Chapter 109. The Xiao family father and son meet...
The middle-aged man was about 1.82 meters tall, with fair skin. His medium-length hair was neatly combed back, and two tufts of white hair near his ears were particularly noticeable. Although he had many wrinkles on his face, it was still clear that he must have been a very handsome and dashing man in his youth.
The uncle's eyes, which were usually so affectionate when looking at a dog, widened in astonishment. His expression was unusually agitated, and he subconsciously took two steps in the direction of Xiao Weizhi, as if to confirm whether he had mistaken her for someone else.
Xiao Weizhi's eyes also widened, her gaze sweeping back and forth over the uncle.
After a moment, he opened and closed his mouth for a long time before finally uttering a question: "Dad?"
Lin Xiaoxiao was initially puzzled as to why the middle-aged man was staring at them so blankly.
But when he heard Xiao Weizhi say "Dad," he was so surprised that he choked on his saliva and coughed violently.
Xiao Weizhi didn't even bother to stand a few meters away, the middle-aged man who was suspected to be his father.
He quickly took out a bottle of water from his spatial storage, fed it to Lin Xiaoxiao's lips, and then gently patted her back: "Here, drink some water, sip it gently, don't drink it in big gulps."
Lin Xiaoxiao took a few sips from Xiao Weizhi's hand, coughed for a while, and then stopped coughing.
The middle-aged man left the people behind him and strode a long way, walking directly up to Xiao Weizhi, his gaze fixed on Xiao Weizhi's face.
His voice trembled slightly, his tone uncertain: "Wei Zhi?"
Xiao Weizhi looked up and saw the man in front of her who looked only a few wrinkles more than she remembered. Her emotions were turbulent and extremely complicated.
In the end, he simply pursed his lips, lowered his head, and continued to gently pat Lin Xiaoxiao's back.
At this moment, three figures slowly walked out from behind the uncle: a man with a super short, round buzz cut of 2 millimeters; a woman with a neat, large bowl cut; and a man with waist-length hair tied in a braid and placed behind his head.
The man with the buzz cut grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth: "Is that you? Wei Zhi."
Xiao Weizhi supported Lin Xiaoxiao with his hand, his back straight, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He bowed slightly to the man, showing great respect: "Uncle Chen, it's been a long time."
The man named Uncle Chen reached out and touched his round head.
He glanced at Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao's levels, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes, and chuckled, "What are you doing here, kid?"
Xiao Weizhi pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping over the professionals in the hall who had been secretly watching them, and answered vaguely, "I came here by accident."
The people present were all seasoned veterans who had watched Xiao Weizhi grow up. Judging from his expression, they knew there was more to the story, but it was inconvenient to reveal it in front of everyone.
The middle-aged man with the long braid, who looked exceptionally handsome, suggested with a gentle smile, "Judging from where Wei Zhi and the others came out, they probably just came out of the interrogation room. Let's hand in our mission first, go back and rest, and then catch up slowly."
The man's rational suggestion was agreed upon by everyone present.
After quickly lining up to hand in their mission forms, they took Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao and drove into a super-large 10-person SUV parked in the parking lot outside the resistance headquarters.
The 3-meter-tall off-road vehicle has a rugged appearance, narrow in the front and wide in the back. The exterior is covered in dust, and the six tires are stuck with a lot of mud. The originally black metal shell looks gray because of the dust.
The means of transportation in the Black Abyss are far more backward compared to the flying cars in the Dragon Kingdom.
The flying cars in the Dragon Kingdom have no wheels; they are designed to float and take off, and they rely entirely on energy stones as their power source. They look like high-tech alchemical products from the future.
The vehicles used in the Black Abyss are even more primitive, with all wheels that are close to the ground. Their energy source is a combination of black oil and energy stones, but their outer shells are exceptionally hard. Even if they were to drive around in an area full of polluted beasts, they might not be able to tear the off-road vehicle apart.
The driver was the short-haired woman. She was chewing gum as she drove, her face beaming with a bright smile. Every now and then, she would turn around and look back, saying, "Nephew, won't you introduce us to the beautiful woman next door?"
There were only six of them in the car. Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao sat in the middle of the SUV, with their uncles and elders sitting in front and behind them.
