Chapter 114: Your Romantic Luck Is Incredible
White Tiger was an escorting Sentinel. He had his own mission, his own duties.
’On what grounds could she ask? In what capacity?’
Yun Sheng closed her eyes, ultimately turning off her terminal.
Just then, Cheng Nian’s voice came from beside her.
"Yun Sheng? What are you spacing out for? Let’s go, time to get our tents!"
"Coming."
Yun Sheng took one last look in the direction White Tiger had gone.
The gray figure had already vanished from sight.
She retracted her gaze and followed Cheng Nian toward the tent area.
After just a few steps, she saw a small group of people gathered ahead.
A few girls in matching training uniforms stood in a circle, seemingly cornering someone in the middle.
Yun Sheng glanced over out of the corner of her eye. Through a gap in the crowd, she saw a familiar face: Li Wen.
And standing opposite Li Wen, with her arms crossed and an arrogant posture, was none other than Zhao Qian.
"Li Wen, you’ve been pretty full of yourself lately, haven’t you? Zhou Ying and I have been trying to reach you, but you won’t even reply to our messages. What’s the deal? You can’t possibly think you have a backer now that you’re friendly with Yun Sheng, do you?"
Li Wen pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Someone next to Zhao Qian chimed in with a laugh, "Exactly. Zhou Ying was even thinking of taking you under her wing, but what do you do? You turn right around and start sucking up to someone else."
"Sucking up?" Zhao Qian scoffed. "She’s not sucking up; she just has ’unique taste.’ After all, our dear Cadet Yun Sheng is the Tower’s most famous piece of trash. Li Wen, your taste is truly admirable."
The girls beside her let out low snickers.
Li Wen glared coldly at Zhao Qian. "Zhao Qian, who I’m close to is none of your business. And another thing—if you have a problem with me, then talk about me. There’s no need to drag other people into it!"
"Oh, getting defensive, are we?" Zhao Qian raised an eyebrow and took a step closer. "I’m just curious. What’s a D-level guide like you doing hanging around an F-level piece of trash? What’s in it for you? Are you hoping she’ll drag you down, or that she’ll embarrass you?"
Li Wen clenched her fists, her expression growing colder.
Cheng Nian couldn’t stand to watch any longer from the side. She was about to step forward but was gently held back by Yun Sheng.
"Li Wen."
Yun Sheng’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough to cut through the noise like a stone dropped into turbulent water.
The girls surrounding Li Wen all whipped their heads around at once.
When Li Wen turned and saw her, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly. She gave a faint tug at the corner of her mouth, as if to say, ’I’m fine.’
"Well, look who it is."
Zhao Qian spoke in a snide, passive-aggressive tone, but her arrogance had clearly diminished a bit.
’Looks like Su Wan’s scolding at the mall actually had some effect.’
Yun Sheng ignored her and walked straight to Li Wen’s side, her gaze sweeping over the girls who had been jeering just moments before.
As her eyes passed over them, the girls inexplicably looked away, a flicker of guilt in their eyes.
"Li Wen, which tent are you in? Do you want to stay with me?"
Li Wen nodded but didn’t move right away.
She turned back to face Zhao Qian, meeting her eyes, which were filled with resentment.
"Zhao Qian, you said I’m close to Yun Sheng because I’m looking for a backer? You’re overthinking it. I just feel more comfortable with her than I do with you all."
"You..."
"And another thing," Li Wen cut her off. "You’re not as strong as I am. I never said anything before out of respect for you. But if you insist on not knowing your place, I don’t mind showing everyone during combat training who’s really the one dragging others down."
Zhao Qian’s face changed completely, shifting between pale and livid. Her lips moved, but she couldn’t utter a single word.
The other girls who had been jeering just moments before were now silent, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat.
They were only Preparatory Guides, not as strong as Zhao Qian, and they were even less of a match for Li Wen.
They had only dared to make those snide remarks because they had numbers on their side, and because Zhao Qian came from a good family and was close to Zhou Ying.
Yun Sheng watched from the side, the corner of her mouth curling into a slight smile.
’Looks like I was worrying for nothing. Li Wen is not the type to let people bully her!’
"Let’s go."
Yun Sheng tugged on Li Wen’s sleeve.
