Transferred from the Pioneer Team — Zhou Ming, Here I Come

Tu Ran rubbed her rear. "So much strength—looks like you're fully recovered. Wild boar, I'll go get your discharge papers for you."

With that, she slipped out of the ward in a flash.

Xi Chunzhi, who had been toyed with again, glared at her retreating figure, but the sight of her running off while clutching her butt made her burst out laughing despite herself.

Tu Ran had originally planned to take Xi Chunzhi to a fancy restaurant to celebrate, but Xi Chunzhi insisted on eating food cooked by Tu Ran's own hands, so Tu Ran had to detour to the supermarket to buy ingredients.

The two of them wandered for a long time, picking and choosing, and finally each carried two big bags home.

Tu Ran cooked while Xi Chunzhi helped on the side, and a full table of dishes was soon ready.

"Here's to your full recovery, and to my wallet keeping a shred of dignity," Tu Ran said, raising her glass.

Xi Chunzhi clinked glasses with her. "Cheapskate. I'll pay you back what I owe you later."

"You'd better. Once you become a bounty hunter, your first paycheck goes straight to me."

"Pfft." Xi Chunzhi shot her a look.

Considering Xi Chunzhi had just been discharged from the hospital, Tu Ran didn't let her drink much. After dinner, she sent her back to her own place to rest.

After cleaning up the dishes, Tu Ran lay down on the sofa and dialed Xie Xu's number.

"What is it?"

Tu Ran toyed with the private communicator Xie Xu had given her earlier. "You said before you could get Xi Chunzhi out of the Pioneer Team."

"Yes."

"Does that still hold?"

"It does."

"Help me send her away."

Xie Xu had already expected this and barely hesitated. "Fine."

"When can it be done?" Tu Ran asked. The sooner, the better.

"Tomorrow," Xie Xu replied.

Fast enough. Tu Ran was satisfied.

After hanging up, she got up to take a shower, then lay back down on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, Tu Ran crossed Diao Hongzhi's name off her death list.

He was dead.

Nick Wells wasn't far from death either.

Now all that remained was... Xu Bingli.

As for him, Tu Ran decided to shelve that for now.

She had a feeling Xie Xu would make his move before she did.

The fact that there was a laboratory beneath the Medical Department wasn't something Xie Xu would just turn a blind eye to.

Rolling over, Tu Ran closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly.

...

At seven in the evening, Tu Ran, who was supposed to head to Pandalim District, received a temporary reassignment notice. She was temporarily transferred out of the Pioneer Team and assigned to the External Affairs Group under the Executive Department for fieldwork—in short, she went from being a pioneer to a security guard.

This was unprecedented in the Pioneer Team.

Although guards didn't have the rank, fame, or benefits of pioneers, the working environment was a dream come true for pioneers: no more daily life-or-death situations, no more working around the clock until their feet fell off.

After changing into the Executive Department's exclusive combat uniform, Tu Ran received a message from Ding Naiqing. It was a voice message. She tapped it open, and an exaggerated voice came through: "Ran-jie? How come you left the Pioneer Team? What am I supposed to do without you, ahhhh???"

Tu Ran: "..."

Picking up her submachine gun, she pushed open the equipment room door. "You want to come too? I can have them transfer you over as well."

Ding Naiqing replied immediately, "No no no no, Ran-jie, don't you dare say anything to them."

He had chosen the Pioneer Team because he wanted adventure and excitement. Now that he was being offered a spot in the Executive Department, of course he didn't want it.

"Then Ran-jie, are you coming back? The notice says temporary transfer, so you should be coming back, right?" Ding Naiqing asked cautiously.

"Of course I'll be back."

It was just unclear when. The situation was complex and shifting now; nothing was certain.

"Good to know you'll be back. We were all lamenting the loss of a pioneer as clever and brave as you to the Pioneer Team."

"Cut the flattery," Tu Ran said with a laugh.

"Take care over there, Ran-jie. I won't bother you anymore—I've got to go catch some gene monsters too. Eh, suddenly a little jealous of you."

Ding Naiqing sighed and logged off.

Tu Ran put away her communicator and headed toward the office of External Affairs Group Nine, the team she was about to join.

"What are you doing here in our External Affairs Group Nine?!"

Zhou Ming, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, sat cross-armed on his crude desk. Seeing Tu Ran push through the door, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

When he realized she was dressed in the Executive Department's guard uniform, it hit him. "No way! The pioneer joining us is you?!"

"Yeah, surprise? Didn't see that coming?" Tu Ran raised an eyebrow.

Inwardly, she was just as stunned as Zhou Ming. She hadn't expected to run into him here either.

The expression on Zhou Ming's face froze, then shifted again and again, until it was fully replaced by resentment.

There were five other people sitting in the office, all of whom had fought Tu Ran before.

But back then there had been seven. Now, counting Zhou Ming, there were only six.

Tu Ran's eyes swept over them, and she asked, "What about Guard Wang?" The one whose nose she had broken.

Zhou Ming ignored her, sitting back down in his chair with his back to her, clearly intending to treat her like air.

The one she'd given a concussion pursed his lips. Considering they'd have to work together for a while, he spoke up: "He died on a mission the day before yesterday."

"Otherwise, why do you think you got into our External Affairs Group Nine," Zhou Ming added from behind, without turning around.

Tu Ran's smile faded. "Sorry. I didn't know before."

Zhou Ming snorted coldly with his back to her. "Crocodile tears."

Tu Ran suppressed the urge to punch him in the back of the head.

In light of the deceased, she'd let it slide for today.

"It's fine. This kind of thing happens often in our External Affairs Group."

The man she'd given a concussion, on the other hand, was extremely amiable.

Tu Ran looked at his name tag: Ye Qingcai.

"Come over, all of you. Get acquainted with our new member," he called out to the others.

Then Tu Ran watched as the second person she'd given a concussion emerged from beneath the projector at the front of the office, holding maintenance tools she'd never seen before, with black grime on his cheeks.

"Hello there! I'm Xiao Miao, the technician for External Affairs Group Nine. Anything you need repaired or maintained, you can leave it to me—weapons, communicators, I can fix them all." He smiled, revealing two dimples that, combined with the black grime on his cheeks, made him look like a little coal-mining kitten.

Coincidentally, his name had a character pronounced "miao," which sounded like meow.

Xiao Miao, little meow.

"Don't listen to him. He's a hack—been tinkering for ages and can't even fix a projector." Another person walked over and unceremoniously called him out.

Little Meow immediately pouted and looked at him with grievance. "Young Master, that's too much."

Young Master?

Tu Ran turned to look at him too. He was fair-skinned, tall, and slender, with his hands in his pockets and a laid-back swagger. "I'm Qi Tongda, the only son of the Qi family, one of the Federation's top hundred conglomerates. Scout for External Affairs Group Nine. You can call me Young Master Qi, just like the rest of them."

"Top hundred conglomerates of the Federation?" Tu Ran said the words with difficulty.