Chapter 29. Preparations before departure...

'Lin Xiaoxiao, I like you.'

"If this is discovered and someone has to go to the capital's law enforcement agency to confess, that person will only be me. It will be me who knew about it but failed to report it, tacitly condoning your actions."

'You can think about it carefully. I await your reply.'

...

Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly threw off the covers, sat up with messy hair, and faint dark circles under her eyes, frantically scratching her hair in frustration.

In her dream, she kept repeating Xiao Weizhi's words and his handsome face, which was even more attractive than a celebrity's. Don't people usually black out when they're drunk? That doesn't make sense, does it?

After standing there in a daze for a while, Lin Xiaoxiao heard a series of noises coming from inside.

A moment later, there was a knock on her door. Through the wooden door, Cheng Cheng's voice sounded a little distorted: "Xiaoxiao, are you up? May I come in?"

Lin Xiaoxiao immediately said to the door, "Sister Cheng Cheng, please come in."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Cheng pulled the doorknob, pushed the door open, and came in, smiling as he said to Lin Xiaoxiao, "Xiaoxiao, get up quickly, we're going to the trading market today."

The trading market? Oh right, we agreed at the banquet yesterday that we'd go to the trading market in Xicheng today to hunt for bargains.

Lin Xiaoxiao struggled to get out of bed, moved to the edge of the bed, and casually picked up the cane resting on the bedside table. She asked softly, "I'm sorry, Sister Cheng, I overslept."

Cheng Cheng smiled and waved his hand: "No, no, Ah Feng and I just arrived too."

We're about to embark on a mission to an S-rank secret realm, so all members of the Dragon Fang team have moved into the Xiao family's residence in advance to facilitate our combat meeting that evening.

Half an hour later, Lin Xiaoxiao appeared at the restaurant entrance, dressed in her dress and prosthetic leg.

The table was full of friends, with the only empty seat next to Xiao Weizhi, who was holding documents and turning to check with Chen Feng next to him the supplies needed to enter the secret realm.

Cheng Cheng greeted her warmly, "Xiaoxiao, come and eat. We'll set off after lunch."

Redtail, standing beside Cheng Cheng, wagged its six tails and buried its head in its food, twitching its ears to welcome Lin Xiaoxiao's arrival.

Xiao Weizhi put down the documents in her hand, gestured to Chen Feng to pause, and reached out to pull out the chair next to her.

Lin Xiaoxiao walked stiffly to her seat and sat down, gripping the armrests with both hands, just about to move the chair in.

Xiao Weizhi reached out and moved the chair closer to the table. After moving the chair, he even put a bowl of soup and a bowl of rice in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, and even moved her favorite dishes in front of her.

Everyone was exchanging knowing glances and winks: 'Look, isn't it seems like the boss and Xiaoxiao's relationship is progressing?' 'Should we prepare a gift?'...

Lin Xiaoxiao sat in the chair, stiffly picked up the chopsticks on the shelf, and ate the lunch that made her feel like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat, while her friends looked at her with sly teasing eyes.

At 2 p.m., the group arrived at the Xicheng Zhuque Free Trade Market.

Cheng Cheng and Lin Xiaoxiao strolled along, stopping to pick out their favorite little things. Chen Feng and Xiao Weizhi accompanied the two girls, while the others were free to go and choose whatever interested them.

Before long, Cheng Cheng and Lin Xiaoxiao were drawn to a corner stall where a cloth was laid on the ground and piled with a bunch of random little items.

There were some old handicrafts, scratched second-hand props, and strange little ornaments... piled up into several small mountains about half a person's height, casually stacked.

What attracted Cheng Cheng was one of the angel figurines with broken wings.

While Cheng Cheng picked up the angel figurine, Lin Xiaoxiao squatted down and casually picked up a crystal bead bracelet from a box next to the pile of things.

The last bead of the crystal bracelet, which looked like a small pebble, shattered into powder in her palm, followed by a familiar beeping sound:

[Appraisal Skill (Beginner) upgraded to: Divine Eye of Appraisal [(Diamond Level) Upgradeable]]

[Crystal Bracelet (Special): This is an ordinary crystal necklace that has had three owners... well, but one of the beads on it seems rather special.]

Lin Xiaoxiao paused in her action of picking up the bracelet. Heaven knows why she could obtain a diamond-level skill that could be upgraded just by casually picking up a crystal chain.

She stiffly held up the bracelet in her hand and asked the unshaven shopkeeper sitting on a small stool, "How much is this, boss?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the bracelet in Lin Xiaoxiao's hand, took a puff of his pipe, and said, "One silver coin. There are similar bracelets in the box next to you. If you don't like this one, you can exchange it for another."

