Chapter 8: Meddling in Matters Not One’s Own

After a two-second silence, Su Xiang spoke up, “Qi Qi, I’m not trying to dampen your spirits, but being a streamer requires being talkative and able to engage the audience. You don’t like to talk...”

And the way you speak is suffocating...

No one needed the rest of his words to understand the implication.

Before, you only typed without speaking; now, after a whole game, you barely say two sentences.

Though game streamers don’t have as many demands as entertainment hosts, with Qi Qi’s temperament, streaming won’t be popular, if it even gets viewers at all.

Upon hearing Qi Qi was going to stream, Shi Lin’s interest was piqued, and he quickly added, “Unless Qi Qi, you’re insanely beautiful.”

With Qi Qi’s skills and appearance, being quiet wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Qi Qi insisted, “I talk quite a lot.”

The four exchanged glances.

Not really showing it.

And so, for several consecutive days, none of them left Qi Fi’s house; apart from eating and sleeping, they were climbing ranks in the game. After two days and nights, they rose from the strongest king tier to Glory King with 55 stars.

Today, Qi Fi logged in and immediately heard Shi Lin say, “Qi Qi, why are you so free?”

Previously, Qi Qi was often offline.

Qi Fi didn’t know how to respond, so she thought about her situation: “I offended someone. You could say I was just suspended.”

“That bad?”

“No wonder you want to start streaming, so you’re newly unemployed.”

Tong Sheng teased, “Shi Lin, with that tone, I feel like you’re gloating.”

“Is it that obvious?”

Wan Yang chimed in, “Can you make it any more obvious?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Lin’s unrestrained laughter echoed.

Qi Fi felt a stab in her chest and rolled her eyes at the ceiling.

“I have some things to handle over the next couple of days, so I might not be online.” Tong Sheng’s words caught everyone’s attention.

“What a coincidence, I’m moving these days and might not be online either,” Qi Fi wanted to mention this.

In recent days, Zhou Ying’s house ownership had been transferred. Qi Fi’s apartment was listed at a price several hundred thousand yuan below the neighborhood average, but with one condition: full payment upfront.

Because the price was low, the house quickly found a buyer. Now, Qi Fi needed to clear out; once the ownership was transferred, she could pay off the penalty.

Zhou Ying had already found a place; today they packed a bit, and tomorrow the movers would come.

Coincidentally, Zhou Ying’s new place was on the sixteenth floor of the same building.

That meant Qi Fi only had to move everything intact from the twenty-seventh floor down to the sixteenth, saving on transportation costs.

...

After finishing the game, Qi Fi and Zhou Ying packed their luggage together. Tomorrow morning, the movers would carry everything downstairs.

Qi Fi initially planned to help with the move, but after breakfast, Zhou Ying kicked her out the door, citing that Qi Fi might be recognized by the movers, and if their residence was exposed, it would be troublesome.

Fair enough.

Taking advantage of the moving time, Qi Fi planned to go out.

She was fed up with her long shoulder-length hair and the countless clothes in the wardrobe, which gave her a headache. This was after already selling off the valuable clothes, bags, and jewelry.

While packing, she discovered that the wardrobe still held so many clothes.

---

Wearing a hat and mask, Qi Fi headed straight to the hair salon.

This time, she was far less calm than the first time she went out, constantly glancing around, afraid a stalker might suddenly appear with a bucket of insults.

Only after mounting her motorcycle and putting on her helmet did she finally relax.

An hour later, Qi Fi’s long shoulder-length hair was cut into a neat short style. Looking at herself in the mirror, she twisted her neck, feeling her head much lighter.

Afraid of being recognized, Qi Fi didn’t dare to remove her mask even while getting her hair cut.

With her hair done, the next task was the clothes.

Qi Fi wore a tracksuit — one of the few casual outfits from the wardrobe.

Just as she was happily carrying her bags, ready to go home, she bumped into someone. At the moment of contact, her mind-reading ability triggered.

The man was looking down at his phone; luckily, Qi Fi reacted quickly, or they would have collided hard.

“Sorry.”

Without looking up, the man playing on his phone, or the bodyguard-like person walking beside them, apologized to Qi Fi.

She glanced at the group; although she thought the leader was rude, Qi Fi was in a good mood and didn’t mind.

