Chapter 134

Chapter 134

The interior of the volcanic crater had been scorched by the fire dragon before it landed, exposing the strongest stone walls. These walls were uneven and covered with many wrinkles.

When Qinchi swam with Xu Qiao to a protruding part of the stone wall, the four lotus stems in the middle of the water disappeared from their view.

Using wind as a blade, Qinchi carved out a small cave in the stone wall beside the water surface, about one meter in length, width, and depth. He then took out a quilt from his spatial storage, laying half of it flat in the cave and letting the other half hang down to absorb against the vertical stone wall. This way, when Xu Qiao rested her arm on the quilt, it would prevent the pain from direct friction with the rough wall.

Xu Qiao finally managed to float in the water using the strength of her arms. Before she could turn around, Qinchi pressed up against her from behind.

His dragon tail was still there but had slipped down a bit more. It was clear what Qinchi intended by taking over more of his body.

He kissed the back of her neck, his right hand moving to the front, as if afraid she would be uncomfortable bumping into the stone wall. But his hand was clearly...

The water was like a hot spring, and Xu Qiao's face was flushed red from the steam.

Qinchi turned her around, grabbed Xu Qiao's hands, and placed them on his shoulders. When Xu Qiao, with her eyes closed, cooperatively hugged him, Qinchi supported her center of gravity to keep more of her above the water surface, while cupping her face with his other hand.

He kissed her deeply again, then whispered in her ear, "Do you want this?"

Xu Qiao leaned against his shoulder, silently giving her consent.

Qinchi: "The beast tide came suddenly, and there weren't any necessary supplies prepared in the spatial storage."

Xu Qiao looked at the floating lotus petals on the distant water surface and gathered a line of water characters in front of her boyfriend: "I am a healer."

A healer could mend bones, detoxify wounds, and naturally could use a bit of spiritual power to channel her wood-element abilities, making his army of thousands rendered powerless.

Qinchi didn’t reply further, only holding his partner tighter in his arms.

The previously calm water suddenly rippled from behind a stone wall. The dragon tail, which had been restless, broke through the water and wrapped around a green lotus stem.

The water rippled, and the four lotus stems swayed. It was unclear how much time passed until the source of the ripples suddenly stopped, and the dragon tail, which had been coiled high on the lotus stem, heavily fell back into the water. The four lotus stems and the green lotus leaves above disappeared.

Xu Qiao was still tightly held in Qinchi's arms, with drops sliding down her cheeks that could have been either sweat or water droplets. Her back rested against the damp quilt laid on the stone cave, her center of gravity firmly held by his single hand, her feet limply dangling in the water. During the long, intense moments that had just ended, her feet had kicked against the dragon’s scaly body countless times.

And her hands...

Xu Qiao opened her eyes and saw the nail marks covering Qinchi’s back as she rested on his shoulder.

Was he in pain?

Xu Qiao wasn’t sure. All she remembered was that no matter how hard she gripped, it hadn’t slowed Qinchi down or made him gentler.

Thirsty, Xu Qiao used her abilities to take a couple of sips of water, then silently helped her boyfriend heal the minor wounds on his back.

Qinchi could feel the unique itch of a healing wound and, realizing what Xu Qiao was doing, asked with concern, "How do you feel?"

Xu Qiao: "...No feeling."

A soft chuckle reached her ears, and then Xu Qiao was pressed down again forcefully by him.

An hour later, Qinchi, fully equipped in his S-class battle armor, flew out of the volcanic crater, carrying his equally armored girlfriend in his arms.

Sitting on the edge of the volcanic crater, they could overlook the entire island, including the surrounding vast blue sea.

Before emerging, Qinchi had blocked the high-altitude winds. Otherwise, with Xu Qiao's current condition, the heat followed by cold wind could easily make her sick.

Exhausted and hungry, Xu Qiao had no energy left. She leaned against Qinchi's chest and was fed a strawberry-flavored high-grade nutrient solution by Qinchi, finally able to eat her own meal.

"Have you been here before?" As they admired the island's scenery, Xu Qiao asked curiously.

Qinchi: "Yeah, the fire dragon loves this volcanic crater."

Xu Qiao subconsciously looked inside the crater, but the lotus spirit had already returned, though the deep waters of the crater still lingered in her mind.

Her gaze swept over a hidden rock wall, and the familiar heat and pressure returned, as if Qinchi were still nearby.

Xu Qiao quickly averted her gaze and checked her wrist device—it was already 7:30.

She hurried through her meal. "We've been out for so long, the base must be worried. Plus, we should head back to your place and check in with them soon."

Qinchi remembered something. "How did we leave the base last night?"

Xu Qiao: "...I was sleeping in the tent when Lin Zheng suddenly woke me up. When I came out, I saw the fire dragon was about to bite Lin Zheng's phoenix spiritual entity."

The fire dragon poked out its head to defend itself. "I had just come from the sea, heading to the Southeast Base to find you. But that phoenix suddenly blocked my path and threatened to attack me, so I had no choice but to defend myself."

Xu Qiao understood. "Lin Zheng didn't know about your situation and was concerned about the base's safety. He wasn't trying to provoke you, so don't be upset."

Fire dragon: "I was angry at the time, but I'm not anymore. If it hadn't stopped me, I would have made a wasted trip to the Southeast Base."

Xu Qiao touched the dragon's horn and asked with a smile, "Did you count how many petals the lotus has last night?"

The fire dragon's expression drooped; the petals were too numerous and densely packed. Each time it tried to count, it lost track after just a few rounds and had to start over.

