The departure of Skyblade seemed to have dealt a significant blow to Bluesea.
This was not hard to understand.
Over the years, Bluesea had spared no effort to support the cause, even going so far as to stake the enLun Tai team on a gamble like Blood Verdict. In this, there was the valor of Skyblade, the leader of that year, and the belief that he would return in glory, bringing back the honor of the old days.
It was this unwavering faith and perseverance that had carried Bluesea through all the hardships to that day.
It had been his source of strength!
However, after seeing a glimmer of hope, Skyblade had finally passed away, leaving the world behind.
The ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, nothing had surpassed this.
Chen Xiaolian could certainly understand and empathize with the impact of this, so it hadn't been too surprising to see Bluesea's sadness.
Afterward, Bluesea had left without saying a word, taking Chen Xiaolian directly away from that old place and returning to the headquarters of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, which had resembled a beehive.
"You can rest for a while. Later, I'll send you away from Zero City," Bluesea had said this and had left Chen Xiaolian in the care of his intelligent AI assistant, Sarah. Then he had entered his own room.
Perhaps seeking solace in a drink, perhaps grieving deeply; that had remained unknown to outsiders.
Chen Xiaolian sighed and looked at the virtual Sarah, saying, "Take me to see Mr. Qiao Yifeng."
...
When Qiao Yifeng opened the door and saw Chen Xiaolian, his eyes immediately lit up. He almost pulled Chen Xiaolian into the room and stared at him, demanding, "Tell me! Tell me! What's going on?"
Chen Xiaolian touched his nose and wanted to inform Qiao Yifeng of Skyblade's death right away. However, after some consideration, he spoke softly, "The specifics... you should ask Mr. Bluesea. He's in his own room right now."
Qiao Yifeng glanced at Chen Xiaolian, snorted, and quickly rushed out of the room.
In the room, there were only Chen Xiaolian and the two girls, Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.
Chen Xiaolian glanced at the two girls sitting on the sofa. Qiao Qiao had already stood up, and Chen Xiaolian quickly walked over, extending his arms.
Qiao Qiao threw herself into his arms, and they were about to kiss when Soo Soo's displeased voice interrupted, "Sister! Xiaolian Oppa!! There's still an underage person here!"
Chen Xiaolian chuckled and pulled Soo Soo over as well. The three of them hugged each other.
Qiao Qiao looked up into Chen Xiaolian's eyes, understanding the passion in his gaze. She asked, "Now... what do we do?"
"Of course, leaving is the best option," Chen Xiaolian frowned. "Honestly, I don't want to stay in this Zero City for another moment. The sooner we leave, the better."
Qiao Qiao was about to say something when she suddenly had a thought and whispered, "Alright, let's discuss it after we go back home. Here, in this room..."
She gestured discreetly around the room.
Chen Xiaolian immediately understood Qiao Qiao's hint.
This was the headquarters of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, and who knew if there were any surveillance or listening devices around.
...
About an hour later, Bluesea and Qiao Yifeng arrived together.
Bluesea seemed to have calmed down emotionally, but Qiao Yifeng had swollen eyes, and his voice was hoarse, indicating that he had probably cried quite a bit.
"If you want to leave, I can send you out now," Bluesea said calmly.
Chen Xiaolian looked at Bluesea, and the two exchanged a subtle glance.
"Alright, we want to leave now... but..." Chen Xiaolian hesitated, "Can I see Fatty for a moment?"
Bluesea paused briefly, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, he's no longer in Zero City. The morning after you disappeared, I had him sent out of Zero City."
Chen Xiaolian was somewhat surprised but then understood.
Sending Fatty out of Zero City was a decision Bluesea had made early on. At the time, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild was facing a crisis, and getting rid of an ordinary person like Fatty as quickly as possible would prevent any potential trouble if he continued to stay on this sinking ship.
Moreover, there had been some arrangements made before Skyblade's death. It seemed that Fatty wouldn't have much of a chance to return to Zero City in the future.
He was just an ordinary person, and being away from Zero City was probably for the best for him.
Chen Xiaolian immediately said, "If so there's nothing else... Can we leave now?"
...
