Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Minced Garlic is Number One

But the facts were right in front of him, and Xue Can had no choice but to believe it.

He even immediately contacted Huo Qian to confirm.

Huo Qian: It’s true.

Xue Can: Why didn’t you report it?

Huo Qian: Er... Captain, are you really interested in news about Fu Cheng?

Huo Qian had thought about telling him, but the incident with Xiao Lang overusing his superpower didn’t seem to have any connection to Shen Lu.

Besides, if she did tell him, the captain would surely imagine Boss Shen’s meticulous care for Fu Cheng. Wouldn’t that just make him miserable?

Xue Can fell silent.

’He really didn’t want to know.’

As if to vent his frustration, Xue Can roughly ruffled Xiao Lang’s hair, then hauled him up to go over the basic knowledge for Superpower Users.

’He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.’

Left behind, Mo Bei scratched his head and wandered around the restaurant on his own.

He knew there was a greenhouse in the backyard and, curious, went to take a look.

"Whoa, Boss Shen’s greenhouse is really well-made. It looks pretty professional."

Mo Bei looked it up and down, squeezed the greenhouse frame, and flicked the highly transparent plastic sheeting.

His sudden appearance scared Yang Jing so much she didn’t dare breathe.

As a mercenary who lived on the edge, even though Mo Bei had an endearing baby face, he carried an unshakable stench of blood.

Yang Jing couldn’t have put her finger on it, but she was instinctively afraid of him.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Yang Jing planned to sneak back to her sheet-metal shack. Once Mo Bei left, she would come back out to finish tilling the soil.

"Hey, ma’am, what’s this green stuff?" Mo Bei had spotted the scallions in the soil.

The seeds that had been sown hadn’t sprouted yet; what Mo Bei saw was a clump of transplanted scallions.

Mo Bei had never seen a scallion before, but he knew that normally only research institutes and plantations were able to grow anything.

He never imagined Shen Lu could get something green to grow on this patch of wasteland in her backyard.

’It was a miracle.’

Yang Jing trembled, unable to speak.

When Mo Bei didn’t get an answer, he glanced up at Yang Jing before squatting down beside the scallions.

’Wait a minute, this soil...’

Even though Mo Bei had never farmed, he could tell this soil was different from any he had seen before.

It was soft, and he could feel its moisture when he squeezed it. It had an earthy scent that was surprisingly pleasant.

It wasn’t a bad smell; in fact, it was kind of addicting.

"How many Star Coins did Boss Shen spend on this soil?"

Mo Bei didn’t suspect a thing, assuming Shen Lu had bought special planting soil from a research institute.

He didn’t stay in the greenhouse for long, mainly because he was afraid Xue Can was secretly eating all the good stuff without him.

After Mo Bei left, Yang Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief. She finished turning the last bit of soil, cleaned up her tools, and returned to her sheet-metal shack.

Shen Lu made all steamed dishes for dinner. She was exhausted from stir-frying all day and couldn’t even stand the sight of a spatula by evening.

The meal consisted of steamed pumpkin, assorted cured meats, shrimp with garlic and vermicelli, egg with a pork patty, and enoki mushrooms with chopped chili peppers. There was also a cold salad of steamed eggplant. With meat and vegetable dishes, sweet, spicy, and savory flavors, there was something for everyone.

Mo Bei, who was freeloading the meal, exclaimed with every bite.

"This meat has a smoky flavor! It’s delicious!"

"The steamed egg with the pork patty is so savory!"

"I declare this minced garlic the best in the world! I could devour a whole bowl of rice with just this garlic sauce on it!"

"The pumpkin is so sweet! I remember that saying... ’sweeter than your first love’."

Mo Bei mischievously poked Xue Can. "Boss, what do you think? Sweet, isn’t it?"

Xue Can picked up a piece of steamed corn and stuffed it into Mo Bei’s mouth. "Just eat."

Mo Bei was about to get annoyed, but the corn was sweet and tender. As he gnawed on it, his irritation faded, and he even grinned at Shen Lu.

