Her indifference seemed to fade from Xu Qian’s eyes as she smiled lightly, "I'm not as naive and easily deceived as I used to be."
Xiang Jintian smiled and shook his head, "You weren't easy to deceive back then either."
Xu Qian raised her eyebrows playfully, a rare gesture, and let out a soft hum.
"That's true."
"By the way, weren't you at Hope Base before? Do you know a girl named Xi Xi? She should be quite famous there."
A sense of inexplicable panic washed over Xu Qian, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Few people would know that name; only the members of the Sunburst team were aware of it.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Seeing Xu Qian's prolonged silence, Xiang Jintian assumed she didn't know.
"If you don't know, it's fine. I heard it from A Bai; he's already sent out reconnaissance teams across the country, and we should have results soon."
Xu Qian closed her eyes, leaning back against the chair, concealing the redness in her eyes.
"You'll know who she is later."
"Yes, A Bai will definitely introduce that girl to me. I watched him grow up, and this is the first time I've seen him so invested. If only he weren't so weak and so busy with affairs, he would surely go out and search himself."
Xu Qian forced a bitter smile. A 95% favorability rating, love was evident.
She changed the subject, asking, "Where are we going now?"
"The team has already departed for the nearest laboratory, located within the urban area of B City."
Xu Qian suppressed the pain in her chest and asked softly, "You're willing to take me now?"
"You'd go on your own anyway, so it's better to stay by my side, and I'll protect you."
Xu Qian closed her eyes again, fearing he would notice anything amiss.
"Mhm..."
"Tired?"
"A bit."
"Sleep. I'll wake you when we arrive."
B City urban area.
The location marked on the map, the B City laboratory, was situated within a city park.
By the time they arrived, everyone had already gathered in the park.
There weren't many of them, only five in total, two of whom Xu Qian recognized.
One was Xiong Yong'an, and the other was Hou Xiaoqing. The remaining three were unfamiliar.
Xiang Jintian openly put his arm around Xu Qian and introduced her, "This is Xu Qian, everyone knows her; my girlfriend."
"Xi Xi, you know Yong'an and Xiaoqing too."
"And the other three are Chen Hechang, Xing Junyi, and Qiu Qun. They are all the most outstanding soldiers from the War Wolf."
The three men blushed and scratched their heads, even though they were indeed...
For this mission, the five most outstanding individuals were selected from War Wolf, while the others remained at the Bright Base to guard the safety of the new ruler.
Xu Qian nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the three men.
Each of them was tanned dark by the sun; it was difficult to distinguish them without close inspection.
"I am Xu Qian."
The three men stepped forward and shook her hand one by one.
"We've heard so much about you."
Xu Qian said calmly, "Let's go, we should find the entrance first."
Upon hearing business, the three men immediately became serious.
"We've already scouted the area and haven't found any entrance. We also checked the well opening; it's a dry well."
Xu Qian's brows furrowed slightly. The system hadn't marked the entrance's location either, meaning the specific way into the laboratory would have to be discovered on their own.
Xu Qian instinctively ordered, "Spread out and search every corner."
Everyone instinctively responded.
They paused, looking up at their leader.
He waved his hand, signaling them to go.
Xiang Jintian's eyes were filled with tenderness as he reached up and stroked her ponytail, not blaming her for being clever.
"Xi Xi, I've found your leadership skills are even stronger than mine."
Xu Qian gave him a helpless glance and slapped his hand away.
"Hurry up and search."
"Yes, yes, yes, your humble servant will depart immediately."