Originally, Qiao Qiao had been restricted from leaving by the Angel Corps, but this time, Bluesea's attitude was exceptionally firm. After personally negotiating with the Angel Corps's leader, Wu Tianshi, the restrictions on Qiao Qiao were immediately lifted.
A member of the Angel Corps named "Wanderer" even came to see them off in the central public area's entrance and exit channel of Zero City.
After politely expressing the Angel Corps's apologies, he left.
Qiao Yifeng looked at Qiao Qiao, who was leaning against Chen Xiaolian, and couldn't help but sigh. He stared at Chen Xiaolian for a moment and said, "In the future... take good care of her."
Chen Xiaolian nodded.
"And Soo Soo, the same goes for her," Qiao Yifeng shook his head. "I'm entrusting both of them to you. You..."
With that, Qiao Yifeng gave a wry smile. "With the strength you've shown in the arena, well... I probably don't need to worry too much."
After saying this, Qiao Yifeng took a few steps back.
Bluesea looked at Chen Xiaolian, scanning him up and down.
The new leader of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild had a deep gaze and a somewhat complex expression.
"I don't know whether Skyblade's choice was the right one, but I'm willing to trust his judgment. Although I have some concerns about you as a person, since it's his wish, I will do my best to follow it. I also hope that you won't disappoint me or him."
After carefully choosing his words, Bluesea sighed. "We'll stay in touch, and when I need you, I'll find you. If you need anything, contact Brother Qiao."
After a moment of thought, Bluesea took out a small item from his pocket, resembling a bracelet.
"This is for you, an internal access pass to Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. It allows you to enter and exit Zero City through the team's internal channels. This item is crucial. Bind it once you get back, and in case you lose it, others won't be able to use it. But remember the safety regulations: before using the channel to enter Zero City, you must ensure the surroundings are safe and there are no electronic sentinels without the main program! Otherwise... it could lead to serious trouble."
"I understand," Chen Xiaolian accepted the bracelet and immediately put it on his wrist.
...
Exiting the channel from Zero City, they found themselves back in the hotel room where Qiao Yifeng had brought Chen Xiaolian just a few days ago.
Qiao Yifeng had arranged for the room to be reserved. After the three of them appeared in the room, they looked around. Qiao Qiao hopped over to the window and excitedly looked outside when she recognized the familiar cityscape.
"We're finally back!" she exclaimed.
Soo Soo, on the other hand, stood by Chen Xiaolian's side, clutching his clothing tightly.
At this moment, Chen Xiaolian's emotions were running high as well.
Their trip to Zero City had been quite rewarding, even though they had ended up staying for over a week, most of which had been spent in the ancient painting world. Fortunately, they had managed to participate in Blood Verdict, the event organized by Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild.
Overall, their journey to Zero City had been a resounding success. They had gained numerous benefits, and most importantly, they had successfully brought Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo, the two core members, back to the team.
Standing in the room, Chen Xiaolian suddenly remembered, "Right, I need to let our brothers at home know. We couldn't contact the outside world while we were in Zero City, and they're probably getting worried."
The first person Chen Xiaolian contacted was Roddy.
However, he found out that Roddy was still in Africa and hadn't returned yet.
After getting in touch with him, Roddy complained about Chen Xiaolian's disappearance and then shared a pleasant surprise.
Roddy had entered the C11 mine and, after studying the main control system inside...
"My Mechanical Heart ability can increase the mining efficiency of the main control system by around 10%, which is already the limit. However, the improved function is not yet stable, so I need to stay in the mining area for a few more days. Once I've completely sorted out the main control system and stabilized the degree of improvement, then I can leave. I estimate it will take about ten more days."
Roddy's voice sounded quite excited, and he also shared some news with Chen Xiaolian: he was very interested in the mining robots.
This wasn't surprising, as Roddy had always been fascinated by things like mecha and machinery.
According to Roddy, he had already disassembled two mining robots for research.
"There might be some surprises. I'm making some interesting modifications, and if it succeeds... hehehe."
However, he refused to reveal any more details until he had completed his work, and Chen Xiaolian didn't press him for more information.
In addition, Roddy expressed a warm welcome and excitement at the return of Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.
