Orange Delivers New Intelligence Again; Huo Yuhao and Dong'er Finally Reconcile

Orange's second letter arrived on the eve of the first round of the finals. This time, it was not an ordinary paper letter, but a miniature soul engineering core. The outer layer of the core bore a Sun Moon Empire military serial number, while a recording meant only for Huo Yuhao was hidden inside. In the recording, Orange stood in a dim soul engineering warehouse, her face somewhat pale.

"Yuhao, if you are seeing this, then it means I guessed right."

She still called him Yuhao, not Junior Huo.

At that moment, what first surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind was neither the imperial military serial number nor the number of traps this core might contain. Instead, it was the cramped laboratory at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Orange had once placed a bowl of hot soup beside him and scolded him for dismantling soul engineering cores until he forgot to eat. She had also sat across from him, helping him sort through his blueprints again when he had stayed up until midnight because a soul engineering array had failed.

Huo Yuhao was not made of stone. Of course he remembered.

Ma Xiaotao stood by the door with her arms folded, wearing an expression that clearly said, "Another one?" Orange's voice continued.

"Someone is secretly manufacturing soul engineering cores that imitate golden auras at the Sun Moon Frontier. They are incomplete, but sufficient to disrupt your spiritual judgment for a short time."

Orange's image paused, as though she feared she had not explained it clearly enough.

"This is not ordinary Soul Beast mimicry. Someone in the military wants to cloak soul tools in an Emperor Auspicious Beast aura, using them to suppress Soul Beasts, guide beast tides, and even prevent Soul Beasts from attacking soul engineering legions at once when they enter the Star Dou Great Forest."

The recording flickered, revealing a soul engineering structural diagram. Huo Yuhao's expression changed instantly. This diagram was too valuable; Orange must have taken enormous risks to obtain it. More importantly, she knew exactly what to give him. The diagram did not contain a complete answer, only three deliberately blank sections. The first was the energy circuit, the second was the stabilization ring for the simulated aura, and the third was a reverse sensing aperture that only a spiritual-type soul master like Huo Yuhao would notice.

Orange had not simply handed him the answer. With her admiration and trust, she believed Huo Yuhao would understand its mysteries at a glance. Huo Yuhao pressed his fingertips against the diagram. After barely ten breaths, he had deduced the enemy core's true purpose.

His voice sank. "They are not trying to interfere with my actions. They want the interference to reach me afterward, so I make the wrong decision."

More precisely, it was not meant to defeat Shrek in a single blow.

Sun Moon could not create a genuine Auspicious Beast aura, so they wanted to use a fake shell to confuse the judgment of spiritual-type soul masters. As long as Huo Yuhao mistook something once in the arena, Shrek's formation would fall into disarray. Wang Dong'er would be forced to fill the gap, and Ma Xiaotao would be forced to act early. The entire Shrek team's rhythm would be disrupted, allowing them to better observe everyone's weaknesses and Shrek's responses after making mistakes.

When Wang Dong'er saw Huo Yuhao's expression, her heart stung, but she did not speak. Orange had provided intelligence. That was more dangerous than mere old feelings, because it meant Orange was useful. At last, Orange lifted her head as though looking at Huo Yuhao through the recording.

"Do not trust the Sun Moon soul engineering team you see in the tournament too much. And do not trust me, either."

She smiled. It was as gentle as sincerity and as sharp as a blade.

"Yuhao, I still hope you can win."

The recording went dark, and the laboratory fell silent.

Wang Dong'er said blandly, "She understands you very well."

Huo Yuhao did not deny it.

Ma Xiaotao chuckled, and Huo Yuhao looked at her with a headache.

Wang Dong'er pushed the soul engineering structural diagram toward Huo Yuhao. "Look at the diagram first."

Moved by Dong'er's ability to prioritize the bigger picture, Huo Yuhao said softly, "Dong'er, thank you for understanding."

Xiao Xiao stared at the diagram. "This core looks like a fake Star Dou."

