Two more days passed.

On June 15th, Friday, it drizzled.

Early in the morning, Little Salengg returned from the hospital, but Chen Xiang was about to leave for a trip.

"Take this outfit, and these two grenades... Oh, and I'll stuff this submachine gun in there for you. Do you have enough bullets?"

Chen Xiang looked at his older sister, who was packing his suitcase, and couldn't help but smile:

"Sis, I'm not going very far, just to Jiuhuan..."

"Jiuhuan is chaotic!"

Chen Shaoyan shot Chen Xiang a glare:

"I hired two underground hunters for you; they are waiting for you in Jiuhuan. Here's their number. Call them as soon as you arrive! You must!"

"Got it, Sis, I understand..."

Chen Shaoyan continued to fuss over him, complaining about the suitcase being too small, wishing she could even fit her single rocket launcher from under the bed in there...

His second brother teased from the side:

"With all this, anyone would think you're heading to the battlefield..."

"The battlefield is not as dangerous as Jiuhuan!" Chen Shaoyan shot Chen Xin a look, straining to close the bulging suitcase. She finally added:

"Little brother, be cautious. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, call your sister. I'll help you... Did you hear that?"

"Yes, Sis, I heard you... you've said it seven times!"

"What's wrong? You think I'm nagging?" Chen Shaoyan glared at him, and before Chen Xiang could reply, the usually silent Lu Salengg spoke up:

"Maybe a little nagging."

"The adults are talking, what do you kids know? Just eat your breakfast!" The eldest sister gave Little Salengg a playful thump, and together with Chen Xin, they sent Chen Xiang out the door.

"Stay safe!" Both the elder brother and second sister said in unison.

"Chancellor Big Bro, be safe!" Silly Girl called out cheerfully.

Even Lu Salengg waved goodbye to Chen Xiang as the family watched him drive away in a sky-blue sports car toward the academy.

"Oh no, I forgot it rained these past two days. I should have packed him two down jackets..." Chen Shaoyan suddenly smacked her forehead.

Chen Xin quickly pulled her back:

"Sis, that's enough. It's June; down jackets might be a bit much..."

"This is his first trip out alone; I'm just worried about him..." Chen Shaoyan sighed, feeling a bit gloomy.

She glanced at Lu Salengg, who was slowly picking at his breakfast, and suddenly reached over to tug his ear, feeling much better afterward.

Lu Salengg: ?

...

Inside the car.

Wei Qingqiu chewed bubblegum, and the wind streamed in through the window, causing her silver hair to fly wildly, several times slapping against Chen Xiang's face.

"Do you know about Jiuhuan?" The girl's voice was somewhat distorted by the wind.

Chen Xiang shook his head:

"Most of my information comes from the internet, so not really."

Little Wei smiled brightly:

"Jiuhuan, a planned area, an ungoverned zone, a place where the law does not reach... There, criminals account for seventy percent. Before the Jiuhuan Governance Office was abolished, three governors were hanged, two were burned alive, and two drowned in cesspits."

Chen Xiang's brow twitched:

"The governors should have all been extraordinary, right?"

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"Yeah, but so what?" Wei Qingqiu shook her head. "Normally, the closer you get to the inner rings, the more extraordinary people there are, but..."

She lowered her voice:

"In this naturally sinful place, there are as many extraordinary beings as in the central three rings because there are no rules, and no secret regulatory offices keeping watch. This is a paradise for chaotic and evil extraordinary beings."

Chen Xiang frowned slightly:

"With such an environment, the academy still lets students train there?"

"I'm not sure."

Wei Qingqiu found it hard to believe as well:

"But normally, it should be fine. I checked; we're going to District 1 of Jiuhuan, accompanying humanitarian aid supplies. So unless Jiuhuan has gone mad, they won't cause us trouble..."

As they spoke, the outline of the Giant Academy came into clear view.

"Please take care of our safety these next few days, Teacher Chen!"

As they got out of the car, Wei Qingqiu playfully blinked at him.

Entering the academy, they followed the signs to a spacious area behind the school, where helicopters and floating vehicles were already parked, and a large amount of supplies was stacked high.

Most of the students and teaching assistants had already boarded the floating vehicles, and Chen Xiang quickly spotted two little chubby kids.

"Here! Here!"

Yuan Wanli waved his hands high, while a few others nearby looked on with strange expressions.

The girl with double ponytails's eyelids twitched:

"Yuan the Fat, is this the impressive teaching assistant you were talking about?"

Another boy with his fist wrapped in bandages also looked unkind:

"I wondered why you were being so friendly with Teacher Li, talking about mutual support... Aren't we supposed to be protecting you?!"

