"Thank you." Die Wu accepted the bowl of food, but she looked uneasy. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the bowl, and she hesitated to take a bite.
Seeing her reaction, Mu Qingyun immediately understood—she was likely frightened by the earlier rough handling between her and Xiong Ruoyou.
"Did we scare you just now?" Mu Qingyun softened her tone as much as she could. "You've seen how that person acts. She was trying to poison our food. So yes, we were a bit rough."
Die Wu blinked in realization and quickly nodded. "Ah, I'm fine."
Still, being seen through left her a little embarrassed. "The food smells amazing."
She took a bite of the meat in the bowl. The rich flavor lingered in her mouth. It had been so long since she had a proper meal. Even if compared to food outside, this would still be considered delicious.
"It's really good." She didn't hold back her praise. Die Wu ended up eating quite a lot—it had been a long time since she'd felt this full.
After the meal, Mu Qingyun prepared to head out again to hunt virtual creatures. This time, Fan Xuanye and Xiong Ruoyou joined her. Although neither of them was in ideal condition, they could at least help.
Die Wu returned to Fan Yunche's location first—she needed to check in with her teammates and let them know she was safe.
Only Su was left in the house.
He turned off the live stream device, frowning irritably. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have let Yi Beixuan leave. With him around, at least he could've bent a few rules for Mu Qingyun.
But now? With his current "useless" persona, aside from quietly releasing more virtual creatures, what else could he do?
"You're alone?" came Kazel's voice.
Su looked up and saw Kazel walking toward him, holding a string of pearl prayer beads.
"Yeah, they all went out to hunt virtual creatures," Su leaned back casually against the wall, seemingly unconcerned.
"You're not helping them?" Kazel raised an eyebrow. He was surprised—was Su Qiluo really not planning to intervene?
Su looked him in the eye, expressionless. "I want to help, but look at me—what help can I offer? Not holding them back is already the best I can do."
Kazel tightened his grip on the prayer beads. After a moment of silence, he reached out and turned off the live stream device.
"Marshal Su Qiluo, please help her," he said sincerely, bowing his head. "She has reasons she cannot speak of. Someone with her ability deserves to enter the military academy."
Su wasn't surprised by this. He had suspected that the merman had already figured out who he was—otherwise, Kazel wouldn't have taken jabs at him every chance he got.
"If you knew I was Su Qiluo, why were you always targeting me?" Su asked the question that had bothered him for some time. He was truly curious what he had done to offend Kazel.
"I only just confirmed it," Kazel replied respectfully, bowing slightly. "I wasn't sure before, so I tested you a few times. It wasn't until you admitted it that I became certain."
So he had been tricked.
Su narrowed his eyes slightly, his face revealing nothing. "The military academy has strict regulations. Even as the First Commander, I can't act arbitrarily."
He's really not helping?
Kazel's expression chilled slightly. He was angry, but he knew his place. He wasn't a match for Su Qiluo, and more importantly, he needed his help.
"Marshal, you didn't know Mu Qingyun before, yet she cooked, boiled water, and built a shelter for you without complaint. You should know better than anyone how kind she has been to you."
After a pause, Kazel added, "And you've seen her strength. It would be a real shame if she were eliminated over something trivial."
Trivial reasons? Elimination?
Kazel's words carried a lot of meaning. Su caught the key phrases and began to piece things together.
In the military academy's trials, aside from the high-level academy officials and the emperor himself, who else would dare to manipulate the results?
Mu Qingyun must have offended someone powerful. They probably wanted to humiliate her or make her suffer, which was why she had to rack up so many virtual points in just ten days.
"Come with me." Su pushed himself up and stood. "I already arranged something this morning. Since you're here, her virtual points will begin increasing automatically."
"Understood." Kazel bowed again, his demeanor now completely different from before.
But even though he looked respectful, he inwardly felt nothing but contempt.
"Oh right, I have another question," Su said, rubbing his temples as he thought of something that had bothered him for a long time.
"Please ask, Marshal. I will answer honestly and without omission," Kazel replied, though a flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes. He wasn't sure what Su was about to ask.
"That time when the Zerg launched a massive attack... was it your doing, just to force me to make a move?"
Kazel froze. His expression stiffened for a second.
But he recovered quickly. With remarkable control, he replaced the shock on his face with a look of confusion and surprise.
"Absolutely not. Marshal, please don't joke like that. I have no connection to the Zerg. Secretly cooperating with them is a serious crime."
Clever.
Su lowered the hand that had been covering his gaze. Just as he thought, Kazel was far from simple.
But what was his goal? If he had connections with the Zerg, why participate in the military academy's trials?
And what exactly was the relationship between Kazel and Mu Qingyun? How did he know so much about her, and why did she seem to trust him so much?
Could it be… was Mu Qingyun also involved with the Zerg?
Forget it. Su frowned irritably. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Since he had confirmed Kazel's link to the Zerg, he might as well use it.
Perhaps he could use Kazel to completely eradicate the Zerg threat, once and for all.
Kazel, noticing Su's blank expression, felt his heart skip a beat. Still, his face remained calm and unrevealing.
"Mu-ge, look at your head!"
Elsewhere, Xiong Ruoyou had just finished off a few virtual creatures when she pointed at the top of Mu Qingyun's head in shock.
Mu Qingyun turned to look at her in confusion. Then she noticed something strange—while none of them had just hunted, the number above her head was still increasing.
What was going on?
The number visibly rose by one every minute or so. Mu Qingyun frowned. All three of them were here—there was only one possibility.
Su.
No way... Could he really hunt virtual creatures? And at such a rapid pace?
That was a bit too unbelievable.