The Frail Guide Who Devoured an Entire Pollution Zone

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: 2 Tigers Fight for the Peak

Looking at the confident Shen Yan, Lu Jingyu subconsciously clenched his fists. In the next second, they were liable to make intimate contact with Shen Yan’s triumphant face.

But Xu Qingsui turned her head first. ”What are you two talking about? If you have something to discuss, sit down and talk properly!”

When Shen Yan spoke earlier, the two men had moved away from Xu Qingsui and deliberately lowered their voices, preventing her from hearing their conversation. She assumed Lu Jingyu had already stated his purpose to Shen Yan.

Seeing Xu Qingsui looking over, Shen Yan instantly restored his smile. He responded to her and brushed past Lu Jingyu’s shoulder to follow.

But just as he brushed past Lu Jingyu, he lowered his voice again. ”I won’t let go. We can compete fairly. Who wins her heart in the end will depend on our own abilities.”

Lu Jingyu’s knuckles turned white. They trembled several times before he finally suppressed the urge to drag Shen Yan right back.

”Captain Lu, let’s go!” Unaware of their little exchange, Xu Qingsui called out to Lu Jingyu, drawing out the syllables.

”Captain Lu says he’s not hungry anymore. He told us to go eat by ourselves,” Shen Yan said deliberately, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

”Boss Shen really knows how to joke. Since we agreed to go together, how could I back out on my own?” Shen Yan’s words provoked Lu Jingyu’s displeasure. Hurrying to Xu Qingsui’s side, he stared at Shen Yan and replied firmly.

Xu Qingsui frowned. Lu Jingyu’s words sounded a bit awkward, but since she was hungry, she didn’t dwell on it and continued walking toward the cafeteria.

While she didn’t grasp the hidden meaning, both Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan knew it perfectly well. After another silent exchange of glares, the two men finally caught up to her.

They kept accelerating, each always trying to edge a shoulder past the other to stand right next to Xu Qingsui. After a bit of a tussle, seeing that they were about to bump into her, they both yielded a step to the side, ending up flanking her on her left and right.

Faintly sensing that the two were acting strangely, Xu Qingsui turned to look at them, only to find both wearing perfectly normal expressions. Feeling awkward, she simply quickened her pace, trying to shake them off. But as she sped up, the two men beside her also matched her pace. The three of them ended up walking in a bizarre, rigid horizontal line all the way to the cafeteria.

By this time, there were already people out on the road. They cast amused glances at the strange trio. A few quick-witted individuals had already deduced a potential love triangle between them and started spreading gossip.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Xu Qingsui was the first to get her food. She hurriedly found a place to sit, hoping to dispel the strange vibe. Seeing the two men carrying their trays and heading straight for her left and right sides again, she quickly spoke up to stop them.

”Stop! You two shouldn’t need a middleman to discuss things! Let me eat in peace and sit opposite me.”

Halted by her rebuke, Lu Jingyu was the first to react, swiftly claiming the seat directly across from her. Shen Yan furrowed his brow, having no choice but to settle for the next best option—the seat diagonally across from her.

At this moment, every pair of eyes in the cafeteria converged on their table. With two tigers fighting for dominance, who would come out on top? After all, everyone present was a staff member of the laboratory, and many began silently cheering for their boss.

Stared at by the two men opposite her, Xu Qingsui couldn’t taste her food. She quickly wolfed down a few bites just to fill her stomach. Just as she felt too uncomfortable and was about to find an excuse to leave first, Shen Yan’s phone rang.

As Shen Yan answered the call, his expression visibly froze. Before even hanging up, he abruptly stood up. His forceful movement knocked over the stool behind him, resulting in a loud CLATTER that echoed through the quiet cafeteria.

”Something happened at the laboratory again. I need to go handle it,” Shen Yan said hurriedly to Xu Qingsui before turning and striding out.

Seeing this, Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu exchanged a glance and immediately followed him out.

”What happened now? Are there still lingering Mutants?” Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but ask upon catching up to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan sighed. While hurrying along, he explained, ”The lab had a lot of leftover reagents from previous experiments. The laboratory building was completely ruined during yesterday’s riot, and we started arranging for staff to clean up the site last night.

”That was the staff member in charge. During the cleanup, they discovered that many damaged reagent vials had leaked. They also found that some normal creatures—kept in the lab as test subjects—have been infected and ended up injuring the on-site personnel.”

They had been tasked with cleaning up the captured Mutants, but now, due to a chemical leak, a fresh batch of Mutants had been spawned. One disaster after another—it was suffocating just to hear about it.

Xu Qingsui took a deep breath, falling silent as she continuously quickened her steps. Right then, Lu Jingyu, who had remained silent the whole time, delivered a line that was even more suffocating.

”How many capable Sentinels are left in the safe zone right now?”

This single sentence made the anxious Shen Yan falter in his steps, but he immediately picked up his pace again. As they hurried toward the laboratory, he replied, ”The infirmary was already at full capacity last night. Almost all the Sentinels in the safe zone were deployed yesterday. Only one ten-man squad went outside to capture test subjects, and they just got back this morning.”

During the riot involving over a hundred Mutants last night, casualties had already occurred before Shen Yan arrived on the scene. Although Shen Yan eventually managed to subdue the Mutants, it still resulted in heavy casualties among the team members. Even though the situation was ultimately brought under control, the outcome for the Survival Team could only be described as tragic.

Before Shen Yan returned to his dorm last night, the infirmary had already submitted the statistical report to him. Thirty-four people died on the spot, sixty-eight were severely injured—twelve of whom succumbed to their wounds—and around a hundred others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The entire 27th District Survival Team consisted of only about two hundred members. Now, with the squad decimated by death and injury, the only ones who remained completely unscathed were the ten-man squad that had been out on a mission.

”Can those ten people properly protect the 27th District?”

Lu Jingyu’s words were like a knife stabbing straight into Shen Yan’s chest. Shen Yan’s movements noticeably faltered again, but he did not stop walking.

Even as an outsider, Xu Qingsui felt the sting of those words. She subtly nudged Lu Jingyu, signaling him to speak more tactfully.

”No matter how many people are left, we have to try,” Shen Yan replied. ”The laboratory is the foundation of the 27th District, and if we fail to contain this, it will directly threaten the survival of the district itself.”

”Are you going to step in yourself again?” Lu Jingyu cast a glance at Shen Yan.

Shen Yan’s eyes flickered. In the past, when Chu Tian was still around, Chu Tian could have taken his place and led the team to resolve the issue. But Chu Tian was gone, and there were barely any men left. He had no other choice.