Three days later.
In Qingcheng's South City district, at the White Crow's temporary base.
Xue Jing dragged a black rolling suitcase, heading toward the nearby airstrip.
Miao Miao squatted on his shoulder, licking its right front paw to wash its face.
This ti, on his trip to Yuan City for the competition, he only brought Miao Miao along.
Xue Wan originally wanted to go with him since she had never played in the Inner Ring City, but Xue Jing turned her down.
One reason was that she didn't have the permit to stay in the Inner Ring area for long, and the other was that Xue Jing had a feeling that this trip wouldn't be entirely peaceful. For safety concerns, he decided not to let Xue Wan co along.
Though usually a bit impulsive, Xue Wan was clear-headed when it mattered. Seeing Xue Jing's serious attitude, she imdiately obediently agreed to stay at ho.
A sleek black streamlined aircraft sat quietly on the tarmac, with a young man about seventeen or eighteen years old wearing a dark blue tactical suit and a paper talisman pendant on his left ear standing beside the plane's hatch.
It was Ning Yuantai.
Xue Jing approached him at a leisurely pace, one hand pulling the suitcase, the other waving at Ning Yuantai, he greeted:
"Ning."
Upon hearing this address Ning Yuantai scratched his head, "Xue, I'm not so young master anymore, whatever I have achieved today is all through my own efforts."
Xue Jing laughed heartily, "That's good, your character setting is very stable."
As he said this, he looked toward the plane.
He was very familiar with this aircraft, having flown in it two or three tis before. It was the Dragon Core Airplane belonging to White Crow.
However, compared to last ti, there were so devices added to the plane's wings and nose that Xue Jing didn't quite understand, which seed to be weapons.
A few days ago, he called Void Blade to ask about the fastest way to the Inner Ring.
Void Blade asked him to wait and then hung up the call. Shortly after, he called back, saying that the White Crow Commander had heard about his request and would dispatch a Dragon Core Airplane to take him directly, ready to take off at any mont and quickly reach the destination.
And so, today had co.
"Isn't this White Crow's plane? How co you are the one coming to pick up?" Xue Jing curiously asked Ning Yuantai.
"I ntioned to White Crow that I'm quite familiar with you, so they let co over," explained Ning Yuantai.
In terms of familiarity, it probably should be Void Blade and Mountain Demon... But it didn't matter, Xue Jing smiled and said:
"Let's go then, are we ready to depart now?"
Ning Yuantai nodded, "No problem, we can depart right now."
The aircraft door opened with a hiss, and Xue Jing and Ning Yuantai walked towards the cabin.
On the way, Ning Yuantai suddenly noticed that the exceptionally beautiful black cat on Xue Jing's shoulder was squinting its eyes, staring at him with its erald-green vertical pupils, exuding an inexplicable danger that made Ning Yuantai shiver.
He couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"Xue, this cat is?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Jing reached out to pet Miao Miao's chin, covering the overly evident malice in her eyes, and smiled:
"It's mine, too clingy. It gets anxious and ows restlessly if it doesn't see for one day, so I had to bring it along."
Ever since Ning Yuantai had delivered the Divine Relic to Xue Jing's house and, on a couple of occasions, finished all the food which led Miao Miao to resort to instant noodles, she had held a grudge against this person who also had the surna Ning.
Now facing the man himself, the Serpent Slayer Spearhead in Miao Miao's claws seed a bit restless.
After so thought, Xue Jing said, "This cat doesn't get close to anyone but , it's best not to touch her... it's quite dangerous."
Ning Yuantai could feel the mysterious murderous aura emanating from the cat. Even though it was exceptionally attractive, he couldn't muster the desire to pet it and quickly nodded in agreent:
"I get it!"
After both boarded the plane, the cabin door closed.
After a while, with the sound of the engine starting up, the Dragon Core Airplane, propelled by the Dragon Species Force Field, hovered in the air like an extraterrestrial UFO, rising steadily and swiftly soaring into the sky, reaching the height of ten-thousand ters.
Then, with the Dragon Species Force Field shifting, the airplane pierced through the airflow with a screeching noise, speeding northward at high velocity.
