Chapter 68

Chapter 68

During the time in the danger zone, she was too busy training to think about the old man. As evening fell and she left the Mercenary Association with Qinchi, Xu Qiao glanced at the back seat and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness: "No matter what you think, I actually hope he could stay here for a while longer."

Xu Qiao was raised by her grandfather, so she easily felt a sense of familiarity with kind elders like Qin Jiuzhou.

Xu Qiao guessed that the Qin family was a prominent and influential clan, but what she sensed from Qin Jiuzhou was more the wisdom, composure, and grace of a centenarian.

At first, Xu Qiao felt a bit uncomfortable eating at the Qin family's home, but she was soon captivated by Qin Jiuzhou's eloquence. Whether discussing daily life or the situation of the anomalous beasts in Northeast Base, Xu Qiao listened with great interest, as if sitting opposite an old professor well-versed in various fields, who could answer any question she posed.

Qinchi said, "He likes you too, maybe he'll come over again sometime."

He only hoped the old man would control his visits; once every six months was normal, but once a month would make people doubt his capabilities.

"By the way, he prepared a gift for you."

Just then, the traffic light turned red, and Qinchi stopped the car, taking out a small gift box wrapped in ribbon from his spatial storage.

Xu Qiao missed the old man even more and slowly unwrapped it.

Inside was a delicate jewelry box.

Xu Qiao glanced at Qinchi, who was driving, and continued to open it. Then she saw a diamond necklace.

The pendant was designed as a five-petaled flower, made up of five emerald-green gems. Xu Qiao wasn't very knowledgeable about gems and couldn't identify the specific type of green gem.

The gem petals were encased in gold with diamond edges. Xu Qiao hesitated to touch it, whispering to Qinchi, "It looks very expensive..."

Qinchi smiled, "The necklace is just the shell. There are countless gems buried beneath those abandoned cities. The real gift is the built-in spatial crystal core."

Xu Qiao: "...There's a crystal core too?"

Qinchi: "Yes, one is embedded behind each petal."

Xu Qiao: "..."

Qinchi focused on driving while Xu Qiao was stunned for a moment, then tried to probe the crystal cores with her mental energy.

Each of the five crystal cores contained a space of about 100 cubic meters, filled with a box of tissues, a box of fruit, a set of female A-grade combat armor, a box of energy guns, and a military off-road vehicle.

There was also a letter from the old man.

In essence, he wanted Xu Qiao to accept the gift without feeling burdened, as he considered her a young friend despite their age difference. In this new era, the old man's greatest wish for Xu Qiao was for her to live a peaceful life. Peace wasn't just a casual wish; everyone needed to be prepared for the worst-case scenario where the base might be overrun by a beast tide. If Xu Qiao ever found herself outside the base, vehicles, weapons, and combat armor would be essential, while other supplies would have to be accumulated gradually by herself.

Xu Qiao felt a pang of emotion reading the letter.

Qinchi said, "He was worried you wouldn't accept it, so he asked me to help deliver it."

Xu Qiao tried to lighten the mood, "Does your family have a habit of giving spatial crystal cores as gifts?"

When Qinchi first moved in, he gave Lu Yang a 50-cubic-meter core, and the old man was even more generous, giving five 100-cubic-meter cores at once.

Qinchi smiled, "As long as you keep up your current training pace, by the time you're a hundred, you'll have accumulated dozens of spatial crystal cores."

Anomalous beasts were a threat, but they were also resources.

Xu Qiao speculated, "Grandpa isn't actually C-grade, right?"

Qinchi: "Right, he lied to avoid putting pressure on you."

Xu Qiao: "Then he must be A-grade, which is why he dared to cross bases to find you."

S-grade ability users were few and far between, and B-grade wasn't enough to cause pressure.

Qinchi's father was likely A-grade, and since his siblings hadn't reached the family's highest level, Qinchi had undergone extreme training.

Qinchi didn't deny it, urging her, "Accept it. He's retired, and having too many crystal cores isn't useful for him."

Xu Qiao: "Alright, when Grandpa comes next time, I'll give him a gift too. It might not be as valuable as this necklace, but if it makes him happy, it will be meaningful."

They arrived at Ping'an Community.

Before getting out of the car, Xu Qiao said, "I'll visit your courtyard around nine every night. Open the window in advance, and I'll let the lotus flower go in. It will come back at ten, okay?"

With the old man gone, Qinchi no longer needed to stay at her place.

Qinchi: "That's too much trouble for you. How about I give you the golden sphere every night at nine, and I'll take it back at ten?"

Xu Qiao was about to nod when the lotus flower extended its leaves to gather water: "No, it says it can only sleep with the scent of flowers. Once it goes back, it wakes up quickly."

With Qinchi's permission, the fire dragon cautiously extended a black claw, using wind to alter the lotus flower's water message: "Right, let me sleep in the golden sphere all night. Even if the lotus flower leaves at ten, there will still be a floral scent in the spare room, and I won't wake up. You can call me back in the morning."

Qinchi: "You don't have my trust, and I need to ensure Xu Qiao's safety."

The fire dragon pressed its claw into Qinchi's hand, causing a thin line of blood to trickle down.

Xu Qiao and the lotus flower both saw the blood seeping from where the claw had pierced.

The lotus flower was angry: "You actually hurt yourself! I don't want to help you anymore."

The fire dragon quickly used wind to wipe away Qinchi's blood, explaining with a pout, "He always slanders me. If Xu Qiao said you would attack Qinchi, wouldn't you be upset?"

Lotus flower: "She wouldn't say that."

Fire dragon: "Yeah, Qinchi is just that bad. He even says I'm ugly..."

Before it could finish writing, the agitated black claw was forcibly retracted by Qinchi.

Xu Qiao felt awkward, as if she had stumbled upon someone arguing with a mental entity.

