The female Swordshell Beast raised its neck and howled, its deafening roar echoing for kilometers.
Its massive body and tough skin made it a formidable opponent. Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng exerted their strength, and the silver-white mental power between their hands grew brighter. They were fully focused, waiting for the moment when their mental power would pierce through its skin.
The female beast attempted to stand up, causing a shockwave that blew their hair back. Xi Nan and Ji Yu rushed over, repeatedly using their mental powers to trip the beast’s body.
But the howling couldn’t be suppressed, and the male Swordshell Beasts several kilometers away were completely enraged by this mournful cry. Plunging into a frenzied state, they charged towards the scene.
Dozens of fierce beasts with horned noses and crimson eyes ran straight towards them, causing the earth to tremble violently.
The dense forest around them slightly hindered their speed. Si Wo Lin took a deep breath; it was time for him to carry out his task. He stood at the forefront and confronted the group of furious beasts spewing fire from their nostrils in the distance.
The protection from his teammates ensured that he didn’t lose any bit of his mental power. As the one with the highest mental power among the remaining four, Si Wo Lin naturally became the mainstay of their protective shield.
He extended his hand and, along with his three teammates in different directions, created a protective barrier within the range where the female Swordshell Beast lay. However, every time the Swordshell Beast’s long horn collided with their mental power, the magnitude of the shockwave made them worry that the protective shield might disintegrate in the next second.
[Where are the event organizers?]
[Is nobody in charge here? Don’t you know what’s happening in your own live broadcast?]
[How much time has passed? Do we need casualties for the organizers to finally take action!]
The person in charge of the event wiped the sweat from his forehead and shifted his gaze away from the comments. “Sir, what do you think…?”
The military officer sitting in the main seat, calmly observing the monitoring from various directions, had a resolute expression on his face. “Wait a little longer.”
“Sir, waiting is one thing,” the person in charge sighed, “but you must ensure their safety.”
“I will,” the middle-aged military officer replied, “they haven’t reached their limits yet.”
The military officer’s rank insignia displayed the rank of Colonel. Colonel Raymond had a highly trained paramilitary force under his command, and every member of his unit was handpicked by him. They were known as “Raymond’s Private Guards.”
The person in charge couldn’t decide whether to pity himself or the young minds currently being tested by Colonel Raymond. After all, the Colonel was infamous for being demanding, pushing people to their limits, and sometimes even beyond.
Once Colonel Raymond took an interest in someone, their good days were most likely over.
…Honor was about to be achieved.
The military officer halted the event organizer’s rescue efforts, infuriating the audience on the StarNet. However, the Dream Team in the midst of the actual battle didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on such sentiments.
They continued to withstand the increasingly intense mental fluctuations from the rampaging Swordshell Beasts. On top of the fallen female Swordshell Beast, Li ZuoXing and Gu WenCheng knew that their teammates couldn’t hold on much longer.
To avoid raising suspicion, Gu WenCheng maintained his mental power at the same level as Li ZuoXing’s. But there was no time to think about this now. He pressed his hand down slightly, and the female Swordshell Beast let out a wail as a crack instantly appeared in the stone-like shell, leading directly to Li ZuoXing’s position.
It’s open!
Li ZuoXing’s eyes lit up, and without hesitation, his mental power rushed through the crack, breaking through the creature’s flesh and heading straight for its brain.
The dying roar of the female Swordshell Beast incited the male Swordshell Beasts surrounding them to join in the cacophony. They became even more ferocious in their attacks on the protective barrier.
“Don’t hesitate, kill it,” Gu WenCheng’s voice was cold, believing that Li ZuoXing might sympathize with these creatures. “If they don’t die, we will.”
As he spoke, Li ZuoXing’s mental power had already enveloped the female Swordshell Beast’s vital points. With no pause, he crushed it.
With a resounding crash, the dying female Swordshell Beast fell heavily to the ground.
Li ZuoXing, quick on his feet, pulled Gu WenCheng into his embrace. They tumbled to the ground, rolling a couple of times before coming to a stop.
He held Gu WenCheng in his arms, while Gu WenCheng placed his hand on the back of Li ZuoXing’s head. After both of them awkwardly stood up, they realized what they had just done.
It was… so cheesy, yet strangely sweet.
There was no time to dwell on this newfound warmth. They quickly pulled their exhausted teammates to their feet and headed toward the route they had planned earlier.
The Swordshell Beasts had disrupted their mental defenses and were now chasing them relentlessly.
Colonel Raymond watched their escape route thoughtfully, while the event organizer praised them, “They are a responsible bunch. That direction has dangerous terrain, but it won’t harm other teams in the competition.”
“Initiate the rescue operation,” Colonel Raymond said as he stood up. After giving orders to his deputy, he turned to the event organizer and added, “Take good care of my future soldiers.”
“Yes, sir,” the event organizer replied. “They don’t need our care; they can make it to the finals on their own.”
Following Colonel Raymond, the deputy and the event organizer walked out together. The deputy smiled and said, “Colonel, are you satisfied with them?”
“What if I’m not?” Colonel Raymond retorted. “It’s Prince Nico’s direct order. Can I refuse to include them in my team?”
“You make it sound like you’ve never refused Prince Nico’s requests before,” the deputy countered.
Colonel Raymond chuckled. “Pay close attention to their performance from now on.”
“Will do.”
…
The Dream Team hadn’t been running with the Swordshell Beasts for long when the event organizers finally stepped in to manage the ownership of the creatures. They efficiently took control and then disappeared once more without a word.
Many of the participants on Daylight Meteor were oblivious to what had transpired. After successfully resolving a major crisis, the Dream Team’s reaction was rather subdued. They were just catching their breath before waving goodbye to the event organizers.
