Chapter 42

Xu Qiao thought Qin Chi would put the water from his hair on her head, making them both wet so no one could laugh at the other.

To her surprise, even though he made a “retaliatory” move, he gave up at the last moment. His gentle tone made Xu Qiao feel even more guilty.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, bowing her head.

Qin Chi took two steps back and smiled, “It’s okay. It’s so hot in the mountains, a bit of water is actually refreshing.”

Xu Qiao’s face grew hotter. Glancing at his equally drenched battle suit, she whispered, “Should I dry you off?“

Qin Chi replied, “I have the wind. Go collect the crystal cores.”

Blowing one’s hair was indeed a rather intimate act. Xu Qiao apologized once more and turned to collect the scattered crystal cores.

A palm-sized lotus leaf appeared, nestled inside her armor, cooling her flushed face and thoughtfully “removing the heat.“

With her mental body helping to distract her, Xu Qiao calmed down a bit. However, after collecting all the crystal cores and returning to the now tidied-up Qin Chi, she still felt too embarrassed to look at him.

Qin Chi asked, “Rest for a while, or continue up the mountain?”

Holding a C-level wood-type crystal core left by a mutated rose, Xu Qiao began absorbing it as she said, “Let’s go up the mountain.“

Sitting face-to-face with him would only make her recall the recent awkwardness more easily.

So Qin Chi silently followed behind her.

As they crossed a stream that barely reached their ankles, Xu Qiao stared at the water for a while before suddenly saying to Qin Chi, “Can you simulate the speed of a B-level wasp and attack me again?”

Qin Chi didn’t ask for details, simply replying, “Alright.”

Xu Qiao walked a bit further. When the distance between them equaled the distance the B-level wasp had attacked from, Xu Qiao turned around, looking at Qin Chi seriously. “I’m ready.”

A palm-length wind blade formed in front of Qin Chi and shot rapidly towards Xu Qiao.

At the same moment, a shallow stream hanging in the air swept towards the wind blade. The wind blade, using its explosive speed, cut through the stream in reverse. Xu Qiao’s body dodged to one side, and the head of the stream extended with her movement, creating a winding river segment. Before long, the wind blade, slowed by continuous resistance, silently dissipated.

Xu Qiao couldn’t help but smile. Metal and earth elements were indeed strong for defense. Even wind could use its speed to separate attacks. As for water, it was inherently fluid. Fast-flowing water was dangerous, but still water could overcome hardness with softness.

Just like how her water blade blocked the B-level wasp and how the stream countered Qin Chi’s wind blade this time. The former was a one-hit kill with high efficiency but too costly for prolonged battles, while the latter, although slower, consumed hardly any mental energy, making it more suitable for defense.

Qin Chi suggested, “Again?”
—-
After an hour of constant failure, one could easily feel frustrated. So Xu Qiao’s earlier mischievousness stemmed from her irritation. Now, this success had revitalized her spirit, and she nodded with a smile.

This time, Qin Chi’s wind blade flew upward after encountering the stream, breaking free and continuing towards Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao adjusted the direction of the stream in time, but her reaction was still slower than Qin Chi’s precise wind control, and the wind blade narrowly missed her helmet.

However, such a battle felt more real. Beasts were intelligent, adjusting their attacks and routes based on the abilities of their opponents.

Xu Qiao thus began a new round of practice, focusing specifically on controlling the speed of water.

Her mental energy was depleting, and her physical strength was rapidly diminishing with the continuous dodging and running in the mountains. It was hard to tell which would fail first, but Xu Qiao suddenly stumbled on the mountain path.

A gust of wind caught her in time, preventing her fall.

“This time, we really need to rest,” Qin Chi said, pulling out two wicker chairs and placing them at a suitable distance.

Xu Qiao felt a sense of fulfillment akin to after rigorous training. She could sense her improvement, so despite her exhaustion, she was content. The new training had long dissolved the earlier awkwardness.

She leaned wearily into the lounge chair, taking deep breaths while staring at the thick green canopy overhead.

Qin Chi handed over a bottle of water.

Xu Qiao finally took off her helmet and drank more than half of the bottle in one go.

At that moment, she also looked quite disheveled, with sweat trickling down her flushed cheeks and the stray hairs around her ears sticking to her face. Only her eyes remained clear and bright, much like the stream she had conjured.

Qin Chi timely handed her a towel.

Xu Qiao waved it away. “No need, I’ll be sweating again soon, and we’ll just end up dirtying another towel that needs washing.”

Qin Chi said, “How about some fruit?”

Xu Qiao laughed, “You really are on a trip, aren’t you?”

Qin Chi took out two plates of fruit, all of it cut watermelon.

Xu Qiao ate the watermelon with a fork while keeping an eye on the surrounding forest. After finishing, she checked the time—it was almost eleven o’clock.

“Let’s head straight to the top.”

“Alright.”
—-
At noon, Xu Qiao and Qin Chi were the first to reach the top of the mountain and sat in the shade, waiting.

Qin Chi took a few photos, and as he was about to sit down, Sun Fushan came up gasping for breath, clutching his helmet, and plopped down on Qin Chi’s wicker chair.

Xu Qiao noticed the dirt on Sun Fushan’s battle suit, the kind that was wet, and curiously asked, “Did you go digging?”

Sun Fushan, catching his breath, typed on his communication bracelet: [I encountered three sneaky C-level gray rabbits halfway up the mountain. They ambushed me from below while I was practicing with a flying beast. I killed two, but one dug a hole and escaped. I decided to practice my earth-burrowing skills and followed it. Even though I’m faster, it took me over an hour to catch up to its natural digging speed.]

