Chapter 121

Chapter 121

It was 1:40 AM when Sun Fushan and Meng Li finally returned from the seaside.

Guessing that Xu Qiao was already in a deep sleep, the two of them tiptoed up to the second floor. As they approached, they heard a soft creak as a nearby door opened.

The light from the guest bedroom spilled out, illuminating Qin Chi's figure dressed in pajamas.

A line of fiery text appeared between them: "Anyone injured?"

Sun Fushan shook his head. Meng Li replied with a line of fiery text: "I'm heading up now, goodnight."

After she left, Sun Fushan approached Qin Chi and typed, moved by his kindness: "Brother Qin, were you waiting for us on purpose? You're so kind."

Qin Chi smiled: "It's nothing as long as you're okay. Get some rest. Life at the coastal base can be tough, so make sure to balance work and rest."

After leaving a good ten seconds for his squadmate to feel touched, Qin Chi returned to the bedroom.

Exhausted, Sun Fushan quickly went back to his room to rest.

The next day's high tide was at 8 AM. As a healer, Xu Qiao only needed to arrive at the medical center half an hour in advance, so she set her alarm for 7 AM before going to bed, just in case her mental energy hadn't fully recovered by then.

When Xu Qiao woke up naturally and checked her wristband, it was only 6:15 AM.

Qin Chi had already left but left a note on the bedside table for her: "See you tonight, Healer Xu, who broke a group of bachelors' hearts."

Xu Qiao: "..."

If Qin Chi hadn't reminded her, Xu Qiao would have forgotten about this.

Then she thought, luckily, she was so exhausted that Qin Chi only offered 'sleep assistance' last night.

The lotus flower appeared, unfurling four fresh green leaves and blossoming with ninety-nine shimmering petals. It excitedly formed a line of water text in front of her: "So comfortable, let's do it again tonight."

Xu Qiao quickly tucked the seemingly innocent spiritual being back into her arms and whispered a warning: "No more of that talk in the future."

The lotus flower peeked out a leaf from her arm: "There's no one else here."

Xu Qiao: "Even if it's just the two of us, no more."

The lotus leaf playfully wobbled: "Even if you don't say it, I can tell whether you like it or not."

Xu Qiao: "..."

She rushed into the bathroom to shower, where she was teased by the lotus flower again.

After the shower, the butler she added when receiving the villa keys sent a message: "Miss Xu, would you like breakfast to be delivered now?"

Xu Qiao checked the time and replied: "Deliver it at 7:20 AM. I’d like to let Meng Li and the others sleep in a bit longer."

Butler: "Understood."

Xu Qiao walked to the window of the bedroom. She couldn't see the sea view, but the early morning sky was a clear blue, perfect for clearing her mind.

Around 7 AM, she heard Meng Li's door opening outside. Xu Qiao then went out and asked: "So early? Did you get five hours of sleep?"

Meng Li: "More or less. The training intensity here is lower than in Jing City. After resting in the afternoon and another five hours of sleep tonight, it's enough."

The sea beasts that came ashore with the high tide were overwhelming in number. Only two or three out of a group might be A-grade beasts, which didn't pose much of a threat to her and Sun Fushan. Meng Li decided to use this opportunity to enhance her area-of-effect skills.

"How are you?"

"Not bad. Last night when I finished my shift, the ward was empty, which eased the pressure on the night shift therapists. There will be fewer critically ill patients to treat this morning, and it should only take a couple of days to adjust to a relatively relaxed pace."

The two walked downstairs together. Sun Fushan had also arrived. After exchanging insights, at exactly 7:20 AM, someone pressed the doorbell.

Sun Fushan ran over, opened the door, and saw a thermal meal bag on the ground, next to which stood a palm-sized dark brown sea swallow spiritual being.

Sun Fushan felt a soft spot, crouched down, and spoke in a tone used to tease children, "So small, and you're delivering such a big bag. Impressive!"

The sea swallow spiritual being stared at him for a few seconds, suddenly grew to over a meter tall, looked down at Sun Fushan with its black eyes, flapped its wings, and flew away.

Sun Fushan, still crouched at the door, was left speechless.

He carried the breakfast back to the dining room and, while sitting down, typed to Xu Qiao, "Do you know who delivered breakfast this morning? It was a sea swallow spiritual being."

Xu Qiao replied, "It should be the temporary housekeeper sent by the base to take care of my daily needs."

Sun Fushan asked, "Male or female?"

Xu Qiao said, "Female. She seems like a very gentle female soldier."

Sun Fushan, who had been intensely stared at, was left speechless once more.

As Xu Qiao anticipated, after three days of adjustment, her treatment duties became less burdensome, and her healing abilities improved significantly day by day. In the second week at the Wen City Base, Xu Qiao opened a separate clinic in the medical center, providing mental guidance to off-duty guards during breaks from treating the wounded.

Some guards wanted to erase the fear and pain left from previous severe injuries, some wanted to shield themselves from the heavy emotions of losing comrades, some wanted to forget an embarrassing incident, and others asked Xu Qiao to search for memories from a certain period, hoping to find an important item they had accidentally lost.

As Xu Qiao's reputation in the Wen City Base grew and her treatment reputation improved, two guards who had already shown signs of mutation courageously sought her help.

Xu Qiao successfully treated them and also assisted two local therapists in successfully opening mental guidance clinics.

Each treatment, whether for physical injuries or mental guidance, was a form of exercise for Xu Qiao.

By the end of the third week at the Wen City Base, Xu Qiao could continuously treat fifty critically ill patients.

By the end of the fifth week, this number had increased to sixty-eight.

At this point, the cadets from the Southeast Base had officially begun their winter vacation.

