34: Chapter 34 Security Training

Hu Gualing walked down the road, feeling gloomy, when suddenly the call of a certain basketball ambassador rang out from his pocket.

He took out his phone and saw it was a call back from Tang Yao's mother.

"You hung up on me and then called back, what's the meaning of this?"

"Are you worried I can't afford the phone bill? Hmph!"

Hu Gualing grumbled as he answered the phone.

On the other end of the line, the woman's puzzled voice sounded: "Excuse me, where did you get this number from?"

"Obviously, Tang Yao told me."

"Then, are you calling just to ask for money?"

"Ask for money? Please mind your phrasing!" Although Hu Gualing had secretly thought that if Tang Yao's family was rich and willing to give him some, that would be great, hearing Tang Yao's mother ask so bluntly made him feel his character had been insulted. He immediately said righteously, "I am making this call simply to report that Tang Yao is safe!"

"Reporting she's safe? Then why didn't she call me herself?"

"How would I know? Why don't you ask yourself what kind of mother you are? Your daughter doesn't even dare to call you and has to have an outsider like me help her. Honestly..." Hu Gualing lectured her over the phone.

The woman on the other end seemed to realize her mistake and was silent for a moment before asking: "Would you mind telling me when and where Tang Yao asked you to make this call?"

"Earlier today, at—" Hu Gualing paused.

He was about to tell the truth, saying "in the game," but then he remembered that he currently held the advantage in the game and had no reason to let others know about it beforehand, so he changed his words: "Online."

"Online?"

"Alright, I'm not even close with her, I just did her a favor and made the call. Hanging up now." Hu Gualing didn't really want to deal with her, so he hung up immediately.

In the hospital ward, Han Shuang looked at the unknown number on her phone, then looked at her daughter lying on the hospital bed, her brows furrowed tightly.

---

At ten o'clock that night, Hu Gualing changed into his uniform and shoes, arriving on duty right on time.

Before he even entered the security room, he saw everyone crowd around him, looking him up and down.

"We heard you almost got hit. Are you alright?"

Hu Gualing put his hands on his hips. "What could possibly be wrong? Even if I had actually been hit, so what?"

"Stop bragging, kid. I heard you were so scared you almost pissed yourself. Still acting tough, huh?"

"By the way, didn't that driver compensate you a thousand yuan? Aren't you going to treat everyone to something to eat?"

"Treat you my ass. What do you think this money is? Think before you speak, will you!"

"But Gualing, you let that driver off way too easy. You let him go for just a thousand yuan?"

"Well, I didn't actually get hit, did I? Besides, it was my fault for carelessly walking into the middle of the road. A thousand yuan is more than enough," Hu Gualing said, scratching his head.

"True, your life is only worth a thousand yuan anyway." A man walked out of the security room with his hands behind his back.

"Captain Tiao Zi." "Captain." "Good evening, Captain."

Hu Gualing looked at the person before him, stunned for a moment.

Captain Tiao Zi? Shouldn't this guy be off work by now?

Captain Tiao Zi nodded at the others, then glanced at Hu Gualing, saying with visible disdain, "Since you didn't get hit, why aren't you out patrolling? Why are you just standing there like an idiot?"

"Yes." Hu Gualing replied indifferently and turned to leave, but was called back by Captain Tiao Zi.

"Wait—my walkie-talkie is out of battery. Give me yours to use for now."

Can't he just charge it if it's dead? Hu Gualing only thought this to himself. He irritably unclipped his walkie-talkie and handed it to Captain Tiao Zi. "Alright, I'm going on patrol."

"Go on, go on."

"Captain, what about us?"

"You all just stand here. I have other arrangements."

...

Hu Gualing wandered around the factory aimlessly for an hour or two.

If this were any other time, he would have already found a place to sit and play on his phone.

But tonight, who knows what kind of nerve Captain Tiao Zi had struck—instead of getting a good night's sleep, he was working the night shift after already finishing the day shift.

Moreover, when he patrolled near the factory gate, he heard Captain Tiao Zi leading a group of security guards in shouting slogans.

Things like "Born as Jinkai people, die as Jinkai souls," and "Protecting Jinkai's safety is our duty"...

It made Hu Gualing's teeth ache just listening to it.

He had no idea what kind of nonsense they were up to.

However, everyone else was shouting slogans, leaving only him to patrol alone.

Such obvious special treatment made Hu Gualing stay alert.

As he wandered, he saw that the Office Building still had lights on. He figured someone had probably forgotten to turn them off again.

But that had nothing to do with him, and the factory wouldn't care about that little bit of electricity, so he let it stay on.

Just then, a figure ran toward him.

Hu Gualing squinted and saw it was Old Deng, the old man who had threatened to lick his shoes clean earlier that day.

"Old Deng, why aren't you busy shouting slogans? What are you doing out here?"

Old Deng said irritably, "I'm tired of shouting, can't I come out to catch my breath?"

"Then go ahead and rest. I'm going to continue my patrol." Hu Gualing continued sauntering.

Old Deng caught up to him and lowered his voice. "Let me warn you, kid. There's no telling when Captain Tiao Zi is leaving tonight, so you'd better watch yourself and don't get caught slacking off."

"Oh?" Hu Gualing became interested. "What exactly is that guy going crazy for? Shouting slogans in the middle of the night—isn't he afraid of getting beaten up by the nearby residents?"

"You don't know jack. Captain Tiao Zi is a sly one!" Old Deng spoke concisely, telling Hu Gualing what was actually going on.

It turned out that for some reason, Wu Yingying hadn't left after work and was still working overtime in the Office Building.

Captain Tiao Zi found out about this and decided not to go home. He rounded up the night shift security guards to shout slogans, calling it "Security Special Training," claiming that doing so would improve everyone's security awareness and sense of responsibility. But everyone knew perfectly well that Captain Tiao Zi just wanted to show his face in front of Wu Yingying when she finally got off work.

As for making Hu Gualing patrol alone, the motive was even more obvious: he just wanted to use some petty tricks to drive him out of Jinkai Factory.

Hu Gualing understood after hearing this, but he became curious. "Old Deng, you guys don't like me, so why are you kindly warning me?"

Old Deng scoffed and said, "Who could possibly like a blockhead like you? But dislike aside, you're at least a sturdy young lad who can do the dirty and tiring work. Even if we really ran into a petty thief, your build could scare them off. If you were actually driven out and they replaced you with Captain Tiao Zi's father, what would that be? Bringing in an ancestor for us all to serve?"

Hearing this, Hu Gualing couldn't help but chuckle and gave a thumbs up. "Insightful, you've got a good eye. But even if you want to keep me, I don't think much of this place. It won't be long before I leave on my own."

"Like I give a damn. You just patrol properly, I'm going back to do my special training." Old Deng walked away dismissively, leaving Hu Gualing to continue his patrol.

However, after learning that Wu Yingying hadn't left, a different idea couldn't help but sprout in Hu Gualing's mind.

He lifted his head, puffed out his chest, and sucked in his stomach.

He hummed softly:

"One, two, one. One, two, one..."

In the middle of the night, he was actually marching in step around the Office Building.