Just as Zane was struggling to decide whether to go to the bathhouse first, eat first, or simply take the Doctor straight to a hotel, a fiery red figure came running over from the distance in a hurry.
"Zane, quick, something bad happened…"
Seeing Chixia rushing over in a flurry, Zane waved his hand to calm her down.
"You're already grown up, why are you still so rash? If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. What are you panicking for?"
"Rover fainted at the research institute."
"What!?"
Before Chixia could even finish speaking, her vision spun. By the time she came back to her senses, she realized she was already slung over Zane's shoulder.
On his other shoulder, he was carrying another black-haired girl she didn't recognize.
"?"
Chixia had just opened her mouth to ask, but the wind rushing past her face forced all her questions back down her throat.
Today, Chixia finally experienced firsthand what it meant to be Jinzhou's flying hero… at the opposite extreme, Jinzhou's ground shrimp.
Since he wasn't a Resonator, Zane couldn't use the grappling hook function from the Pangu Terminal.
In this situation, if Zane wanted to farm the land once, he had to start on foot from a rocky Terrace, then make a big detour west toward Yunling Valley, and finally return to Jinzhou City before sunset to catch dinner.
This kind of high-intensity travel training directly resulted in Zane running as if he had gained a cat-toy speed buff.
———
Very quickly, Zane carried Chixia and the Doctor to the Huaxu Research Institute.
The moment he rushed inside, Zane saw that in the simulated combat area, a group of people were gathered around a device. Among the crowd, a sharp voice seemed to be arguing about something.
"I told you long ago, don't let someone as important as Rover enter the simulation field. Look, now there's a problem!"
A fat man in a white lab coat stood beside the bed leading into the simulation field, pointing at Baizhi and shouting loudly.
"Great, just great. Let's see how you're going to explain this to Lady Jinhsi! I've said it before, everyone your medical department recruits is trash. If it had been handed to me earlier, Rover wouldn't have ended up like this."
Facing the fat man's accusations, Baizhi didn't respond. She simply kept a cold expression and continued checking the device's operation.
Compared to arguing about who was right or wrong, what mattered more now was figuring out what had happened inside the simulation field.
Seeing that Baizhi ignored him, the fat man became even angrier. The layers of fat on his face twisted together like a ferocious beast.
His greasy hands slammed loudly against the device beside him, showing no concern at all for Rover lying inside.
"Hey, say something. Cat got your tongue? I told you already, if you don't have the ability, then don't just..."
"Baizhi was only worried about Rover's condition."
In the end, Yangyang couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, placing herself between the fat man and the simulation device.
His attempt to assert authority interrupted, the fat man was just about to curse. But after taking a closer look, he realized she wasn't from the institute. His shrewd little eyes rolled as he tested the waters.
"You are…?"
Yangyang didn't think much of it and immediately answered.
"A temporary investigator under the Midnight Rangers, Yangyang."
She originally thought that hearing the name of the Midnight Rangers would make him back off, but unexpectedly, the fat man became even more brazen.
Dropping his earlier humility, his narrow eyes squinted slightly as his gaze shamelessly roamed over Yangyang.
"Oh? I was wondering who it was. Turns out you're just some stinking soldier."
"You..."
Yangyang was about to argue, but then she saw that those greasy hands had already been raised high.
"Is this how you soldiers talk to your superiors?"
The next second, the slap came down.
But how could a desk-bound fat man compare to an elite steppe soldier of the Midnight Rangers? The slow slap was easily dodged by Yangyang.
According to her usual training, at this moment she should have followed up with a kick to his calf to prevent a counterattack.
Or simply taken the chance to stab a blade straight into his stomach…
But considering his identity, Yangyang held back and didn't strike.
Clearly, the fat man hadn't expected the girl to actually dodge. Caught off guard, his slap hit the glass beside him.
In the crowded testing room, a miserable scream instantly rang out.
"You actually dare to dodge!? I'm an expert in life sciences, and the deputy director of the institute is my distant cousin!" The fat man wailed at the top of his lungs, immediately ordering several of his lackeys to rush at Yangyang.
At that moment, a sharp sound of wind cutting through the air was heard. Before the fat man could react, he felt a pain in his waist.
The next instant, his three hundred pounds of greasy flesh was sent flying into the air, performing an aerial stunt on the spot.
After spinning three hundred and sixty degrees, he slammed heavily onto the ground.
Even his guards let out over a dozen cries in just a few seconds before collapsing one after another.
The person who arrived clapped his hands, a bit confused. He clearly hadn't used that much force, so why were those guards screaming so miserably…
"You did well, Yangyang."
A familiar voice sounded by her ear. Only at this moment did the strong girl finally let down her guard, and the tears she had been holding back for so long began to pour out uncontrollably.
Yangyang quickly wiped away the tears blocking her vision, and what came into sight was that reassuring smile.
"Senior…"
Seeing the familiar figure, the girl's body trembled slightly. Then, like a bird returning to its nest, she threw herself into his warm embrace, tightly clutching the corner of his clothes, resting her head against Zane's chest as she softly sobbed.
"However…" Zane paused, gently smoothing her hair and calming her fear.
"Next time you meet trash like this, just kill them. I've told you before, there's nothing in all of Jinzhou City that I can't handle. Even if you break the sky, I'll make it fix itself."
"Mm…"
Yangyang nodded softly. Listening to his steady voice, her heart pounded uncontrollably. She curled up tightly in his warm embrace, greedily taking in the comforting presence from Zane.
"Which bastard... ahhh!"
The moment the fat man spoke, Zane stomped down hard on his arm. After a crisp sound of bones breaking, it was followed by the fat man's pig-like scream.
"Was this the hand that tried to touch my Yangyang?"
Hearing how Zane referred to her, Yangyang immediately flushed with embarrassment, burying her face deeper into his chest.
"Who are you!? I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"
Enduring the intense pain, the fat man struggled to lift his head. With just one glance, he saw that striking white hair and those emerald eyes filled with killing intent.
Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar white hair, in that instant, the fat man vaguely recalled a story that only circulated among the bureaucratic class…