Winter Sun Valley covers an area almost the size of a football field, named after the Winter Sunflower that grows abundantly there.
The Winter Sunflower closely resembles a sunflower, with flower buds the size of a basin, supported by a stem as thick as an adult's arm, standing over a meter high from the ground.
The flower buds are wrapped in green leaves, and only when in full bloom do the layers of green leaves open up, revealing the golden stamens inside.
As the sunlight enters the valley, those green flower buds unfurl, exposing the stamens, transforming the valley into a golden sea.
At the edge of the valley, Xiao Yu and the others are watching the Winter Sunflower in full bloom.
"It's so beautiful," Xue Ni exclaims, captivated by the sea of flowers.
Xiao Yu glances at her, even though it's not the first time they've seen it. She seems a bit helpless, "Let's quickly gather the stamens before the Red Bees arrive."
"But the Winter Sunflowers in the depths of Winter Sun Valley haven't bloomed yet."
Upon hearing Xiao Yu's words, Xue Ni turned around, "Xiao Yu, you're not planning to gather the edge Winter Sunflowers, are you?"
"Yes, you guessed it right." Xiao Yu nods. In the previous two attempts, Luo Bu led seven or eight people to help distract the attention of the Red Bees, allowing them to go deeper.
But this time, apart from Xue Ni, there are only two roommates and two guys helping, and manpower is insufficient.
For safety reasons, Xiao Yu believed that gathering some from the outskirts is enough to complete the task.
"No, the quality of the stamens on the outskirts is completely different from those in the depths." Xue Ni waved her hand in refusal, "If it's the stamens from the outskirts, the mission rewards will be reduced."
"But it will be safer this way." Xiao Yu responded calmly.
"Xiao Yu, Xue Ni, don't argue for now." A male student walks between them, "This time, let's go deep to gather the flowers. With Ke Lin and me around, there won't be any problems."
The attention of everyone shifted towards another male.
"Yeah, believe in us. I'm about to break through to 8 Star Dou Practitioner. Even if we encounter the Red Bee Queen, I can hold it off and retreat unscathed."
Under the scrutiny, Ke Lin immediately wore a confident smile.
Having heard before that Red Bees typically collect nectar from the periphery towards the center, as long as the speed is fast enough, they can successfully gather the stamens and leave before the Bees return.
"Ke Lin, you're not even afraid of the Red Bee Queen? That's impressive." The other two girls expressed their admiration when they heared this.
Xue Ni and Xiao Yu also looked at him, but with a hint of doubt in their eyes.
The Red Bee Queen is a Second Rank Magic Beast, and its strength is not to be underestimated.
"That's right, so you don't need to be afraid. Just focus on gathering the stamens." Ke Lin smiled faintly, thinking to himself, 'Anyway, we won't go provoke the Red Bee Queen, so it's okay to boast a bit.'
Xiao Yu's three roommates didn't want the rewards to decrease, so they decided to go to the depths, and she had to reluctantly go along with the majority.
Seeing that Xiao Yu was somewhat worried, Ke Lin took the initiative to walk up to her, attempting to offer comforting words. However, after saying a few sentences, he was tactfully shooed away by Xiao Yu.
Feeling a bit disheartened, Ke Lin fell back behind the group and suddenly noticed Xue Ni approaching.
"When pursuing a girl, you should cater to her preferences and address her concerns. Do you understand?" Xue Ni lowered her voice.
Of course, he understood the principle, but with no chance to get to know her, what could he do?
Initially surprised, Ke Lin showed a pleased expression. "Xue Ni, since you and Xiao Yu are good friends, can you give me some advice?"
"Xiao Yu has been bothered by a freshman recently, did you know that?" Xue Ni whispered.
Ke Lin nodded, "I've heard about it. It seems his name is Lin Xiu."
Noticing that Xue Ni was staring at him, he added, "Do you want me to teach him a lesson?"
