Chapter 76. Safe Return, Master Xiao…
With a flash of light, Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi reappeared in mid-air of the [A-level Secret Realm: Howling Peaks], the location where they had entered the City of Divine Favor.
As they fell, Xiao Weizhi held her tightly. Along with the fluttering of their robes, some damp, sticky water droplets fell onto Lin Xiaoxiao's face.
She reached up and wiped her cheek, then noticed something was wrong with the touch. She raised her hand and squinted at it.
He then reached out and groped around Xiao Weizhi's back, his voice tinged with anxiety: "Weizhi, where are you hurt?"
Xiao Weizhi held Lin Xiaoxiao in one arm, made a spell gesture with the other hand, and said calmly, "Don't worry, it's just a minor injury. Let's land safely first."
The next second, the Forbidden Spell - Levitation (Gold Rank) was cast, and the two of them were slowly lowered as if held in an invisible hand.
Ten minutes later, they landed safely.
Xiao Weizhi seemed to feel no pain, and asked Lin Xiaoxiao to help pull out the two arrows and a throwing knife stuck in his back.
He drank the recovery potion, his tone regretful: "A five-star radiant robe is ruined after just one day of wear."
Watching the blood-stained wound on his back quickly heal into smooth skin.
Lin Xiaoxiao's tense mood finally relaxed, and she gave him a disgruntled look: "Indeed, the robes should be intact, but yours are tattered."
Xiao Weizhi coughed twice, threw away the empty bottle in his hand, replaced it with a healing potion, and continued to drink it silently, not daring to say a word.
Xiao Shao didn't understand this principle before, but he understood it after meeting Lin Xiaoxiao.
Five hours later, Xiao Weizhi rode his flying motorcycle with Lin Xiaoxiao to the exit of the secret realm, successfully broke through the secret realm, and returned to the outside world.
Not long after leaving the secret realm, they switched to a two-seater flying car, and their communicators started ringing one after another.
Lin Xiaoxiao took out her communicator and glanced at it.
The messages were all from teammates, Xiao family uncles, aunts, sisters, Gu Qingqi and his group of four, Wen Feifei and others, and 'relatives' who had been avoiding contact for the past two years.
She shoved the communicator into her pocket, crossed her arms, looked out the window, and unconsciously pursed her lips, wondering if she should find time to see her relatives.
Xiao Weizhi, driving the flying car, glanced at her sideways before turning his gaze back to the road conditions and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"
Lin Xiaoxiao's voice was calm: "It's nothing, shall we go back?"
Xiao Weizhi tilted his head and glanced at her again, tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, and then replied, "No, let's go to the Imperial Sanatorium first, and then go home."
Five hours later, around 10 p.m. Beijing time, the flying car stopped at the entrance of the [Imperial Sanatorium], and the guards at the entrance came to inquire about the level.
A few minutes later, the sanatorium's metal gate slowly opened, and the flying car passed through smoothly.
The reason this sanatorium is named this is because...
This is because the sanatorium was founded by the Great Eagle, along with several smaller countries, and its priests, healers, and curse suppressors are all top-notch.
The Imperial Sanatorium in the Dragon Kingdom is a branch of this sanatorium. Old Master Xiao has been staying at this sanatorium for a long time due to the curse, and is receiving treatment to suppress the curse.
The Imperial Sanatorium is located in the core area of the eastern part of the capital city, covering an area of 1,800 acres, and has three gardens, two large and one small.
The flowers and plants in each garden are all rare treasures transported from various secret realms, and even the pools in the gardens were transported from a certain A-level secret realm.
From food to everyday items, everything is made from raw materials with inherent properties.
The price for living there will not be less than 500,000 gold coins per day. Of course, services such as regular spell removal and regular treatment will be charged separately.
Xiao Weizhi led Lin Xiaoxiao into the sanatorium, passing a covered corridor lined with Roman columns, and entered a European castle-style building. They took the elevator up to the 15th floor.
They stopped in front of room 1502, and Xiao Weizhi raised his hand and gently knocked on the door with his knuckles.
A dozen seconds later, a hoarse, deep, and very weak voice came from inside: "Come in."
Xiao Weizhi held Lin Xiaoxiao's hand with one hand and pushed open the door with the other. His face was expressionless as he greeted the old man lying on the bed, "Grandpa, I'm here."
Lying on the bed, Old Master Xiao was thin and frail, with gray hair and several monitoring instruments attached to his body. He glanced at Xiao Weizhi expressionlessly, and the way he pursed his lips deepened the nasolabial folds on his nose, making his features look somewhat wrinkled, like a big bitter gourd.
