Free Web NovelChapter 162: Chapter 114: Su Muqing (2)
"You’re too kind, Captain Lu."
Su Muqing gently shook her head. "If you hadn’t personally saved me, I might not have made it."
"Also, about last time... I should have come to thank you in person, but the Superpower Bureau didn’t want me to leave the inner city so easily."
"In any case..."
Her eyes sparkled like brilliant stars as she extended her hand. "Captain Lu, thank you."
Her words were sincere, without a hint of pretense.
Lu Chao was a little surprised.
Perhaps because of people like Guo Yun, Fang Jingyi, and Ruan Hui, he’d always had a rather poor impression of these wealthy scions.
But the person before him was slightly different.
"I was just doing my duty."
He shook her hand; her touch was slightly warm.
Lu Chao let go immediately. "Besides, it wasn’t just my effort. It was with the support of the entire Patrol Department."
"I’m confident that if any other patrol officer had been the first to enter the scene, they would have saved you as well, Miss Su."
He was neither servile nor overbearing, and he didn’t try to take all the credit.
Su Muqing withdrew her slender, fair hand and smiled softly at his words. "What you say makes a lot of sense, Captain Lu."
"However, some things are easy to say, but require a great deal of courage to do."
"At the very least..." she said candidly, "your courage, Captain Lu, is truly admirable."
’Oh?’
Lu Chao was taken aback. He couldn’t help but feel there was a hidden meaning in her words.
’Could she have noticed something about my fight with Qiu Shan?’
Before he could dwell on it,
"In any case, I’ll be in your care for the time being, Captain Lu."
Su Muqing blinked, smiled, and then turned to leave.
Lu Chao stood his ground, watching as she was escorted by Wei Cangming and the others back inside the academy.
’Did she see through my true strength?’ freēwebnovel.com
Based on his intuition, this Miss Su also possessed professional-grade strength.
After a moment of thought, he quietly shook his head.
Whether she had or not, at least her attitude was full of goodwill, and she wasn’t making a scene about it.
With that thought, Lu Chao didn’t dwell on it any longer.
He turned and walked straight over to Chen Xiao and the others.
"Captain."
Fang Xu greeted him first. His expression was calm, and his tone remained polite and courteous.
Xiong Cheng, on the other hand, was full of admiration. He felt it was truly extraordinary that their captain could have a connection with such an important figure.
Lu Chao smiled and nodded, then looked toward Chen Xiao.
The man grinned and asked, "So what’s the plan for us?"
Ring Academy strictly prohibited outsiders from entering and exiting freely. Although their superiors had already made the arrangements, they couldn’t just station themselves inside.
Therefore, "First, we’ll familiarize ourselves with the surrounding area, then we’ll be on standby at the gate."
With that simple sentence, Lu Chao set the plan.
The so-called security mission was really about coordinating with Miss Su’s dedicated security team to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
And since she was temporarily living in the academy’s inner courtyard, their usual patrol area was the perimeter of the academy.
"Got it!"
Chen Xiao nodded with a smile. He was happy with this arrangement, as it saved them a lot of running around.
The other team members naturally had no objections.
Before long, everyone got to work. Led by Fang Xu, they began to familiarize themselves with the environment both inside and outside the academy.
.....
Several days passed quietly, and Lu Chao gradually grew accustomed to the daily commute to the inner ring of the city.
Everything was calm and peaceful. No incidents occurred.
Every day, one or two other squads would coordinate with them, rotating shifts near the academy.
Thanks to Chen Xiao repeatedly slipping him cigarettes and making friendly small talk, the security guard at the academy gate gradually became familiar with their third squad.
"This academy is crowded, with too many eyes and ears. If you really need to go inside for any reason, just say the word."
"Or if you want to ask about something, all you have to do is ask."
The old security guard at the gate said with a smile as he accepted a cigarette. Chen Xiao leaned against the window of the guard booth, nodding and smiling. After a bit more idle chatter, he and Xiong Cheng finally left. freēwebnovel.com
As dusk approached, Lu Chao sat in the back seat, watching the two of them walk over.
Pulling open the car door, Chen Xiao got back into the driver’s seat.
"All set."
He winked, closing the door. "From now on, besides being on standby outside, we can also go in for a look around more often."
"For one, it’ll help us better respond to any emergencies. And for two..."
He chuckled. "It’ll be a chance to broaden our horizons. I’ve never been inside a prestigious academy before. I’ve gotta see for myself what Ring City’s cradle of elites really looks like."
His brash words made Fang Xu, who was also in the car, raise an eyebrow. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything to rebut him.
