Song Cheng's expression looked terribly wrong, as if he had suffered some devastating blow.
Aside from when they had first met, this was the first time Xu Nan had seen him so solemn and serious.
He could not help softening a little. "What happened? Also, stop calling me Dad. That was a joke. There really isn't anything between your mother and me."
Song Cheng's gaze was resolute. "Once I acknowledge a thief, he is my father for life."
Xu Nan: "???"
Song Cheng suddenly hugged Xu Nan's leg and burst into tears. "Father, I only have one mother. She left so early, leaving me alone in this world to suffer..."
Xu Nan slapped the top of his head and snapped, "Nonsense! Who has two mothers?"
Song Cheng wiped his tears. "Anyway, I miss her."
"But I know there must be some unspeakable secret between you two."
"I won't ask. I really won't ask, even though I really want to know."
Xu Nan had recovered his senses by then.
This brat reeked of alcohol. He had probably just sprayed some cheap liquor on his collar and sleeves. He looked haggard, but his eyes were darting around, and he was clearly full of energy!
He knew this bastard Song Cheng probably had more up his sleeve, so he decided to play along and hesitated.
"This... You already know? Then what do you want?"
A look of triumph flashed through Song Cheng's eyes. He clung to Xu Nan's leg with both hands. "Help me pay off my Huabei debt. It's only a little over ten thousand yuan."
"You sold so many of my mom's shares, so you should have plenty of cash, right? Share some with me? My mom left too quickly. I didn't even get to see her one last time. Please have mercy, Father, and let me have some of the cash she left behind. That way, whenever I look at the money, it'll be like seeing her, and I'll feel a little better."
Xu Nan smiled slightly. "No problem."
Song Cheng was overjoyed. "Really?"
"Yes. Didn't you say you missed your mom?" Xu Nan kindly stroked Song Cheng's head. "Don't rush. Stay right here and don't move."
"I'll go buy some oranges."
Song Cheng sensed that something was wrong. "If you're willing to pay off my Huabei, I'd wait for you on the platform through wind and rain even if you went to buy me a whole trainload of oranges!"
Xu Nan shook his head. "You've misunderstood. Didn't you say you missed your mom? That's easy."
"I'll make a few preparations and send you to see your mother right now."
"Maybe she's over there, eagerly waiting for you."
Terror appeared in Song Cheng's eyes. "Y-you, what are you trying to do!?"
Xu Nan smiled. "It'll be quick. It won't hurt, and you won't feel much when you go."
Song Cheng let out a strange cry and ran for his life, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Xu Nan watched Song Cheng's retreating figure thoughtfully.
"Expeditious Retreat? Or some kind of escape technique? I couldn't detect a single trace. Very impressive."
"The Appraisal Technique result could have been disguised. He really is Song Ying's son, but he may also have some unspeakable secret."
"Come to think of it, this bastard clearly has some skills. Why does he insist on pestering me and calling me Dad?"
Xu Nan could not figure it out.
Song Cheng looked cunning, slick, and utterly shameless. But perhaps that was only the surface everyone else saw. Maybe deep down, he was—
Even more shameless!
But no matter what, Xu Nan felt that Song Cheng was definitely hiding something. He had secrets too.
Xu Nan still did not know what Song Ying and her son were plotting, but he felt it was necessary to investigate.
After getting rid of that bastard Song Cheng, Xu Nan found a men's restroom and softly chanted Hagrid's Flicker Spell. After three minutes, he successfully returned to Linxia City.
But the moment he returned to the safe house, the piercing alarm startled him!
This was the sound Blazing Fire would only make when enemies invaded!
The underground base was so well hidden. How could enemies have infiltrated it?
Xu Nan hurried out. "Blazing Fire?! What's going on!"
Had someone discovered the dungeon? He was a little nervous. If the authorities had found it, he had no idea how he would explain it.
For all he knew, everything here might be confiscated.
Yet, to Xu Nan's surprise, Blazing Fire quickly reported.
"It's a group of Gnolls!"
"Your magical pet, Lady Sour Soup Beef, and your romantic interest, Miss Gu Xiaomeng, have already gone to fight near the northern city wall."
"As for the specifics, I'll explain while we hurry over."
Xu Nan said unhappily, "First, call me City Lord."
"Second, Gu Xiaomeng isn't my romantic interest. What is wrong with you, Ship Spirit?"
Blazing Fire's mechanical voice somehow carried a more human touch. "The Ship Spirit originally possessed onboard intelligent modules. With sufficient energy these past few days, many sealed modules have restarted."
"Such as?"
"Such as the Humor Module. Just now, I was teasing you about your relationship with Miss Gu Xiaomeng. It was a mild form of jesting," Blazing Fire said solemnly.
"Fine. The big shots of the Arcane Empire really were impressive. They even had a Humor Module."
