Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Qin Jiuzhou bought forty large hairy crabs in total, and it was only under Xu Qiao's persuasion that he agreed to steam half of them tonight and the other half tomorrow night.

Xu Qiao inwardly winced; forty such large crabs could easily wipe out her monthly therapist salary. Fortunately, she had already broadened her horizons with Qinchi and Sun Fushan, so she wasn't overly shocked by the old man's generosity.

The crabs were almost done being cleaned when Qinchi called the old man out. He took a steamer from a cabinet and stood next to Xu Qiao at the sink to rinse it briefly.

Xu Qiao glanced at him and focused on her task.

Qinchi looked at her cooler-than-usual profile and said softly, "My relationship with him isn't what you think. I respect him deeply."

Xu Qiao: "I understand. What bothers you is moving in with me. We should accept your care and gifts, but you feel indebted to us in return."

Qinchi: "No, it's not that. There's a difference between men and women, and I'm afraid I might unintentionally offend you."

Xu Qiao wanted to laugh: "I know your character well; otherwise, I wouldn't have made such an invitation."

After speaking, she straightened up and looked directly at Qinchi, asking, "Any other concerns?"

Qinchi glanced out the window and said, "Xiaoyang isn't here. If someone sees me coming and going from your place, rumors might start."

Xu Qiao: "Then come over when no one's around."

He was a B-class ability user with senses far superior to those of his neighbors on the same floor. Crossing the stairwell in just a few seconds, he could do so without anyone noticing.

Seeing her determination, Qinchi smiled, "Alright."

Xu Qiao placed the last crab in the draining basket and pushed it to him, "It's all yours. With these big ones, steam them for fifteen minutes after the water boils."

Qinchi: "Sure, I'll also cook some porridge."

Xu Qiao went to the living room.

Twenty minutes later, the crabs were served. Qin Jiuzhou used his wind ability to cool them down, bringing them to the perfect temperature.

Qin Jiuzhou asked Qinchi, "Have you eaten? I remember when you were a child, I once brought crabs specifically for you to try, but you didn't even touch them."

Poor thing, living like a little robot.

Qinchi directly used his wind control to lift a crab, and in the blink of an eye, he cut off its two claws and eight legs, leaving Xu Qiao, who held the specialized scissors, amazed.

Qin Jiuzhou: "Showing off to Xiao Qiao, huh? I can do that too."

True to his more than a century of life, Qinchi could prepare a crab in a second, and Qin Jiuzhou managed to finish the remaining nineteen in an instant.

Xu Qiao: "...You're amazing!"

Qin Jiuzhou laughed, "Simple, simple. After nearly a hundred years of doing similar things, anyone could reach this level."

Lu Yang: "...Do you eat crabs like this every year?"

Qin Jiuzhou: "Foolish child, I have missions to complete. Slaying mutated creatures outside is much harder than dealing with base-bred crabs."

When mutated sea creatures appeared, they came in vast numbers. He had killed hundreds of S-class mutant king crabs, let alone A-class or B-class bread crabs and spider crabs.

Thinking about the past, Qin Jiuzhou sighed deeply. It was a pity that the mutated seafood couldn't be eaten anymore; otherwise, mercenaries would surely vie to take on sea missions.

The young siblings automatically interpreted the old man's sigh as a reflection on the difficulty of killing mutated creatures in those days.

Dinner ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Lu Yang offered to help wash the dishes and then followed Xu Qiao back to Room 101.

Qinchi closed the door and turned around to find two dragons on the floor, taking a breath of fresh air.

The fire dragon, in a good mood, didn't bite the golden dragon again. Instead, it coiled around the living room light, only spitting fire to warn the old man, "Use your own set of four, don't dirty our bed."

The golden dragon, with water, metal, and wind abilities, condensed a stream of water and said, "I'm twenty-nine, and in a few years, I'll get married. Will you also despise your wife then?"

