These were words of warmth seldom heard from Stream Vanguard, yet Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei's expression and demeanor remained half-dead, neither pleased nor willing.
It was as if someone had provoked him, yet he had to force himself to be good to her anyway.
*Isn't that just the truth?!*
Lin Ya thought to herself, a deeply knowing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she glanced at Yao Yue. *I definitely have to find a formidable warrior as a boyfriend in the future too,* the girl quietly told herself. *Lin Ya, you hear that?*
*Well, let's see. Major Qing is out—no use biting off more than I can chew. Lieutenant Wu Xu is probably even harder. The Little Prince, Zhu Jiaming? Too old.*
*Yang Qingbai, Wings of the Dragon? Supposedly he's a massive playboy. After he shot to fame in the Battle of Zenith, dozens of ex-girlfriends suddenly popped up back in the ordinary world.*
*He Tangtang... Looking at his photo in the newspaper last time, he already seemed to be balding a bit. Besides, if I ended up with him, he'd be younger than me—talk about an old cow grazing on tender grass!*
*Sigh, if only Second Lieutenant Shen, the Mortal Iron Armor, were a guy! That would be perfect!*
Around the same time, the crowd of reporters slowly came to their senses after several seconds of bewildered confusion.
"Hey, look over there!" Alerted by someone, everyone turned their heads, only to discover that beneath the eaves beyond a sparse patch of trees, Major Qing, Lieutenant Wu Xu, Second Lieutenant Shen, and the others who had disappeared earlier had all stepped outside at some point.
Having come out, they didn't walk over. They merely stood there, all looking toward the reporters from afar, watchful yet distinctly amused, as though observing a novel and entertaining species of animal.
"They aren't planning to do something to us, are they? Kid... kidnap us?" It was rare for Stream Vanguard to pay them this much attention, and the reporters felt rather uneasy.
"Relax, they won't. They can't squeeze any source energy blocks out of us anyway. Even if they kidnapped us, it'd be pointless. So we're definitely safe."
Only after hearing this analysis from another reporter did everyone finally set their minds at ease.
On the other side.
"Is that Yao Yue? That's her, right?"
"Yeah, the taller one with the ponytail."
"That's her. I've held her before." Rusty Sister had indeed carried Yao Yue once, leaping between two rooftops with her in her arms. "Her waist felt wonderful to hold. She was so terrified back then that she wrapped both arms around my neck..."
"Plague Chicken is probably a little nervous right now," Han Qingyu said, glancing back at the stage.
"Huh? Surely not, right?" the Little Prince chimed in with a chuckle. "He's been through scenes far bigger than this."
"How is that the same?" Yang Qingbai stepped forward from behind them to object.
"Yeah. After all, it's in front of Yao Yue," Han Qingyu said with a laugh. "Before Yao Yue, the only time he ever went up on stage was probably to deliver a self-criticism."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the crowd of reporters not far away erupted into clamor and chaos.
For the journalists present, being hosted by Stream Vanguard was wonderful, of course, but their duty was to report. Getting the news they wanted and capturing crucial moments was what mattered most.
Moreover, in order to come here today, they had given up covering the magnificent launch ceremonies of the great army groups around the world that had taken place from yesterday through this morning.
"Second Lieutenant Wen, how is Major Qing doing lately?"
"Stream Vanguard is committing such a high proportion of its troops this time. The whole world is thrilled, and praise is pouring in from everywhere... May I ask how you view this, Second Lieutenant Wen? Could you say a few words to the public?"
"The various Azure front armies set out one after another from yesterday through this morning. When will Stream Vanguard deploy? Will there be an official departure ceremony?"
"May I ask if Stream Vanguard currently relies on a dual-super lineup of Lieutenant Wu Xu and Theodore? Or has a new super combat power emerged over the past year?"
"Major Qing must still possess super-tier strength right now, doesn't he?!"
"..."
The sudden barrage of questions was almost entirely disordered. Deep down, everyone knew that even if he was willing to answer, Second Lieutenant Wen would not take many questions.
A dense thicket of arms shot up in a frantic scramble, shouts rising and falling in waves.
When a question was shouted several times without receiving a response, the reporter would assume their voice hadn't been loud enough and that Second Lieutenant Wen hadn't heard, only to yell even louder...
Wen Jifei was growing annoyed. What kind of questions were these? Was Qingzi's condition something they had any right to ask about? As for how many supers Stream Vanguard had now, could he tell them that? And whether there was a departure ceremony—couldn't they tell just by looking at how the grounds were set up?
