Chapter 337 – Isn't That a Bit Too Bold to Say?

“It’s been a long time since I last came back here.”

Standing on the road in front of the villa’s main gate, Xu Xiayan gazed at this former residence of hers and let out a deeply emotional sigh.

Today, Xu Xiayan’s attire wasn’t particularly formal; instead, it was somewhat casual and comfortable.

Though her outfit still looked charming and beautiful when complemented by her exceptional appearance and figure, compared to the mature impression she usually gave off, today’s Xu Xiayan seemed several years younger, exuding a youthful vibe reminiscent of successful professionals nostalgically revisiting their school days.

Those familiar with Xu Xiayan would know that when she dressed like this, she must be preparing to attend a very relaxed occasion where she could truly unwind.

This also meant that Xu Xiayan’s visit today felt more like returning home than making a formal visit.

In fact, that description wasn’t wrong.

As of now, this villa still belonged to Xu Xiayan—it was a facility she had lent to Su Ming, not his personal property.

Although, given Su Ming’s current financial resources, buying a villa in Dragonheart District—the city center of Tianfeng City—would be an easy task, the name on this villa’s property deed remained unquestionably Xu Xiayan’s.

Therefore, it was completely accurate to say that Xu Xiayan was returning home today.

Xu Xiayan herself seemed to think so too, as she not only dressed casually and comfortably but didn’t bring any attendants with her either.

After standing in front of the gate for a while, lost in thought, she finally stepped into the villa’s courtyard.

Setting foot here again after so many years, Xu Xiayan felt not only deeply sentimental but also somewhat relaxed and cheerful.

She glanced around and couldn’t help but nod in approval.

“It seems that little guy has really taken good care of the place.”

Unlike the neglect and disarray when Su Ming first arrived, today the villa was completely revitalized, entirely different from before.

The vines and moss that had covered the villa’s exterior walls had been cleaned off, and the damaged sections had been repaired so well that they looked brand new, with no traces of the previous neglect.

The weeds in the courtyard had been cleared away, and both the greenery and flower beds appeared to have been professionally trimmed.

The fountain was operational again, with clear water flowing and spraying within it, creating a truly pleasing sight.

The path leading to the entrance was clean and refreshing,

Walking on it gave a distinct feeling of strolling along a forest trail.

All of this was much cleaner and more beautiful than when Xu Xiayan had lived here, lifting the spirits of someone who hadn’t returned in so long.

“That little guy does have a conscience after all, knowing to clean up this place properly for his big sister.”

A slight smile tugged at Xu Xiayan’s lips as she walked to the entrance and rang the doorbell.

Before long, the villa’s door opened.

“Welcome, Commander Xu.”

Su Ming had come to greet her personally, dressed in sporty casual wear. He crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow at the casually dressed Xu Xiayan, and showed a faint, teasing smile.

“So? How does it feel?”

Su Ming was naturally referring to the villa’s current condition.

Clearly, Su Ming had guessed that Xu Xiayan, who hadn’t returned in so long, would be feeling sentimental about something.

For once, Xu Xiayan was surprisingly frank.

“More than just ‘okay’—the fact that you managed to tidy this place up so well in such a short time is beyond my expectations.” Xu Xiayan chuckled lightly and said, “Seeing how it looks now, I’m almost tempted to move back in.”

“I have no objections.” Su Ming shrugged and said, “After all, aside from me, everyone else here is female. There are even some around your age—you should get along fine with them, right, Aunt Xu?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ming sensed a murderous intent.

“It’s? Big? Sis?ter,? got it?”

Xu Xiayan stared at Su Ming with a smiling expression, but dangerous glints flashed in her eyes.

“Ahem…”

Su Ming’s composure instantly crumbled. After his lips twitched a few times, he coughed dryly and began changing the subject.

“Let’s not stand at the door. Come on in and talk.”

With that, Su Ming turned and walked into the villa first, as if trying to escape.

“Hmph!”

Xu Xiayan snorted coldly, her earlier good mood gone. She stepped into the villa and followed Su Ming.

Of course, Xu Xiayan’s moods came and went quickly.

When she saw that the interior of the villa had also been completely renovated—clean, fresh, and without any sense of long-term neglect—her eyes lit up again, and she became cheerful once more.

“Don’t tell me you’ve completely cleaned up the entire place, inside and out?”

Xu Xiayan looked at Su Ming in surprise.

“Pretty much.” Su Ming nodded and said straightforwardly, “Aside from some rooms on the top floor that I use for storage and haven’t cleaned much, everywhere else has been cleaned. I also hired people to renovate it. There shouldn’t be any places that are too embarrassing to show now.”

