"Little red, little elephant, it's Little Red Elephant, Little Elephant, Little Red, it's Little Red Red."
As the sun sank in the west, Xue Xi hummed a cheerful tune as she rode Little Wolf into the small county town. The surrounding area was no longer occupied by monster hordes. Instead, camps of Martial Artists were scattered about, making it look just like a marketplace in a wasteland.
Xue Xi dismounted and let Little Wolf run around to its heart's content while she took a stroll. At a supply-trading post, she curiously asked a middle-aged Martial Artist who was bent over processing monster materials, "Uncle, why are you setting up a market here? Wouldn't it be more convenient to go to the Military Base?"
The middle-aged Martial Artist answered without looking up. "Isn't it because of the Cat Ear Restaurant's reputation? Every day, Martial Artists from all sorts of factions come here to eat. There are more people here than at the Military Base. And since the owner's taken leave, we've got nothing to do, so we got together and turned this place into a small Supply Base. It'll be convenient in the future, too. The authorities even approved and supported the idea."
Xue Xi hadn't expected the uncle to be so talkative. He chattered on like beans spilling from a sack. Her eyes lit up. "Then, Uncle, could you stock more ingredients for trade here? I promise I'll come buy them every day!"
What could be better than owning a restaurant with a market right next door? Xue Xi made what she considered a perfectly reasonable request.
The middle-aged Martial Artist paused, then laughed. "You think we haven't thought of that? The business-minded ones have already set up a market up ahead, just waiting for the restaurant owner to buy from them. Hey, speaking of which, why do you need to buy ingredients every day?"
The middle-aged Martial Artist looked up. He rubbed his eyes, then shouted, "Holy crap! The owner's back, guys! Hurry up and wheel Old Zhang out for a drink!"
Xue Xi was stunned by his yell. A crowd came rushing out of the tent behind the middle-aged Martial Artist and surrounded her. Among them was a man in a wheelchair, gripping the armrests as he stared at her excitedly. "Owner Xue Xi, I want to buy your wine—the Highland Barley Wine that can heal physical injuries!"
When the surrounding camps heard the commotion, they all came running over, clamoring that they wanted to buy wine too. The noise gave Xue Xi a headache. She took a deep breath, gathered Origin Energy in her throat, and used her Spiritual Force to carry her words across the crowd. "Everyone, please quiet down and listen!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it worked remarkably well. The Martial Artists around her fell silent, and the noise in Xue Xi's ears finally died down. She addressed their eager faces. "The next batch of wine won't be ready for another day. Please be patient. Haste makes waste. That's all— the restaurant will reopen the day after tomorrow, and there'll definitely be plenty of wine."
After that, she stopped wandering and gently pushed her way out of the crowd with her telekinesis. The others had no choice but to disperse and get back to their own business.
In a newly renovated room on the upper floor of a distant high-rise, a burly Martial Artist with a centipede-like scar at the corner of his eye watched what had just happened. On the sofa beside him sat a curvaceous woman in tight-fitting battle armor. She rested one arm on the back of the sofa and swirled a little red wine in her glass.
Venina took a small sip of the crimson wine. "Yao, I have the latest news. Owner Xue Xi appeared at the War God Palace this morning. Setting aside the fact that the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Huaxia military are backing her, she's a High-Level War God in her own right. Should we still stick to the original plan?"
The glass in Li Yao's hand shattered under his crushing grip. Ignoring the wine running down his hand, Li Yao turned with bloodshot eyes and snarled, "What choice do we have? That old bastard Yan Hai refuses to show his own face, and he's got so much dirt on us. If we don't do as he says, won't those sanctimonious fools at the War God Palace tear us to pieces?"
Venina rose, twisting her sinuous waist, then set down her glass and leaned against Li Yao's chest. Her slender fingers traced across it as she breathed softly by his ear. "Yao, I'll support you no matter what. Once we finish this job, we'll take Xiao Wei back to the family estate and live in seclusion. By then, you'll have broken through to the Planetary Realm, and we won't have to let anyone hold us back. What do you say?"
The beauty at his side soothed Li Yao's anger. He looked at Venina with resolve, running his rough palm over her delicate face as he promised, "All right. We'll do as you say. Once this is done, we'll leave!"
Venina watched Little Wolf disappearing into the distance, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes. "Yao, I do have an idea. We could..."
Meanwhile, a squad of white Martial Artists reported Xue Xi's whereabouts to their superior. "Commander Mike, the woman who disrupted the Water of Life market has entered our surveillance zone. Should we take action immediately?"
The voice on the other end issued a low command. "Hold your positions for now. The target is a High-Level War God. Wait until that so-called Highland Barley Wine goes on sale. If it works as advertised, I'll seek the council chairman's approval!"
The small county town seemed peaceful on the surface, but undercurrents were already swirling. Xue Xi had returned to the area within a kilometer of the restaurant. Many Martial Artist merchants were now selling monster meat here, and some oddballs had even brought in a large truck, its refrigerated cargo hold packed with all kinds of fruits and fresh vegetables.
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