As for how it ended last night, Shen Ning couldn’t quite remember.
She only remembered Xu Chuyao dressed in floral patterns coming closer, leaning in and whispering against her ear, “You’re in such a rush to get married—are you afraid I’ll run away~”
Before she could even refute, Xu Chuyao also pressed in closer, the gentle scent beneath her jaw rich and soft, a faint sweetness blending with the girl’s light, lingering voice~
“Don’t worry. Actually, I’ve already decided long ago—I’ll stick by you for life, whatever our relationship may be. Because I’ve liked you from the start, even if you try to send me away, I won’t leave~”
Then, Shen Ning didn’t know when she ended up back in the cold dorm room bed; she only knew it was already dark outside, the moon hanging high outside the window, wind stirring the colored flower curtains, now and then letting in a trace of gentle moonlight.
“I say, can you not twist around like that anymore?” The pressure from all the teasing was making it impossible to watch. “Ever since you got back, you’ve been rolling around on the bed like a snake.”
People who know would think you’re getting married soon, but those who don’t might think you ate something strange.
In the next dorm over, Xu Chuyao was also in high spirits, her laughter echoing—she couldn’t keep her mouth closed from smiling.
“Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good!”
No wonder Xu Chuyao was so happy. After everything that happened, she leaned into Shen Ning’s ear and whispered a few words, and then the system notification never stopped ringing by her ear.
[Counter Villain Value: 100], [Counter Villain Value: 4100], [Counter Villain Value: 100]
Yes, Xu Chuyao was always the type to bear grudges, but so what? Let the female lead be afraid sometimes.
While Mi Xiaolu was busy editing her video, she slapped her forehead and glanced over. “What’s the big deal about getting married?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Xu Chuyao patted her. “Shen Ning is incredible—getting even half is still the best in the world.”
Mi Xiaolu blinked, surprised. “Why would you only get half?”
“Because marital property is split fifty-fifty,” Xu Chuyao replied with perfect confidence. “That’s just how the law works!”
“…Then I guess she won’t want to get divorced in the future.”
“Please, you think it’s the wives who want the divorce? It’s the husbands who don’t dare ask.”
Looking at her account balance, Xu Chuyao was so happy she almost squealed.
She could afford a few more pulls now.
While laughing at herself for being silly, Mi Xiaolu spun her laptop around. “Instead of daydreaming, come look at this. The photos from today came out great, but there was a minor problem when making them into a slideshow.”
Xu Chuyao immediately slid off the bed. “What kind of problem?”
If it’s a small problem, that means it’s got nothing to do with Mi Xiaolu’s skills…
“No, it’s got everything to do with me, actually,” Mi Xiaolu sighed. “The lightning was too bright, causing overexposure in some shots. It’s not that obvious on a single photo, sometimes it even looks cool, but when played together, it just doesn’t look as good.”
“So what should we do?”
“My suggestion is to retake a few with warmer color tones, mix them in with the bright ones—alternating one bright and one warm. That’ll increase the contrast… though it might make some people look a bit weird.”
“No worries, everyone present isn’t afraid of that. Let’s do it!”
The girls got busy preparing for the wedding banquet…
—
Center City Municipal Hall. The mayor had given up his own office to let the important figures upstairs use it as a temporary base.
That important figure was none other than the head of the Security Department, Sui Feng, who was also currently the acting head of the United Departments.
The Sea Monster operation had wrapped up, and the squads were being dismissed, but the leadership still had unfinished work. The good news was, there wasn’t much left, and it wasn’t particularly important—at least, it seemed that way, since they were handling it via video conference.
Sui Feng had returned to Center City; the rest of the group were scattered in their own locations, joining the meeting remotely. Some were department heads, some were just under that rank.
“I’ve already put the Sea Monster Shock-Stinger report in the meeting documents,” said a man with a worried look. “If there are no objections, I’ll submit it as the final report.”
He was the head of the Conquest Department. In this kind of operation dealing with mutant creatures, as a professional, he should have been the acting director. But because his own department’s deputy chief had been suspended, he could only take a lower position within the united departments—he couldn’t even attend certain meetings, only handle paperwork and reports.
Watching everyone else getting rewarded, receiving commendations, even getting nominated for the Council of Pacifiers, while he and his whole department were still tied up over Wang Li’s crime, left him feeling empty-handed.
Even so, he still dutifully handled his responsibilities—
“From the combat recordings, we can confirm the Sea Monster Shock-Stinger was at early fourth rank, its main attack method being poison. However, it’s worth noting that the toxicity remains in the physical stage and hasn’t evolved to the metaphysical, so I suspect its true fourth rank trait lies elsewhere—most likely in its water-serpent hybrid regeneration.”
In other words, now that it had escaped to the deep sea, its powerful vitality couldn’t make up for the gap in strength, and it would almost certainly die there. So there was no need to follow up on its whereabouts.
As head of the Conquest Department and a true professional, he’d shown his expertise. Everyone present was convinced by the report.
But Sui Feng noticed something strange: “If there’s no need to follow up on its whereabouts, why did you suggest prolonged monitoring at the end of your report?”
The man was silent for a moment, then replied slowly: “We can’t be certain there aren’t other monsters from that area—ones at even higher levels, or with stranger abilities.”
His words lacked confidence, as if trying to win more authority for the Conquest Department. Some of those present thought just that.
Sui Feng didn’t care. The Security Department had already lost plenty in these recent operations.
“Discuss it amongst yourselves, then submit it to the council for review,” he said, standing up and preparing to shut down the video call. “I’ve got some personal matters. We’ll meet next time.”
After switching off the screen, he straightened his collar and prepared to head to Shengling Academy, making a call as he went.
“Xu Chuyao, are you up yet? It’s almost noon. I’ll be at the Academy Core soon. Call Shen Ning over too—I have a new wedding gift for you both… and bring Teacher Yu as well.”
His juniors were getting married; as a senior leader, he had to show some respect. Considering their status as students, Sui Feng had thought about it for two days before deciding on a unique gift—knowledge.
Anything related to fourth rank—something you could never find in a regular school.
—
At the edge of Dong Cheng District in Center City—not quite within the second ring, not exactly bustling, but thanks to the population, always lively. Renting a storefront here didn’t cost much, but it wasn’t a small sum either, especially for a half-year lease.
“What’s my identity this time? Business partner? Fine, whatever.” Kerry looked at his new ID.
After their group entered Center City, they’d first hidden out for a while, then scattered and settled down, even acquiring legitimate identities, acting like everything was normal.
It was unusual. In the past, when sent on a mission, they’d just lay low for a bit, do the job, and leave. At most, they’d wait ten days or half a month, so there’d never been any need to go to such lengths.
Now with this setup, it seemed the waiting time might be…
“Don’t presume to guess what the higher-ups want,” the bald man said coldly, “There’s a deeper meaning behind this, obviously.”
Of course, he didn’t actually have unshakable faith—he just disliked Kerry’s grumbling and was saying the opposite out of spite.
Kerry understood his temper, so he mumbled to himself, then turned to their best partner: “Miss Xu Chuyao, what do you think?”
“I have no idea,” the petite woman replied, hugging a pot of camellias as she walked over, “But you all know, don’t you? Center City used to have quite a reputation.”