Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Xu Qiao retrieved her tent, set it up, and carried Meng Li inside.

Meng Li was still in her battle armor. Xu Qiao gave her a quick clean-up, removed her helmet, and laid her on the sleeping pad.

The sudden appearance of the S-grade giant crab was too abrupt. If it weren't for the consecutive defense by the spiritual beings of Sun Xuan and Sun Fushan, and Meng Li's astonishing burst of speed using the massive body of the fire scorpion to shield against the aftershock of the S-grade energy bullet, all four of them would have been blasted to the ground and devoured by the crab.

After spending some quiet time with Meng Li, Xu Qiao left the tent.

The commander sat a few meters away, temporarily taking over Sun Xuan’s role in securing the safety of the three-person team.

Seeing Xu Qiao staring at the Sun brothers lying side by side on the ground, and recalling how tenderly she had cared for Meng Li, the commander coughed and reminded, "Let them lie outside. In the field, no need to be too particular."

He had already gathered information about Xu Qiao’s background through various channels. Whether it was her work at the private clinic or the typical compassionate aura of a healer, it led the commander to assume that Xu Qiao would also try to move the Sun brothers into the tent.

Xu Qiao smiled, removed the helmets of Sun Xuan and Sun Fushan, and took a photo of the unconscious brothers with her wrist device.

The commander: "..."

Suddenly feeling the urge to take a photo himself?

An hour later, Sun Xuan woke up first.

Physical condition, willpower, and pain tolerance could all affect how quickly an ability user recovered from being knocked unconscious after their spiritual being was dispersed.

Although Sun Xuan had woken up, he had released his spiritual being to block the fatal strike of the S-grade giant crab, concentrating all of his mental energy into it. The same applied to Sun Fushan and Meng Li; in the face of life and death, they had held nothing back.

After confirming the situation, Sun Xuan took out two earth-attribute crystal cores, began absorbing them, and asked the commander about the progress of the three-team cleanup operation.

Commander: "Except for the area your team is operating in, we should be able to sweep through the rest by the weekend. After a week of cross-patrols, the mission will conclude by the end of the month."

Sun Xuan: "We’ll stay on track."

The commander glanced at Xu Qiao. "How’s the training going?"

Sun Xuan first took out a spiritual being detector. "Xu Qiao’s water ability seems to have upgraded. Let’s test it."

Xu Qiao felt the same, and sure enough, the test confirmed she had dual A-grade abilities in wood and water.

Sun Xuan then took out a mental energy detector, which had a built-in power supply.

Xu Qiao was both nervous and excited. The past one and a half months of intense training gave a rough estimate of her mental energy improvement, but she didn’t know how much upgrading her water ability from B-grade to A-grade would affect her overall mental energy level.

Sun Xuan and the commander stood on either side of her, watching.

Xu Qiao put on the detection device, activated the switch, and after a one or two-second delay, the display showed a number: "356278," with a grade of "A" next to it.

Xu Qiao was stunned. When she left the base, her mental energy was just over 10,000!

The commander, envious and delighted, said, "Such rapid progress! An S-grade is just around the corner."

Sun Xuan: "Don’t be too optimistic. The higher the strength, the fewer suitable opponents there are. I can protect them while they practice on one or two A-grade beasts or a group of small B-grade beasts, but the same method won’t work for A-grade level training."

The commander, putting aside his joy, sighed, "Indeed, apart from their partners, A-grade beasts mostly act alone. It wouldn’t be too difficult for an A-grade ability user to take down an A-grade beast solo. However, small groups of beasts that can threaten an A-grade ability user are rare and hard to come by. Deliberately creating such situations is thankless, and if it gets out of control, it becomes a hidden danger."

Sun Xuan encouraged Xu Qiao, "Keep training, and let nature take its course. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Xu Qiao, who was secretly excited about reaching "A-grade," was speechless.

She certainly looked forward to the day she would advance to S-level, but she wasn't in such a hurry.

Once Sun Xuan recovered his fighting strength, the commander left.

It was evident that Xu Qiao was not quite comfortable being alone with him, so Sun Xuan told her to rest inside the tent.

