Chapter 119 – 「Sisters」

B-2 Zone.

Like B-5 Zone, this was one of the five zones surrounding the central A-1 Zone, second only to A-1 in importance.

Similar to B-5 Zone and other zones, this area welcomed numerous off-road vehicles on this day. The vehicles traveled through the zone, branching out in all directions to begin the subjugation of Phantom Demons in this area.

Inside one of these off-road vehicles, Xu Qianqian sat in what amounted to the trunk space, her body swaying with the vehicle’s movement.

Naturally, Li Wei and other top students from the Demon Hunter Academy who belonged to the same team as Xu Qianqian were also seated there, observing the area with serious and focused expressions.

After entering B-2 Zone, Li Wei swept his gaze over everyone in the team.

“I believe everyone understands clearly that this is our final chance to redeem our reputation, right?”

Li Wei spoke these words with a stern expression.

“Our performance in the previous operation, as I’m sure you all know, wasn’t particularly good.”

Hearing this, the four top students in the team besides Xu Qianqian all looked somewhat embarrassed, with some silent complaints.

Not just “not particularly good”? It was absolutely terrible, wasn’t it?

Everyone present was among the top achievers in the Demon Hunter Academy, their status incomparable to regular students or even elite students.

Their performance had undoubtedly been observed by high-level officials in the Base City, and academy leadership had certainly been monitoring in real time.

Their every action represented the face of the Demon Hunter Academy, representing the image of academy students in others’ eyes.

Their poor performance in this operation had disappointed many Seniors in the professional circle, not to mention relevant personnel from the academy and Base City.

So, even if they didn’t want to admit it, they had to acknowledge the negative evaluation of their performance.

The evidence was that not long ago, they had each received calls from their respective instructors and been severely reprimanded.

Li Wei had it worse – he directly received a call from the head of the Hunter Department and was berated for a full thirty minutes by the furious department head.

Even Xu Qianqian didn’t escape the academy’s sanctions, being contacted by the deputy head of the Hunter Department. If not for her noble Bloodline, extraordinary background, being the direct Young Miss of the Xu Family and the next generation leader of the Xu Family – making even the department head dare not shout at her, only offering mild criticism – this Young Miss might have experienced her second scolding session after Su Ming.

This showed just how poor the evaluation of Li Wei’s team had been.

If not for their previous outstanding completion rates on high-difficulty tasks assigned by the academy, and the solid strength of each team member – surpassing most established one-star Professionals – based solely on their current performance and evaluation, they might not even have been assigned to important zones like B Zone for subjugation missions.

Given this, no matter how arrogant, unwilling, or dissatisfied these top students were, this time they had to admit their performance had been poor.

Of course, they didn’t want this evaluation to follow them permanently.

“I admit, we were a bit too hasty before.””Too greedy for merit, and ended up making things worse.”

So spoke the two top students.

“Boss, just tell us what to do.”

“This time we absolutely won’t act on our own. We’ll do exactly as you say.”

Li Wei’s two henchmen quickly chimed in.

Among the group of six, these two had the most restless dispositions. Accustomed to bullying others in the Academy, they thought they could act with impunity outside as well.

As a result, during this operation, they were the ones most eager for quick success and instant benefits, even becoming dizzy with success. The higher they stood, the harder they fell.

It could be said that half of the team’s poor evaluation should be attributed to them.

The others, including Li Wei, at least knew how to reflect and minimize losses after learning their lesson. Only these two, despite ending up in a sorry state, still stubbornly charged into the most dangerous areas, trying to prove themselves and continue accumulating contribution points, nearly driving Li Wei to his breaking point.

If these two weren’t somewhat useful as tools, having secretly taken the blame for many things and carried out numerous tasks under his direction, Li Wei would have really wanted to kick them to the curb.

(I was counting on you to cause trouble for Su Ming, but instead you’ve caused me plenty of trouble.)

Li Wei glared at his two henchmen with a displeased expression, feeling a sense of poetic justice.

However, on the surface, Li Wei said this:

“Since everyone has realized their mistakes, from now on, I hope you all refrain from acting on your own.”

At this point, Li Wei also looked toward Xu Qianqian.

“Qianqian, I hope you can seriously cooperate with us and act together, instead of isolating yourself. Whatever issues there are, we can discuss them after this war ends and we return to the Academy, alright?”

Li Wei actually said such words to Xu Qianqian.

It was evident that Li Wei had been truly humbled by reality and wanted to perform earnestly, not daring to engage in too much scheming at such a critical time.

Xu Qianqian glanced at Li Wei but didn’t embarrass him further.

She didn’t consider the team’s poor performance unrelated to herself.

Although the Young Miss hadn’t been greedy for quick success or deluded herself into thinking she could easily earn contribution points on the battlefield, her lack of teamwork had indeed caused the team considerable trouble.

