On the streetlight, Ji Xiaoyu's face turned red instantly, extremely embarrassed.

Gu Jianlin understood—it turned out she was hungry.

He immediately took out his phone and ordered a meal delivery service through the Deep Space Network.

At the Black Cloud City Base, services for Omega Sequence members were comprehensive. Within less than ten minutes after placing the order, the server brought a variety of fresh dishes to the door. Each dish was exquisite and delicious, served on silver platters and covered to maintain their warmth.

To tame the brat, Gu Jianlin directly set up a wooden table in the yard.

Shark fin soup with three delicacies, chestnut chicken, saucy carp, stir-fried tripe, roasted liver tips.

The aroma was mouthwatering and hung densely in the air.

Gu Jianlin had already eaten dinner and wasn't about to pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he closed his eyes and began meditating.

All he could think about was the scene of the King of Qing demonstrating combined skills earlier.

Gulp.

A sound of swallowing saliva.

Ji Xiaoyu was clearly famished, her stomach audibly growling.

The Guardians and underlings exchanged puzzled looks—this was truly torture.

After a long pause, Gu Jianlin opened his eyes and said calmly, "Your grandmother isn't coming to save you. She gave me the Golden Phoenix Feather, probably as her way of asking me to discipline you. Now you have two choices: either go head-to-head with me, or we switch things up and coexist peacefully."

"If you don't provoke me, I won't bother you either."

He paused. "But on one condition—you have to apologize."

On the streetlight, Ji Xiaoyu stared at him intently.

To be precise, she was staring at the feast on the table, her eyes practically sparkling.

An expression akin to a ravenous wolf.

But she was still mumbling incoherently, her face plastered with the classic "Beastmen will never bow" look.

"If you agree to apologize, I'll let you down."

Gu Jianlin locked eyes with her: "Our grievances will be written off, and you won't have to continue embarrassing yourself up there, right?"

Ji Xiaoyu fell silent.

The motto: Beastmen will never bow.

Unless... food and lodging are provided!

At that moment, it seemed like she made a monumental decision, letting out a muffled noise and reluctantly nodded her head.

The Guardians and underlings wore utterly perplexed expressions.

True to his word, Gu Jianlin said, "Alright then, let her down."

At this, the underling's expressions shifted to something even stranger.

The Guardians went to cut the rope but smirked inwardly.

The Little Princess wasn't someone to deal with so easily.

She might have agreed superficially, but the moment she regained access to her spirituality, she would undoubtedly bolt.

However, he wouldn't offer a friendly warning.

After all, what Gu Jianlin was doing put them in a tough position as well.

Because of the Golden Phoenix Feather, they didn't dare interfere.

However, afterward, the Little Princess would surely settle scores with these traitors.

No way to win in this situation.

As expected, when the sound of cutting the rope echoed.

A glimmer of cunning flashed in Ji Xiaoyu's eyes.

In the instant the rope broke, she landed nimbly, put both hands on her hips, and burst into laughter.

"Haha, farewell, cage!"

She shouted arrogantly, "Apologize? Maybe in my next life!"

Boom—Qi Force exploded.

Ji Xiaoyu turned on her heel and sprinted away.

Gu Jianlin sneered inwardly, making no move to pursue.

In the next moment: bang!

A cloud of toxic gas exploded, completely engulfing the petite figure.

Ji Xiaoyu let out yet another miserable scream and stumbled out of the toxic cloud, tumbling and crawling, whimpering, "You despicable villain! You actually... ambushed me!"

The Guardians and underlings: "..."

Gu Jianlin sighed calmly.

Having learned from the last attempt, how could he not prepare for it?

To deal with a brat, you have to outsmart her.

Before coming here, he had already laid a trap on the way using a Poison Bag crafted by this little troublemaker.

If Ji Xiaoyu tried to escape, she'd inevitably fall victim to it all over again.

Sure enough, brats aren't too bright.

Stepped on the landmine again, didn't you?

"Amitabha, may peace prevail."

The parrot crooned mournfully, "Such sinful behavior, why bother?"

Gu Jianlin had no intention of persuading with reason—the so-called apology-for-freedom deal was nothing but bait.

