Mutants Around the World

Because there is a group draw and opening ceremony before the official start of the competition, the foreign Mutant need to enter the country in advance on the 8th. Xiao He and the Special Response Department will then go to the airport to pick them up, so time is quite tight.

Xiao He originally planned to stay at Ye Wanqing's house for two days, then take Ye Wanqing back to his own home on the seventh day, and return to Beichang City on the tenth day.

However, with the Mutant Competition approaching, Xiao He took Ye Wanqing home to meet his parents on the sixth day of the month, and then the two of them began to prepare for the Mutant Competition.

Of course, ostensibly they were there to pick them up from the airport, but in reality, they were there to supervise these foreign Mutant, maintain Order at the scene, and prevent them from causing any trouble.

On the sixth day, Xiao He brought Ye Wanqing back home.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt." Ye Wanqing greeted Xiao He's parents, appearing somewhat reserved.

But when Xiao He's parents looked at their future daughter-in-law, their faces immediately lit up with smiles.

"Oh my, look at this girl, she's really pretty." Ji Mingzhu looked Ye Wanqing up and down and laughed, then whispered to Xiao Yuanshan, "This child looks very fertile, and the two of them are young, they can definitely have two, three wouldn't be bad either."

"Yes, it would be even better if it were a boy and a girl." Xiao Yuanshan nodded with considerable satisfaction.

"Hey, you two, that's enough! She's rather shy," Xiao He said impatiently, pressing Ye Wanqing's shoulder as they entered the house. "Come in and sit down, Xiaoqing."

The more Xiao He's parents learned about her, the happier they became. After all, she was so beautiful and a great cook, which perfectly filled the gap in Xiao He's housework skills.

In Xiao He's hometown, the gender ratio was severely imbalanced, and most girls were spoiled and had strong personalities. Few of them knew how to do housework, let alone cook. Ye Wanqing, with her gentle and delicate nature, was very much loved by Xiao He's parents. During meals, they kept piling food on her plate, making her bowl look like a small mountain.

"This braised pork with preserved mustard greens is so delicious..." Ye Wanqing said with some surprise, "The flavor is so unique."

"Don't you have this dish where you're from?" Xiao He asked curiously, stroking her head.

Ye Wanqing shook her head. "We don't eat preserved mustard greens very often where I'm from... but this tastes really good."

"It's medicinal cuisine, it's good for your health," Xiao Yuanshan said with a chuckle. "Eat as much as you like, I'll buy some more for you to take back to your in-laws later."

"Oh dear, his dad, they're not even in-laws yet," Ji Mingzhu said, covering her mouth with a laugh.

"Ah, that's right, that's right. Why don't we just settle this matter sooner? Look at you two, a perfect match, both Mutant, your work and life are so compatible. Right?" Xiao Yuanshan subtly hinted, while winking at Xiao He.

"Dad, don't cause trouble. I'm here to propose to her when she turns twenty," Xiao He said, frowning.

Ye Wanqing reached out and pinched him, her face turning red to her ears.

Xiao Yuanshan rolled up his sleeves. "In that case, the bride price should be settled as soon as possible. Also, your wedding room..."

"We've handled everything ourselves, don't worry." Xiao He patted Ye Wanqing's head.

A wisp of smoke rose from Ye Wanqing's head; she was so shy that she became dizzy and lightheaded, making her look incredibly adorable.

Ye Wanqing finally recovered after returning to Xiao He's room.

"Ugh, why do you keep talking about marriage with your parents..." Ye Wanqing said, hugging his pillow with a wronged expression.

"We've come this far, haven't we?" Xiao He said, patting her head. "It's perfectly normal to talk about marriage."

"That's what they say..." Ye Wanqing mumbled, burying her face in his pillow.

Xiao He sat down beside her, took her hand, and smiled, "Let's not worry about that for now. Do you like my parents? Although they're a bit old-fashioned..."

Ye Wanqing nodded gently. "My aunt and uncle are very kind, and they are excellent cooks, a bit like my parents."

"I think so too. My parents and your parents will definitely become very good friends..." Xiao He sat down behind Ye Wanqing, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Let's watch a show."

However, Xiao He's parents usually watch TV in the living room until they fall asleep in the evening, and then often just sleep on the sofa for the night. But today, the two elders washed up early and went back to their room, closing the door behind them, as if to say, "We don't know or hear what you two are doing in your room," which was really embarrassing.

"This is too deliberate, Mom and Dad..." Xiao He sighed inwardly as he made the bed.

After Xiao He sat down on the bed, Ye Wanqing finished washing up and crawled into the quilt.

"Ugh... it's so cold." Ye Wanqing complained with a bitter face, then snuggled into Xiao He.

