Despite her best efforts, Xu Chuyao still couldn’t stop Shen Ning from recording everything, nor could she snatch away the Little Notebook.
Instead, she was suppressed by the girl’s slender, jade-like hand, unable to resist at all.
“It’s not fair! We’ve known each other for so long, been together for so long—if not a hundred times, at least eighty—can’t you let me win just once as your Girlfriend?” Xu Chuyao lay sprawled on the bed, cheeks puffed in frustration as she buried her head in the pillow, “Stingy!”
Shen Ning didn’t even look at her, only carefully putting the Little Notebook away.
“If you give in once, there’ll be a second time, then a third, and then it’ll go on forever.”
At least it was just recording in the Little Notebook. Besides, there was someone nearby constantly fidgeting, itching to collect high-interest information fees.
No matter what Xu Chuyao said, her Girlfriend wouldn’t budge, so she had to curl up under the small quilt for now.
Whatever, she’d just leave it as a headache for her future self after returning to school. Sleep first.
Zzzz
The next day, the Delivery Team, whose tasks had already been assigned, officially set out, following behind the Engineering Team.
They waited for the Engineering Team to open up a passable path through the hills before moving forward.
“If anything happens at the Sea Port, we’ll just seal up the passage,” said the leader of the Engineering Team.
“Those things won’t be able to get through then.”
Wei Lin wanted to ask, “Will you wait for us to come back before sealing it?” But since the other teams were already busy, there was no time for questions, so he just moved on silently.
Everyone was busy today, except for Xu Chuyao and her companions, who stayed in their room to rest.
Yu Jing woke up early, but she didn’t go out, and neither did Xu Chuyao and the others. This time, she had only one goal: as long as Xu Chuyao and the others started fighting, she would make sure to be on site immediately.
As for whatever was in the sea, or what might happen on the beach, or if the battle would reach here—none of it concerned her.
Once a person reached Fourth Rank, it was as if the world had completely changed.
Snore, snore.
It wasn’t until ten in the morning that Xu Chuyao finally woke up to the faint vibration of her Mobile Phone. She grabbed it for a glance and saw several missed calls from the other side.
[Ring]
“Hey, it’s me, Chief Li,” Xiao Si Nuo’s voice came from the phone. “I have a major discovery, but first, I borrowed your name to ask Director Lv Feng a question. You don’t mind, right?”
A little after eight this morning, while Chief Li was still in bed, two people arrived at Director Lv Feng’s office.
“Mr. Cheng, and… student Liu Si Zi, what brings you here?”
Xiao Si Nuo was touched that the Principal actually remembered his name. He got straight to the point: “Principal, our former class advisor, Luo Kangsheng—he’s transferred to Philosophy now, right?”
Director Lv Feng was quite puzzled, “Why are you asking about that?”
It would take too long to explain, and it might not even make sense, so Xiao Si Nuo used Xu Chuyao’s name, saying Chief Li had instructed the Special Affairs Office to investigate something and that Luo Kangsheng’s cooperation and possibly TF would be needed.
“Teacher Luo has been transferred for almost half a year now. I heard he’s now at the County Town Management Office.”
So that’s how it was.
After listening to Xiao Si Nuo’s “1+1 theory” and the story of the twin stars—who, despite being as famous as Wen Kun Qing, never had names—Xu Chuyao couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration: “Impressive.”
“Huh? What?”
“I’m saying your train of thought makes a lot of sense. You actually thought of that.”
“Oh, haha, I’ll keep learning from Chief Li.” Xiao Si Nuo pretended to be modest, then said, “Mr. Cheng and I plan to move soon, to find Luo Kangsheng and figure things out.”
Xu Chuyao had already gotten out of bed. She put on her earpiece, slipping on her socks as she spoke, “You’re just going to ask him directly? You think he’ll tell you?”
“Well… that’s why I’m going with Mr. Cheng.”
“But Luo Kangsheng is a Three-Stage Spirit Power User, too.”
Such a light remark from Xu Chuyao left Xiao Si Nuo speechless for a moment, but he quickly recovered and humbly asked, “Does Chief Li have any ideas?”
Right, just ask the all-knowing Chief Li and everything will be solved.
“You guys… You can’t rely on me for everything. Don’t you have any initiative?” Xu Chuyao chided lightly. “But, I do have an idea. Go see him first, and then say…”
After the call ended, Xu Chuyao put down her Mobile Phone and looked up to see her Girlfriend staring at her.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Shen Ning turned her head, gazing out the window. “I heard he went to the beach.”
Xu Chuyao tilted her head. “So what?”
The girl coughed lightly, tugging at her sleeve as she said, “I heard, if you’re at the beach, you can wear…”
“Don’t believe everything you hear. He’s not going there to play; he’s getting ready for battle. You think you can wear a bikini to the battlefield?” Xu Chuyao rolled her eyes at her Girlfriend.
“Swimsuits aren’t only for the beach; you can wear them at home, too. It’s the same, don’t get any weird ideas.”
Shen Ning felt like pouncing on her.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Outside, Yu Jing said, “Xu Chuyao, Wei Lin just sent a message. The situation isn’t looking good—something might come ashore in the next day or two at most.”
“Alright, I’ll be right out.”