Lin Xiaoxiao held the bracelet in her hand and tentatively picked up all the bracelets and examined them, but found nothing unusual. She put the last bracelet back in its place and accidentally bumped into a fist-sized brass lamp in a pile of other bracelets next door.

[Damaged Soul-Stabilizing Lamp (Bronze Level): This is an item that was discarded because it lacked a wick. It is an underrated item. Once a suitable wick is found and replaced, its original abilities can be restored: *****…… (It needs to be repaired before you can view further)]

Seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao's behavior was a bit off, Xiao Weizhi half-squatted down beside her and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Lin Xiaoxiao subconsciously picked up the broken, pointed oil lamp, holding it in her hand along with the crystal bracelet: "This lamp looks very unique, I want it."

Xiao Weizhi took the two items and looked at the lamp in his hand, which was obviously a work of art. It was so broken that it had no wick or oil. It was quite unique.

He swallowed his confusion and nodded: "Buy!"

Lin Xiaoxiao then searched the entire stall and found only two items besides the lamp: an unknown seed (bronze level) and a broken bell (special).

It cost a total of ten gold coins, and I paid in full.

Besides the angel figurine with broken wings, Cheng Cheng also chose a lace hair accessory called "Holy Flower".

(The Holy Flower: Pure white, with layers of petals forming a semi-circle that encloses the pale golden stamens, it looks pure and beautiful. It is the most popular decorative flower used by churches in the Great Eagle area; its flower language is: the holiness that washes away all sins.)

Later, Cheng Cheng and Lin Xiaoxiao visited several similar Taobao general stores, but unfortunately they couldn't find any more registered incomplete props.

On the contrary, Cheng Cheng bought several cute (and strange) little trinkets, such as: a little devil figurine without eyes, a peace bird pendant without wings...

Afterwards, they wandered around for several more hours, but didn't find anything they particularly wanted.

I accompanied Xiao Weizhi to the shop that customizes lifestyle props to pick up the customized lifestyle prop - [Folding Multifunctional Kitchen (Silver Level)].

This prop is a metal box about half a person's height, covered with silver-white inscriptions.

It is said that when unfolded, it is a kitchen of about 12 square meters, which includes functions such as steaming, baking, stewing, boiling, ice, fermentation, etc., as well as a water tank that can hold 10 tons of water and some space energy, worth 800 purple gold coins.

It is said that, apart from the troops that have been stationed in S-level or higher secret realms for a long time, Xiao Weizhi is the second person to come and order in his private capacity.

Because this item is very expensive and its only use is to provide a good meal when entering the secret realm, the chef needs to prepare it himself.

Therefore, even wealthy pioneers might not be willing to buy such a useless and expensive super-large alchemy life-skill item.

When Lin Xiaoxiao heard this, her heart started racing for a while. Was it because of her?

Then she mentally refuted herself, how could that be? It must be related to the upcoming S-level secret realm mission, which will require her to help guard it for at least half a year.

After receiving the items, the group went to several different stores.

After picking up their customized items, it was already evening. Once they confirmed that there was nothing else they needed to buy, Longya and his group regrouped, boarded their flying vehicle, and left the trading market.

After dinner, Lin Xiaoxiao sat on a rocking chair on the small balcony of her room. On the small table next to her were a silent, rusty bell, a broken oil lamp, and an ordinary crystal bracelet.

She lay in the rocking chair, gazing at the starless night sky, reflecting on her experiences in the trading market that day, pondering why her Appraisal skill had been upgraded, and Xiao Weizhi's reaction.

With this skill, she no longer needed to send the batch of pet eggs in her warehouse to Wen Feifei's shop for appraisal; she just couldn't transfer the appraisal results onto the objects.

An appraiser's greatest abilities are twofold: first, to identify an item's information, grade, and usage method; and second, to transfer the identified information onto the item (similar to creating an informational screen for the item, allowing users to see its name, attributes, etc. simply by touching it).

And what's going on with Xiao Weizhi? After confessing, he immediately pretended that nothing had happened and went back to their previous way of getting along.

After thinking for a long time without finding an answer, Lin Xiaoxiao sighed and slumped back in the rocking chair.

Over the next three days, Lin Xiaoxiao's space was once again filled with all sorts of supplies, with cooling supplies and props making up the majority.

And this time, besides her space, the spaces of everyone else in the team were also completely filled.

