Chase Game

Meng Dong's words piqued Ling Yi's curiosity, and he asked with great interest:

"May I ask what your dream was when you were fifteen?"

Meng Dong laughed heartily and said, "To slay demons and monsters, and protect our home and country."

Ling Yi was initially surprised, but seeing Meng Dong's composed expression, he realized that this was no joke and immediately became respectful.

But then a few discordant voices came from behind.

"Pfft, hahaha... How old are you, still spouting these cringeworthy slogans?"

"Exactly, if you really want to protect our country, why didn't I see you join the army before?"

"Hahaha... Kid, you're still too young..."

Ling Yi shifted her gaze and saw five middle-aged people dressed in brightly colored clothes, three men and two women, who all looked to be in their forties or fifties.

The moment Ling Yi saw these people, one sentence popped into her mind—

The chick knows the ambition of the swan.

The group continued to laugh and mock.

Zhang Qiang frowned and tried to stop him, but this only elicited more intense laughter.

Ling Yi turned to look at Meng Dong, who was still smiling calmly, without saying a word, neither anxious nor annoyed.

Tang Yuebai stepped forward and calmly offered his help:

"Wu Yun, your group 3 has failed several missions since Feng Yiliu left. Are you planning to disband?"

Among the five, the middle-aged man in floral shirt and pants with long curly hair is Wu Yun, who is also the captain of the "Wang Yun Group 3" of the Beiguan branch.

Upon hearing Tang Yuebai's words, his previously nonchalant and mocking expression instantly turned gloomy.

As it turns out, lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest knife.

Wang Yun's Group 3 was originally called "Yunliu Group 3". It was previously formed by Wang Yun and Feng Yiliu, with Wang Yun as the captain and Feng Yiliu as the vice captain.

However, as time went on, the two became increasingly incompatible. Feng Yiliu, dissatisfied with some of Wang Yun's ideas, left in anger.

After that, Yunliu Group 3 became Wang Yun Group 3.

However, without Feng Yiliu, the third group's missions always failed, and rumors circulated within the association that "the third group is probably going to be disbanded."

Wang Yun, now struck where it hurt, glared at Tang Yuebai with a dark expression, while the other four men stared at him with furious eyes, as if they were about to breathe fire.

Just then, Li Qingping came out and also noticed that something was wrong.

It's obvious that Wang Yun started this trouble, and Li Qingping will definitely stand up for his team members.

"Strike the snake at its vital point," he stretched and said.

"Oh dear, we've finished another S-rank mission. Our second group is almost catching up with the first group now..."

"Hey? Brother Wang Yun is here too. Why are you so angry? Did the mission fail again?"

Wang Yun was speechless with anger and said irritably, "I'm here to accept a mission..."

Li Qingping smiled "kindly" and said, "Oh, I see... Alright, then I wish you all the best in this mishap!"

"Oh no! It's 'instant success,' hahaha..."

Wang Yun stopped the four team members who were about to rush forward and attack, gritting his teeth and forcing out a few words: "We'll see..."

"hehe……"

The group walked into the office under Li Qingping's smiling gaze.

Ling Yi remained largely unmoved by the mockery from Wang Yun and the others.

Zhang Qiang and Liu Hao were quite disgusted, and they kept complaining about it from the side.

Rather than complaining, Ling Yi was more curious about what Meng Dong was thinking.

His face didn't change much, but his eyes, as he looked at Wang Yun, became more profound, and he murmured:

"That's why I say... I'm very lucky..."

He thanked everyone, said goodbye to Ling Yi, and then went about his own business.

Meng Dong's incident was just a minor episode and did not affect the rest of the group's progress.

After the report was completed, the association had a designated person to handle the follow-up work.

During their free time, they are free to do as they please.

Although Ling Yi wanted to do more missions and accumulate merits as soon as possible, the association's missions were not available all the time.

He had no choice but to go back with Zhang Qiang first.

In Zhang Haiping's office, Zhou Jie, one of the members of Wang Yun's third group, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily, saying:

"Deputy Director Zhang, what do you mean by this?"

Zhang Haiping slowly raised his head, his brows furrowed, his sharp gaze piercing Zhou Jie without fear.

"Wang Yun, this is the teammate you chose."

Wang Yun sat on the sofa. Although he also felt that Zhou Jie was being reckless, he did not stop him.

Instead, it was used as a pretext to say:

"Deputy Director Zhang, our fixed teams only accept S-level and A-level missions, or at the very least B-level. You're giving us a C-level mission now..."

He paused, looked up, and met Zhang Haiping's gaze with a sinister look, then continued:

"Isn't this a bit too much of an insult to us?"

Zhang Haiping was able to rise to the position of deputy director-general, so naturally he couldn't be suppressed by his subordinates.

His expression remained unchanged, and he said in a calm tone:

"As I said, this is only the rating of the reconnaissance mission, while the energy fluctuations detected by the [Awakening Bell] are at level B or even higher."

Once you've investigated thoroughly, I'll assess it again. If you're willing to take it, then it's yours, and...

Zhang Haiping also paused, his eyes, as a manager, sweeping over each member of the three groups.

He could clearly see the resentment and anger on everyone's faces. Finally, he fixed his gaze on Wang Yun and said slowly:

"The association doesn't stipulate that fixed teams can only accept S-rank and A-rank missions, does it?"

Wang Yun paused, realizing that the association did not actually have such a rule; it was just a widely circulated claim within the association.

It's said that if a fixed squad accepts B, C, or D-level missions, it means that the squad is not strong enough.

If it's a strong team like Qingping Group 2 or Qibai Group 1, then there's no need to pay attention to this kind of statement.

The key issue is that Wang Yun's group is currently in a sensitive period, and everyone in the association is pessimistic about their future.

Whether it "works" or not is not up to them to decide.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Take it or leave it. If you don't, I'll find another team."

Zhang Haiping exhaled a cloud of smoke, filling the entire office with the smell of smoke.

Wang Yun thought for a moment, then pulled Zhou Jie aside, took a deep breath, and said:

"We'll take it... but if the follow-up mission is a B-level or higher, you must leave it to us."

"Okay, you get priority, but you only have one chance."

Wang Yun stopped the team members who wanted to speak, and then bid farewell to Zhang Haiping: "Then thank you very much, Deputy Director Zhang."

"Heh..." Zhang Haiping chuckled coldly twice.

After Wang Yun and the others left the office, Zhou Jie couldn't wait to step forward and say:

"Captain, you actually accepted? Isn't that a bit too much of a humiliation for yourself?"

The others echoed this sentiment.

"Yeah, we're a fixed team after all..."

"Exactly, why not hand it over to those amateur volleyball teams..."

Wang Yun waved his hand to interrupt everyone's speech, his forehead always shrouded in a lingering cloud of gloom.

After everyone quieted down, he explained:

"If we don't take it, it only shows that we have a guilty conscience. If we hand it over to another regular team, it will only make us look like we're trying to cover something up..."

"Only then can we shut some people up..."