Heading to the Wilderness Zone

The butterfly effect had finally begun to take hold. It was hard to say what would happen as time went on...

Hen Ren took off the Consciousness Induction Helmet, set it outside after opening the Gravity Chamber, then went back inside.

"But what does that have to do with me right now? I've still got a month. I should keep training hard."

His main body, though, could use a little exercise...

Meanwhile...

By the time the War God Palace Council meeting ended, Xu Ai and the others had already finished eating.

"Qingling sis~"

Xu Ai had barely called out when—smack!—a hand landed hard on her bottom.

"Call her Auntie!"

Liu Ting glared at Xu Ai. The girl was trying to take advantage of her and get away with acting like an equal to her elders!?

She hadn't even considered that Xu Ai might be trying to demote her...

"Tch, Qingling sis is so young. How could I call her Auntie?"

Seeing that Liu Ting was about to lose her temper again, Xu Ai hurried behind Liu Qingling.

"All right. Just tell me what you want."

Liu Qingling had a soft spot for her best friend's niece.

If nothing else, she had to admit that being called sis sounded pretty nice... Ahem...

Actually, she and Xu Yan were best friends, and their nieces, Liu Ting and Xu Ai, were best friends too. What a coincidence!

"Qingling sis, I heard you say your squad was going to City 0551 this month?"

"Yeah. Why?"

The higher-ups had specifically called to encourage them to hunt in City 0551.

It wasn't a big deal, so Liu Qingling had no reason to keep it secret.

"Take me with you. I want to see what the Wilderness Zone is like."

"...I suppose that could work."

After thinking it over, Liu Qingling agreed.

The Extreme Martial Arts Hall had no rule against bringing along newcomers from other organizations. So as long as her squad agreed, taking Xu Ai to the Wilderness Zone for some field experience was no problem.

Besides, Xu Ai had the Xu Family and Hen Ren backing her. Of course Liu Qingling's squad would do her a favor!

"Great, Qingling sis! When are we leaving?"

"In two days..."

Liu Qingling gave Xu Ai a peculiar look over her shoulder.

"You might want to watch out..."

Smack!!!

Liu Ting slapped Xu Ai on the head, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and dragged her away!

Two days flew by...

Morning...

The faint light of dawn fell across the dark curtains, barely illuminating the room.

Xu Ai opened her bleary eyes. She couldn't help looking over and saw a beautiful woman with long brown hair lying peacefully beside her.

Her face looked three or four parts like Liu Ting's, but her features and bearing were more mature.

It was Qingling sis. No problem, then.

Xu Ai pulled her hand away too. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Liu Qingling's chest, and a trace of sympathy appeared in her gaze.

With Liu Qingling only slightly more endowed than Liu Ting, it was clear that the Liu family had deliberately built an airstrip!

Seeing how pitiful they were, Xu Ai decided to forgive them.

She gave Liu Ting another sympathetic glance, then silently yawned and was just about to get up and stretch.

(#￣︿￣)

That was too much. She couldn't believe those two were getting addicted to it!

Xu Ai resisted the urge to smack their upturned bottoms, pulled their hands away again, and hurried out of bed.

Sure enough, two hands crawled back over and groped around where Xu Ai had been lying. When they found nothing, they slowly withdrew.

Liu Qingling was fine. After pulling her hand back, she barely moved. But Liu Ting went too far.

Xu Ai watched helplessly as Liu Ting reached out toward Xu Xin on the other side. She quietly finished weaving Luo Feng a green hat.

Xu Xin wasn't as "kind" as Xu Ai. She slapped Liu Ting's hand away.

Smack!!!

Liu Ting's hand stung, and she quickly pulled it back before slowly opening her eyes.

"Haaah~~ Was I dreaming? Why do I feel like someone hit me?"

"Uh..." Not exactly a dream...

Xu Ai rolled her eyes at her. If Liu Ting kept this up, Luo Feng would beat her senseless sooner or later. How dare she grope his wife!?

Luo Feng hadn't even touched her yet. If he found out Liu Ting had stolen his wife's first touch, she'd be done for.

Wait, no. I got her first touch! Then...

Tch, Luo Feng wouldn't dare complain. I can touch my sister however I want! I've even slept with her more than once!

"What time is it?"

Perhaps because Xu Ai and Liu Ting had woken up, Xu Xin and Liu Qingling woke up soon after.

"Six. You can sleep a little longer."

Xu Ai had no intention of going back to sleep. If she did, she might not stay innocent much longer—though, as far as Liu Ting and the others were concerned, she probably wasn't innocent anymore...

"Up, up, everyone get up."

Xu Xin raised both arms and stretched. Her sexy nightgown, all wrinkled, was suddenly stretched taut.

Xu Ai nodded with satisfaction. Xu Xin still didn't compare to her, but she was clearly much fuller than she'd been two months ago.

Xu Ai figured Luo Feng ought to thank her. This was definitely her doing, in every sense of the word!

Ahem... All right, she had only encouraged Xu Xin to practice yoga more often.

At Xu Xin's urging, everyone got out of bed.