Once the area had quieted down, it was only the six of them left, amidst the trampled jungle.
Gu WenCheng sighed in relief. “Should we give ourselves a round of applause?”
He stood in front of Li ZuoXing, propping himself up on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Li ZuoXing rested on his back and lightly tapped his thumb. “That’s such an old-fashioned way to celebrate.”
With sweat dampening their hair, Gu WenCheng couldn’t quite keep up with the young man’s thoughts. He recalled the incident when Xi Nan had tried to pat Li ZuoXing’s butt. Was that considered a more innovative celebration?
They had fought in a remote area, away from the crowds. They still had to complete the level, and on the leisurely journey back, their mental powers gradually recovered.
Si Wo Lin and the other three who had created the mental defense against the rampaging male Swordshell Beasts had exhausted themselves to the point that their hands were shaking.
But as long as the outcome was good, there was no need to dwell on these things.
When they returned to the spot where the cards were buried, it had been two hours. Along the way, they had collected five more cards. The other participants, whose cards had been ruthlessly stolen, cursed them to no end. Nevertheless, they felt pretty pleased, thinking that the Dream Team could now at least rank above average.
In reality, they had already taken the first place. The original top team belonged to Ren Qingying, but the Dream Team had also taken half of their cards.
The citizens of StarNet watching the live broadcast had complex feelings as they observed the Dream Team confidently discussing how their team was definitely above average.
They were truly… simple kids.
After enjoying a delicious barbecue to reward themselves, the down-to-earth kids began searching for a safe place to sleep for the night.
As night fell quietly, the weary youngsters, who had spent the day in exhaustion, fell into a deep slumber. Gu WenCheng woke up in the middle of the night but didn’t find Li ZuoXing.
His expression changed, but he soon spotted the teenager sitting up on the high fork of a towering tree.
Gu WenCheng used his mental powers to ascend the tree, standing behind Li ZuoXing. In the darkness, he observed the boy for half an hour before making some noise, satisfied with what he had seen.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Gu WenCheng asked.
Li ZuoXing guessed it was him and replied, “I can’t sleep.”
Gu WenCheng raised an eyebrow and sat down beside him. Bathed in moonlight atop the tall tree in the forest, he asked, “Do you need your big brother to sing you a lullaby?”
“If it’s you,” Li ZuoXing said with a hint of amusement, “I’d be honored.”
Gu WenCheng cleared his throat, “I was just kidding. I don’t know any lullabies.”
He realized he didn’t have much of a childhood, and now he found it regrettable that he hadn’t thought to learn those soothing songs.
“Then, do you need me to sing you to sleep?” Li ZuoXing teased with a mischievous smile. “Shall I sing for you, Baby WenCheng?”
Gu WenCheng really wanted to tell him that the “baby” in front of him was thirty-eight years old.
But he didn’t say it.
Seeing him remain silent, Li ZuoXing leaned closer, brushing his cheek with his hair. “Are you angry? Just one ‘baby,’ and you’re angry?”
Gu WenCheng dodged him, unable to control his laughter. “It’s ticklish.”
When he moved away, Li ZuoXing became even more mischievous, tugging at his neck and nuzzling in his neck hollow.
Gu WenCheng placed his hand on his back, preventing the little guy from falling, and playfully threatened by his ear, “If you keep messing around, I might just have to kiss you.”
“What do you mean by ‘kiss’?” Li ZuoXing teased, “Aren’t you—”
A beep interrupted them.
Invisible devices revealed themselves in the distance, flashing red lights. “Insufficient energy, insufficient energy…”
The expressions of the two teenagers whispering to each other, seemingly discovering a new world, were directly broadcasted on the Star Network.
They looked as if they had stumbled upon a newfound land.
It was only then that Gu WenCheng and Li ZuoXing realized that this was a live broadcast to the entire network!
Their faces turned pale, not concerned about whether their intimacy underwater had been discovered, but rather about the intimate actions planned for tonight, and even the next night and the night after that.
F*ck!
Li ZuoXing was furious, his teeth aching with anger.
Damn Empire Games!
Gu WenCheng was equally furious. Both of them stared coldly at the machine with the flashing red warning light, their expressions sending shivers down the spines of the audience in front of the live camera.
The machine with insufficient energy quickly flew away into the distance, escaping their wrath.
Li ZuoXing knew that there was more than one device around them, and the complete lack of privacy in front of the watching eyes had completely ruined his mood. He had thought it was just him and Gu WenCheng in their own private space, but in reality, so many people were watching, and any sense of romance had disappeared.
He sighed and could only appreciate the moonlight.
But appreciating the moonlight with Gu WenCheng…
Li ZuoXing smirked.
“I can’t sing lullabies, but would you like to listen to something else?”
His mental power discreetly caressed his ear, transmitting Gu WenCheng’s words to him.
The other person looked up at the moon with a calm expression, every move full of style.
With a kind of maturity that young people lacked, this aura was particularly lethal to growing teenagers.
Gu WenCheng was trying to maintain a positive image of himself in Li ZuoXing’s mind. “It’s not bad.”
Encouraged by Li ZuoXing, Gu WenCheng started singing. Li ZuoXing had initially thought he would sing a love song, but after hearing it, he realized the melody was grand, icy, and powerful, more like a war song.
It was a tune he had never heard before, but vivid images easily emerged. It felt as if a warrior drenched in blood was valiantly battling enemies, and after annihilating them, the warrior had lost his life as well.
Li ZuoXing plucked some leaves from the tree, and after a few manipulations, they formed a loop. He placed the loop on Gu WenCheng’s head and, with an encouraging tone, as if coaxing a child, said, “WenCheng’s singing is really great.”
Gu WenCheng burst into hearty laughter.
The desolate feeling of homesickness from just a moment ago had completely disappeared.
