Bursting Tomato 15

The faint gloom that had been lingering in Lu Mingqiu's heart was immediately dispelled by her actions. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, swallowed the thousand words she wanted to say, rose from her chair, and averted her gaze. "I'm going to hypnotize Dongye He."

The incident at the ranch had stirred up a lot of trouble. The employees left in the dormitory building, although their communications were blocked and they couldn't spread the news right away, Hei Ge couldn't keep their network locked down forever. There was no such thing as a wall that couldn't be penetrated.

Dealing with Dongye He as soon as possible was the top priority.

"There's a bedroom behind that door. Go take a shower and change your clothes." Lu Mingqiu gestured to a small gray door on the opposite wall. "The clothes are in the cabinet, one size fits all."

With that, she pushed open the door and left.

She was undoubtedly a strong person—at least Yan Xianchuan thought so.

Regarding Atmore's death, her account had neither exaggerated nor belittled him; she genuinely found it a pity. He had been a good man, witty in speech, with a sense of justice and loyalty in his heart.

But everyone dies eventually. Dying on the path of fulfilling one's ideals was certainly more worthwhile than dying in a brawl among bounty hunters.

At the very least, Atmore would have preferred the former.

Yan Xianchuan could see that Lu Mingqiu's heart wasn't at peace, so she deliberately changed her way of speaking.

Since the other woman didn't care for hollow comfort, she offered the most honest thoughts instead.

Yan Xianchuan followed Lu Mingqiu's advice, went to the simple bathroom in the inner room, and took a shower, washing off the dust and bloodstains that clung to her. Her body's defense had been much higher than others', so she'd only sustained numerous scratches, which had already formed a thin layer of scabs.

Yan Xianchuan found them unsightly, so she rubbed them all off, revealing the flesh-pink scars beneath that hadn't fully healed yet.

Ugh...

She stared at herself in the mirror for a while, then curled her lips in distaste. It looked worse than the red scabs had—at least those had a certain beauty of inflicted brokenness. Now she looked like nothing so much as a plucked chicken.

The cabinet held several outfits, tops and bottoms—very simple white short-sleeves and wide-leg pants, unisex, suitable for anyone.

After slipping them on, she stepped out of the room in low spirits. There weren't many people in the corridor, and the few she passed were coming and going in a hurry, each with their own tasks.

With Dongye He captured, they had their hands full—how to develop the Dongye family in the future, how to cooperate with the Resistance, how to extend their own tendrils into other conglomerate clans, carve up their resources, and insert their own people into Dongye's enterprises...

The Resistance had been fighting against corporations and conglomerates, openly and covertly, for as long as it had existed. Their actions could be described as snatching meat from a starving wolf's jaws, and this time they had grabbed the biggest piece yet.

Everyone was busy, except Yan Xianchuan.

She stood in the middle of the silver-white corridor, glancing left and right, a look of confusion on her face.

She had no idea where Lu Mingqiu was.

The other woman was busy; sending a message out of the blue would surely disturb her, and that would be rude.

Bright white ceiling lights cast their glow, leaving the corridor spotless and immaculate, its tiled floor reflecting her form like a mirror.

Yan Xianchuan ran a hand through her still-damp hair and decided to take a look around, room by room.

After all, she'd never once wandered through the Resistance's underground base.

The last time she'd gone in Nanzhou City for her checkup, Lu Mingqiu had led her the whole way, taking her to a few specific rooms. What the base was like, how large it was—she had no idea.

And this time in Night City, she hadn't even known that there was a Spark branch base here at all; she had stayed with Lu Mingqiu in a safe house.

Lu Mingqiu had never shared much in the way of specific organizational details.

When she'd led the others down to the hospital lobby, some had looked surprised, none of them had. That said, it wasn't as if all members knew there was a branch hidden there.

Everyone understood only a fraction of the organization—a deliberate precaution, so that a captured member couldn't leak too many secrets.

Yan Xianchuan, for her part, wasn't particularly concerned with questions of trust.

With keen interest, she strolled along the corridor, peering through the windows of every door she came across.

Most doors, however, were sealed with no windows at all. Of the few that had them, one led to a training room, where several people were sparring, sweat flying like rain. Another was the cafeteria—a spacious room with seven or eight tables, which, considering the base's usual population, were ample.

Yan Xianchuan wandered into the cafeteria, where only two people sat. They both looked up at her.

They had unfamiliar faces, but they wore the standard replacement uniforms of the base—so they were fellow members she didn't know.

One of them raised a hand over her head and waved. "Come sit over here!"

She had reddish-brown hair tied back in a ponytail, with a long braid woven from the hanging locks, and a beaming smile.

Her brows matched her hair, her eyes were green, with a high nose and deep-set features—a classic European look.

Yan Xianchuan walked over and saw on the table a beef-and-potato rice bowl, a large pizza with fries, two dishes, and a bowl of soup.

The soup was creamy white, as if made with milk, with bits of mushroom floating on top. "What's this?" she asked.

The red-haired woman glanced where she pointed. "Cream chowder, haven't you ever had it? It's amazing!" she said. "Sit, sit! What's your name? I'm Aries, he's Mouse."