Besides, he had business to attend to here, didn't they realize?! Why else would they think he was standing out here entertaining them?
Amid the din, Second Lieutenant Wen's brow furrowed. His gaze hardened, sweeping across the crowd below the stage with veiled irritation.
With just that look, the reporters beneath the stage gradually fell silent, like a subsiding human wave...
"When will our Stream Vanguard deploy, Second Lieutenant Wen?" A fearless, bright voice rang out abruptly as an arm was raised high.
Wen Jifei looked over.
The instant their eyes met, Lin Ya's heart fluttered in panic. A chill ran through her from her skin to her core.
All of this stemmed merely from how fast Wen Jifei had turned to look at her. The gaze in his eyes at that moment felt somewhat like the sensation of being caught behind his sniper scope.
When a man had lived through countless brushes with death, engaged in enough cold-blooded killing, and held a position of high authority with all the responsibilities that came with it, no matter how approachable and jovial he might normally be, once he turned displeased and stern, his gaze was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
"We will set out shortly."
Second Lieutenant Wen finally answered the first question from the crowd, his tone neutral.
He recognized Lin Ya. Knowing that his girlfriend's best friend was not someone to cross, his expression softened at once.
*Whew, scared this young lady to death, hmph.*
Lin Ya casually patted her chest. She was the sort whose spirits soared to the sky the moment she caught a ray of sunshine. Now that she had that ray, and one question had just been answered, she immediately raised her little arm again...
Yao Yue hurriedly tugged at Lin Ya from the side. Knowing her friend well, she feared the girl might get overly excited and let something slip or say the wrong thing. Raising her own hand at the same time, Yao Yue spoke loudly to drown out her friend's voice.
"Um, will Stream Vanguard have an expedition ceremony?"
In her haste, the question Yao Yue blurted out was merely a repetition of someone else's, and given the state of the grounds before them, it really held little significance.
Seeing that the crowd of reporters was about to grow restless again...
"..." Wen Jifei remained silent for perhaps two seconds before looking up and saying, "Originally, there wasn't going to be one. But since everyone seems to think there should be, how about we fire a few shots?"
*Fire a few shots? As an expedition ceremony...?* The reporters below were momentarily dazed.
*Clatter!* The most famous source energy sniper rifle in the world today—Elegy of the Square—had already dropped from Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei's shoulder.
The long rifle detached from the hook on his back and fell naturally. Wen Jifei caught the butt of the stock with a backhanded grip. With a whoosh, his arm swung in a full circle, whipping the cold, metallic rifle out from behind him.
The barrel extended, its pitch-black muzzle pointing straight ahead.
Before the reporters could fully react—
*Bang! Bang, bang!*
At the first gunshot, the bullet left the chamber, tracing an arcing trajectory.
The second bullet flew in a straight line... and collided with it!
The source energy carried by the two slugs clashed and scraped against each other in midair. With a loud hum, a shockwave rippled and spread outward...
*Rustle, rustle, rustle.* A gentle clatter of leaves and branches arose.
Above the reporters' heads, a rain of sweet osmanthus blossoms fell.
The drifting blossoms scattered in flurry after flurry, floating down onto the reporters' shoulders, the tips of their hair, and their clothes.
For a moment, the entire space was suffused with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus.
By the time the reporters, suddenly standing in the midst of this shower of blossoms, finally collected themselves and looked up...
The third bullet had already streaked past overhead, heading straight into the distant sky.
It seemed to have accomplished nothing.
Almost only Lin Ya saw what it had done, because Lin Ya understood why this rain of osmanthus was falling. The instant the blossoms showered down, she turned immediately to look at Yao Yue...
Amidst the swirling, chaotic deluge, a single blossom—neither too large nor too small, a crimson cotton rose—drifted gently downward alongside the osmanthus rain...
At last, it came to rest between Yao Yue's backpack and her back, snugly wedged in place, looking just as if it were perched upon her right shoulder.
Yao Yue herself hadn't noticed yet.
She was gazing at the rain of osmanthus, of course knowing perfectly well in her heart for whom this floral rain was falling, and reached out happily to catch the petals.
"...Screw you!" Before reminding Yao Yue, Lin Ya muttered a numb curse to herself. She wasn't marveling at Second Lieutenant Wen's godlike marksmanship or his dashing romance, however. "Why the hell do I have to suffer this kind of torture?!"
Chapter 768