"Boss Shen, how is even your steamed corn this delicious?"

"If you like it, have some more."

Shen Lu had steamed over a dozen ears of corn. They were just tucked into the corners of the steamer, so they didn’t take up much space anyway.

After dinner, Xue Can and Mo Bei didn’t stay long. For safety’s sake, they wanted to head back to their base early. The later it got, the more dangerous the roads became.

Mo Bei drove, still savoring the memory of the meal.

"Boss, why don’t we redecorate the base? We could do it in the style of Boss Shen’s restaurant and hire a cook. What do you think?"

"It’s a bad idea." Xue Can looked out the window. "It wouldn’t work."

The base wasn’t just dorms; it also had a training ground. Given the destructive tendencies of the corps members, even the nicest decorations would be wrecked in no time.

Hiring a cook was an even more ridiculous idea. Who could possibly cook as well as Shen Lu?

That was also why many corps members still ate at Little Deer Cuisine from time to time, even after its lunch specials no longer had the effect of soothing their Spiritual Seas.

Just as they arrived back at the base, Xue Can’s Light Brain started flashing frantically.

Xue Can glanced at the caller ID and answered immediately.

"Exit the South City Gate! Nine o’clock direction, five kilometers out! Hurry and back us up!"

"Got it."

Xue Can didn’t ask any questions. He hung up, grabbed four or five more men, and had Mo Bei drive out of the city, heading for the coordinates.

The city gates closed at 9 PM every night. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, so they had plenty of time.

Mo Bei floored the accelerator and sped off.

The man who had called Xue Can was Jiang Gong, the vice-captain of the Sharp Blade Mercenary Corps. They were the only Mercenary Corps in the Imperial City based in the Upper City District.

Xue Can and Jiang Gong were on good terms. Both were Fire Ability Users, and they were friends who shared a mutual respect.

When they found Jiang Gong, he was sprinting frantically while carrying a woman, with a swarm of writhing Sand Worm Beasts at his heels.

Each Sand Worm Beast was as tall as a grown man and looked like a giant earthworm. Its body, made of stacked rings of flesh, twisted with surprising flexibility. Its sharp mouthparts carried a venom that caused paralysis with a single bite.

Xue Can was injured and couldn’t fight, so Mo Bei led the rescue. Half an hour later, the group was safely in the vehicle. Xue Can took the wheel this time, and with a slam on the gas, the tires kicked up a cloud of dust ten feet high.

Sand worms were notoriously hard to kill. Not only did they resemble earthworms, but they could also survive being cut in two, making them incredibly resilient.

Nighttime during the sandstorm season was no time for a fight. Besides, the wilds outside the city were fraught with danger. Xue Can’s only goal was to get them out of there.

They made it back into the city just before the gates closed, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Xue Can slowed the vehicle and asked Jiang Gong what had happened.

"Weren’t you with the high-level government delegation visiting Zhunan? How did you get back before them?"

The news had said the delegation wasn’t due back in the Imperial City for another two days.

Jiang Gong wiped the blood from his forehead. He took a roll of gauze and hastily wrapped it all around the woman in his arms.

"There was an... incident. I requested to return early. I didn’t expect to run into sand worms so close to the gate."

Xue Can glanced in the rearview mirror at the woman in his friend’s arms, her face obscured. "Is she the incident?"

"I’ll tell you the details later." There were other people in the car, and Jiang Gong didn’t like discussing his personal affairs in front of others.

Xue Can drove them directly to the Lower City Hospital. He told Mo Bei and the others to head back to the base while he stayed behind.

After Jiang Gong got the woman into the emergency room, he collapsed onto the floor. Only then did Xue Can notice that Jiang Gong’s pant leg was soaked in blood.

Xue Can was speechless for a moment. He called a nurse to give Jiang Gong first aid, then went to handle the payment.

By the time they both emerged from the emergency room, two hours had passed.

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