Chapter 9: Serious Business!!
The incident happened in the blink of an eye, but the mobile phone shop fell into a long silence.
Colleagues who were unaware of the situation blinked in confusion, seemingly realizing there might be danger, and quickly crouched down, whispering to each other on the ground.
”What should we do? What should we do?”
”Call the police, don’t you have a phone?”
Then came some rustling sounds as the colleagues let out desperate voices.
”The call won’t go through.”
The signal had been jammed.
Ting Ting thought of something and sprang up, rushing toward Wang Zhen. But just as she raised her head, countless attacks came from outside the window.
”Hundred Ling Illusion!”
Yuan Xiaoling raised her little hand, and water-formed creatures appeared later but acted first. Seven creatures instantly took shape, blocking every window and door. The air outside hit them with a sound of “puff puff puff puff.”
She seriously looked at her water creations, standing by the window enduring the strikes from outside. Most of the attacks were blocked. Either they were deflected by the outer layer or sunk into the bodies of the water creatures, vanishing without a trace.
A few sporadic attacks pierced through the creatures’ bodies with a “pfft,” but fortunately, their spiritual power was almost depleted, losing their threat as they penetrated and fell to the ground.
The holes in the water creatures’ bodies were instantly repaired, endlessly replenished, flowing ceaselessly.
”Four different types of attacks,” Yuan Xiaoling observed quietly, “probably four people at the late Third-tier.”
And at least over ten enemies at Second and Third-tier.
”There are too many of them,” Ting Ting gritted her teeth and said, “we’re outnumbered.”
Yuan Xiaoling didn’t speak, her young face somewhat serious. She wasn’t actually afraid of these dozen or so people; their numbers weren’t enough to overwhelm her with endless waves, especially since her abilities were least affected by endurance battles.
But the problem was, these people had come for murder and destruction of evidence, targeting an ordinary person.
Taking advantage of this moment, Ting Ting rushed to Wang Zhen’s side, urging him, “Quickly find the phone.”
”Okay.”
Wang Zhen instinctively responded, preparing to get up, then suddenly remembered something and said with a wry face,
”That, Sister, look, this phone needs a password unlock, and there are so many files, I need time to find what we need.”
”Well, find it now!”
Yuan Xiaoling tightened her little face and called out to Ting Ting, “Never mind, let’s deal with these people first, then talk about safety.”
She knew that Wang Zhen feared that once they got what they wanted, they would simply leave him behind.
At this point, Ah Lan stood up and said, “Xiaoling, I’ve made contact!”
Her ability was mental linking, a small branch of the Mental-type system, allowing communication with nearby individuals she’d previously connected with.
Since everyone has mobile phones nowadays, it hadn’t been used for a long time, even Ting Ting hadn’t noticed.
”Who did you contact?” Ting Ting asked.
Ah Lan excitedly replied, “The First Mobile Unit!”
During the team-building exercise a few days ago, she had been near Luo Zou Cheng.
At this moment, outside the mobile phone shop, at the old and messy street corner, several gray-clothed figures cautiously approached under fire cover.
They were holding a bomb created by a Spiritual Energy Manipulator, several times more powerful than Ray Sen’s original one.
Someone looked up at the direction of the mobile phone shop and saw the gleam of metal being blocked by water creatures, unable to cause effective damage.
”Not even an adult’s abilities can penetrate her defense, will our bomb really work?”
”Don’t be foolish,” the leader scolded, “our target isn’t that blonde big-breasted woman, just an ordinary person.”
Throwing the bomb inside would collapse the entire mobile phone shop. Even if the guy survived the ceiling debris, he’d die from internal bleeding due to the explosion’s shockwave.
”I see,” he mused, “the adult leading the charge is just a feint.”
The strongest person in the team was merely bait; the opponent definitely wouldn’t expect it. He couldn’t help but glance back at the Third-tier individuals hiding on the rooftops, directing firepower towards the mobile phone shop, feeling a bit of admiration.
At this moment, a strong wind blew towards them, and within the wind seemed to be shadows, and quite a number of them.
…Am I seeing things?
”What are you spacing out for?” the leader asked him.
”Captain, it seems like…” He pointed towards the rooftop, “we’re under attack.”
”…?”
He wasn’t mistaken; indeed, there were shadows within the wind, and quite a lot of them—dozens of people. The team on the roof could only redirect their fire to deal with the new reinforcements.
”Damn, how could they arrive so fast,” the captain gritted his teeth, clutching the bomb tightly, “we must complete the mission, just throw it in!”
Saying this, he quickened his steps towards the mobile phone shop.
However, without the rooftop fire suppression, the blonde big-breasted woman wouldn’t be distracted anymore and soon noticed the abnormality outside the door.
As he just approached the mobile phone shop, a giant water frog appeared before him.
”Croak!”
He and the bomb were both slapped away.
The assault team had no time to mourn as cold voices came through their earpieces from their leader.
