"Shall we go see the commander first? He's always wanted to meet you, and it's good that you're here today. In the future, if the two of us want to act alone, we'll have to get his approval."

Stopping in front of the door, Xiao Lingfeng first asked Jian Ning for her opinion.

“Okay, but are you planning to hold my hand the whole time we go in?” Jian Ning asked, smiling as she looked into his eyes.

"If you agree, it's not impossible." Xiao Lingfeng's ears turned slightly red, but his expression was very serious.

"Let's forget about it. I don't want your boss to misunderstand our relationship."

"Let's go. Let's see if he'll agree to let you act alone." Jian Ning naturally pulled her hand away from Xiao Lingfeng's.

He clenched his fists unconsciously, as if the warmth of Jian Ning's fingers still lingered in his palms. He paused for a moment before walking over and knocking on the door.

"Come in." The voice from inside the room was calm and composed, clearly belonging to a very stable person.

"bring it on."

Xiao Lingfeng pushed open the door and gestured to Jian Ning, who strode in after him. The room was simply furnished with a sofa, a desk, and a filing cabinet.

The person sitting behind the desk was in military uniform, with a square face and dark skin. Although his hair was gray, he looked energetic.

Hearing the door open, he put down his pen and looked up. The instant his eyes met Jian Ning's, it was as if he could see into her thoughts. "He's a very capable person." This was the first time Jian Ning had heard the commander's assessment of him.

"Commander, this is Jian Ning, my neighbor whom I mentioned to you!" Xiao Lingfeng first gave a military salute, then introduced her.

"Oh, so you are Comrade Jian Ning. I've heard so much about you, it's a pleasure to meet you today. Please have a seat." The commander stood up and was about to pick up the thermos on the table to pour water for Jian Ning when Xiao Lingfeng took it from him.

"Sir, I can handle this. She doesn't drink tea, she only drinks water."

"Okay, then pour me some water. I'd like to have a chat with Comrade Jian Ning."

The leader walked out from behind his desk, and Jian Ning then realized that he was even taller than Xiao Lingfeng. He walked with an extremely upright posture, exuding a powerful presence.

"Don't be shy, Comrade Jian Ning. The batch of salt you donated last time solved a big problem for us."

"I haven't had a chance to thank you in person yet." The commander came over, shook hands with Jian Ning, and then asked her to sit down on the sofa.

“It just so happens that I have some. If I didn’t have any, I wouldn’t have been able to get any. It was all by chance. Besides, you approved a house for me at the base, which solved my actual housing problem.”

Jian Ning felt this was an equal exchange. She was well aware of how scarce the living conditions were at the base.

"Comrade Xiao Jian, there's no need to be modest. I will convert all the contributions you've made into points and redeem them for you."

You must have had a long and tiring journey here. I'll have Xiao Xiao arrange a place for you to stay in a bit. Our accommodations are rather basic, but we do have heating facilities.

"The water can be used freely." The leader talked for a long time, but didn't ask Jian Ning why she came here this time.

"Thank you for your concern, sir. I read the letter Xiao Lingfeng brought me and learned that you have extracted a powder from the brains of monsters."

This is very useful to me, so I came here to join the monster hunt. My only request is that I get half of what's extracted from the heads of every monster I kill.

Jian Ning didn't want to beat around the bush, so she got straight to the point.

"The refining process for this item is quite complex, and this powder is also very useful for enhancing the abilities of these superhuman warriors."

However, I've learned a bit about your abilities from Xiao Lingfeng. If you can hunt fifty monsters a day, I agree to your proposal.

The commander was well aware of the importance of the refined powder for enhancing the gene warriors, so he and his men remained in Jianghai City and did not withdraw.

We can't let this city completely fall into the hands of monsters. The more people who hunt them, the more refined powder we'll get—that's a good thing.

He would agree no matter what, and besides, Jian Ning's 50/50 proposal didn't take advantage of the military.

"Fifty heads? Sure, but Xiao Lingfeng has to be my assistant. At the very least, he has to use his spatial abilities to store the monster heads for me. I can't just bring them all back."

Jian Ning readily agreed. Fifty monster heads? This commander really underestimated her ability to kill monsters.

“Okay, starting tomorrow, Xiao Lingfeng, you will team up with Comrade Jian Ning on your own.”

"You should appoint Gu Hailin as the captain of your current team. His injuries have healed by now, and he should be able to cooperate in battle without any problems."

"Okay, sir, I'll go inform him in a bit." Xiao Lingfeng was very happy that the sir had agreed to let him team up with Jian Ning. This way, it would be easier for the two of them to move around.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The commander called out, "Come in!" A person, completely covered up, strode in from outside.

"Reporting to the commander, our team discovered a woman with extremely high combat skills during our hunt today."

He could single-handedly hunt down the octopus monster with a sword, and he didn't hesitate to strike. He was clearly no ordinary person.

They must have undergone special training. Before he could finish speaking, he spotted Jian Ning sitting on the sofa and stared in shock.

How did my report end up in front of the person in question?

The commander followed his gaze and immediately understood. Smiling, he looked at Jian Ning and asked, "Comrade Jian, the person he's talking about is you, isn't he?"

"Yes, when I was walking over, a lot of monsters rushed out, and I took care of them easily."

"Perfect timing. You've collected all those monster heads too, right? Could you please count them all, comrade, and add them to my list?"

"Okay, Comrade Jian Ning, don't worry, we won't take advantage of you. Zhang Mingde, go and summarize the number of monsters we found today and report it to us."

Then he looked at Jian Ning seriously and said, "I will assign someone to keep track of this for you from now on."

"Thank you, sir. We won't disturb you any longer. Let's go back and rest for a bit. We'll officially start work tomorrow." Jian Ning didn't want to stay here any longer either. After saying that, she stood up, waited for the sir to nod in agreement, and followed Xiao Lingfeng out.

"Where am I staying? Are there any rooms available?"

"Yes, it is, but the location is a bit out of the way. It's on the far end of this floor, in a small, separate bedroom. I'll go tidy it up and rearrange the bed and other things. Although it's not a big place, it will be convenient for us to move around."