Xie Sisi’s eyes dimd, like a flickering candle about to be extinguished in the wind.
For Xie Sisi, hailing from a family of ordinary workers, awakening as a Star Martial Warrior was already a source of pride for her parents. Because she was a Star Martial Warrior, her parents could enjoy many benefits, such as free dical care, low-interest loans, and more.
But even so, her parents’ combined salary didn’t exceed twenty thousand a month, and the exorbitant daily cost of one hundred thousand was beyond what a family like Xie Sisi’s could even consider.
Although she knew she shouldn’t bla anyone, she still felt deeply despondent.
"Monitor Xie really is forgetful, huh..." Song Bo’s voice once again rang out gratingly. For so reason, since yesterday, Song Bo’s gang seed to have beco arrogant again. Since yesterday, Wang Lan had been considering whether to find so excuse to make so extra money.
"Watching Monitor Xie shalessly fussing over Jiang Xinyu, you really thought she would see you as an equal? Now you know, right? All that groveling, and in the end, you’re still left with nothing."
"Monitor Xie, you should feel lucky. If they were really willing to take you along, who knows, you might have ended up as Exotic Beast dung in the trial grounds. Then, you wouldn’t even have a grave marker, how sad and desolate..."
"What’s going on? Have these four dogs not been beaten for two days? Why are they acting so high and mighty?" Xu Xiangwen spoke up indifferently, standing up and rubbing his wrists.
"Hmm... It’s probably because Duan Ziqi managed to break through to the Star Cloud Stage yesterday, making these dogs think they have soone backing them up," Mingyue Wucheng said nonchalantly as he grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
"I was wondering what was going on... so Duan Ziqi made a breakthrough, huh?" Xu Xiangwen mused. "Why only now? Xinyu broke through two months ago. Is Duan Ziqi falling further behind?"
"Xu Xiangwen, think you’re tough? Fight Ziqi after school if you’re so brave," Song Bo, seeing himself about to beco the public enemy of the class, snarled angrily.
"Song Bo, to be honest, it might be too cruel for you to hear this, but seeing you acting so clueless, I can’t help but tell you. Do you know why, even after Duan Ziqi broke through to the Star Cloud Stage, he’s still keeping such a low profile?" Mingyue Wucheng stepped closer to Song Bo.
"You... what do you an?"
"Star Cloud Stage? Duan Ziqi? Heh... In our class, there are at least five people who could beat him so badly he wouldn’t know north from south."
"Heh... anyone can boast..." Suddenly, Song Bo’s words were abruptly cut off, his incredulous eyes staring at Mingyue Wucheng’s slowly unfolding Star palace.
A cluster of clouds slowly revolved inside the Star palace like a windmill.
"Believe it or not, even if you were beaten into a state where you couldn’t take care of yourself here, Duan Ziqi wouldn’t dare to let out a fart. Why not be a quiet, good dog?" Mingyue Wucheng patted Song Bo’s shoulder and smiled.
Song Bo’s face changed rapidly, and in the end, he quietly grabbed his backpack and, along with the other three, slinked out of the classroom.
"Duan Ziqi broke through?" Jiang Xinyu asked for confirmation once again.
"Yes," Wang Lan confird. "Not just Duan Ziqi. Mu Shaoyun also broke through. Duan Ziqi isn’t a concern, but we should be more cautious about Mu Shaoyun. His strength might not be beneath yours."
"Being a bit formidable is good," Jiang Xinyu said calmly. "Otherwise, winning wouldn’t feel like an achievent."
One by one, the classmates left the room. Wang Lan headed for the bus stop after parting with Xu Xiangwen and others at the school gate. Nearby, Xie Sisi stood with her head bowed, her expression despondent, lost in thought.
"Monitor... uh..."
"Ah? Wang Lan, do you need sothing?" Surprised, Xie Sisi saw Wang Lan approaching from behind.
"Actually... Xinyu didn’t an to look down on you."
"I know. Jiang Xinyu has always been nice to , and she’s never been condescending to other students. Song Bo and the others were just trying to stir up trouble. Most of the class knows this. I’m not mad."
"Before... when Wang Youle went with us to the junior trial grounds, we faced the pursuit of a mber of the Demon Clan. We watched helplessly as a Demon beheaded Wang Youle, unable to do anything to save him. If the troops hadn’t arrived in ti, we might have been wiped out in there. The trial grounds are very dangerous. You never know when Exotic Beasts will appear out of nowhere, and accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. Thinking about it now, it really scares . You panic too easily in combat. What would you do if you had to fight Exotic Beasts in the trials?"
"Actually, I’m not timid... it’s just that I get nervous, really nervous," Xie Sisi’s bright eyes earnestly fixed on Wang Lan’s face. "I will overco it. I have been working hard in secret, and I’m not losing to anyone in class. Wang Lan, if I had a million, you would be willing to take , right?"
Xie Sisi’s eyes were filled with longing. Wang Lan had never imagined such a look could appear in the eyes of a girl in the full bloom of youth.
Wang Lan had seen that look countless tis before. In his previous life, at Hengdian, those aspiring young n and won would have the sa humble and trembling eyes when pitching themselves to so director.
Wang Lan couldn’t understand what kind of pressure Xie Sisi was enduring, pressure she shouldn’t have to bear at her age, that made her so desperate to go to the trial grounds to hunt Exotic Beasts. But, even though dreams are precious, they are reserved for those with strength and preparation.
"It’s not a matter of money..."
"The bus is here, Wang Lan. See you tomorrow." Xie Sisi didn’t wait for Wang Lan to finish speaking and turned to rush toward the bus, fleeing as if in panic.