”Mission failed, retreat!”
The reinforcement team was large, but most were Second-tier and newly promoted Third-tiers, posing no real threat to the few Late Third-tier individuals on the rooftops. But don’t forget, there’s also a Fourth-tier blonde big-breasted woman inside the mobile phone shop.
Inside the mobile phone shop, the group had been paying attention to the situation outside and immediately noticed the enemy’s retreat.
”They ran away!” Ting Ting exhaled deeply, “The hostage is safe!”
Yuan Xiaoling glanced at the trembling Wang Zhen and slightly twitched her lips, “Strictly speaking, we should call him a witness.”
It felt like they were some kind of criminal organization coming to snatch someone.
However, this group of people was clearly tailing her, and they didn’t hesitate to hurt others. For someone who followed her around like a stalker day after day, Yuan Xiaoling felt a flicker of anger.
Just showing up and leaving whenever they pleased, attacking when they wanted and stopping when they wished—there was no way such things should happen so easily!
At the entrance of the mobile phone shop, the water frog that had just flung the bomb stood proudly, when suddenly it felt a force pulling it away.
”Croak?!”
The frogs by the door, by the windows, on guard, acting as protectors—all the animal friends floated up.
”Cluck?”
“Bark!”
“Nee? Nee!”
Then they transformed into the purest form of water elemental energy, concentrating in front of Yuan Xiaoling.
Vector setting: Spiritual Power input: 7, no Water Dragon. Direction: the angle where the gray-cloaked person fled, guided by her gaze.
As the elements compressed to the critical point, Yuan Xiaoling gently opened her cherry lips:
“Water Accumulation… Torrent!!!”
…
The gray cloak ran fast, this operation had completely failed for several reasons. The first, obviously, was not expecting Yuan Xiaoling to be so proficient in the “Tide Agreement,” even capable of creating seven Fourth-tier water constructs all at once.
The second reason was the reinforcements arriving with the wind… they were truly like the wind, running like the wind, fighting like the wind, and hitting like the wind.
In short, speed was their standout feature, with low lethality. But precisely because they were so fast, they were hard to hit, and continuing the fight would easily lead to a stalemate, dragging it out until the blonde big-breasted woman emerged to clean up.
So the gray cloak decisively ordered a retreat. Whatever Yuan Xiaoling gained from this was no longer something he could consider; he’d have to report back to Mr. Yun He.
While pondering these thoughts, he suddenly felt as if needles pricked his entire body, a chill rising inexplicably in his heart. Without regard for his dignity, he rolled onto the ground.
Swishh—!
A high-pressure water cannon, like a torrent of arrows, swept past his previous position. Several Third-tier subordinates who didn’t manage to dodge tried using their abilities to resist, but the moment they were hit by the water cannon—
“Aaaaaah!”
Their bodies were shredded by the ultra-high-pressure water flow, blood mixing with water rushing far away.
The gray cloak turned back and saw the beautiful blonde big-breasted woman standing at the entrance of the mobile phone shop, a faint smile gracing her adorable face. Seeing him looking over, she pouted her cherry lips slightly, as if saying it was a pity.
The gray cloak felt a chill run down his spine, scrambling to his feet and fleeing, using the corners of houses for cover.
Yuan Xiaoling withdrew her gaze, crossing her arms: “Pity, he managed to escape.”
Passing the corner, the houses not only reduced the skill’s effectiveness but also blocked the line of sight. To pierce through walls would require at least a mid-tier expert.
Lemon doesn’t lock, lemon doesn’t pierce, so that was that.
“Miss Xiaoling,” a gust of wind arrived, revealing a man, “First Mobile Unit, reporting to you!”
Subsequently, others arrived as well, issuing their robust voices to Yuan Xiaoling—
“Here!”
“Here!”
“Here!”
As the first numbered mobile unit, during their formation process a few days ago, they adhered to Yuan Xiaoling’s philosophy, carefully selecting the fastest individuals. Mostly Wind-type and Speed-type, with a few Lightning-types and Agility-types.
Today was their first official operation, with everyone hoping for a good start. Energized, faces flushed red, breathing heavily, some still hearing their instructor’s words from the past few days echoing in their ears:
“Fast! Be fast! Only fast matters!”
Yuan Xiaoling surveyed the scene, nodding in satisfaction: “Good, you’ve arrived very timely.”
Her team formed according to her own philosophy, and its initial effectiveness made her happy.
“Wait here, escort us back.”
After giving instructions, she entered the mobile phone shop to check on the others.
The uninformed employees of the mobile phone shop were dumbfounded, trembling on the ground, too frightened to make a sound.
Ting Ting led the shaken Wang Zhen and found his phone among a box of miscellaneous items.
“Let’s go out first, get in the car,” Yuan Xiaoling said, “take the hostage… take the witness back to our place.”