"Hehe." Xiao He gently wrapped his arms around Ye Wanqing's waist, "This position..."

"What?" Ye Wanqing turned around and glared at him. Xiao He nodded. "Okay."

"Ugh, you pervert." Ye Wanqing poked his cheek. "Didn't I just help you out last night? Honestly, my parents were right across the room, and you let someone else's daughter do that kind of thing for you..."

"You were the one who sat in my lap first to hint at it," Xiao He teased, giving her a kiss on the head.

Ye Wanqing turned her head and playfully punched him in the chest, saying coquettishly, "I... I didn't mean anything..."

Despite her refusal to admit it, Ye Wanqing still obediently cooperated with him, after all, her meaning was quite clear when she sat in Xiao He.

The next morning, the two packed their bags and went to the airport, ready to return to Beichang City.

"Take care of each other over there, and let Mom and Dad know if you need anything." Before going through security, Xiao Yuanshan repeatedly reminded them, "Take this jar of pickled radish and beef sauce with you. Doesn't Xiaoqing like to eat them? She can have them to whet her appetite once in a while."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Ye Wanqing happily accepted the gift. "Old Xiao and I will come back to see you in a while."

"Well, it's still best to keep things quiet at night," Ji Mingzhu said with a smile. "The soundproofing in our house isn't very good. It doesn't bother us, the two of us, but we're worried about the neighbors..."

Instantly, a puff of steam rose from Ye Wanqing's head, her face flushed crimson, and she gently tugged at Xiao He's sleeve, hiding behind him.

"Well, Mom and Dad, we're leaving now," Xiao He waved to his parents.

"Yes, his dad and I will come to visit you in a while." Ji Mingzhu smiled and waved, then watched them pass through security.

Only after boarding the plane did Ye Wanqing grab Xiao He and give him a good beating. "It's all your fault, you're so annoying! Your aunt and uncle heard us!"

"The sound came from you, didn't it..." Xiao He said innocently.

"But... but I only spoke up because of you!" Ye Wanqing said angrily, then quickly covered her mouth, nervously glanced at the people around her, and after noticing the subtle looks in their eyes, she sat down and sulked.

"Okay, be good." Xiao He kissed her on the head. "Finally going back?"

"Hmm..." Ye Wanqing puffed out her cheeks and looked out the window, not wanting to talk to him. Xiao He couldn't help but chuckle and gently poked her cheek, "Little Pufferfish, so cute."

After a two-hour flight, the plane landed in Beichang City. Xiao He and Ye Wanqing hailed a taxi and finally arrived back at their apartment building. Although they were a little reluctant to leave their parents, they both breathed a sigh of relief at that moment.

"Everything is back to normal." Both of them shared this feeling.

After going upstairs, Ye Wanqing underwent security checks by Tuantuan. The two went inside, tidied up the house, and did a cleaning. It was already dark by then.

The two went downstairs for a walk and fed the stray cats and dogs. During their time back home, they entrusted the community security guards and Special Response Department personnel to feed the cats and dogs.

"It's so cold here in Beichang City..." Ye Wanqing complained, snuggling against Xiao He.

"I think it's great, this way you'll be stuck with me all the time again." Xiao He kissed her on the head.

"But even when it's not cold, they still stick to you..." Ye Wanqing muttered, unconvinced.

"At least, you won't have to desperately hold back your voice tonight," Xiao He teased, gently poking her cheek.

"You still dare to talk back! It's all your fault!" Ye Wanqing angrily punched him. "Let's go, let's go upstairs and warm up the bed!"

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is a very important day.

Because on this day, all the Mutant from abroad will arrive in the Dragon Country.

Xiao He was to accompany the Special Response Department members to the airport to pick up the Mutant from various countries. With twelve teams, five regular members and at least one substitute, more than seventy-two Mutant would gather at the same airport, plus their accompanying personnel. The scene... would definitely be quite spectacular.

So the next morning, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing went to the Special Response Department to make preparations.

"Besides the regular Mutant, we'll be bringing Yue Feng, Li Xue, and Qin Weize along this time," Cui Man explained. "The other prisoners are all on the channel; I've asked them to check in every ten minutes."

In addition to the Four Cornerstones, An Xiuru, Han Tianyu, and Zhang Ming will also be going. The contestants from the Second Dragon Country are five official members: "Yinglong" Xiao He Xia Yu, "Gluttonous Beast" Xie Haining, "Candle Dragon" Xie Haining, "Bixi" Han Tianyu, and "Black Tortoise" An Xiuru, plus two substitutes: "Mirage Dragon" Zhang Ming and "Qiongqi" Yue Feng.