Grandpa Xiao snorted coldly, seemingly very displeased with Xiao Weizhi's appearance.
Xiao Weizhi stood beside the hospital bed, bent down and pulled the blanket that had slipped down to Grandpa Xiao's chest: "Grandpa, how are you feeling?"
Grandpa Xiao sneered: "The old man is quite lucky. He wasn't killed by the curse, nor did he die from a heart attack caused by excessive fright."
Xiao Weizhi remained silent, looking down at Old Master Xiao without saying a word.
Lin Xiaoxiao stood aside as an observer, watching Xiao Weizhi being subjected to a one-sided barrage of venomous words from Old Master Xiao.
After Grandpa Xiao had finished talking, Xiao Weizhi took out the epic-level curse-removing item [The Smile of the Sun] that he had brought back from the City of Divine Favor, and used it to remove the curse from Grandpa Xiao's body.
More than an hour later, the curse was successfully lifted.
As the restraints on Grandpa Xiao's body were released and the energy that had been isolated in several places was connected, he, who was originally too weak to lie on the bed, was able to slowly sit up on his own in just a few minutes.
Xiao Weizhi helped Grandpa Xiao up and placed a fluffy, soft pillow behind him.
Grandpa Xiao turned to look at Lin Xiaoxiao, a half-smile curving his lips, his voice somewhat cold and hard: "Miss Lin, I would like to have a private chat with Weizhi. Please wait in the lounge next door for a moment."
Lin Xiaoxiao guessed that the old man knew what had happened to Xiao Weizhi during this time. She nodded to the old man, turned around and was about to leave the ward to wait in the rest room next door, but Xiao Weizhi reached out and grabbed her wrist.
His voice was firm: "Grandpa, she is not an outsider."
Seeing that Old Master Xiao's face was as dark as ink.
Lin Xiaoxiao patted Xiao Weizhi's hand, signaling him with her eyes to let go and have a good talk with his grandfather.
The two stared at each other for a while before Xiao Weizhi finally gave in, letting go of Lin Xiaoxiao's wrist and taking her to the next room before turning back to the ward.
Lin Xiaoxiao had no idea what Grandpa Xiao and Xiao Weizhi talked about afterwards.
All that is known is that they talked until after 3 a.m. When Xiao Weizhi left with her, there was a clear five-finger mark on his fair face, but his expression was unusually relaxed, as if he had put down a burden that he had carried for many years.
Back at the Xiao family home, Lin Xiaoxiao, holding Red Tail, whose red fur was standing on end in anger, sat down and muttered an explanation: "The situation was urgent at the time. It wasn't intentional that I left it behind. I didn't have time to think much about it. Plus, Cheng Cheng and the others were there, so...blah blah blah..."
It took a lot of persuasion to finally get the red tail's fur, which had been puffed up into a round ball, back into place.
Xiao Weizhi and Jiang Bo briefly explained what happened in the City of Divine Favor after their disappearance, cleverly omitting issues such as being hunted down and Lin Xiaoxiao's identity.
The next day at noon, after Lin Xiaoxiao woke up, the news of Xiao Weizhi's safe return spread throughout the capital.
Meanwhile, all of Longya's friends had gathered at Xiao's house.
Inside the command center, Cheng Cheng excitedly hugged Lin Xiaoxiao, his voice trembling with emotion: "Xiaoxiao, welcome back safely."
Lin Xiaoxiao hugged Cheng Cheng back and gently patted her back, saying softly, "It's been a long time, Sister Cheng Cheng."
Wang Hao gave Lin Xiaoxiao a hearty smile and a thumbs-up: "I knew you and the boss would definitely come back safely."
'Clang clang clang—'
Xiao Weizhi tapped the table in front of him with his knuckles: "Let's save the reminiscing for later, let's start the meeting now."
Upon seeing this, everyone immediately stopped chatting and returned to their seats.
Seeing Lin Xiaoxiao sitting down beside him with Red Tail in her arms, Xiao Weizhi finally spoke: "This meeting has only one theme: Dragon Fang, is to disband."
Xiao Weizhi's original plan was to either disband the Dragon Fang team directly or hand it over to Chen Feng, and then he and Lin Xiaoxiao would develop into solo professionals without a team.
They will face too many and too powerful enemies in the future, so there is no need to bring their teammates along on the adventure.