After assigning tasks yesterday, Xu Chuyao had asked Shen Ning to help with a little arrangement. She’d asked that if anything was reported, she be notified directly.
She hadn’t expected Wei Lin’s firsthand information to come to her first, even before the Leader got the news.
Opening the door, she called Yu Jing and Shen Ning, and the three of them had a small internal meeting.
“Wang Li’s goal is to enjoy an animal performance, to watch them slaughter humans. So when the things land, she’ll definitely be present. She thinks she can be a spectator, but we’ll drag her out and finish her.”
Xu Chuyao made another cutting gesture. No matter how cute she looked, repeating it so often lent her a bit of a ruffian’s air.
Yu Jing asked, “If we’re not too far from the main team, can we call for backup?”
Her first priority was still the safety of the two girls.
Xu Chuyao shook her head, “This is a stealth mission. We have to get rid of Wang Li ourselves. We can’t ask others for help.”
“Are the three of us enough?”
“We should be…”
A Fourth Rank Spirit Power User, a Three Defense Spirit Power User, and a late-stage Third Rank, facing Wang Li, who was also late-stage Fourth Rank.
She might have a few subordinates, but at best their strength was below that of Professor Swina or Bill.
Just then, Shen Ning looked up and said, “I can try again.”
“Where?”
“The Crystal Stone World. Maybe I’ll find an opportunity to get stronger.” The girl said seriously, “I want to try before the time comes. You can call me back when it’s time.”
Xu Chuyao thought it over and agreed. In any case, as long as she kept the Crystal Stone with her, she could summon her Girlfriend at any time after confronting Wang Li.
If they could fight, they’d fight; if not, they’d retreat. In that world, she could fully seize the initiative in battle.
Action was immediate. After the meeting ended, Shen Ning went back to meditate, while Xu Chuyao and Yu Jing went to the main hall to contact the frontline Delivery Team, inquiring about the specific situation.
“Not very optimistic, Miss Xu,” Wei Lin said over the phone.
“You can’t see it from here, but looking from the sea wall, there’s an area of the Sea Domain near the shore behaving abnormally. There are rising swells, but for them, it might only take a few minutes to land.”
“What kind is it?” Xu Chuyao asked offhandedly. “Snake? Jellyfish? Or an octopus?”
She didn’t have to fight in this area, but curiosity prompted her to ask anyway.
There was silence for several seconds on the other end, then a heavy reply: “Maybe all of them.”
So, it’s that serious?
“Understood. Let me know when they’re close. Also…” Xu Chuyao hesitated, then decided to remind him, “If it gets violent, be smart and don’t rush in just because you see a crowd.”
On the beach, vacationers continued their holiday as usual. The arrival of the Delivery Team drew no attention.
The sand was soft and the Patrol Car couldn’t make it, so after leaving the tunnel, they had to continue on foot. A few hundred people spread out across such a vast Sea Domain looked like nothing at all. They didn’t get too close to the water, just set up equipment near the shore to keep watch.
“Why aren’t we using the equipment on the Defensive Line?” a young man asked his companion. “We could just drive them back.”
He wasn’t asking because he was young, but because he used to work in a security department further inland.
“No need,” his companion, who happened to be from the Conquest Department, replied. “That equipment is meant for the entire Sea Domain, not for a few individuals. It’s too powerful and would indiscriminately affect the whole sea. If we anger the real Controller of the sea, that’d be a disaster.”
“I see… By the way, what exactly is the Controller? The King of Abyssal Salmon?”
“Where’d you hear that cliché? Any intelligent being with wisdom would have a proper name, not just ‘King’ this or that.”
Not far from them, a few of Wang Li’s subordinates eyed these newcomers warily. Only Wang Li herself didn’t care, still staring at the sea in the distance.
At this distance, they didn’t even need telescopes—just standing on flat ground, you could see the sea clearly.
“These little guys… or big ones, are moving slowly, carefully, cautiously. It must be their first time seeing humans. I wonder if we taste good,” Wang Li muttered to herself as she put down her binoculars. “Come on, be a little braver. The bold get the reward.”
After she looked away, one of her subordinates stepped forward. “Lady Wang, I heard the authorities have assembled multiple departments to handle this incident. Many Delivery Teams arrived today—they’re right on the beach.”
“So what?”
“I’m just worried… their presence might dampen your enthusiasm for the show.”
Wang Li chuckled. “That’s not a problem. On the contrary, they won’t spoil my mood—instead, they’ll add fuel to the spectacle.”
She walked a little further, took a drink from her subordinate, and sipped contentedly.
“Let me tell you, this is their process for handling these mutated invasive creatures.” Once the Deputy Department Head of the Conquest Department, Wang Li explained, “In theory, the best way is to have someone stronger than the enemy lead the attack. But how do you know how strong the enemy is? So they’ll send in a few vanguard attackers to test the waters. Of course, for these vanguard attackers, we have a saying—cannon fodder.”
To be honest, even as an insider, Wang Li found this method rather brutal.
You can’t just send the high-level Defense Spirit Power Users right away. What if the enemy is even stronger, and they all get wiped out?
As for First Rank Spirit Power Users, maybe one in ten thousand people is qualified. But among a million, there’ll certainly be a hundred who are—just a matter of numbers.