Nothing will go wrong, right?

Song Cheng's expression looked very wrong, as if he had suffered some major blow.

Aside from when they first met, this was the first time Xu Nan had seen him so serious and solemn.

He couldn't help but soften a little: "What's going on? Also, stop calling me Dad, that was a joke, there's really nothing between your mother and me."

Song Cheng's eyes were firm: "Once a thief is recognized, he is a father for life."

Xu Nan: "???"

Song Cheng suddenly hugged Xu Nan's thigh, crying and weeping: "Father, I only have this one mother, she left so early, leaving me alone to suffer in the world..."

Xu Nan slapped him on the head and angrily rebuked: "Bastard, who has two mothers?"

Song Cheng wiped his tears: "Anyway, I miss her."

"But I know there must be an unforgivable secret between you two."

"I won't ask, I really won't ask, although I really want to know."

Xu Nan had recovered by now.

This kid reeked of alcohol, probably from spraying cheap liquor on his collar and sleeves just now. He looked haggard, but his eyes were actually darting around, full of energy!

He knew this scoundrel Song Cheng probably had something else up his sleeve, so he decided to play along, hesitating:

"This... you know all this? What do you want?"

Song Cheng revealed a look of successful scheming, holding Xu Nan's thighs with both hands and refusing to let go: "Help me pay back my Huabei debt, it's only a little over ten thousand yuan."

"You sold so many of my mom's shares, you should have a lot of cash, right? Can you share some with me? My mom left too quickly, I didn't even have time to see her one last time. Please, Father, be merciful and let me have a sum of cash she left behind. This way, when I look at the money, it's as if I see her, and I'll feel better."

Xu Nan smiled slightly: "No problem."

Song Cheng was overjoyed: "Really?"

"Yes, didn't you say you miss your mom?" Xu Nan stroked Song Cheng's head kindly: "Don't rush, stay here and don't move."

"I'll go buy some oranges."

Song Cheng sensed something was wrong: "If you're willing to help me pay back Huabei, even if you buy me a trainload of oranges, I'll wait for you on the platform through wind and rain!"

Xu Nan shook his head: "You misunderstood. Didn't you say you miss your mom? It's very simple."

"I'll make a few preparations, and now I can send you to see your mother."

"Maybe she's waiting for you there, looking forward to your arrival."

Song Cheng's eyes showed fear: "You, what do you want to do!?"

Xu Nan smiled: "It will be quick, it won't hurt, and you won't feel anything when you go."

Song Cheng let out a strange cry, turned and ran, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Xu Nan looked at Song Cheng's retreating back, lost in thought.

"Expeditious Retreat? Or a Body Separation Technique? I can't see any traces at all. Very clever."

"The result of the Appraisal Technique might be a disguise. It's true that he's Song Ying's son, but there might be some small secrets."

"Speaking of which, this grandson clearly has some skills, why does he keep pestering me and calling me Dad?"

Xu Nan couldn't figure it out.

Song Cheng looked cunning and slippery, without any bottom line; but perhaps that was just the surface others saw of him, maybe deep down inside—

He had even less of a bottom line!

But no matter what, Xu Nan always felt that Song Cheng was hiding something, and he must also have secrets.

Xu Nan was not yet clear what Song Ying and her son were planning, but he felt it was necessary to investigate.

After sending off that scoundrel Song Cheng, Xu Nan found a men's restroom, quietly chanted Hagrid's Flicker Spell, and spent three minutes successfully returning to Linxia City.

But as soon as he returned to the safe house, he was startled by a piercing alarm!

This was the sound Blazing Fire would make when enemies invaded!

How could enemies invade such a hidden underground base?

Xu Nan quickly rushed out: "Blazing Fire?! What's going on!"

Could it be that the Dungeon had been discovered? He was a little nervous. If it was discovered by the authorities, he didn't know how to explain it.

Perhaps all these things would be confiscated.

However, to Xu Nan's surprise, Blazing Fire quickly reported:

"It's a group of Gnolls!"

"Your pet, Lord Sour Soup Beef, and your ambiguous partner, Sister Gu Xiaomeng, have already gone to fight near the north city wall."

"For the specific situation, let's talk while we're on the way."

Xu Nan said dissatisfiedly: "First, call me Lord City Lord."

"Second, Gu Xiaomeng is not my ambiguous partner, what's wrong with you, Ship Soul?"

Blazing Fire's mechanical voice actually gained a touch of human-like warmth: "The Ship Soul originally had a shipboard intelligent module. With sufficient energy these past few days, many long-dormant modules have been restarted."

"Such as?"

"Such as the humor module. Just now, I was teasing you about your relationship with Sister Gu Xiaomeng, which is a form of light banter," Blazing Fire said seriously.