Their eyes widened like saucers, and their gazes simultaneously fell on Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao felt a little uncomfortable under such enthusiastic gazes, and subconsciously squeezed closer to Xiao Weizhi, while also raising the black cat in her arms a little higher, trying to use the black cat to divert the attention of these 'uncles and aunts'.
The man with the braid sitting in the passenger seat gently turned the woman's face towards him, urging her to focus on the road while driving. He said in a gentle tone, "Ah Qiu, don't rush. Wei Zhi and the others are right here. They can't run away. Just drive with peace of mind."
Xiao Weizhi put his arm around her shoulder, his eyes coldly sweeping over the few 'old men' with perverse tastes in front of him, signaling them to tone it down.
The group met Xiao Weizhi's warning gaze, coughed a few times, then pretended to be nonchalant and turned back to chat loudly.
"I wonder how many points I can accumulate from this mission."
"There must be quite a few. It took us so many days to get rid of them."
"But this time the appearance of the polluted beast is really disgusting. If I punch it, it will burst with juice."
...
The rest of the journey was long, and amidst the swaying, a tired Lin Xiaoxiao leaned on Xiao Weizhi's shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
After she fell asleep, the conversation on the train stopped, and the carriage became very quiet.
When Lin Xiaoxiao woke up again, she found herself in a room with red sandalwood floors and decorated in an exceptionally luxurious and classical style.
Only she and the black cat were lying on the soft bed. On the chair next to them was a small basket containing Treasure Hunter, Monette, and Hill, all fast asleep.
Xiao Weizhi and Hongwei were not in the room; no one knew where they had gone.
She slowly sat up in bed and found that her clothes had been changed into a soft nightgown. While she was still dazed, Xiao Weizhi, who had changed into a comfortable suit and shirt, pushed open the door and walked in carrying a tray full of food. Red Tail was hopping around at her feet.
Seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao had woken up, he asked gently, "Are you hungry?"
Lin Xiaoxiao touched her belly and gently shook her head: "I'm fine. Where did you go? Did you rest?"
Xiao Weizhi placed the tray in her hand on the table in the room and walked to the bedside to sit down.
He first reached out to check her forehead temperature out of habit. Seeing that her temperature was normal, he replied gently, "You've been resting. I woke up a little earlier than you. Come and eat something."
After he finished speaking, he picked up Redtail, who was jumping around on the quilt, and put her off the bed. He frowned slightly and said helplessly, "Redtail, you came back and jumped on the bed without wiping your feet. Now the quilt is covered with your black footprints."
Redtail's fur stood on end, its tail swayed incessantly, and it bared its teeth, sticking out its tongue at Xiao Weizhi.
Lin Xiaoxiao watched their interaction with a smile, sat on the edge of the bed, took out the box for maintaining the prosthetic leg and put it on the ground. She bent down, opened the box, took off the prosthetic leg of her right leg and threw it in, and then naturally reached out to Xiao Weizhi.
Xiao Weizhi picked her up, walked a few meters, put her on a chair, and pulled over the plate on the table: "You eat first, I'll add some energy stones and life water to the box."
When he returned after finishing his work, he saw Lin Xiaoxiao sitting in a chair, resting her chin on her hands, yawning and waiting for him, with the food in front of her untouched.
Xiao Weizhi pulled over a chair from the side, sat down, took some chopsticks from the side and put them in her hand, then placed a bowl of soup in front of her and urged gently, "Eat quickly! It's getting cold."
After dinner, Lin Xiaoxiao changed out of her pajamas. Xiao Weizhi knelt down in front of her, helped her put on her prosthetic leg, and asked in a low voice, "Xiaoxiao, come with me to see my dad?"
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded without hesitation: "Okay, I'll prepare some gifts and head over."
More than an hour later, Xiao Weizhi led her around several times until they reached a 3-meter-high brown gate. He was just about to raise his hand to knock on the wooden door with his knuckles.
A loud 'peng' sound rang out as a heavy object was thrown to the ground.
Then came Xiao's father's angry roar: "Liu Yuan, you've got some nerve! Before I left, I told you to guard the house properly, and this is how you guarded it?"
Then came a series of muffled striking sounds:
"Boss, stop hitting him! Liu Yuan's small frame can't take your hits. Give him a few more."
"Bai Xu, you son of a bitch, all you do is yell, why don't you try to stop them!"
"Boss, don't be angry, don't be angry."
...