Since this mission takes place in a secret realm of S rank or higher, and the minimum duration of the mission is six months, it's best to stock up on supplies.

Xiao Weizhi had somehow managed to gather a huge pile of protective gear, which she hung in a long string around her waist, making a clanging sound when she walked.

Furthermore, he continued to purchase various protective gear, almost to the point of madness, arming Lin Xiaoxiao to the teeth.

The day before their departure, Xiao Weizhi took Chen Feng out to run some errands.

Some of the others went out to buy supplies, some slept in, and some played video games...

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoxiao hid in the study, sitting on a small sofa by the window, reclining without any regard for her image, reading various books about legends of gods.

Just as she was engrossed in her book, a pair of twins quietly entered the study, stood by the door, and carefully observed Lin Xiaoxiao for a long time.

A moment later, the girl of the twins tilted her head and asked, "Are you my new sister-in-law?"

Lin Xiaoxiao was startled and instinctively closed the book she was holding. She looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a pair of exquisitely beautiful twins, a boy and a girl, who looked to be about 13 or 14 years old and were wearing royal blue Western-style school uniforms.

She sat up awkwardly, smoothed her skirt, and adjusted her posture: "No, no."

The girl continued in a soft, sweet voice, "But Liu Duoxin wasn't able to enter her brother's study back then either."

The girl's eyes seemed to say, "You're lying. If you're not my new sister-in-law, why are you allowed in this study?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao felt as if there were nails on the small sofa beneath her, causing her to jump up, only to fall back down onto the sofa because she lost her balance.

Xiao Weizhi only said that she could come to the study to read when she was bored, but he didn't tell her that there was such a rule.

Not only did Sister Luo and the others not warn her that she couldn't enter the study, they would also ask her if she wanted tea or snacks prepared while she was reading.

Then it dawned on me that the girl was saying, "Big Brother?"

The boy nodded slightly to Lin Xiaoxiao and introduced himself in a soft, hoarse voice, which was being altered by a voice changer: "Hello, I am Xiao Yanci, and this is my younger sister, Xiao Wantang. Xiao Weizhi is our older brother. It's nice to meet you."

Lin Xiaoxiao, holding onto the edge of the sofa, slowly stood up and forced a pale smile: "Hello, my name is Lin Xiaoxiao, I'm your brother Xiao Weizhi, and I'm a new member of the team."

Upon hearing this, the twins exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with understanding. It turned out that their older brother hadn't caught up yet, and they had even skipped their afternoon practice class in order to see their new sister-in-law.

"Second Young Master, Third Miss, where are you?" The voice of Butler Jiang could be faintly heard calling from outside the study.

Xiao Wantang called softly towards the door, "Uncle Jiang, we're in the study."

A minute later, Uncle Jiang, dressed in a black suit, with his silver hair neatly combed behind his ears and white gloves on his hands, pushed open the wooden door of the study and said helplessly, "Second Young Master, Third Miss, the eldest young master already knows about your skipping class! The eldest young master is on his way back now."

Uncle Jiang turned his head, his eyes smiling, and asked, "Miss Lin, how were the snacks today?"

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded: "It's delicious."

When Xiao Yanci and Xiao Wantang heard Uncle Jiang say that Xiao Weizhi was on his way back, their expressions changed drastically.

Gone was that composed demeanor of a little adult. He hurriedly greeted Lin Xiaoxiao and Uncle Jiang, then dashed off.

Xiao Weizhi returned an hour later.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Lin Xiaoxiao sitting on the living room sofa, lost in thought. He frowned and asked, "Why do you look like that? Did they come looking for you?"

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Weizhi with complicated eyes and gently shook her head: "No, they just said hello to me and then left."

What she was thinking about now was why she was allowed to freely enter and leave Xiao Weizhi's study.

Xiao Weizhi reached out and loosened the tie around his neck, sat down next to her, took off his glasses and put them on the coffee table, closed his eyes and leaned back, looking slightly tired.

Lin Xiaoxiao wanted to ask Xiao Weizhi not to sit so close, but when she turned her head and saw his tired expression, she couldn't bear it and decided to change seats herself.

Just as he was about to get up, Xiao Weizhi, who had his eyes closed, grabbed his wrist. His voice, which he had deliberately softened, was a little hoarse: "Sit with me for a while."

Lin Xiaoxiao bit her lower lip unintentionally, no longer thinking about changing seats, and sat with Xiao Weizhi for more than an hour, holding his wrist.

It wasn't until Uncle Jiang came over to call them over for dinner that he released her wrist, which had been gripping him until it was burning hot.