Precious Young Masters and Misses

Tu Ran walked out of the interrogation room at five in the afternoon.

She hadn't eaten since seven that morning, and much of the intervening time had been spent fighting for her life, burning energy at a terrifying rate. Her stomach was practically gnawing at her spine.

The Adamantine Body had replenished some energy, but it wasn't nearly enough.

She planned to grab a quick bite at a convenience store near the Inspection Department, then rush back to Pandalim District. Her shift wouldn't end until seven the next morning.

Tu Ran couldn't help but silently curse the person who designed this work schedule.

Work twenty-four hours, rest twelve.

Was that something any normal human could handle?

She spent a good dozen rounds of mental cursing before she felt satisfied. The elevator stopped on the first floor.

Tu Ran made her way through the bustling lobby, ducked into the 24-hour convenience store, grabbed a nutrient drink and rice balls, and wolfed them down. Then she hopped on the magnetic rail and headed back to Pandalim District.

She stopped by her hotel room first, emptying the laser gun parts she'd hidden on her person into a bag, which she then tucked into the deepest corner of her closet.

She also contacted logistics to request a new combat helmet.

Her previous helmet now lay in pieces on the floor of the Sankar Arsenal.

She'd been burning through combat helmets way too fast—two in the span of a few days.

Her monthly salary was now completely gone.

With a hint of sorrow, Tu Ran took a car to the Pandalim District Executive Department's meeting room.

Only one gene monster had appeared in Pandalim District today, quickly taken care of by the pioneers stationed there. Tu Ran's presence in the meeting room was just a backup.

A handful of people had gathered in the room, scattered and quiet. No one was in the mood to talk. They sat silently in their seats, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere from this morning.

A pioneer from her batch had died in the past few hours.

He'd been unlucky enough to be assigned to Xie Hong's group. In the Eastern District, which Xie Hong oversaw, only Xie Wei survived; everyone else was wiped out, including the five second-generation pioneers under his command.

Other second-generation pioneers under other leaders had also suffered losses. Xiao Di's team, for instance, had one pioneer torn apart by multiple gene monsters. Min Tao's team had two pioneers with severe brain injuries, still lying unconscious in nutrient pods at the Medical Department.

These people had only graduated from the training base yesterday, and today they faced such a heavy blow. Everyone's mood was especially grim.

Compared to them, Tu Ran's team had come out the most intact.

They were already the cream of the crop among second-generation pioneers, with solid abilities. On top of that, Tu Ran had been lucky—the Southern District she led had no packs of large gene monsters, no highly explosive materials. They'd followed her through the Southern District, which was far less dangerous than the other areas.

"Tu Ran... senior?"

Seeing her enter, the others stood up, their gazes uncertain.

"Sit," Tu Ran said, hooking a chair with her foot and pulling it over. "How's your injury?"

Shen Yunhe looked up, knowing she was addressing him. He quickly replied, "I stripped my clothes off in time—just minor burns. Two recovery shots, and I'm good now."

"And you all? I didn't get a chance to check on you in the field." Tu Ran looked at the other four.

"No serious injuries either. A few recovery shots, and we're fine." The rest chimed in.

"Good." Tu Ran nodded, then spotted Xiao Di in the same meeting room. He was lost in self-blame after losing a team member.

Tu Ran walked over and patted his shoulder as a gesture of comfort. She wanted to say something reassuring, but nothing came to mind. She wasn't great at comforting people, especially when it came to mourning a life. Words felt hollow.

Xiao Di felt her concern and gave a bitter smile in return.

To Tu Ran, this was the time to give these emotionally wounded people a break to recover. But the damn capitalists didn't waste a single second—right after facing life and death, they were ordered back to duty.

"Beep beep—"

Her communicator buzzed twice.

Tu Ran looked down. It was a mission reminder.

They were ordered to escort the graduating students of a prestigious middle school in Pandalim District to the Songwu Experimental Base for a study tour.

Tu Ran's fingers clenched at her side, her jaw tight. A chilling frost settled over her face.

Songwu Experimental Base was one of many experimental bases under the Research Institute. It housed all kinds of aberrants—some alive, some preserved as specimens from their corpses.

Most of these aberrants had been brought out from the Threshold by pioneers. A few had slipped out by parasitizing pioneers' bodies, only to escape later and roam the cities before being recaptured by pioneers.

In short, every single one had been bought with the lives of pioneers.

None of the Research Institute's laboratories were open to the public. For a middle school to go there for a study tour, Tu Ran didn't need to look up the school's name to know it was an aristocratic school—and probably one of the crème de la crème.

She glanced at the school's name, searched it online to verify her guess, and easily found the relevant information.

Sure enough. It was a school ordinary aristocrats couldn't even get into.

A top-tier Federation academy.

Rumor had it that half of the Federation's high-ranking officials had graduated from there.

No wonder they could get into the Research Institute, and no wonder they could command a Pioneer Team escort.

Tu Ran sneered inwardly. This was the Federation government for you. They didn't care that the Pioneer Team had just fought a major battle, that some had lost comrades and were drowning in grief. The upper echelons would never understand. They only knew that the next generation of their families needed to learn about aberrants, and getting up close came with high risks—so they'd have the Pioneer Team escort them personally.

Besides Tu Ran, the others had also received the mission alert.

Tu Ran's gaze swept past Xiao Di and landed on the rest. "Take some time here to steady yourselves. I'll take this mission."

Xiao Di shot her a grateful look.

Shen Yunhe, Le Qin, and the others grabbed their weapons and stood, following Tu Ran as she left.

As they pushed through the door, they nearly collided with Diao Hongzhi, who was about to walk in.

Tu Ran didn't even spare him a glance, striding past him.

The five behind her, seeing her attitude, didn't know what had happened between them, but they stood firmly behind her, ignoring Diao Hongzhi as well.

But he called out to her directly.

"Just the six of you going?"

Tu Ran turned, fixing him with a cold stare. "And what?"

"Six people won't cut it! There are so many students—if any one of them gets hurt, you'll be in for it!" Diao Hongzhi craned his neck, trying to peer into the meeting room, and shouted, "What are you all still sitting there for? Six people can't possibly handle this! Those young masters and ladies are precious—they can't afford a single mistake!"