Chapter 331 - 232: Feels Pretty Good
In an office at the Pearl Harbor Training Center.
The tense selection tournament had ended. The logistics staff, busy all afternoon, had just finished converting the competition grounds back into the Battle Hall and were now discussing where to go grab a bite to eat.
Ke Yan was leaning back in his office chair, shooting the shit on the phone with his best gal pal—Vice Alliance Leader Gou of the Dark Alliance.
"The tournament? Ugh, don’t even get me started."
As the conversation turned to the selection tournament, Ke Yan rolled his eyes.
"It started out pretty exciting, but that host... she didn’t know a damn thing! It was fucking ridiculous! Does having a pretty face and a big ass qualify you to be a host now? Hell, my ass is bigger, so maybe I should give it a shot..."
"And get this—she was supposedly a professional commentator hand-picked by the Boya Alliance? Ah, never mind then. If it was that bunch of useless hacks from the Boya Alliance, then it’s no surprise."
"Oh, right. I heard you made a bet a while back. Lost the whole ten thousand, huh? It all went right down the drain? Vice Alliance Leader Gou, what were you thinking... Whoa, whoa, don’t hang up, don’t hang up! I’ll stop messing with you, heheh."
After a bit of banter with Vice Alliance Leader Gou, Ke Yan, who had been irritated for days, felt his spirits lift considerably.
’That Vice Alliance Leader Gou,’ he thought, ’truly the Common Defense Alliance’s number one source of amusement!’
"What? The Boya Alliance is looking for that host? You’re saying she hasn’t been answering their messages?"
Ke Yan’s brows twitched. He sensed something wasn’t right.
"That’s impossible. She’s been sitting next to me, commentating on the matches these past few days. I just saw her right after the tournament ended. She was dressed all provocatively. No idea where she was headed..."
"Alright, I’ll ask around for you. My phone’s about to die, so I gotta go."
He hung up.
A few staff members gathered at the office door. "Instructor Ke Yan, want to grab a bite with us?"
Ke Yan shook his head with a pained expression. "You guys go ahead. Something else just came up."
"Alright, we’re heading out then!"
The others walked off, humming. Ke Yan slumped into his seat like a big, grumpy bear, found the host’s number, and placed the call.
’That’s weird. She’s really not picking up...’ Ke Yan’s brow gradually furrowed.
’Who just doesn’t answer their phone or reply to messages?’
’Something’s wrong...’
Hearing a faint, almost inaudible vibration in the room, Ke Yan’s eyes widened.
’That’s the vibration of an incoming call!’
Following the sound, Ke Yan quickly zeroed in on a metal filing cabinet. As he listened more closely, he could also hear what sounded like muffled whimpers and struggling from within.
CLANG!
Unable to find a key, Ke Yan simply pried the door off with his bare hands.
Then, the big bear of a man shuddered and took a tactical step back.
Inside, at the bottom of the cabinet, was a girl, trussed up and with her mouth taped shut. Dressed only in her underwear, her pale skin was on full display.
Upon seeing Ke Yan, the girl instantly burst into tears of relief.
Ke Yan was stunned. ’Isn’t that the host?’
"What... What happened?"
Ke Yan grabbed a random jacket and threw it to her, then ripped off the ropes binding her and the tape over her mouth.
"I’m finally saved... *sob*..."
The host crawled pitifully out of the cabinet, too weak to even stand.
According to her, she had lost consciousness shortly after arriving. When she came to, she was tied up inside the cabinet. She hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three whole days and had nearly died.
’Tough as nails. Amazing she didn’t die...’
Ke Yan listened with his arms folded. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he shot to his feet.
"Shit! There’s something wrong with that woman!"
·
「A hidden corridor in the hotel.」
"Interview me?"
Su Zhi raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat taken aback at the female host before him. She was dressed in a business skirt suit, her legs wrapped in black thigh-high stockings.
’Do reporters or hosts normally dress like this...?’
’Is this interview on the level?’
Yu Bao, meanwhile, was rubbing itself against the woman’s leg, its tail wagging so furiously it was practically a propeller.
*SNIFF SNIFF*
’Miss, what are these? Stockings? I’ve never seen them before... Can I give them a lick?’
"Chirp..." Shan Bao just gave Su Zhi and the host a strange look, its little mind clearly imagining some kind of inappropriate scenario.
With a deadpan expression, Su Zhi hoisted Yu Bao back and set it down properly.
’And you still claim you’re not the one corrupting Shan Bao? Yeah, right.’
"Su Zhi, you were the undisputed MVP out there today! Even after all this time, I just can’t forget how incredible you looked on the field~ That’s why I rushed over to find you the second I was done with my official business!"
The host said with a beaming smile, inching her body closer and closer to Su Zhi until her stocking-clad legs were pressed against his.
"Sooo~ Su Zhi, would you mind sharing some of your Beast Taming secrets with me~? How did you manage to control the entire arena all on your own?"
"Haha, not at all. The team competition was a group effort, not my personal show. The victory was a result of all of us fighting together."
Su Zhi glanced at Yu Bao, a faint, almost imperceptible nod accompanying the slight upturn of his lips.
The host flashed a brilliant smile. "Spoken like a true leader. You have such class~"
"Actually... I can have even *more* class."
Su Zhi said, slowly leaning forward.
The host put on a show of resistance as she backed away, soon finding herself pressed against the wall, her eyes gazing at him seductively.
A smirk played on Su Zhi’s lips. One hand pinned her wrist while the other moved with practiced ease to the junction of smooth silk and soft skin, toying with the stocking’s edge.
The host giggled. "And here I thought you were just a shy student. Turns out you have a wild side~"
"What can I say? I’m a man."
Su Zhi smiled, licking his lips. "Let’s find a room. I’d love for you to experience my wild side."
"So eager, are we? Hehe, well, I’m not saying no..."
Su Zhi’s eyes narrowed. The hand gripping her wrist suddenly tightened, and in the next instant, he flung her away.
"Yu Bao!"
"ARF!"
Dust and sand swirled up as three Furious Sand Blades took form in an instant, puncturing the host’s body.