Chapter 536: Strength Unknown, Stronger When Facing the Strong

Chapter 536: Unpredictable Strength, Stronger When Facing the Strong

After resting, they continued moving. Wu Yue completed the entire journey on her own. The moment she stepped over the finish line and the points were calculated, Shen Que took off her backpack, his face unreadable.

With the race over, Wu Yue simply leaned against Shen Que, enjoying the Prince's personal service.

Shen Que had Wu Yue sit properly in the rest area, took off his combat suit and draped it over her, then handed her a cup of hot water.

Shen Que, "Come stay at my place tonight."

Wu Yue held the warm cup, "Prince, your place is full of men. It wouldn't look good."

Shen Que tried a new tactic: "My cat can do backflips."

Wu Yue instantly burst out laughing. Shen Que said seriously, "Really, I’m not lying."

Seeing Wu Yue’s face flush red from laughter, Shen Que pushed on, "Want to go see? I’ll only show you."

Wu Yue shook her head, still smiling, "Pass. It's not like I've never seen one before."

Shen Que was so frustrated he blew a puff of air, ruffling the white hair on his forehead. "You’re so tired today, I don't like the idea of you being alone. Come to my place, I’ll take care of you. It hurts me too much to see you like this—I need to hold you tonight. Your place is full of women, it’s inconvenient for me to go."

Wu Yue held his hand, "Your place is full of men, it’s inconvenient for me too. And the men’s dorm is much noisier than the women’s."

Seeing Shen Que’s reluctance, Wu Yue shook his hand, "Don’t be upset. There are only four days left in the competition."

Shen Que's face fell as if the sky were collapsing: "...There were still four days?!"

Wu Yue, seeing his cold, silent expression, said, "We've lost touch for longer than this before, haven't we?"

Shen Que lowered his gaze, "Back then, I missed you like crazy."

Wu Yue smiled and cupped his face, "I missed you too, my good boy."

An event organizer staff member said, "Prince Noah, please come with us to the next segment to record the demonstration video."

Shen Que’s face fell. Wu Yue pinched his cheek, "Hurry up and go."

Shen Que leaned in to kiss her. Wu Yue dodged several times but was eventually caught. He ruffled her hair, pinched her earlobe, and as he left, his entire silhouette radiated smug satisfaction.

Chun Ya came over, "That really got to Shen Que, didn't it?"

Wu Yue, "He wasn’t like this before."

Wu Yue wondered why his attitude had changed so completely. Didn't he used to want her to become stronger?

Chun Ya, "Before, when he wasn’t strong enough himself, of course he wanted you to be strong so you could protect yourself. Now that he’s risen to the top, he can’t bear to see you get even a scratch. Look at how he treats you like a child, always coaxing and cherishing you. Prince Noah really knows how to pamper his wife."

Wu Yue shot her a sidelong glance, "What’s with you? Why the sudden flattery?"

Chun Ya giggled, "Just showing you some care, trying to cheer you up. Come here, I’ll show you something interesting."

Most participants who completed the wilderness survival endurance race had already left under the guidance of the event organizers. Shen Que, as a special guest, had to record the demonstration video for the next day’s segment. The few people still gathered at the finish line, watching the various live screens, were mostly participants checking on their friends or relatives.

As Wu Yue walked over, she saw Shen Qingci, Fu Yanqi, Charles, Richard, Shang Baiyi, and others looking up at the screens with great interest.

Fu Yanqi even took out a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and offered them to everyone, "Want some?"

No one hesitated, "Thanks."

After working hard for two days and a night, everyone was exhausted and needed to relax.

Wu Yue also joined in, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds, then casually found a nearby step to sit on and started watching.

Everyone was focused on the screen showing Qingxuan, Baizhou, Annie, Su Mo, and Sally.

Annie was tied up with coarse hemp rope by Qingxuan, who was dragging her along as he walked.

Annie shrieked in fury, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Sally frowned with a troubled expression, "Miss Annie, please stop being unreasonable. It’s because of you that we’ve fallen so far behind the others. If this continues, we’ll all be eliminated."

Su Mo comforted her gently, "Forget it, Sally. In a big forest, there are all types of birds—we can’t change others’ inherent flaws. Just focus on doing your best. Can you still walk? If you’re too tired, let Major General Baizhou carry you for a while."

