Chapter 181: Drunkard

Since Lu Xin didn’t know exactly when Drunkard planned to make a move against the organization he was investigating, he decided to come discuss strategy with her early. That same night, he asked Han Bing to book him a ticket to Satellite City No. 4, and he set off first thing the next morning.

The metro climbed higher and higher, eventually ascending onto elevated tracks dozens of meters above the ground, traversing the sky above the city.

Rumble!

As the High-Speed Train emerged from the high walls of Satellite City No. 2, sunlight suddenly flooded in from outside.

Lu Xin looked out the window at a refreshingly pleasant sight.

Between the massive high walls were vast stretches of green vegetation covering dilapidated buildings.

The layout of Qinggang City represented the most common form of city organization in the world after the Crimson Moon Incident.

At its core was the Qinggang City Main City zone, boasting the finest buildings and a distinctly modern feel.

Surrounding the Main City were five satellite cities: East, South, West, North, and Lookout Tower. Together, they formed a massive hand spread out upon the ground. The distant Main City, shimmering with a silver light, was like the palm, while the satellite cities were the fingers.

Between the satellite cities and the Main City lay extensive farmland, orchards, pastures, greenhouses, along with some lakes and rivers.

And beyond that, stretched an endless expanse of wilderness.

Between the six cities, a network of elevated railways crisscrossed. Back when the Maniacs in the wilderness were still numerous, Qinggang City relied on these high-speed trains, traveling nearly a hundred meters above ground, for cargo transport, avoiding attacks by Maniacs. However, now that Maniacs were increasingly scarce, ground transportation had flourished. These elevated railways spanning between cities had become a distinctive feature.

Nowadays, they were mainly used by people traveling between the cities.

After all, being on the elevated tracks, even after leaving a Highwall City, wasn’t considered exiting the city. Traveling via ground between satellite cities, however, would be officially classified as leaving the city.

……

When the High-Speed Train arrived at the station in Satellite City No. 4, Lu Xin disembarked with the crowd. He then went to the last carriage to retrieve his motorcycle. He carefully inspected it for a while, relieved not to see any scratches caused by rough handling by the staff.

He then rode it through an underground passage, emerging onto the ground level at an exit.

He had called ahead while still on the train; Drunkard should have been waiting for him here at this time.

Lu Xin scanned the area, his gaze settling on a little girl in a school uniform, waving at him.

“Hello…”

Lu Xin quickly pushed his motorcycle over towards her, greeting her with a smile.

But the words caught in his throat, giving him pause. What should he call her? Mr. Drunkard? Ms. Drunkard? Little Sister?

“Haha, you must be the young soldier?”

Before Lu Xin could settle on an appropriate form of address, Drunkard, with her ponytail, looked at him with a kindly smile.

She extended her hand, saying, “We met before, though it was a chaotic time then, and we didn’t get a chance to chat properly…”

“Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to support my work.”

“I was actually thinking of finding that ‘Crouching Tiger’ fellow, but he said he had a stomach ache…”

“…”

“Crouching Tiger…” Lu Xin needed a moment to register what she meant. He hurriedly replied with a smile, “It’s my duty. I will also cooperate to the best of my ability.”

The girl before him looked pure and fresh-faced, vibrant and undeniably youthful. Yet this kindly demeanor made Lu Xin feel distinctly peculiar. Talking to her, he subconsciously felt diminished… mainly diminished in seniority.

“Hah, good, the young man has great spirit…”

Drunkard gave a thumbs-up, unscrewed her thermos cup, and took a sip. “Don’t just stand there! Come on, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Oh, okay…”

Catching a whiff of alcohol from her thermos, Lu Xin felt a renewed surge of respect mixed with disbelief.

While he waited, Drunkard soon drove her own vehicle over. Lu Xin stared, slightly dumbfounded.