Because of this, even when reprimanded by the Deputy Head of the Hunter Department, Xu Qianqian didn’t argue but accepted the criticism.

Under these circumstances, if Li Wei was willing to give up some unrealistic power struggles and seriously focus on his duties, Xu Qianqian wouldn’t mind cooperating with him.

On one condition…

“If you stop pestering me from now on, I’ll listen to you this once.”

Xu Qianqian’s calm words caused Li Wei’s expression to change slightly.

The other team members also changed their expressions, inwardly gasping in surprise.

Clearly, no one had expected Xu Qianqian to speak so directly, leaving no room for Li Wei to save face.

After all, Li Wei was a Genius from the Li Family’s collateral line, the top student of the Hunter Department, and Xu Qianqian’s senior. In the Academy, he was considered the perfect Prince Charming and ideal partner by many female students. Yet here he was being treated by Xu Qianqian like some persistent, unwanted admirer. If this wasn’t harsh, what was?In any case, the four of them were too frightened to speak.

Li Wei, on the other hand, quickly regained his composure after his expression shifted momentarily.

“You must be joking,” he said with a forced smile. “Why would I do something you dislike, like pestering a girl endlessly?”

Li Wei managed to conjure a smile, though it looked patently insincere.

Xu Qianqian paid him no mind, her tone remaining aloof.

“Otherwise, I can simply take a detour every time I see you from now on.”

True to her reputation as a young miss who spoke little but acted decisively, her words were so sharp that even someone as hypocritical as Li Wei nearly failed to maintain his fake smile.

At this, Li Wei could only darken his expression, his face souring as he fell silent.

The rest of the team didn’t dare even breathe loudly, pretending as if they had heard nothing—eyes downcast, minds focused, deliberately changing the subject.

They knew better than to provoke either Li Wei or Xu Qianqian; playing blind and deaf now was the only way to avoid trouble later.

Even Li Wei’s two henchmen shared this sentiment.

They were troublemakers, not fools. While they might boldly confront Su Ming, they could only meekly comply with Xu Qianqian.

If Xu Qianqian ever decided to hold them accountable, they would undoubtedly face severe consequences.

Thus, the atmosphere in the off-road vehicle grew unbearably tense, making the driver so nervous he nearly confused the accelerator with the brake.

It wasn’t until the figure of a Phantom Demon appeared ahead that Li Wei broke the heavy silence.

“Enough talk,” Li Wei said sternly. “If you don’t want another scolding from the director and instructors, focus on performing well this time.”

Hearing this, everyone snapped to attention, shifting into combat readiness.

Xu Qianqian tensed her body and stopped arguing.

To her, Li Wei had never been a real threat—just an annoyance.

When it came to serious matters, Xu Qianqian could easily ignore Li Wei entirely.

In her mind, that was all the weight Li Wei carried.

With that, Xu Qianqian was ready to set aside past grievances and, as Li Wei suggested, take the mission seriously to improve her standing with the Academy and even the higher-ups of the Base City.

But just then, her phone vibrated violently in her pocket.

“————!”

Her expression shifted abruptly, and without a second thought, she leaped out of the off-road vehicle.

“What?”

Everyone else, poised for battle, was stunned by her sudden move.

Only Li Wei, perhaps sensing something, suddenly paled.

“Run!” he roared.

But it was already too late.

“Boom——!”

A violent explosion erupted from where the off-road vehicle had been, unleashing a blast of wind and flames that mercilessly destroyed everything in its path.

The vehicle was instantly blown to pieces, and everyone inside was swallowed by the inferno, their fates unknown.

Xu Qianqian, who had jumped out just in time, landed and watched the scene unfold, her pretty face turning ashen.

“Young Miss!”

“Young Miss!”

Simultaneously, figures clad in black swiftly closed in, landing around Xu Qianqian to form a protective circle.

These were, naturally, the private army under her command.

They had been shadowing her in secret, providing close protection all along.Just moments ago, they had been vigilantly watching when they noticed someone preparing to ambush the off-road vehicle Xu Qianqian was in. Following the prearranged plan, they immediately alerted Xu Qianqian, allowing her to evade in time.

But the real danger was only beginning.

“As expected, a trap of this level couldn’t handle you, my dear sister.”

Accompanied by a light laugh, several figures darted forward once more.

This time, however, these were no longer Xu Qianqian’s private guards. Their purpose here was not to protect her, but to surround her.

Leading them was someone very familiar to Xu Qianqian.

“Xu Yanyan…”

Xu Qianqian’s expression turned icy.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, little sister Qianqian.”

Xu Yanyan approached step by step, licking the small Saber in her hand with a pleased smile.

“Come now, it’s time to settle our accounts.”

(End of Chapter)