Yan Xianchuan sat down on the side, still staring at the pale soup. "I'm Polite Biscuits. This... cream chowder, what does it taste like?"

"Sweet," Mouse said. He was bald, his eyebrows sparse, a stark contrast to Aries's thick mane.

At the mention of the soup, he wrinkled his nose, clearly unimpressed.

"Sweet?" Yan Xianchuan had never had sweet soup before. She usually had the savory kind—egg and tomato soup, seaweed and egg drop.

"If you don't mind, you can have a taste," Aries said, pushing the cutlery container over.

Yan Xianchuan pulled out a metal spoon, reached for the thick creamy liquid, scooped up a spoonful, brought it to her lips, and gave it a tentative lick.

Not bad?

She smacked her lips, downed the whole spoonful, then set the spoon down and quickly placed a few orders on the digital menu on the table.

The selection wasn't vast—it seems they served different items each day—so she thought a moment, then ordered a fruit pizza, a snack platter, a cola, and some fried chicken.

These were quick to prepare, arriving within moments.

Yan Xianchuan wasn't the type to get social anxiety; sharing a table with strangers didn't even qualify as a challenge for her. The other two clearly weren't either. Aries's personality was as exuberant as the freckles on her face.

"Hey, are you one of the members who came to Night City for a mission? I don't recall seeing you before," she said, lowering her voice as if to share a secret, her expression lively. "Don't get the wrong idea—I'm not prying into mission details. I just wanted to ask you about Oriole."

Yan Xianchuan nibbled a fry, eyeing her. "What do you want with her?"

"She's my idol!" Even at a lowered volume, the excitement in Aries's voice was unmistakable. "Do you know how many remarkable achievements she has? And she's so gentle, so meticulous, so considerate..."

Her face flushed, the color clearly visible beneath her pale skin. "You've been on missions with her—is she really like the rumors say?"

The melting cheese in her mouth suddenly didn't taste as good. Yan Xianchuan eyed her warily. "You like her?"

"Everyone in the whole Night City branch knows it," Mouse said, taking a big gulp of hawthorn juice. "She's filed transfer requests several times, hoping to be an assistant to Oriole, and every one has been rejected for lack of proper justification."

Yan Xianchuan swallowed the pizza in her mouth, then took another slow bite, and said plainly, "But you don't even know what she's really like."

"Does that matter?" Aries looked a bit displeased. "Does my liking her depend on what kind of person she is? And it's not like I don't know her—I've read every public record of her missions, and I've studied every course she's taken. I just haven't worked alongside her yet."

"My understanding of her is more than enough, and it's certainly more than most!"

"Do you know her name?" Yan Xianchuan nodded as if in agreement, then said abruptly. "Her likes, her pursuits, her favorite food... you know none of them."

"The person you like is just a figment of your imagination. Of the real her, you know nothing."

Her words were light, carrying no disdain, merely a straightforward statement, yet Aries found them more grating than the most direct insult. She clenched her fists. "What are you trying to say!"

"Thanks for the recommendation; the cream chowder was delicious," Yan Xianchuan said with a sincere expression. Then she replied to Lu Mingqiu's message asking where she was, saying she was in the cafeteria.

The Resistance naturally forbade fighting among its members. Mouse stepped in as peacemaker, restraining Aries. "What's the rush? Her points aren't entirely without merit. Besides, Oriole is already here—you can ask her yourself. Seize the opportunity; that's what matters."

As he spoke, the subject of their conversation pushed open the cafeteria door and headed straight toward them.

Her features were unremarkable, but her overall bearing was unique and impossible to overlook.

Aries flushed with excitement and quickly stood, striding forward to greet her. "Oriole, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Aries! A permanent member of the Night City branch."

Lu Mingqiu smiled at her. "I remember you. What is it? Is there something you need from me?"

"Yes! Something very important." Aries stared at her intently. "I've submitted applications many times to be transferred to Nanjin City—ideally as your direct subordinate—but each one's been rejected."

"It was me who rejected them," Lu Mingqiu said. "Each region's personnel assignment is an optimal configuration based on careful combination. Unless necessary, personnel shifts aren't made."

"That's not a good enough reason." Aries looked unconvinced, with a fearless, headstrong energy. "I like you! Isn't that reason enough? And from what I've observed, you're not currently in a relationship."

Lu Mingqiu raised a hand, and the other woman fell silent.

"I'm sorry, but that's precisely a non-proper reason; I cannot approve it." Her smile receded slightly, and she spoke in a tone of gentle admonition. "Besides, I'm already married."

With a slight nod, she walked around Aries and up to the table. "Eating to your satisfaction?"

"It's pretty good. Do you want some?" Yan Xianchuan craned her neck to look up at her, her eyes dark and bright.

"I don't eat. It's time to go," Lu Mingqiu said.

Yan Xianchuan obediently set down the pizza and pocketed the fries.

"You've got cream on your lips," Lu Mingqiu reminded her.

So she pulled out a napkin and wiped her mouth.

As the two of them passed by Aries, Yan Xianchuan paused, then gave her a very polite nod.

"Goodbye."

Once out of the cafeteria and back in the corridor, she finally asked, "Are you done with your work? Where are we headed?"

Lu Mingqiu replied, "Taking Dongye He back to Quhai Tower."