She hurriedly asked the police officers if they had any of these items.
"I have lemons." A female auxiliary officer ran back inside and found a large bag of lemons, while another brought out a bottle of vinegar.
It was normal enough for someone to like lemon water, but why did they have vinegar?
"We work overtime a lot. Sometimes, when we get too hungry, we cook our own noodles, so we keep some seasonings on hand." The female auxiliary officer smiled sheepishly.
"It's tough for everyone," Bai Xi said understandingly.
They then found a juicer in the breakroom, squeezed the lemons, filtered the juice through a cloth, and poured it into a watering can.
The mixture was ready, but who was going to use it? The remaining girls all worked desk jobs at the police station and were terrified of the giant ants outside.
Bai Xi glanced at the countdown timer in the top right corner. She had exactly one hour left. The number of giant ants was still increasing. Let alone an hour, even in half an hour, there would be an unimaginably massive swarm. Abandoning the mission was out of the question.
Gritting her teeth, Bai Xi grabbed the watering can and sprinted outside. However, she didn't just charge forward blindly. She first sprinkled a bit of the lemon and vinegar mixture at the nearest giant ant.
Upon smelling the scent of lemon and vinegar, the antennae on the giant ant's head twitched, and it retreated a little.
"It works!"
Bai Xi was overjoyed. She walked in circles along the perimeter of the battlefield, sprinkling the mixture. When the giant ants caught a whiff of the pungent odor, their antennae flailed wildly. They retreated one after another, falling back toward the hole.
The retreating ants immediately eased the pressure on the people fighting outside. Seizing the opportunity, they pushed forward and took down a few more giant ants. Bai Xi continued to narrow the circle until she forced all the ants back into the hole. She poured the rest of the mixture down the opening and finally let out a sigh of relief.
The group hurriedly dragged over a large wooden board to cover the hole, weighing it down with heavy stones to prevent the smell from dissipating.
Seeing no sign of the giant ants trying to emerge, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The older policeman looked at Bai Xi and thanked her. "Thank you, young lady. You really came through for us and saved our lives just in the nick of time."
"Just helping each other out!" Bai Xi said with a smile. She thought to herself that her mission should be secure now.
"Everyone, let's head inside the station and take a seat. We'll report this incident right away. It should be safe for now," the older policeman reassured them.
Inside the police station, with the danger temporarily resolved, the group finally relaxed and introduced themselves. The older policeman was Tan Mingshan, and the younger one was Han Dong. The other two policemen, both in their thirties, were Zuo Jin and Fang He. The two female auxiliary officers were Du Yue and Huang Xing. The man who had gallantly stepped in to help was Qi Shuo.
Bai Xi checked the countdown timer. She still had forty minutes left. To avoid being shooed away early, she started making small talk.
"Uncle Tan, are you the only ones at the police station?" This police station looked quite large; how could there be so few people?
"It's Saturday, so everyone else is off," Han Dong explained. He took a sip from a cup of hot water and looked at Qi Shuo curiously. "Brother Qi, you've got some serious skills! Are you a trained martial artist?"
"I've practiced martial arts since I was a child. I know a few moves," Qi Shuo replied.
"Young man, that dagger of yours is quite impressive. Bullets couldn't even pierce those ant shells, but your dagger stabbed right through them." Tan Mingshan had noticed Qi Shuo's dagger earlier. The blade's sharpness defied his understanding.
Bai Xi suspected it was most likely a reward from the system.
"I had it custom-made." Qi Shuo pulled out a white cloth and wiped the colorless, transparent liquid off his dagger. The black blade was engraved with ancient patterns, and its sharp edge gleamed with a cold light. One could almost hear the faint, sharp hum of a lethal weapon. Just by looking at its appearance, anyone could tell it was no ordinary dagger.
"Brother Qi, how does your dagger compare to legendary divine weapons? Can it slice a falling hair in half?" Han Dong asked with keen interest, his eyes shining as he stared at the blade.
"It's not that incredible, just a bit sharper than usual." With that, Qi Shuo slid the dagger back into its sheath and tucked it away.
Seeing Qi Shuo put the weapon away, Han Dong felt too embarrassed to ask to hold it. Instead, he asked, "Brother Qi, which master forged this for you? Give me his contact info! I'd love to get a dagger like this for myself."
"With your meager salary, do you really think you can afford such a fine weapon? This dagger has got to be worth at least a hundred thousand." Tan Mingshan slapped the back of Han Dong's head, giving him a meaningful wink. Qi Shuo clearly didn't want to discuss the dagger any further. Han Dong prying like this was just going to annoy him.
Catching on, Han Dong rubbed his nose and stayed quiet.
Taking in their exchange, Qi Shuo didn't seem to mind. He turned to Bai Xi with a pointed look. "You're quite brave to have stuck around instead of running."
His smile was friendly, but Bai Xi kept her guard up, playing dumb. "I'm just a really curious person. Besides, I hid so far away, and I had the police officers protecting me on the frontlines, so I wasn't scared."
"Don't worry, Bai Xi. As long as we're here, we won't let you get hurt," Han Dong patted his chest and promised. Having just graduated from the police academy, he was filled with immense passion for his career.
Over on the other side, Zuo Jin and Fang He walked over carrying several cups of instant noodles. "Everyone must be hungry. We don't have much to offer, just some instant noodles."
"Food is food. I'm not picky," Bai Xi said politely.
While talking, she sneaked a glance at the countdown timer. She had thirty-two minutes left. Bai Xi slowly began eating her noodles, chatting casually with everyone from time to time. The officers didn't notice anything unusual about her. They just thought the young girl was exceptionally talkative and deeply curious.
In order to secure her reward and kill time, Bai Xi was perfectly fine being shameless. Awkward small talk was still small talk! Once the mission was completed, she would never see them again anyway.
With that in mind, she boldly asked Qi Shuo, "Brother Qi, look... crossing paths must be destiny. It means we were meant to know each other. Are you in need of a loyal sidekick by any chance?" She was currently a survival novice. If she could find a big shot to carry her, it would be absolutely fantastic.
"I'm not, thanks," Qi Shuo flatly refused. He wasn't stupid enough to drag around a complete stranger he hadn't even known for two hours.
The rejection was entirely expected. Since the big shot wasn't willing, Bai Xi wouldn't force the issue. She could handle things on her own.
After eating a cup of instant noodles and chatting for so long, Bai Xi's mission timer finally ran out. Using the excuse of going to the restroom, Bai Xi claimed her mission reward inside a stall. The same prize wheel from before materialized once again.
"Grandpa, Grandma, keep blessing me!"
Bai Xi tapped to start the draw. The colorful wheel began to spin, and the pointer soon landed in the green section.
[Congratulations, Player Bai Xi, for winning this round's green reward. You have obtained a Speed Boost Card. It increases your speed by 30% for ten minutes.]
[DING! Detected that the player is a Space Ability User. All item rewards will be deposited directly into the player's personal storage space. Please check your inventory!]