"Hahaha! Miss Qiao is finally back with the team! Congratulations! Our poor Brother Xiaolian can finally bid farewell to the days of relying on left and right hands..."
Slap!
Without waiting for this guy to finish his sentence, Chen Xiaolian angrily ended the call.
"Jerk!"
...
Chen Xiaolian returned with Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo and headed directly to the base on the abandoned resort island in the lake outside the city.
The veteran team members, including Lun Tai, Bei Tai, an Xiaolei, naturally showed surprise and welcomed the return of the Qiao sisters.
However, the new team member, Qimu Xi, seemed a bit shy.
After Chen Xiaolian introduced the two girls and Qimu Xi to each other, he gathered everyone together for a meeting.
During the journey, Chen Xiaolian had already recounted the experiences in the London instance and the subsequent penalty instance to Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.
Even so, seeing such a magical "base" in person still left Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo amazed.
"Even in Zero City... it's not quite like this," was Qiao Qiao's response.
Chen Xiaolian led everyone into the equipment room of the base.
The enormous warehouse here had plenty of space. When Chen Xiaolian took out the supplies from his storage wristband, the others were fine, but Bei Tai, the military enthusiast, screamed in excitement and almost fainted from joy!
Sentinel Mecha!
Thunderstorm Battle Tank!
And even the Tidal Warplane!
Bei Tai rushed over and hugged the landing gear wheel of the Tidal Warplane, refusing to let go, shouting, "We hit the jackpot! We hit the jackpot, Guild Leader! So much equipment! We could even go to war with a small country with this!"
Chen Xiaolian smiled, "For these mechanical equipment, once Roddy comes back, we'll let him take a look first. After all, we're not very good with these things. As for the Thunderstorm Battle Tank, we've used it before. Bei Tai, you can start with some basic training using one of them.
Calculating the days; our next instance dungeon draw shouldn't be too far away. Although we have this base and can evade instance dungeon draws, I think avoiding them might have side effects. So, my suggestion is that we still participate in the instances unless they pose a very high danger. For regular instances, we should still participate."
"No problem!" Bei Tai replied with a smile.
Lun Tai, on the other hand, picked up various cold weapons from the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild warehouse and sighed, "As expected of the permanent team in Zero City, they are indeed wealthy."
"We also have plenty of [A] class protective suits, so we can basically provide one for each person," Chen Xiaolian smiled. "This will significantly increase our safety factor."
That evening, everyone rested within the base, and no one left.
The base's capabilities were impressive, providing each team member with their own personal accommodation room.
This advanced spatial technology could meet everyone's basic spatial needs.
However, after dinner, Bei Tai chuckled and lifted Soo Soo up. Without waiting for the little girl to struggle, he laughed loudly, "Let's go, Soo Soo, I'll take you to play with a tank..."
He winked at Chen Xiaolian and Soo Soo as he said this.
Lun Tai also got up from the central activity area and dragged Xiaolei away with him, saying, "Come on, come on, you clueless kid, leaving you as a third wheel?"
As for Qimu Xi, she had already used the excuse of needing to sleep and slipped away long before.
In the central rest area, only Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao were left, and both of them seemed a bit awkward.
Qiao Qiao could feel the fiery gaze in Chen Xiaolian's eyes when he looked at her.
After being stared at for a while, Miss Qiao's temperament got the better of her, and she glared back, saying, "Why do you keep staring at me like that?"
Chen Xiaolian, on the other hand, walked over with a mischievous smile and suddenly picked up Qiao Qiao.
"What are you doing?" Qiao Qiao felt a bit flustered.
"A little separation is good for a relationship," Chen Xiaolian replied, holding Qiao Qiao and walking briskly toward his accommodation room.
However, when they reached the door, Qiao Qiao suddenly said something that almost made Chen Xiaolian stumble.
No, it wasn't something like, "I'm on my period" or any mood-killing words like that.
What Qiao Qiao said was, "You haven't really been using your hands for the past two months, have you?"
Chen Xiaolian was infuriated by her words and huffed, "You'll find out soon!" He carried Qiao Qiao into the room and extended his leg to kick the door closed.
Well, youth is indeed a beautiful thing.