Aruba

Xiao Liu squeezed his eyes shut in fear. Just then, a pair of large hands covered his head. The scent of tobacco and ebony incense, mixed with the pungent aroma of pepper, drifted over, and the man's husky voice echoed in his ear: "Alright, kid, off you go."

He looked up in relief, finding the two had already walked far away. Mountain Crow draped his leather trench coat over his shoulder, scratched his head, and looked back at him.

"Seriously, a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet, sent to a place like this."

"When you've grown into a man, then tie your collar and head to the battlefield."

Night was falling, the scorching setting sun baked the desert, sinking in the shimmering air. The shadows of stubbornly growing desert plants gradually elongated, then faded into darkness. A thick chill rolled in, and weary merchants and their camels fell asleep before their campfire. In the desert regions, scarce rainfall led to sparse cloud cover, making the full, bright moon the most prominent feature in the sky.

Sparks crackled from the bonfire. The jeep pulled up before a small sand dune. The woman, wearing a short-sleeved vest, tilted her head back to drink from a canteen, the water tracing her graceful long neck and figure. Mountain Crow, meanwhile, drank strong liquor without reservation, admiring the rare desert scenery. As if sensing his gaze, Snow Crow Ji put down her canteen and casually tossed it in his direction.

Mountain Crow caught the canteen with a flip of his hand. "How are things going with that one?"

"I don't know what Qiu is thinking. Doesn't he know his sister's personality?" Snow Crow Ji's face registered annoyance at the thought of the red-haired girl.

"She's too noisy. Aoi is definitely better at handling types like her. She just needs to put on a cold face and deal with that one's demands. I can't cope with a problem child like that. Do you know what she came to tell me, blushing, on her second night at the Devil City Military District?"

Snow Crow Ji couldn't help but chuckle softly at the memory of the girl's embarrassed demeanor.

"She awkwardly asked me if there was a second set of clothes to change into."

"Come on, that was in a military district, and the front lines were in critical condition at the time. Many soldiers were practically growing into their stinking uniforms."

"How did you answer that little family head?" Cloud Magpie looked over.

"I didn't answer her. Everyone was laughing at her then, and she ran off on her own," Snow Crow Ji said.

"Qiu gave her two options at the time: either study for a year at the military command academy, or follow an old senior from the officers' command post to learn on the battlefield. She didn't choose either, saying she wanted to start as a low-ranking soldier. And Qiu actually agreed, which is why she was assigned to me."

"A devil drill sergeant, huh?" Mountain Crow chuckled, his eyes lost in thought.

He recalled the time decades ago when he and the woman were at the military command academy. It was the second batch of students leading the new recruits in training, and he was assigned to her. Because the previous batch of students had been given a hard time by their seniors, everyone was eager to show their strength, so his batch suffered quite a bit.

The woman, however, was one of the toughest among them. While everyone else in his batch complained endlessly during training, he, a former hooligan, remained defiant. He liked her fiery spirit, so he often led the troublemaking, even voluntarily asking for punishment to get her attention. Gradually, the two came to know each other.

It was only after spending time with Snow Crow Ji that he realized she wasn't cold on the outside and warm on the inside; she was an irredeemable madwoman. One time, after drinking, she stumbled over to him, stripping off her clothes while drunk, and started talking about things that had happened between them.

He then realized that this madwoman had specifically assigned them hellish training tasks not because of her stubborn character, nor for the glory of humanity, but simply because she enjoyed watching others suffer and wail.

Suddenly, he began to worry about the little family head's situation. Akabane Tsubaki was different from him; he was tough and resilient. Could she, who had been pampered since childhood, truly withstand the woman's torment?

From Snow Crow Ji's words, it seemed she didn't have a very good impression of this little family head. They must have had many arguments, right?

"What all did you do to her?" Mountain Crow couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing much, just made her do double the training tasks of a regular soldier. For instance, a two-hundred-kilometer loaded cross-country run, fifty round trips through the swamp in heavy rain, making her eat steamed buns from the mud, pulling her out alone in the middle of the night to spar with me, and assigning her to the dorm with the most troublemakers..."

"That's clearly abuse, isn't it?" Cold sweat beaded on Mountain Crow's forehead.

"I'm just trying to make her retreat when faced with difficulty. Tough flowers don't grow in fertile soil," Snow Crow Ji said indifferently. "If she can't handle it, she can leave anytime. If she can't even overcome this small difficulty, I don't believe she can change anything once she's actually on the battlefield."

