CHAPTER 575: CHAPTER 575: LEVEL 11

He opened one eye slowly, a little glow fading from his pupils. "Not yet. Why? Do you need something?"

Su Jiyai almost blurted out, Yes, I need you, but she stopped herself in time. Instead, she crossed her arms and said, "I was just... bored. You are sitting there like a statue. It makes me itchy."

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Itchy? What does that even mean?"

She pouted. "It means... I cannot sit still when you are like that. You look... too calm. Too handsome. It is annoying."

Qin Feng chuckled lightly. "So you are annoyed because I am handsome?"

Her face turned red. "Don’t twist my words! I am saying you make me distracted."

He tilted his head. "Distracted in what way?"

Su Jiyai grabbed the pillow and hugged it tight, hiding half her face. "You know... in that way."

Qin Feng leaned back slightly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "What way exactly?"

She threw the pillow at him, her face burning. "Stop teasing me!"

He caught the pillow with one hand easily. "I am not teasing. I just want to know what is going on in your head."

Su Jiyai bit her lip and mumbled, "You don’t want to know."

Qin Feng’s smile grew wider. "Maybe I do."

She groaned and buried her face in the blanket. "You are the worst. I swear, one of these days, I will..." She stopped herself again, kicking her legs against the bed.

Qin Feng placed the pillow back beside her. His voice was softer now. "Jiyai, you can tell me. You do not need to hide."

She peeked at him with only one eye visible. "If I tell you, you will laugh."

"I will not laugh."

"You will."

"I promise I will not."

She sighed loudly and sat up. "Fine. I was thinking... I want to... um... be closer to you. Like, really close. Not just touchy... touchy, you know.."

The words hung in the air. Her face was red like fire.

Qin Feng chuckled, "Oh... alright then... let’s do something more than touchy, touchy."

"You are teasing me!" Ivy gritted her teeth. However, before she could continue, Qin Feng leaned and his lips crashed into hers. But before they could continue, she received a message from the system.

[Host, Yuan Xin, is requesting an urgent meeting.]

Su Jiyai sighed and muttered under her breath, "I really cannot enjoy a single moment for myself, huh?" She closed her eyes for a second, then sat up straighter.

"System," she said softly, "why is Yuan Xin asking for an urgent meeting?"

The system’s voice echoed in her mind, calm and clear.

[Host, Yuan Xin has received a request from Cedar Base. It is urgent. Most likely they are asking for our help.]

Su Jiyai gritted her teeth. "Cedar Base... always trouble." She turned her head and looked at Qin Feng.

For a second, both of them just stared at each other. Finally, Qin Feng sighed and moved back, his expression a little disappointed.

"You have to go, right?" he asked quietly.

Su Jiyai nodded, her chest feeling heavy. "Yes. I’ll come back after the meeting." She started to stand but then paused. "Do you... want to join me?"

Qin Feng blinked in surprise. "Join you? In the meeting?"

"Yes," she said seriously.

"After all, you are going to be my future fiancé. No..." she corrected herself, her eyes firm, "...you are my fiancé. You have the right to be at all my meetings."

For a moment, Qin Feng just looked at her, completely stunned.

Then warmth spread in his eyes, and a small smile tugged at his lips. He nodded slowly. "Alright. I’ll go with you."

They walked together to the conference room. When they entered, Yuan Xin was already waiting inside. He stood quickly and greeted them both with respect.

"Boss Su, Qin Feng. You came together."

Su Jiyai gave a small nod. "Yes. Tell me, what happened?"

Yuan Xin’s face grew serious.

"Leader Shi of Cedar Base sent us a message. He said their walls are about to collapse. The Striker-class zombies are attacking endlessly. They begged for our help. In exchange, he is willing to pay more than one hundred thousand crystals."

Su Jiyai raised an eyebrow. "One hundred thousand crystals? That’s a lot."

She tapped her fingers on the table, thinking for a while. Then she said firmly, "Fine. We can help Leader Shi. But he has to promise something in return."

Yuan Xin leaned closer. "What condition, Boss Su?"

Su Jiyai’s eyes were sharp.

