Song Yanci looked down at the paused chat page, raised her hand as if to say something, but then put it back down by her side, watching with forbearance, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes.
Song Yanci wanted to say that she wasn't happy, that she did want to go, that she wanted to live with him, play with him, eat with him, watch movies with him, chat with him, laugh with him, but she couldn't. Just like her parents said, for her brother's safety, it was impossible now or in the past.
What Song Yanci didn't know was that at this very moment, on the other side of the world, in a villa, a man who bore a slight resemblance to her was holding a confirmed case report, also looking at their chat records with tears in his eyes.
“Yanci?” Feng Jiu asked, ruffling her hair, “What’s wrong?”
Song Yanci sniffled and turned off her phone. “Nothing, but why do you keep ruffling my hair?”
Feng Jiu smiled and gently shook her head. “Don’t brothers always do this to their sisters?”
Song Yanci hadn’t seen her brother in a long time; they had only met once on his eighteenth birthday. “If you say so.” Song Yanci didn’t want to dwell on the topic and stood up to leave.
Feng Jiu walked beside her, asking, “Actually, I think you should change how you address me to Jiu Ge or Feng Ge. Which one do you choose?”
Suddenly, Song Yanci thought of something, her mind in a whirl, a pain spreading through her entire body.
Feng Jiu and Zhu Rancen stopped, looking at her nervously. “Yanci, what’s wrong?”
Song Yanci’s expression softened. “Nothing, I just… my memory is a bit fuzzy, I always forget.”
Zhu Rancen said, “You’ll remember someday.”
“Mhm.”
The next day, at the base—
Song Yanci wore a form-fitting long brown dress with leggings underneath and a black coat draped over it. The dress was so long that the leggings were hidden. Her slightly wavy hair fell loosely. This simple outfit made her look like she was walking a red carpet. Her looks, figure, temperament, and the two “bodyguards” by her side were all indispensable.
As for the two “bodyguards,” Zhu Rancen always dressed fashionably and maturely, while Feng Jiu could pull off anything with his looks, his style ever-changing.
The office area was still crowded with people. Song Yanci sat in the base commander’s office, which had now completely become her office. The chairs, stools, sofas, and resting areas inside had all been replaced with her belongings.
Song Yanci sat on the chair, spinning around. Zhu Rancen and Feng Jiu sat opposite each other on the sofa, playing chess. The base commanders had gone to interrogate the fox they had handed over. Only they were in the office area now.
Spinning, Song Yanci looked at the documents, reports, and cases. “They hold an exchange meeting every year after the Lunar New Year. Hunter bases from all over the world send their most outstanding hunter of the year to communicate with the Hunter Association. They then undertake joint missions as part of the exchange.”
Song Yanci said this, then sat beside Feng Jiu to look at the chess game… and then sat next to Zhu Rancen, picked up a black piece, and placed it. Song Yanci had begun to understand some things these past few days. “I win.”
Zhu Rancen let her play however she wanted; he would win anyway. Feng Jiu sighed and leaned back. “I know about that exchange meeting, so you mean?”
Song Yanci handed the document to the two. “There are three major forces among the hunters: the hunter bases under the Hunter Association, the north and south sides, which are unreconciled, and the Hunter Academy. If we can attend the exchange at the Hunter Association this time, we can probe them first.”
Feng Jiu laughed. “And we can also spread the word that we’re not to be trifled with.”
Zhu Rancen sighed. “Then we’ll have to perform well before the exchange meeting.”
Song Yanci smiled and saw the base commanders, who returned with heavy expressions after interrogating the fox, beckoning them. “They’re back.”
In the conference room, Song Yanci sat at the head of the table. She was shocked that there was such a large conference room here.
Opposite her sat two base commanders, far apart from her. Around them were the team members. If she guessed correctly, this meeting was about the organization the fox had mentioned.
The base commander looked at the relaxed trio opposite him with a heavy expression. “We will report this matter to higher-ups and strive to apply for a special task force to investigate this organization.”
As expected, they didn’t suspect any issues within the higher echelons. Song Yanci asked, “Okay, then what is this conference room for today?”
“We want to thank you for saving all of us yesterday. We really didn’t expect you to save us.” The base commander stood up, and all the surrounding team members did the same.
They all bowed ninety degrees to them. Song Yanci almost lost her seat; if Zhu Rancen hadn’t held her shoulder down.
She recovered and returned to her composed demeanor. “My grandfather was also a hunter, so perhaps I inherited a bit of his genes. I am fortunate to have obtained a Demon Contract that everyone dreams of. Whether you believe it or not, I am also an ordinary human who has lived a normal life for over a decade. Now that I can become powerful, I will do my best to use this power to save people.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be a hunter.”
The base commander looked at her in shock. At twenty years old, she possessed power that everyone dreamed of, yet she still thought about how to become stronger and save people.
When they were first chosen, they all felt like lucky stars, taking a year or two to recover, feeling like they were the closest to absolute power. Although at first, they could only imbue Spiritual Energy into objects.
But she was different. She had obtained a unique power that could isolate everything in the world, and she had absolute protection. Yet, she humbly became a hunter and chose to save people.
Everyone present at that moment felt inferior to her.
And so, a few peaceful days passed. Song Yanci and the people at the base got to know each other to some extent.
The case was solved very quickly, and there was a bonus. Song Yanci had just arrived at the base and wanted to win favor, so she distributed the bonus to others, saying that she had just arrived and hadn’t done much, so she wouldn’t take the bonus for now.
The attitude of everyone at the base towards Song Yanci changed somewhat. They were no longer dismissive and distant as before.
One day in the office, Song Yanci was spinning around again. She only had to handle tricky cases. The morning had been very peaceful. Just as she thought this, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock—
She stopped spinning. “Please come in.”
It was Liu Yuanqing and Zhang Side. Song Yanci looked at them with a puzzled expression. Liu Yuanqing smiled and asked, “It’s lunchtime. Do you want to go out to eat lunch together?”
"What?" Song Yanci was stunned for a moment. “Ah, okay.”
“Let’s go then.” Liu Yuanqing moved aside to let her pass. Song Yanci glanced at Feng Jiu and Zhu Rancen. They didn't seem to have any objections.