Chapter 136: Chapter 136: One Punch, One Howling Little Magic Beast.
This grand move by Qian Qi instantly captured the attention of everyone present, leaving them all staring dumbfounded at the infamous trio.
The captain was relatively calm, merely wishing he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. But it was different for Xu Jinghong; at this moment, he wished he could grab a rope and strangle Qian Qi, and then hang himself along with him.
So embarrassing!
He’s grown up all this time and has never been princess-carried by anyone! Especially by a freaking man!
The key thing is, this brat even had the nerve to complain, "Relax a bit, your body is so stiff, it’s hard for me to hold on!"
Xu Jinghong felt the urge to strangle him, "Put me down! Did you ask for my permission, you damn bastard!"
"Sorry bro, for the sake of our school ties, help me out this once!" Qian Qi sincerely apologized, "I’ll definitely save you if you get hurt inside!"
Xu Jinghong: ???
They haven’t even entered the instance yet, and he’s already cursing him to get hurt?
Clenching his fist, Xu Jinghong held back his frustration, and finally spread his hands to cover his face.
Just his bad luck, running into a weirdo today!
Qian Qi ran a lap around the instance’s perimeter before returning to the starting point to put down the captain and Xu Jinghong, then wiped his brow in an exaggerated manner as if wiping away non-existent sweat, "So, Captain, can I join the team now?"
Several people in the small team had already burst into laughter, clearly very familiar with the captain to dare joke around like this. The captain lightly coughed twice, getting them to cover their mouths and quieten down, but their faces still showed uncontrollable amusement.
"I’m Liang Yongjie, you can call me Captain Liang." Liang Yongjie extended his hand, "Welcome to the team."
"Just call me Little Qian," Qian Qi replied with a handshake, then turned his head to look at Xu Jinghong.
"...Xu Jinghong." Xu Jinghong turned his head away, annoyed.
"So it’s Comrade Little Xu!" Qian Qi clasped his fists in greeting, "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
Xu Jinghong was somewhat surprised, "You know me?"
Qian Qi shook his head, "I don’t."
Xu Jinghong: ???
You don’t know me and still say nice to meet you... Oh, I get it, it’s just a fake pleasantry.
Xu Jinghong turned his back, deciding it was better to stay away from this nutjob, feeling like nothing good would come from being near her.
He’s just hoping that once this instance is over, they won’t have any more opportunities to meet!
Qian Qi felt slightly hurt by Xu Jinghong’s dislike since she thought as fellow students of Awakener University, they should look out for each other. And who knows, maybe they could become good friends and even look after each other’s business in the future, right?
Sighing slightly, Qian Qi followed Liang Yongjie as he introduced the team members.
"These guys are my regular team, archer Liang Yongjun, who is my brother, Power System’s Fan Haixing, Thunder Element Master Yao Na, and I am the Spiritual System commander. During combat, I might directly use spiritual power to give commands."
Liang Yongjie turned back to Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong, "You’ve worked with Command Department students at school, right?"
Xu Jinghong nodded, "Yes."
Qian Qi shook his head, "No."
"No?" Liang Yongjie was somewhat surprised, "Alright, I’ll transmit some spiritual power to you now so you can get used to it."
There weren’t any special steps for spiritual power transmission; Liang Yongjie sent spiritual power towards Qian Qi’s head, and Qian Qi felt a voice arise in her brain area, "Can you hear me?"
Qian Qi held her head, feeling something flash past.
It felt like someone had talked to her this way before...
Who could it be?
Qian Qi couldn’t remember.
"I can hear you," she replied, "Can all commanders transmit to me like this?"
"Theoretically yes, but if your spiritual power level is as high as the other person’s and you’re on guard, there is a certain chance of failure," Liang Yongjie explained, "Didn’t you learn about this in class? You don’t know?"
"Ahaha..." Qian Qi laughed sheepishly, "I’m a poor student, cut me some slack."
Liang Yongjie: ...
You’re too honest, you could at least try to lie to me a little!
Now I’m starting to feel uneasy again!
"The others here are also temporary additions to the team." Liang Yongjie had already accepted Qian Qi and couldn’t back out, so he continued introducing the rest to her and Xu Jinghong.
Once everyone knew each other’s skills, Liang Yongjie instructed the teammates to pack up the bags and tools on the ground, "With you onboard, we’re ready to enter the instance."
The team had 15 members, and though all were E-level Awakeners, at the entrance of the instance, they could still handle scattered magical beasts. As long as they didn’t go deep into the D-level dungeon, they generally wouldn’t encounter many D-level magical beasts, so they could manage.
Qian Qi placed her small bike onto Liang Yongjie’s vehicle before entering the instance with them.
...
Just upon entering the Yanjiao Dungeon, Qian Qi was instantly awestruck by the scene before her.
Tall, interconnected forests stretched throughout, with bright green and dark green spilling generously like ink across the ground of this instance. Giant mushroom-shaped Magic Plants opened large caps, expanding and contracting like breathing, under which were the molted shells of unfamiliar magical beasts. These shells, slightly translucent, were dotted with small Magic Plant saplings of various strange shapes and sizes.
Looking up, the expanse of a hazy yellow sky stretched endlessly, tinged with streaks of lush green, making the landscape appear like an enchanted forest world. In the distance, a white waterfall cascaded down in a rush, its roars interspersed with the ethereal and lingering cries of magical beasts, as if demonic creatures from Another World were calling upon adventurers to explore this entirely different magical forest.
Beauty and fantasy intertwined.
The only blemish might be the pile of carcasses a hundred meters ahead, filled with mostly Copper Scale Beasts, many of which were headless. The bodies were gnawed on by other invading magical beasts, leaving behind only bones and slightly swaying strands of flesh, appearing extremely bloody and brutal.
"Was this done by some C-level master?" Liang Yongjun couldn’t help but marvel, "It’s so impressive to blow off the heads of so many D-level magical beasts at once..."
"Wow, are C-level masters this strong?" Qian Qi also glanced over, full of envy, "I wish I could blow off a D-level magical beast’s head with one punch too!"
Her power level hadn’t reached D-level Peak yet, so she couldn’t just punch down one little magical beast after another.
Liang Yongjun looked disdainfully at Qian Qi, "You’re an awakened with speed; there’s no way in your life you’ll blow off a D-level magical beast’s head with one punch."
He actually disagreed with his brother bringing Qian Qi into the team; Qian Qi didn’t seem reliable at all, and he even wondered whether Qian Qi would remember to carry the wounded and run in case of real danger.
"True, haha~" Qian Qi responded with a silly grin to Liang Yongjun’s disdain, "Little Liang team, if a magical beast appears, you’ve got to protect me!"
"Just don’t slow me down." Liang Yongjun did appreciate the "Little Liang team" nickname, "But you’ve got pretty good speed; if you encounter a beast that’s quick to flee, you need to carry me in pursuit. Then, when it comes time to split the spoils, you can have a share."
Upon hearing about splitting the spoils, Qian Qi’s eyes lit up immediately, "Such good stuff? Don’t worry! I’ll definitely carry you and catch up to the beast!"
Liang Yongjun chuckled softly, "We’ll see about that."