It was a roofless, three-wheeled contraption with an open truck bed in the back. Paint was peeling in multiple spots, revealing patches of rust — it looked distinctly like an agricultural type. Drunkard, dressed in her school uniform and sneakers, her ponytail bouncing, puttered along on this three-wheeler, instantly drawing countless stares.

She pulled the brake lever, slapped the truck bed behind her with a laugh, and said, “Hop in, young man! What are you waiting for?”

“Just toss your motorcycle in the back…”

“…”

“Uh… Maybe… maybe I can just follow behind…”

Lu Xin agreed but finally couldn’t help asking, “This is… your vehicle?”

“Yep…” Drunkard unscrewed her thermos cup again for another sip. “It’s a good vehicle… no one even checks for drunk driving…”

“?”

Lu Xin suddenly felt her reasoning had some merit.

So, Drunkard rolled up her sleeves, revealing two pale, slender arms. Gripping the handlebars, she steadily drove the three-wheeler ahead, leading the way.

Lu Xin followed behind on his Motorcycle at a snail’s pace. The three-wheeler seemed to have faulty fuel, with thick black smoke billowing out. About halfway, Lu Xin pulled over to check and found the silver bumper already covered in soot…

No choice but to follow from a bit farther back.

After all, Drunkard’s vehicle was moving so steadily; just walking felt enough to keep up.

…

Drunkard had said she was going for a meal. Lu Xin hadn’t been hungry then, but after tagging along the whole way, the delay had worked up an appetite.

He’d assumed that since Drunkard was inviting him, even if they weren’t going to a fancy restaurant, it should at least be a small eatery serving meat rice, especially since this counted as business travel and was reimbursable. Besides, Han Bing had mentioned before that Drunkard was a very generous person.

But after following Drunkard into a residential community in the city center, Lu Xin was taken aback.

“This is…”

Stopping his bike, Lu Xin looked at the rows of apartment buildings around him, confused.

“This is my home…”

“Come on upstairs for dinner, then we’ll discuss the mission.”

Drunkard got off her vehicle, parked the three-wheeler, then walked toward the building with her hands behind her back.

“Having a meal at her home?”

Lu Xin was surprised but seeing Drunkard already entering the building, he hurriedly locked his bike, gave it a quick inspection, and followed briskly.

…

“Oh, Gege is back!”

The community looked grand and clean, and the hallway was livelier than most places. It being the weekend and dinner time, people were coming and going constantly. While waiting for the elevator, neighbors greeted each other warmly. An kindly-looking Old Man smiled at Drunkard, secretly glancing at Lu Xin and saying, “Is this young man your friend?”

“He’s a colleague. Granny Wang, buying delicious food again?”

Drunkard replied, her voice clear as a bell, like a curious and adorable teenage girl.

Though the response was perfectly suited to her apparent identity, Lu Xin distinctly felt an air of artificial youthfulness about it…

“Oh, you have such a good nose! Just bought a bit of yellow croaker…”

The kind Old Man lifted her basket to show Drunkard and laughed, “I’ll send some over to your place once I pan-fry them!”

“I want some too…”

A couple holding hands nearby joined in the banter. The man raised his hand and said, “My wife absolutely loves your pan-fried croaker, Granny Wang.”

“You know I like it, so why don’t you buy any for me?”

The girl next to him pretended to scold him playfully, then smilingly took a box of cherries from her shopping bag and handed it to the Old Man. “We’ve enjoyed so much of your delicious cooking before, Granny Wang, we’re embarrassed! Take this fruit back for your grandson…”

“Oh, no, I can’t accept that, it’s expensive…”

“Nonsense about expensive! It’s nowhere near as tasty as your fried croaker…”

“…”

Amid the polite tussling, the elevator doors opened. A slightly plump woman pushed a Old Man in a Wheelchair out. A warm, courteous smile on her face, she greeted her neighbors, “Auntie Wang, Xiao Sun, and Gege… all back?”

The other neighbors stepped aside. “Sister Liu taking your father-in-law for his walk again?”