The fire dragon looked toward the door of Room 102, which faced Room 101.

Qin Jiuzhou laughed, "So you already have a wife in mind?"

Qinchi frowned, "It doesn't understand respect, and neither do you. Today is Monday, and we have a mission on Saturday. Leave the base with us, and then go back."

Qin Jiuzhou gestured for his grandson to sit beside him and said seriously, "I haven't disrespected Xiao Qiao. If you were the type to act rashly, I wouldn't create opportunities for you. I can see that you like her, and Xiao Qiao seems to have some interest in you too. I want to push you two along; otherwise, with your temperament, Xiao Qiao might never realize you like her even after your leave ends."

Qinchi: "I don't need any more arrangements from you."

Qin Jiuzhou was still stunned when the fire dragon suddenly lunged at the golden dragon again.

For Lu Yang, the short Mid-Autumn Festival holiday ended too quickly. In the afternoon, while preparing Qinchi's room, Lu Yang looked at Xu Qiao standing at the door and asked worriedly, "Will Teacher Qin moving in make you feel uncomfortable?"

Xu Qiao smiled, "You're my brother, and he's a reliable teammate. I feel equally comfortable with either of you staying here."

Lu Yang: "...I'm your brother, and I'm underage, while he's twenty-nine."

Xu Qiao: "...Do you really think he would have ulterior motives just because he's living here?"

Lu Yang lowered his head to fold the quilt and muttered, "Knowing a person's face doesn't mean knowing their heart."

Xu Qiao released a lotus leaf and gently tapped his head, "Remember you're underage; don't think impure thoughts all day."

Lu Yang fell silent.

Dinner was still at the Qin family's place. After eating, Qin Jiuzhou asked Qinchi to move his things and drove Lu Yang to The Second School.

Lu Yang: "There's no need for the trouble; I can take the subway."

Qin Jiuzhou: "I've changed my plans to leave this Saturday. I'll spend more time with you and take a look at the base's night scenery."

Xu Qiao, upon hearing this, immediately looked at Qinchi.

Qin Jiuzhou explained, "It's not Little Chi urging me to leave; it's the mercenary squad I hired who found a mission and asked if we could set off earlier. Although I'm the employer, I can't be too demanding, right?"

Xu Qiao understood that if things got too tense, the mercenaries might take revenge on the old man, even at the cost of their pay, which would be counterproductive.

The old and young left, and Qinchi stood between the two small courtyards, glancing at the lit windows upstairs, and said to Xu Qiao, "Rest first. I'll come around nine. No need to wait up for me."

Xu Qiao nodded and walked a few steps before suddenly turning back and staring at him, asking, "You really didn't urge him to leave early?"

Having already lied about the mental entity, Qinchi didn't want to lie to her about other things unless necessary.

As she gradually reined in her smile, Qinchi explained, "I can respect your boundaries, but I can't guarantee I can control the mental entity. Two weeks is too long, and I'm afraid something might happen."

Xu Qiao could sense his sincerity. Thinking about how the old man had referred to his mental entity issue as an illness, Xu Qiao bit her lip and stared into Qinchi's eyes, using them to deliver a stern message to the mysterious mental entity: "Once I'm confident, you'll be the first one I deal with, hot temper or not."

Meng Li is a B-class ability user, but because both Meng Li and Fire Scorpion were willing to cooperate, Xu Qiao was able to smoothly enter Fire Scorpion's mental world for the experiment.

Given how aggressive Qinchi's mental entity is, it probably wouldn't cooperate, and Xu Qiao was worried it might change its mind. Therefore, she needed to prepare thoroughly to protect herself from any retaliation by Qinchi's mental entity. At the same time, she couldn't forcefully break through the mental barriers of an ability user's mental entity, as this could cause them to dissipate. So, Xu Qiao planned to increase her mental strength while mastering hypnosis techniques.

The fire dragon, visible and audible, curled up in a ball, feeling wronged.

