43: Chapter 43 Victory Celebration Banquet

Su Fan sat in the back seat, deliberately leaving a seat between himself and Qin Xiaoxiao...

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao shifted her body slightly, moving to the middle seat so she was shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

In the front, Wang Hao was instructing Chen Qian on how to drive. Chen Qian shouted impatiently, "I know! I know! You don't need to teach me!" finding him incredibly long-winded and annoying.

Along the way, Qin Xiaoxiao turned her head several times to gaze at Su Fan. Seeing his eyes tightly closed—as if he were resting or perhaps deep in thought—she hesitated, swallowing the words she wanted to say several times.

After a night passed, just as the brilliant morning glow was inlaid on the horizon, a large group of people suddenly appeared ahead.

A person in the lead, wearing a uniform and a military helmet, stepped forward. He first saluted the special forces soldiers in the armored combat vehicle, then muttered something.

The special forces soldier in the armored vehicle pointed to the bulletproof car behind, and the man walked over to the bulletproof car that Su Fan and the others were riding in.

"Safety Zone No. 68, Justice Bureau branch chief, Dong Yongping!"

The man snapped a salute.

Then, he bent down and asked, "May I ask, which one of you is Section Chief Qin from the Ninth Safe Zone?"

Qin Xiaoxiao got out of the car, talked with him for a while, and then the two signed some documents together.

The man took the folder, walked to the front of the convoy, got into an armored vehicle, and then led Qin Xiaoxiao's convoy into the jurisdiction of Safety Zone No. 68...

After returning to the car, Qin Xiaoxiao said to Su Fan, "We still have to stay in Safety Zone No. 68 for a few days. Their local Foundation Establishment Cultivators have gone to execute other missions, so we need to go protect the construction workers."

Su Fan nodded faintly.

In the front, Wang Hao laughed, "Haha, with Brother Su here, what need is there for any Foundation Establishment Cultivators? What Mutant Beast is there to fear? By the way, Section Chief Qin, do they provide room and board?"

"..."

The other three in the car were speechless.

Wang Hao didn't feel embarrassed; he rubbed his nose and continued to chuckle, "Although this is a mission arranged by the organization, they definitely have to provide food and lodging! At night, we should also call a few young ladies to give us foot massages or something..."

"Senior Brother Wang, you're really disgusting..."

Chen Qian glared at Wang Hao, looking completely disgusted.

Knowing he had accidentally blurted out his inner thoughts, Wang Hao was terrified that Qin Xiaoxiao would hear and report him to his section chief when they returned. He hurriedly laughed it off, "I meant, ask some young ladies to roast some pig's trotters or something..."

"..."

...

Over the next few days, Su Fan, Qin Xiaoxiao, and Chen Qian went to the construction site on the mountain every day to protect the workers. Fortunately, no large Mutated Wild Boars or other beasts came to attack.

The construction process went very smoothly. The dozen or so signal towers and power line towers were successfully rebuilt a few days later, and Safety Zone No. 68 quickly restored electricity and network access.

As for Wang Hao, because he had been injured by a Mutated Wild Boar, he went to the local hospital for further treatment. During these few days of hospitalization, he boasted every day to the nurse sisters about how brave he was, how he defeated the Mutated Wild Boar, and how he captured the bandits...

In reality, none of this had anything to do with him, but the moment he showed off his Spell skills, those Mortal nurse sisters in the hospital still wore expressions of adoration, suddenly feeling that this small-eyed man was actually quite cute...

This was nothing strange. After the resurgence of Spiritual Qi, the status of a Cultivator was top-tier, even higher than cadres, military personnel, and police.

Therefore, which girl could resist getting flustered when able to flirt with a seemingly super powerful Cultivator?

Hearing that Wang Hao was about to return to the Ninth Safe Zone, one nurse sister was quite reluctant to let him go. With tears in her eyes, she held his hands and said, "Hao, when can we meet again? Can you take me to the Ninth Safe Zone?"