Many different sounds came from inside the room through the heavy door panels.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi exchanged a glance and asked in a low voice, "Isn't the time we came in a bit inconvenient? Why don't we go back first and come back later?"
Xiao Weizhi thought for three seconds and immediately agreed to Lin Xiaoxiao's suggestion, replying in a low voice, "Okay, we'll come later."
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, Xiao's father's deep, angry voice came from the room: "Who's outside? Get in here!"
Lin Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then asked in a barely audible voice, "Shall we go in? Your dad seems really angry."
Xiao Weizhi nodded and replied softly, "Go inside, he won't get angry at you."
Lin Xiaoxiao stretched out her other hand, which he wasn't holding, pointed at herself with her index finger, her eyes widening slightly in surprise, and swallowed hard: "Are you sure?"
Xiao Weizhi answered in a low voice, "Yes."
The men in the Xiao family never had the habit of hitting or scolding women.
As long as they don't betray the country or their team, and as long as they don't cross the line, the men of the Xiao family will just swallow their anger and endure it, even if they are verbally abused.
Just as the two were whispering to each other, the door slowly opened, and the short-haired woman who had been driving in front poked her head out, smiling broadly at them: "Weizhi, hurry up and bring your girlfriend in, the boss has been waiting for you for a long time."
When they returned earlier, since Lin Xiaoxiao was asleep, the man with the long braid suggested that the young couple rest first, and that they could talk about anything else after they had rested.
Therefore, Xiao Weizhi only chatted with Xiao's father for a few words before taking Lin Xiaoxiao to rest.
When they entered the room hand in hand, they found more than twenty men and women standing inside.
They looked to be about the same age as Xiao's father, surrounding a middle-aged man with short hair who was lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face.
The moment Mr. Xiao looked up and saw Lin Xiaoxiao, he instinctively straightened his back, reached out to tidy his slightly disheveled clothes, and coughed awkwardly twice: "You've arrived."
Xiao's father winked at the people around him, signaling them to take Liu Yuan out first.
Unexpectedly, those people completely ignored Xiao's father and instead squeezed in front of Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi, enthusiastically introducing themselves.
Upon seeing the short-haired woman, she cheerfully greeted her, "My nephew's girlfriend, I'm Wei Zhi's aunt, my name is Ning Qiu. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The burly man with a buzz cut chuckled and said, "My name is Chen Hao, and I'm also the uncle who watched Wei Zhi grow up since she was a child. You can call me Uncle Chen, young lady."
The man with the braid smiled and nodded: "I am Ouyang Chu, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Then a short-haired man in a bright green jacket, grinning, shoved Ouyang Chu aside, pulled out a small bag of cleaned contaminated beast cores, and stuffed it into Lin Xiaoxiao's hand: "Hello, niece-in-law, I'm Bai Xu. It's a pleasure to meet you. Here, here's a gift from your uncle."
A bald man dressed in glittering gold pushed his way in, carrying two palm-sized bags that were almost bursting at the seams. He shoved them into Lin Xiaoxiao's hands and said in a loud, guttural voice, "Come on, girl, my name is Qian Puman. You can call me Uncle Qian."
“My name is Zheng Hui…”, “My name is Xie Tianwen…”, “My name is Li Yaling…”
A group of people, chattering and looking at Lin Xiaoxiao with affection, surrounded her and kept stuffing her with gifts.
Lin Xiaoxiao hurriedly took the things they handed her, answering them repeatedly.
"Hello Uncle Chen, I'm Lin Xiaoxiao."
"Hello Aunt Ning, I am Lin Xiaoxiao."
...
Xiao Weizhi stood to the side, expressionless, acting as a human storage rack, occasionally taking the things Lin Xiaoxiao brought, carrying a whole bunch of them.
By the time the introductions were completed, almost half an hour had passed.
Mr. Xiao coughed twice and reminded them in a deep voice, "Take Liu Yuan out first, I have something to talk to them about."
Before leaving, Ning Qiu said with some reluctance, "Xiao Xiao, remember to come visit Auntie! Auntie will take you to explore Youcheng and go shopping!"
Ouyang Chu put his arm around Ning Qiu's shoulder affectionately and led her out with a warm smile: "No rush, let the boss and the others chat first. They'll probably stay here for a while longer. Then you can take Xiao Xiao shopping."
