Chapter 125 She Has Another Dog Outside

Chapter 125: She's Got Another Dog Outside

While the free public channel buzzed with lively discussions about the Frostfall Period and Fire Stones, Tao Fu was also chatting with Hua Diao about their upcoming trip to Qingcheng.

**Lucky Mink:** "Heard your little brother chatting in the group—you guys are planning to head to Qingcheng? When are you leaving? Why didn’t you tell me? Aren’t we supposed to be sisters who read novels and rant together?"

**Tyrant Peach:** "We haven’t decided on the exact day yet. I was planning to stock up on more Fire Stones, but who knew Lao Si would blab so fast?"

**Lucky Mink:** "You can gather them on the way. There are way more monsters in the wild than in the city."

**Tyrant Peach:** "Hmph, it’s not that easy. I’m trying to avoid monsters. The original body’s family, plus all my little brothers’ families—we’ve got a whole group with elderly, weak, and sickly folks. We can’t be reckless. We’ll avoid what we can and only pick off stragglers on the road. We won’t be able to go all out until we get them all settled."

**Lucky Mink:** "Ah, I see. I just dealt with the original body’s maternal family a few days ago, so I don’t have that kind of trouble."

**Tyrant Peach:** "Hmph! You lucky minx, still showing off. Though I’m tied down by the original body’s family, they’re actually pretty nice. I like them a lot more than my last life’s parents, who were sexist leeches. But I don’t dare get too close—what if they notice something’s off? Ugh, if they ever ask, I can’t just say, ‘Your daughter’s soul is who-knows-where, and I’m just a stray spirit who took over,’ right? They’d probably burn me at the stake!"

Hua Diao found this amusing—it was a dilemma similar to what she’d faced before, back when she didn’t know Xie Tingsheng’s soul had been swapped. She’d agonized over whether to tell him his wife had a new "core"!

**Lucky Mink:** "Hahahaha... Just keep it hidden for now. Cross that bridge when you come to it."

**Tyrant Peach:** "My supplies aren’t fully stocked yet, and most of my time will be spent on the road. Lucky, generous mink, you’ll help me out when I get there, right?"

**Lucky Mink:** "With my current luck and wealth, helping out is no problem. But I only take care of those younger than me. How about you call me ‘Sister Mink’ first?"

**Tyrant Peach:** "Pfft! You sneaky little mink, always trying to get one over on me. Hmph! I refuse to believe I can’t survive this Frostfall Period on my own!"

**Lucky Mink:** "Don’t be so stubborn. Just say ‘Sister Mink,’ and Fire Stones, high-level equipment, high-tier Skill Scrolls—you name it, I’ve got it. Oh, and delicious seafood feasts too. Tempting, isn’t it?"

**Tyrant Peach:** "No! ‘I won't be bought or bossed around’—that’s me! Don’t think you can bribe me into calling you ‘sister’ with petty favors. I’ll always be the big sister here. Enough chit-chat—I’m off to stock up. Hmph!"

With that, Tao Fu decisively logged off. Determined not to call Hua Diao "sister," she threw herself into gathering supplies with renewed vigor.

Hua Diao sighed regretfully at the chat screen. Was it really so hard to get her to say "Sister Mink" just once?

Xie Tingsheng walked back with a glass of water and found her sulking on the couch, her delicate little face scrunched up adorably. He took a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing, then set the glass down and strode over. Wrapping an arm around her slender waist, he pulled her into his lap and pressed a kiss to her dainty earlobe, murmuring in a low, amused voice, "What’s got you sighing? Who made you unhappy?"

Hua Diao squirmed at the ticklish sensation and reached back to push his face away.

But the shameless man just kissed her palm instead, the warm touch sending tingles up her arm straight to her heart. She shivered, her ears turning pink.

"This shameless jerk!" she thought.

Not one to lose out, she pulled her hand free and slid it under his shirt, running her fingers over the firm ridges of his abs.

Xie Tingsheng chuckled darkly and didn’t resist, even pressing her hand closer to let her explore.

After some flirty wrestling on the couch, Xie Tingsheng got ready to leave. As usual, he extended an invitation: "Coming with me today? My team’s taking over the Qingcheng East District highway starting today. Heard a group of Firebirds will spawn there."

"Firebirds?" Hua Diao’s eyes lit up, and she jumped to her feet eagerly. "I’m in!" she said eagerly.

Even if Big Peach refused to call her "sister," their friendship wasn’t for nothing—she couldn’t just leave her hanging, she mused.

With so many people in Big Peach’s group and the Frostfall Period looming, Fire Stones were essential for maintaining body heat. But the strange thing was, Fire Stones only dropped from Firebird loot boxes—no other monsters had them. Since no Firebird-related dungeons had appeared yet, the only way to collect them was to hunt Firebirds in the wild.

So when Xie Tingsheng mentioned it, she immediately got excited. This would save her the trouble of searching.

Xie Tingsheng arched a brow at her unusual enthusiasm. Suspicion crept in—was it because of whoever she’d been chatting with earlier?

His guard went up. Did she have another dog outside?

Thus, that morning, Hua Diao cheerfully led the way while Xie Tingsheng followed with a stormy expression, his mood visibly grumpy.

Chen Fei, who happened to spot them and had been about to greet them, immediately halted and pretended not to see them, turning back to continue his patrol.

Their neighborhood was full of talent, and today another resident had acquired strong equipment. He needed to ask if they’d be interested in joining the community watch.

Hua Diao lacked Chen Fei’s human detector (which could detect her within a hundred meters), and since Chen Fei wasn’t particularly eye-catching, she didn’t notice him. She and Xie Tingsheng left the residential gates, got in the car (with her driving), and headed straight for Qingcheng’s East District.

As Qingcheng’s top-ranked civilian team, the Peanut Team had a cooperative relationship with the official Special Operations Bureau. Though Qingcheng was currently in a stable period, Monster Waves still appeared—spawning at residential gates, highways outside the city, and occasionally unleashing new monsters or massive waves.

With the Special Operations Bureau unable to handle everything alone, Director Zhang, the shrewd leader, implemented an outsourcing plan: assigning Monster Wave hotspots to civilian teams. This eased the Bureau’s burden while giving teams fixed farming locations to build their strength—a win-win.

The East District highway spawn location was one such place the Peanut Team had contracted from the Qingcheng Special Operations Bureau. From today onward, it was their responsibility.