Idol

Today's matches have officially come to an end. The spectators began to leave, excitedly discussing the day's games, still feeling that the excitement was not over.

Xiao He has finally completed his task for today, and his next appearance will be in next week's team battle.

The team battles don't require him to fight alone from start to finish, so he can relax for two weeks afterward. In the third week, it's the round-robin tournament against Group B, where he'll have to play against six teams, a total of eighteen matches.

However, this was not a problem for Xiao He. With the help of the Erosion technique, he never had to worry about physical strength on the field. The key was his mental state.

Xiao He was also looking forward to the upcoming Group B round-robin matches: would he encounter some formidable opponents from whom he could learn something?

But there's still the M Country Team's match two days later, and the M Country Team will finish playing all five teams in one day. Xiao He plans to see just how powerful the new generation of Mutant, who eliminated the previous generation of M Country Mutant, really are.

As he stepped out of the elevator, his lovely girlfriend was naturally the first to greet him.

"Idiot!" Ye Wanqing punched him on the shoulder. "Why did you hit me so hard!"

"That's because I'm scared, of course!" Xiao He replied irritably.

Ye Wanqing glanced at him sideways, looking both annoyed and amused.

Cui Man followed closely behind, laughing, "Never mind, at least today's mission was successfully completed. Fifteen consecutive wins proved Yinglong's strength to the world, and we also obtained enough intelligence."

"But each team has five people, Sister Man," Xiao He replied. "Next time, they can send the two people who haven't played before, then the intelligence Collection will be useless."

"It's alright, because this is a tournament." Cui Man smiled smugly. "Even if they send up two people who have never been in a match before, we know the third person's abilities. This way, we can prepare Superpower in advance and have a counter-pick. For us, this advantage is enough to allow us to advance smoothly to the next round."

As she spoke, Cui Man patted him on the shoulder. "After all, you've already secured a 5-0 record, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Dragon Country will definitely advance as the group winner. But we'll still need to observe the subsequent matches. Okay, take a rest."

Xiao He nodded, then extended his hand to Ye Wanqing. Ye Wanqing obediently took his hand and followed him back to the common lounge.

The others in the Special Response Department were still discussing how to deal with the Superpower they had witnessed that day.

"Let them study a little longer. They didn't participate in any competitions today, and they don't need to do anything this week," Cui Man replied. "You should go and get some rest. If you want to go home, just go back."

So Xiao He and Ye Wanqing returned to their room, and then used the Dimensional Walker to get home.

"Ah--! Finally, I can rest!" Xiao He sighed as he collapsed onto the sofa.

"Old Xiao!" Ye Wanqing jumped onto his back and laughed happily, "What do you want for a late-night snack?"

"You can make me some noodles," Xiao He said, patting her head. Ye Wanqing blushed and said, "Then... then I'll go take a shower first."

"I'm talking about the proper noodles, you lecherous girl." Xiao He lightly tapped the tip of her nose. Ye Wanqing was a little angry, and glared at him with her beautiful eyes wide open.

"You're like dessert after a midnight snack. Let's fill your stomach first before we serve you," Xiao He said softly, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"But we're out of meat sauce at home," Ye Wanqing said, kicking her pretty little legs. "How about pickled mustard greens and shredded pork?"

"Add a fried egg too." Xiao He gently pinched her cheek. "Go on, I'm starving."

"Okay! Go take a shower first." Ye Wanqing replied with a smile, then took small steps to the kitchen.

"Heave-ho..." Xiao He got up to get a change of clothes. He knew that Ye Wanqing letting him take a shower was already an admission that they were going to be intimate tonight, which made him feel great: after finishing his late-night snack, he would eat his lovely girlfriend up too.

However, while the Dragon Country celebrates its resounding victory today, some people are not so happy.

It was still before eight o'clock in the morning in Washington, and President Herlangni had just gotten up when he received the bad news.

"This is what you call a war of attrition?! Fifteen men couldn't even scratch them! Instead, their morale soared!" Herlangni roared angrily at Schofield on the other end of the phone, "Are you some kind of spy sent by the Dragon Country?!"