Once inside the elevator, the discussion continued: “Sister Liu really is wonderful. Her husband died driving long-distance freight, then her father-in-law lost his legs… But not only did she not send him away, she took care of him. People like that are rare in this world…”

…

Lu Xin stood amongst them, quietly listening, and felt that Drunkard’s neighbors were indeed very nice.

Having neighbors like this in daily life was a blessing.

Pity that in his own old building, hardly anyone lived…

…

“Dad, Mom, I’m home.”

Drunkard’s apartment was rather spacious too, looking to be at least 140 to 150 square meters.

Decorated in a classical and substantial style, filled with delicate potted plants and books, it exuded an intellectual atmosphere.

As soon as they entered, a middle-aged couple hurried forward to welcome them.

Both looked to be in their forties. The man wore Glasses; the woman wore a blue home-style qipao, appearing very elegant. Photos of them with students on display in the living room indicated they might be Teachers?

“Ah, come sit, come sit…”

Drunkard’s parents looked at Lu Xin, who had entered after her, their expressions surprised and bursting with joy as they appraised Lu Xin.

“Gege’s finally got a friend?”

“…”

“He’s a colleague of mine. You two sit with him, I’ll go cook.”

Drunkard called over to Lu Xin, “Young man, don’t be shy, peel yourself an apple.”

Saying this, she grabbed an apron and headed into the kitchen.

“Alright, alright…”

Under the onslaught of enthusiasm from the whole family, Lu Xin had no choice but to sit on the sofa. On his left and right sat Drunkard’s Father and Mother. They studied him, seemingly overjoyed, exchanging discreet glances that seemed to signal immense relief.

“He’s really nice…”

Drunkard’s Mother examined Lu Xin with care: “What’s your name? How old are you?”

“Uh… I’m twenty-three. My name’s…”

Lu Xin hesitated, unsure whether to give his real name. According to their rules, they should only interact using codenames.

In fact, he didn’t even know Drunkard’s real name.

Besides, theoretically, he shouldn’t be interacting with Drunkard’s family at all…

…That Drunkard brought him home for dinner was itself contrary to typical Ability User practices.

“Twenty-three, very good, very good…”

Drunkard’s Father saved Lu Xin the trouble of answering, nodding repeatedly with a smile. “Our Gege, well, she’s already eighteen. Don’t let her slightly quirky nature fool you; she’s actually very sweet. We originally wanted her to attend university after high school, but she wasn’t interested, so we let it go. Now, we’re mostly concerned about her future… How far have you two gotten in your relationship?”

“Glrk—”

Lu Xin almost spat out his tea. Something wasn’t right here. Had Drunkard’s parents misunderstood the situation?

“What are you two thinking!”

Drunkard stuck her head out of the kitchen, frowning deeply. “This is my colleague, Soldier… Here to help with work assignments. It’s only our second meeting! I said, you two being so young, couldn’t you have a bit higher revolutionary consciousness? Can’t you focus your energy on building a career instead of having your heads full of nonsense?”

(Translator’s Note: Xiao Bing (小兵), lit. “small soldier”, is likely being used as a codename reference for Lu Xin here, fitting the earlier directive about codenames and ‘Soldier’ being a plausible nickname/call-sign type name.)

“…”

“This…”

Drunkard’s parents’ expressions instantly turned deeply awkward.

After a long moment, Drunkard’s Mother awkwardly pushed the fruit platter toward Lu Xin. “Help yourself. I’ll go help her cook…”

Lu Xin and Drunkard’s Father sat alone in the living room looking at each other, one clueless, the other embarrassed.

Soon, the frustrated sound of Drunkard’s voice drifted from the kitchen: “Xiao Wang… oh, no, Mom…”

“How can you still be so clumsy at your age? You can’t scale a fish like that!”

“You need to angle the knife sideways and flick… what?”

“A bit of criticism and you sulk? You people of the older generation, I really don’t know what’s on your minds.”

“Suppose you actually are a university professor. How on earth do you manage to teach those kids?”