"We're finally back!"
With their packs stuffed full, Yu Fei and Jun Xia gazed at the military garrison just a short distance away, their faces alight with joy.
They'd spent more than ten days in the Wilderness Zone, eating nothing but dry compressed rations every day. They hadn't bathed or brushed their teeth or washed their faces. They'd been through it many times before, but living in a Base City was still so much more comfortable!
Compared with Yu Fei and Jun Xia, the others were happy too, but they weren't nearly as overjoyed.
"Don't get too excited. Come on, let's go back to the villa first."
Ye Yu smiled as she spoke. The reason they weren't heading to the Supply Base first was that she still remembered the tip her officer friend there had given them.
The monster materials they'd hunted this time could all be stored for a long time. They should wait until the HR Alliance raised its prices before selling them—that way, they'd earn more.
"Let's go, let's go."
The group hurried toward the villa. The Martial Artists they passed weren't surprised to see them; female Martial Artists often went straight to their villas after returning from a hunt.
Some male Martial Artists did the same.
Liu Qingling opened the villa door, and everyone filed inside before dropping their heavy packs in the living room.
"Bath time!"
Yu Fei washed her hands, then immediately returned to her room to fetch a bathrobe.
Seeing her, Jun Xia hurried back to her own room as well.
"I'm coming too! Wait for me."
"Let's all go together."
Qin Yi pulled Gu Zizhen and Xu Ai along with her, and Liu Qingling and Ye Yu followed close behind.
"Did I call you over so you could hug us?"
Ye Yu shot Liu Qingling a cold look. Xu Ai also stared in astonishment at Liu Qingling, who had her arms around Xu Ai's slender waist. Her expression clearly said, "I never knew our captain was this kind of person!"
Under their gazes, Liu Qingling sheepishly withdrew her hands.
"Rain Sis, let me scrub your back. Come over here."
Xu Ai smiled, put an arm around Ye Yu's waist, and led her off to the side.
Liu Qingling stared, dumbfounded. When she came to her senses, she hurried after them.
"I want my back scrubbed too!"
"Captain, I—I'll help you!"
Blushing, Qin Yi hurriedly broke free of Yu Fei and Jun Xia's clutches, covered her chest, and ran over to Liu Qingling.
But the problem was, I don't want you to scrub my back...
Liu Qingling looked at Xu Ai and Ye Yu, then pursed her lips in displeasure. Only then did she look at Qin Yi...and her astonishing curves!
"Ahem. All right, but I'll scrub your back myself."
"Ah!"
Qin Yi was on the verge of tears. She'd escaped the wolves only to fall straight into a tiger's den.
Seeing this, Ye Yu's gaze grew even colder. Xu Ai was just as incensed, looking at Liu Qingling as if she were a scoundrel.
She really was looking at her like a scoundrel! There was absolutely no hint of enjoyment in it!
Meanwhile, Yu Fei and Jun Xia, now that Qin Yi had escaped them, set their sights on Gu Zizhen, whose figure was just as impressive. Xu Ai couldn't help glancing over too...
That bath took a while...
The next day...
Xu Ai couldn't resist the urge to give Yu Fei a hard bonk on the head, but then her eyes fell on Yu Fei's chest, and her expression turned sympathetic.
"Forget it. I'll forgive her since she's so small."
Xu Ai quietly got out of bed. Her Harem Squad members were strewn all over the bed and floor.
No! The Willow Leaf Squad!
Ye Yu wasn't there. Xu Ai got dressed, then opened the bedroom door and went out.
After washing up in the bathroom, Xu Ai went to the living room. Ye Yu was just coming in through the front door with a bag.
"Morning, Rain Sis."
"Good morning, Xiao Ai."
Ye Yu greeted her, then set the bag on the table. It contained breakfast: millet porridge, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and more.
The villas provided by the Warrior Supply Base didn't have kitchens, let alone ingredients. Martial Artists couldn't cook for themselves. But meals were available on request: one phone call was all it took for the staff to deliver food to their door, free of charge.