Yuan Wanli and Yuan Qianli exchanged awkward coughs, the former murmuring:

"Teacher Chen is actually very impressive; think about it, he wasn't harmed when touching the black flames..."

The three young boys and girls rolled up their sleeves and approached.

"What are you doing?"

On the floating vehicle, Li Xiaotong poked her head out, frowning slightly, her tone calm:

"Yuan Wanli, hasn't your assistant arrived yet?"

"Teacher Li!" The girl with double ponytails shouted loudly, "We've all been tricked by Yuan the Fat and Yuan the Chubby!"

"Lower your voice. Young ladies should behave in public!" Li Xiaotong admonished, and the girl quickly shrank back.

Clearly, Teacher Li held significant authority in their hearts.

The quiet, bespectacled boy stepped forward:

"Teacher Li, it's like this; Yuan Wanli and Yuan Qianli's assistant is a bit..."

He thought for a moment and described:

"Not very strong."

At this point, Li Xiaotong understood, responding somewhat irritated:

"The trend among students to rank teachers is very bad! Just because someone is a bit weak doesn't mean..."

She caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, shrouded in dark flames, uncertain in form, standing before her. Suddenly, her voice pitched high, her body leaning back, her face filled with terror!

The other students were taken aback.

Chen Xiang couldn't help but chuckle:

"Teacher Li, you don't have to react like that just because you see me... The secret regulatory office hasn't been investigating me for a while."

As he spoke, he looked at the young girl in front of him, whose face was painted with fear, puzzled by her reaction.

"Ch-Chen... Teacher Chen..." Li Xiaotong almost cried out, her voice trembling amidst the bewildered gazes of the students. "You're coming with us..."

Chen Xiang scratched his nose:

"Not welcome?"

"Well, not exactly..." Li Xiaotong didn't dare to look at the figure engulfed in dark flames, her fists clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms.

Chen Xiang watched the girl shrinking into her seat, her head bowed low, and felt a bit at a loss for words.

Although Yuan Qianli didn't fully understand the situation, he recognized that it was a done deal. He exchanged a glance with Yuan Wanli.

The two chubby kids stepped forward, each taking one of Chen Xiang's arms:

"Teacher Chen, you're finally here! Teacher Li and Guo Xue have been waiting for you for a long time. Hurry up and get in the car..."

They practically dragged Chen Xiang into the vehicle.

Soon, six students and two teachers were seated in the large floating vehicle. Because it was filled with a lot of aid supplies, it was relatively cramped. Chen Xiang sat next to Li Xiaotong, and he could clearly sense that this previously imposing girl was on the verge of tears...

As the floating vehicle took off, Chen Xiang said helplessly:

"Teacher Li, you really don't need to be like this... The secret regulatory office truly isn't investigating me anymore."

That was what he said, but he felt something was off; Teacher Li's reaction seemed exaggerated.

There's something wrong.

Chen Xiang kept his guard up, smiling as he said:

"Teacher Li, why don't you introduce me to these three students?"

Li Xiaotong snapped back to reality, not daring to look at Chen Xiang, her head down as she quietly said:

"The girl with the ponytail is Guo Xue, the one with glasses is Zhong Sizhe, and the other one is Man Mu..."

Chen Xiang pondered for a moment. The surname "Man" wasn't very common.

He glanced at the boy named Man Mu, who had bandages wrapped around his hands, and noted the similarities between his features and Mandong's...

Chen Xiang sighed lightly:

"Yuan Wanli and Yuan Qianli, you both should know her; this is Wei Qingqiu."

Little Wei flashed a bright smile, showing her white teeth but didn't speak.

The floating vehicle fell into an awkward silence. Guo Xue, Man Mu, and the others were left wondering what was going on between this ninth-rank warrior and Teacher Li.

They couldn't understand...

Soon, dozens of floating vehicles and helicopters crossed the river, approaching Jiuhuan.

The group instinctively leaned towards the windows, gazing at the legendary Jiuhuan. Chen Xiang looked out as well.

Jiuhuan didn't have many tall buildings, mostly around ten stories high. The tallest visible building barely reached a hundred meters.

Perhaps because of the overcast sky, Jiuhuan appeared quite dull, shrouded in heavy smog.

"This is Jiuhuan..." Yuan Wanli wrinkled his nose. "It actually looks better than our Eighth Ring... Wait, what?!"

Terror washed over his face, and everyone instinctively followed his gaze, gasping!

Dozens, even hundreds, of meteors rose from the cityscape, magnificent and awe-inspiring!

However...

The meteors, trailing long tails of fire, seemed to be hurtling towards the dozens of floating vehicles and helicopters, heading straight for them.

"It's a rocket!" Li Xiaotong shouted. "Prepare for impact!!"

Flames engulfed everything, and the explosion was deafening.