Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 102: Chapter 94: Our Own Family’s Money

Qin Ling happened to be free today. He’d heard some unlucky soul had attracted a beast horde and decided to come check out the commotion.

’And a pretty rich unlucky soul at that?’

The number of people in S Base who could fork over that much money at once was small. Even if he didn’t know them personally, he would have at least heard of them.

Just then, he spotted Tang Mo nearby, her head lowered as she muttered something to a little creature beside her.

Qin Ling scooped Jingjing up with one hand, holding the little fox up to inspect it.

Jingjing didn’t struggle at all, looking completely listless and resigned to its fate.

Normally, it would have been thrashing about, but today? Sorry, not in the mood.

”I just ran into her. Keeping her for fun,” Tang Mo replied.

No one would believe that Tang Mo could already tame mutant beasts, so seeing a Little Fox following her, they just assumed it was an ordinary pet.

In truth, Jingjing hadn’t formed a contract with Tang Mo. So even though it was a mutant beast, calling it a pet wasn’t technically wrong.

”Though I might not be able to afford to keep her anymore.”

Tang Mo lowered her head and took Jingjing back from Qin Ling’s hand, cradling the fox in her arms.

”I heard a beast horde came through a little while ago?”

”Mhm.”

”I wonder who the unlucky person was. When I first established this compensation rule, I overrode all objections to set the price sky-high. The safety of the base is paramount.”

Qin Ling was very pleased with his past decision. After all, if they didn’t make an example of a few people, what would they do if every Hunter started luring mutant beasts back from the forest?

All of S Base’s bullets would be spent on rescue missions instead of anything else.

Hearing Qin Ling’s words, Tang Mo finally understood just how this godforsaken price had been set.

She tilted her head up and, along with Jingjing, glared daggers at Qin Ling.

Qin Ling jumped in surprise. ”What’s wrong? Why are you two looking at me like that? It’s pretty creepy.”

”Leader, sir!”

Just then, the captain and two of his men were busy hauling Crystal Cores out of the lockup. Spotting Qin Ling, he snapped to attention, saluted, and greeted him.

The fact that Qin Ling was the supreme leader of the S Alliance was enough to command their unconditional obedience.

But his rank as number one on the Huaxia leaderboard earned him the genuine, heartfelt respect of every soldier.

True men only respect the strong.

”Miss, you’re still here?”

The captain in the camouflage uniform felt quite sorry for the young woman who had just paid a fortune to buy her freedom.

”You...”

Seeing the guard captain’s look of pity toward Tang Mo, and then Tang Mo’s own teeth-grinding glare directed at him, Qin Ling instantly understood.

’So it was a case of our own people fighting each other.’

”Why didn’t you call me? Did you really just pay whatever they asked for? Are you an idiot?”

Tang Mo lowered her head, silent.

”Lin Tong, put those Crystal Cores down. I’ll cover the fee for repelling the beast horde.”

It was all his money, one way or another. Qin Ling couldn’t just let the money go from his girl’s wallet into his own.

”Yes, sir!”

A cold sweat broke out on Lin Tong’s back. Even someone as clueless about social intricacies as him could tell the relationship between this girl and the leader was anything but ordinary.

He was secretly relieved he hadn’t rushed to put the punishment bracelet on her. If he had, he wouldn’t be a captain for much longer; he might as well have packed his bags for the Labor Camp.

”There’s no need!”

Tang Mo quickly refused. She didn’t want him to pull strings for her like that.

Besides, she was beginning to realize something: having too many Crystal Cores wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

She’d had so many Crystal Cores before, and it had given her a false sense of security, making her lose that urgent drive to push forward and improve. That wasn’t a good thing.

Starting over from scratch now might actually be a blessing in disguise.

”Leader, what should I...?”

Lin Tong was caught between a rock and a hard place. This was way too difficult...

”Then do as she says.”

Qin Ling said indulgently. Tang Mo was a person with a mind of her own, and he wouldn’t force his will upon her.

”Your Space has gotten a lot bigger, hasn’t it?”

Ever since they were in school, Qin Ling had known that Tang Mo was a Space Ability User.

But lately, he found himself understanding Tang Mo less and less.

He had seen her fight before. For a Space Ability User to be that powerful... wasn’t that a bit unnatural?

’Is Tang Mo’s high attribute value really her Space Attribute Value?’

Qin Ling had a million questions, but he didn’t voice them. He knew that when Tang Mo was ready to tell him, she would.

He had absolute trust in Tang Mo, along with a deep affection and a willingness to indulge her.

”Mhm. It really is a lot bigger.”

Tang Mo answered, thinking about the Space she had just absorbed from Wenqing.

She still didn’t plan on telling anyone about her spiritual power.

”Next time you’re in danger, call me directly. Remember?” Qin Ling urged, still feeling uneasy.

”I know, I know! You’re such a nag!”

The two of them bantered for a while longer before reluctantly parting ways.

Perhaps it was because Tang Mo had seen the situation at S Base with her own eyes, or perhaps her feelings for Qin Ling had undergone a deeper change.

In truth, she wasn’t all that concerned about hiding their relationship anymore.

Her only concern now was Lin Yi. Once the baby was born safely, it really wouldn’t matter.

After saying goodbye to Qin Ling, Tang Mo went to the Alliance Exchange and traded all the spoils she had gathered in the forest over the past few days for Basic Crystal Cores.

Tang Mo had a lot of loot and exchanged it for 80 Basic Crystal Cores.

She carefully placed these precious Crystal Cores into a bag, stored it in her Space, and saved them for Jingjing to eat.

When Tang Mo got home, Wen Jianshu was in the study talking with Wen Ze. Hearing Tang Mo return, Wen Jianshu decided to call her into the study as well.

”Momo, your uncle here heard that you were university classmates with Song Qing from the Li Family. Tell me, what kind of person is she?”

Wen Jianshu probed for information while, to the side, Wen Ze also stared at Tang Mo, waiting for her answer.

Tang Mo understood immediately. This was a background check for an arranged marriage.

”She’s gentle, sensible, incredibly knowledgeable, and well-mannered. Her character is beyond reproach.”

Tang Mo gave her a glowing review. It was no joke; she had known Song Qing for two lifetimes, after all.

”Wen Ze, what are your thoughts? I know the young woman is two years your senior. If you’re truly against it, I would risk the entire Wen Family rather than force you into a difficult position.”

This was Wen Jianshu playing the sympathy card. He had already given Li Xian his word, and he was now banking on Wen Ze’s character to prioritize the greater good.

He wouldn’t have pushed his nephew like this if she were a bad person, but by all accounts, the young woman was an excellent match.

And given the current situation, he felt he had no choice...

”I like her a lot. I’ll go with whatever the family arranges.”

There was a smile in Wen Ze’s eyes. Ever since he’d learned he might be set up with the young woman from the Li Family, he had found numerous opportunities to see Song Qing.

Song Qing was still working at the research institute under Professor Tian. The last time Wen Ze had secretly gone to see her, he’d found her without a trace of makeup, wearing glasses, and intently focused on an experiment.

The sight of her, head bowed in concentration, had captured his heart in an instant.

He had been waiting for his uncle to bring this matter up for a long time, even looking forward to it with a bit of impatience.