Bai Yusen didn’t quite understand what Ji Ning meant, but his intuition told him to heed Ji Ning’s advice, so when attending the Sea City Food Festival, he only brought two bodyguards, leaving most of the Bai Family’s elite in Beijing.
The Sea City Food Festival was delayed by half a month and still opened on a Saturday.
Ji Ning led the "Anhe Travel Group" on a business trip to Sea City with tickets bought by the Security Bureau, accompanied by the disguised Fu Yuanxuan and Mantis.
The airport lounge.
Mantis eagerly held up a newly purchased coffee, winking and nudging up to Ji Ning.
"Sister Ning, the method you mentioned last time, I tried it, but it’s still not working..."
At this Sea City Food Festival, they had a mission to complete, and to avoid attracting attention, the team leader still used Bai Xiaotang and the group’s identity as cover to head to Sea City.
Ji Ning took the coffee and said, "Soon."
Mantis’s eyes widened instantly, and his mouth couldn’t help but curve upward as he asked eagerly, "Really? How soon? Boss, teach me. I’ll buy you coffee every day in the future."
Ever since the team leader told him this boss possessed multiple superpowers, he’d been hoping to meet her again so she could guide him.
Now the boss said he was about to awaken.
That must be true.
Mantis was so happy he almost wanted to dance on the spot.
Ji Ning beckoned him with a finger, and when Mantis leaned closer, she tapped his forehead lightly with her fingertip.
This time the energy was gentler, and Mantis just felt a warm sensation all over.
"Awakening also requires a bit of luck; let’s see how lucky you are," Ji Ning said lightly.
Next to them, Bai Xiaotang and Ye Tong were simply envious of Mantis.
When would they be able to awaken their superpowers?
Originally, in their perception, superpower users were mysterious, powerful, and unapproachable beings, but Ji Ning had forcibly brought this celestial-like figure down to earth, making them feel that superpower users were not much different from ordinary people and that they just needed to work a bit harder to awaken too.
When Mantis ran to the side with a silly grin, Bai Xiaotang tugged on Ji Ning’s sleeve and whispered, "Sister Ning, when can we awaken our superpowers?"
Ji Ning took a sip of coffee, frowning slightly.
Bai Xiaotang’s heart tightened, and her voice almost carried a sobbing tone, "Is it hopeless in this lifetime?"
Ji Ning glanced up at her, "It’s not good."
"Huh?"
Ye Tong quickly chimed in, "I have sugar packets here, Tangtang, Sister Ning dislikes bitter coffee."
Bai Xiaotang’s face flushed a little, and only after Ye Tong poured two sugar packets into the coffee did Ji Ning say to Bai Xiaotang, "If your physique or spiritual power reaches S-Class, you’ll have a chance to awaken."
Just then, Fu Yuanxuan walked over, wearing sunglasses.
"What are you talking about?"
Bai Xiaotang looked over. Fu Yuanxuan was dressed very casually today, wearing sunglasses, a beige hoodie, jeans, and holding a lightweight down jacket.
Anhe, being slightly northwest, had temperatures dropping quickly. Last week, a light jacket was enough, but this week it was cold enough for a down jacket.
Bai Xiaotang glanced at him but didn’t speak, and Ye Tong didn’t know how to respond, so they both kept quiet, watching Ji Ning address him.
Ji Ning took a sip of coffee, raised an eyebrow, "Interested in women’s topics?"
Fu Yuanxuan paused, looked at her for a few seconds, then walked over to a nearby seat in silence.
Nearby, Mantis rubbed his nose, feeling second-hand embarrassment for his boss.
After observing for some time, he was almost certain that in front of these three girls, their boss held basically no status; his charm was in the negatives, even less appealing than the kid Lin Yuanyang.
Just as he was thinking, Bai Xiaotang suddenly got up and waved at someone not far away.
"Xiao Yang, Instructor Ying, over here..."
Instructor?
Fu Yuanxuan and Mantis looked surprised as they gazed into the distance.