"Half of the spoils of war. All the zombie crystals and materials. If he wants my soldiers to risk their lives, then he has to give half of what they get."

Yuan Xin nodded. "Understood. I will tell him right away."

He called back through the satellite phone. Leader Shi was connected, and Yuan Xin repeated Su Jiyai’s words exactly.

On the other end, Leader Shi froze for only a second before answering quickly, "I agree! I promise! Half the spoils, whatever she wants. Just... please help us now."

When the call ended, Yuan Xin looked at Su Jiyai. "He accepted without hesitation."

"Of course he did," Su Jiyai said coldly. "Without us, his base would be finished."

Qin Feng gave her a side glance. "You’re very hard when you negotiate."

Su Jiyai smirked. "I have to be. Mercy in trade means death in war." Then she turned to Yuan Xin. "Deploy ten thousand superhumans at level nine to Cedar Base immediately."

Yuan Xin’s eyes widened slightly. "Ten thousand? Are you sure?"

"Yes," Su Jiyai said firmly. "After I built the cultivation zone, our people advanced quickly. Now, most of our base is already level nine. Some even higher. Sending ten thousand soldiers is nothing for us. We have more than twenty thousand trained."

Qin Feng chuckled softly. "You sound proud."

"I am proud," Su Jiyai replied with a small smile. "After all, it is my fiancé who had trained them all."

...................

At Cedar Base, the situation grew worse by the minute. The wall was cracking under the constant strikes of the zombies. Soldiers fired their rifles, swords flashed, and explosions echoed in the night, but it was still not enough.

Leader Shi stood on the wall, his face pale. "Hold the line! Do not let them through!" he shouted.

Han Zhu was beside him, wiping blood off his blade. "General, the soldiers are exhausted. We cannot last much longer."

Just then, a runner came rushing up. "Leader! A reply came! Hope Base... they said they are sending ten thousand level nine soldiers to help us!"

Leader Shi’s eyes went wide. "What? Ten thousand... level nine? That’s impossible!"

Han Zhu frowned. "Maybe they meant level five... or six."

"Yes, that must be it," Leader Shi said quickly. "There’s no way a new base like Hope Base has that many at level nine."

But before they could argue further, another soldier shouted, "Leader! More zombies at the north wall! We need reinforcements now!"

Leader Shi cursed and ran back to fight.

...............

By evening, the sound of roaring engines filled the battlefield. Dozens of armored cars crashed through the zombie ranks, crushing the undead under their wheels. Dust and blood filled the air.

The defenders on the wall froze. "What’s that? Reinforcements?"

The cars screeched to a halt. The doors opened, and soldiers poured out. But these soldiers looked... strange.

One wore a colander as a helmet. Another carried a giant rolling pin. Someone else held a spatula like a sword. Yet, despite their odd equipment, their bodies radiated power.

Leader Shi’s jaw dropped. "What in the world..."

The Hope Base soldiers moved like a storm. One swung his rolling pin and sent a zombie flying twenty meters. Another used the spatula like a blade, cutting three zombies in half with one strike. The ground shook as the soldiers advanced, their aura bursting with strength.

Han Zhu’s eyes went wide. "Leader... they are not level five. Not even level nine... Look closely! Some of them are level ten! And... and even higher!"

Leader Shi’s mouth fell open. "Level eleven? Impossible!" He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was imagining things. But no, the power was real.

On the wall, Cedar Base soldiers watched in awe as Hope Base’s troops tore through the zombies like paper. The tide of battle turned instantly.

One Cedar soldier whispered, "Our strongest general is only level nine... and they have thousands at that level?"

Another muttered, "I thought Boss Su was exaggerating, but... this is real."

Leader Shi grabbed the wall with shaking hands. His voice was hoarse. "We doubted her... but we were fools. Compared to Hope Base... our soldiers are nothing."

Han Zhu looked at him seriously. "Leader... Boss Su’s base is not normal. They are... on a different level entirely."

Leader Shi could only nod, his heart pounding. For the first time, he felt ashamed of his earlier disbelief.

As Hope Base’s army pushed forward, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of victory.