Seeing its frustration, the lotus flower emerged from Xu Qiao's hair, which carried a faint scent of lotus. The S-grade lotus, now thirty centimeters in diameter, had pristine white petals with delicate pink tips that fluttered gently, as if laughing at its own triumph.

Qinchi studied it closely and ventured a guess, "Two hundred and ninety-seven?"

Lotus: "Guessing doesn't count. You have to count correctly."

Xu Qiao teased, "Can I pluck one petal as I count?"

The lotus immediately disappeared.

On their way back to the Southeast Base, the fire dragon flew at a leisurely pace. Xu Qiao sat cross-legged on its back, holding the lotus spirit and carefully counting the petals.

The lotus enjoyed this game, and so did Xu Qiao. Every time the lotus leveled up before, she had counted the petals, but it was only now that she had the time again.

Pulling petals was definitely not allowed, so Xu Qiao used her fingers to press down on the counted parts, her left hand pressing the right as she counted. When her left hand couldn't press anymore, Qinchi, sitting across from her, helped lightly.

Qinchi's hands were two or three times bigger than hers, and his long fingers were very suitable for helping. By the time the fire dragon deliberately took a detour and flew above the Southeast Base, Xu Qiao finally counted clearly and confirmed, "It's two hundred and ninety-seven."

The lotus pressed its flower disk against her cheek and then disappeared along with the fire dragon as Xu Qiao and Qinchi activated their battle armor's flight function.

At the Southeast Base, the interior looked no different than usual, though a large number of mutated beasts' corpses had piled up outside, currently being cleared by the guard troops.

Suddenly, two figures approached from the guard troops' side. Meng Li, riding on the back of a fire scorpion, arrived in an instant, while Sun Xuan, activating his battle armor, followed shortly after.

"Are you okay?" Meng Li scanned Qinchi and asked Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao replied naturally, "We're fine. Qinchi voluntarily let the fire dragon take over his body after exhausting his mental energy. The fire dragon remained rational throughout, but Qinchi slept too deeply and only woke up this morning to regain control of his body. Why are you both outside?"

Sun Xuan: "I'm on military duty. Meng Li was worried about you and chose to wait outside."

Meng Li gave Sun Xuan a cold look.

Sun Xuan: "Even if I don't say it, Xu Qiao should be able to guess."

Xu Qiao hugged Meng Li and then turned to Sun Xuan. "Has the captain returned yet?"

Sun Xuan: "He will be busy for a while today and will come back in the evening. Would you like to rest first, or head straight to the marshals?"

Qin Chi: "I'll go back to the Northeast Base first."

His fire dragon form had been seen by all twelve branch bases, and this news had likely spread across the Northeast Base. Qin Chi needed to show up to give an explanation to the civilians and the army.

He looked at Xu Qiao. "I should be back before it gets dark."

Xu Qiao: "...If you're too busy, there's no need to rush."

Qin Chi smiled and released the fire dragon. In the blink of an eye, the dragon and its master disappeared into the sky.

Sun Xuan watched for even longer than Xu Qiao. After feeling envious, he asked the two newly promoted S-grade awakened individuals, "Would you like to rest first, or go and meet the two generals?"

Meng Li gave Xu Qiao a look that said, "I'll go wherever you go."

Xu Qiao: "Let's handle the important matters first."

The beast tide had just ended, and the base might need their assistance with various tasks.

The two generals were in the central building. The casualty reports from the branch bases and the other three major bases had already been shared. There were established procedures for compensating the families of the fallen soldiers, so there was no urgent military or political matter that required the generals' personal attention at the moment.

Thus, the generals received the two young S-grade talents together.

Lin Lie said seriously, "Given your strength and your significant contribution during the beast tide, the base has decided to officially promote the three of you, along with Sun Fushan, Chen Min, and Yang Bainian, to the rank of general. Are you willing to join the guard troops and accept the position of general?"

The responsibilities of a general were immense. Xu Qiao and Meng Li exchanged a glance and neither answered immediately.

Sun Dagui said with a smile, "No rush. We just wanted to let you know. Your contributions to the base are obvious to everyone. Promoting you to general is both a recognition of your efforts and an expression of the base's gratitude. Also, even though you've advanced to S-grade, you still need more time to hone your combat skills, experience, and even healing techniques. There's still a lot to learn, so don't worry. The base won't assign you to the coastal base for duty until you're at least thirty."

Xu Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and gave her answer. "I'm happy to serve the base."

Meng Li followed. "I'm willing too."

Sun Dagui said happily, "Great, we'll give you the official appointment when Xiao Shan and the others return, before the New Year."

After discussing the important matters, Lin Lie also talked to Xu Qiao about Qin Chi's dragonization issue. As a general, he was considering the feasibility of using dragonization to enhance combat effectiveness.

Xu Qiao: "Previously, psychic users considered dragonization a serious illness. Losing rationality during dragonization is indeed very dangerous, so after patients are cured, they almost never try to let their spiritual beings take over their bodies again. Whether your hypothesis will work still requires observation and experimentation on already cured psychic users."

Lin Lie: "Yes, I'll leave this matter to you and Professor Lu. The base will develop corresponding incentive plans for the patients."

After finishing the official business, Xu Qiao and Meng Li were about to leave.

As they entered the elevator, Sun Dagui sent Xu Qiao a link.

Xu Qiao clicked on it and saw it was a post on the mercenary forums. The title read, "Let’s all count how many petals Xu Qiao’s lotus spirit has!"

In the post, a tech-savvy forum member had captured various angles of the lotus spirit from the live broadcast of the lotus pond. This playful game of counting petals had already racked up thousands of comments...