Chapter 122

Chapter 122

The next evening, with the guard troops at Wen City Base cheering them off, Xu Qiao and her team left in a small aircraft, leaving behind Sun Fushan, who needed to continue his garrison duty there.

By the time they reached the Southeast Base, night had fully fallen. As the protective shield opened on schedule, the small aircraft landed smoothly in the central district at the Mercenary Association.

Stepping out of the cabin, Sun Xuan released his off-road vehicle and looked at the four cadets, "Anyone need a lift?"

Bao Wei was the first to come out, followed by Wei Pingye.

Sun Xuan then looked at Zhou Cheng, who lived in the Third Ring District.

Zhou Cheng had just avoided his gaze when he turned his head and met Xu Qiao's smiling eyes, "I have plenty of rooms at my place. If you don't mind, how about you come to my house tonight? I can do another check-up on you."

According to Lu Yang, ever since Zhou Cheng enrolled in the Second School, he hadn’t returned to the Third Ring District. Clearly, he didn’t want to face those who had hurt him—family or neighbors—nor did he want to accept their apologies as a psychic. During the winter and summer vacations, the Second School didn’t close its dormitories and training rooms, allowing students to stay, though they had to take care of their own meals.

Zhou Cheng had mentally prepared himself to spend the New Year alone in the dormitory.

Just as he was about to decline, his wolverine spirit popped out, deliberately shrinking into a small ball and leaping into Xu Qiao's arms.

Xu Qiao caught the furry little creature and, while stroking the wolverine's round head, smiled, "It’s decided, then."

Lu Yang added, "Stay the night, and I’ll take you back to school tomorrow."

Xu Qiao looked at him sharply.

Lu Yang pointedly glanced at Qinchi.

Bao Wei explained on his behalf, "He needs to know when to step back and not be a third wheel for Teacher Qin."

Xu Qiao: "……"

Qinchi released his black sedan. Xu Qiao, holding the wolverine, sat in the passenger seat, with Meng Li and Lu Yang, Zhou Cheng in the back.

After sitting down, Qinchi said to Xu Qiao, "I'm about to lose control."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fire dragon poked its head out from Qinchi’s arm and bared its teeth at the wolverine in Xu Qiao’s arms.

It had done this many times to Sun Fushan's small green turtle, and every time it managed to scare the turtle away. However, the wolverine's bravery was the opposite of Zhou Cheng's timidness. Facing the threat of the fire dragon, not only did the wolverine not shrink back, but it also propped up its head and bared its teeth back at the dragon. With its oversized head, the wolverine looked even more intimidating than the dragon.

Fire dragon: "……"

It immediately enlarged its head and opened its dragon mouth to bite the wolverine's head.

The wolverine, knowing the dragon's power, promptly returned to Zhou Cheng's body.

The fire dragon fully emerged, shrinking to about a meter in length, and sat in Xu Qiao's arms, its head resting on her shoulder, showing off to Zhou Cheng in the back seat.

Zhou Cheng: "……"

Lu Yang sneered, "No wonder Teacher Qin is so mature and steady; his impulsive and childish side is all reflected in you."

The fire dragon's golden pupils turned toward him, its mouth slightly open, revealing a glowing flame inside.

Lu Yang: "Sister, show me the lotus flower."

Saying that, he took out a small white vase from his space crystal core, with a pattern of carp playing among lotus flowers on its body.

The lotus flower drifted in, dangling a leaf to admire the new tank, and used the tip of the leaf to touch the carp before gently touching the back of Lu Yang's hand. "You look just like Mom," it said.

The fire dragon dove into the tank, splashing water all over Lu Yang's pants.

Just as Lu Yang was about to frown, a warm breeze gently blew over from the side—Meng Li was helping out.

Lu Yang politely thanked her.

Meng Li nodded slightly, her eyes falling on the water-formed words created by the lotus flower, which were scolding the fire dragon.

Satisfied that things were relatively peaceful in the back seat, Qinchi started driving.

After dropping off Meng Li, the four of them returned to Xu Qiao's villa.

The villa had been uninhabited for a long time, but with their abilities, they quickly cleaned every corner of it. For dinner, they had boxed meals from Qinchi's spatial storage.

During dinner, Xu Qiao received a call from Sun Rupan, the sister of Sun Fushan, inviting her to the Southeast Base's Spring Festival Gala and asking if she was interested in performing.

Xu Qiao's face turned red, and she walked away awkwardly. "I don't have any talents, so maybe..."

Before she could finish speaking, the lotus flower suddenly appeared, nodding its head eagerly.

Not wanting to disappoint her spiritual companion, Xu Qiao quickly changed her response. "Can my spiritual being perform on its own? For example, if there's a dance, the lotus flower could be a prop or background."

Sun Rupan laughed. "Of course! But it must be the center of attention. The program organizers will design it, and I'll contact you when they need you for rehearsals."

After hanging up, the lotus flower formed water letters. "I like Aunt Sun."

Xu Qiao stroked the flower's head and, with the lotus now perched happily on her head, returned to the dining table. Before she could announce it, the lotus flower eagerly shared the good news about its upcoming performance at the Spring Festival Gala.

Lu Yang led the applause.

The fire dragon chimed in, "I want to join you!"

The lotus flower replied, "Can you perform? What can you do?"

The fire dragon said, "I don't need to perform. Just appearing on stage will make everyone cheer for me."

Zhou Cheng secretly nodded in agreement.

The lotus flower said, "Won't you steal my spotlight?"

Qinchi said, "If the program is suitable, having both of you on stage could complement each other and potentially win the highest viewership this year, maybe even becoming the most popular act across the four bases."

The lotus flower, now excited, urged Xu Qiao to contact Sun Rupan and add the fire dragon to the program.

