Chapter 141: If Others Call, I Won’t Answer; If You Call, That’s Different
Su Tao carefully reviewed the surveillance footage of the three suspicious individuals provided by Qi Yunlan and immediately blacklisted them.
From now on, if any of these three entered the jurisdiction of Panliu Mountain, the system would not only issue an alert but also teleport them out instantly.
Even after taking these precautions, Su Tao still felt uneasy. She decided to talk to Lei Xing the next day to see if she could hire them for a while longer to focus on securing the perimeter of Panliu Mountain.
The old station had been around for over a decade, and she had to be cautious—she couldn’t afford to let anyone exploit a loophole.
The next day, when Su Tao found Lei Xing, he had just returned from a street race with Chen Yang, recklessly allowing Chen Yang to drive by himself.
Su Tao’s heart nearly leaped out of her throat.
Chen Yang was ecstatic. As soon as he got out of the car and saw Su Tao, he ran over excitedly.
“Sister Tao, did you see that? How did I do? Wasn’t I super cool?”
Seeing how happy he was, Su Tao suppressed her worries and said,
“Very cool. Now go home—your mom was just asking where you ran off to.”
Chen Yang happily ran off, and Su Tao turned to Lei Xing.
“You better hope Zhuang Wan doesn’t find out, or she’ll kill you. You guys drive like you’re launching rockets.”
Lei Xing wiped the sweat off his forehead under the sunlight and grinned.
“I’m a leopard, not a dog.”
Su Tao didn’t want to argue about species with him. She got straight to the point.
“Have you had enough fun lately? Ready to take on a job?”
Lei Xing leaned over the fountain, splashed cold water on his face, and as water droplets clung to his golden hair and tanned skin, he looked surprisingly youthful and full of energy.
Shaking his head dry, he asked, “Boss Su, you got a job for us? If someone else asks, I wouldn’t take it. But if it’s you—well, that’s different.”
Su Tao handed him a tissue.
“To be honest, I’ve made some enemies recently. I need you guys to guard Panliu Mountain for a while.”
Lei Xing wiped his face messily, then looked up at the scorching sun and said,
“This job sounds like a pain. Just driving to Panliu Mountain takes a week. And now it’s the end of July—look at this sun. My skin tone is perfect right now; if I tan any more, I won’t look good.”
Whether he was dark or not, Su Tao didn’t know, but her face certainly darkened.
“…You’re really particular, huh? You don’t need to travel that far. There’s a teleportation gate behind Taoyang. Just step through, and you’ll be in Panliu Mountain instantly.”
Lei Xing’s eyelid twitched. “For real?”
Su Tao nodded. “I’ll take you to see it later. If you accept the job, I’ll reserve the seven double rooms you’re staying in for Leopard Path permanently, free of charge. Even if you leave, I won’t rent them to anyone else. You’ll always have a place at Taoyang.”
That offer was even more refreshing than splashing cold water on his face. Lei Xing immediately agreed.
“Boss Su, that’s some real sincerity! But can I ask who exactly you pissed off? Just so I know what we’re dealing with.”
Su Tao smirked. “I opened a supply station in Panliu Mountain, and business is booming. Who do you think I offended?”
Lei Xing was briefly stunned before understanding dawned on him.
“Tan Yong? Hahaha, Boss Su, you’re something else. That old station has been entrenched in that area for over a decade, like some local tyrant. It’s not just passing convoys and traders—heck, even I got scammed by them once. I just wanted to wash my hair and ended up paying 6,000 Federation Credits for a tiny 3ml shampoo packet.”
Su Tao couldn’t help but ask, “Did you actually buy it?”
Lei Xing snorted. “Do I look like someone who gets ripped off? Fire Serpent melted their so-called indestructible storage door. I strolled in, took four big bottles, and washed my hair right in front of them with a whole bottle. The only downside? It wasted a lot of water.”
“Ever since then, I’ve been their VIP customer. Every time I brought my crew over, we got discounts. Later, Tan Yong even hired me for some jobs. So technically, he’s an old employer of mine.”
Su Tao said seriously, “From now on, you can stay at Taoyang for free. No discounts needed. I treat you better than Tan Yong, don’t I? I’ve hired you before too—doesn’t that mean our bond is even deeper?”
Lei Xing almost burst out laughing. “Boss Su, has anyone ever told you that you’re really cute?”
Su Tao replied, “By saying that, you’re admitting you’re on my side now. Besides, Tan Yong was the one who turned against me first. Originally, I wanted to work together with the old station, but he didn’t cooperate and actively made things difficult for me. Now he’s sending people into Panliu Mountain, and I have no idea what kind of schemes he’s cooking up.”
Lei Xing nodded. “Tan Yong is pretty stubborn. If he didn’t have such a strong grip on the old station, he wouldn’t be enjoying this much power. A lot of people don’t like him, but they tolerate him because of his influence.”
Just as he finished speaking, his communicator rang.
Seeing the caller ID, his expression turned subtle, and he instinctively glanced at Su Tao.
Su Tao had sharp instincts and immediately perked up her ears.
Lei Xing found her reaction amusing and didn’t bother hiding it. He answered the call.
A sweet voice rang out from the other end:
“Captain Lei, long time no see! Where have you been lately?”
Lei Xing replied smoothly, “Still out on missions. What’s the matter, Miss Qu?”
“It’s like this—we’ve worked with Leopard Path many times, and it’s always been great. So when a new opportunity came up, we immediately thought of you. Have you heard of Panliu Mountain? There’s a new supply station there, not far from our old station—just half a day’s drive away if you hurry.”
“Hmm, I’ve heard of it. What’s the matter? Miss Qu, just get to the point.”
Su Tao couldn’t help but lean in, tilting her head to listen along with him.
Qu Jingwen’s voice grew even sweeter. “Since you’ve heard of it, that makes things easier. We’ve done our research—Panliu Mountain has vast reserves of water and fuel. Plus, it receives fresh vegetable supplies daily. We even spoke to guests who checked out, and they confirmed that the living conditions inside are excellent—brand-new renovations, vending machines stocked with all kinds of food and daily necessities.”
“With so many good things there, doesn’t Captain Lei want a share of the profits?”
Su Tao was fuming.
Lei Xing gestured for her to stay calm and continued asking,
“What exactly do you want us to do?”
Hearing this, Qu Jingwen thought she had a chance and became even more enthusiastic in her persuasion.
“We want to partner with Leopard Path to form an elite squad of ability users. Together, we’ll go up the mountain and capture Panliu Mountain’s owner, Su Tao, alive. The rest of the resources, we split 60-40. What do you think?”
Su Tao’s eyes burned with fury.
Capture her alive?!
Did they think she was some helpless little lamb, ready to be slaughtered?
Lei Xing almost laughed out loud at her expression but held it in for a good ten seconds before continuing.
“As far as I know, don’t you already have another long-term partner who keeps a bunch of ability users at the old station? Why ask me to form a team?”
Qu Jingwen had anticipated this question and had already prepared her response.
“You must be talking about Gu Mingchi from the East District, right? We suspect he’s already betrayed us. He’s no longer trustworthy.”
Lei Xing raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Haven’t you worked together for years? Besides, he wouldn’t just abandon the old station—it’s a massive cash cow for him.”
Hearing this, Su Tao momentarily set aside her anger and focused intently on what Qu Jingwen would say next.
To her surprise, Qu Jingwen said, “Gu Mingchi is having an affair with that woman named Su. He turned against our boss over a woman.”