She waved her hand to dismiss it and was about to leave when she suddenly heard this:

【Is the scar-faced guy about to be targeted?】

【Is it a police accident, or are they after me?】

【No, that’s not possible. He just arrived, and the cops are already on him.】

【His location must have been exposed.】

【There’s a mole!】

【Only the bodyguard Huazi, Fei San, and Qiang Gao know the meeting spot.】

【Huazi grew up with him and has always been loyal. Fei San has shielded him from bullets more than once and is unlikely the mole. That leaves only Qiang Gao.】

【Damn, no wonder he’s so skilled—it turns out he’s a cop. We’ll deal with him soon.】

【This place isn’t safe anymore. Change the meeting spot to the abandoned building on the city outskirts.】

Qi Fi ignored the whispered words, trying to block out the surrounding thoughts; otherwise, she wouldn’t have peace of mind.

But when she heard “cop” she instinctively turned to look at the man who had bumped into her.

A teammate of hers had been a cop before the apocalypse and jokingly said that bad guys called them “cops.”

She glanced at the leader, still looking down at his phone.

Tsk, tsk, she wondered if it was just talk or if he really had the skills.

But when she heard, 【Break his limbs; a single bullet is too kind to him】, Qi Fi’s face instantly turned cold.

A murderous aura radiated from her as if the temperature around her dropped several degrees.

Her previously relaxed nerves immediately tensed.

It seemed she had overestimated the world. Though it appeared safe on the surface, danger lurked in the shadows.

Truly, no one should overestimate human nature anywhere.

She hadn’t noticed before, but these bodyguards were no ordinary people. Having seen many bloodied hands during the apocalypse, Qi Fi was certain every one of them had blood on their hands; the stench of violence was unmistakable.

People who kill indiscriminately wouldn’t hesitate to strike her either.

Just a suspicion could mean death; if she, a stranger, was mistaken for a cop, she wouldn’t even know how she died.

Though she trusted her skills, this body was untrained; even showing 50% of her ability would be a blessing. Besides, she had no gun. Barehanded against firearms? She was sane enough to know it was impossible.

More importantly, in this world, killing meant paying with one’s life. She hadn’t lived long enough yet.

Qi Fi had witnessed too much slaughter and countless deaths before her eyes. She herself bore many deaths on her hands. In the apocalypse, to survive, one was either butcher or lamb.

But she was new here, knew no one, who could she contact? What could she do?

Ordinary cops probably wouldn’t be involved in these matters. Who could she turn to?

If she spoke up, would anyone believe her?

How could she explain where she got this information? Would she say she learned it through mind-reading?

That might implicate herself.

Mind-reading?

If she didn’t truly possess this miraculous ability, Qi Fi wouldn’t believe it either.

If she told anyone, they might think she was insane.

Yet, if she didn’t mention mind-reading, how else could she explain her source?

Forget it.

She had only been here two days and was barely managing herself.

Getting involved too much had already caused trouble. Now, in danger herself, why seek more trouble? Was she asking to die slowly?

Better to find some good food; she was starving from wandering around.

Qi Fi decided not to cause trouble; who lived or died was none of her business.

Her thoughts whirled, but her feet didn’t stop. Staying would only arouse suspicion.

She glanced a few more times; the bodyguard-like men looked at her several times.

Finding a corner with no one around, she stopped.

No matter what she thought, she ultimately decided to act.

Watching a cop die at the hands of these beasts without intervening was something Qi Fi couldn’t do.

Right then, she suddenly thought of someone with a matching profession.

She had left her number the last time Zhao Shan came knocking; now it came in handy.

She originally wanted to call directly, but this involved the life of an undercover cop and her own safety.

Qi Fi was not selfless; if it weren’t for the other person’s identity, if that person died before her eyes, she probably wouldn’t bat an eye.

Still, she didn’t want to die just days after arriving; she valued her life dearly.

She had thought this world was safe, but after barely letting her guard down, she was suddenly reminded it was not as safe as it seemed.

This realization forced Qi Fi to consider the worst. Why was this man, who had blood on his hands like the bodyguards, still able to swagger around here?

Why did he receive these warnings?

Was someone tipping him off, or did he have eyes and ears everywhere?

It wasn’t her fault for overthinking.

Everyone looks out for themselves, and she was no exception. Would reporting this put her in danger?