Unexpectedly, Wang Hao exploded as soon as he uttered the word "disbandment," before even mentioning changing the captain or the subsequent arrangements.
Wang Hao suddenly stood up from his chair, slamming his hand on the table with a loud bang. He then pointed at Xiao Weizhi's nose and angrily shouted, "Xiao Weizhi, what do you mean? You went out for a while and came back to turn your back on us, huh? You want to abandon us and live a life of luxury? You're dreaming!"
Wang Hao stopped calling Xiao Weizhi "boss" and started calling her by her full name, which shows how angry he was.
Jiang Tao was also very agitated. He stood up, ignoring the chair that was leaning back, and glared at Xiao Weizhi, who was sitting in the main seat, with both hands on the table: "What do you mean? The first thing you do after getting ashore is to cut off us teammates who are dragging you down, right?"
Li Junxuan clasped his hands in front of his chest, staring blankly at Xiao Weizhi, waiting for his reply.
Liu Huihui and Chen Yijin managed to remain calm, but their eyes were fixed on Xiao Weizhi, waiting for his analysis.
Huang Yuwei looked like the sky had fallen. She had finally found a good team, but after only a short time, they were about to disband. Was she some kind of jinx?
Chen Feng and Cheng Cheng knew some of the inside information beforehand, so they didn't seem that excited, but their expressions weren't exactly pleasant either.
Wang Hao and Jiang Tao started smashing things to vent their emotions.
Xiao Weizhi's temples began to throb, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the chair as a feeling of frustration welled up inside him.
Lin Xiaoxiao, holding Hongwei, glanced sideways at Xiao Weizhi's helpless expression, and couldn't help but curl her lips into a slight smile: Serves him right! He should be taught a lesson for always arranging things according to his own ideas.
Lin Xiaoxiao felt it was inappropriate when Xiao Weizhi mentioned this issue earlier.
After offering a couple of words of advice, seeing that he still held the attitude of wanting what was best for Wang Hao and the others, I simply stopped trying to persuade him and let him try to find his own way.
After Wang Hao and Jiang Tao finished venting their anger, the entire command center room, except for the table, had been smashed and the walls and floor were left in a mess.
Xiao Weizhi looked at them coldly, her voice calm: "After smashing things, can you now listen to me quietly?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Hao and Jiang Tao exchanged a glance, then sat back down in their seats with cold expressions.
After Xiao Weizhi explained the reason for the formidable enemy, the expressions of Wang Hao, Jiang Tao, Li Junxuan, Liu Huihui, and others were no longer so grim.
Just as Xiao Weizhi was about to continue explaining the follow-up arrangements.
Wang Hao interrupted Xiao Weizhi, speaking rapidly: "Boss, I don't accept disbanding Dragon Fang or replacing the captain. You saved me back then; without you, I would have died in that crappy secret realm long ago. I'm not afraid of those so-called powerful enemies."
Jiang Tao, Li Junxuan, Liu Huihui, and Chen Yijin nodded in agreement: "Haozi is right."
The entire Dragon Fang Squad, except for Chen Feng and Cheng Cheng who were not picked up by Xiao Weizhi, all the others were picked up by Xiao Weizhi from various places.
Wang Hao is in a D-level secret realm; Jiang Tao is in a C-level secret realm; Chen Yijin is in a slum; Li Junxuan is in a job market; Liu Huihui is in a detention cell of the Imperial Capital Operations Department.
It can be said that these people were all taken in by Xiao Weizhi and raised with money and time.
Hidden classes are very powerful, but their advantages only begin to be realized after the fourth job advancement.
Most hidden classes in the early stages rely on high experience points for meager damage output, while also needing various high-quality weapons and items to sustain them. This alone is enough to overwhelm many professional teams.
A normal squad usually only supports one or two hidden professions, unlike the Dragon Fang Squad, where everyone from the captain to the logistics personnel is a hidden profession.
It's easy to imagine how much effort, time, and money Xiao Weizhi wasted in bringing out this group of troublesome guys.
Xiao Weizhi helplessly rubbed his forehead, then turned to look at Li Junxuan, trying to find a way out: "Junxuan, you can disregard yourself, but you should also think about your girlfriend."
Li Junxuan awkwardly scratched his face with his index finger: "My girlfriend dumped me because she thought I was stingy."
Upon hearing this, the previously noisy operations room fell into complete silence.
A few seconds later, bursts of laughter instantly filled the room.
Wang Hao laughed the loudest: "Brother Xuan got dumped again because he's stingy, hahaha, what a disgrace..."
