The school beauty’s return didn’t cause much of a stir on campus—perhaps because Su Mo had done a good job keeping things under wraps.
Though there wasn’t much else to do during the day, Su Mo wasn’t idle. He visited the Beidou Organization’s branch in Jing City to gather more detailed information about Jingnan Third Hospital, including many related specifics.
This was a privilege other newcomers didn’t have—not everyone got team leader-level access right after joining.
But because of this, his rookie mission seemed much harder than others’.
Su Mo took it seriously, because in a way, this was now his job, and the rookie mission was like a probationary assessment.
Pouring himself a cup of hot water, he sat in the browsing room, scrolling through files for useful clues.
Just then, his phone rang—it was Ye Qingyi calling.
“Where are you?”
Su Mo paused. “I’m… kind of at work.”
“The Beidou Jing City branch?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming to find you.”
“You’re back at school?” Su Mo wasn’t too surprised. After all, her skills were top-tier, and basic training was practically useless for her.
“I’ll explain when I get there.”
Su Mo was about to ask when she’d arrived, but the line had already gone dead.
Girls these days, always so impatient…
He estimated the time and went to the entrance to wait for her. Before long, he saw her step out of a car.
She must have gone back to school first—she’d changed into a sharp-looking outfit.
“When did you get here? You could’ve told me earlier,” Su Mo said with a smile as he walked up to her.
“Would you have come to pick me up? No point wasting my breath then,” Ye Qingyi retorted immediately, leaving Su Mo speechless.
“You’re already roasting me the second we meet? After I went all the way to Jiangcheng for you? You have no idea what I went through there…” Su Mo put on an innocent act.
Ye Qingyi finally felt a little guilty and pursed her lips. “Fine, I owe you one. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”
“Which just means you’ll end up eating it yourself. Smooth move,” he said, patting his stomach.
Ye Qingyi laughed in exasperation. She raised her phone and said, “Enough chit-chat. Open the Beidou Organization app—I just sent you a friend request. Accept it.”
“You came all this way just for that?”
Su Mo checked and, sure enough, there it was: “Si Wu Su wants to add you as a friend!”
Meanwhile, in the special operations group chat, a flood of messages led by A-Kun was spamming: “Newbie, post a selfie!” Su Mo decided to join in on the fun.
“What’s your rookie mission?” Ye Qingyi asked, getting to the real reason she was here.
“Investigating a hospital—Jingnan Third Hospital, the one that’s been in the news lately.”
“Mine too.”
Su Mo’s expression brightened with a hint of pride. “I have team leader clearance, so I can access some classified files. I’ll share them with you—it’s not like there’s a rule against it.”
“Wait… doesn’t every special ops member have team leader-level access?” Ye Qingyi looked puzzled.
!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
Su Mo’s face grew increasingly dramatic. “Do you have a military rank?”
“Yeah?”
“What level?”
“Captain. Doesn’t everyone…”
“Hold on—why didn’t I know any of this?!” He was baffled.
Ye Qingyi frowned at his frustration. “Didn’t you already find out back at the base?”
“I thought that was an extra reward…”
Well, there goes my moment to show off. Turns out, I’m the clown here.
Ye Qingyi bit back a laugh, barely keeping a straight face. “Pfft—hic. You really thought that, huh?”
To be fair, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Yang Jie and Old Li had both called it a “reward,” which was technically true—it was just the unspoken condition for joining the special ops. Su Mo just hadn’t realized it at the time.
“Alright, don’t sulk. The fact that they let you keep the weapons and armor from the ruins is a kind of reward, isn’t it?” Ye Qingyi consoled him.
“I earned those with my life! Why would I hand them over?” He knew the logic, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
“Everyone else turned theirs in for military merits. The only reason I kept my sword is because it was a reward.”
Su Mo didn’t want to dwell on it—the more they talked, the more it stung—so he quickly changed the subject. “So you came here to look up files too?”
“Duh.”
“Fine.”
Since they had the same objective, they could divide the work and save time.
They spent the whole afternoon in the browsing room, only leaving by dinnertime.
Su Mo shared his theory with Ye Qingyi, and they reached an agreement: They’d go exploring that night!
Over dinner, Su Mo asked Ye Qingyi about the training base—like the rumors Wang He had spread.
To his surprise, the rumors hadn’t gained much traction. Few students even talked about them. According to Ye Qingyi, it was because of Wang He’s death.
“You know, a lot of people think you killed Wang He. And honestly, you did have motive,” she said, giving him a complicated look.
“Let them talk. I didn’t do it, and unless they frame me, they can’t touch me,” Su Mo replied dismissively.
Ye Qingyi stared at him, took a deep breath, and said firmly, “Right. Everything comes down to evidence. If we didn’t do it, they can’t do anything to us.”
With that, she buried herself in her meal, lost in thought.
Night fell.
Su Mo and Ye Qingyi stood outside Jingnan Third Hospital once again, both armed.
Looking up, the outpatient building at night was undeniably different from its daytime counterpart—especially the eerie atmosphere, which felt even heavier. Su Mo’s scalp prickled from a distance.
This wasn’t just ordinary fear. It felt like a special kind of energy that directly affected the mind, similar to the array on the steps of the Jing Mountain ruins’ grand hall.
“Stick close to me. If there’s danger, strike first. Safety comes first,” Su Mo reminded her.
“Got it,” Ye Qingyi replied, drawing her combat blade.
Stepping back into the building, Su Mo felt something completely different from before:
Even though it was summer, the air was unnaturally cold—and thick, like the heavy dampness after a rainstorm.
In the empty hallways, hurried footsteps and faint, pained moans echoed now and then. Su Mo glanced at Ye Qingyi and saw her staring at him nervously.
He was scared—but confidence came from strength. His fear stemmed from humanity’s deep-seated awe of the supernatural and the unknown, things he couldn’t avoid.
Su Mo grinned. “You’re not scared, are you? Chicken.”
“You’re the chicken!” she shot back, inching even closer to him.