“You!”
Blacksmith’s expression stiffened.
He was left speechless by Chuyou’s stubborn, confrontational attitude.
However, he quickly regained his composure, his tone remaining solemn.
“I am not making things difficult for you, nor am I trying to throw my weight around. This is a reasonable and legal screening process. Please cooperate.”
“A screening process?”
Chuyou opened her eyes and stared straight at Blacksmith, questioning him sharply, “My superior is Minister Lin Mo of the Coastal Branch. I am solely under his jurisdiction and orders… and under Minister Lin Mo’s command, I served as the information and communications specialist for the search and rescue operation. “
“These past few days, I haven’t even dared to delay eating or drinking, staying by the communications platform to maintain the stability of the network…”
At this point, she raised her voice even higher.
“The search and rescue team was ambushed and surrounded by aberrations, and the temporary command center was short-handed. I was the one who volunteered to come here and provide support.”
“During this operation, I had countless opportunities to sabotage the execution of the plan. I could have completely stayed out of it and avoided any front-line support actions, but I didn’t do that.”
Chuyou stood slightly on her tiptoes, trying to make her presence feel more imposing.
“Tell me, great official from the North Mansion—is it because I’m stupid? Or is there something wrong with me, and I just enjoy making things harder for myself?”
Faced with Chuyou’s barrage of questions, Blacksmith couldn’t find a point to refute for a moment.
He simply continued to look at her with a steady gaze, unwilling to back down.
Chuyou’s logic seemed flawless, but based on his years of experience and a near-instinctive intuition, he felt as if this girl was shrouded in a layer of mist.
There was even a hint of… an unreal sense of familiarity?
Just then, a voice carrying a bit of lethargy and amusement drifted down from the air.
“What’s all the noise about?”
Everyone instinctively looked up.
A cluster of thick vines was snaking its way over from the distance, quickly weaving together into a small platform that lowered a figure lightly to the ground.
The newcomer was a beautiful young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties.
A faint smile played at the corners of her lips, and she wore a standard Blade Bearer combat uniform.
After landing, she exchanged a brief look with Blacksmith.
She then turned her gaze toward Chuyou and Gu Qiancheng, who were standing before him.
She smiled and asked in a gentle tone, “What happened, you two? I am Flower Soul, the tactical support for the Night Hunt squad.”
As she spoke, Flower Soul looked at Chuyou and Gu Qiancheng with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. Our captain has a rather blunt personality. If he said something unpleasant or did something that made you unhappy, I apologize on his behalf.”
After saying this, Flower Soul gave a slight nod, her performance impeccable and full of sincerity.
Seeing this, Gu Qiancheng, whose nerves had been frayed, breathed a small sigh of relief.
His expression softened slightly.
It seemed that not everyone in Night Hunt was as stiff as Blacksmith; there were still reasonable people among them.
However, far from relaxing, Chuyou’s expression grew even more solemn after seeing Flower Soul and hearing her seemingly sensible remarks.
Alarm bells rang in her heart.
It was fine if others didn’t understand the members of Night Hunt, but she knew these individuals—whom she had personally handpicked for the team—all too well.
If Blacksmith was an exposed blade, sharp and fierce, then Flower Soul was a hidden needle.
She looked soft, but she could easily pierce the most vital spots.
Sometimes, the person who seemed the kindest stabbed the hardest and was the most difficult to guard against.
“Actually, it’s nothing major, it’s just…”
Chuyou’s mind raced as she tried to think of the safest way to respond.
However, Gu Qiancheng, as if he had found someone to confide in, had already started blabbing to Flower Soul about what had just happened.
His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction regarding Blacksmith’s lack of empathy.
Flower Soul maintained a warm smile throughout, listening patiently to Gu Qiancheng’s narration and nodding occasionally to show understanding and agreement.
The scene appeared incredibly harmonious for a time.
“…Anyway, that’s essentially what happened. In my opinion, it’s completely unnecessary. We’ve all seen Specialist Chuyou’s hard work and contributions over the past few days.”
After Gu Qiancheng finished his explanation, he gave a concluding statement.
Flower Soul nodded gently again, her smile still as refreshing as a spring breeze.
“I understand. Our captain was reviewing Specialist Chuyou’s identity according to wartime regulations, but Specialist Chuyou feels this is an insult and a lack of trust, so she is unwilling to cooperate. Is that correct?”
As she spoke, she glanced at the expressionless Chuyou before focusing her gaze on Gu Qiancheng, who seemed easier to talk to.
She continued, “Before coming to Binhai, many friends at headquarters mentioned you to me, Group Leader Gu. Logically speaking, with an experienced senior like you acting as a guarantor, it would indeed be a bit unreasonable and cold-hearted of us to keep pressing the issue.”
Hearing this, the expression on Gu Qiancheng’s face softened further.
He even felt that this Flower Soul was quite sensible.
But in the next moment, Flower Soul’s tone suddenly shifted.
Her voice remained gentle, but it carried an undeniable sense of direction.
“However…”
That ‘however’ made Chuyou’s heart tighten.
She knew the real trap was coming.
Flower Soul’s gaze fell back onto Chuyou.
She was still smiling, looking like she was considerately seeking the other person’s opinion.
“When I was coming over just now, I caught a glimpse of Specialist Chuyou’s Oracle. It should be a beastification branch of the transformation type, right?”
“Awakeners with beastification branch Oracles require special registration. Rather than going through a tedious identity verification according to wartime regulations, why don’t we…”
She paused slightly and proposed a seemingly compromising, win-win solution.
“Why don’t you simply show us your Oracle Registration Certificate, Specialist Chuyou? Or just give us your filing number. Let our captain take a quick look just to confirm the basic information.”
“That way, it won’t be considered an intrusion into your privacy or dignity, and it also fulfills our captain’s responsibility to check for risks under wartime regulations. It’s the best of both worlds, don’t you think?”
Flower Soul’s smile was flawless, and her tone was as gentle as if she were discussing what to have for dinner.
But this request was like a meticulously disguised soft knife, aimed directly at Chuyou’s core secret—she didn’t have any damn beastification branch Oracle, and it was impossible for her to produce an Oracle Registration Certificate!
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Gu Qiancheng also sensed something was wrong.
He looked at Flower Soul and then at Chuyou, whose face had instantly turned cold.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Chuyou met Flower Soul’s seemingly kind but actually bottomless gaze, knowing that the other woman had aimed her spearhead precisely at her.
At that moment, Qingluan and Shadow, who were responsible for clearing the remaining aberrations, walked over side by side.
As teammates, they quickly sensed that the situation seemed unusual.
Qingluan, who was always outspoken and couldn’t keep things to herself, stepped forward with a Barrett heavy sniper rifle slung over her shoulder.
She turned to Flower Soul and asked bluntly, “What is it, Sister Flower Soul? Is there some kind of disagreement with the people here in Binhai? Do we need to have a fight?”
Shadow, who had come with her, didn’t speak, but his gaze toward Gu Qiancheng and Chuyou became a few degrees sharper.
Chuyou’s expression grew increasingly grim as she looked at the perpetually smiling Flower Soul.
Her heart was a mess of emotions.
‘To think my own team members, whom I personally handpicked, are using the methods I taught them against me. Where am I supposed to go for justice?’
Right now, the path of refusal had been blocked by Flower Soul’s needles-in-cotton approach.
But to compromise… to compromise was to be marked as a traitor and hunted down.
She was caught in a dilemma.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.