Xiao He nodded, feeling a surge of excitement: more than two months had passed since the Mutant Competition was decided, and now he was finally about to meet all the heroes of the world!

"Is everything ready?" Cui Man asked the crowd, then nodded to Xiao He. Xiao He then raised his hands and took Ye Wanqing's and Cui Man's hands respectively. "Hold hands together, and don't let go."

The people present then held hands and were led into Dimensional Plane by Xiao He. The surrounding scenery flickered, and the next moment they arrived outside Beichang City Airport. Xiao He deactivated the Dimensional Walker, and the group appeared in front of the airport.

"Holy crap, this is allowed? Why does he have so many amazing Superpower? This is so unfair!" Zhang Ming couldn't help but complain.

Han Tianyu frowned and said, "Can't you show some respect? He's Yinglong."

"Tsk, what I hate most is a good student like you..." Zhang Ming glared at Han Tianyu with disdain, "You only know how to obediently follow others' orders, and you don't have any of your own thoughts."

"Shut up." Xiao He glared at Zhang Ming, annoyed. "Today we're here representing Dragon Country to welcome them. If you embarrass our country, I'll break your legs and throw you in jail."

Zhang Ming pursed his lips and immediately became obedient.

Today is a special day, so the special planes sent to pick up Mutant from various countries all arrive at the airport around the same time, and then make a short stop at the airport to ensure that all teams appear at the same time.

Because of the special identities of the visitors, Beichang City Airport specially opened Airport No. 3 for these Mutant to facilitate the Special Response Department in picking them up.

Therefore, after waiting for a while at the entrance, the Mutant from various countries came out together.

At a glance, each country has a distinct style. O Continent and M Country are mainly based on the superhero style, with all wearing various superhero costumes, masks and bodysuits, which can both enhance their aura and hide their true identities.

Y Country and the African United Team, on the other hand, wore traditional clothing from their respective countries and covered their bodies with various religious tattoos and symbols, seemingly unconcerned about revealing their true identities.

R's outfit leans more towards anime style, with an exaggerated but impractical design.

E Country's team uniforms were all military uniforms, and even the Mutant were tall and imposing, looking quite fierce.

Only H Country, like China, uses suits, with different mythical beast patterns added for differentiation. The masks are also slightly modified versions of the original Dragon Country style. However, despite the high similarity to the Dragon Country style, H Country insists that this attire is their original creation and the first to be used, and is absolutely not a copy of the Dragon Country style, and claims that they will apply for intangible cultural heritage status.

The diplomat from the Dragon Country stepped forward and greeted the delegation of special envoys, "Welcome to the Dragon Country! We will do our utmost to show you hospitality and make you feel at home."

The envoy from M Country, portly and arrogant, stepped forward and replied, "We hope this competition will proceed fairly and justly. Whether in business or sports, M Country has always pursued fair competition. No lying, no deception, no theft—that's the style of M Country."

"I believe everyone will know the answer once the competition begins," the diplomat from the Dragon Country said with a smile.

Cui Man explained from the side, "This is the infamous former Secretary of State, Mike Nader. He's a well-known hawk in the M Country."

"How ironic..." Xiao He sneered.

The envoys from both countries then began to converse, and the team of Mutant from abroad tacitly entrusted the task of communication to Mike Nader. But at this moment, a Mutant appeared before Xiao He.

Xiao He curiously sized up the man in front of him. He had brown curly hair, green eyes, was Caucasian, and was about 1.9 meters tall, quite tall and strong. The mask he wore on his face was somewhat like a wrestling mask, with a wild style, like a wolf's head. However, he was shirtless, only wearing a uniform on his lower body.

Looking at his attire, Xiao He had only one thought: Isn't he cold?

Keep in mind that it's currently -1 degree Celsius in Beichang City, and this person isn't wearing a shirt.

"Hey, isn't this Yinglong? I have to say, you're much shorter than you look on TV." As he spoke, the man's body began to swell, and coarse dark brown hair grew on his body. His figure also grew rapidly, and soon Xiao He was enveloped by a huge black shadow. The man in front of him had transformed into a giant beast more than five meters tall.

"Is this the newly discovered Mutant, the one called 'Werewolf'?" Xiao He wondered to himself.

Although he's called Werewolf, his physique is more like that of an ape, and only his head is wolf-like.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." The other man extended his hand, but given the Werewolf's height, Xiao He would have to jump into the air to reach him. The Werewolf deliberately didn't bend down or squat down, clearly intending to embarrass "Yinglong" in this way.

The surrounding Mutant watched the conflict with great interest, ready to see what would happen.