“After all, this is planned to be the team’s headquarters, the base. If I don’t fix it up properly, when more people join in the future, I’ll be the one losing face.”

“Quite a few people are already living here now. When more join later, the utilization rate will be even higher.”

So, after the initial major cleanup, Su Ming deliberately spent a sum of Contribution Points to hire people for renovation and repairs.

It didn’t cost many Contribution Points—about 1,000 points.

Converted to money, that would be one million.

Spending one million to renovate and repair a large villa was quite worthwhile.

Especially since Su Ming paid with Contribution Points—the renovation company was overjoyed and worked exceptionally hard. They dispatched dozens of people to work simultaneously, using the latest equipment and tools, and completed the job in just a few days.

For ordinary people, Contribution Points were extremely valuable items—far more precious than what the market exchange rate could reflect.

The 1:1000 exchange rate between Contribution Points and money was ultimately nominal, with no actual market availability.

What money could buy, Contribution Points could buy; what money couldn’t buy, Contribution Points could still acquire.

Moreover, Contribution Points circulated only within professional circles. Possessing them largely meant being able to establish connections with people and organizations in the professional world. In the eyes of ordinary people, Su Ming’s act of paying with Contribution Points was an incredibly generous and advantageous deal.

Hence, the other party put in extraordinary effort.

As a result, the villa was completely revitalized, transformed into its current state.

“I see.” Xu Xiayan nodded in understanding, then smiled and said, “But is it really okay for you to use your big sister’s place as your team’s headquarters like this?”

“If you don’t see a problem with it, why would I?” Su Ming said nonchalantly, “This place is big enough and even has an underground training ground. It shouldn’t be unsuitable as a team headquarters, right?”

“If it were a large-scale team with over a hundred internal members, this place would be completely inadequate.” Xu Xiayan shook her head as she said this, “That’s exactly why I chose to move out of this villa back then and return to the Wang Family Estate.”

“Then there’s no problem.” Su Ming stated confidently, “I don’t plan to develop by simply expanding scale. Instead, I intend to follow an elite route. Unless they’re special talents, I only plan to recruit Upper-Rank Professionals. In that case, this place is sufficient.”

Hearing this, Xu Xiayan was taken aback.

“Only recruit Upper-Rank Professionals?” Xu Xiayan stared at Su Ming in utter astonishment, finding it both shocking and amusing. “Aren’t you being a bit too bold, kid?”

An E-rank team actually dares to boast that they only plan to recruit Upper-Rank Professionals?

Could such a team even be established?

“Don’t forget, you’re only a One-Star Sorcerer yourself, you know?”

Xu Xiayan spoke with a rather serious tone.

“Although there’s no requirement that the Commander’s Rank and strength must be higher than the team members’, can you really keep team members who are much stronger than you in check?”

At this point, a trace of concern inevitably crept into Xu Xiayan’s voice.

This was actually one of her worries.

When a team recruits members externally, although contracts are signed, contracts aren’t slave documents—they don’t stipulate that after joining the team, members must unconditionally obey the Commander’s orders.

It’s similar to working in a company: even an ordinary employee who works diligently might sometimes defy their superior. Even with obligations that must be fulfilled, it doesn’t mean people will obey unconditionally in everything.

Unless it’s specifically required and explicitly stated in the contract.

Otherwise, incidents of subordinates overpowering superiors aren’t particularly rare within teams.

To earn the respect of team members and make them follow your directives, you must demonstrate real capability.

If you can keep them in check, they’ll naturally listen to you in everything.

But Su Ming was both young and relatively weak in strength. Even if he had miraculously established a team with multiple Upper-Rank Professionals joining, whether he could keep them in check was absolutely something to worry about.

One reason Xu Xiayan wanted to visit was to meet the survivors of the former ‘Crimson’ and see that famous female legend. Another was to see whether Su Ming was truly leading this team or being used and manipulated by others.

To put it bluntly, Xu Xiayan suspected that Su Ming might not have truly succeeded in establishing the ‘Azure Mercury’ team entirely on his own—there might be other circumstances involved.

It couldn’t be helped; Su Ming’s disguise was too effective, making people doubt whether there was something fishy going on.

Otherwise, many simply couldn’t understand how a foreign novice Sorcerer, starting with nothing, could recruit several Upper-Rank Professionals and complete an A-rank mission right from the start.

Today, Xu Xiayan came here to see with her own eyes what was really going on.

However…

“Commander Xu, you worry too much. We joined because we genuinely admire our Commander. The situation you’re concerned about hasn’t occurred.”

When such a voice echoed through the hall, an overwhelming pressure began to permeate the air.

(End of Chapter)