Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups-Chapter 316 - 220_2

The surroundings were silent, with dark green moss crawling up the walls. Only the distant sound of car engines broke this tranquility.

It felt as if this place was a secret corner hidden deep within the modern bustling city.

After several twists and turns, an unremarkable iron door appeared before them.

The door was rusted, and if it weren’t for the weak red light flashing in the corner of the electronic lock, it would almost blend into the derelict environment.

Li Dingjian stepped forward, took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and concentrated.

Soon, a layer of invisible light waves rippled from his fingertips.

This was his unique "Perception Pulse" ability, allowing him to resonate with electronic devices and perceive their internal structure and password patterns.

Moments later, Li Dingjian’s fingers moved lightly, tapping swiftly on the electronic lock.

With a "beep," the iron door slowly opened, emitting a teeth-grinding creak.

A dim light inside, mixed with the smell of mold and machine oil, greeted him.

It looked like an abandoned workshop, with many materials and machine tool equipment left around.

The door to the office area at the front was tightly closed, with a faint sound of conversation coming from within.

Li Dingjian stepped forward and was about to knock on the door.

When he heard a rough voice coming from behind the door:

"Crow, why are you dawdling! Get in here, we’re waiting for you."

Li Dingjian was slightly taken aback, then his lips curled upward as he deliberately raised his voice to reply:

"Big Hammer, what’s up with your voice today? Did you secretly drink last night and choke your throat?"

There was a brief silence behind the door, followed by a string of bell-like laughter.

Soon, the wooden door opened, revealing a young woman with a bright smile.

She had a delicate face, her eyes twinkling with liveliness, and she said with a chuckle:

"Crow, you’re so clever, you saw through me so quickly."

Obviously, the person who had just mimicked the strong man’s voice almost to perfection was her.

At this moment, the real mimicked person, the man called "Big Hammer," stepped forward from behind the young woman.

He was tall and burly, standing over 1.9 meters tall, like a wall, with muscular arms stretching his T-shirt taut.

Although he wore a slightly reproachful look, his eyes showed a hint of affection as he feigned anger at the young woman:

"Bai Ling, it’s just you who loves to tease people, always imitating my voice. My rough voice isn’t something you can just mimic, aren’t you afraid you’ll ruin your throat?"

Despite his words, his mouth showed a genuine smile, clearly not truly angered by Bai Ling’s little joke.

"You two do this routine every time we meet. I’m almost immune to it."

Li Dingjian shrugged helplessly, a smile also hung on his face. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

He knew in his heart that these were little jokes the team members played to build rapport, often to lighten the mood and relieve tension before actions.

He then lifted his gaze and looked at the other two people in the room.

A middle-aged man with dark skin, a lean body, wearing camouflage, was sitting in the corner, focused on sharpening a dagger.

He appeared somewhat taciturn, not even lifting his head, only the dagger flashing with a cold gleam in the dim light, hinting at his restrained and sharp character.

This was the guy in the team nicknamed "Monkey," responsible for intelligence reconnaissance, sniping, and assassination tasks, with extraordinary skills.

On the other side of the table, sat a refined-looking man with glasses.

From his appearance, he wasn’t very old, but his hair was somewhat gray, as if time had left its mark on him prematurely.

At this moment, he was looking down, carefully flipping through a stack of documents, his brows furrowed, seemingly pondering some critical information.

Hearing the sound, he slowly raised his head, eyes peering through the glasses towards Li Dingjian, and said:

"You’re thirty minutes late."

Upon hearing this, Li Dingjian walked straight up, pulled a chair over, and sat down with a casual demeanor:

"Why are you in such a hurry to call me over, I was on vacation with my family."

As he spoke, he crossed his legs, arms folded, with impatience written on his face, but his eyes carried a trace of helplessness.

Because the man in front of him was the leader of the entire team, the one who had called him at an inappropriate time, urging him to come to the gathering.

Every time he saw him, he was always in a gray trench coat, hair neatly combed back, his gaze behind the glasses as precise and sharp as a scalpel.

Like a rigorous scholar, team members respectfully called him "Professor."

And Li Dingjian, codenamed "Crow," along with Big Hammer, Bai Ling, Monkey, and the Professor, constituted the special team that had recently caused a sensation in the underworld of East Capital.

"Crow, we all understand you want to spend more time with your family, but you also know the current situation, we don’t have much time to waste."

The Professor wasn’t angered by Li Dingjian’s attitude, just slightly frowning, and explained steadily.

Li Dingjian pulled out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, the lighter’s flame flickered, he took a deep drag, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and then said:

"This time, I really don’t plan on doing it."

Everyone froze upon hearing this, the room’s atmosphere seemed to freeze instantly.

Big Hammer’s previously jovial face froze instantly, his mouth slightly open, as if wanting to say something but swallowing it back.

Bai Ling’s eyes lost their mirth, replaced by a tinge of worry, biting her lip subconsciously, her gaze drifting between Li Dingjian and the Professor.

Monkey also stopped sharpening the dagger, he slightly raised his head, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes, silently watching this upheaval.

The Professor lightly pushed his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm and deep, as if seeing through Li Dingjian’s thoughts,

"Do you have any issues with us, thinking we’ve dragged you into danger?"

Li Dingjian shook his head resolutely in denial:

"I’ve never thought that way, I’m instead very grateful that you all valued me, this good-for-nothing only good at petty thefts, inviting me to join the team and participate in the actions."

After a pause, his gaze full of sincerity and gratitude, he looked directly at the team leader before him:

"Especially you, Professor, I’m also very grateful that after all these years you still remembered me, found me, giving me a chance to prove myself again, allowing me to regain my dignity."

"But..."

At this point, Li Dingjian’s fingers holding the cigarette trembled slightly, ash falling softly.

"After the last job, things went awry, forcing us to split up and run, but those guys, like sharks smelling blood, wouldn’t let go."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but when he spoke again, his words carried a slight tremor uncontrollably:

"At the time, we were on a fishing boat, Big Hammer was right next to me, with his mountainous body shielding me, shouting for me to run."

"But at that moment, bullets rained down like they were free, even jumping into the sea, the surrounding water splashed up, mixing white foam and blood, splattering all over me..."

Li Dingjian’s eyes grew hollow, seemingly back in that hellfire scene, his fingers holding the cigarette tightened subconsciously, knuckles turning white, as if the cigarette was a lifeline.

"A bullet whizzed past my ear, the sharp whistle causing my eardrum to ache."

"At that moment, I was completely bewildered, my mind racing with thoughts, why was I there, what was I doing, damn it, if I died there, what would happen to my family?"

Finally unable to suppress his emotions, Li Dingjian sharply raised his head, pounded the table hard, causing the water cup on the table to tremble.

Veins bulged on his neck, almost shouting:

"Damn it, apart from me, who else in this world would care about my dad, my sister, my nephew, so I swore to live well, to take good care of them!"

Everyone’s eyes focused on Li Dingjian.

For a moment, it seemed as if the mute button had been pressed in the room, plunging into silence.

Only Li Dingjian’s heavy breathing was distinctly clear.

Moments later, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, slowly sat down, his chest still heaving violently, but his expression was gradually calming down.

"I want to quit this."

And, I think, you should all quit too."