Li Wen grunted in agreement, shot one last glance at Zhao Qian, and turned to leave with Yun Sheng.
After they had walked a few steps, Cheng Nian sidled up to them and whispered, "Wow, Li Wen, you were so cool just now! Zhao Qian’s face was practically green!"
Li Wen pursed her lips. "I’ve been wanting to say that for a long time. It was killing me to hold it in."
Yun Sheng couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The three of them talked and laughed all the way to the tent allocation point.
A logistics soldier checked their identification and pointed toward a section of the camp not far away.
"Tent seven. Third one from the left."
The tent wasn’t large. Inside, three simple army cots were lined up side-by-side. At the head of each cot was a neatly folded sleeping bag and a set of basic living supplies.
Cheng Nian plopped down on the outermost cot and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Finally, I can lie down! I slept sitting up in the vehicle last night, and my back is killing me."
Li Wen sat down on the next cot and, suddenly remembering something, looked at Yun Sheng.
"By the way, what exactly happened with you guys yesterday? I heard the vehicle broke down and you ran into a horde of contaminants?"
Yun Sheng was about to speak, but Cheng Nian answered first.
"Yeah, a huge swarm of corrosive worms and Bone-piercing Vines! They were everywhere! We were almost done for!"
Li Wen: "That intense? What happened then?"
"Later..." Cheng Nian deliberately drew out her words, her tone secretive. "Lord White Tiger descended from the heavens! He released his spiritual power, and all the contaminants collapsed!"
She gestured wildly as she spoke, nearly bouncing off the cot.
Yun Sheng pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
Li Wen chuckled, then asked curiously, "Lord White Tiger? I think I heard some people from Group Three talking about him. They all said he’s incredibly powerful."
"’Incredibly powerful’ doesn’t even cover it!" Cheng Nian slapped her thigh. "And you know what the best part is? He’s super, super, super concerned about Yun Sheng!"
She repeated "super" three times and leaned right in front of Yun Sheng with a "you-might-as-well-admit-it" look on her face.
Yun Sheng expressionlessly pushed her face away.
"Yesterday in the vehicle," Cheng Nian continued, "Yun Sheng fell asleep, and Lord White Tiger just kept watching her! He just stared and stared! I woke up once in the middle of the night, and he was still watching her! That look in his eyes... tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Li Wen’s eyes lit up, and she immediately turned to Yun Sheng.
"Whoa, Yun Sheng, you’ve got game!"
"What?"
"When we set out, Major General Qi went out of his way to show you concern in front of everyone. Then, on the road, you had White Tiger Officer protecting you personally." Li Wen counted on her fingers. "One is a junior general, the other is a mysterious expert. Your romantic luck is off the charts!"
Yun Sheng’s mouth twitched. "You call this romantic luck?"
"What else would you call it?" Li Wen said, as if it were obvious. "One is a young and promising junior general, and the other is a mysterious and powerful combat Sentinel... Isn’t this the most classic setup in a novel?"
Cheng Nian nodded furiously beside her. "Yes, yes, yes, I think so too!"
Yun Sheng took a deep breath. She looked at the gossiping Li Wen on her left, then at the starry-eyed Cheng Nian on her right, and suddenly felt that this tent might be more terrifying than a horde of contaminants.
"You two..."
Before she could finish, the tent flap was suddenly thrown open from the outside.
An assistant guide in a Tower uniform poked his head in and asked, "Is Cadet Yun Sheng here?"
Yun Sheng paused for a moment. "I am."
"Major General Qi wants you to come over. He’s waiting for you in the command tent."
The tent fell silent in an instant. Two pairs of scorching-hot gazes landed squarely on Yun Sheng.
Cheng Nian and Li Wen looked at each other and said in a sing-song unison, "Major General Qi is looking for you~"
Their tone and expressions were enough to make someone laugh out of sheer exasperation.
Yun Sheng stood up, her face a blank mask, and brushed off the non-existent dust from her clothes.
"I’m leaving."
"Go on, go on!" Cheng Nian waved. "No need to hurry back! Take your time and chat!"
Li Wen added from the side, "Right, right, no rush. Take your time chatting with Major General Qi."
Yun Sheng’s steps faltered, and she turned back to glare at them.
The two of them were grinning like cats that had stolen the fish.
She took a deep breath, lifted the tent flap, and strode out.