I Think I'm in Love

The training ground.

Wang Quan stared blankly at the sky. He figured he ought to go easy on them, or no one would dare challenge him anymore. That would be downright boring.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth rose despite himself.

The instant he looked up, a fist the size of a sandbag filled his vision. It was Shen Qingzhu.

"Nice idea, but you're too weak!"

"Not necessarily!"

"Let's see if you can withstand a vacuum."

The moment he finished speaking, a crisp snap rang out. In an instant, all the air around Wang Quan was sucked away.

"Number 068, [Air Barrier]. Not bad!" Wang Quan praised him with a yawn.

"Huh?" Shen Qingzhu's expression changed drastically. He could still speak in a vacuum? Was this bastard even human?

What he didn't know was that the instant he activated his ability, he had entered Wang Quan's domain.

Although he could only maintain the domain for ten minutes at the lamp realm, that was more than enough to deal with these rookies.

"It's a special domain!" Shen Qingzhu thought fast and immediately caught on.

"Pretty sharp!" Wang Quan nodded and casually tossed [White-Cleaver] over.

Now Shen Qingzhu was completely baffled. Everyone else has to fight for it, but he's just giving it to me?

Only when he reached out to grab it did he realize how foolish that thought had been. He couldn't touch it at all.

The next moment, his expression froze.

At some point, Wang Quan had appeared beside him, even though he had been watching him the whole time.

"You're pretty cocky!"

"But I like your attitude!"

"Back in the day, I was even cockier than you. I feared neither heaven nor earth."

Wang Quan spoke to himself. He wasn't wrong. In some ways, Shen Qingzhu resembled him, and he particularly admired the kid.

"Keep at it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do!"

With those words, the domain vanished.

Wang Quan waved a hand, and Shen Qingzhu went flying backward, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Goddammit, is this how you show your appreciation?!"

The furious curses echoed in Wang Quan's ears as he settled back into his chair with a smile and leisurely sucked on a lollipop.

"Qiye, wait for me!"

"Why are you running so fast?"

Baili Pangpang struggled to keep up with Lin Qiye. He was panting from exhaustion, barely able to get his words out.

"You fat bastard, you ran faster than a rabbit when Blood Wolf was chasing you!" Lin Qiye let go of Baili Pangpang and gave him an exasperated glare.

"That's different! I'd have died if he caught me!"

"Oh!"

"Then I'll go on ahead!"

With that, Lin Qiye sped up, leaving Baili Pangpang far behind.

"Qiye, I'll run, okay?!"

"Slow down!"

"I can't beat them if they catch up!"

Baili Pangpang gritted his teeth and pumped his legs faster and faster.

He had barely reached the warehouse when a scream came from behind him. He turned to look, but there was no one there.

"What's going on?" Baili Pangpang scratched his head in confusion.

"Pangpang, move-"

Before Lin Qiye could finish, a person fell from the sky and pinned Baili underneath him.

Shen Qingzhu curled his lip and said indignantly, "You white-haired bastard! Is this your idea of a joke?!"

Lin Qiye caught the words "white-haired bastard," and his opinion of Shen Qingzhu automatically rose by ten points. He reached out to help him up, but Shen Qingzhu ignored him and got up on his own.

"Ow!"

"Which asshole landed on me?!"

"Fuck your mother!" Baili Pangpang swore viciously.

"I was wondering why the ground felt so soft. Turns out there was a fatty underneath!" Shen Qingzhu finally realized.

"You landed on someone! Don't you know how to apologize?" Baili Pangpang demanded angrily.

"There's plenty of space. I'm not the one who told you to stand there!" Shen Qingzhu folded his arms and explained without a care.

"But you should apologize to Pangpang!" Lin Qiye spoke up for Baili Pangpang. He saw a trace of someone else in this cocky guy, and it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Sorry, sorry!" Shen Qingzhu said with utter insincerity. He had spotted the word "Warehouse" and knew it was time to get a weapon. He couldn't be bothered to argue with them.

"Qiye, let's figure out how to get our weapons first!" Baili Pangpang wasn't the type to hold a grudge over every little thing.

"All right!"

The three of them stared at the three-meter-high doors made of an unknown alloy, somewhat stumped.

"How do we open this thing?" Baili Pangpang frowned deeply and looked at Lin Qiye.

"We need Forbidden Ruins with powerful destructive capabilities!"

"Oh?" A gleam flashed in Baili Pangpang's eyes. He strode toward the doors. "Then I'll..."

"Move!"

Before Baili Pangpang could finish, a cool female voice came from behind them. All three turned to see a red-haired young woman standing in the sunlight.

She was tall and slender. Even her loose military uniform couldn't conceal her graceful figure.

"Wow!"

"She's so hot!"

Baili Pangpang stared, transfixed, and murmured under his breath.

"Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyes out!" The red-haired beauty shoved Baili Pangpang aside and walked straight up to the warehouse doors, pressing her pale hands against the alloy.

The next second, the entire warehouse shook violently.

Bzzzz-!

The alloy doors gave off a piercing buzz and vibrated at a frequency invisible to the naked eye. Terrifying cracks began spreading across them.

Lin Qiye and the other two sensibly backed away. After all, they shared the same goal.

Once enough cracks had appeared, the girl stepped back a few paces, then delivered a flying kick to the heavy metal doors. The damaged doors broke into several pieces, and she walked inside without looking back.

"Such destructive power. She's an expert!" Lin Qiye exclaimed in admiration.

Baili Pangpang stared after her receding figure and swallowed nervously.

"What are you doing?" Lin Qiye asked with a look of disgust.

"Qiye, don't you think she's cool? And beautiful!"

"Do you think she's seeing anyone?"

"A girl that beautiful must have a lovely name!"

"Qiye! I think I'm in love!"

Lin Qiye: "..."

Shen Qingzhu: "Idiot!"

Both rolled their eyes and walked into the warehouse without looking back.

Gradually, more and more recruits gathered at the warehouse, all choosing weapons.

Lin Qiye casually picked up a standard-issue Straight Saber. It was what he had always used during his time with the 136 Squad.

Meanwhile, he noticed the red-haired woman head to the deepest part of the warehouse and retrieve an enormous tachi from an obscure corner. Weapons like that were uncommon, and she clearly knew how to use it well.

She would definitely make a strong teammate, Lin Qiye thought.

"What's your name?"

"Molly!" the red-haired girl answered coolly.

"What a beautiful name. Just as beautiful as you!" Baili Pangpang popped up from the side empty-handed, laying the flattery on thick the moment he opened his mouth. "A beautiful woman deserves a fine watch. Since this is our first meeting, this Patek Philippe is for you!"

"Oh, right. My name is Baili Tu Ming!"

Molly looked at Baili Pangpang as though he were an idiot. The tachi in her hand trembled slightly as she asked coldly, "Is your Baili family the one known as the 'Forbidden Item Museum'?"

"Oh!" Hearing that, Baili Pangpang thought his chance at love had arrived and nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.

"Then get the hell away from me!"

"I hate powerful families most of all, especially ones like yours that are as rich as a nation!"

Molly's expression darkened, revealing utter disgust.

"Huh?!"

Baili Pangpang froze as though struck by lightning.