When Qin Chi returned, he brought along Lu Yang, Zhou Cheng, Bao Wei, and Wei Pingye, as these four wanted to use the winter break to enhance their combat abilities against mutated beasts. After some thought, they decided to train at the Wen City Base where Xu Qiao is, so Lu Yang could visit his sister.

Sun Fushan was only concerned about one thing: "How did you guys come here?"

If they rode a dragon, even he, a close teammate of Brother Qin, hadn't had the chance to do so!

Faced with this question, Lu Yang twitched the corner of his mouth, Bao Wei sighed heavenward, Zhou Cheng looked excited, and the more mature Wei Pingye answered, "We were grabbed here by the claws of Teacher Qin's spiritual being."

Four claws, one for each person.

Sun Fushan didn't know whether to sympathize or be envious!

With his girlfriend, little teammates, and four students all striving to enhance their strength, Qin Chi, whose combat power had already reached its peak, was not idle. During this time, he inspected the southeastern island coastline, where he met Lin Zheng, who was in charge of monitoring the beast tides in this area. Lin Zheng was the second youngest S-rank Phoenix in the Lin Family, only a year younger than Qin Chi.

Lin Zheng's S-rank Phoenix first sensed a powerful "flying beast." As it flew closer, it was confirmed to be an S-rank spiritual being.

Dragons and Phoenixes are uniquely identifiable. Without needing introductions, they recognized each other instantly.

Lin Zheng carried the same serious presence as the elder members of the Lin Family. In contrast, standing on the back of a fire dragon, Qin Chi looked so leisurely as if he were on vacation. Meanwhile, with his girlfriend, little teammates, and four students all striving to enhance their strength, Qin Chi had also been busy.

Lin Zheng asked, puzzled, "How did you end up here?"

Qin Chi replied, "My girlfriend is temporarily stationed at Wen City Base, so I came to keep her company and take a look around while I’m here."

Lin Zheng regularly returns to the Coastal Base for rest. A few days ago, he went to Qiantang Base. As soon as he landed, Senior General Yuan Changhai, who was stationed at the base, intercepted him. Yuan told him that Xu Qiao, a Class S candidate healer, had been at Wen City Base for a month and had helped alleviate a lot of the burden there. Yuan Changhai asked Lin Zheng to fly over and deliver a message, saying that Qiantang Base was eagerly awaiting Xu Qiao’s visit.

Yuan Changhai asked for his help because Dong Mingliang had flatly turned down his request.

At that moment, Lin Zheng, who wasn’t interested in gossip, had a strange feeling that Qin Chi’s girlfriend was the precious Class S candidate healer stationed at the base.

After about a minute of silence, Lin Zheng got straight to the point. "There’s been no activity in the southeastern direction. If you have the energy, you could check out the northeastern direction."

Qin Chi actually went and took the opportunity to return to the Northeast Base.

As soon as he passed through the protective barrier, a message from his father came through. "How’s your health?"

Qin Chi replied, "Mostly stable. I’ll return to the team after the new year."

His father asked, "Why after the new year?"

Qin Chi answered, "I’m in a relationship and want to spend more time with her. After the new year, I’ll bring her here for a few days."

His father asked, "Is it Xu Qiao?"

Qin Chi replied, "Did Grandpa tell you?"

His father said, "Yes, did she treat you?"

Qin Chi said, "She’s still at A-level. I didn’t want to take the risk. As long as I can see her, I don’t need special treatment."

His father said, "When she can treat you, you should get treated. Don’t be careless. Go see Grandpa first. I’ll let your mom know, and we’ll have a family reunion dinner tonight."

Qin Chi said, "No need. I’ll chat with Grandpa for a bit and then head out. I’ll go see her in Qing City when I pass by."

His father asked, "In such a hurry?"

Qin Chi said, "I promised Xu Qiao I’d be back by evening. If I’m late, she’ll worry."

His father didn’t respond again.

At Wen City Base, Xu Qiao sat on the back of a fire scorpion spiritual entity and, together with Meng Li, watched a spectacular sunset by the sea.

It was already the 19th day of the 12th lunar month. After spending one more day at Wen City Base, in the evening, she and four cadets would follow Qin Chi back to the Coastal Base to prepare for the new year.

"I’m going to officially join the guard troops," Meng Li suddenly said.

Xu Qiao wasn’t surprised by her decision and smiled. "I will too."

As a healer, the wounded soldiers at the Coastal Base needed her more, and it was a more suitable training ground for her.

At her age, she should focus on honing her abilities. She could always shift her focus to research when she was older, like Instructor Lü.

The two of them smiled at each other. At that moment, the protective barrier above opened and then reset. A five-meter-long fire dragon briefly appeared before Qin Chi, in his S-level battle armor, landed swiftly below them.

Meng Li patted the hard shell of the fire scorpion.

The fire scorpion landed, its wings still fluttering. When Xu Qiao jumped off, the fire scorpion carried Meng Li towards the villa.

Unlike the Southeast Base, the Coastal Base allowed flying, as long as it didn’t interfere with military operations.

Xu Qiao walked toward her boyfriend, the setting sun at her back, and asked with a smile, "Where did you go today?"

Qinchi: "I went to the Northeast Base."

Xu Qiao stopped in her tracks, clearly surprised.

Qinchi began taking out gifts: a box of sugar-coated haws on a stick in his left hand—something his grandfather had just learned to make this year—and a large box of fragrant grilled skewers in his right hand, seasoned with barbecue spices his mom had mixed herself.

"There's still a lot more in my storage space. I'll give them to you once we get back to the villa."

"My mom said she'll cook you a feast when you come over."

Xu Qiao: "Wow... that’s a lot!"