Chapter 19 Becoming a Bodyguard; Mental Search: Xu Lingzhao Leaves the Desert...

The desert planet is vast and sparsely populated, with few inhabitants, but most have space stations. You need to make communication yourself and then someone will pay to send a starship to rescue you. Xu Lingzhao has been constantly hunting Zerg to obtain crystal cores to pay for the rescue. She is almost exhausted. She glances at the person next to her and sees him eating a can of fruit.

Xu Lingzhao used her mental power to explore, but she hadn't found the space station yet. However, she did find something—a small oasis ahead. She walked quickly toward it. Looking at the half-empty bottle of water in her hand, Xu Lingzhao felt that Lady Luck was finally on her side. Seeing her quicken her pace, Ji Cunxi quickly followed, muttering, "Why are you walking so fast!"

"There's an oasis." Xu Lingzhao felt a little excited. Not only could it solve the water problem, but she could also take a bath. She felt like she was about to go bad.

"How did you know?" Ji Cunxi asked breathlessly, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead. She could see the tip of her nose reflecting light, but she only heard one sentence: "Guess."

"Hey! So what if you're a Double S? This young lady..." Ji Cunxi paused, wiping the sweat from the tip of her nose with her hand: "Tch."

Xu Lingzhao glanced at the person beside her. It was the first time she had ever seen an Alpha refer to herself as "this young lady." However, she was quite humorous. Her favorite thing to do these days was to bicker, but she could never win an argument with Xu Lingzhao. When the oasis appeared in front of her, Xu Lingzhao felt a slight chill in the wind.

She first squatted down and filled the empty bottle with water, then cupped her hands and drank the clear spring water. Xu Lingzhao had never tasted water so good before. She looked at Ji Cunxi, who had already jumped into the water with her eyes closed: "So comfortable."

...? The two of them seemed to have tacitly agreed to take a shower, but Ji Cunxi shouted loudly next to Xu Lingzhao, "I want to take a shower! Turn your back and don't peek!"

Xu Lingzhao's lips twitched. This female Alpha was quite...quite strange, but she still silently turned around and waited for her to finish washing. She looked at the horizon, the heat wave hitting her body. If she couldn't find a space station, she was afraid...but she would never use it unless absolutely necessary. A scream interrupted her thoughts.

"Ahhh! Help! Help!" Ji Cunxi thrashed about in the water, terrified. Xu Lingzhao got up and walked towards her, using his spiritual power to detect a small snake in the water... a non-venomous one. As Xu Lingzhao was about to go over and pull her out, Ji Cunxi screamed even louder: "Don't look at me! Close your eyes!"

This is truly a little princess. Xu Lingzhao had no strange quirks about looking at her. She walked into the water and pulled her out, but she clung to her waist like an octopus. "Alright, let go," Xu Lingzhao said coldly.

After the farce, Ji Cunxi, wearing clothes that had been washed and dried, walked up to her and coughed lightly to get her attention: "Thank you... I'm fine... You can go now."

As Xu Lingzhao nodded and turned around, she noticed her ears were a little red. She figured it was probably from the sun. She stepped into the water, feeling the coolness. A black mental barrier rose around her, perfectly blocking her vision. Xu Lingzhao looked down and saw the hickeys left by Chu Jingze on his abs. Her mind involuntarily drifted to the thought of whether he was pregnant, but he was too thin; it wouldn't be good for him to be pregnant at this time... No! Xu Lingzhao shook the bad thought out of her head.

But as she came out wearing her dried clothes, Ji Cunxi rushed in front of her, his eyes filled with resentment: "Why didn't you make me a black mental barrier?"

"You want me to see you naked? This is a mental barrier!" Xu Lingzhao thought the person in front of him was a complete idiot: "Take a break and get ready to leave."

"Hey, didn't you say that snake wasn't poisonous? Why don't you check if there are any fish in there?" Ji Cunxi ignored her first sentence and changed the subject: "I'm getting arrogant from eating compressed biscuits every day."

"Just bored." Xu Lingzhao said speechlessly.

Before long, the two lit a fire by the lake and began grilling fish, snakes, and clams. Ji Cunxi chewed and squinted his eyes, saying, "It's so delicious! It would be even better if we had some seasoning."

"Eat yours. It's good enough to have something to eat." Xu Lingzhao ate the grilled fish, putting the rest into his backpack to use as rations when he continued on his journey.

After walking in the desert for three days, Xu Lingzhao finally spotted the space station. She quickly pulled the person who was almost asleep beside her to run over. Xu Lingzhao steadied her breathing, dialed the wireless fixed communication, and negotiated with the other party. Xu Lingzhao proposed three S-class crystal cores and 15 A-class crystal cores as rescue fees, which the other party readily agreed to.

They were told to wait where they were. Just as Xu Lingzhao was about to tell him where she was going, Ji Cunxi snatched the communicator, gave him a location, and quickly hung up. To Xu Lingzhao's astonishment, Ji Cunxi explained, "Anyway, you're a refugee with nowhere to go. Why don't you come with me? I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury."

Xu Lingzhao didn't speak, and Ji Cunxi took it as a tacit agreement. Seeing Xu Lingzhao find a place to sit down, she also plopped down next to her, saying casually, "You still haven't told me your name."

"Yu Lingyue," Xu Lingzhao answered, leaning against the wall, her eyes revealing exhaustion. Finally, she didn't have to stay in this godforsaken place anymore. She glanced at Ji Cunxi without leaving a trace, but it was worth the trip to get close to her and gain her trust. Ji Cunxi repeated her name and then started rambling on.