Xu Qiao looked at Qinchi with a teasing smile. "I didn't realize you had such a strong desire to perform."

Qinchi said, "They perform, and I'll keep you company in the audience."

Lu Yang added, "And by the way, let the four bases know you're my sister's boyfriend?"

Qinchi looked at Xu Qiao. "If you mind, I can wait outside the venue."

Xu Qiao: "..."

After a good night's sleep, the next morning, Xu Qiao and Qinchi first accompanied the two cadets to the Mercenary Association to exchange crystal cores and mutated beast materials.

Xu Qiao mainly provided treatment at the Wen City Base but had accumulated a batch at the Jing City Base. She kept what she needed and traded the rest.

After tallying everything up, Xu Qiao simply glanced at the first two digits of her credit balance.

While Xu Qiao remained calm, Zhou Cheng was over the moon—this was the first time he had earned money using his abilities. After just one week of hunting sea beasts, he had exchanged his earnings for a million credits!

Lu Yang, on the other hand, had earned enough during this training session to cover the remaining tuition he needed for The Second School.

Xu Qiao smiled and said, "Let's go, it's time to buy New Year's goods."

With enough credits, shopping became a joy, allowing them to revel in spending without worrying about the balance dwindling away.

Once in the car, Zhou Cheng and Lu Yang sat in the back, each lost in their thoughts. Zhou Cheng opened his wristband and transferred credits to a few siblings who, though poor, had taken care of him and given him moments of happiness. His message read: "Happy Spring Festival! I'm busy with school, so I won't be coming back this year. Take care of yourselves."

After the transfers, Zhou Cheng set his wristband to silent mode and looked at Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was also checking his wristband, having just sent credits to Xu Qiao with the note: "For my sister."

In the front passenger seat, Xu Qiao smiled and accepted the transfer, planning to give her military cadet brother a red envelope on New Year's Day.

When they arrived at the supermarket, it was decorated with lanterns and banners, full of the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Lu Yang and Zhou Cheng grabbed a shopping cart and walked away, giving the couple some space.

Qinchi pushed a cart, following behind Xu Qiao.

Besides buying what they needed for their own New Year, Xu Qiao also wanted to buy some specialties from the Southeast Base for Qinchi's family.

Qinchi noticed and said, "No need to trouble yourself. They'll be very happy just that you're willing to go visit them."

In the end, because Qinchi's family was quite large, there was too much to fit in just one cart, so Xu Qiao grabbed another empty one.

Halfway through their selection, Lu Yang and Zhou Cheng found them again, both cadets momentarily taken aback by the sight of Qinchi's fully loaded cart.

Xu Qiao quickly explained, "I've made some new friends this year, and these are New Year's gifts for them."

Lu Yang stared at her slightly unnatural expression for a few seconds before saying, "Okay, you two take your time. We'll go check out first and wait for you outside."

Xu Qiao suggested, "Why don't you two go check out the clothes upstairs? We'll meet you when we're done."

Lu Yang nodded and took Zhou Cheng away.

Xu Qiao and Qinchi shopped for another half hour before heading to the checkout counter.

After waiting in line for a bit, it was their turn.

As the cashier calculated the total cost, Xu Qiao casually glanced at a small shelf nearby and saw rows of contraceptives.

Her face flushed slightly, and she stole a glance at Qinchi. She couldn't tell if he hadn't noticed or if he had seen them but didn't care.

After checking out, Qinchi stored all the items from the two carts into his space and took Xu Qiao's hand as they walked forward.

At noon, the two cadets had a hearty lunch at the villa before returning to school.

In the afternoon, Qinchi drove Xu Qiao to take the B-Class Healer and Class A Healer certification exams, and she successfully obtained both certificates after the exams.

By evening, with the cadets back at school, Qinchi followed Xu Qiao to the master bedroom upstairs.

After getting out of bed, Qinchi gently pulled Xu Qiao into his arms, as if afraid she might slip away.

No matter how many times it happened, Xu Qiao would always feel extremely embarrassed by the sound of his abs pressing against her.

Just as she was feeling embarrassed, Qin Chi, who never spoke at moments like this, suddenly asked in her ear, “At the supermarket checkout, you saw it?”

Xu Qiao blinked, confused. “Saw what?”

Qin Chi responded with action.

Xu Qiao instinctively tried to dodge, but Qin Chi pulled back at the last second, kissing her earlobe, his voice rough as he murmured, “If you really bought it, you’d be unable to resist using it.”

So, he had already stocked up on things they might need during their relationship, even after marriage, but there were no contraceptives.

Xu Qiao quickly covered her ears.

Qin Chi scooped her up and shifted them into a new position.

Night came early, and by the time they finished and showered, it was just after 8 PM.

At the same moment, over two thousand kilometers away from the Southeast Base, on a sea island in the ocean, Lin Zheng, who had just rested after landing, was suddenly awakened by a sudden sharp alarm. He opened his eyes, and his gaze immediately locked onto the beast tide detector next to the bed.

The detector’s sensor floated on the water's surface, capable of detecting large sea beast tides up to a thousand kilometers away.

The fiery red Phoenix burst from the tent, carrying Lin Zheng toward the approaching beast tide.

At the same time, the Southeast Base land beast tide monitoring center also sounded a sharp alarm.

The images were instantly transmitted to the wrist devices of Marshal Lin Lie and Deputy Marshal Sun Dagui.

On the projection, the red beast tide was gradually spreading towards the Southeast Base from over a thousand kilometers away on the southern continent. The mutated beasts and insects along the way naturally joined in. Considering the speed of the leading flying beasts, the Southeast Base had at most two hours of preparation time!

At Lin Lie’s command, the piercing alarm shattered the night’s silence, echoing across the entire Southeast Base.