Chapter 154 The Wrinkles on Your Face Are Prettier Than You Think

Chapter 154: Your Wrinkles Are Prettier Than Your Schemes

Quan Yumeng, her arm linked with Chu Zexuan’s, listened intently. Her eyes flickered with concern as she looked up at his charming, smiling face. She hesitated, then spoke, "Brother Xuan, that Hua Diao and Xie Tingsheng are both very strong. You need to be careful."

Chu Zexuan’s eyes curved into a smile. He gently ruffled her hair, his voice as warm as a spring breeze. "Silly girl, you should worry more about yourself. You’re now a traitor to the Peanut Squad. Captain Xie looks ruthless and fierce, and now that our captain has provoked him, he might just take it out on you."

Quan Yumeng stiffened instantly, her face draining of color.

That hadn't occurred to her. When Brother Tiger invited her along that morning, she had been overjoyed. So many "little vixens" in the team adored her Brother Xuan, but only she got to accompany him on an important mission. She had left home eager to flaunt her privilege, never noticing that the Special Operations Bureau’s mission also involved other teams—including her former employer, whom she had just betrayed.

The thought of Xie Tingsheng’s methods made her tremble uncontrollably.

Chu Zexuan took her shaking hand, his peach-blossom eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? Maybe you should go back to the team. It’s just a dungeon; Captain and I can handle it."

"No, I want to go with you, Brother Xuan," Quan Yumeng replied instinctively.

The thought of those "little vixens" mocking her for being sent back made her grit her teeth. She absolutely couldn’t let them laugh at her. Brother Xuan belonged to her alone.

Besides, Brother Xuan was enemies with Xie Tingsheng and that Hua Diao. What if he got dragged into trouble because of Brother Tiger and ended up targeted by that ruthless couple? She had to go along to protect him.

Chu Zexuan smirked, feigning emotion as he pulled her into his embrace.

Then, his thick lashes lowered, concealing the mockery, calculation, and cold amusement in his eyes. *Tsk, women in love are so stupid, so easily manipulated.* What a shame he hadn’t managed to charm Xie Tingsheng’s wife.

According to the dim-witted Quan Yumeng, that woman had ridiculously high luck stats, had drawn an epic-level item, and was stunningly beautiful. How wonderful it would be if she were under his control too!

But he was smart enough to know which women he could covet and which he couldn’t. Unless Xie Tingsheng were dead, he wouldn’t dare make a move.

***

Inside the Special Operations Bureau’s meeting room, the large space was nearly full. Members of the Peanut Squad, Roaring Tiger Team, Flying Wolf Team, and Storm Team sat in separate groups, each shrewdly observing their supposed collaborators—and competitors. No one spoke first, not even Liu Hu, who sat rigidly with a stern expression.

Liu Hu had once looked down on the Flying Wolf Team and Storm Team, which ranked below his Roaring Tiger Team. But after his team suffered heavy losses yesterday, their strength had plummeted, putting them on equal footing with the other two. Worse, those teams had sent people to Nan City to take a share of the spoils. Naturally, Liu Hu resented and distrusted them. If possible, he’d eliminate them inside the dungeon.

They had all brought their team captains—the ones with real authority. Take out the captains, and the teams would collapse.

Liu Hu’s murky, scheming eyes darted around as he plotted to eliminate his rivals.

What he didn’t realize was that his poorly concealed emotions had already been noticed by the Flying Wolf Team and Storm Team.

Who among those who had built top-tier teams in Qingcheng was a fool?

Hua Diao lounged comfortably in Xie Tingsheng’s arms, her eyes darting around as she observed the undercurrents between the teams. She was inwardly amused. *Liu Hu really is an idiot, rushing headlong into his own demise.* He wanted to scheme against others, but did he really think they’d let him off?

Maybe she and Xie Tingsheng wouldn’t even need to lift a finger—the Flying Wolf Team and Storm Team would take care of him.

Xie Tingsheng, meanwhile, was the most indifferent of them all. He paid no attention to the others, instead lowering his head to play with his wife’s hair, twirling strands around his fingers.

*Who was Liu Hu? What did petty scheming and undercurrents matter? Not even a single strand of his wife’s hair was more important.*

Just then, Director Zhang pushed the door open and entered, followed by several Special Operations Bureau members, breaking the tense silence.

Hua Diao looked up and spotted Lin Xiaobao—the smartest of the quadruplets—standing behind Director Zhang. *Well, well. It’s only been a few days, and he’s already risen to become Director Zhang’s right-hand man.*

Noticing her gaze, Lin Xiaobao’s refined, handsome face remained expressionless. Their eyes met briefly before he quickly averted his. Only Xie Tingsheng, who was hyper-aware of Hua Diao’s every move, caught the exchange.

Xie Tingsheng frowned, his cold, vigilant eyes locking onto Lin Xiaobao. *Who was this kid?*

Director Zhang, smiling, cut straight to the point. "You all know why you’re here. We’ve prepared the Dungeon Fragment—entry and exit will both be from this meeting room. But before we enter, we need to discuss how the rewards will be distributed."

Sha Hongsheng, captain of the Flying Wolf Team, smiled politely. "Do you have a proposal, Director Zhang?"

Director Zhang gave him a warm look. "I do, indeed."

But instead of stating it outright, he first explained the difficulty of obtaining the Dungeon Fragment.

"Our Dungeon Fragments are extremely rare. Aside from the ones collected by our Qingcheng Special Operations Bureau, we had to collaborate with branches from Shengjing, Chuancheng, and Tibet to piece together this large-scale intelligent Dungeon. Since Qingcheng is currently the strongest and most stable, they entrusted us with conducting the first experimental challenge of this intelligent Dungeon."

"Based on previous game analyses, the first-clear rewards for this intelligent Dungeon will be substantial. But after dividing them among all of you and the other city branches, it won’t be much. As the most successful city in China, we have a duty to support our less fortunate counterparts, don’t we?"

"So, my proposal is a 60/40 split. All rewards from the Dungeon will be divided 60/40—40% for you, split equally among your four teams, and 60% for us, divided equally among our six branches."

The members of the four teams all widened their eyes in disbelief. *Damn, this old fox is ruthless! A 60/40 split? They’d be risking their lives in the Dungeon for a measly share, while he sat back and took the lion’s share? Hah! The wrinkles on your face are prettier than your ideas!*