly, the purge of the organization was surprisingly smooth.
Su Ling didn’t know if other forces were secretly pushing things along.
After all, everyone would be tempted by such a large piece of the pie.
She also knew that once one Shao Nian You fell, another would eventually rise to take its place.
But at least for the time being, the Lower City would be relatively peaceful.
As Su Ling continued scrolling, the bus came to a stop.
They had reached the school.
Su Yao followed Su Ling, looking around like a curious child.
Since they looked almost exactly the same and Su Yao was dressed quite youthfully today, the Witches around them looked over from time to time, but they all assumed the two were sisters.
“Wow, Ling Ling, this place is so big.”
Su Yao looked at the main gate and couldn’t help but let out a cry of admiration.
Su Ling felt a bit helpless.
This was the only high school in the vicinity; how could it not be big?
The school security guard was a little girl with short black hair.
She wore an oversized security uniform and held a thermos.
She took a sip, spat the tea leaves back into the cup, and then lay back in her chair with her short legs propped up on the desk.
One hand held her phone while the other cradled her small head, completely ignoring the flow of people outside.
Seeing this, Su Yao wanted to go over and say hello, but Su Ling pulled her away.
This school was just like that.
Although it was called a school, it was more like an amusement park using a school’s name.
All sorts of people entered every day.
“By the way, are they still hiring security guards?”
Su Yao asked expectantly.
Her claim that she was coming to school to accompany Su Ling was entirely an excuse.
With her primary school diploma, she was lucky enough just to be literate.
Su Ling rolled her eyes at her.
“The security positions here are all ‘nepotism hires.’ They’re all relatives of the teachers. Without a connection, you shouldn’t even dream about it.”
Since these were government-funded jobs, every single one of them — from the cafeteria servers to the janitors — had long since been claimed by insiders.
Of course, the cafeteria food was barely fit for human consumption and expensive to boot, which was why Su Ling usually made her own lunch boxes in the morning.
Su Yao looked disappointed upon hearing this.
With Miao Miao gone, she truly wanted to be by Su Ling’s side every moment.
It was currently 7:30 AM.
Classes started at 8:30 AM, so they were quite early.
The reason Su Ling had come so early was to find her Homeroom Teacher and explain Su Yao’s situation.
After all, if a stranger was suddenly going to be in the classroom, she had to say something.
The Homeroom Teacher, Gao Fei, had also arrived early.
She was alone in the large office.
She was a very responsible person.
Although Mo Ran was the only one in the class who studied seriously, Gao Fei had decided that as long as there was even one person who wanted to learn, she would treat her job with the utmost care.
There had been another student before, but unfortunately, for some reason, that student hadn’t shown up for the past few days.
Gao Fei organized her lesson plans and thought of Su Ling with a look of regret.
Cases like Su Ling’s were common in this school, and she was used to them.
But just as she was thinking of her, a small head peeked in through the door.
It was Su Ling.
“Um, Teacher Gao, I’d like to bring someone into the class for lessons. Is that okay?”
Su Ling pulled Su Yao in, feeling a bit awkward.
Su Yao hid behind Su Ling, peeking out with her own small head to curiously observe Gao Fei.
Gao Fei was delighted to hear this.
She looked at Su Yao and saw that the two of them looked exactly alike.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
Wow, a pair of twins!
“Of course. If your sister wants to learn, she is certainly welcome.”
“Um, she’s my mother.”
“Huh?”
Gao Fei’s head was filled with question marks.
‘What kind of hobby is this?’
‘You wouldn’t happen to be a player of a certain four-letter game, would you?’
“Cough… She is my mother. Some things happened at our home recently, and now it’s just the two of us. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her home alone, and she couldn’t stand staying home anyway, so I thought she could come and study with me. Of course, Teacher, we won’t cause any trouble for you.”
Su Ling explained in detail.
Su Yao also stood to the side like a primary school student, looking at Gao Fei nervously.
Gao Fei’s stalled brain finally restarted.
She looked at Su Yao, still unable to believe it.
This was a mother?
No, although mother and daughter Witches often looked alike, this was too much!
And even though a Witch’s appearance stops changing once they reach adulthood — making it impossible to judge age by appearance like other races — their temperament can usually be distinguished.
Just look at those security guard girls; they all looked like toddlers who hadn’t grown teeth yet, but as soon as you got close, the “old person” aura they carried was overwhelming.
But the Su Yao in front of her was shy and timid, truly looking like Su Ling’s sister.
However, as Gao Fei looked closer, she really could see a hint of a “married woman” vibe from Su Yao.
It was mostly because Su Yao was dressed so youthfully today; Su Ling had simply given her own clothes to her mother to wear.
“Haha, learning has no end,” Gao Fei forced out a smile.
But she quickly caught the issue in Su Ling’s words.
“Wait, what happened at your home? Is that why you haven’t been here for several days? Is there anything I can help with?”
Gao Fei stood up, her tone urgent.
She had a good impression of Su Ling.
But as soon as she spoke, the expressions on both Su Ling’s and Su Yao’s faces darkened.
Seeing this, Gao Fei realized she had stepped on a painful subject.
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. It’s already in the past.”
Su Ling gave a relaxed smile.
Yes, it was in the past.
However, she believed that one day, she would be reunited with Miao Miao.
—
Light-years away.
A blood-covered Bai Miao coldly withdrew her long blade.
In front of her was a half-human, half-insect Zerg, staring at her with hatred.
Bai Miao delivered another strike, and the creature finally stopped breathing.
“Heh… heh… You won’t escape… You won’t escape…”
Before dying, the creature gave a sinister laugh.
Bai Miao’s small face remained utterly indifferent.
This was a Zerg they had encountered.
Bai Wei had beaten it to near death to give Bai Miao some practice.
A thumb-sized communication bug flew out from the Zerg’s corpse.
Although Bai Miao and Bai Wei saw it, they didn’t stop it.
Or rather, this was exactly their goal.
“Let’s go.”
Bai Wei turned around. K423 followed silently behind her.
By now, K423 had learned of K424’s sacrifice from Bai Wei.
Normally silly and lively, she had become very quiet and withdrawn overnight.
Bai Miao wiped the blood from her blade.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, she looked back.
There was only the pitch-black void of space.
But that was the direction of the Azure Star.
‘Sister, we will eventually meet again.’