Chapter 41. The Two Realms of Yan and Yan (10): Deployment...
The next morning, when Lin Xiaoxiao opened her eyes, Xiao Wei was no longer in the tent; she didn't know where he had gone.
After she got up, she sat on the bed with her hair all messy, staring blankly for a while before she came to her senses and looked around.
The treasure-hunting mouse was sleeping soundly on its back in a small basket lined with soft cloth, its white belly exposed and its little feet twitching from time to time; the red-tailed cat occupied most of Lin Xiaoxiao's pillow, using its tail as a blanket to cover itself; and the black cat was curled up in a round ball in its cat bed, sleeping in a very elegant posture.
Lin Xiaoxiao changed her clothes, put on her prosthetic leg, lifted the tent flap, and went outside.
The entire camp was quiet, and no one else was seen except Chen Yijin, who was busy in the kitchen.
Chen Yijin noticed Lin Xiaoxiao's appearance and greeted her with a smile: "Xiaoxiao, good morning."
Lin Xiaoxiao stood at the edge of the kitchen, her eyes lingering on the bubbling broth in the pot, and swallowed hard. "Good morning, Brother Yijin."
Chen Yijin quickly rolled out the dough into a large sheet, folded it a few times, chopped it rapidly from right to left with a cleaver, sprinkled some flour, picked it up, and gently shook it. A small mound of noodles was thus completed.
Chen Yijin took a large bowl from under the kitchen counter, put the noodles in it, wiped his hands, looked up at Lin Xiaoxiao who was looking hungry, and asked with a smile, "How many noodles do you want to eat today?"
Lin Xiaoxiao swallowed again: "Three liang, with lots of chili oil."
Chen Yijin came out of the closet, took out a large bowl, placed it on the table, pinched off about three ounces of noodles from the basin, threw them into the broth, and asked, "Would you like more meat?"
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded: "Yes."
A bowl of noodles is ready in just a few minutes. The white noodles are paired with large chunks of dark brown stewed meat, and a few small green vegetables are placed on the side. The noodles are sprinkled with white sesame seeds and chopped green onions, and the aroma is irresistible. It looks and smells delicious.
Just as Chen Yijin scooped up a large spoonful of chili oil, preparing to pour it all in...
Xiao Weizhi's deep voice rang out from her: "She's been having a sore throat lately, so put less chili in."
Chen Yijin paused, tilting the spoon slightly so that only two drops fell onto the surface, as he had originally intended to pour it all in.
Lin Xiaoxiao was a little dissatisfied. She glanced back at Xiao Weizhi and then turned to Chen Yijin, saying, "Brother Yijin, don't listen to him. I want lots and lots of chili oil."
Xiao Weizhi reached past Lin Xiaoxiao, picked up the tray, then took her wrist and walked towards the dining table. After placing the noodles on the table, he turned around and saw her with her arms crossed, looking at him angrily.
Xiao Weizhi asked helplessly, "You were complaining of toothache and sore throat before bed yesterday, but it doesn't hurt anymore?"
Lin Xiaoxiao's angry expression froze, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "But the noodles don't have chili peppers, so they don't taste good."
Xiao Weizhi pulled out a chair for her to sit down, his voice carrying an unquestionable tone: "You can eat chili peppers after your throat doesn't hurt anymore."
Lin Xiaoxiao pouted a few times, then obediently sat down in the chair and reluctantly picked up her chopsticks.
Cheng Cheng sat across the table, watching the show with a grin. When Xiao Weizhi turned to get the noodles, he winked at Lin Xiaoxiao and said, "Xiaoxiao, are you just giving in like that? Aren't you going to struggle anymore?"
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the noodles in front of Cheng Cheng, which were even more plain than hers, and boasted with a smile: "Sister Cheng, at least I still have two drops of chili oil, you don't."
Cheng Cheng's expression froze, and the corners of her mouth that were curled up instantly turned down. Perhaps her teeth had scratched the ulcer in her mouth, she couldn't help but gasp, and then she looked like she was unhappy.
Recently, Lin Xiaoxiao and Cheng Cheng have become obsessed with eating all kinds of Sichuan cuisine.
After a few days, one complained of a sore throat and toothache, while the other had mouth ulcers so bad he couldn't even open his mouth, and Xiao Weizhi and Chen Feng stripped him of his right to order food.
The two girls ate the meal without any enjoyment.
After breakfast, instead of heading to the border to patrol and clear out the monster horde as originally planned, the entire team packed up their belongings at the camp.