Seeing this, Lu Chao didn’t say much either. He waited until they had properly coordinated with the arriving squad for the shift change and arranged the follow-up.
He glanced at his watch, then his gaze swept over the other three.
"Alright then... It’s getting late, and everyone worked hard today."
He broke into a smile. "Let’s go. Dinner’s on me tonight."
"Alright! In that case, I won’t be polite."
Chen Xiao responded with a laugh, adding that they should call Yang Wangtao and Wang Shisong, who was recuperating from his injuries back at the department.
VRMM!
The engine roared to life.
The group finished the handover with the other squad and quickly drove off.
The humming wake of the engine gradually faded, and the dust on the roadside was scattered by a light breeze.
At that very moment, inside a silver building within Ring Academy...
Sounds echoed from a training room reserved for inner courtyard disciples. Looking inside, one could see several outer courtyard students from the Martial Arts Department in a horse stance, squatting in the left and right corners of the room. Their backs were against the wall, and they were balancing dumbbell plates weighing dozens of kilograms on their heads.
One of them seemed unable to hold on any longer. His face was beet red, he was soaked in sweat, and his legs were trembling.
But before he could relax,
BANG!!
A young man from the inner courtyard, dressed in a white training uniform, stepped forward and kicked him over.
The muffled thud of the fall seemed to strike everyone’s hearts. The young man showed no mercy; instead, he stepped forward and pinned the fallen student’s head to the floor with his foot.
"If you don’t train hard enough, you have to accept the punishment."
He sneered, grinding the student’s head against the floor with his right foot. "Don’t forget, I’m helping you develop your Life Energy and improve your Martial Arts strength."
"Opportunities like this don’t come around every day."
His mocking words made the other outer courtyard Martial Arts Department students, who were still balancing their weights, turn pale with despair. The young man whose head was pinned to the floor wore a look of utter humiliation, yet he didn’t have the courage to fight back.
Professional grade was like an insurmountable mountain. As outer courtyard disciples who had barely broken through to the Fighting Level, they were no match for him at all.
Watching this scene,
"Boring."
The young man pursed his lips and then sent the student flying with another kick.
At the sight, the four or five other young men and women from the inner courtyard chuckled. Someone called out, "Lin Zhou, that’s enough. Come rest if you’re tired of playing."
"Haha, why are you getting worked up over them? They’re just a bunch of mud-legs."
Laughter and chatter continued to fill the room. In the middle of it, someone’s gaze shifted toward the window.
The red-haired woman leading the group was standing there, though no one knew for how long. Her shapely brows were slightly furrowed, her expression hesitant.
"Sister Mei Ning?"
Confused, someone walked over curiously.
A moment later, everyone followed her line of sight and saw several plainclothes Patrol Department officers getting into a black SUV just outside the academy’s main gate and driving away.
"Sister Mei Ning, are those the people the Patrol Department sent to protect Sister Su?"
The young men and women asked curiously, their eyes flashing with interest.
The red-haired Mei Ning came back to her senses and nodded lightly.
"Oh?"
Their interest piqued, the group quickly began to chatter amongst themselves.
"That guy’s name is Lu... Lu Chao, right? He’s the one who stole Senior Ruan Hui’s credit?"
"Tsk tsk, he’s got some nerve, daring to touch something that doesn’t belong to him."
"Should we get someone to mess with him?"
Someone suggested, their expression playful and excited. It was none other than the young man who had been stepping on the outer courtyard student’s head.
But strangely enough, Mei Ning, who usually agreed with their suggestions, furrowed her brow and gently shook her head, seemingly finding it inappropriate.
The young men and women were momentarily stunned, but then someone figured it out.
"Sister Mei Ning is closest to Senior Ruan Hui. She must be unhappy that this guy has no respect for his superiors and is taking a mile after being given an inch."
"But he holds an official position, and he’s also established a connection with Sister Su, so it’s not easy to make a move."
A young man offered his analysis after a moment of thought.
Only then did Mei Ning nod lightly.
This was indeed her concern.
Her father’s position in the City Defense Department was largely thanks to her aunt’s help. If she did nothing about what happened to her cousin, Ruan Hui, it would be hard to justify.
But precisely because of that, considering Sister Su’s presence, the matter had become difficult to handle.
"I have an idea."
Suddenly, the young man who had spoken before let out a low laugh.
Then, after a round of secretive whispers, the eyes of the young men and women all lit up with playful expressions.
The woman named Mei Ning also smoothed her brow, a reserved smile gradually appearing on her face.
"Interesting."
