"Why are you staring at me?" Su Wanwan waved her hand in front of Han Feng's eyes.
Han Feng grinned: "Nothing, just because you're good-looking."
"That's a must!" Su Wanwan blurted out instinctively, then realized her mistake and her face flushed red. "Wait, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Han Feng had already scooped her up in his arms. Su Wanwan exclaimed softly, "Ah! What are you doing! The door isn't closed yet!"
With a thought, Han Feng sent a wisp of starlight power flowing from his fingertips, which transformed into a semi-transparent hand that slammed the door shut.
"It's closed now." He whispered in Su Wanwan's ear, satisfied to feel the girl in his arms trembling slightly.
Su Wanwan's voice trailed off: "Mengran is next door..."
"Mengran should be asleep by now, it's alright." Han Feng carried her to the bedside, and the blue light spots seemed to have a life of their own, automatically avoiding each other and forming a halo around the two of them.
Su Wanwan suddenly reached out and pressed against Han Feng's chest: "Wait! I have a new move I haven't shown you yet!"
Han Feng raised an eyebrow and temporarily released her grip. Su Wanwan immediately slipped out of his arms, stood in the center of the room, and took a deep breath. The scattered points of light rapidly converged towards her, forming a pair of enormous, translucent butterfly wings behind her.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Su Wanwan tried flapping her light wings, and her whole body actually lifted slightly off the ground. "I tried so many times before... oh!"
Han Feng lifted her up in his arms again, this time throwing her directly onto the bed. The light wings instantly dissipated into countless points of light, drifting around the room like fireflies on a summer night.
"We'll demonstrate again tomorrow." Han Feng reached out and brushed a stray hair from her forehead. "Right now, we have more important things to do..."
Su Wanwan's protest was silenced by soft lips. The drifting points of light seemed to sense their owner's emotions, gradually gathering around the bed to form a hazy curtain of light, isolating the two of them from the outside world.
---This is the dividing line---
When Han Feng opened his eyes in the early morning, the first thing he looked at was the clock on the bedside table: 6:15. He breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he hadn't overslept this time.
Su Wanwan curled up in his arms, her hair scattered on the pillow like a satisfied cat. The blue lights that had floated last night had long since vanished without a trace, leaving only a few faint starlight on her collarbone, flickering slowly with her breath.
Han Feng carefully withdrew his arm and leaned down to place a kiss on Su Wanwan's forehead. The girl's eyelashes fluttered, and she groggily opened her eyes.
"Why are you up so early..." Her voice was slurred and heavy with sleepiness. "Sleep a little longer..."
"I'll go prepare breakfast." Han Feng tucked her in. "We're going to the base today; Old Lin needs to speak with me."
Su Wanwan mumbled a reply, stretched, then curled back up, burying her face in the spot where Han Feng had just been lying. She clutched the corner of the blanket like a pillow, muttering, "Okay... I'm going back to sleep then, I'm too tired..."
Before he finished speaking, his breathing had already become even and long. Han Feng chuckled and tiptoed out of the room.
The corridor was quiet, and Liu Mengran's door was tightly closed. Han Feng pressed his ear against the door and listened; he could hear regular breathing coming from inside. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. These two girls, usually so shrewd and intelligent, looked remarkably alike this morning.
In the kitchen, Han Feng tied on an apron and skillfully cracked eggs and chopped vegetables. The sizzling of frying eggs, the popping of the bread machine, and the steaming of the coffee machine blended into a warm morning melody. He made two extra portions and carefully covered them with insulated covers.
Just as they were about to leave, Han Feng suddenly turned back and left a note on the dining table: "Breakfast is under the insulated cover. Remember to heat the milk. I might not be back for lunch."
The morning mist at Longyuan Base hadn't yet dissipated. Han Feng rolled down the car window, letting the cool air in. The roadside trees rushed past, but his thoughts drifted back to last night, to the wings of light that had unfurled behind Su Wanwan—that girl's control over energy was beyond his imagination.
The sentry at the base gate saluted and let the car pass as soon as he saw the license plate. Han Feng parked the car and walked straight to the central elevator.
When Han Feng arrived at the door of the training room, Lin Zhengguo was already waiting there.
"Mr. Lin, why are you here so early?" Han Feng quickly stepped forward.
Lin Zhengguo turned around, his dark circles under his eyes indicating he might not have slept all night: "In my position, I'm practically on call 24/7." He patted Han Feng on the shoulder, "As soon as you mentioned it yesterday, I had people preparing."
Han Feng felt a surge of warmth in his heart. The old man before him had never considered the cost of his contributions to China, and Han Feng's respect for Lin Zhengguo grew even stronger.
In the center of the training room, five figures stood as straight as javelins. Chen Feng's buzz cut looked freshly shaved, gleaming bluish under the light;
Night Owl remained expressionless as always, but his burning gaze betrayed his anticipation.
The viper was playing with a military knife, the blade flying between her fingers as if it were alive;
The tower's nearly two-meter-tall body resembled a small mountain, its muscles stretching its combat uniform taut.
Yu Die, standing at the very edge, seemed out of place—petite, with shoulder-length short hair, and light blue surgical scrubs peeking out from under her white coat, she looked more like a medical school intern.
"This is Yu Die," Lin Zhengguo introduced in a low voice, "the base's best field medic, her skill in suturing blood vessels is more delicate than embroidery."
Han Feng nodded slightly. He recognized the other four—they were all comrades-in-arms who had shared life and death, but this was the first time he had met Yu Die.
The girl noticed his gaze, pushed up her glasses, and her eyes behind the lenses were calm as still water.
Han Feng walked up to the group, his gaze sweeping over each face: "I'm sure you all know why we're here." He paused, then continued, "The enemies we face from now on will grow stronger and stronger, their methods far exceeding conventional understanding."
He raised his hand, and a wisp of starlight flowed in his palm, gradually condensing into a miniature form.
Of the five, all but Yu Die had witnessed Han Feng's abilities, but they still couldn't help but hold their breath.
"Ancient martial arts training," Han Feng said, clenching his fist and crushing the ball of light, "can grant us the power to fight against supernatural threats. But the process—" his voice suddenly turned serious, "can be very painful, even life-threatening."
The training room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Han Feng stepped forward: "Now, those who don't want to participate can step forward. Unconditional withdrawal won't affect any ratings or missions."
Five seconds passed, and no one moved. Iron Tower's fists clenched so tightly they cracked; Viper's knife tip dug into the floor; Night Owl's eyes shone with a frightening light; Chen Feng wore a playful smile; and Rain Butterfly—Han Feng was surprised to find—her hands under her white coat were trembling slightly, but her gaze was as firm as if welded to the spot.
"Very good." Han Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's begin."
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