Lin Xiaoxiao followed beside Xiao Weizhi, asking in confusion, "Where are we going?"
Xiao Weizhi held her hand and explained softly, "The West District is under attack and needs support. Our Dragon Fang team has been specifically requested to go and help for a while."
Around 8 o'clock, Xiao Weizhi received a message from the Operations Department, asking him to bring Chen Feng to a meeting.
Cheng Cheng was sleeping, while Jiang Tao, Wang Hao, and Li Junxuan went out to buy supplies, and Liu Huihui went to rent a flying car.
This is why there were only a few people left at the camp early in the morning.
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded: "What about the things in the camp?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Weizhi replied, "Take them all away. This time, I'm on temporary assignment there, and I might have to stay for more than a month."
Since they're going to be gone for so long, they'll definitely bring all their belongings with them. Anyway, Lin Xiaoxiao has plenty of space to put them all.
After entering the tent, Lin Xiaoxiao pulled over a low chair and began to tidy up the space. She first dumped all the messy and odds and ends on the ground, and then took out various storage boxes and began to put them inside.
She originally thought they would stay here for a while longer, and could take some time to tidy up later when they had time. She never expected that she would be temporarily assigned to help in the West District.
Quickly tidy up and move things to a different location, to put the tent, folding kitchen, fence, and other similar items.
Just as Lin Xiaoxiao was frantically packing her things, the black cat jumped down from its cat bed, its bright green eyes fixed on the rusty bell that had somehow rolled into the corner.
When Lin Xiaoxiao had finished tidying up, she clenched her fist and gently tapped her aching lower back. When she looked up, she saw a black cat staring at the bell at its feet like a statue.
A bell? Is this the broken bell with a special note that I found at the stall? I bought it for 1 gold coin because the note was a little different.
Lin Xiaoxiao tentatively asked, "Black Cat Boss, you like this bell? I'll take it to be repaired and hang it up for you?"
The black cat turned its head and glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao.
It didn't speak, but Lin Xiaoxiao understood the meaning in the black cat's eyes.
It's as if it's saying, "No need to fix it, this is fine."
She found a collar she had bought for Redtail from a pile of junk, removed the bell from the front, hung up the rusty, silent bell, and then put it around the black cat's neck.
During the process, the black cat was unusually docile, bowing its head when it should and raising its head when it should, without even needing her to remind it.
After completing this series of actions, Lin Xiaoxiao took a few steps back and nodded to admire the new ornament on the black cat's neck.
The black fur, the red collar and leather strap, and the brass bells looked perfectly harmonious.
For some reason, ever since she saw the bell today, she's had a strange feeling that it should be worn around the black cat's neck.
Two hours later, everything in the camp had been packed up and stuffed into Lin Xiaoxiao's space.
Everyone was making final preparations. Lin Xiaoxiao walked to the side, squatted down, and asked the black cat in front of her, "Boss Black Cat, we're heading to the West District. Are you coming with us, or staying here?"
The black cat sat on the ground with its back to Lin Xiaoxiao, its tail swaying slowly from side to side.
Lin Xiaoxiao waited for a long time but did not receive a reply from the black cat.
As Xiao Weizhi led her out, she would occasionally look back to see if a small black figure was following behind.
It wasn't until she was seated in the flying car that she was able to suppress the sense of disappointment in her heart.
Not long after the entire Dragon Fang team left.
When the people from Sunrise and No. 1 on both sides of the camp returned and saw the empty camp in the middle, a group of people couldn't hold back their expressions for a moment.
After going out to investigate, they learned that: the West District was experiencing a beast tide, and 70% of the S-level teams in the North District were sent to provide support. As for Dragon Fang, because of its excellent performance against the BOSS last time, even its A-level teams were sent out as an exception.
Upon hearing this news, Wang Xudong, Chen Zhuoran, Liu Duoxin, and others looked very grim, thinking resentfully: Why should Longya be allowed to go on such an outing (which offers very high rewards)?
The brown-black flying car, shaped like an upside-down boat, sped along the cracked ground at a speed of about 1,000 km/h towards the West District.
Everyone laughed and joked along the way, taking a long detour and spending 9 hours before finally arriving at the West District.
When they got off the bus, everyone in the team had red eyes and bright red lips, as if they had eaten a lot of chili peppers.
Even Xiao Weizhi couldn't escape it, because Lin Xiaoxiao was looking at him expectantly with eyes full of anticipation for his participation.