"Mr. President, please calm down..." Schofield quickly explained, "While the Group A matches didn't actually weaken Yinglong, they did prove that Yinglong does get tired. He was noticeably weaker in the later matches..."

"Yeah! So weak it could have cracked the arena with a single kick!" Herlangni roared.

"But have you forgotten we have the Balance Man?" Schofield tried to calm the president down. "His abilities are specifically designed to counter the Yinglong. If we adjust the order of the matches so that our country faces the Dragon Country last, we can..."

"Why would anyone else agree?" Herlangni asked irritably.

Schofield patiently explained, "Because the most exciting part is always saved for last, and what everyone wants to see most is the showdown between the M Country and Dragon Country. In that case, it's perfectly reasonable to save this match as the grand finale, isn't it? By then, Yinglong will be exhausted, and Balance Man will be able to defeat him."

"Hmph, I'll give you one last chance. If this doesn't go smoothly, you won't be responsible for the Mutant anymore!" Herlangni sneered. "And how's the poaching going?!"

"Sir, the infiltration is underway..." Schofield replied. "Each country's Mutant have their own common lounge, so... we need to wait patiently for our opportunity. But I've already arranged for the most beautiful women in our country to come, and I believe no man can resist their charm! As long as Yinglong is a man, he can't possibly say 'no' to them!"

"That'd better be it," Herlangni said angrily, slamming down the phone.

When Xiao He came out after taking a bath, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of him, topped with a poached egg and a layer of pickled vegetables and shredded pork, with the aroma of sesame oil wafting through the air.

He especially loved Ye Wanqing's pickled mustard tuber and shredded pork noodles. This girl would rinse the pickled mustard tuber before adding it to the noodles so it wouldn't be too salty, allowing him to eat it heartily.

"Hmph..." Ye Wanqing rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a smile, her pretty little legs swinging gently.

"Go take a shower, I'm going to eat you after I finish my noodles," Xiao He glared at her and scolded.

"No rush, I want to see you finish eating," Ye Wanqing said with a smile. "You didn't enjoy your meal at the arena today... As expected, my Old Xiao still prefers my cooking the most."

"The point is you..." Xiao He reached out and touched her leg.

Ye Wanqing smiled sweetly at him, stood up and said, "After you finish eating, wash the dishes. I'm going to take a shower first."

Seeing Ye Wanqing go inside to get her clothes, Xiao He nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, there's one last big battle left today."

As he spoke, he finished the last bite of noodles, then drank a large mouthful of soup, which warmed him up.

After washing the dishes and pots, Xiao He went to bed first to warm the blankets. A little while later, Ye Wanqing came over, applying lotion, and snuggled into the blankets, immediately clinging to him, happily laughing, "Hehe, so warm..."

"Dessert is finally here," Xiao He said, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the lips, then pulling her into his arms and teasing her. After a while of tender cuddling, Ye Wanqing pouted and said, "The lights are off."

"Why? My girlfriend is so cute and has such a great figure, of course I have to look at her more," Xiao He replied.

"I'm... a little embarrassed..." Ye Wanqing said shyly, covering her face.

"The more you act like this, the more I want to see how adorable you are..." Xiao He laughed, took a deep breath, and began his sixteenth battle of the day.

This was the longest fight he had had that day, lasting a full hour and a half.

When he finally won the victory, Xiao He breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling all the fatigue and frustration in his body vanish.

"Old Xiao..." Ye Wanqing leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, laughing happily, "Hehe... my Old Xiao."

"If you keep acting like this, I'm going to bully you a second time," Xiao He said, patting her little bottom.

"No... I'm tired," Ye Wanqing pouted. "It's past ten o'clock, do you want to sleep?"

"I'll talk to you for a bit and then go to sleep," Xiao He said, stroking her little head.

Ye Wanqing said shyly, "I love the way you straighten your tie during the competition, it's so cool... I really wanted to push you down and devour you then."

"Who's eating whom?" Xiao He lifted her chin and laughed. Ye Wanqing smiled and then pouted.

Xiao He leaned in and gave her a loud kiss on the lips. Ye Wanqing snorted, "So hard... you're going to swell up my lips."