They saw a big and small figure walking over with backpacks on their shoulders.
The woman had a neat short haircut, also wore sunglasses, and dressed in a sports bomber jacket, camo pants, and women’s boots.
With a heroic and spirited demeanor.
Someone qualified to be an instructor was generally military personnel, making them peers with Fu Yuanxuan and Mantis, though it was unclear from which base they hailed.
Huang Ying gently nodded at Bai Xiaotang before her gaze swept over Fu Yuanxuan and Mantis.
A sense of caution arose in her heart, the kind triggered by encountering worthy opponents.
Fu Yuanxuan and Mantis felt the same way.
Huang Ying had seen these two in surveillance videos before, particularly Fu Yuanxuan, whose identity she knew well, having heard of his reputation back when she was still in the base.
An elite from the First Base’s ace special forces team, his physical prowess outclassed many superpower users, yet his lack of awakening was both enviable and regrettable.
Mantis glanced at Fu Yuanxuan and with a smile on his face, stepped forward to make conversation, "Instructor? Miss Bai, is this the instructor from your school?"
"Yes, our Instructor Ying is particularly skilled, having been a retired officer. You probably know him, right?"
"Not familiar." Huang Ying replied.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward and silent.
Fortunately, Huang Ying added, "I served at the Second Base, what about you guys?"
Mantis’s smile slightly diminished as he extended his right hand and softly said, "First Base. Nice to meet you."
Huang Ying lightly shook his hand, nodded slightly at Fu Yuanxuan, and then went to sit across from Ji Ning.
The airport seating rows were two meters apart, with not many passengers around, essentially making these two rows all their own people.
Huang Ying nodded slightly at Ji Ning, without saying much.
Lin Yuanyang stored his backpack and then pulled out the phone Bai Xiaotang used for gaming, handing it to her, "Your luggage was overweight."
Lin Yuanyang and Huang Ying came late because they were handling luggage for Bai Xiaotang and Ye Tong, only to find Bai Xiaotang’s luggage was 5 kilograms over; who knows what she packed in there?
Bai Xiaotang’s cheeks reddened, and holding the phone, she tried to change the subject, "Let’s play a round, last time we disconnected during the game, I wonder if they reported us."
Lin Yuanyang rolled his eyes at her, "There’s only half an hour until boarding time."
Bai Xiaotang, slightly disappointed, pouted, put the phone in her bag, and said to Ye Tong beside her, "Sister Tong, let’s buy some water."
Ye Tong, with her good-natured temperament, got up to join her in going to a nearby convenience store.
At this moment, Mantis, sitting not far from them, nudged Fu Yuanxuan again and whispered, "Boss, does that girl next to Miss Bai have a boyfriend?"
Fu Yuanxuan turned his head slightly to glance at him, "Why? Are you interested?"
Mantis scratched his head and whispered, "Not me, it’s Leopard."
"Him?" Fu Yuanxuan was a bit surprised.
Leopard had been sent by him to act as a security guard at Ming Mansion Garden, usually the most quiet and reticent person, who would’ve thought he’d take a liking to Ye Tong?
Mantis continued, "Leopard had some disagreements with that girl earlier, and she hasn’t viewed him well ever since. So he asked me to find out about her."
"Is that so?" Fu Yuanxuan became slightly interested.
"Of course, he even wanted to exchange tasks with me over this, but I refused. Later he told me the reason; had I known it was to pursue a girl, I would have swapped with him."
Fu Yuanxuan glared at him, and Mantis grinned awkwardly, "Boss, our team is famously like a bunch of monks at the base. Except for you having a nominal fiancée, the rest of us haven’t even held a girl’s hand."
Mantis’s voice inevitably got louder in his excitement over the topic, alarming several nearby people.
Under the surrounding looks of surprise and amusement, Mantis’s ears turned a bit red, scratching the floor an inch deep with embarrassment.
A pleasant female voice suddenly came from a distance, "Incidentally, I know quite a few single women; I can introduce them to you."