He knew the brat wouldn't comply, resisting rebelliously at the first opportunity.

Otherwise, what reason would he have to use this brat as practice for combined skills?

The next moment, Ji Xiaoyu stumbled back into the courtyard, her gaze filled with vengeful fury.

Gu Jianlin turned his head toward the parrot and said, "Go, call Lin Wanqiu over to prepare for healing."

The parrot rolled its eyes. "Sins against humanity."

And with that, it flapped its wings and flew off.

Gu Jianlin remained unsmiling as he grabbed a folding chair and raised his left index finger.

A cross-shaped flash of black light condensed at his fingertip.

Boom!

·

·

At the Black Cloud City military base, there were two instructors—one head, one deputy.

Instructor Wan Rentu served as the chief instructor, responsible for training Omega Sequence members.

Instructor Zhu oversaw all association members while also managing the base's order, discipline, and safety issues.

Tonight, it was destined to be a sleepless one.

The base reverberated endlessly with booming sounds, red alert signals engulfing the security room.

It resembled a full-blown enemy attack.

Instructor Zhu stared at the room painted red with flashing lights, his head pounding like a drum.

Tonight alone, he had received over two hundred complaint calls.

The phone had rung so much it burst; out of frustration, he cut the line altogether.

"Damn brats! Are these two planning to rebel?"

Instructor Zhu roared furiously, waving his huge hand as he led the security patrol team into action.

When they arrived at the Omega Sequence apartment complex, everyone fell silent.

Ruins stretched as far as the eye could see, littered with rubble and fractured steel beams, dust swirling in the sea breeze.

A large portion of the buildings lay destroyed, surrounded by broken walls and remnants.

Only one sofa remained intact, upon which a black-haired teenager sat nonchalantly.

Basking in Holy Light, he looked utterly composed.

Beside him sprawled a brat beaten so severely her own mother would hardly recognize her, lying belly-down with visibly swollen hips.

She slumped lifelessly, gazing emptily, her expression numb.

As if questioning existence itself.

Lin Wanqiu's hands emitted Holy Light, her face still wearing an awkward yet polite smile.

The Little Princess's Guardians and underlings stood by, at a complete loss.

"What's going on here? Starting a rebellion?"

Instructor Zhu's rage almost erupted through the roof as he bellowed, "If you want to fight, take it to the training grounds! This is deliberate destruction of public property! Do you have any idea how much it costs to rebuild these apartments?"

At this point, Gu Jianlin lifted his gaze and said nonchalantly, "The President entrusts me with babysitting their Ji Family. You should go ask the President for the repair funds instead of bothering me and this little brat here."

Such a flippant remark left Instructor Zhu speechless, unable to retort—he could only fume uselessly.

Gu Jianlin turned his head toward the Guardians and underlings.

"Any Poison Bags left?"

He asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Gone?"

Gu Jianlin narrowed his eyes, seemingly displeased.

Seeing his change in expression, one of the Guardians hastily spoke, "There are no more Poison Bags, but the Little Princess's secret manual is still intact."

A Guardian swiftly pulled out a small booklet from his pocket and respectfully handed it over.

After an entire night, none of them dared to underestimate this teenager anymore.

This guy might as well be a werewolf.

Even fiercer than a savage man.

"Hmm, a secret manual, huh?"

Gu Jianlin took it and turned toward the lifeless brat, speaking coldly, "I'll be confiscating this. You'll get it back when you prove yourself. Be on time for afternoon training, or I'll come for you with my chair. Understood?"

Turning away, he instructed: "Captain Lin, make sure you heal her properly."

Lin Wanqiu smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I'm a professional at this."

She smirked inwardly—this teenager seemed to rely on her more and more.

If this continued, she might even qualify to register as his Guardian.

Ji Xiaoyu: "..."

She faintly realized that this time, she might have genuinely encountered an unyielding rival!

That day, the brat felt the cruelty and darkness of the world.

[PS: This book's official release is on the Qidian Reading App. This is a seven-thousand-word chapter, a two-in-one special. No more chapters for today, but see you tomorrow! And by the way, could you toss over some monthly tickets? Haven't asked for votes much since the release; it's the start of the month, so here's a symbolic ask~]