Outside the base, there’s no signal, but they could use the chat interface to share information, much faster than drawing on the ground with sticks.

Sun Fushan moved Qin Chi’s chair closer to Xu Qiao, so she could conveniently see his communication bracelet.

Xu Qiao asked, “Turtles can dig, right? Why didn’t you let your mental body chase it?“

She still remembered the digging speed of the fire scorpion.

Sun Fushan huffed and released his mental body to demonstrate its digging.

A dark green turtle the size of a millstone lay motionless on the ground.

Sun Fushan typed: [It can dig, but it’s too slow. You can’t rely on it for speed.]

Xu Qiao said, “Slow on land, but it must swim fast in water.“

Hearing this, the dark green turtle immediately shrank to the size of a palm, climbed onto Xu Qiao’s combat boots, and settled there without moving.

Xu Qiao smiled and held the little green turtle in her hand, stroking its cool, jade-like shell. “They say the ancient immortals lived on five floating mountains overseas, and to keep the mountains from drifting with the tides, the Heavenly Emperor enlisted fifteen divine turtles to support them, three turtles per mountain.“

“If this turtle really is a mountain-bearing divine turtle, its strength and swimming abilities must be top-notch.“

The little green turtle lifted its head high.

Sun Fushan typed: [I used to not believe these legends, but now I find it odd that there are mental bodies like dragons and phoenixes among the supernaturals. Why has my turtle turned into a mountain-bearing turtle, while my brothers’ didn’t mutate into Xuanwu? Xuanwu is the ultimate divine turtle…]

He hadn’t finished typing when the little green turtle suddenly bit his finger, making him cry out in pain.

Meng Li, climbing through the forest, heard his teammate’s cry and immediately took to the air, albeit clumsily, crashing into a tree before flying straight up.

Seeing their teammates seemingly on vacation, Meng Li landed beside Xu Qiao with a wry smile.

Xu Qiao cheerfully asked, “You can fly on your own now?”

Meng Li glanced at Qin Chi and replied, “Not very well yet.”

Qin Chi set up a dining table. “Let’s eat.“
—-
In the morning, Xu Qiao and the others had trained hard, so after lunch, Qin Chi drove towards Huang City while the three teammates closed their eyes to rest.

At five in the afternoon, the aircraft roared away, and the four-person team arrived near the border between the danger zones of An County and Huang City.

Spending their first night outside the base after graduation, Xu Qiao and the others felt it was more appropriate to stay in An County tonight and enter Huang City in the morning to begin their real adventure.

As the sun set, their off-road vehicle passed an abandoned village.

Sun Fushan tried to find an intact courtyard wall to use as a temporary campsite for the night, but none of the courtyards met the requirements.

“We’ll have to camp in the open,” he said.

Qin Chi smiled, drove the off-road vehicle to a flat area outside the village, and as he unbuckled his seatbelt, he said to his teammates, “I don’t like tents. Before leaving the Northeast base earlier this year, I had a mobile house built for comfort on the road.”

With that, a hundred-square-meter forest cabin appeared on the empty ground, made entirely of logs except for the glass windows, rustic and natural.

Even Sun Fushan, from a prestigious family, was wide-eyed, circling the forest cabin in awe before being the first to rush to the unlocked wooden door and swing it open.

Inside was a living room, decorated in the same bright, warm, and luxurious style as Qin Chi’s modified home, complete with vases and flower baskets on the coffee table and side cabinets.

Sun Fushan hesitated to step inside with his outstretched right foot.

Qin Chi handed out four pairs of disposable slippers. “I didn’t expect to host friends here. Initially, it was just a living room and a bedroom. I recently had a local construction company add another bedroom. There are bathrooms in the bedrooms, so you can freshen up and change clothes before coming to the living room to rest.“

Since Sun Fushan stood in the doorway, Qin Chi pointed to the right bedroom. “That’s my room.”

Sun Fushan immediately put on the slippers and ran inside.

Qin Chi then turned to Xu Qiao and Meng Li. “The left room is prepared for you.”

Xu Qiao asked, “Did the elite mercenaries escorting you never think of robbing you?”

Qin Chi replied, “I hired the most reputable mercenaries, and with my connections, they were very cooperative.“

Xu Qiao laughed and led Meng Li to the bedroom on the left.

Compared to the living room, this newly added bedroom had a much simpler decor, likely considering their preferences.

Xu Qiao noticed a touchscreen on the wall. Was it really powered?

She pressed it, and sure enough, the curtains in front of the floor-to-ceiling window slowly drew to the center.

Xu Qiao was in awe, realizing that as long as you had enough points, a superpowered individual could live comfortably anywhere.

“You go ahead and wash up first, I’ll go check out the living room.”

Xu Qiao left the bathroom to Meng Li and exited the bedroom.

Qin Chi was still standing outside the living room door and turned around when he heard the sound.

Xu Qiao walked to him and said, both jokingly and sincerely, “Just thinking about you only staying at the Southeast Base for two or three years makes me reluctant.”

Qin Chi looked into her clear eyes and asked, “Why?”

Xu Qiao pointed behind her. “Where else would I find such a generous new teammate like you?”

Qin Chi chuckled and after a moment said, “By then, you might have already reached S-rank, and whatever material comforts you desire will be within easy reach.”

Xu Qiao took a deep breath of fresh air and said to the setting sun, “It’s getting dark, let’s save the sweet dreams for when we sleep.“