This was all because they were bored in the car. Wang Hao suggested that since they were bored anyway, they might as well have the [Surprise Candy Box] in Lin Xiaoxiao's space come back for a limited time and see if they could draw a candy that would give them a buff.
Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, numbing, astringent... Everyone tried at least twenty candies.
Li Junxuan was the luckiest, as he ate two buff candies: one that increased ice resistance and the other that increased earth attack.
Wang Hao was the unluckiest; he ate more than thirty candies in a row but didn't get a single one that gave him a buff.
Wang Hao muttered indignantly, "It must be because I didn't wash my hands before going out today. Just wait, I'll definitely get one next time."
Jiang Tao, with a peach-flavored lollipop dangling from his mouth, put his hand on Wang Hao's shoulder and chuckled mockingly, "With hands like that, washing your hands won't change the fact that you're unlucky."
Wang Hao shoved Jiang Tao's hand away impatiently: "Nonsense, my luck is always better than yours."
The two were pushing each other, on the verge of starting a fight.
Upon seeing the person in charge of the West District arrive, he quickly reverted to his usual aloof and taciturn demeanor.
The staff member wearing a brown-yellow combat uniform was a woman with dark skin. Her ears and forehead were covered in sweat. When she came up to us, her face showed great surprise: "Hello, are you the support team?"
Xiao Weizhi familiarly introduced the team's information and took out a temporary transfer certificate from his spatial storage, looking at it: "We are an A-level team - Dragon Fang, dispatched by the Northern District Operations Command to help resist this beast tide."
When the staff member heard that it wasn't an S-level team, her expression showed a hint of disappointment, but she still spoke very politely: "Thank you for your support. According to the rules, we should arrange accommodation for you first, but the situation on the front line is tense right now, and I can't spare the time to make arrangements."
Xiao Weizhi understood that this staff member was using the excuse that he looked down on Longya's level, and he readily replied, "Accommodation is not in a hurry. The situation on the front line is more important. If possible, we hope to start the battle as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, the staff member's fake smile became slightly more genuine: "If that's the case, then that's wonderful."
After saying that, she arranged for people to park the flying cars that Xiao Weizhi and the others had rented in the parking lot, and then led the entire Dragon Fang team to the battlefield.
Even before reaching the battlefield, the thick, rusty smell carried on the wind could be smelled from afar, and as one got closer, various roars could be heard:
"Damn it, stop them! Our defenses are about to be breached!"
"What about logistics? Someone collapsed here, carry them back."
"Where's the support? Give me mana, I'm out of mana, damn it, throw a few spells over here."
"They're here again! Quick, stop them!"
...
Such roars continued incessantly, each sounding hoarse, as if they had been shouting for a long time.
On the battlefield in the western district, all that could be seen were red scales and long tails, the scales reflecting a red glow in the sunlight.
It was an endless red flame giant lizard. This kind of monster was not strong in attack, did not walk fast, was not afraid of fire or water, did not have any obvious weakness to electricity, and its scales were hard, allowing it to withstand a lot of damage with its thick skin.
It is also known for its ability to reproduce like ants, making it one of the most hated monsters among most professionals.
Xiao Weizhi exhaled a soft breath and commanded in a deep voice: "Prepare for battle! Get your weapons ready! Junxuan, hold the shield and go up; Wang Hao, unleash a large-scale rapid bombardment; Chen Feng and Huihui, break through from both sides; Jiang Tao, scatter the darts..."
Following Xiao Weizhi's instructions, everyone took their positions, quickly found suitable spots, and engaged in battle.
Congratulations on defeating the level 36 Crimson Flame Giant Lizard! Experience gained: 5472
Congratulations on the annihilation...
...
Kill notifications appeared every few minutes. The mana in Longya's team was always stuck at the limit. Cheng Cheng would use his skills to replenish it, but it would be completely depleted again the next second.
The battle lasted from dawn until dusk.
Wang Hao threw a group attack towards the 13 o'clock direction, and a series of 2m*1.8m area explosions rang out, covering about twenty Crimson Flame Giant Lizards, but only two were killed, simply because this time the monsters were too tough.
He was panting heavily, shaking the two pistols in his hands: "These giant lizards are really deadly, they can't break through any defenses at all."
Liu Huihui unleashed over thirty consecutive sword strikes, his tiger's mouth numbing from the impact, before finally splitting a level 40 Crimson Flame Giant Lizard in two. Upon retreating and hearing Wang Hao's complaints, he smiled wryly, "You're alright with ranged attacks, but my tiger's mouth is almost ruined, and I only managed to kill one."