"Alright, the big shots of the Arcane Empire are indeed impressive, they even have a humor module."

Xu Nan was not in the mood to be teased by a Ship Soul right now: "Turn off the humor module."

"As you command," Blazing Fire's voice sounded a little wronged.

"Now, explain to me in detail. What exactly happened after I left?"

Xu Nan had temporary authority over the Cloud Ascending Ship. In the underground base, he could use his captain identity to quickly warp short distances, so he quickly arrived near the north city wall.

Gu Xiaomeng was positioned in a place similar to a lookout, casting divine spells from above.

Xu Nan saw that A Tang was fighting alone, bathed in blood in the darkness and candlelight!

Anyway, she was covered in blood and looked quite tragic, he didn't know if it was the enemy's or her own!

Blazing Fire quickly reported.

According to the Imp leader, this group of Gnolls was the first echelon of the Great Demon Inoya's vanguard!

The World God Kingdom and the Abyss Purgatory attacked Earth simultaneously, but their pace was somewhat inconsistent, and their focus areas were also different.

The monsters released by the Pro Gods were eaten by the people of China; but the monsters released by the demons underground, although few in number, were not harmed by any foodies!

According to the Imp leader, this Gnoll troop was only the vanguard. Judging from the equipment and rations they carried, there was at least another army of two hundred Gnolls, and there might even be Gnoll spellcasters.

Xu Nan was completely puzzled: "Why did I squat underground for so long waiting for them, and they didn't appear? As soon as I left, they appeared?"

Blazing Fire thought for a moment: "Perhaps the underground of Earth is too complex, and they got lost."

Xu Nan was speechless.

The Imp leader echoed from the side: "Gnolls have very poor night vision and cannot do without candles; although they received guidance from the Great Demon, it is normal for them to get lost."

Xu Nan took a deep breath: "Forget it, I won't bother with these anymore. Let's first get rid of these monsters who dared to invade my territory."

He had observed that the levels of these vanguard Gnolls were between 1 and 10. The Gnolls had some combat power, but not much better.

Logically, A Tang, a single bear, was enough to Sweep Through Thousands of Troops.

But the reason the situation was not good was that these Gnolls had relatively better weapons. They wore standard equipment and had scimitars and a small number of throwing weapons in their hands, looking much better than the poor Gnolls.

Moreover, among this group of about forty Gnolls, there were also four significantly taller [Strong Gnolls].

Although their level was 20, they had the Excellent Monster template. While they were a bit worse than Elite and Lord templates, they were not something A Tang could handle alone.

A Tang was in a tough fight.

Gu Xiaomeng had been providing her support. But the effect of the support was really not good.

The divine spells Gu Xiaomeng cast were very unstable. Perhaps she was too nervous seeing these monsters. She originally wanted to use spells like Divine Grace Punishment to help A Tang finish off some low-health Gnolls, but her mind went blank and she cast a powerful heal instead.

A Tang wanted to cry but had no tears.

The low-health Gnolls she had worked so hard to almost kill were healed back by Gu Xiaomeng!

Gu Xiaomeng herself was also extremely ashamed, and in her panic, she made repeated mistakes in casting spells.

Xu Nan watched in amazement. Excluding the possibility that she was deliberately casting spells incorrectly, he was really grateful that she was a priest and had strong Divine Favor. If she were a Magician or something similar, she would have died hundreds of times by now.

A Tang's performance, however, gave Xu Nan a new perspective on this lazy Giant Panda who loved to eat.

Although she was somewhat frustrated among the Gnolls, she still bravely and fearlessly charged into the enemy's formation alone!

As for the nonsense she was shouting, such as "For the glory of Her Highness the Goddess!" and "Absolutely cannot allow you beasts to approach Her Highness Xin'er!", Xu Nan selectively ignored it.

He patted Gu Xiaomeng's shoulder, signaling her to stop casting spells.

"I'll do it."

Xu Nan was concise.

He stood below the lookout, looking down from above, preparing to use a Burning Hands to take care of some minions first.

Just at this moment, the quest card suddenly flickered—

[Ron Sorcerer Bloodline Awakening Daily Quest]

[Quest Name: Skillful Use of a Sharp Weapon]

[Quest Description: Since you have received a gift from a senior, how can you let their weapon gather dust? Even if you are a physically weak spellcaster, you must have the courage to forge ahead. Hold Mr. 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 a moment of suffocation after reading the reward.

But thinking of the scimitars in the Gnolls' hands, and then remembering Mr. Luo Mang's warning, he felt a slight ache in his balls.

"Melee once..."

"Should... shouldn't..."

"Something happen?"

Xu Nan hesitated a little.