"In person?" Li Xiaofei blinked, still groggy. "Right now?"
Wu Junzhuang replied, "I'm already at the entrance of the slum."
Li Xiaofei was speechless.
The efficiency of soldiers is truly remarkable.
Moments later, Li Xiaofei met Wu Junzhuang, who had come in his military green open-top jeep. A military transport truck without license plates had parked behind him. The entire truckload of supplies was a reward for the Cloudy Sky Gang.
After the formal acceptance ceremony, Chu Yuntian and his men opened the truck and were instantly rendered speechless with excitement. They were looking at one hundred complete sets of armor, helmets, and standard weapons. The same equipment they had used during the battle last night. This was worth a fortune.
Military-grade equipment was undoubtedly top-notch quality. It was impossible to buy on the market. Even Li Xiaofei was surprised by the generosity of the military's reward. What surprised him even more was that Wu Junzhuang's entourage included a military interview team. Li Xiaofei learned that the Cloudy Sky Gang was the only civilian group to assist in the defense last night.
The high-ranking officials in command wanted to use the Cloudy Sky Gang as a model for publicity. So, in addition to these supplies, they were also awarded a Military-Civilian Solidarity badge. The badge itself wasn't worth much, but its significance was extraordinary.
From now on, even the major gangs and powerful factions would have to think twice before messing with the Cloudy Sky Gang, considering the potential repercussions from the city wall garrison command.
Reporters moved among the crowd, interviewing a dozen members of the Cloudy Sky Gang who had fought the previous night.
Meanwhile, Wu Junzhuang pulled Li Xiaofei aside and said, "Brother, there's something the chief insisted I discuss with you face to face."
"What is it?" Li Xiaofei asked curiously.
Wu Junzhuang lowered his voice, "Last night, when you helped hold up Goddess Ye, what did you see?"
Li Xiaofei was confused.
Wu Junzhuang leaned closer and whispered, "Last night, Goddess Ye personally took action to kill high-grade star beasts. She went five hundred miles into the wilderness and severely injured a Fifth Grade star beast, the Yinji Moon Fox, which was controlling the beast tide. When she returned and landed on the city wall, you helped her."
Oh. So, it was the battle angel.
Li Xiaofei suddenly understood.
"I didn't see much, just her face, and she seemed to be... " Li Xiaofei recalled.
Wu Junzhuang quickly interrupted him, "Don't say it. I don't want to hear it. Brother, remember, no matter what you saw, you must never reveal it. Keep anything about Goddess Ye to yourself. It's best to forget it entirely and never tell a third person, understand?"
Li Xiaofei nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Got it. I'll keep it to myself."
Wu Junzhuang looked relieved. "Good. This is for your safety as well. Now, let's get back to the others before they start getting suspicious."
With that, they rejoined the group, both men aware of the secret they now shared.
Li Xiaofei was puzzled.
Was it really that secretive? I just saw her face and a bit of blood on the corner of her mouth. Wait, blood? Could it be that I'm not supposed to mention that the battle angel was injured?
Suddenly, Li Xiaofei seemed to understand.
Goddess Ye must be an extremely powerful figure in the base city and even possibly one of the few top-tier experts. If news of her injury got out, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar, leading to instability among both the military and civilians.
Moreover... There was a Fifth Grade star beast outside the base city? This is a major event. A Fifth Grade star beast is equivalent to a Five Spirits Realm expert.
Li Xiaofei had guessed that Liuhe Base City did not have any Five Spirits Realm experts stationed. Now it seemed he was wrong. Just how terrifying was a Five Spirits Realm expert? According to the textbooks, they could survive their hearts being shattered and their heads being popped off. It was said their blood never ceased flowing and they could regenerate from any wound.
A full-strength strike could split mountains, shatter cities, sever rivers, and tear the sky. A single Five Spirits Realm expert could wipe out an entire star beast clan. They served as a deterrence equivalent to the nuclear bombs of five hundred years ago in the human world.
Yet, Fifth Grade star beasts were even more terrifying than Five Spirits Realm experts. High-grade star beasts had a biological instinct to suppress low-grade star beasts, just like the severely injured Yinji Moon Fox from last night, who could control thousands of low-grade star beasts to form a beast tide and attack human base cities. Being targeted by a Fifth Grade star beast was definitely a major problem for a lower-tier city like Liuhe Base City.
Wu Junzhuang quickly left with his team. After all, the interviews weren’t live and would be edited later. Li Xiaofei saw them off at the entrance of the slum. When he turned around, he saw Chu Yuntian, Yang Cheng, Li Junjie, and hundreds of gang members looking at him with fiery eyes.
Li Xiaofei was taken aback, "What's going on?"
"Boss, you're amazing."
"No wonder you're the boss, with such impeccable foresight and wisdom... "
"You predicted last night that assisting on the city wall would bring such rewards."
"Boss, you're brilliant."
The group showered him with fervent and sincere praise.
Li Xiaofei waved his hand, "Alright, alright, stop with the flattery. It's just that we were in the right place at the right time. Now, let's focus on training and preparing for any future battles."
His words brought a sense of resolve to the group, reinforcing their respect and admiration for their leader.
"Uh... " Li Xiaofei rubbed his chin, not blushing or skipping a beat. "That's right, I had this plan in mind last night."
The gang members were even more impressed.
Li Xiaofei continued, "You should all learn from this, everyone. Keep your eyes on the long term and have a sense of the bigger picture... Alright, meeting adjourned. The city is on lockdown for a few days, so we can't go hunting. Use this time to cultivate well. I'm off to school."
He rode off on his heavy modified motorcycle under the admiring gazes of his subordinates. Thanks to the recent economic improvements in the slum, he could afford to fuel up. Otherwise, Li Xiaofei wouldn't be able to ride his motorcycle to and from school every day.
In Red Flag High School.
"Big brother, you're finally here." As soon as Li Xiaofei arrived, Bai Longfei rushed up to him, "Something big happened, really big."
Li Xiaofei parked his motorcycle in the shed and casually asked, "What happened? Did your 60-year-old girlfriend cheat on you?"
"Ugh," Bai Longfei retorted, "She's very good to me... I mean, you're being cyberbullied."
"Huh?" Li Xiaofei was confused, "Cyberbullied? What did I do to get cyberbullied? Who's so bored?"
Bai Longfei sent a link to his light core, "Check it out yourself... Someone is spreading bad things about you on the city's major forums. Fang Buyi and I tried to explain, but it's not working."
Li Xiaofei took out his light core and clicked the link in the message. It led him directly to the leaderboard forum. Several posts insulting him immediately caught his eye.
New generation green tea b*tch Li Xiaofei, sucking his teammates' blood to climb up.
Would you love such a Li Xiaofei, even with two consecutive MVPs?
Why is he called Fist King? Because he's truly a tyrant.
Making teammates stepping stones to climb up, this is Li Xiaofei's sinister intention.
Each post had a high level of engagement.