"Who told you to be so cute?" Xiao He said, patting her head. Ye Wanqing glanced at him sideways. "At first, you clearly hated me to death."

"Hey!? Well, you weren't the one who said at the beginning, what was it again... 'You're not my type at all, I won't have any thoughts about you.'" Xiao He exaggeratedly imitated Ye Wanqing's tone and said coquettishly.

Ye Wanqing laughed so hard she almost fell over, "How annoying! I didn't say that in such a flirtatious way!"

"Life is truly amazing, isn't it?" Xiao He cupped her little face in his hands. "Now the two of them are madly in love."

"Hmph..." Ye Wanqing nestled in his arms, laughing happily, "I love my Old Xiao the most."

"I love my Little Pufferfish the most too..." Xiao He said softly, then yawned.

"Alright, go to sleep. You've been fighting all day, you must be exhausted," Ye Wanqing said, patting the back of his head.

Xiao He nodded, then kissed Ye Wanqing on the cheek. "Goodnight, my little darling."

The next morning, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing didn't rush back to the Mutant Arena. Instead, they went to school to prepare for a day of classes. Firstly, Xiao He didn't have any matches to play that day, and secondly, the matches for the next two days were all group A round-robin matches, meaning they were the same opponents he had already played against, and these matches weren't very interesting.

However, when the group stage of Group B begins the day after tomorrow, Xiao He will have to go to the venue to watch.

Yesterday's match was met with jubilation within Dragon Country, while foreign media were largely indifferent. However, there was one exception: Y Country.

Despite being the one who lost the most miserably, this peculiar country was celebrating nationwide, loudly proclaiming: Apasi is the only Mutant who could make Yinglong "vomit," and Apasi is the second strongest Mutant in the world!

Xiao He could only laugh and cry at this: They're already burying their heads in the sand, deceiving themselves; what could he say?

By the second semester of his junior year, Xiao He only had two classes a week, so he was mostly free and could spend his time with Ye Wanqing. Ye Wanqing was a sophomore, which was a busy time for her, with at least two classes every day.

"Old Xiao, I don't have classes this afternoon. How about we take a stroll around the Mutant Arena? Sister Man there are lots of delicious food there," Ye Wanqing said with a smile.

This girl has finally started being a girlfriend; she speaks in a sweet, childlike voice with a hint of coquetry, making her exceptionally adorable.

"Give me a kiss and I'll go with you." Xiao He pointed to his face.

"Shameless... You even try to trick someone into kissing you." Ye Wanqing glared at him and pushed his face away. "This is a public place, you should be more mindful of your behavior."

"I didn't see them paying attention when those people were feeding me dog food before," Xiao He said irritably, and kissed Ye Wanqing on the cheek.

However, at this moment, no one really cares about this display of affection, because everyone around is focused on the topic of "Mutant Competition" and doesn't care at all about the couple showing their love.

"Did you guys watch yesterday's matches?! Wow, Yinglong was so cool!" "Wow, some of the matches were even better than special effects movies! Especially the ones with that red-clad warrior and that taekwondo guy." "Yeah! I really wanted to see it live, but damn it..." "I can't afford the tickets at all! The scalpers were already selling them for six figures!"

This match was broadcast live globally, and Xiao He had heard about the viewership ratings. Over a billion people watched simultaneously worldwide – a truly staggering number. Considering time differences and the presence of people in less developed countries, and while there might be some exaggeration, it is undoubtedly the most popular sporting event in the world right now.

Even the school bell couldn't stop everyone from discussing it; even Yin Jia and Zhou Huimei were talking about it.

"Hey, do you guys think we might run into Yinglong in Beichang City?" Yin Jia said with interest. "They're competing right now, so they can only stay in this city, right? Maybe we can get his autograph or a photo with him or something."

"Yinglong has become a complete idol," Ye Wanqing said teasingly, glancing sideways at Xiao He. "Old Xiao, do you think he'll sign autographs?"

"No way." Xiao He shook his head, then whispered, "I've never even practiced writing the characters 'Yinglong,' my signature would definitely look awful."

"You're so vain." Ye Wanqing poked his cheek.

Xiao He raised an eyebrow and said angrily, "Hey!? I'll make sure you sign your autograph next time!"