Xu Qiao lay down next to Meng Li, looking up at the tent roof, repeatedly recalling the battle by the lake. When the massive water shield reappeared in her mind, the lotus flower extended its bloom, looking pleased. "We're getting better and better at causing torrential waves."

Xu Qiao smiled and touched one of its leaves. "Yes, we're capable, but we can't be proud. Compared to the vast rivers and seas, that lake was just a small droplet."

The lotus flower nodded its blossom and looked towards Meng Li. "The last time the captain upgraded was under similar circumstances. Do you think they'll both advance to A this time?"

Xu Qiao said, "I'm looking forward to it too."

By evening, the sky had darkened, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Xu Qiao looked at Meng Li, who was still sleeping, and walked out of the tent.

Sun Xuan was setting up the tent, and it looked like he had finally decided to move his brother inside.

Xu Qiao asked him, "Do you want a bento?"

Sun Xuan was surprised. "You brought bentos?"

Xu Qiao thought to herself that she had brought enough for a month, all made by Qinchi. But in the danger zone, every day was exhausting, and even Sun Fushan had given up on bentos, opting for nutrient solution and rest instead. Sun Xuan and Meng Li were even more decisive, leaving Xu Qiao reluctant to make a special case for herself.

But the lotus flower, spoiled by Qinchi's cooking, resisted nutrient solution even more. Recently, Xu Qiao had been too tired and found it convenient to consume nutrient solution, but today, with the joy of a successful upgrade, the lotus flower insisted on celebrating with a bento.

Sun Xuan said, "Thanks."

Xu Qiao gave him a bento she had made earlier and sat back in front of the tent, taking out a special bento made by Qinchi for her.

The bento was in the same condition when it was put in as when it was taken out, and Xu Qiao's meal had three meat dishes and one vegetable dish. The meal she gave Sun Xuan was also quite good, but the aroma that wafted out wasn't as enticing as Qinchi's cooking.

Sun Xuan didn't notice the difference and was satisfied with the change in flavor from having a bento.

When Xu Qiao was halfway through her meal, Sun Fushan, who had been left outside on the cold ground because his elder brother temporarily decided to eat a bento, sniffed and woke up.

He sat up abruptly, looked around nervously, and asked, "Meng Li?"

Behind Xu Qiao, Meng Li, who had been awake for a while and was quietly consuming nutrient solution, quickly finished, put away the nutrient solution container, and stepped out of the tent.

Sun Fushan sighed with relief and then reached out.

Xu Qiao handed him a homemade bento and took out another one made by Qinchi for Meng Li.

Meng Li said, "I... thank you."

She couldn't explain why she hadn't immediately informed her teammates but instead hid inside to drink nutrient solution first.

The four of them ate bentos together, and Sun Fushan's spirit form suddenly popped out.

Xu Qiao paused and looked up at the enormous green turtle in front of her.

The small green turtle that used to obediently lie in her palm had now grown to about ten meters in length, with its shell nearly five meters high, larger than the S-level crab in the lake. On the back of the green turtle was a mountain ridge of similar size.

After showing its side, the enormous green turtle slowly crawled over, its long head pointing towards Xu Qiao and Meng Li. "My normal form has grown larger, nearly the same size as my elder brother's. I must have advanced to A-level."

Sun Xuan chuckled, and a large yellowish-brown turtle landed next to the green turtle. In comparison, the brown turtle was slightly larger.

Xu Qiao said, "...Congratulations, but could you shrink a bit?"

This giant turtle's size, and its proximity, slightly affected their appetites.

The yellow turtle returned to Sun Xuan's body, and the large green turtle turned back into a small green turtle, moving much faster as it came to Xu Qiao's side.

Xu Qiao glanced quietly at Meng Li.

Meng Li caught her gaze and calmly announced, "The normal state of the fire scorpion has also grown larger."

Sun Xuan said, "Let's finish eating first, then we'll test it."

Whether they were excited or not, they all ate somewhat faster than before.

Sun Fushan tested first, with a single earth attribute A-grade energy ability and a mental strength of 670,000, categorized as "A+."

Meng Li followed closely, with wind, fire, and poison A-grade energy abilities, and a mental strength of 720,000, also categorized as "A+."

