Chapter 42 - Confusing Text Messages
“Chuchu, how far are we from the defense zone S-22?”
“Brother, we’re still 30 kilometers away. At our speed, we’ll arrive in about an hour.” Chuchu replied, checking the electronic map on her phone, which was exclusively available to citizens. This was one of the perks of being a citizen.
“Brother, why did Lin Xuyang want to kill me?” she asked, after putting her phone away. She had recovered and was now trying to piece together the reasons behind everything.
“Do you remember the phone you picked up earlier? It belonged to Lin Xuyang. His desire to kill you is likely related to a text message on that phone,” Qin Feng said, analyzing the situation.
“A text message?” Chuchu thought back. “The one that said: ‘Three days later, at midnight, meet at Luo Hua Mountain for the trade’?”
Qin Feng nodded slightly. “That’s probably it.”
“But the message didn’t seem out of the ordinary,” Chuchu was still confused.
“If it were just a normal message, Lin Xuyang wouldn’t have tried to kill you to silence you,” Qin Feng said as he turned to her. “Do you remember who sent the message? That could be a key to uncovering the truth.”
“I think it was someone called Zhou-something-Tong, but I don’t remember the middle character,” Chuchu tried to recall.
“Brother, am I too slow-witted?” she asked, feeling guilty.
“It’s all right!” Qin Feng smiled, patting her head gently.
“You saw the message two days ago, and the deal is supposed to take place tomorrow night. Even if you can’t remember, something significant will happen tomorrow. Otherwise, Lin Xuyang wouldn’t have been in such a rush to act.”
Chuchu’s eyes lit up. “You’re right, Brother. Tomorrow, we might find out the truth.”
But soon, her face filled with worry. “Brother, no matter what, we’ve killed Lin Xuyang. The Lin family will eventually trace it back to us. What will we do then?”
“Don’t worry. I’m about to break through to become an Elementalist. Once I become one, I’ll get you promoted to citizen status. After that, unless they have solid evidence, the Lin family won’t be able to touch us.”
Chuchu’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Brother, you’re about to become an Elementalist! That’s amazing!”
Qin Feng smiled. If it weren’t for the fight with Lin Xuyang, he could have become an Elementalist even sooner.
“Little one, this is just a temporary solution. In the end, we must grow stronger and eliminate the Lin family to remove this threat for good!”
“Yes, Brother. I’ll work hard too,” Chuchu promised, making up her mind to train in combat techniques and stop holding her brother back.
At the very least, she wanted to learn how to protect herself.
“Let’s go!” Qin Feng urged. “We need to get back to the defense zone as soon as possible.”
The two siblings made their way toward the S-22 defense zone.
An hour later, they arrived.
Inside the defense zone, they encountered a few refugees from their group who had managed to escape. Including Qin Feng and Chuchu, there were now six of them in total, but the others remained missing, their fate unknown.
In a military office within the defense zone, a young lieutenant was taking notes as he questioned the six survivors.
Their accounts were consistent.
They had been attacked by a group of Iron-Tooth Boars.
The patrol captain had also sent a message confirming that He Feng, the squad leader, had called for help, saying they were under attack by the same creatures.
By now, everything was clear. It was a typical encounter with ferocious beasts.
“All right, I understand the situation. You six can go and rest for now. We’ll assign you new tasks later,” the lieutenant said, putting down his pen.
“Sir, I’d like to see Captain Liu Yan. I have something important to report,” Qin Feng requested.
“If you have something to report, you can tell me,” the lieutenant replied, his tone indifferent.
“It’s important, and I need to speak with Captain Liu in person.”
The lieutenant frowned. “Qin Feng, the military doesn’t tolerate bypassing the chain of command. Even though you’re not a soldier, you still have to follow military rules. At your rank, you don’t have the qualifications to meet with the captain directly.”
“What rank qualifies someone to meet with Captain Liu?”
“You need to be at least a lieutenant or a citizen,” the lieutenant said arrogantly, clearly looking down on Qin Feng.
This young refugee seemed to be overestimating himself, thinking he could meet with the captain. In this era, social status was everything.
“If being a citizen qualifies me, does this work?” Qin Feng took out his citizenship card. “Can I meet Captain Liu now?”
“Huh? A citizenship card!” The lieutenant was stunned.
The other refugees were equally shocked, staring at Qin Feng in disbelief.
“Let me see that,” the lieutenant said, taking the card. His eyes flashed with astonishment as he inspected it.
Not only was it genuine, but it was also a rare level-four citizenship card.
Becoming a level-four citizen required an immense amount of points, something even many genetic warriors couldn’t achieve in their lifetime.
To buy those points with money would require a fortune, far beyond the reach of ordinary wealthy individuals.
The other way to earn such a card was to become a powerful master of the physical arts.
But Qin Feng was only seventeen—could he already be a grandmaster?
If that were true, his talent would be terrifying, even surpassing that of the genius Lin Tianyang.
The lieutenant found it hard to believe.
Geniuses like Lin Tianyang are rare, even in a major city.
How could there be more of them?
Regardless of how Qin Feng had obtained his level-four citizenship card, he is clearly someone not to be trifled with.
Although the lieutenant himself was a citizen, he was only at level one, placing him lower in status than Qin Feng.
With this in mind, the lieutenant returned the card, his attitude now much more respectful.
“Please, come with me. I’ll take you to see the captain,” he said politely.
“Thank you!” Qin Feng pulled Chuchu along and followed the lieutenant.
The other refugees could only watch in silence…