Standing at the bus stop, a confused look crossed Wang Lan’s face as he thought to himself, I’m not listening, I won’t listen to nonsense...
With a wry smile, Wang Lan shook his head and turned to walk towards the Xinyu Building along the sidewalk.
BEEP BEEP—
The car horn sounded in his ear, and a black business car stopped next to Wang Lan. The window rolled down, revealing Xu Shiyun in front of Wang Lan.
"Wang Lan, get in."
"Xu, what’s going on?" Wang Lan quickly made his way to the passenger seat.
"Back seat!"
"Oh—"
Wang Lan obediently opened the door and got into the car. A set of unopened clothes lay on the seat.
"What are you dazing for? Get changed."
"For ? Is there a mission?" Wang Lan asked with a puzzled face, noting Xu Shiyun’s serious expression. This seems like a big deal, he thought.
"Mission my ass! On Director Wang’s orders, I’m taking you to the bureau for a celebration banquet. You’re quite the big shot, having a captain like personally drive you. Tonight, you have to have a few drinks with . If I’m not satisfied, you’re not leaving."
"Celebration banquet? Is it for crushing the operation at Red Maple Forest Park?"
"Isn’t that stating the obvious? These past few years, the Demon Clan has beco increasingly active nationwide. Every ti, we only find out after they’ve already made their move. Even if we respond quickly, all that’s left is cleaning up the ss. Across the country’s twenty-six provinces, our three hundred-plus Tianjian Bureau branches have been driven to distraction by the Demon Clan, and the Imperial Capital headquarters is constantly scowling. But this ti, we in Suzhou City seized the initiative. We crushed their conspiracy and annihilated their base before they even had a chance to strike. The higher-ups are pleased, specially announcing national comndation and urging all three hundred and forty-two Tianjian Bureau branches to take Suzhou City as a model. Unravel the thread, take the initiative, and crush the Demon Clan spies. You, my boy, have brought us honor. Because of you, all the brothers in the bureau have basked in reflected glory."
Flattered by Xu Shiyun’s praise, a modest smile appeared on Wang Lan’s face. "It’s just minor rit, just doing my duty. Eh? That’s not right, isn’t this the wrong uniform? Why is it white?"
"No mistake, you’ve been promoted."
"Really? I rember that white is for... lieutenants to wear, right? I’m just a temp, so even with a promotion, it should be to official rank, or maybe ensign, right?"
"A temp? Do you still think you’re a temp?" Xu Shiyun stared at Wang Lan with an incredulous expression and scrutinized his face seriously for a long ti.
"Isn’t that what Director Wang said initially, that I was an auxiliary personnel?"
"Do you rember the test assessnt I conducted with you? If you had failed, you would indeed be auxiliary personnel. But you passed, so you’re official staff. Otherwise, do you think auxiliary personnel get special phones? Or a Tianjian Bureau identification code? Besides, the Southeast Military Region comnded you for bravery, and you played a leading role in the Red Maple Forest Park operation. Therefore, the Jin City headquarters specially promoted you by skipping ranks to lieutenant. Although you still have no position within the Tianjian Bureau, you are now a backbone team leader. Have you changed your clothes? Tonight, the bureau chief will personally bestow your rank and issue the comndation decree."
"I’ve changed... Talking with you like this, I’m getting a bit excited..."
"Neither Lige nor I snagged a promotion, but you did. However, I’m not upset about it. After all, we can claim this rit in our Intelligence Departnt. The Action Departnt dreaming of snatching the credit is a fantasy. Buckle up, I’m driving now."
As for Xu Shiyun’s driving skills, how can I put it? Very fierce, very showy. If it weren’t for Xu Shiyun’s calm behavior, Wang Lan would have thought a woman was driving.
The twelve-kiloter journey took less than fifteen minutes. This was during the peak hours of after-work and after-school traffic. Weaving through the endless stream of cars in fifteen minutes almost made Wang Lan throw up.
The celebration banquet was held in the Tianjian Bureau’s cafeteria, decorated like a wedding venue. It was the first ti Wang Lan realized that the Suzhou City Tianjian Bureau had so many people—exactly one hundred tables, nearly a thousand people.
Everyone attending the banquet wore military uniforms, mostly traditional green ones. A few wore white, standing out conspicuously like flowers among green leaves. As for the red-clothed elite mbers, they were even rarer—a re ten or so people in the whole scene. The black-clothed leaders, however, were nowhere to be seen yet.
Of course, for the Tianjian Bureau warriors attending the banquet, the real highlight wasn’t the sprinkling of white or red-clothed elites among the crowd. It was the chance to get close to the many female warriors they usually pined for but rarely had the opportunity to approach.
Since it was a grand event for the Suzhou City Tianjian Bureau, all the female Star Martial Warriors were beautifully made up. It was like a pack of wolves amidst songbirds, a flurry of flitting swallows and warblers.
The number of female Star Martial Warriors was about half that of males. Normally, the proportion of male to female Star Martial Warriors is one to one, but in terms of combat talent, won are slightly inferior to n.
Plus, with the Tianjian Bureau’s policy of recruiting only elites, this had led to an imbalance in the gender ratio within the Bureau.
On missions, female warriors usually wore masks. Even when they didn’t, they presented themselves without makeup.
Who knew that the female warriors, once made up, could look so beautiful? They enticed the male warriors so much that they nearly transford on the spot.
"Eh? Zeng, look... such a young guy in white? I’ve never seen him before," a green-clothed female warrior whispered to a red-clothed female warrior next to her.
"Him? He’s today’s star." Zeng Xiaomo wore a sweet smile, and the image of her first encounter with Wang Lan in the Different Dinsional Space created by the Demon Clan on the Suzhou City ring road flashed through her mind.
Reviews
All reviews (0)