She only stopped talking and fell asleep with her head on Xu Lingzhao's shoulder when the rescue starship arrived.

The starship service was excellent; it took the two directly to Ji Cunxi's villa. As soon as Ji Cunxi disembarked, someone greeted her, looking worried: "Miss, you're finally back. Lord Ji is very angry..." Before he could finish, he looked at Xu Lingzhao: "Miss, who is this...?"

Ji Cunxi pursed his lips: "Friend, let her stay in the room next to mine."

Xu Lingzhao followed Ji Cunxi into the villa and entered the room under the guidance of the servants. She stood in front of the window. She had now officially entered the territory of the villainous army—the Hiteas Federation. She went into the bathroom to wash away her fatigue and looked at herself in the mirror. Her features were still quite regular. She looked at the water droplets falling on her hair.

Whether she could stay safe in Sitias depended entirely on Ji Cunxi. Xu Lingzhao recalled that Ji Cunxi had briefly woken up on the starship. She looked at Xu Lingzhao's left hand: "You have an Omega?"

Xu Lingzhao glanced at the ring mark on his left ring finger, which had formed from wearing a ring for a long time, and said without batting an eye, "I used to wear a positioning ring."

"Oh~ I see." Ji Cunxi kept her eyes closed. Xu Lingzhao could clearly feel a hint of excitement in her tone. She wasn't stupid; she could tell that Ji Cunxi had other thoughts about her.

Now all she had to do was wait for the right moment. While resting with her eyes closed, she spread her spiritual energy to observe every move in the next room. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and went to the door of Ji Cunxi's house. She tried to open the door but found it locked from the inside.

Xu Lingzhao kicked the closed door with her left leg with a loud "bang!" The door shattered, and Xu Lingzhao quickly entered the room. She found Ji Cunxi being choked, her face flushed, looking at her with tears welling up in her eyes. Xu Lingzhao stepped forward and pulled the person away from Ji Cunxi.

He pinned him to the ground and punched him repeatedly in the face until he was powerless to resist. Only then did he remove the mask from his face and find black blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He had committed suicide by poisoning himself!

Xu Lingzhao stood up and looked at Ji Cunxi, who had been panicking but had regained her composure. Ji Cunxi gasped for breath and rushed forward to hug Xu Lingzhao's waist, stammering, "Wow—thank goodness you were here, otherwise I would have died. It must be that bastard Ji Cunli!" she accused through gritted teeth.

Listening to her accusations, Xu Lingzhao realized that perhaps the people who had been following them in the desert were not there to protect Ji Cunxi, but to kill her. Xu Lingzhao looked down at Ji Cunxi, who was holding her, her eyes filled with complex emotions. In such a large family, power struggles were often accompanied by cruelty.

Before meeting her, Chu Jing had lived a life filled with fear and trepidation. Xu Lingzhao pulled out a few papers and handed them to Ji Cunxi, her tone calm but with a hint of coldness: "Don't cry, you're safe now."

Ji Cunxi's shoulders trembled, and she stammered, "Thank you for protecting me. Without you... I would probably be a dried-up corpse in the desert by now." After a long silence, she continued, "Can you protect me forever...? I'll hire you as my bodyguard."

She looked up, her large eyes fixed on Xu Lingzhao's jawline, awaiting her answer.

After Xu Lingzhao nodded in agreement, she cheered and took out a personal computer from the drawer, handing it to Xu Lingzhao: "Here, take this. It'll make it easier for me to contact you. In a few days, you'll come with me to military academy!"

"good."

Before the day to go to military academy arrived, Xu Lingzhao was led to a study. She keenly sensed that there was more than one person in the study. The lights were off, and a woman was sitting at the table.

Xu Lingzhao's first thought was that she must be Ji Yao, the leader of the rebels, but before she could think further, several people appeared around her and attacked her.

She reacted swiftly, dodging and counterattacking, taking them all down within five seconds. Only then did the lights in the study come on. Xu Lingzhao squinted at the woman sitting there. She had red curly hair, wore a black military uniform, and had dark circles under her phoenix eyes. She held a cigar between her index and middle fingers.

Amidst swirling smoke, her eyes, like those of a python, fixed on Xu Lingzhao. She parted her red lips slightly: "A bunch of useless trash." She casually flipped through the documents in her hand. Xu Lingzhao saw her photo among them. The atmosphere in the room was oppressive; even the people she brought were breathing very softly.

"No wonder Cunxi wanted you as his bodyguard, you're really strong." Ji Yao put down the documents and walked up to Xu Lingzhao: "But for safety's sake, you wouldn't mind a mental search, would you?"

"I don't mind." Xu Lingzhao replied calmly and without making any unnecessary movements. Even with her greatest enemy right in front of her, Xu Lingzhao had to remain calm and not reveal the slightest flaw.

"Very good, please sit down." Ji Yao sprayed smoke in her face and had an interrogation chair brought over.

Xu Lingzhao sat down in the interrogation chair, her hands and feet cuffed, and even her neck bound. A woman in military uniform with gold-rimmed glasses sat down opposite her: "It will be over soon. Don't be nervous, it will damage your mental strength."

She spoke in a cold, calm tone about what a person with high mental strength cares about most—damaging their mental strength.

Xu Lingzhao looked at her expressionlessly: "For Miss Cunxi's safety, it's nothing to suffer some mental strain."

A note from the author:

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[Rainbow praise][Rainbow praise][Burning with joy]