Huo Yuhao nodded. "It can imitate the aura emitted by Qiu'er's soul power, but it does not possess a true Auspicious Beast aura."

Dong'er frowned. "So what they want is not just an interference device."

"A Military Beast Command." Huo Yuhao's voice was very low as he clenched his fists. "If they succeed, when Sun Moon legions enter the Star Dou Great Forest in the future, they will not merely hunt Soul Beasts. They will be able to drive Soul Beasts into fighting for them, forming Soul Beast legions to invade other nations."

Ma Xiaotao said, "But tomorrow, the enemy will still use this fake aura to interfere with your Spirit Detection first."

Huo Yuhao smiled contemptuously. "Then let them think the interference worked."

Wang Dong'er understood immediately. "Set a trap in reverse?"

Huo Yuhao nodded and promptly adjusted their tactics. Orange's soul engineering diagram, Dong'er's Goddess of Light Butterfly, Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix, and the frontal pressure from Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, two assault-type soul masters—all those lines converged on a single tactical map for the first time. Half an hour later, Huo Yuhao had engraved the first version of the countermeasure diagram. He did not merely defend. Within the reverse sensing aperture left in Orange's blueprint, he added a layer of spiritual echo. If the enemy tried to spy on how he modified it, he would first spy on the manufacturing information for their soul engineering interference device.

Ma Xiaotao looked at the nearly invisible soul engineering pattern and raised an eyebrow. "Junior Brother, are you planning to make them fail to steal the chicken and expose their whole nest instead?"

Huo Yuhao looked up. "If they dare reach out, I dare follow their wrist back to them."

Late that night, Wang Dong'er accompanied Huo Yuhao as he finished organizing the tactical drafts.

She suddenly said softly, "She told you not to trust her too much."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Will you trust her?"

"I'll stay on guard."

Wang Dong'er looked at him.

"You and her... what did you go through together back then? Can you tell me?"

Huo Yuhao sensed Dong'er's displeasure and comforted her gently. "Orange was my senior when I was an exchange student in Sun Moon. We only had normal academic exchanges. Nothing more."

She did not ask again. Before turning to leave, she placed the soul engineering core back into his palm.

"We have to win tomorrow."

Huo Yuhao raised his head and said confidently, "Even without her intelligence, we can still win."

Huo Yuhao set down the soul engineering core.

"Dong'er."

He rose and walked behind her, not touching her immediately.

"Don't be angry with me anymore. You have no idea how much I've missed you these past days."

Wang Dong'er's shoulders trembled slightly, and she finally turned around. Her eyes were a little red, but she did not cry. She looked at Huo Yuhao's pale face and at the body that had yet to fully recover from the battle against the Clear Sky Sect. Her heart ached for him, yet she could not help reaching out and giving him a gentle push.

"You really know how to talk now!"

Huo Yuhao took her hand. Only the faint light of the soul engineering lamp remained in the room.

Dong'er looked up at him, her voice very soft.

"Huo Yuhao, I don't like how well she understands you." Dong'er's tone had completely lost the fierce decisiveness she showed during the day. She was entirely like a young girl sulking and acting jealous, honestly voicing her dissatisfaction.

"I know."

"It isn't just her... I... I don't like any other woman getting close to you."

"I know."

Wang Dong'er suddenly smiled. There was bitterness in that smile, but also a hint of proud refusal to yield.

"You only ever say you know."

Huo Yuhao lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss was very light at first, as if he feared hurting her, and feared hurting the relationship they had only barely managed to piece back together. Dong'er's breath caught, her eyes reddening, but she suddenly pushed against his chest.

"Don't kiss me."

Huo Yuhao paused and looked at her, breathing heavily.

Tears welled in Dong'er's eyes. Her voice was angry yet trembling. "Hmph, I still haven't forgiven you..."

Though she said that, her hand gripped his collar tightly. She did not truly push him away. Huo Yuhao's throat bobbed as he lowered his head to kiss her again, but she turned aside to avoid him.

