A Sudden Turn of Events

Chen Xi led Lin Yue by the hand as they followed Qiu Ye to the round table where the Seventh Squad was seated.

"So you were the one who took the Pupil of Rain Lord. You really kept us in the dark," Luo Li said in a wistful tone.

Caught out by the person in question, Lin Yue looked embarrassed.

Chen Xi remained composed. "Sorry, but given the situation at the time, if we hadn't taken the eyes, we would've died at Wu Xin's hands."

Luo Li's tone suddenly changed, and she grinned.

"I'm just joking. Zhu Li was the one who did all the work, and she let you take it. Who would hold it against you?"

At the mention of that name, Chen Xi discreetly asked, "Is Zhu Li not here?"

Luo Li answered softly, "No, she said she had something to take care of."

That made sense... It was only natural that Zhu Li wasn't here.

They were all about to die. How could she be expected to care about this?

"I'm going to get something to eat with Uncle Guo Wei and Chen Shuo. You guys take your time chatting."

After speaking, Luo Li hurried over to the snack table to grab something.

The staff at the venue were ordinary people whose memories couldn't be erased. Since they were guaranteed to be pulled into the domain, the authorities had recruited them all and assigned them to logistical duties.

Watching Luo Li make a beeline for the snacks, Qiu Ye struck up a conversation. "Still, I'd never guess you were a rookie Transcendent who'd only just gained control of Rain Lord."

"Everyone's been guessing what your first Legend was."

Everyone assumed that Rain Lord was the second Legend Chen Xi had gained control of. They also believed that the first Legend she had controlled was related to water.

Otherwise, there was no explaining how, right after gaining control of Rain Lord Western Heaven, she could control its abilities with such precision—shaving all of Chen Gang's hair off without hurting him.

Chen Xi neither confirmed nor denied it. "I'm just naturally gifted."

She was about to say more when she felt a tug at her hem.

Lin Yue looked up at her eagerly. "I want to go eat, too."

If the child wanted to go, what else could she do?

"Go ahead. I'll come get you when I'm done talking."

With her permission granted, Lin Yue cheerfully picked up a plate and went to get some dessert.

Once the two of them had left, only Qiu Ye and Chen Xi remained where they stood.

A few people tried to talk to Chen Xi, but when they saw the Seventh Squad's captain beside her, they quietly moved on.

"Who's that?" The girl lifted her wineglass and looked at the trench-coated man at the head of the table.

Qiu Ye clinked glasses with her and said casually, "My direct superior, Lu Shaojun, deputy director of the Tianhai City Countermeasure Bureau."

"That name..." Chen Xi instinctively glanced at Lu Shaoqi, who was chatting with someone nearby.

Following her gaze, Qiu Ye looked toward Lu Shaoqi and waved. "Mm-hmm. Just like you thought, he's Shaoqi's biological brother."

Noticing their gesture, Lu Shaoqi first apologized to the person she'd been talking to, then jogged over to them.

"Captain. Senior Chen Xi." She greeted them both.

Chen Xi replied gently, "Just call me Chen Xi."

"Okay, Sis Xi." Lu Shaoqi's expression was calm.

Qiu Ye didn't correct her form of address, instead teasing her. "Why aren't you chatting with your brother? Still mad at him for assigning you to the Seventh Squad?"

Lu Shaoqi loosened her tight ponytail. "Yeah. I can't be bothered talking to him."

Back then, she'd insisted that her brother assign her to the Third Squad, which went on missions more often.

But Lu Shaojun had claimed it was for her own safety and stubbornly put her in the laid-back Seventh Squad instead.

Qiu Ye was a good person, and the squad got along well. Everyone was like a friend to her, but this still wasn't what she wanted to do.

Because of her brother's overprotectiveness, she'd been a Transcendent for almost half a year and still hadn't gained control of a second Legend.

Whenever she found a Legend she wanted to pursue, Lu Shaojun would dismiss her request with excuses like its requirements were too dangerous or she wasn't ready yet.

As soon as the subject came up, Lu Shaoqi brought up the same old topic again.

"Captain, could you talk to my brother? I can handle things on my own now..."

A cold laugh from beside her cut her off.

At some point, Lu Shaojun had appeared beside them. He looked impassively at Lu Shaoqi, who had already turned her face away.

"Stop putting Qiu Ye in an awkward position. Handle things on your own? Shaoqi, you need to know your limits. Do you really think fighting Legends is that simple...?"

Seeing that her brother was about to start lecturing her again, Lu Shaoqi's expression darkened. She said goodbye to the two of them and left.

"Again..." Lu Shaojun watched his younger sister walk away helplessly, but didn't go after her.

He turned back and clinked glasses with the two of them.

"Qiu Ye, I'll have to ask you to keep looking after Shaoqi."

Qiu Ye laughed. "It's no trouble. Shaoqi's become one of my most capable people."

Lu Shaojun shook his head. "You don't have to make excuses for her. I know what she can and can't do."

After exchanging a few words with an old acquaintance, he turned to the black-haired girl beside them. "Miss Chen Xi, that Water Control ability you used just now was exquisite."

Chen Xi gave him a polished compliment in return. "It was just a little trick. I should say, the Thunder Slash in your video was far more astonishing, Deputy Director."

"That was just an effect of the video."

The three of them chatted on and off.

"What exactly is going on with Evil Flower?" Chen Xi finally asked the question that had brought her here today.

As deputy director, Lu Shaojun had access to the latest information. He shared everything he knew.

"A few days ago, Evil Flower attacked Luhu City. The damage there was devastating."

"Several nearby cities have been invaded. Tianhai City is the only one they haven't moved on yet."

"So far, the only lead we have is your conversation with Lost Whale that day, Miss Chen Xi."

"Our squads and the local Transcendents have searched all over Tianhai City, but we still haven't found them."

Lu Shaojun's expression turned grave. "Our preliminary assessment is that they'll send a High Priest to lead the attack on Tianhai City."

A High Priest was a third-rank Transcendent.

This was bad...

Chen Xi unconsciously tightened her grip on her wineglass. "What about reinforcements?"

Lu Shaojun sighed. "The Federation's central government is in complete disarray. They've barely paid any attention to what's happening in small places like ours."

"At the earliest, reinforcements won't arrive for another week."

The more Chen Xi heard, the more she felt that Tianhai City and the Spark Federation were teetering on the brink of collapse. They couldn't even keep something like this under control.

Just as she was considering what to do, a shrill scream, like an owl's cry, rang through the side hall. The lively atmosphere turned cold in an instant.

"Something's happened!"

Chen Xi immediately looked toward Lin Yue, who was still eating dessert. She was clearly just as confused.

Electricity surged around Lu Shaojun before he transformed into lightning and shot outside. The other squad leaders didn't dare waste time; they used their various abilities to race out of the hall.

"What happened?" Lin Yue wiped the crumbs from around her mouth and came over to Chen Xi.

"Let's go take a look."

After the squad leaders left, everyone else belatedly followed them outside.

The hall was filled with cries of agony. The Transcendents fled in every direction in panic, desperate to get away from the center of the chaos. Corpses already littered the ground there.

The blood-soaked Black-haired JK Girl licked the katana in her hand. Her eyes were sharp as a hawk's as she fixed her gaze on the people surrounding her.

"Evil Flower is here to deliver everyone a welcome gift."

"Please sign for it."