A small sedan drove in the middle, surrounded on all sides by dozens of people running as fast as the wind, a grand procession heading toward the Grand Hotel. Outside the Third Ring, fewer people meant reduced skill impact, but as they approached the inner ring, people gradually increased, and passersby looked at the car, achieving a 300% return rate.
Yuan Xiaoling silently rolled up the car window.
Embarrassing? Well, intelligence comes first.
“I, I haven’t offended anyone, right?” Wang Zhen’s hand holding the phone trembled slightly, “Why would this happen?”
“Steady, send the photos over first.” Ting Ting shouted at him.
Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment, calmly looking at him with an enigmatic expression: “You haven’t offended anyone, you just got in someone else’s way.”
Wang Zhen shivered again, “Can I just step aside?”
“You can, but I think, based on their mindset, personally killing you and dragging your corpse to the side feels more solid to them than trusting you’ll voluntarily step aside and never come back.” Yuan Xiaoling said leisurely.
“…”
Ding dong, the picture sent to Yuan Xiaoling’s phone, Wang Zhen gathered his courage and tentatively asked, “Am I done with my part?”
“If you want to leave, you can leave, Big Sister Lan, slow down.”
The car stopped, and the dozens of people surrounding it also halted, like a group of elementary school students on a spring outing encountering a traffic light.
Wang Zhen touched the door handle, suddenly shivered again, and sat back down.
“I thought about it, if they think I still have something on me, or just want to vent their anger, they might still kill me.”
Yuan Xiaoling smirked slightly, “Your intuition is off, but your sense of crisis is decent.”
The vehicle continued moving, and the elementary school spring outing group started moving again.
Yuan Xiaoling opened her phone and began reviewing those pictures.
The overall tone was rather dark, indicating the time was midnight, but luckily the lighting project of the Four Squares Academy temple was excellent, with streetlights everywhere.
The battle and accident happened inside, but occasionally someone walked out from the perimeter, and the photos and videos captured this moment, showing several relatively clear silhouettes.
However, their expressions and faces… were somewhat strange. How exactly strange, Yuan Xiaoling couldn’t quite describe, so she decided to examine them closely upon returning or consult a professional.
Back at the Grand Hotel, Yuan Xiaoling arranged a room for Wang Zhen to stay in, then headed upstairs.
Initially thinking Bai Ling hadn’t returned yet, but upon entering the bedroom, she heard the sound of water splashing from the bathroom.
Bai Ling soon emerged wrapped in a bath towel, meeting Yuan Xiaoling’s gaze.
Lemon’s eyes lit up.
After several sessions of lemonade hydration, Bai Ling had become quite radiant. Emerging from the shower, she resembled a water lily, her delicate white chest barely contained by the towel, glistening with purity.
“No, don’t look,” Bai Ling felt uncomfortable, “it’s broad daylight.”
Yuan Xiaoling couldn’t help but humph upon hearing her words, “Certain people didn’t care about day or night back then, and it wasn’t just looking.”
“…” Bai Ling had nothing to say.
She indeed didn’t care about the time back then when she gave in to her urges.
Yuan Xiaoling wasn’t just looking; she mainly felt that after such a long time, the nutrients absorbed by Little White Rabbit last time had been digested well and could continue growing. Although according to the system, it would get slower later, perseverance would accumulate little by little.
Anyway, she’d have to figure out a way to give her lemonade in a few days.
“By the way, Bai Ling, I obtained an important piece of intelligence today.”
Switching quickly to business despite wanting to engage in lewd acts—this was where Yuan Xiaoling excelled over Bai Ling.
“What intelligence?” Bai Ling was naturally interested and didn’t care about only being wrapped in a towel as she approached Yuan Xiaoling.
“Regarding the Four Squares Academy, I learned that a year ago there was a clash between Spiritual Energy Manipulators there. A journalist outside the courtyard captured video and images, this is it.”
Yuan Xiaoling handed her the phone, “I feel something’s odd about these people’s expressions.”
Bai Ling scanned through a few times, her expression turning serious.
“Your feeling is correct, their expressions… indicate signs of mental invasion.”
Yuan Xiaoling was slightly startled, momentarily forgetting to peek at Bai Ling’s assets, “Is there another high-tier Spiritual Energy Manipulator with your abilities in Tianhai City?”
Bai Ling thought for a moment, recalling what she’d heard in her past life, and shook her head, “No, none.”
In her past life, Tianhai only had one high-tier Mental Core-type Spiritual Energy Manipulator, and eventually, the whole world only had her as the sole Fifth-tier Mental Core.
“Perhaps, it’s not human.”
Bai Ling pondered for a long time and seriously said, “Based on information from the future and your grandfather’s statements, we deduce that there might be a fragment of a Mental Core Foundation Stone hidden in Tianhai City, meaning…”
She was speaking when she suddenly noticed Yuan Xiaoling still staring at her exposed chest, prompting her to tap her lightly, “Stop looking, let’s focus on serious matters!”