"But there's one thing I like about that little girl." Snow Crow Ji said, "Although she often throws tantrums and likes to grumble and act clever, no matter how impractical the tasks I give her, she always manages to complete them."

Snow Crow Ji remembered how, when she casually assigned Akabane Tsubaki the two-hundred-kilometer loaded cross-country mission, Akabane Tsubaki was so angry she wanted to fight her. She hadn't expected the other girl to complete the task, assuming she'd find a place to slack off and then try to trick her the next day. So, Snow Crow Ji had just gone to sleep.

Who would have thought that when daylight came and attendance was taken, the girl would rush back at the last moment, proudly handing her the flag she clutched tightly? Her eyes were bloodshot; anyone could tell she had cried countless times along the way, yet her gaze was fierce like a young wolf.

From that day on, she formed a new impression of this pampered little family head.

Given her identity and personality, it was natural that she often received special treatment from her dorm mates. Snow Crow Ji had always turned a blind eye to it, until one night Akabane Tsubaki finally lost her patience and got into a brawl with one of them. By the time Snow Crow Ji arrived, she found that no matter how much the others punched and kicked, the girl clung desperately to the ringleader. Even after being pulled apart, she simply glared fiercely into the other's eyes.

From then on, whenever the girl was bullied, she would only retaliate against the instigator, showing a ruthless determination to "bite a chunk out of anyone who dared to start something." Over time, no one dared to pick on her anymore. Eventually, Akabane Tsubaki even started ordering her dorm mates around, and she would always cast a provocative glance whenever she passed by Snow Crow Ji.

Although even today she couldn't last more than a few moves against Snow Crow Ji, compared to her initial naivete, the little family head's face now showed more patience and resilience; she wouldn't easily shed tears or cry out in pain.

Snow Crow Ji gradually warmed to the topic, tirelessly recounting the exploits between herself and Akabane Tsubaki, from the jokes Akabane Tsubaki made when she first arrived at the military district, to her gradual growth, shedding her youthful naivete, slowly becoming resilient, and ultimately becoming a local bully.

"That little girl, when she fights, she always aims for the face. And when she orders people around, that arrogant, haughty look truly has some of my old style."

It wasn't until past midnight that Mountain Crow finally interrupted: "You've remembered so much about her. Don't you actually quite like her?"

Snow Crow Ji stiffened, her expression freezing. She gave a dry cough. "She's a pain in the neck. I'd love nothing more than to kick her onto the battlefield as far away as possible, so my ears can get some peace and quiet from her grumbling."

Mountain Crow and Cloud Magpie exchanged glances and both burst into laughter. Snow Crow Ji bothered them no longer; seeing that they showed no signs of stopping, she joined them in laughter. Their laughter drifted far, far into the night, until a sliver of golden light appeared on the horizon and the smoke of traveling merchants' cooking fires wafted from afar.

Before they left, Mountain Crow inadvertently saw Cloud Magpie wrapping gauze around his right hand. The young man's right hand was trembling with a barely perceptible tremor.

"Old Qing, were you injured yesterday?"

Cloud Magpie didn't answer him, merely shook his head, then tidied himself up and got into the off-road vehicle. Mountain Crow didn't mind, pulled open the car door, and plopped down next to Snow Crow Ji.

The morning sunlight poured in through the car windows as architectural ruins began to appear on the vast land. The woman started singing early that morning. Her voice wasn't particularly pleasant, even a bit hoarse, like a crow. The crow joined in, and he, having frequented bars for years, was half an expert at singing, more like Snow Crow Ji. Cloud Magpie, resigned, sat in front, gripping the steering wheel and driving.

With the wavering singing, the jeep drove unsteadily, neither wind nor shadow could keep up with it; only the golden sunlight awaited them ahead.

The atmosphere on the dark red arena rapidly escalated. White lights crisscrossed, sweeping over the figures battling, as people watched the duelists on stage with fervent yet suppressed gazes.

A flashing blade swept across, raising scattered blood spray. As one figure fell, the black-bladed girl slowly sheathed her sword.

From the perspective of ordinary spectators, the great katana traced a deadly arc in the air, a afterimage swiftly passing by the duelist. Before they could clearly see the girl's movements, the great katana was slowly sheathed, and multiple blood marks blossomed on the duelist's body, life falling away like petals.

