"September 1st, get ready..."

Just as Luo Chen began to bury himself in writing down the days, the doorbell rang.

"Could it be the commander? He's up earlier than me!" Over the past few days, Luo Chen and the commander have become close friends.

Their relationship progressed at an astonishing speed, almost like a rocket.

Open the door.

"Huh?" Luo Chen was somewhat surprised; it was Qi Tianlong, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Good morning, long time no see." Luo Chen chuckled, having been enjoying himself so much these past few days that he hadn't paid much attention to Qi Tianlong and the others.

Seeing this now, I really felt a sense of guilt, like a thief caught in the act.

"Xiao, you seem to be getting better and better these past few days. It seems that taking a break has indeed been beneficial." Perhaps because he had fought alongside Luo Chen before, Qi Tianlong joked with Luo Chen naturally, much more so than before when they were strangers.

Luo Chen scratched his head and smiled. "I can't tell you what I've been doing these past few days, otherwise if word gets out, how will I ever be able to pull off my Dragon-like Spear technique?"

"So early, is something the matter?" Luo Chen leaned against the table and slowly moved her small hand to close the diary.

For a master like Qi Tianlong, he can't be allowed to catch a glimpse of it, otherwise it would really be a major social disaster.

Qi Tianlong chuckled inwardly at Luo Chen's little gesture, but said nothing. Instead, he said, "Thanks to the doctors in the troupe these past few days, my injuries have almost healed. I came here to say thank you."

So that's what happened. I thought you were here to confront me. You scared the hell out of me.

Luo Chen smiled faintly and said, "Why are you being so polite? You get what you pay for. It's not like you're not paying out of pocket. Since you're paying to hire us, we naturally have to provide excellent service."

Qi Tianlong nodded and said in a low voice, "That's true, but I still have to thank you. After all, if it weren't for you one day, we really wouldn't know how to get out of this predicament. But I have a question."

What's your question?

Luo Chen asked in confusion, "What did you say?"

"Logically speaking, you shouldn't have come that day. Of course, I'm not blaming you, I'm just curious. We only had a simple employer-employee relationship before. Since we chose not to be employed anymore, why did you still come?"

During the few days he was recovering from his injury, Qi Tianlong had been thinking about this question. He really couldn't understand it. They had only met Luo Chen once. Although Qi Tianlong thought highly of Luo Chen, they had never met before. Why would Luo Chen do this to a few people he didn't know well? It was really puzzling.

[Damn it, now that you're healed, you're trying to trip me up. Have you forgotten how I saved you all? You're such ingrates!]

"Brother Xiao, please don't misunderstand. I was just asking out of curiosity, and of course I didn't mean anything by it."

"Hmph, I bet you have ulterior motives." Luo Chen smiled. Luckily, he had learned to be patient during his time at the bar these past few days, otherwise he really would have had to teach this guy a lesson.

You can't exactly say that Mu Shanhai's daughter is his father's precious treasure, but that statement doesn't seem wrong either.

"Well... as you know, we mercenaries are quite sensitive to information. We received some rumors that there were other mercenaries, and we also heard that you left, so we thought we'd go and see what was going on. It was really just a coincidence." Luo Chen casually made up an excuse to get by. He couldn't very well treat his savior like that, could he?

Being aggressive is something women do. Oh, you don't actually like men, do you?

"So that's how it is. I was being presumptuous. Please forgive me, Brother Xiao." Qi Tianlong stood up and bowed slightly to express his apology.

Pshaw, what's the point of an apology? If apologies were that effective, what would be the point of bars? Why don't you treat me to a dance performance instead?

Fortunately, Luo Chen didn't reveal his true feelings, otherwise his image would have been really tarnished.

"Are you sure your injuries are healed?" Luo Chen had gained a better understanding of Grandmasters. Although this world might be a simulation created by the system, it was still at the Grandmaster level. Judging from Qi Tianlong's appearance, he had recovered so quickly after only a few days of rest.

Hmm... It seems becoming a grandmaster has its advantages; the recovery ability is fast, and I can do it again.

"Is there anything else?" Luo Chen asked, seeing that Qi Tianlong didn't speak but didn't get up to leave.

Does he want to fight me with bayonets? Hmph, cunning little A-Dong.

"Well, I do have something else to say. I heard that the town has reopened these past few days. I was thinking that the weather has been nice these days, so I wonder if we could set off sooner? We've been delayed quite a bit these past few days..." Qi Tianlong said, cupping his hands in greeting, making Luo Chen feel embarrassed to refuse.

The town is open? Why didn't I know? Damn it, it's all those bastards at the bar, they've really ruined people's lives.

Luo Chen is the typical guy who forgets his friends once he's done with his pants up, even though he's never actually done it.

Why didn't you say so earlier? What the hell would I have done going to the bar to watch the dance? Luo Chen took a few steps toward Qi Tianlong and quickly said, "Really? The door is open?"

Seeing Luo Chen's puzzled look, Qi Tianlong said, "Don't you know about the message that was given yesterday?"

Yesterday... I'm really sorry, but yesterday the troupe leader insisted on dragging me to watch a dance performance.

"I wasn't paying attention yesterday, I was practicing martial arts." Luo Chen laughed to cover up his embarrassment, then said, "In that case, let's set off. It'll be better to get to the Northern Frontier as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more winter will come, and the harder it will be to travel then."

"That's enough. I'll go back and tell Shan Hai and the others how it is tomorrow morning," Qi Tianlong said as he got up and walked toward the door, then turned back to say.

After pondering for a moment, Luo Chen nodded slightly and said, "This time, should we bring some people with us?"

Luo Chen's meaning was actually quite simple: the fewer people escorting someone like Mu Shanhai, the better. After all, too many people would only cause trouble and might make it impossible to take care of things properly.

Besides, if the next enemy they encounter is someone of the same caliber as last time, a bunch of cannon fodder won't do any good. It's not that Luo Chen cares about their lives, but it's better to bring more high-powered weapons than a bunch of useless people.

After all, if the other side wants to kill Mu Shanhai, there will definitely be more people coming.

Luo Chen didn't care what mission Mu Shanhai had or what important things he was carrying. He only cared about one thing: protecting Mu Shiyu. Once Mu Shiyu was safely escorted, half of his mission would be complete.

As for Jiang Xian'er, Luo Chen was a little troubled. This girl's dream seemed to be quite simple.

Hmm... Luo Chen's wicked idea has come up again, but will he get torn to pieces by Jiang Tao if he does this?

"Hmm...it's best if there aren't more than ten people including us," Qi Tianlong said slowly after a moment of contemplation.