Chapter 148 Quan Yumeng is a Spy

Chapter 148: Quan Yumeng Is a Spy

"Brother Sheng, sis-in-law."

As soon as movement stirred from the tent, Zhu Bin quickly dropped his lamb skewer and scurried over, calling out with an ingratiating grin.

Xie Tingsheng frowned, his gaze sweeping coldly over Zhu Bin. "We'll honor the Special Operations Bureau's request. As for reinforcements, dispatch Song Yan's team and both of Guan Tiantian's squads."

Zhu Bin's face registered surprise—was this intentional?

After all, field operations were far riskier than staying put. The monster wave at the East City highway exit was undoubtedly Qingcheng's largest and most perilous. However, with Brother Sheng and sis-in-law—two top-tier combatants—present, the threat level plummeted.

In contrast, the monster waves within Qingcheng were smaller in scale and less dangerous. Yet, it was nighttime, and support locations would constantly shift, increasing both difficulty and risk. Sending Song Yan and Guan Tiantian's squads seemed ill-advised, especially since they were both women-led teams, with women making up the majority.

Before Zhu Bin could voice his doubts, Xie Tingsheng continued, "Also, send some people covertly—those monitoring Quan Yumeng should go too."

Zhu Bin seemed to grasp the implication immediately, his expression turning serious as he nodded solemnly. "Understood, Brother Sheng. I’ll handle it right away."

When Song Yan received the notice, her face darkened, her eyes clouded with a bitter, knowing amusement. Was this his way of settling a personal score?

Quan Yumeng, standing beside her, clenched her fists indignantly. "How could the captain do this? Did Hua Diao whisper poison in his ear? And how could he indulge her so much? Song Yan, you only have feelings for him, and yet he treats you like this. Qingcheng at night is so dangerous—what if something like that Level 61 Minotaur incident from this morning happens again? They’re basically sending you to your death! Our whole team would be dragged down with you—"

"Shut up!" Song Yan's face paled as she cut her off sharply, unable to tolerate the increasingly outrageous claims.

Quan Yumeng gulped, eyes welling up. "Song Yan, you’re snapping at me? I was only thinking of you!"

Song Yan frowned. "Stop talking nonsense. You’re exaggerating. The monster waves inside Qingcheng are nothing compared to the ones at the highway exit. We’ve guarded the city overnight before—it’s not that dangerous."

"But—but what if something unexpected happens? In the apocalypse, anything is possible. Half our squad is female, and now we have to run around rescuing people in such a dangerous night. What if we run into ghosts? And Hua Diao is so malicious—maybe she just wants to harm you!"

Song Yan still retained some rationality. "That’s not true. Guan Tiantian is going with us. And Hua Diao..."

She had to admit that today’s encounter with Hua Diao had completely overturned her previous impression. Someone so radiant, beautiful, and lucky probably wouldn’t do such a thing, right? Besides, they hadn’t even clashed directly today.

With that thought, she stopped listening to Quan Yumeng’s incessant muttering and instructed her squad members to prepare for departure.

Following the support requests from the Special Operations Bureau, Song Yan and Guan Tiantian led their squads through various corners of Qingcheng, assisting alongside other Bureau members.

Though they encountered some crises, they managed to escape unscathed—until Song Yan’s squad received a distress call from the old city district and rushed over.

Inside the tent, Hua Diao idly fiddled with an orange, squeezing it absentmindedly while occasionally asking, "Any news?"

Xie Tingsheng stared at the game interface, his eyes glinting coldly. "Yes. It’s from the Roaring Tiger Team."

"Oh? So Quan Yumeng really is problematic—a spy, huh?"

Hua Diao leaned in eagerly, her face alight with excitement. "Quick, tell me the story behind this! I heard the Roaring Tiger Team is Qingcheng’s second-ranked squad. Have they finally gotten tired of being the perpetual second-place and decided to overthrow you to take the top spot?"

Though she spent most of her time running dungeons at home, she wasn’t completely oblivious to the outside world. Through free public chat channels or her clients, she’d heard plenty about the Peanut Squad and the Roaring Tiger Team.

For example, the Roaring Tiger Team captain’s brother-in-law had crossed the line again, trying to strong-arm some girl in broad daylight—only to have the Peanut Squad captain witness it and summarily lop off his head, sealing the bad blood between the two squads.

Or the time both squads coincidentally targeted the same grind spot, but the Peanut Squad came out on top, driving the Roaring Tiger Team away.

Or how a talent the Roaring Tiger Team had painstakingly tried to recruit ended up joining the Peanut Squad instead, making fools of them in the process.

And so on—endless friction between members of both squads had escalated to the point where, within Qingcheng, the two teams now steered clear of each other entirely.

It was enough to make one sigh—wherever there were people, there would always be conflict. Even in the perilous apocalypse, the pursuit of fame and profit never ceased.

Xie Tingsheng chuckled and lightly tapped her forehead. "No grand story—just the Roaring Tiger Team getting too big for their britches. From the start of the apocalypse, they had their eyes on Zhu Bin’s villa, but after a few of them got themselves blown sky-high by landmines, the feud was on. Later, when monsters attacked, they were too busy staying alive. But recently, as our squads kept clashing, tensions escalated. Their captain is ambitious—he wants to topple the Peanut Squad and become Qingcheng’s top team. He’s been pulling shady moves for a while, but none of his plans worked. Still, he’s not the type to give up, so I’ve had people keeping tabs on him."

Xie Tingsheng’s gaze darkened. Though he despised the Roaring Tiger Team and had the means to eliminate them, Qingcheng would lose too much combat power, potentially leaving it vulnerable to monster waves. So he’d held back, treating them like small fries to mess with.

"But it seems not long ago, they picked up a sharp tactician."

That changed things.

The once-pathetic Roaring Tiger Team, which he’d easily manipulated, had occasionally slipped from his control and managed some slick moves.

Xie Tingsheng lowered his eyes, shadows falling over his expression.

"My informant in the Roaring Tiger Team reported that Liu Hu recently welcomed a man named Chu Zexuan as an honored guest, granting him the position of the team’s second-in-command. The recent schemes against the Peanut Squad were likely his doing. What’s more, this man is a smooth operator—Quan Yumeng betrayed our squad because of him, trying to stir internal conflict and dismantle us from within. Unfortunately for them, it never worked."

"Sending Song Yan’s squad out alone today was a rare opportunity for them to act—and they took the bait. Tonight, the Roaring Tiger Team suffered heavy losses. My informant used the chance to rise in rank, accessing their core intel and confirming Quan Yumeng’s role. We also obtained their plans for tonight."