"The winner of the first half of the bounty match is, Light-Chaser Garden — Su Sui!"

The league host excitedly announced the result, followed immediately by a wave of cheers from the audience below. Analysts from various guilds quietly watched the scene, occasionally nodding and taking notes.

The second half of the league season was about to begin, and this bounty match didn't attract much attention. Rather than curious spectators, most attendees were strategic analysts from various guilds. Bullet screen comments in the official live stream were sparse, with only a few occasionally attempting to liven the mood, but they were quickly overshadowed by the subdued atmosphere.

Inside the Light-Chaser Garden's lounge, two girls quietly observed the changes on the arena, while two other girls seemed out of place.

"Are you done yet?" Xu Xiaoyou's tone was helpless.

"Almost, almost, don't move."

Tang Xin reached out to straighten the girl's face, slowly tracing Xu Xiaoyou's eye corners with the eyebrow pencil in her hand. Ignoring the girl's strong protests, she added two sparkling star sequins.

"Alright, let's see how it looks."

As Tang Xin's final stroke fell, the makeup on Xu Xiaoyou's face glowed. A buff named 【Creative Drawing Fantasy】 appeared in her buff bar, its effect being a 50% amplification of all fantasy-type items.

Looking at her exaggerated makeup in the mirror, Xu Xiaoyou's mouth twitched slightly. She immediately wanted to wipe off the makeup, but Tang Xin grabbed her hand with a displeased expression: "This is the skill you specifically wanted me to learn. Now you want to go back on it?"

"It's not exactly going back on it." Xu Xiaoyou opened her mouth. "Can't this makeup be optimized somehow? Are you really planning to send me out there with this kind of eye makeup? These stars are even glowing..."

"The makeup is specific. You want the 【Creative Drawing Fantasy】 buff, but you don't want to wear makeup? Do you want to have all the good things, Yuzu?" Tang Xin closed the makeup box, smiled with pursed lips. "Besides, doesn't it look quite nice?"

【Creative Drawing Fantasy】 is one of the buff effects of the Starry Singer's grade 4 skill 【Creating Worldly Paintings】. Xu Xiaoyou had tested the effect amplification on fantasy-type items, and it could indeed boost her skill cards.

Yes, Xu Xiaoyou's skill cards were classified as items.

A pillar of light appeared. Su Sui looked at everyone, and Xu Xiaoyou nodded in greeting.

Since Akabane Tsubaki went to the Devil City Military District, she had rarely played training matches or various bounty matches with them over the past six months. She would only log into Oasis during promotion tournaments; for the rest of the time, Su Sui appeared as the fifth substitute member.

The latter half of the season was about to open, and the final competitive stage would soon begin. If all went as expected, Akabane Tsubaki would be unable to participate in the 256-to-128 promotion match due to the 【Syndicate】 incident that broke out in the Devil City Military District. Therefore, their teammate for the foreseeable future would still be Su Sui, and they were currently building synergy with the girl through various matches.

Angelina and Bai Youyou stood together, feigning a discussion about the battle situation.

"The Heterogeneous Armament's playstyle is still the same as before: a traditional four-protect-one. In these arena battles where both sides specify their members, their buffs cannot be applied to their teammates on stage, exposing a fatal flaw in their tactics," Bai Youyou analyzed.

"It's not just a tactical problem, is it?" Angelina glanced over. "Their main attacker, Florence, looks like nothing but a showman to me. It's only because the previous four-protect-one tactic helped conceal his lack of skill."

"It's your turn." Behind them, Tang Xin smiled, shaking the makeup box in her hand.

The two girls blushed slightly. Bai Youyou lowered her head and continued her analysis: "You're right, I also think he's a very poor player."

"Florence's playstyle has always been quite aggressive. I've watched his match recordings; he often gets disconnected from his teammates due to communication issues. The Heterogeneous Front has always hoped to adjust the team structure by replacing their main attacker, but Florence is a star player who brings in a lot of traffic, and the 【Yongjia Magnate】 behind him wouldn't want to let go of such a profitable asset."

"Although I don't quite understand, I think what you said makes a lot of sense," Angelina nodded.

"Pretending not to hear isn't going to work, you know." Tang Xin maintained her smile. "Who's first?"

"Her." "Her."

Bai Youyou and Angelina simultaneously pointed at each other, expressionless.