The room was soon empty, leaving only Xiao's father, Xiao Weizhi, Lin Xiaoxiao, Black Cat, and Red Tail.
Mr. Xiao coughed a few times, deliberately softening his voice, and put on a gentle smile as he looked at Lin Xiaoxiao: "Hello Xiaoxiao, I am Xiao Weizhi's father, Xiao Junxing. My son has many flaws, but I thank you for not disliking him and for choosing to be with him."
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly explained, "Uncle Xiao, Wei Zhi is a very good person. He's the one who's tolerant of me most of the time. Since we're together, there's no question of whether he dislikes me or not."
Upon hearing Lin Xiaoxiao's words, Xiao Weizhi's lips curled into a smug smile. He gave his father a smug look that was both triumphant and boastful, as if to say, "See, she's on my side."
Ignoring the look Xiao Weizhi was giving them, Xiao's father chuckled and beckoned to them: "Come, let's sit down and talk. Tell me how you got here."
At their current level of only sixth rank, they can't even go to the City of Divine Favor, let alone the Black Abyss.
Could it be that something happened in the Dragon Kingdom, forcing them to flee to the secret realm and hide there, only to fall here for some reason...?
The more Xiao's father thought about it, the uglier his expression became.
Seeing the look in his father's eyes, Xiao Weizhi knew that his father's conspiracy theories had resurfaced. He took out a teapot and snacks from his spatial storage, brewed tea, and gently explained why they, at their level, would appear in the Black Abyss.
As for Lin Xiaoxiao's identity, the two of them had already discussed it before coming. There was no need to hide it from Xiao's father, so they told him everything that could be said and skipped over anything that was inconvenient to mention.
These include: Lin Xiaoxiao's role as an agent, Xiao Weizhi no longer being the heir of the Xiao family, the Dragon Kingdom's protection, and the events that have occurred in the Xiao family this year...
This conversation lasted for several hours.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi also learned from Xiao's father why they left back then.
The main reason is that the Dragon Kingdom lacks a protector: it needs professional players to lead teams to guard the SSS-level secret realm; it also needs teams to hunt down the corrupted beasts in the Black Abyss to reach the required 300 million...
When they talked about the Trials of the Prodigies, they realized that they had actually had a brief encounter.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi were inside the Wilderness Maze; Xiao's father and the others had just accepted a mission to help in an SSS-level secret realm, and watched the World Turtle pass by in the distance...
As the conversation was about to end, Xiao's father, who had been standing straight, suddenly relaxed. The pressure he felt vanished almost entirely upon hearing the name of the agent, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Good, good, good. The Dragon Kingdom is now under our protection. That's great."
With protection, Dragon Kingdom professionals no longer need to hand over the points for 300 million polluted beasts every year; they can keep those points and use them elsewhere.
There's no need to push so hard, fighting the polluting beasts day and night, for fear that if we stop, we won't have enough points to hand over each year, which would affect the Dragon Kingdom.
'Beep beep beep—' The contact module suddenly popped up, and Lin Xiaoxiao frowned slightly.
She beckoned to Xiao Weizhi, and when he came closer, she whispered in his ear, "Xingyan is looking for me. I'm going to take this call over."
After greeting Mr. Xiao, she immediately got up and went to the empty room next door to answer the phone.
After the door closed, Mr. Xiao picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp. He placed the empty cup on the table, his gentle expression turning serious as he asked, "Weizhi, are they still keeping an eye on the house?"
Xiao Weizhi picked up the teapot, poured hot tea for his father, and nodded: "Yes, I've been keeping a close eye on things. If it weren't for Xiaoxiao, I might already be crippled..."
After returning from the B-level secret realm Ghost Stone Fortress, Xiao Weizhi repeatedly recalled and reflected on the events.
If he hadn't been holding Lin Xiaoxiao and hadn't been pressing down at that speed, he would most likely have fallen onto that pile of sharp rocks. Given the ghostly atmosphere he was in, there was a 50% chance he would have died and a 50% chance he would have been crippled.
Xiao Weizhi thought of all this because of the unusual expression on Lin Xiaoxiao's face when she was staring blankly at the pile of sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff...
Mr. Xiao clenched his teeth, slammed his right fist on the table, and asked through gritted teeth, "Isn't the Operations Department going to do anything about it?"
Back then, Xiao's father was assigned the task of guarding an SSS-level secret realm, not entering the Black Abyss.