"No. I haven't forgiven you."

"Dong'er..."

"Don't call me that." Dong'er glared at him with reddened eyes. "Do you think I'm that easy to coax?"

Huo Yuhao did not argue. He merely lowered his head and kissed her earlobe, his voice husky and seductive.

"I know you're angry... but I really missed you."

Dong'er's body trembled lightly, yet she still pushed at him. "Missing me doesn't make it okay... I hate you so much..."

Before she could finish, Huo Yuhao had already caught her around the waist, lifted her, and placed her on the bed. Dong'er struggled briefly in his embrace, but he held her down tightly. Huo Yuhao lowered his head and kissed her fiercely. This time, the kiss was heavy and deep, as if he wanted to return all the longing of these past days to her.

At first, Dong'er angrily bit the corner of his lips. But when his palm slipped beneath the hem of her clothes from her waist and rubbed firmly against her burning skin, her body trembled honestly, and the strength with which she pushed him gradually weakened.

"Huo Yuhao... how can you be such a bastard..." she panted as she cursed him, tears falling from her eyes.

Huo Yuhao lowered his head to kiss away her tears, his voice terribly hoarse.

"...But I really missed you."

Huo Yuhao's kisses were as dense and scorching as spring rain. They traveled down from the corner of her trembling lips, passing over her swelling breasts and lingering on every inch of tender skin, igniting it. Dong'er arched her neck and bit her lower lip, unable to suppress the soft moans spilling from her. Those sounds carried the grievance and longing of their reunion after so long apart, yet she stubbornly continued to voice her grievances in an already trembling voice.

"Don't think I can forgive you just because of this..."

Huo Yuhao chuckled softly and held her closer, yet his movements were so gentle that her heart ached. Wang Dong'er finally raised her arms around the back of his neck and deepened the kiss herself, carrying a trace of jealousy and the stubborn declaration that tonight, he could only belong to her. Dong'er's fingertips dug deeply into his broad back, leaving faint red marks, yet with every response, she pulled him closer. Her eyes shimmered with tears, the streaks on her face not yet dry, but she possessed an almost stubborn desire to claim him as she murmured his name softly, as if carving it into the deepest part of her soul.

She was clearly still angry, but her body missed him desperately.

She missed the force of his embrace, the warmth of his kisses, and the guilty yet uncontrollably husky way he called her "Dong'er."

That longing made her both furious and ashamed.

"Dong'er..." Huo Yuhao's voice was terribly hoarse. His trembling fingers undid the buttons of her clothing, his palm pressing against her smooth, burning skin. "I really missed you... Every day these past days, I missed you." Tears slid down Wang Dong'er's face, but she still raised her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. She glared at him with reddened eyes, her voice trembling.

"And you still dared to be with Qiu'er..."

Huo Yuhao did not argue. He only lowered his head to kiss away the fresh tears at the corners of her eyes, his movements gentle to the point of reverence.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't say you're sorry."

Wang Dong'er grabbed his hair and pulled him up. The corners of her eyes were red, yet she carried an almost fierce possessiveness. "I missed you too, Huo Yuhao." She then climbed onto his waist and met him, as if using her body to tell him that her heart had never left him, not even for a single step.

Their passion surged like waves, rising ever higher before becoming gentle lingering warmth at its peak. In that room on the eve of the finals, they forgot the conspiracies, war, and suspicion beyond it, leaving only the most primal and pure longing to flow freely.

In the end, the two held each other tightly, their breaths mingling and their heartbeats synchronizing.

Huo Yuhao rested his chin against her damp hair and said softly, "Dong'er, I love you. I did in the past, I do now, and in the future... I always will." Wang Dong'er buried her face in his chest, hearing his steady and powerful heartbeat beside her ear. She said nothing more, only wrapped her arms more tightly around him. Yet a satisfied, sweet smile quietly blossomed on her lips.