Spiritual Recovery: Gamification of Reality

Chapter 17

When Xu Bai walked out the corridor, the first thing he saw was Su Meng, standing not far away.

Tonight, Su Meng was wearing a white sweater and a white down jacket while carrying a pink backpack on her back. She looked chubby and surprisingly cute.

Su Meng’s eyes lit up when she saw Xu Bai. She started running up to him.

“Master.”

“Is there anything you can’t say over the phone?”

Xu Bai looked at Su Meng running over with snowflakes in her hair. Curious, he asked, “Your family isn’t worried about you coming here alone at night?”

If the Eastern City District was the poor region of the entire Feng City, then the area near the old factory was the poor part of the district. Even if tourists came to Feng City, no tour guide recommended visiting.

Of course.

The security of the old factory was surprisingly good. This was perhaps because the Shuangshan had a high crime rate in Feng City, that the community around the old factory also took the effort to keep things safe.

All in all.

Very few people came to Feng City, especially after the sun sets.

Su Meng did not answer. Instead, she rolled her big eyes and pointed at the barbecue shop outside the neighborhood. “Sir, I’ll treat you to barbecue.”

Before Xu Bai could say anything, Su Meng had already turned around and ran out. “I’m going to order first. Master, hurry up.”

Xu Bai looked at Su Meng, who was swinging her ponytail and her backpack. He narrowed his eyes.

There was something going on with this girl.

Xu Bai thought to himself. Then, he turned his head and glanced at the corner near Buildings 2 and 3. There were three or four people hiding in that corner.

“Come out.”

“…”

The sound of footsteps came from the corner. Then, Wang Qiang, Zhao Qiang, and five other people walked out of the corner one by one, smiling sheepishly. Wang Qiang scratched the back of his head and smiled meekly.

“Brother Bai.”

“Nothing better to do?”

“No, a few of us are on patrol tonight.”

“Because Shuangshan had a bad reputation for crime, the people living around the old factory would organize patrols at night,” Wang Qiang hurriedly said.

Zhao Qiang and the others behind him nodded repeatedly. “That’s right, Brother Bai. Coincidentally, our brothers are patrolling today.”

Xu Bai looked at Wang Qiang and the others expressionlessly and did not say anything.

Wang Qiang gulped. “Brother Bai, go ahead. We’ll go patrol first. We won’t disturb you anymore.”

Xu Bai still did not speak.

Wang Qiang turned around and gestured to his friends for them to leave.

Only then did Xu Bai retract his gaze. He shook his head helplessly and walked toward the barbecue shop at the entrance.

It couldn’t be helped. As the publicly acknowledged spokesperson of the old factory community, his every move was very closely watched.

Especially when Su Meng came to look for him tonight.

If nothing happened, the busybodies in the community would ask him all kinds of questions in the morning.

Perhaps some of the sleuthier folks in the area would get Su Meng’s personal and family information by noon tomorrow.

‘Still…’

Though he wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the gossip tomorrow, Xu Bai was more curious about Su Meng’s sudden visit tonight.

Could it be that Su Meng had information that she could not wait to give?

As Xu Bai thought about this, he pushed the door open and walked into the barbeque shop. It was cold outside, but much warmer inside.

Su Meng already found a seat. She took off her white down jacket and waved at Xu Bai, who had just walked in. “Master, this way.”

Xu Bai walked over and took a look at Su Meng, who was wearing a tight-fitting white sweater. He smiled and said, “Why did you suddenly think of treating me to barbecue?”

“You’re my master. Isn’t it normal for a disciple to treat their master?”

Xu Bai agreed with her. He nodded and looked up at Su Meng with a smile. “Just for dinner?”

Su Meng rolled her eyes but did not say anything.

‘I knew it.’

Xu Bai shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, the waiter brought over a dozen mutton skewers.

Su Meng was a little surprised. “So soon?”

A few seats down, a customer who had arrived before them was about to complain about not getting their food first. Then, he saw Xu Bai and instantly understood why the waiter had served Xu Bai first.

It was the same thing.

In the old factory community, Brother Bai’s reputation was maxed out.

Xu Bai looked at the surprised Su Meng and chose not to explain. Instead, he grabbed two lamb skewers and gave one to Su Meng. After taking a bite, he continued, “Tell me, what’s the matter?”

Su Meng took a bite of the lamb skewer. It was hot and spicy. After swallowing it, she took a sip of her coconut water. Then, she looked at Xu Bai carefully.

“Master, I’ll tell you. You can’t get mad.”

“Have you ever seen me mad?”

“No.”

Su Meng shook her head. Despite all the things she had seen or heard when she came to Feng City Police Station, there was never anything about Xu Bai having a bad personality.

She was told her batch was the luckiest, unlike other groups of trainees with masters who had tempers.

Su Meng thought about it and looked around. Then, she leaned forward and asked Xu Bai in a low voice, “Master, I heard that you handled several cases last year, but you gave the credit to others. Is that true?”

“Right.”

“Why?” Su Meng said, raising her voice.

She lowered her voice again and looked at Xu Bai curiously. “Why did you give your credit to someone else? I heard them say that if you didn’t give it to them, you would have become a senior agent by now. The first person in our police department to be promoted from a probationary agent to a senior agent in just a year.”

Xu Bai smiled and did not hide it from his little disciple. “It’s just a fair trade.”

Su Meng was stunned. “What?”

Xu Bai shrugged. “No reason. I prefer money over respect.”

One was willing to fight, and the other was willing to suffer.

Furthermore…

The police station was not stupid. Xu Bai was just giving those who were already at the bottom an excuse to leave early.

Needless to say, his juniors were really generous.

Most importantly…

Xu Bai did not want to leave Dongcheng District. This was his home, and his sister was here. Besides, everyone in the police station knew about it. Otherwise, why would he get three times his basic salary?

Xu Bai looked at Su Meng curiously. “Why are you suddenly asking about this out of the blue? Are you going to ask me for help too?”

Su Meng came back to her senses. She pursed her lips and did not speak.

…

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