Sudden Turn of Events

Chen Xi held Lin Yue's hand and followed Qiu Ye to the round table where the Seventh Squad was stationed.

"So it was you who took the Pupil of Rain Lord; you really kept us in the dark for quite a while," Luo Li said in a ghostly tone.

Caught by the person involved, Lin Yue's expression turned awkward.

Chen Xi remained composed. "Apologies. Given the situation at the time, if we hadn't taken the eye, we would have died at the hands of Wu Xin."

Luo Li shifted her tone, grinning.

"I'm just joking. Besides, it was all thanks to Zhu Li's efforts, and since she tacitly allowed you to take it, who would hold a grudge?"

Hearing that name, Chen Xi asked nonchalantly, "Is Zhu Li not coming?"

Luo Li replied softly, "No, she said she had things to attend to."

That made sense... it would be normal for Zhu Li not to show up.

She was nearly at death's door; how could she possibly care about these things?

"I'm going to grab some food with Uncle Guo Wei and Chen Shuo. You two chat."

After saying this, Luo Li hurried toward the snack table to pick up some food.

The staff in the venue were ordinary people whose memory-wiping had failed; because they would inevitably be pulled into the domain, the authorities had uniformly recruited them to handle logistics.

Seeing Luo Li scurry off, Qiu Ye struck up a conversation. "Still, one would never guess you're a rookie Transcendent who just mastered the Rain Lord."

"Everyone is guessing what the first legend you controlled was."

Everyone assumed the Rain Lord was the second legend Chen Xi had mastered, and they all believed her first legend was also related to water.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain how she could possess such exquisite control over her abilities immediately after mastering Rain Lord Western Heaven—managing to shave Chen Gang's hair completely clean without harming him in the slightest.

Chen Xi was noncommittal. "Just a natural talent."

She wanted to say more, but felt a light tug on her hem.

Lin Yue looked at her with wide, expectant eyes. "I want to go eat, too."

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

"Go ahead. I'll call you when I'm done chatting."

Receiving permission, Lin Yue stepped away lightly, picked up a plate, and went to grab some desserts.

Once the two of them left, only Qiu Ye and Chen Xi remained.

During this time, a few people wanted to approach Chen Xi, but seeing the Seventh Squad captain nearby, they quietly drifted away.

"Who is he?" The young girl raised her red wine glass, looking toward the man in the trench coat at the head table.

Clinking her glass against hers, Qiu Ye spoke comfortably. "My direct superior, Deputy Director of the Tianhai City Countermeasure Bureau, Lu Shaojun."

"That name?" Chen Xi subconsciously glanced at Lu Shaoqi, who was talking to someone not far away.

Qiu Ye followed her gaze and waved at Lu Shaoqi. "Uh-huh, just as you thought. He is Shaoqi's older brother."

Noticing the gesture, Lu Shaoqi first apologized to the person she was chatting with, then trotted over to the two of them.

"Captain, Senior Chen Xi," she greeted them.

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

"Understood, Sister Xi," Lu Shaoqi said with a calm expression.

Without correcting the address further, Qiu Ye teased, "Why not go chat with your brother? Still angry about him assigning you to the Seventh Squad back then?"

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

Back then, she had desperately demanded that her brother assign her to the Third Squad, which went on frequent missions.

In the end, Lu Shaojun had insisted it was for her own safety and forced her into the laid-back Seventh Squad.

Although Qiu Ye was a wonderful person and the atmosphere in the squad was harmonious—everyone was like friends—this was ultimately not what she wanted to do.

Her brother's overprotectiveness had resulted in her being a Transcendent for nearly half a year without having mastered her own second legend.

Every time she found a target she liked, Lu Shaojun would brush off her request with excuses like the conditions for mastering that legend were too dangerous or she wasn't ready yet.

Whenever this topic came up, Lu Shaoqi would bring up that same old issue:

"Captain, could you talk to my brother? Tell him that I'm capable of handling things on my own now..."

"Hmph." A cold sneer from nearby interrupted her words.

Lu Shaojun had appeared beside the three of them at some point. He looked with indifference at Lu Shaoqi, who had already turned her face away.

"Don't put Qiu Ye in a difficult position anymore. Handling things on your own? Shaoqi, one must have self-awareness. Do you really think fighting legends is such a simple matter..."

Seeing her brother start his lecture again, Lu Shaoqi's expression darkened. She bid the two of them farewell and left the spot.

"It's always like this..." Lu Shaojun watched his sister's retreating back with a helpless look, though he did not step forward to stop her.

He turned back to clink glasses with the two of them.

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

Qiu Ye laughed heartily. "Small matter. Shaoqi is quite the capable right-hand woman for me now."

Lu Shaojun shook his head. "Don't bother speaking up for her; I know exactly what she's capable of."

After finishing his chatter with an acquaintance, he turned to the black-haired girl beside him. "Miss Chen Xi, that display of Water Control just now was truly exquisite."

Chen Xi offered a practiced, professional compliment. "Just a few minor tricks. If anything, the Thunder Slash seen in the Deputy Director's video was far more breathtaking."

"That was merely a video effect."

The three of them began to chat idly, exchanging a few sentences here and there.

"What is the situation with the Evil Flower, exactly?" Chen Xi finally asked, revealing the purpose of her visit today.

As Deputy Director, Lu Shaojun was well-informed and began to lay out the intelligence he had gathered, point by point.

"A few days ago, the Evil Flower attacked Luhu City, and the damage there was catastrophic."

"Several nearby cities have already been invaded; only Tianhai City remains untouched."

"The only lead we have right now is the conversation you had with the Lost Whale that day, Miss Chen Xi."

"Our squads and the civilian Transcendents of Tianhai City have searched the entire city, yet we still haven't found a trace of them."

Lu Shaojun's expression turned grave. "We estimate that they will have a High Priest leading the assault on Tianhai City."

A High Priest—in other words, a Rank 3 Transcendent.

This was a massive problem...

Chen Xi tightened her grip on her wine glass involuntarily. "What about reinforcements?"

Lu Shaojun sighed. "The Federation center is in complete chaos right now; they've barely paid any attention to matters in small places like ours."

"As for reinforcements, the earliest they could arrive is a week from now."

The more she heard, the more Chen Xi felt that Tianhai City and this Spark Federation were teetering on the brink of collapse, unable to manage even a situation of this magnitude.

Just as she was contemplating a countermeasure, a shrill, piercing scream like the cry of an owl tore through the side hall, instantly chilling the previously lively atmosphere.

"Something happened!"

Chen Xi looked immediately toward Lin Yue, who was still eating dessert; the girl clearly looked just as bewildered.

Lu Shaojun's body erupted with surging electricity, transforming into a bolt of lightning as he darted outward. The other captains did not dare to delay, utilizing various abilities to dash out of the hall.

"What's up?" Lin Yue wiped the food crumbs from her mouth and leaned in toward Chen Xi.

"Let's go outside and see."

After the captains left, the remaining people also realized what was happening and followed them outside.

Inside the hall, wails rang out incessantly. Transcendents fled in a panicked frenzy, desperately distancing themselves from the epicenter, which was already littered with corpses.

The blood-drenched Black-haired JK Girl licked the katana in her hand, her gaze as sharp as a hawk's as she stared fixedly at the people gathering around her.

"The Evil Flower has come to deliver a welcoming gift to you all."

"Please, sign for it."