If it weren't for the assurance from the operations department that they would protect the Xiao family, he wouldn't have agreed to the deal and voluntarily led the team into the Black Abyss.
Xiao Weizhi's eyes were filled with resentment: "If it weren't for Elder Jiang and the others protecting us, do you think I, a mere young man, could have supported the Xiao family when we were surrounded by enemies, my father was missing, my grandfather was seriously ill, and my younger siblings were still minors?"
Meeting his son's resentful gaze, Mr. Xiao chuckled awkwardly, "There's a reason for this. Cough cough, did you get back the Xiao family matriarch's ring that you left with Liu Duoxin?"
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Weizhi's eyes, and he nodded: "Yes, I got it back."
The price was the loss of the five-star jade pendant she had carried since childhood.
Mr. Xiao asked in a deep voice, "Then when do you plan to give the ring to Xiaoxiao?"
Xiao Weizhi rubbed her temples helplessly, her tone somewhat troubled: "I don't know."
I had tried several times to talk to her about the ring.
But every time he was about to speak, something inexplicable would interrupt him, so he eventually put the matter aside for the time being.
Mr. Xiao picked up his teacup and took another sip: "You decide for yourself. How much tea do you have left in your storage space? Give me some."
Resources are scarce in the Black Abyss. To have a cup of tea, you have to spend hundreds of thousands of points. Xiao's father and his family are living frugally and can't afford to spend that extra money on tea.
Xiao Weizhi took out several boxes of tea from his spatial storage and placed them on the table...
Lin Xiaoxiao, in the other room, quickly answered the communication module: "What is it?"
Xingyan's heavy voice came through the communication module: "Xiaoxiao, there's bad news, and even worse news."
Lin Xiaoxiao found an empty chair in the room, slowly sat down, and said calmly, "Speak."
Xingyan took several deep breaths before revealing the news he had received: "The bad news is that the [New Creation Organization] has created another agent of the God of Wisdom, who is currently in contact with Lau Evan, trying to oust you and take control of the City of Gods."
Lin Xiaoxiao was not surprised by the appearance of the agent of the God of Wisdom. She frowned and asked, "What kind of bad news is this?"
Cheng Guangmin has already appeared, hasn't he?
Xingyan took a deep breath: "The problem is, this agent is a woman, and the previous one has disappeared."
Lin Xiaoxiao sat in the chair, her eyes widening involuntarily. Had they changed people?
Wait, if they can change people now, does that mean that madman, the agent of the God of Creation, has successfully mastered that technology?
Thinking about this question, she immediately asked, "Do they have that technology?"
Xingyan said weakly, "I don't know, but it's very likely."
Lin Xiaoxiao forced herself to remain calm and asked in a low voice, "What's the worse news?"
Xingyan said in a deep voice, "That madman, I heard, is preparing to go to the Black Abyss, most likely for your sake; moreover, Atums and his group have spread the news that they are preparing for the Divine Favor Competition to be launched three years later."
Lin Xiaoxiao bit her tongue hard to keep herself awake with the pain, her mind racing.
After a long silence, she replied in a hoarse voice, "I understand. I need to think about it and then I'll contact you again."
After hanging up, Lin Xiaoxiao gnawed on her thumb, pondering how to temporarily avoid that madman, the agent of the God of Creation.
After a long while, there was a knock on the door: 'Knock knock knock'
Xiao Weizhi's voice came from outside the door: "May I come in?"
Lin Xiaoxiao answered in a muffled voice, "Okay."
Upon entering, Xiao Weizhi noticed something was wrong with her voice. He walked up to her, lifted her chin, and said coldly, "Open your mouth."
Lin Xiaoxiao obediently raised her head and opened her mouth, revealing the tip of her tongue, which had been bitten open.
Xiao Weizhi suppressed his anger, silently took out medicine from his spatial storage, picked up a little with a cotton swab, and applied it to the wound on the tip of her tongue.
The moment the ointment touched the wound, Lin Xiaoxiao gasped in pain and turned her face away, trying to avoid the cotton swab.
Xiao Weizhi gripped her chin tightly, preventing her from turning her head, and pressed the cotton swab firmly against the wound: "If you know it hurts, will you bite yourself again next time?"
Lin Xiaoxiao stammered, "No more medicine, just pour some, it hurts a lot."
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