But just as he lowered his head, Wang Jing struck again with an uppercut, catching him square on the chin. The blow snapped his head up and sent his body reeling backward.
"Hah!" A sharp cry rang out, followed by a relentless barrage of attacks.
Having already given the stubbornly defiant criminal a chance to surrender, Wang Jing would now show no mercy.
Her fists, glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, shot out rapidly, falling like a dense shower of rain upon the sunglasses-wearing man and his Earth Armor.
"BANG, BANG, BANG..."
The man in sunglasses couldn’t withstand the ferocious, storm-like assault. In an instant, the thick Earth Armor covering his body was completely shattered.
Without the protection of his Earth Armor, the man’s body took the blows directly, and countless bones throughout his body were broken.
"BAM."
After her frenzied assault, Wang Jing stopped her fists. Then, with a twist of her waist, she delivered a roundhouse kick that sent the man, who was already beaten to the brink of death, flying through the air.
"GACK..."
The moment he crashed to the ground, the man in sunglasses coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
"STEP, STEP, STEP..."
An expressionless Wang Jing walked up to the man in sunglasses. She looked down at the wretched-looking criminal and spoke in a detached tone.
"I gave you a chance. You brought this on yourself..."
"..." Beaten speechless, the man in sunglasses could only stare in terror at the fearsome woman.
He had never been so afraid of anyone in his life. From this day forward, Wang Jing would be his nightmare. For the rest of his life, the mere memory of this encounter would make him tremble in fear.
"PFFT..." Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. After spitting it out, the severely injured man in sunglasses passed out.
As the team leader for this operation, Wang Jing took down the two fleeing criminals, then looked up at her companions. "Let’s wrap it up," she said.
"Yes, ma’am," the Investigators replied in unison. Carrying the two severely injured and unconscious criminals, they went to find the colleague who had pursued the third criminal—the one who’d jumped into the water to escape.
Once everyone regrouped, they took the three captured targets and the confiscated bag of illegal drugs and began their return to the Superpower Administration Bureau.
* * *
In the afterglow of the evening sun, a brilliant red sunset illuminated half the sky.
Weary birds returned to their nests. Flocks of common birds that had been out foraging during the day began to fly in from the suburbs toward the city center, dispersing into the green spaces of the various residential districts.
"CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP..."
A flock of common birds flew into Ping’an Garden District, landing on a large, leafy tree.
Soon, they spotted two small stray cats lying at the base of another large tree not far away. The birds instantly grew wary, keeping a close eye on their natural predators.
"Meow... They’re back." The Little Black Cat practically drooled, staring covetously at the birds perched on the branches.
"Meow... They taste good, but they’re hard to catch!" Compared to hunting birds, the Little White Cat preferred big rats.
"Meow... That’s true. I caught a few before, but now they’re all super alert.
The moment I get a little close, they just fly to another tree," the Little Black Cat grumbled, lowering its head to rest on its tiny paws.
"Meow... Are you really hungry right now?" the Little White Cat asked.
"Meow... Yeah!" the Little Black Cat nodded.
"Meow... Let’s just wait a little longer. When Zhou Tongtong gets home from school, we’ll have something to eat," the Little White Cat told its companion.
"Meow... The sun’s almost down. How come Zhou Tongtong isn’t back from school yet?" The Little Black Cat’s stomach was rumbling, and it was desperately hoping Zhou Tongtong would return soon with food.
"Meow... I saw her mom leave earlier. She must have gone to pick Zhou Tongtong up. It’s been a while, so they should be on their way back by now," the Little White Cat said.
While the two hungry little strays were chatting in the shade of the large tree, Xia Qing, who had left on her electric scooter to pick up Zhou Tongtong, had already met her precious daughter.
"Mom!" Zhou Tongtong ran out of the school gate and straight to her mother.
"Tongtong, how was school today?" Xia Qing asked as her daughter came up to her.
"It was great, Mom! I made a lot of new friends today..." Zhou Tongtong replied with a beaming smile.
"Was the new stuff the teacher taught hard to learn?" Xia Qing asked.
"Nope! I learned everything the teacher taught," Zhou Tongtong told her mom proudly. ’I’m a smart kid,’ she thought. ’As long as I pay attention, there’s nothing I can’t learn.’
Holding hands, mother and daughter chatted as they walked. Zhou Tongtong chattered away about her day at school, and Xia Qing listened attentively.
A little while later, a silver-white electric scooter pulled out from the parking area in front of the school. Sitting on the back, Zhou Tongtong pressed her little face against her mother’s back and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.
* * *
Ping’an Garden District, Building 3, Apartment 601.
Lin Li was busy in the kitchen, preparing his dinner.
A large pot of beef and potato stew, a recipe he had learned from Su Yue, was simmering on the stove. He was currently smashing a cucumber to make a garlic cucumber salad, and he planned to peel a few preserved eggs to make a dish with tofu.
"DING."
His phone chimed in his pocket. Hearing the sound, Lin Li, who was mixing his garlic cucumber salad, put down his chopsticks, pulled out his phone, and glanced at the screen.
Su Yue: The grade level director is taking everyone out to eat after work today. I’m about to head to the restaurant with my colleagues... What are you making for dinner?
After reading Su Yue’s message, Lin Li opened his phone’s camera. He lifted the pot lid and snapped a picture of the beef and potato stew, then took another photo of the garlic cucumber salad he was mixing and the unpeeled preserved eggs.
He sent the photos, and Su Yue replied quickly.
Su Yue: Your beef and potato stew looks pretty good. I bet it tastes great. My hard work teaching you wasn’t for nothing.
Lin Li quickly typed back: Teach me how to make Sichuan boiled fish next!
Su Yue: Okay, I’ll teach you this weekend. But can’t you not handle very spicy food? Maybe I should teach you how to make fish with pickled greens instead.
Lin Li: Not being able to handle super spicy food doesn’t mean I can’t eat anything spicy. I like both Sichuan boiled fish and fish with pickled greens. I want to learn both.
Su Yue: The recipes are actually pretty similar. Once you learn how to make Sichuan boiled fish, you’ll basically know how to make fish with pickled greens, too.
The two chatted for a while longer. After they finished, Lin Li went back to preparing his dinner.
* * *
Xia Qing rode her electric scooter into Ping’an Garden District with her daughter.
She parked the scooter in the covered parking area and then lifted her daughter off the back.
Zhou Tongtong was about to follow her mom home when she suddenly turned and looked toward the green space in the distance.
A small black cat and a small white cat emerged from the bushes in the green space. They looked at Zhou Tongtong and meowed.
"Meow..."
"You’re hungry! I’m hungry too," Zhou Tongtong, home from a long day at school, replied to their cries. "Just wait a minute. I’ll get you something to eat as soon as I get home..."
"Meow..." The two little strays seemed to be asking if she was bringing that delicious beef.
Zhou Tongtong smiled and replied, "Yes, it’s the beef Lin Li gave us."
Xia Qing watched her daughter chatting so earnestly with the two little strays. Without thinking much of it, she just smiled, patted her daughter’s head, and said, "Tongtong, let’s go!"
"I’m going now! I’ll be back down in a little bit," Zhou Tongtong quickly called out to the two cats. Taking her mother’s hand, she headed for the nearby building entrance.
* * *