Xu Nan had no interest in listening to a Ship Spirit tease him right now. "Turn off the Humor Module."
"Understood." Blazing Fire sounded a little aggrieved.
"Now explain it to me properly. What exactly happened after I left?"
Xu Nan possessed temporary authority over the Cloud Ascending Ship. Within the underground base, he could use his status as captain to rapidly teleport short distances, so he quickly arrived near the northern city wall.
Gu Xiaomeng was positioned atop something like a watchtower, casting divine spells from above.
Xu Nan saw Ah Tang fighting alone amid darkness and candlelight, covered in blood!
Her entire body was soaked in blood, making the scene look rather gruesome. He had no idea whether it belonged to the enemy or to her!
Blazing Fire quickly gave its report.
According to the Imp Leader, this group of Gnolls was the first echelon of Great Demon Inoya's advance force!
The World God Kingdom and the Abyssal Purgatory were attacking Earth at the same time, but their timing was somewhat out of sync, and their target regions differed as well.
The monsters deployed by the Pro Gods had been eaten by the people of China. But while the demons had deployed fewer monsters underground, they had not suffered any harm at the hands of foodies!
According to the Imp Leader, this Gnoll unit was merely the vanguard. Judging from the equipment and rations they carried, there was at least another Gnoll army of two hundred, and there might even be Gnoll spellcasters.
Xu Nan could not make sense of it. "Why didn't they show up when I was waiting for them underground all this time? I leave, and they appear?"
Blazing Fire thought for a moment. "Perhaps Earth's underground terrain is too complicated, and they got lost."
Xu Nan was left speechless.
The Imp Leader chimed in from the side. "Gnolls have poor night vision and cannot do without candles. Although they received guidance from the Great Demon, it is perfectly normal for them to get lost."
Xu Nan took a deep breath. "Forget it. None of that matters. Let's kill these monsters that dared invade my territory first."
He had observed them already. These vanguard Gnolls were between levels 1 and 11. The Gnolls had some fighting ability, but not much.
Ordinarily, Ah Tang alone should have been enough to Sweep Through Thousands of Troops.
But the reason the situation was not looking good was that these Gnolls had relatively sophisticated weapons. They wore standardized equipment and carried scimitars and a small number of throwing weapons, far better than the impoverished-looking Gnolls.
Moreover, among the roughly forty Gnolls, there were four Strong Gnolls who were noticeably larger.
Although they were only level 2, they possessed excellent monster templates. They were admittedly inferior to elite and lord templates, but they were still not something Ah Tang could handle alone.
Ah Tang was locked in a hard battle.
Gu Xiaomeng had been supporting her the whole time. But the support was not very effective.
Gu Xiaomeng's divine spells were extremely unstable. Perhaps she was too nervous at the sight of these monsters. She had originally wanted to use spells like Divine Grace Punishment to finish off some wounded Gnolls for Ah Tang, but her mind went blank and she cast powerful healing instead.
Ah Tang wanted to cry but had no tears.
The wounded Gnolls she had struggled so hard to nearly beat to death had been healed back up by Gu Xiaomeng!
Gu Xiaomeng herself was also deeply ashamed. In her panic, she made one casting mistake after another.
Xu Nan was amazed by the sight. Assuming she was not deliberately messing up her spells, he was truly grateful that she was a priestess with strong divine favor. If she had been a mage or something similar, she would have died hundreds of times already.
Ah Tang's performance, however, gave Xu Nan a new impression of this lazy, gluttonous panda.
Although she had suffered setbacks among the Gnolls, she still charged through the enemy formation alone with unmatched ferocity!
As for the nonsense she kept shouting, such as "For Her Goddess's glory!" and "I absolutely won't allow you beasts to approach Her Highness Xin'er!" Xu Nan chose to ignore it.
He patted Gu Xiaomeng on the shoulder, signaling for her to stop casting spells.
"I'll do it."
Xu Nan was concise.
He stood beneath the watchtower, looking down from above as he prepared to use Burning Hands to take care of some fodder first.
But at that moment, the Quest Card suddenly began flickering—
Ron Sorcerer Bloodline Awakening Daily Quest Quest Name: Make Good Use of a Fine Weapon Quest Description: Since you have received a gift from a senior, how can you allow its weapon to gather dust? Even a physically frail spellcaster must possess the courage to charge forward without hesitation. Wield Elder Luo Mang's Innocent Staff and punish these Gnolls! Special requirement: Kill at least twenty Gnolls with the Innocent Staff, and shout the Innocent Staff's incantation ten times! Quest Reward: Level +1
Xu Nan felt suffocated when he saw the reward.
But when he thought of the Gnolls' scimitars and recalled Elder Luo Mang's warning, his balls began to ache faintly.
"One round of melee combat..."
"Probably... won't..."
"Go wrong, right?"
Xu Nan hesitated.