Loren had thoughtfully put himself in their shoes, making it even harder for the team of eight to say much. They could only mumble vague acknowledgments to brush it off. In the end, Qiqi was the most mischievous. With a grin, she added, "Yeah, it feels weird underfoot."
Then Lan Qiao lightly smacked her.
What would have been playful scuffling between girls now became dull collisions between two suits of metal armor.
Loren failed to catch the oddity in their responses. Worried that his juniors might not take it seriously, he emphasized again, "You have to be careful. Don't dismiss it. If it reaches a certain scale, it'll be nearly impossible to deal with."
"Got it, Senior."
"Thanks for the reminder, Senior."
After ending the awkward communication with their enthusiastic senior, the youngsters inevitably had a few comments to make.
Tan Long said, "Senior Loren didn't make the outstanding alumni list, but he must be doing pretty well. Working in a corporate lab, becoming an Acolyte Priest ten years after graduation, and even getting to conduct experiments in the 'Deep Blue World'—that company must have excellent conditions."
Yong Ji added, "In Star Ring City, companies with that kind of capability basically all have the character 'Xi' in their names."
Qiqi clicked her tongue. "That's pretty impressive, aside from their not-so-great reputation."
Lan Qiao lightly smacked her again.
Candidates for the Pantheon naturally tended to be somewhat aloof.
But in Star Ring City, which member of the middle class could truly have nothing to do with the Xi Clan Consortium? The situation was far too complicated. They were only teenagers, though, and close enough with one another, so they laughed it off.
Just then, Xin Rui made a silencing gesture before answering the communication. "Senior Loren."
Feeling as though they had