Broke

Having failed as a peacemaker and only made things worse, Tu Ran had no choice but to brace herself and block the two men's attacks.

Zhou Ming and Qi Tongda had been brawling for years, so they had a certain understanding.

One focused on the upper body, the other on the lower body. Tu Ran jumped around, barely letting her feet touch the ground.

But strength was strength. Back then, a seven-man squad had failed to get the better of her; now, with just the two of them, and with Tu Ran having grown significantly stronger through real combat since, the two were no more than a snack to her.

She sidestepped, slipped between them, and raised both elbows at once, striking with heavy blows. The two, who had still been charging a beat too slow, were flipped over. Zhou Ming crashed into the chair he'd shoved over earlier, shattering it into pieces, while Qi Tongda slammed into the ground, clutching his chin and writhing in pain.

Standing nearby, Xiao Miao sucked in a sharp breath on their behalf.

He hurried over and pulled up Zhou Ming, who was closest to him.

He was about to help Qi Tongda when he saw that Tu Ran had already walked over.

Tu Ran extended a hand toward Qi Tongda. "Master Qi, you won't hold this against me, will you?"

Qi Tongda shot her a sour glare. "Do you take me for someone that petty?" He took her hand and stood up, rubbing his chin as he wobbled back to his workstation, his back to Tu Ran, staring out the window.

His silhouette looked inexplicably dejected.

The young master's mind flashed back to the time seven of them had attacked her and she'd crippled his leg; it had taken him half a month to recover.

The young master had set out to reclaim his lost dignity.

But before he'd even picked up his face, his pride had been trampled into the dirt.

The young master wept silently inside.

He would never provoke Tu Ran with his fists again.

Compared to the suddenly silent Master Qi, Zhou Ming was a chatterbox.

That fall had knocked something loose in his brain.

"Tu, Ran, how did you get even stronger?!" Zhou Ming pointed at her.

He was aching all over and couldn't stand steady, swaying like a drunk looking for a fight.

Xiao Miao gripped his waist with both hands to keep him from charging off again for another beating.

"Tell me! Why do you, a woman, have so much strength!"

Tu Ran raised an eyebrow, watching him calmly without speaking.

"Tu, Ran, are you hiding your true strength?" He squinted slightly, looking especially lecherous.

"No, I'm not." Tu Ran's expression was innocent and harmless.

Zhou Ming refused to accept it.

"You're hiding your strength." He was sure of it. Though this fight had hurt, it was noticeably less painful than the last time.

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Really, I'm not." Tu Ran sighed in exasperation.

"You are, don't think you can fool me." He gestured at his eyes.

Tu Ran felt exhausted. "Fine, I'm hiding my strength."

"Who are you looking down on, hiding your strength in a fight?!" Zhou Ming suddenly exploded.

"Brother Zhou, aren't you just picking a fight?" Even Xiao Miao couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mind your own business?" He pushed Xiao Miao away and staggered to a desk to steady himself.

It happened to be Qi Tongda's desk.

The two locked eyes.

A silent exchange.

Master Qi: The way you're scrambling for a comeback is truly pathetic.

Zhou Ming: ? Why does my nose suddenly feel sore?

Master Qi: Mourning your lost dignity.

Zhou Ming: "..."

Master Qi: "..."

"Done fighting?" The door suddenly swung open from outside, and Ye Qingcai poked his head in.

Seeing the broken chair on the floor, exactly as he'd expected, and then watching Zhou Ming clutching his waist with tears in his eyes and Qi Tongda gripping his chin with tears in his eyes, he knew how it had turned out.

He stepped in and looked over Tu Ran, who stood unharmed with a faint smile. He coughed twice. "The logistics people will be here soon to replace the door. Clean up a bit. Don't give them anything to laugh about."

"Yes." Xiao Miao quickly summoned the cleaning robot from the corner to sweep away the chair's remains.

Tu Ran seemed to think of something and made a circuit around the office.

When she passed by Zhou Ming, he trembled involuntarily.

Tu Ran didn't even pay him any attention. Only Master Qi noticed, giving a derisive snort, which earned him a threatening glare from Zhou Ming.

The others all watched Tu Ran's movements, wondering what she was up to.

Tu Ran raised a hand. "Captain, I don't have a chair anymore."

So that was all it was. Ye Qingcai let out a barely audible sigh of relief.

"I'll have logistics bring you one shortly."

Tu Ran nodded obediently.

"The cost of the chair will be deducted from your salary." Ye Qingcai added offhandedly.

Tu Ran's smile froze on her face.

"You're charging for a chair? How—"

The word "stingy" reached her throat, and she swallowed it back.

She couldn't say it out loud, or she'd look broke.

"Of course. It's public property. Don't Pioneer Team members have to pay for their own combat suits?"

But that was a combat suit.

For the Pioneer Team, only damaged combat suits cost money. Everything else was free, including weapons.

"Then if my weapon gets damaged, I'd have to—"

"Yes." Ye Qingcai said. "Anything from the Executive Department, if it's broken, you pay for it."

Tu Ran: "...Fine, I'll be more careful from now on."

Qi Tongda, who had assumed Tu Ran was poor, came back to life. "Captain, have them send me five more chairs. Deduct it from my salary."

Wang Qiang, who was sorting various bombs, looked up and said in a muffled voice, "What do you need so many chairs for?"

Qi Tongda glanced at Tu Ran to make sure she was looking, then lifted his bruised chin and said smugly, "This young master wants to lie on them and sleep."

"Did you get your brain knocked out?" Wang Qiang said, genuinely oblivious. "Sleeping on chairs is uncomfortable."

"This young master has money. I can sleep wherever I want." Master Qi lifted his chin arrogantly.

"Oh." Wang Qiang still didn't understand, finally concluding that rich people were just fools with money.

Standing up, he stretched his waist. The two-meter-tall man nearly touched the ceiling. His neck hurt from tinkering with bombs for too long, so he left with a parting comment: "I'm going outside to stretch. Call me when there's a mission."

Master Qi was very pleased, feeling he'd gotten a measure of revenge. He crossed his legs, narrowed his eyes, and hummed a tune that was popular lately.

Tu Ran ignored his showing off and looked at the time. Twelve noon.

Ha!

The perfect chance for revenge.

"Master Qi, do you keep your word?"

Qi Tongda opened his eyes, unsure why Tu Ran was asking. "Of course, this young master is a man of his word."

"Then let's go eat. Didn't you say you'd treat me to a meal before?"

Master Qi's smile collapsed.

He'd forgotten about that.

"Let's go, Master," Tu Ran said, walking over and hoisting him off the chair. She called out to the others, "Master Qi is treating today. Let's all go eat."

"Awesome!" Xiao Miao was the first to get excited.

Master Qi grumbled reluctantly, "When did I say I'd treat them?"

"Oh?" Tu Ran looked at him in surprise. "Really? The young master of a top hundred conglomerate family can only afford to treat one person?"