Xiao He raised his hand to the Werewolf and then used his Psychokinesis. The Werewolf felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, and his body bent over uncontrollably, kneeling down on one knee in front of Xiao He. The force was so great that it created a dent in the ground with a diameter of half a meter! But his hand also landed right in front of Xiao He.

The other person's hands were the same size as Xiao He's head, so Xiao He reached out and cupped both of his hands, shaking them gently, and said with a kind smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

But the force with which Xiao He shook hands with him was so great that the Werewolf Pang's body was shaken so badly that he hopped up on one leg.

"Screech!" The Werewolf angrily broke free from Xiao He's grasp, then slapped him across the face, his claws growing larger. But after the slap, the Werewolf clutched his hand and screamed in pain: all five of his sharp fingernails had snapped off.

"Ouch... it hurts." Xiao He couldn't bear it and turned his face away, unable to look at the Werewolf's bloody, mangled fingernails.

However, the Werewolf clearly had self-healing abilities, and his hand quickly recovered. Somewhat annoyed, he wanted to continue attacking.

"What are you two doing?!" Cui Man stepped forward and asked with displeasure. "Private fights are prohibited outside the competition venue!"

"Yes—" Xiao He replied lazily, while the Werewolf spat in dissatisfaction and retreated.

But even from this brief encounter, the Mutant present were already somewhat alarmed: seeing it in person was far more shocking than watching it on television. The power and physique were on completely different levels. The "Werewolf" didn't possess any special Superpower; it had only managed to reach LV5 through its transformed physical abilities, yet it couldn't harm Yinglong in the slightest... Could they really defeat such a monster?

"Alright, stop arguing." At this moment, the diplomat from the Dragon Country smiled. "Just a few more days and the competition will begin. We will now send vehicles to transport everyone to the arena. There are rooms prepared specifically for athletes from all countries inside the arena for you to rest during the competition. Because of the special status of the Mutant, your entry and exit from the arena will be recorded during the competition. We ask for your understanding."

As they spoke, twelve buses stopped at the entrance of Airport No. 3, each bus bearing the name of the corresponding team.

Led by staff from the Special Response Department, the Mutant at the scene began to board the vehicles and slowly drove away. Everything seemed normal until someone pointed behind them and asked in confusion, "Whose Superpower is that?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw a plume of black smoke gathering in the airport waiting room, eventually forming a giant over five meters tall. This giant had no head, held a halberd, and had a hideous face on its chest and abdomen.

"This is... Xing Tian, the monster from our mythology, right?" Xiao He asked with great interest.

"It is, but why is it here..." Cui Man stared in astonishment at the giant in front of her, muttering to herself.

Upon seeing Xing Tian in front of him, Xiao He's first reaction was that this thing must be related to the "Chimera" and "Kraken" from last time.

The reason is more of an intuition, but it's not entirely without merit, because these three things are all legendary, fictional monsters, and they are all composed of this inexplicable "black smoke."

At this moment, Xing Tian swung his axe, sweeping it across the group of Mutant in front of him. But since everyone present was Mutant, they each used their abilities to dodge or defend. However, Xing Tian's attack was exceptionally powerful, and a series of cries of agony rang out as several Mutant were sent flying.

However, Xiao He noticed that a considerable number of the Mutant, despite having the ability to attack, didn't, instead taking a step back to avoid the trouble. He knew that these people clearly didn't intend to reveal their abilities before the competition—cunning foxes.

However, when Xing Tian swung his axe a second time, the Werewolf caught the blow.

The Werewolf grabbed Xing Tian's arm and threw him out. Xing Tian nimbly flipped and steadied himself in mid-air, looking at the giant beast in front of him.

"Why not find an enemy of similar size to you?" the Werewolf provocatively beckoned to Xing Tian, secretly relieved that he had just been humiliated by Yinglong in front of everyone and could now use this thing to get back at him.

Xing Tian didn't know if he understood English, but he swung his axe around once, then got into a fighting stance and pounced on the Werewolf.

"Sister Man, I..." Xiao He asked softly, but Cui Man raised her hand to stop him. "Observe the situation first. Didn't you notice that no one has made a move? Exposing your abilities now will put you at a disadvantage. As for the 'Werewolf'... his Superpower have already been exposed, which is why he doesn't care. I suspect that this monster was likely summoned by one of the Mutant present. Because the time and place of this pick-up were not made public, only the people present know this information."

"Are you trying to find out about the other teams' Superpower?" Xie Haining asked, frowning.

"Or reducing some competitors could also tarnish the reputation of the Dragon Country ... In short, it won't hurt them." Cui Man nodded. "Observe first. If the Werewolf can't be dealt with, Yinglong should take care of him as soon as possible. The others should not interfere."