Su Mo turned to Baizhou, "Major General Baizhou, if it weren’t for Miss Annie’s stubbornness, we wouldn’t be so far behind. Would you mind carrying Sally for a bit?"

Baizhou, "...No problem."

Did he dare say no? These two were verbal sparring champions, capable of talking him to death in seconds.

With Baizhou carrying Sally, Qingxuan dragging Annie, and Su Mo flying with her wings, the team’s speed noticeably picked up.

Annie was so angry she could barely form coherent sentences, "Why does Sally get carried while I’m dragged on a rope?!"

Qingxuan even seemed surprised, "So you want me to drag you along the ground instead?"

It wasn’t impossible—he was still the reigning champion of the military’s tire-pulling competition. And after putting up with her nonsense, he was itching to work off his frustration.

When Annie realized Qingxuan was seriously considering dragging her, she teared up, her eyes red, "You’re all so cruel! How could you bully me like this?"

Su Mo smiled, "Miss Annie, you started this. You brought it on yourself."

Everyone in front of the live stream screen silently turned to look at Shen Qingci, who immediately defended, "Momo has always been gentle with me."

Ye Liujin chimed in sarcastically, "Momo’s always fierce when she’s picking fights in the shadows. She could even nag about a spiderweb in the corner for half the day."

But since no one argued with her, Shen Qingci would just meekly take a broom and sweep it away.

Zhang Peng added, "Her power is unknown, but she rises to the challenge."

Shen Qingci insisted, "If Annie hadn’t kept provoking her, Momo wouldn’t have treated her like this. Momo is really sweet."

Everyone else, "...Alright, alright, whatever you say."

Fu Yanqi cracked a sunflower seed, "So what exactly sparked this whole spat between them? *Crunch crunch*."

Richard explained, "That Annie has a crush on Shen Que. She ran into Wu Yue while separated from the group and immediately picked a fight, nearly got herself killed by Shen Que."

"Later, when she returned to the team, she delayed everyone and spoke with a bad attitude, her words sharp and biting."

Fu Yanqi looked at Annie as if she were looking at a daredevil, "She actually has a crush on Shen Que? How did that even happen? With all those murder videos of Shen Que, plus the royal court pouring fuel on the fire, who would dare to like him?"

Wu Yue, "...Maybe it was the fox spirit video."

Fu Yanqi, "...That might have been the most affected he's ever been."

Richard chimed in, "His peacocking phase was downright unbearable to watch."

Wu Yue glanced sideways at the two of them, her eyes dangerous, "What are you two talking about?"

Well, well, well, so protective—won't even let others comment.

The two immediately stood at attention and zipped it.

Charles sighed, "Sally has undergone professional training and usually doesn’t speak lightly. But once she does, it’s bound to cause casualties in the immediate vicinity."

Everyone realized:

If you put it that way, both Su Mo and Sally are professionally trained, specialized technical experts with exceptional skills—finally, they've found their calling!!

They eagerly turned to the live broadcast screen, only to see Annie sobbing too hard to speak.

"You’re all just too much! How can you bully me like this just because of your status? I thought Prince Noah was kind-hearted and gentle, but I never expected he’d also be cowed by authority and even try to kill me just to show off for that woman. Why?! Just because you’re of high status, does that give you the right to trample on others’ dignity like this?"

Annie was extremely beautiful, crying beautiful tears; anyone would feel pity.

Just as Bai Zhou was about to speak, he saw Qing Xuan looking thoroughly disgusted as he pulled a dark, grimy-looking cloth from his pocket and stuffed it into Annie’s mouth.

"Mmph... mmph... mmph mmph!!"

Even Su Mo’s expression flickered for a second, "Major General Qingxuan, this... doesn’t look good for you..."

Sally chimed in, "...Major General Qingxuan, you should still consider your public reputation..."

Qing Xuan looked like he'd been revived, his tone noticeably lighter,

"Finally, some quiet."

Su Mo and Sally shot pleading looks at Bai Zhou, "Major General Bai Zhou, say something!!"

Bai Zhou, "..."

He looked utterly exhausted, "Forget it, let’s just hurry up and go."

To hell with it all! He damn well couldn’t control any of them anyway!

Being grouped with such a bunch of losers—he must have had the worst luck imaginable!!