The lotus flower looked at Qinchi and voiced her opinion: "What you said was indeed wrong. Even if it is really ugly, you shouldn't say it to hurt its feelings."

If Xu Qiao called it ugly, the lotus flower might never want to show itself again.

Qinchi acknowledged his mistake: "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful in the future."

Xu Qiao: "Then let's try it its way for now? If it... refuses to sleep properly, I'll notify you promptly."

Lotus flower: "If it dares to attack us or disturb our sleep, I won't help it anymore."

Qinchi: "...Alright."

After reaching an agreement, Xu Qiao withdrew the mental entity and opened the car door.

When they parted ways in the stairwell, Qinchi handed her a boxed meal and said, "Reciprocity, should I prepare meals for two from now on?"

Xu Qiao was about to politely decline when he added, "Of course, I'll bring your portion over. Xiaoyang mentioned that you like to watch shows while eating."

Xu Qiao: "...Thank you then."

With the old man not around, dining alone with Qinchi would indeed make the atmosphere somewhat strange.

At nine o'clock in the evening, instead of knocking, Qinchi sent a message to inform Xu Qiao that he was outside the door.

Xu Qiao, wearing slippers, came to open the door.

Qinchi's shirt buttons were still fastened to the top. He handed the golden birdcage to Xu Qiao and whispered, "If it offends you in any way, please contact me immediately."

Xu Qiao smiled and nodded.

After saying goodnight, Xu Qiao closed the door and carried the birdcage into the guest bedroom. The lotus flower was already waiting in the large tank, with the curtains drawn tightly.

The fire dragon greeted the lotus flower enthusiastically: "Good evening, thank you for speaking up for me in the car."

Xu Qiao, who hadn't left yet, was somewhat surprised by the fire dragon's politeness.

Unaware of Xu Qiao's departure, the fire dragon changed the water script: "Thank you, Xu Qiao. Rest assured, I won't offend you."

Xu Qiao smiled and said, "You're welcome. Get some rest, then. I'll head back to my room."

The fire dragon nodded, its horn bumping against the inner wall of the golden sphere, causing it to sway gently.

Xu Qiao left, closing the door behind her.

Inside, the lotus flower became interested in the mysterious mental entity inside the golden sphere: "Did he buy this golden sphere specially for you?"

Fire dragon: "I found the gold myself; he just provided some effort."

Lotus flower: "How big is your true form? Doesn't staying in such a small space consume a lot of mental energy?"

Fire dragon: "My true form is enormous. When I can meet you, I'll take you flying in the sky. Don't worry about my mental energy. If you don't help me sleep, the mental energy he uses to force me to sleep is much greater than keeping me in the sphere all night."

Lotus flower: "Xu Qiao loves flying, but Qinchi doesn't keep his promises. He promised to practice flying with her but didn't follow through."

Fire dragon recalled for a moment, remembering the incident with Meng Li's mother's transformation.

Fire dragon: "Of course, he wants to fly with Xu Qiao, but he doesn't want to take advantage of her. Like tonight, he was afraid Xu Qiao would mind sitting together for dinner, so he offered to bring her a boxed meal."

Lotus flower: "When did he take advantage of Xu Qiao?"

Fire dragon: "When flying, Xu Qiao held onto his wrist and hugged his waist, leaning against his chest."

Lotus flower: "It was Xu Qiao's first flight; those actions were instinctive. Since she wasn't angry, it doesn't count as Qinchi taking advantage of her. Last time, a rogue cat deliberately rubbed against her legs, that was taking advantage."

Fire dragon: "I know! It made me so angry, I wanted to burn that cat alive, but Qinchi wouldn't let me!"

Lotus flower: "Doesn't he get angry when someone bullies us?"

Fire dragon: "He's not happy, but he once said we need to learn to control our tempers and act according to the law, not just fight and kill randomly."

Lotus flower: "Xu Qiao taught me the same thing, but there are some things I can tolerate, and some I can't, especially when it comes to bullies."

Fire dragon: "Me too. Qinchi clearly dislikes certain things but keeps doing them. I would have run away long ago."

Lotus flower: "What does he dislike?"

Fire dragon: "Saying it would involve his secrets, and he doesn't want me to reveal them."

Lotus flower: "Then don't. Xu Qiao knows he has many secrets, but she never asks, respecting his privacy."

Fire dragon: "Xu Qiao is great, and so are you. I like both of you."

Lotus flower: "Wait, Xu Qiao is calling me."

The lotus flower disappeared and reappeared next door.

Xu Qiao asked curiously, "Were you chatting?"

Releasing the lotus flower's mental entity didn't consume much mental energy, but Xu Qiao had sensed a continuous and slight additional mental energy consumption for the past half hour, guessing that Lotus flower was controlling water to write messages.

Chatting for a few minutes was fine, but what could they talk about for half an hour?

Lotus flower summarized the key points.

Xu Qiao: "...You know, using a tablet before bed can make you more alert and cause insomnia, and chatting has the same effect. Promise me, when it comes over, focus on making it sleep and try to chat less. If you have questions, ask during the day when we meet, but you mustn't reveal any of my thoughts or use it to pry into Qinchi's private life."

The lotus flower obediently nodded its flower head.

Xu Qiao kissed her own spirit body.

She sent the lotus flower back to the secondary bedroom and reminded the spirit inside the golden sphere to go to sleep in the tone of a therapist instructing a patient.

Fire Dragon: "Alright, I'll go to sleep right away."

Qinchi had urged him several times, but it just wouldn't listen.

After Xu Qiao left, the fire dragon tentatively asked the lotus flower: "Really going to sleep?"

Lotus Flower: "Mm-hmm."

This small amount of mental energy consumption should be imperceptible to Xu Qiao, right?