"Wah! Shun! Ying!" Mei burst into tears as she pushed the training room door where Shun and Yami were located.
"Mei!" Shun exclaimed and went toward her. "What's the matter? There has been an alarm a few seconds ago."
"It's my fault!" Mei cried out while wiping the tears streaming down her face.
"I— " Mei was about to answer but saw they were not alone. That made her shut up and squirm in discomfort.
"Are you the caused of the alarm?" Yami stated with a laugh. He was amused that Mei was the one who caused it and wouldn't be surprised if it was really her.
"N-no," Mei whispered and looked at the new faces of the Combatants around, but she felt guilty for lying. "Yes, it was me."
Yami couldn't help but chuckle while Mei burst into tears again. He went toward her and patted her head. "It's fine, but I'm curious about how you caused an alarm in the building."
At the same time, all the official combatants got a message from their earpiece regarding what happened.
"This girl, she's part of your unofficial squad?" Shi asked and stared at Mei from top to bottom.
"Yes, Senior," Shun answered firmly and glanced at Mei with a worried look.
"I see. Take responsibility for her," Shi said disapprovingly toward the three of them.
Somehow, Yami got a hint of what they meant. He put a hand over Mei's shoulder for comfort and encouragement.
"Mei is still new, but I know she will learn how to control her mana soon," Yami stated and looked at Shi with a small smile. "She won't become a burden to the base, but rather a strong fighter and an ally."
Yami didn't hesitate to look into Shi's eyes and didn't back down to show he meant his words and wasn't afraid of him.
"Ying," Shun whispered and looked at Shi and then towards Yami. The staring contest lasted seconds when everyone felt uncomfortable with the dominant aura radiating between them.
Shun was about to stop both of them when the speaker turned on, and a female voice spoke.
( "Requesting the attention of trainee Yuan Mei. Please come to the office of Research and Development. Thank you!" )
"Oh no! I'm doomed!" Mei whispered and grasped her hair out of anxiety.
"You won't be. Shun and I are here for you," Yami stated and ruffled Mei's hair. "We should go."
Shun nodded her head and bid goodbye to the Combatants, but they followed them outside and went toward the training room, where Mei busted a massive hole in the wall.
Mei was trembling with fear and kept praying that she wouldn't bring trouble to her friends since it would kill her inside.
"Mei, it's gonna be okay," Shun whispered to Mei and kept patting her head to calm her down.
Yami, on the other hand, watched them. He didn't want to disturb both of their time together. Yami's mind was thinking about Shi. Despite how Shi acted toward them, he didn't dislike him and instead felt more motivated to level up and be more vital to beat him in the rank war.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the office. Mei stopped at the door and took deep breaths before she pushed it open.
Inside was a chunky man sitting behind the desk. He was wearing a black suit, around 5'4, and had a grumpy face. Beside him was Sun Ting.
"You're finally here!" Tao Changpu, the Base Research and Development Director, stood up from his seat with eyes that bore toward Mei. "And who are these two?"
"Director Changpu, I'm Cai Shun, and this is trainee Yin Ying. Mei is one of our members," Shun explained firmly, but his hands were shaking behind.
"I see," Tao Changpu muttered and stared at them before he brought his attention back to Mei. "I've seen what you did to our building's wall— "
Director Tao Changpu hadn't finished his sentence when Mei went down on her knees and lowered her head to the floor.
"I'm sorry, Director! I will pay for the damages with all my life. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Mei shouted and kept on bowing, which astounded them all.
"Mei..." Shun whispered and wanted to pull Mei, but Yami stopped him and shook his head.
"Director— " Yami was about to speak, but the Changpu went in front of Mei. His grave facial expression turned sparkly.
"Little trainee, don't kneel on the floor; it's dirty. Come sit here," Tao Changpu helped Mei lift herself from the ground and assisted her in sitting on his own chair. "Look how cute you are."
Shun and Yami were surprised at the change of tone and facial expression. Their mouths hung open in shock while they stared at how the Director kept patting Mei's head. Sun Ting only sighed at what was happening.
"About the hole..." Shun trailed off when Sun Ting glared at him.
"Don't worry about that wall. It could be replaced by mana in a few hours, and the building will be back to normal," Tao Changpu stated with a sparkly smile, which crept out Yami.
"The Director wants to see who destroyed the wall and called Yuan Mei here. I didn't realize she was part of your unofficial squad," Sun Ting stated and glared at Shun and Yami but didn't hold grudges against them.
"You can now go. Keep fighting until you reach Master rank!" Tao Changpu grinned and gave Mei a thumbs up. He faced Shun and Yami, went toward them, and stared into their faces.
"Take care of her," Tao Changpu stated firmly, ensuring that his words would be glued toward their heads.
"Yes, I will," Shun said firmly. "I will take care of her with all my life!"
"That's a little extreme," Sun Ting muttered upon hearing what Shun said.
Yami bit his lips to stop chuckling when he saw the pink blush on Shun's cheeks.
"Great! Now, you three can go and eat lunch," Tao Changpu opened the door and let them out before he faced Sun Ting.
"Cai Shun was the one who killed two Raiders using a rookie vessel, and that small boy got the highest score in today's training, right?" Tao Changpu stated firmly and stared at their information sheet on his monitor.
"Yes, trainee Yin Ying got 0.6 seconds to kill the Raider," Sun Ting answered.
"And Yuan Mei, her mana was so strong that she could destroy our potent wall build to sustain Raider's attack," Tao Changpu massaged his temples while chuckling and thinking of his next move. "We got good trainees this time, but first, we need to strengthen our wall."