The food was prepared by five-star chefs, using the finest ingredients. It was delicious and beautifully presented, and that was one of the things that drew Martial Artists to City 0551.
"I didn't know what kind of breakfast you liked, so I ordered a few different things."
Ye Yu pushed the millet porridge, soy milk and fried dough sticks, sandwiches, milk, and other breakfast foods toward Xu Ai, letting her choose.
Xu Ai kept a bowl of millet porridge and an egg, then added some pickled vegetables to the porridge.
"I still like millet porridge with pickled vegetables."
"Me too."
Ye Yu smiled. Most of the breakfast here consisted of millet porridge, pickled vegetables, and eggs. Only the soy milk and fried dough sticks belonged to Yu Fei, while the rice rolls were for Qin Yi.
Before long, Liu Qingling and the others got up too. After brushing their teeth and washing their faces, they came to the table.
"I heard Councilor Zhu is here, and he brought a lot of War God-level Martial Artists with him."
"Looks like war is close."
Liu Qingling took a sip of porridge while Jun Xia pulled up Extreme Home on her phone to browse the latest news from Jiangnan Base City.
"Yeah, it's come up at the martial arts hall too."
Unfortunately, it had only come up in conversation. Plenty of people had said they wanted to come help reclaim the lost territory, but they'd all been anonymous...
"Let me take a look."
Xu Ai checked her phone too. The HR Alliance's internal network for Martial Artists was full of news about this, and it was much more detailed than Extreme Martial Arts Hall's.
"The fighting should start soon. My grandfather and the others keep telling me to hurry back."
As the future hope of the Xu Family, they weren't about to let her take part in this battle.
Xu Ai picked up a bun and casually replied to Xu Yunguo and the others: "I'm staying."
"Xiao Ai, what do you think?"
Liu Qingling looked at Xu Ai, feeling conflicted.
On the one hand, she hoped Xu Ai would stay. If Xu Ai took part in the battle, the Xu Family would surely invest more resources and might even send Martial Artists to help, ensuring their family's prodigy stayed safe. That would provide a considerable boost to the counterattack.
On the other hand, Liu Qingling thought Xu Ai was a genius. Xu Ai had performed exceptionally well—perhaps too well—but she was still a rookie who'd only just set out. She was bound to achieve even greater things in the future.
If anything happened to her in this battle, it would be a great loss to humanity.
"Me? Of course I'm staying."
Xu Ai smiled. She'd made up her mind as soon as she'd heard the news.
With the strength to match a High-level War God, she'd be a tremendous asset in this battle.
Liu Qingling nodded, then declared firmly,
"Then stay by my side when the time comes. Even if it costs me my life, I'll keep you safe."
"We'll protect you too."
Ye Yu had known Liu Qingling for many years. How could she not understand what was on her mind?
"Don't worry. We'll all be fine."
Xu Ai smiled.
She had no trouble fighting Lord-level Monsters. And Hen Ren was there too. If things really went wrong, she could still get away unharmed.
Right, the fighting starts on September 1. I'll use the Dragon Blood at the end of August to boost my strength!
Xu Ai would have to train hard in the days ahead!
After breakfast, everyone headed to the reception desk at the Supply Base.
The Supply Base was bustling with Martial Artists now, with more than twice as many people as when they'd first arrived.
"Hey, Liu Qingling, you're back."
The receptionist was still Lao Gao, the officer who knew Liu Qingling.
"Lao Gao, there are a lot more people now."
"Yeah, the country's ramping things up. Look over there."
Lao Gao pointed to a line of heavy trucks passing in the distance.
"They're hauling equipment. It's all Grade A or higher, along with a large number of guns and other gear capable of killing Monster General-level Monsters."
Xu Ai looked over. A line of heavy trucks drove down the road, followed by a line of green troop carriers.
"From the look of it, a lot of them must be at the Advanced General-Level."
Liu Qingling remarked. Lao Gao nodded.
"This squad falls under Councilor Zhu's command. You understand now, right?"
"Yeah, I understand."
Zhu Xi's special operations squad had arrived. It was obvious the military was getting serious. This war was unavoidable!
Before you continue