Hearing Yan Qi’s response and knowing she truly wasn’t willing to accept the invitation, Shen An’an sighed, then could only say to Yan Qi with some regret, “Alright then, since you put it that way, Xiao Qi, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“Hehe, thank you for understanding, Sister Shen,” Yan Qi said with a smile, looking at Shen An’an seated at her desk.
Hearing this, Shen An’an suddenly thought of something else and continued, “Xiao Qi, since you don’t want to go to the cafeteria with me, could I personally drive you home later?”
“Drive me home yourself, Sister Shen? Isn’t that a bit… our shift end times are different,” Yan Qi replied, somewhat surprised, reminding her that their work schedules didn’t align.
Hearing Yan Qi’s reminder, and fully aware their end times were indeed different, Shen An’an looked at her and said, “Of course I know our schedules don’t match, Xiao Qi. But don’t forget, I’m the captain of the Fifth Investigation Squad in Windbreak City’s Special Affairs Bureau. Finding an excuse to personally drive you home is a piece of cake.”
“Find an excuse? Is slacking off like that really okay?” Yan Qi couldn’t help but ask.
“Don’t worry, as long as no one finds out, there’s no problem,” Shen An’an said playfully. “Alright, enough about that. Xiao Qi, hurry up and answer my question from earlier. I’m really looking forward to your answer.”
Seeing Shen An’an’s expectant expression, and feeling that refusing a second time after already turning her down once would be quite rude, Yan Qi hesitated slightly before sighing and saying, “Fine. Since you’re so set on driving me home, Sister Shen, I’ll go along with it.”
“Yay! I knew you’d say yes!” Shen An’an exclaimed excitedly. Then, looking at her still-unfinished work report, she added, “Xiao Qi, I haven’t finished today’s report yet. Can you give me ten more minutes? Once I’m done, I’ll drive you home.”
“Mm, that’s fine.”
“Xiao Qi, you really are such a considerate kid. Mwah!” After praising Yan Qi and blowing her a kiss, Shen An’an quickly turned her attention back to the report, writing furiously so she could send Yan Qi home as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Yan Qi didn’t say anything more and simply sat back down on the office sofa, waiting for Shen An’an to finish her work.
“Alright, all done! Xiao Qi, I can drive you home now. Come on, let’s go!” Taking less than ten minutes to finish and confirm the report was acceptable, Shen An’an quickly walked over to Yan Qi, looking down at her.
Hearing this, Yan Qi nodded from the sofa.
Immediately after, Yan Qi stood up, ready to follow her out of the Fifth Squad office and head home.
But just at that moment, the previously closed office door was suddenly shoved open with force, and Zhao Liang’s figure appeared before Yan Qi and Shen An’an.
Seeing Zhao Liang suddenly appear before her, Shen An’an—who didn’t understand why he was here—couldn’t help but frown, her expression turning a bit strange.
However, she quickly controlled her emotions and instead asked Zhao Liang, who was panting heavily as if he had been running for a long time, “Zhao Liang, what’s the urgent reason for barging in like this? Is something happening outside?”
“Captain, something big is happening outside. A group of superhumans has just attacked a bank,” Zhao Liang hurriedly replied between gasps for air upon hearing Shen An’an’s question.
“Superhumans attacked a bank? That is a serious matter. Has anyone been dispatched to handle it yet?” Hearing Zhao Liang’s answer, Shen An’an’s expression turned grave as she pressed for more details.
Facing his squad captain’s inquiry, Zhao Liang didn’t dare delay and immediately answered, “The Bureau hasn’t sent anyone yet. We’re… we’re quite short-handed right now.”
Hearing Zhao Liang’s words, Shen An’an acknowledged with a sound. Remembering something, she asked further, “So you rushed over here in such a panic specifically to get me to handle this?”
“Yes, Captain. I came specifically to request your instructions,” Zhao Liang said, looking somewhat apologetically at Shen An’an.
Hearing Zhao Liang’s answer, Shen An’an couldn’t help but think to herself with some frustration how poorly timed this incident was. But being well aware of her responsibilities as a member of Windbreak City’s Special Affairs Bureau, she didn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she continued asking Zhao Liang, “Understood, Zhao Liang. How many personnel can the Bureau currently mobilize to handle this emergency?”
“Including you and me, Captain, just two people.”
“Two? That’s far too few. Wait, how many superhumans attacked the bank, and what’s their estimated strength?”
“Five of them. They’re all quite strong, each at least as capable as I am.”
“And at most?”
“Captain, that’s hard for me to say.”
Hearing Zhao Liang’s answer, Shen An’an couldn’t help but furrow her brow. After thinking carefully for a moment, she said to Zhao Liang, “Alright, I understand. I’ll head over immediately to deal with this.”
With that, Shen An’an quickly turned and walked to her desk. She picked up the weapon she kept there, then walked back to Yan Qi’s side, looking apologetic.
“Xiao Qi, I’m really sorry. I was planning to drive you home myself, but I never expected something like this to happen today.”
Hearing Shen An’an’s words, and having also listened to what Zhao Liang said earlier, Yan Qi replied, “Sister Shen, you don’t need to apologize to me. After all, who could have predicted such an emergency?”
“Thank you for being so understanding, Xiao Qi. In that case, later on, just go home by your usual means of transport. I’ll go with Zhao Liang first to the bank that was attacked, to see if we can handle the situation there.”
Feeling warmed by Yan Qi’s words, Shen An’an said this to her, then turned to leave their squad’s office.