Jiang Tao said with a dark face, "You guys can still deal damage, but my darts are like tickling them, they can't even do any damage."
Chen Yijin didn't reply, but continued to throw poison gas canisters out tirelessly. As long as these giant lizards were still breathing, they couldn't avoid the poison gas attacks, so his damage output ranked first in the team.
Xiao Weizhi waved his staff again, and a 1.9-meter-long sky-blue magic circle appeared in front of him. Tens of thousands of magic bullets, each the size of a marble, shot out rapidly like Gatling guns.
Wherever it went, it sent clouds of dust flying, which landed on the giant lizards and made a clanging sound like metal being struck.
Redtail swayed its six tails, hopping and leaping among the monitor lizards, occasionally striking their eyes with claws and tails, and even spitting fireballs into their mouths when they opened them.
The treasure-hunting mouse sat on Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulder, munching on nuts and calmly watching the battle.
Lin Xiaoxiao sat in the chair, pointed her index finger at the treasure-hunting rat's forehead, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Nut crumbs all fell onto my clothes."
The treasure-hunting rat continued chewing, completely unafraid of Lin Xiaoxiao's accusations.
Over time, it also realized that Lin Xiaoxiao has a kind and gentle nature.
As it chewed, the treasure-hunting mouse suddenly threw away the nut in its hand, pointed to the right, and began to squeak.
To others, it sounded like a hamster's squeaking, but to Lin Xiaoxiao, it meant, "Quick, Master, something good is coming over there! Quick, bring it back!"
nice one?
A dozen minutes later, the ground shook violently, and her doubts were resolved. A giant red flame lizard, about 13 stories tall, slowly walked over, and with each step it took, the ground trembled noticeably.
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the treasure-hunting rat on her shoulder in astonishment, pointed at the huge boss-level BOSS, and asked with her eyes: Good stuff? BOSS?
The treasure-hunting rat nodded firmly and transmitted its voice, "Yes, that BOSS has some good stuff on him, let's get it back."
Lin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes helplessly and slapped her forehead. Was it too much to think of a merchant with no combat ability as someone who could get things from a BOSS?
Upon hearing a sharp crack, Xiao Weizhi turned around and said with a smile, "Doesn't it hurt? You're so ruthless to yourself."
Lin Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and stubbornly replied, "It doesn't hurt."
Xiao Weizhi's gaze fell on her reddened forehead, and the corners of his mouth curled up: "Well, it's good that you don't feel any pain."
Subsequently, on the battlefield, all the professionals tacitly unleashed their skills at the leader-level Crimson Flame Giant Lizard BOSS, which seemed to be out for a stroll.
Countless skills struck the BOSS, producing a clanging sound of metal being struck, before disappearing, leaving the BOSS's scales unharmed.
Three hours later, the BOSS seemed to be enraged and roared, causing countless meteor showers to fall from the sky. The professionals present hurriedly raised their defensive skills.
An hour and a half later, the meteor shower disappeared, and the BOSS slowly retreated, along with the Crimson Flame Giant Lizards on the field.
The battlefield instantly fell silent. If it weren't for the countless pools of blood, lifeless bodies, gold coins, and equipment on the ground, the battle that had just taken place would have seemed like a mirage.
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned as she watched the professionals on the field. Their faces were expressionless as they skillfully collected their companions' bodies, retrieved equipment and gold coins, and cleaned up the monster corpses on the field. She asked, puzzled, "Why do they seem so strange?"
Xiao Weizhi reached out and ruffled her hair, calmly replying, "What's strange? That numb feeling?"
Lin Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, and nodded. Numbness was the right description.
Xiao Weizhi tucked a stray hair behind her small ear and said, "I've been getting used to being walked around by the boss every day for over a month. How about I buy you a pair of earrings when we get back to the capital?"
In the western district, it's common for the professionals to have the BOSS come out for a stroll every day, unleash a powerful attack, and then take the remaining monsters back with him.
Once this boss appears, it's not far from time to leave work.
Of course, they did try to keep the BOSS alive at first, but they failed each time. Over time, they got used to it.
Lin Xiaoxiao turned her head to avoid his large hand that was pinching her earlobe: "I don't have pierced ears, why would I buy earrings?"
Xiao Weizhi smiled gently: "You can buy the clip-on type. Your ears are very beautiful, and it seems to suit you well."
After playing around for a while, Lin Xiaoxiao's gaze returned to the center of the battlefield.
A strange thought popped into my head: why did this BOSS seem to be doing this on purpose? Like, was he trying to lull the human professionals in the West District into a false sense of security?
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