Qinchi smiled.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival moon was beautiful, a warm yellow, hanging in the eastern sky early in the evening. The soft moonlight blended with the lingering sunset, illuminating Qinchi's handsome face, especially his smiling eyes.

Xu Qiao suddenly felt embarrassed and casually went inside before he noticed.

Qinchi thought for a moment, then entered Lu's courtyard, took out a rattan chair, set it up, and sat down to admire the moon.

Xu Qiao, who had also wanted to enjoy the moon from the balcony, saw Qinchi's relaxed silhouette.

The lotus flower jumped out: "Go find him. It's clearer outside."

Xu Qiao whispered, "That's something couples do."

Teammates are more suitable for adventures and killing monsters, and training and conducting experiments together to solve problems is normal. But a man and a woman enjoying the moon alone together seemed a bit strange.

Pulling the curtains, Xu Qiao went to the bedroom to train. By the time she was ready to sleep, the moon would be high in the sky, and she could watch it then.

Qin Jiuzhou returned after an hour of driving around. Seeing his grandson admiring the moon, he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

His son and daughter-in-law are both S-class, and when they announced their wedding, all the residents of the base hoped they would have an S-class child. Whether the child inherited the father's dragon mental entity or the mother's golden crow mental entity, they were destined to become the new generation's strongest combatant in Northeast Base.

Since the New Era began, S-class ability users have been more than just individuals; they bear the safety of the entire base.

The probability of awakening an S-class mental entity is very low. For the daughter-in-law to emerge from a family of crows is almost a miracle. The residents' hopes are focused on existing S-class families. One could say that the happiest people when a family produces an S-class descendant are the general residents, not necessarily the family itself.

The four major bases' commanders and deputy commanders are fairly elected by public opinion. Dragons, phoenixes, and golden crows are the top mythological mental entities, naturally favored by the masses. As long as these families don't commit serious crimes and fulfill their responsibilities, the commander positions will likely remain within their families.

As the heir apparent to the Northeast Base commander, one can imagine the attention and expectations of the base's twenty million residents for his descendants.

The eldest grandson is an A-class dragon, and the second granddaughter is an A-class golden crow.

After two disappointments, some discordant voices emerged in the base. Some complained that the children weren't good enough, others suggested that the couple divorce and remarry to produce an S-class dragon and an S-class golden crow for the base. These were the nicer comments; Qin Jiuzhou didn't want to recall the harsher ones.

When the second granddaughter awakened, the youngest child was only three years old, and his parents were busy. His birth was unexpected.

The residents' hopes shifted to the youngest child.

To fulfill their responsibility to the base and for the sake of the couple's relationship, the son decided to change the way he educated the youngest child.

He trained the youngest child with the strictest methods, hoping that pushing the child to the limits would increase the chances of awakening an S-class mental entity.

Perhaps the son's method worked, or perhaps the youngest child was naturally S-class. At sixteen, the youngest child truly awakened a majestic fire dragon, the only fire dragon in the Qin family.

Though he felt sympathetic, Qin Jiuzhou did not disturb his grandson and went inside.

Qinchi put away the rattan chair and followed, saying, "The sheets, pillowcases, and duvet cover are all changed. Rest well."

Qin Jiuzhou stopped his grandson, who was about to leave, and asked, "Do you blame me for not stopping him back then?"

His daughter-in-law opposed his son's extreme plan, even threatening divorce, but he only tried to persuade her once without forcefully intervening.

Qinchi stopped and answered the old man, "I don't blame him, nor do I blame you."

The first S-class ability user in the Qin family was his great-grandfather, a soldier from the Old Era.

He must have had a strong sense of duty to awaken a dragon mental entity, so every descendant of the Qin family should live up to the mission bestowed by the dragon.

Qinchi indeed disliked that kind of childhood and the daily killings.

But he never regretted it.

As long as the front lines need him, he is always ready to return.