"I never said that," Xue Ni first nodded, then quickly shook her head. She chased after Xiao Yu, and when she was close to Xiao Yu, she glanced back at Ke Lin.
The latter seemed to understand Xue Ni's gaze and had a smile on his face.
"What did you say to Ke Lin? Don't betray me. I'm not interested in him," Xiao Yu said, glaring at Xue Ni while she wrapped her arm around her.
"How could I do such a thing? Relax," Xue Ni glared back, thinking to herself that with Ke Lin's abilities, handling a freshman would be a piece of cake.
The last time Xiao Yu went out to find Lin Xiu, Xiao Yu didn't know that she was following behind. This resulted in Xue Ni witnessing Xiao Yu being bullied by Lin Xiu. At that time, Xue Ni wanted to step in and help, but seeing that Xiao Yu was not his match, she chose not to intervene.
However, she always remembered this matter. Originally, she wanted to use Luo Bu, but that guy got injured, and she was having trouble finding a suitable person. Now that Ke Lin has appeared, it seems to have resolved her dilemma.
The group of people moved through the Winter Sunflowers without noticing two sneaky figures appearing in the spot where they had just stood.
"Big Brother, they are female students from Jia Nan Academy," the man in gray clothes exclaimed with joy.
"I have eyes you know?" the middle-aged man scoffed at him. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He had prepared himself for the punishment from the young master when he returned.
"Shall we take action?" The man in gray rubbed his hands, eager to try, but then his head was slapped hard.
Seeing the excitement in the man in gray, the middle-aged man scolded, "You get all enthusiastic when you see women!"
He paused for a moment. "My current condition is not great, and there are people around them. It's not suitable to directly take action. We need to plan for the long term."
The middle-aged man gently pressed his chest, feeling the pain.
After taking that slap yesterday, he wasn't completely unaffected.
"Big Brother, look over there, it's that kid again." Suddenly, the man in gray forcefully pulled down the middle-aged man's body, pointing in a certain direction.
On the opposite side of the valley, a figure walked out from the woods, glanced at the sea of Winter Sunflowers, and leaped into the flower sea.
"Damn, the guy just won't disappear." A touch of ruthlessness flashed across the middle-aged man's face as he shifted his gaze to the center of Winter Sun Valley.
There, at a height of more than three meters from the ground, in the midst of the flower sea, stood a conspicuous, large, spherical object in a dark red and black color.
At this moment, countless shadows were continuously flying out of it, accompanied by the buzzing sound of wings, echoing through the valley.
That was the nest of the Red Bees.
"Big Brother, do we go after him?" The man in gray still remembered what the middle-aged man said yesterday.
"What do you think? Let's go, we're going down too."
The middle-aged man grabbed the collar of the man in gray, "I'll go find that kid. You follow those women. When the Red Bees make a move, I'll come and meet you. Grab one and run when the time comes, understand?"
The middle-aged man planned to leverage the power of the Red Bees to take advantage of an opportunity to trap Lin Xiu. If he was lucky, he could directly kill him, and he wouldn't miss such a chance. If that didn't work, making him suffer a bit from the Queen's poison would also be excellent.
"No problem, Big Brother. Count on me, and you take care of yourself." Hearing that he didn't have to face Lin Xiu, the man in gray immediately perked up, patting his chest forcefully.
'Worthless guy.'
The middle-aged man scolded inwardly, pulled him along, and both entered the flower sea.
Since Xiao Yu had just passed by, there were traces in the flower forest, making tracking not difficult. The man in gray and the middle-aged man separated, heading towards Xiao Yu and the others.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man went straight towards the central nest of the Red Bees.
...
On the other side, Lin Xiu memorized the location of the nest and also entered Winter Sun Valley. This time, he didn't have Lin Dun following him because he couldn't afford to be distracted by Lin Dun during a battle with the Red Bees.
"The Red Bees are highly afraid of thunder and lightning. I have Thundering Palm, and I've mastered it to perfection. As long as I seize the opportunity, there's a chance to eliminate the Queen instantly."
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