Chapter 41: Li Qingqing

Aren't superpowered individuals supposed to be full of energy, requiring no sleep and only needing cultivation to recover their stamina?

As he pondered this, the vehicle door was pulled open, and he was met with Lu Li’s extremely impatient expression. Before she could shout, Shen Bing slipped away at lightning speed.

Just then, a customer arrived. Lu Li habitually put on a smile, though she grumbled inwardly, "I'll settle the score with you later!"

Once the business was officially underway, Lu Li actually felt a bit bored, simply because the customers were far too self-sufficient. They would feed the crystal cores into the machine themselves, pick their own scratch-offs, and redeem their prizes without needing her help at all. The system was also incredibly low-maintenance; the entire process flowed smoothly without ever getting stuck.

"Big sister, can I scratch one?"

Lu Li was lost in thought when a childish voice suddenly sounded. She looked left and right but saw no one. It wasn't until she stood up and leaned her entire upper body over the counter that she spotted a tiny little thing.

The child had dry, yellow hair, a sallow, gaunt face, and chapped lips. Her clothes were dirty and stained with various colors. Yet, her eyes were exceptionally bright—large and shimmering as if they held stars, looking up at her with a brilliant sparkle.

"You sure can! Do you have a crystal core?" Lu Li asked, leaning over the counter.

The little girl pulled out a crystal core as if she were revealing a precious treasure, saying firmly and proudly, "I do!"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Lu Li praised. She grabbed a newly opened book of "Big 7" scratch-offs, slid it toward her, and said, "Go ahead and pick one."

The little girl treated it with great ritualistic care, looking left and right for a long time. She didn't really see anything special, but she kept muttering to herself.

"I'm seven years old this year, so I'll pick the seventh one." The little girl counted them out and pulled one free.

Lu Li clicked her tongue; the child's frail frame made her look more like a four or five-year-old—she was just too thin.

After making her choice, the little girl found a corner to start scratching. A long while later, she returned to Lu Li, crestfallen. Lu Li took it and saw—oops, no prize. She found it hard to break the cruel truth to her.

"Big sister, I know, I didn't win," the little girl said, feeling dejected. But she quickly braced herself. "One more! This will be the last one!" She whispered to herself, "If I go back today and still can't find anything to eat..."

The rest of her words were too soft for Lu Li to catch clearly, but it certainly didn't sound like anything good.

Lu Li’s heart stirred. She stood up and called out loudly, "Shen Bing, come here!"

Shen Bing felt a jolt in his heart. The tone was rather fierce, and he immediately ran through his mind to see if he had offended Boss Lu. However, his body was honest; he lifted his legs and walked toward the RV. The first thing he saw was a little girl who wasn't even as tall as the service window.

"Come here, pick a scratch-off for her," Lu Li said, subtly gesturing toward her smart device.

Shen Bing glanced down to see a message from Boss Lu: [Use your intuition.]

He understood. He stepped forward and took the entire book of scratch-offs, scanning through them one by one before picking one out and handing it to the girl. "There, scratch that."

She took it obediently and began to scratch with complete trust. Before long, she began to exclaim, "Big sister, look! Does this mean I won?"

Whether a ticket won or not was easy to see; a losing ticket was covered in "Thank you for playing," while a winning one featured cute little patterns.

"Let me see." Lu Li took it and said dramatically, "Congratulations, you won!" She then stuffed the ticket into the mouth of the Lucky Cat statue.

The little girl stared at the strangely shaped Lucky Cat with wide, shining eyes. When it suddenly snapped its mouth wide open as if to eat someone, she jumped back in fright.

She patted her chest, trying to calm her lingering fear. Lu Li took a box of dates and handed it to her. "Your prize."

In that moment, it was as if she heard the sound of angels descending, bringing her good luck. It was so beautiful that the little girl felt tears welling up in her eyes. She accepted the box of dates with both hands, bowed repeatedly, and rambled incoherently, "Thank you, big sister, thank you, big sister. I'll go now."

Lu Li watched her walk away and gave Shen Bing a thumbs-up. "Nice work."

Shen Bing smiled, ready to return to guarding the convenience store. Suddenly, Lu Li let out a cry of shock and cursed, "Damn it, are they even human?!"

Following her gaze, Shen Bing saw the little girl surrounded by several adults. Their fierce expressions matched with their snatching motions were truly terrifying.

Shen Bing moved to head over, but Lu Li grabbed him. He looked at her, confused.

Lu Li slowly shook her head. "Those people must be her relatives."

Their features were somewhat similar. Even from a distance, Lu Li could faintly hear the adults' curses:

"You little bitch, you took the crystal core to go play the lottery, didn't you?"

"See if I don't beat you to death! Any crystal core you get must be handed over to us!"

"Qingqing, we're only doing this for your own good. There are too many bad people out there..."

Li Qingqing guarded the box of dates in her arms with all her might, refusing to let them snatch it away. In her heart, there was only one firm thought: *I must let my little sister taste the flavor of fruit...*

"You little bitch, hand it over!" The group circled her, raining down punches and kicks and spewing filth, wishing they could beat her to death on the spot.

Nearby customers who were scratching their tickets glanced over and quickly looked away. What could they do? It was heartbreaking, but in this day and age, things like this happened too often to manage. It was hard enough to take care of oneself.

Li Qingqing curled up on the ground, biting her lip tightly, her hands shielding the dates firmly.

One of them cursed, "Li Qingqing, if you don't hand over this good stuff today, tomorrow I'll throw your sister out to feed the zombies!"

Li Qingqing froze. The image flashed through her mind. In that moment of hesitation...

The group knocked her over, snatched the box of fresh, juicy dates with lightning speed, and greased their palms to run away.

She lay on the ground with nothing left, her expression numb, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Suddenly, a hand reached out to her. It lifted her up completely and patted the dust off her body, as someone said gently, "Go, kill them."

Li Qingqing stood with her back to her, feeling the palm patting her back—it wasn't that kind of sickening touch. It was very gentle, carrying a signal of kindness, a warmth that brushed the dust off her bit by bit.

Her previously numb expression began to crack. A single warm tear slid down her cheek, quickly absorbed by her skin.

Lu Li held her shoulders and turned her around. "Do you dare? Go and kill those people who have been bullying you all this time."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Li Qingqing’s eyes, and she stammered, "They... they are my relatives."

"They don't treat you like a relative," Lu Li said with disdain. "You're a superpowered individual, aren't you?"

Li Qingqing nodded. She reached out, and a small ball of clear water appeared in her palm, flowing and winding around her fingertips.

"Because I am a rare elemental superpowered individual, they have kept me locked up. They use my sister to threaten me. My sister is the most important person in my life..."

Lu Li encouraged her, "Then save your sister and kill them all. With your abilities, you are more than capable of settling into the Central Base."