A smile appeared on the corner of Wang Hao's mouth. He put his arm around her waist, looking deeply affectionate, "Ling'er, wait until my cultivation improves and I reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. I will definitely come to Safety Zone No. 68 to pick you up and take you to the Ninth Safe Zone..."

"Okay, I'll wait for you..."

...

Another day passed.

Qin Xiaoxiao finally led the convoy safely back to the Ninth Safe Zone.

However, as soon as the convoy arrived at the main gate of the Justice Bureau, they suddenly sensed that something was very wrong!

Having successfully completed the mission and captured a large group of bandits, logically, even if there wasn't a welcoming formation, someone should have come to greet them...

Who would have thought that the gates of the Justice Bureau would be tightly shut, as if everyone was busy working, and absolutely no one came to greet them.

After getting out of the car, Su Fan looked toward Qin Xiaoxiao. Qin Xiaoxiao also had a puzzled look on her Face, clearly unaware of the situation either.

"Why is it like this? Is there no one to welcome us?"

Wang Hao frowned.

"Is our section chief not willing to come and welcome us either?"

Chen Qian was also full of confusion.

Qin Xiaoxiao looked relatively calm and said faintly, "Let's go, let's go in! We do things for the sake of the people of Daxia, not for honor and Face..."

As soon as the four of them walked through the gate, many elementary school students holding flowers suddenly popped out from both sides, their Faces beaming with youthful smiles, "Welcome! Welcome! A warm welcome!"

At this moment, Director Sun of the Justice Bureau also brought all the soldiers of the Justice Bureau out to welcome the four of them, including Qin Xiaoxiao.

"Hehe, this is quite a surprise!!"

Seeing this, Wang Hao grinned from ear to ear, and Su Fan, Qin Xiaoxiao, and Chen Qian also smiled.

A female host from the television station appeared before the four of them with a camera crew. Many special operations soldiers also surrounded them with expressions of admiration. For a moment, the entire Justice Bureau was incredibly lively!

"Qin Xiaoxiao, you led the team to successfully complete the mission this time and even captured 23 A-level and B-level wanted criminals. You can just wait for your commendation!"

"Thank you, Director. This is all thanks to Su Fan and the other comrades."

"Is this Su Fan? He looks like a man of talent, young and promising! Why is he still an intern? He needs a promotion... he needs a promotion!"

Director Sun was all smiles, carrying himself with the air of a leader. His voice was full of energy, and his cultivation level appeared to be in the Golden Core Realm.

"Section Chief Qin, may I ask if you can accept an interview with our television station? What dangers did you encounter on this mission? And how did you capture these twenty-plus bandits? I heard that two of them were in the Foundation Establishment Stage. You are truly remarkable! You are worthy of being the pride of the Ninth Safe Zone!"

The female host, Wang Weiwei, was wearing a white suit. She was pretty, poised, and proper, and she spoke at a very fast pace.

Qin Xiaoxiao was worthy of being an excellent female leader; facing such a scene, she handled it with ease.

Su Fan, however, was somewhat socially anxious. When the host asked questions, he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Host Wang, about the interview... please wait a moment. Our bureau is having a celebration banquet. Let's do the interview after we have the celebration banquet. Shall we go together?"

Director Sun seemed to be very familiar with Wang Weiwei and smiled as he invited her to join the celebration banquet.

Wang Weiwei smiled faintly, "Director Sun, I won't go. I'll wait for them to finish the celebration banquet before interviewing them..."

"Don't be like that. After eating, they still need to rest. You should come back tomorrow."

"That... alright then."

...

At the celebration banquet, the Director specially approved alcohol for the day, and all the section chiefs came to toast Qin Xiaoxiao.

Qin Xiaoxiao could really drink. Cup after cup, her Face didn't even flush.

Su Fan could only manage two cups before he couldn't drink any more, so he just watched her drink from the side.

This celebration banquet lasted until eleven o'clock at night before it ended.

After returning home, Su Fan was holding the [tear of the empress] in his hands. Just as he was about to lie down, he suddenly saw that the crystalline teardrop was actually emitting a glow of lustrous white light...