One week later.
“Qingyi, I’m really fine. You can put me down now.” Su Mo was lying on Ye Qingyi’s back, his tone tinged with helplessness.
Ye Qingyi’s voice was serious: “No. Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet. Be good and stay put.”
Su Mo had no choice but to let her carry him.
After a week of recovery, he was actually perfectly capable of moving on his own. It was just that Ye Qingyi insisted on showing off her “boyfriend strength” and absolutely refused to let him down.
Unable to win the argument, Su Mo could only indulge her.
Suddenly, the sound of an argument drifted from ahead, and the corners of both their mouths lifted simultaneously.
Ye Qingyi quickened her pace, leaping forward in a few bounds to reach the source of the commotion.
“Zhuge Zhi, you eat way too much! How did you finish three days’ worth of food in one meal!”
“Sister Qingqing, you ate much more than I did! At least half of this meal went into your stomach.”
…
Xia Qingqing and Zhuge Zhi were having their daily squabble, while Wu Heng sat to the side, clicking away with his camera.
Suddenly, his expression froze, because in the latest photo, “Su Mo” had appeared, carrying Lin Qianye on his back.
“Captain!” Zhuge Zhi spotted the two arrivals and immediately started wailing in grievance: “Sister Qingqing is bullying me! You have to stand up for me!”
“It was you who stole food first, I only…” Xia Qingqing’s voice trailed off, her confidence faltering. She hmphed and turned her head away.
As she turned, her gaze fell on the scene of Ye Qingyi carrying Su Mo. Her eyes darted, and large teardrops began to fall as if on cue: “Brother-in-law…”
Hearing Xia Qingqing’s form of address, an inexplicable joy bubbled up in Ye Qingyi’s heart. She offered comfort: “It’s not a big deal. If you stick with me, are you really afraid of going hungry?”
Su Mo waved a bundle of leaves he was holding in his hand: “These are all the food our captain found for everyone.”
As he spoke, to “avoid suspicion,” he struggled to jump down from Ye Qingyi’s back. He had been full of energy moments ago, but now he feigned weakness again.
Ye Qingyi was utterly speechless. She grabbed Su Mo’s wrist: “What are you doing? After such a serious injury, are you determined to exhaust yourself to death?”
Su Mo shook off her hand: “Thank you for your concern, Captain. But men and women should maintain proper distance. Before was out of necessity. Now that I can walk on my own, it’s better not to let others misunderstand.”
Xia Qingqing was the only one among the three who knew the truth, yet she deliberately added fuel to the fire: “Sorry, I’m just used to calling him brother-in-law…”
From an outsider’s perspective, it clearly looked like Su Mo was jealous because Xia Qingqing had called Ye Qingyi ‘brother-in-law.’
In reality, though, when had Xia Qingqing ever called Ye Qingyi that? Only just now.
Hearing this, Su Mo’s face turned cold. He limped away alone, found a spot to sit down, and sulked.
Wu Heng and Zhuge Zhi remained silent, quietly enjoying the drama. Xia Qingqing also stifled a laugh, watching the two perform.
Ironically, it was the lead actors, Su Mo and Ye Qingyi, whose every expression and movement were perfectly executed, showing no trace of performance.
Especially Su Mo. His jealous act made Xia Qingqing doubt her own judgment for a split second—maybe Lin Qianye really wasn’t Ye Qingyi…
That was just the kind of person Su Mo was. Although he could be utterly ruthless when killing, in front of family and friends, he loved to joke around and play.
Little did Xia Qingqing and the others know that while they were watching Su Mo’s show, he was also enjoying their reactions.
In the end, it was Captain Ye Qingyi who broke the stalemate.
She cleared her throat lightly: “Since Qianye’s injury is no longer an issue, our top priority now is to find Jing Shu. Once all our team members are reunited, it’s not impossible for us to move freely on this island.”
Everyone chorused: “We follow the Captain’s lead.”
Ye Qingyi began assigning tasks.
“Qingqing, you’re in charge of reconnaissance.”
“Zhuge Zhi, you handle logistics. If I catch you stealing food, I’ll have Qingqing beat you up.”
“Wu Heng, the two of us are the team’s main combat force now. I’ll take the front; you cover the rear.”
“Qianye, you just rest and—”
Su Mo interjected anxiously: “Captain, I’m not useless yet. If you don’t give me a task, then I really will become useless.”
Ye Qingyi said irritably: “Fine, then you supervise Zhuge Zhi. Also, help keep watch around us.”
“No problem.”
Suddenly, scout Xia Qingqing returned with a report: “I spotted traces of another team up ahead. They’re surrounded by a large swarm of insects. Should we go help?”
Ye Qingyi made a swift decision: “Wu Heng, Qianye, Zhuge Zhi, you three stay here on guard. Qingqing and I will go assist them.”
The two of them made their way to where the other team was encircled. Just as they were about to intervene, a nimble figure descended from above. As her bone blade swung, the venomous insects were all slain.
The newcomer was none other than Huo Jingshu. Although her left arm was clearly injured, it didn’t hinder her fighting.
There were no dazzling spells, little spiritual energy support—what she relied on were extremely solid basic skills.
Huo Jingshu descended like a deity, saved them, and then swiftly left. Seeing this, Ye Qingyi gave chase.
The rescued individuals were still in a daze. They were the four weaker members of their team; the two C-ranks were still missing. Yet, the woman who had just saved them seemed no less powerful than a C-rank.
“Did you see who it was?”
“Seemed like a member from the other team… named… I think her surname is Huo. Can’t remember her full name.”
“Who knew their team had such hidden talents? Even the most unassuming member is this strong. Imagine how powerful the others must be.”
“Do you think Instructor Yang gave them special treatment?”
“Pah! Instructor Yang is upright. How could he do such a thing?” A man with a formidable appearance spoke: “They say geniuses cluster together. It seems that’s true.”
“What do you mean by that?” The question came from a foreigner.
“You wouldn’t know about this,” the formidable man said proudly. “You know Ye Qingyi, right? Their captain’s ex-girlfriend. Tsk tsk, she’s so graceful and elegant, and her strength completely crushes others of the same rank. If she hadn’t gone on a mission elsewhere, Lin Qianye wouldn’t have qualified to join them.”
The foreigner scratched his head: “So?”
“You’re dense! If Ye Qingyi is that strong, wouldn’t the people around her also be strong? Not just Su Mo, but also Xia Qingqing, and the Huo Jingshu who just saved us. They all met during their school days, so it makes sense they’d be a bit stronger, right?”
The foreigner had a sudden realization: “Ah! This is what they call, ‘A weak general makes for a weak army!'”
The formidable man hesitated slightly: “Well… I guess that’s about right.”
While they were discussing this, Ye Qingyi had already caught up to Huo Jingshu on the other side.
“Jingshu, it’s me!” She raised her hand to block Huo Jingshu’s bone blade, noticing that her opponent’s strength had increased considerably since last time.
“You broke through?” Ye Qingyi asked with pleasant surprise.
Huo Jingshu shook her head: “Not yet. I’ve just gained some insight. To break through to C-rank, I’ll probably need a bit more time.”
“Jingshu~” Xia Qingqing came running towards Huo Jingshu and threw her arms around her. Huo Jingshu winced with a sharp hiss of pain.
Xia Qingqing let go, finally noticing the bandage on her arm: “Sorry, did I hurt you?”
Huo Jingshu smiled, a glint of resilience shining in her eyes: “It’s okay. Just a minor injury.”