Liu Huihui and Chen Yijin looked at each other with disappointment. He was a tall and handsome young man with a high rank and a high income. How could he always get dumped because he was stingy?
Chen Feng slapped his forehead and sighed, "Junxuan, I remember I taught you not to be so stingy when pursuing girls, right? Tell me, why did you get dumped this time?"
Upon hearing Chen Feng's words, Cheng Cheng first glared at him, then reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his waist hard, twisting it 360 degrees. His eyes seemed to say, "You think you know everything? What did you teach him?"
Chen Feng reached out and grabbed Cheng Cheng's small hand, gasped, and pleaded with his eyes.
Li Junxuan sighed helplessly as he mentioned this: "She said she wanted to get married and buy a house, and I agreed. She also agreed to buy the latest flying car. It's just that the parking space cost hundreds of thousands of gold coins, plus management fees, which I felt was not worthwhile. I discussed with her whether we could rent it, and she wanted to break up with me. I feel so wronged..."
Seeing the meeting room erupt in argument again, Xiao Weizhi reached up and touched his forehead, covering his face and sighing softly, feeling the veins on his temples throbbing faintly.
Lin Xiaoxiao reached out and patted Xiao Weizhi's head, a smile on her lips, and said in a low voice, "I told you, no one would agree to your arrangement."
Xiao Weizhi took her hand in his own and said helplessly, "I'm doing this for their own good."
Lin Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow, glanced at him sideways, and didn't reply.
As a result, the Dragon Fang Captain was neither replaced nor disbanded, the Xiao family destroyed a war room, and everyone wasted half a day.
Over the next month or so, several major events occurred:
First, Xiao Weizhi, who had been missing for more than a month and returned safely, made a big mistake due to a misjudgment of certain matters, almost causing public outrage.
Finally, it was only through the intervention of Mr. Xiao, who was recuperating at a sanatorium, that the matter was brought under control.
Enraged, Old Master Xiao, despite his illness, left the sanatorium and returned to the Xiao family. He forcefully revoked Xiao Weizhi's status as the Xiao family heir and took back the twins, raising them with great care and determination, determined to raise the younger twins anew...
Secondly: Liu Duoxin and Chen Zhuoran mysteriously disappeared in a B-level secret realm the moment the news of Xiao Weizhi's return came out, and the Rising Sun Squad was taken over by the former vice-captain, Wang Fei...
Then there's this: the professional team that the Xiao family is currently training has inexplicably acquired a batch of gold-level and diamond-level equipment...
As for the hammer that Lin Xiaoxiao knocked off the statue of the god of craftsmen in the city of Yorband, the city favored by the gods.
Its seal has not yet been broken, and it is safely hidden in the space because it is missing two key materials for unsealing: Spring of Life (Epic level) and Concentration Moon Liquid (Seven-level).
[Fountain of Life (Epic): Produced in SS-rank or higher dungeons, in the core of dungeons teeming with life energy. It is a holy grail of healing and an excellent crafting material...]
[Concentrated Moon Elixir (Seven-Star Grade): Produced in secret realms of SS grade or higher, where the full moon shines on extremely cold stalactites, only one drop of this energy liquid can be produced per month. It is a precious material coveted by countless professionals, and is suitable for enhancing mental power, brewing potions, forging items, weapons, etc.]
The familiar silver flying car was parked in a parking lot at the entrance to an S-class secret realm.
The Dragon Fang team, having upgraded from muskets to cannons (everyone was equipped with diamond-grade gear and weapons that Xiao Weizhi brought back from the City of Gods), disembarked from the flying vehicle one after another.
Prepare to enter this S-rank secret realm: the Mad Arena, to complete Xiao Weizhi's sixth-tier quest.
This secret realm is different from the previous ones; it's a secret realm that has already been acquired: one can enter and exit at will, and the number of monsters inside seems endless, making it the first choice for some professionals who want to gain a lot of experience points.
However, this secret realm is a bizarre place where, apart from experience points, the monsters don't even drop a single gold coin.
Coincidentally, Xiao Weizhi had his eye on the massive number of demonic beasts inside.
Having paid the entrance fee of ten million gold coins, Longya and his party of ten, along with their two pets, plunged into this S-level secret realm without looking back.
Determined to defeat the two million level 100 and above monsters required for Xiao Weizhi's mission within a month.
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Author's Note: [Let me see][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers] Starting tomorrow, the fast-paced, leveling-up storyline will return!
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