As the lady of the house, Xu Xin finished washing up first and went to make breakfast. Next was their beautiful auntie, Liu Qingling. Xu Ai and Liu Ting went last.

Yep, that was right. Liu Ting had insisted on squeezing into the bathroom with Xu Ai...

Ding-dong!

"Uh..."

Everyone had just sat down at the table when the doorbell rang.

Someone showing up this early? Xu Ai could guess who it was without even thinking!

Xu Xin gave Xu Ai a look, then went to get another bowl and pair of chopsticks.

Xu Ai opened the door. Sure enough, her big brother was standing outside.

Hm? Who was the other person?

Xu Ai peered behind Xu Gang and saw a young man who looked about five or six parts like him. He smiled and greeted her.

"Xiao Ai, long time no see."

"Second Brother, why are you back?"

Naturally, he was Xu Lie, the son of Xu Ai's second uncle.

Xu Lie patted Xu Gang to get him to move aside. Only then did Xu Ai see that Xu Lie's right hand was in a cast.

"I only got a minor injury. Then I heard our little genius was going to the Wilderness Zone, so I asked my commanding officer for some time off to come home and recuperate."

"That's why I told you to be extra careful. You can't let your guard down, even in the military."

Xu Ai rolled her eyes at Xu Lie.

The Huaxia military had the best equipment and was extremely cautious in its operations. Aside from monster tides, its casualty rate while hunting in the Wilderness Zone was the lowest.

But people still got hurt!

He'd only been gone for two days, and he'd already gotten injured. What a reckless guy.

"Big Sis, get another place setting ready. Big Brother and Second Brother are here."

Xu Xin stepped out, looking surprised. She saw Xu Lie waving to her from behind Xu Ai.

"Second Brother? Why are you back?"

As expected of sisters. They even asked the same question.

Xu Lie laughed and gestured at the arm Xu Ai had been blocking, explaining again.

"So you broke your arm, and instead of resting, you're running around?"

Xu Xin rolled her eyes at him and told them to hurry inside.

"Breakfast is ready, so join us."

"Sure. It's been ages since I've had your cooking, Xiao Xin."

Xu Gang and Xu Lie happily pulled out chairs and sat down. Even though they'd already eaten, they still polished off several bowls of porridge and a few buns.

Their actions made it clear just how much they doted on their sister.

After breakfast, everyone sat on the sofa to rest and chat. Liu Qingling made a few calls to gather her squad.

Xu Ai would be joining Liu Qingling's squad for this trip to the Wilderness Zone.

"So you're Liu Qingling."

Xu Lie looked at Liu Qingling in surprise. She nodded to him while making a call.

"Otherwise, why do you think I didn't arrange a squad for Xiao Ai? With Sister Liu's Willow Leaf Squad, there was no need for me to get involved."

Xu Gang said with a smile. Xu Lie listened and nodded repeatedly.

The Willow Leaf Squad was led by Liu Qingling and Ye Yu. Both were Advanced General-Level warriors, close to reaching War God Level. They were also a pair of beautiful women, and every member of the Willow Leaf Squad was female. As a result, they were quite famous among the warrior squads of Jiangnan Base City.

Since both women were skilled with the Willow Leaf Blade and most of the other squad members also used blades, some people jokingly called them the Willow Leaf Blade Squad.

Of course, because all the squad members were beauties, plenty of male warriors privately called it the Harem Squad.

The Willow Leaf Squad had been around for over ten years. It was made up entirely of women and had taken many new warriors under its wing.

Perhaps because women tended to be more attentive and cautious, they always acted very carefully in the Wilderness Zone and avoided taking risks. As a result, the casualty rate among the newcomers they led was extremely low. That was why Xu Gang trusted them with Xu Ai.

After contacting the whole squad, Liu Qingling hung up and looked at Xu Ai.

"They're all on their way. Xiao Ai, get your gear, and we'll go meet them."

"Got it."

Xu Ai stood up, and Xu Xin rose at the same time.

"I'll catch a ride with you, then."

Xu Xin had become a Martial Artist, but that didn't mean she should go to the Wilderness Zone. Xu Ai didn't want her to go either; she'd been telling Xu Xin to train hard for two months.

The Xu Family had no objections, but Xu Xin didn't want to train and couldn't sit still. So she'd asked their father, Xu Qing, to arrange a job for her at the family's HR Mall.

The squad usually gathered at the HR Alliance Mall, so Xu Xin could hitch a ride in Xu Ai's vehicle.

Xu Ai went back to her room, changed into something comfortable, then came out carrying two large cases. They contained her gear and Liu Qingling's.

Quite a while later, Xu Xin came out of her room in a white shirt and black dress pants, with delicate makeup. The gentle beauty had transformed into a commanding career woman.

"Then we'll get going."

Liu Qingling said goodbye to everyone and led Xu Ai and Xu Xin out.

"Stay safe."

"The Wilderness Zone is nothing like the Base City. Be extra careful, Xiao Ai."

"Qingling, look after our Xiao Ai."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the three of them climbed into the military off-road vehicle.

"Don't worry. We'll come back safe and sound."

Xu Ai waved goodbye with a smile as the vehicle slowly drove away.