Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Nightfall Organization_1
By the time Liu Qianqian came back, the class had already started working for half a day.
"Qianqian, how come it took you so long to get the barbecue ingredients?" Li Xinyue took the large backpack from Liu Qianqian and asked.
"Oh, I ran into students from other classes at the foot of the mountain and just lent them a hand," Liu Qianqian said casually.
Another girl took the barbecue ingredients, glanced at Liu Qianqian's notebook, and smiled, "It's really befitting of the class president to not forget to bring notes even on an outing, no wonder your grades are so good."
"Alright, let's hurry up and start grilling the fish," Liu Qianqian said with a smile, putting her notebook into her bag.
After putting it away, Liu Qianqian's gaze involuntarily drifted towards Fang Ren, who was not far away, gutting fish with a couple of wealthy-looking boys.
She had been thinking about the words Fang Ren had said to her on the way back, his expression so confident and resolute, assuring that everything would definitely get better tomorrow.
However, it was just noon, and something good had already happened to her.
Could it be... that the person who delivered the notes to her just now was him? Liu Qianqian couldn't help being curious.
While she was watching, Fang Ren turned his head and caught her gaze. But after just a second, he turned his head away to do something else as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.
This made Liu Qianqian somewhat puzzled. She wanted to go over and ask, but their relationship was very awkward at the moment, and moreover, today Fang Ren had brought his girlfriend. If his girlfriend saw them talking together, it would be problematic if she misunderstood.
"Qianqian, why are you staring at him again?" Li Xinyue said, looking worried as she sat down next to Liu Qianqian and followed her line of sight.
"Huh?" Liu Qianqian suddenly came back to her senses, realizing she had been looking at Fang Ren a bit too intently and awkwardly chuckled, "It's nothing, I just find it surprising that those rich young masters would actually know how to gut a fish."
Upon hearing this, Li Xinyue couldn't help but feel exasperated, watching Fang Ren and the others grab a fish and randomly smash it with rocks; she really couldn't see where they knew how to gut a fish...
"He's someone you've already rejected twice, and besides, he has a girlfriend now. What's so captivating about him?" Li Xinyue rolled her eyes as she said.
"I told you it's nothing, don't make things up," Liu Qianqian replied with a slight blush and rolled her eyes at her.
"Then explain to me why you keep watching him?"
"I, I'm just innocently watching them gut fish."
"Pfft, as if I would believe that."
"If you don't believe it, just let it be, don't talk nonsense..."
…
Not long after, Mu Huanqing, who had followed Jian Qi'er to pick up firewood in the woods, came running back with a bunch of small sticks in her arms, her white little face smeared with a bit of mud, looking very adorable.
After that, the fish grilling was a free-for-all affair. Fang Ren's group consisted of five people: Jian Qi'er, Mu Huanqing, and two wealthy young men.
"Hey, little airhead, aren't you usually absent from these kinds of activities?" Li Xingwang said as he took a bite of fish.
"Well, well, graduation is approaching, and of course, I have to strive to be a good student, right? How can I drag my class down?" Jian Qi'er clenched her small fist and said with a childishly enthusiastic face.
"Yo, yo, yo, I'd believe that from anyone, but you? I don't think so."
"What, what's wrong! I, I am finally showing some ambition!"
As they were chatting, Jing Haichuan checked his phone and suddenly said, "Did you guys see the news from yesterday?"
"Are you talking about the murder of the mayor?" Li Xingwang asked.
"Exactly, I was startled when I saw it. The day before yesterday, the mayor had just visited our family's condom factory, and damn, the next day he was gone," Jing Haichuan said with an incredulous expression.
The moment Fang Ren heard this topic, he suddenly became invigorated, and the corners of his mouth twitched violently. Apart from the murderer, no one likely had more authority to speak on this matter than him.
However, he couldn't casually mention that he was a witness. If word got out, the local police would definitely bring him in for questioning.
Cooperating with the investigation was one thing, but he feared the murderer might try to silence him upon learning of his cooperation with the police, and that would spell doom.
Moreover, he had been too panicked at the time. The killer's face was covered, revealing only a pair of eyes, and aside from realizing their assailant was a woman, he wasn't able to provide the police with any useful information.
"It's really bizarre when you think about it. The Nightfall Organization has been gone for years; why would they suddenly show up in our small city?" Li Xingwang said, frowning.
"Um, excuse me, but what is the Nightfall Organization?" Jian Qi'er asked curiously from the side.
"Ah?" Li Xingwang was taken aback and said, "You haven't heard of this organization? It's currently Earth's largest reactionary organization. They often hunt down cultivators, seemingly killing for fun like a kind of psychological perversion."
Mu Huanqing frowned and grasped Fang Ren's hand with a worried look, saying, "How can there be such an organization... "
"There's no helping it, there are many things in this world that we simply don't understand," Fang Ren said softly as he wiped the mud from the corner of her face.
Jing Haichuan said with a frown, "Hey, think about it, the people killed by the Nightfall Organization seem to be high officials from Earth, and they usually don't kill ordinary cultivators. What's their aim?"
"Who knows? Some high-level authorities on Earth aren't as good as we imagine. Often, the darkness at the bottom comes from the loopholes in the system at the top and rampant personal desires," Li Xingwang said.
"It's tough for the warriors in the warzones. Not only do they have to face the invasion of the Void species, but they also have to be wary of being stabbed in the back by their own kind," Jing Haichuan said.
Mu Huanqing didn't say another word. Her expression was somewhat sorrowful, and it was unclear what thoughts were going through her mind.
Jian Qi'er said excitedly, "I, I'm just guessing here, but if there's darkness within the upper echelons, could the Nightfall Organization possibly be a righteous group that exists to eradicate the darkness?"
"Huh?" Li Xingwang was startled, "Little airhead, are you really that clueless? That organization has been ordered to be eliminated by the Central District Commander himself, how could it be anything good?"
Jian Qi'er blinked in confusion and said softly, "But... but didn't you say there is darkness at the top? Then the Central Area..."