Inside the cabin, besides Xue Jing and Ning Yuantai, there were over twenty mbers of 'White Crow' and 'Cease-Blades' dressed in fully ard tactical suits. Upon seeing Xue Jing, they all saluted him with serious expressions, calling him 'Lord Jing'.
Xue Jing smiled and nodded in response before entering a small compartnt designated for leaders with Ning Yuantai.
"Speaking of which, if it weren't for White Crow sending this Dragon Core Airplane to pick you up, it would have been quite troubleso to rush to the Inner Ring within a day or two."
Ning Yuantai settled into a soft seat and took out a bottle of soda from a small refrigerator in front of him and said casually.
As Xue Jing let Miao Miao down to rove freely, he replied, "Oh? How so?"
"The Inner Ring... is rather chaotic."
Ning Yuantai said euphemistically.
"As Alien Implants aren't banned here like they are in the Outer Ring, they're quite prevalent. Many civilians implant so in themselves, and common flying devices like the 'Dragon Wing Device' are quite common because they're not very difficult to obtain, which has led to the rise of many 'Sky Pirate gangs'..."
"Now, all Inner Ring cities have basically implented 'No-Fly Agreents,' and nearly all approaching aircraft are subject to indiscriminate anti-air attacks, so ordinary people who want to enter the Inner Ring have to travel by land."
"To enter the Inner Ring by land, one must transfer multiple tis, which is both complicated and ti-consuming. Traveling from Qingcheng to Yuan City, at the least, takes over three days, which is quite torturous."
Xue Jing tapped the armrest with his finger, curious:
"With the No-Fly Agreents in place, why can the Dragon Core Airplane get in?"
Ning Yuantai took a sip of his soda and explained, "It's not that Dragon Core Airplanes can get in, but Dragon Core Airplanes belonging to The Sixth Agency can get in..."
Xue Jing nodded, "I see."
"This airplane is very useful and rarely available, but that commander dispatched it just to transport you to the Inner Ring."
"They still hold you in high regard over there and would like you to officially join White Crow..."
Ning Yuantai whispered.
Looking out the window at the scenery, Xue Jing smiled and said, "I appreciate the gesture, but joining White Crow isn't for ; I'm quite content with how things are now."
Ning Yuantai made a face and said, "I feel the sa way. With your martial arts skills, if you were to join anything, it should be 'Cease-Blades'."
During the casual conversation, the airplane continually headed towards the Inner Ring, and several hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Ning Yuantai pointed out the window and said, "Xue, look down."
At his words, Xue Jing looked in the direction Ning Yuantai was pointing.
Although they were tens of thousands of ters high in the sky, through the clouds, they could vaguely see a vast wilderness below with a huge, hexagonal, black structure sprawled across the land.
"That's the 'Joint Cultivation' Intersecting Boundaries Biological Farm. From here on, we're officially entering the Inner Ring area."
As he spoke, urgent footsteps and various commanding shouts suddenly ca from outside the small compartnt.
Xue Jing asked, "What's happened?"
"Things are a bit more dangerous here in the Inner Ring, so so preparations are needed. Don't worry, it's nothing serious," Ning Yuantai said nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Xue Jing did not inquire further.
Not long after, as if to confirm Ning Yuantai's words, through the window, Xue Jing suddenly saw dozens of small black dots appear ahead.
His exceptionally strong eyesight, defying all reason, needed only a slight adjustnt of focus to see those small black dots clearly.
They were... people.
Dozens of them, each riding sothing like a tireless motorcycle, floating and flying straight towards the airplane.
Their attire was strikingly uniform, all wearing jackets and leather pants studded with tal, and on each of them were visible traces of Alien Implants, not unlike human biological organs. They also all carried weapons on their backs that Xue Jing could not identify but looked to be very high-tech.
"Tsk, these Sky Pirates, they swarm like dogs catching a whiff of stool," Ning Yuantai remarked.
Xue Jing gave him an expressionless look.
"Ah, I didn't an you," Ning Yuantai imdiately realized his gaffe and hastened to add.
...
(I wanted to sleep for half an hour, but ended up sleeping for three. I couldn't get the update ready in ti, so I'm sending out this chapter first. I'm still writing the rest.)
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