Xu Qiao, whose suspicions were confirmed, said, "Although we all upgraded, I advanced gradually. The improvement in my water ability allowed me to advance a little more, while you two leaped directly to B+ or A+, the higher stages of the same level."

Sun Xuan said, "It’s likely due to genetic factors."

Meng Li had an S-grade elder, and her brother also had one.

Sun Fushan gazed at Xu Qiao anxiously.

Xu Qiao said, "Worried I’d feel unbalanced? When I chose the two of you to form a team, it was because I appreciated your strong combat skills."

Her main role was as a Healer; the stronger her teammates, the happier she felt. If a team or a base had to shoulder the primary burden against mutated beasts, that would be a bleak future.

Sun Xuan said, "Some people are vain and assume others are the same."

Sun Fushan said, "..."

Tonight, it was Sun Xuan and Meng Li's turn to stand watch.

It was just past seven when the fire dragon skillfully slipped through the ventilation hole of Xu Qiao's tent, then grew to more than two meters long, slipping into Xu Qiao's quilt and coiling around her armored body.

Xu Qiao had long grown used to this kind of closeness from her boyfriend's spiritual being. To her, the fire dragon was like the lotus flower; both spirits showed her the purest and most sincere affection, and she likewise cherished them dearly.

The lotus flower peeked out its head and eagerly recounted Xu Qiao's experiences and upgrades to the fire dragon.

Xu Qiao gently corrected the exaggerated parts of the lotus’s story.

The fire dragon said, "You’re amazing!"

The lotus flower said, "It’s not over yet, later another S-grade giant crab appeared..."

The fire dragon abruptly raised its head, its golden pupils filled with murderous intent.

Xu Qiao quickly sat up and, following the dragon's upright body, stroked its scales, saying, "Don't worry, we successfully escaped, and Meng Li and the captain even got an upgrade to A-grade because of it."

The fire dragon wasn't in a hurry but was angry that its partner had almost died in the mouth of an S-grade mutated beast: "I'm going to burn it to death."

Xu Qiao said awkwardly, "If you go, everyone will suspect you came to see me."

After hiding it for so long, why reveal the secret when the mission was almost over?

It would be fine if it was just meeting secretly, but she also held her boyfriend's spiritual being every night and, every other night, slept in her boyfriend's arms for half the night.

Xu Qiao didn't want to leave any traces.

She hugged the fire dragon, stroking its scales in the direction they grew, eventually calming the dragon down.

The next day, before the fire dragon left, Xu Qiao specifically reminded it, forbidding it from secretly taking revenge.

The fire dragon nodded in agreement.

Since all three had leveled up, Sun Xuan decided to alter the training regimen, requiring each of them to take turns killing A-grade mutated beasts.

At 6:30, Meng Li was handling an A-grade mutated leopard alone when a figure suddenly flew in from a distance, wearing only a black A-grade battle suit without a helmet.

Sun Fushan’s eyes brightened. "Brother Qin!"

Xu Qiao appeared calm outwardly, but she felt a mix of tension and sweetness inside.

Qin Chi landed beside them, observing the battle for a moment before saying to Sun Xuan, "It’s Saturday, I’m off duty, so I came to check on you guys."

Sun Xuan naturally knew his identity and welcomed Qin Chi’s arrival. "Perfect timing, we ran into an S-grade crab yesterday. Could you help us deal with it?"

Qin Chi looked at Xu Qiao and Sun Fushan and asked, "You’ve also leveled up?"

Meng Li’s strength was clear, so his question made sense.

Sun Fushan nodded reservedly, and Xu Qiao smiled in response, amused by his asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Qin Chi then said to Sun Xuan, "The S-grade crab’s defense is very strong, and its speed and attack methods aren’t advantageous. Killing it outright would be a waste; it’s better to use it for their practice."

Sun Fushan: "..."

Sun Xuan smiled. "I thought the same last night, but my strength wasn’t enough, and I didn’t dare to let them take the risk."

Qin Chi: "I’m free for the next two days. If they haven’t successfully killed it by Monday morning, I’ll step in."

Xu Qiao: "..."