"Du Qiangwei? Du Qiangwei?"
"Hm? I'm here, Qiangwei."
The voice coming nonstop through the encrypted channel snapped Qiangwei back to her senses.
However, her gaze was still fixed in the direction Lin Fei had just left.
"Old Du, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch it."
"…I was asking—what do you think of that guy?"
What do I think?
Qiangwei paused for a moment, then answered without thinking:
"He's very handsome."
Even though she felt those shrieking girls earlier were a bit shallow…
She had to admit it—Lin Fei really had been cool.
After all, she used to be a rebellious punk girl herself.
Even after Du Kao arranged for her to join the military, giving her a lot of a soldier's iron-blooded edge…
There was still a trace of rebellion left in her bones.
And Lin Fei's smooth, flowing series of attacks just now—followed by that clean, stylish finish—
Even she couldn't deny it. It was undeniably cool, enough to draw the eye.
"Hm? What's wrong, Old Du?"
Not hearing any response over the encrypted channel, Qiangwei spoke up.
"Cough, cough… Qiangwei, you're not going to…?"
Inside the Giant Gorge base, Du Kao wiped the sweat from his forehead with a troubled look.
I sent you to protect Liu Kai, and at the same time avoid any direct conflict.
I didn't send you there to fall for the guy.
Judging by Qiangwei's reaction on the screen, Du Kao suddenly had the ominous feeling that his own daughter was about to be led astray by some flashy punk kid.
Especially since Lin Fei clearly liked showing off and being cool.
The only difference was—Lin Fei wasn't a blond punk, but a redhead, and he didn't even ride a ghost-fire motorcycle.
"Fall for what?"
Hearing Old Du's hesitant tone over the channel, Qiangwei asked in confusion.
"Cough… n-nothing."
"What I was asking wasn't about what he did, but about the fight he just had with Liu Kai. Right—go check on Liu Kai. I've already arranged for someone to pick him up."
Because of his daughter's attitude, Du Kao had almost forgotten.
Right now, the most important thing was Liu Kai's condition.
After all, he had just taken a brutal beating from Lin Fei. Thinking about how Lin Fei had casually caught a ten-meter-long streetlamp falling from high altitude with just one finger—
It was easy to imagine just how terrifying his strength was.
Fortunately, Derma No. 3's readings showed that Liu Kai wasn't in mortal danger.
Otherwise, Du Kao would have ordered Qiangwei to intervene immediately and stop Lin Fei.
"Got it."
Qiangwei shoved both hands into the pockets of her windbreaker and leapt down from the rooftop of a flat building.
Her wine-red long hair fluttered behind her.
After landing, she ignored the onlookers who still hadn't dispersed and walked straight over to Liu Kai.
What she saw was Liu Kai sprawled on the ground, mouth hanging open, completely unconscious—looking like a dead pig.
And she could clearly see that his mouthful of teeth were all gone.
"Pfft—"
Qiangwei couldn't help but laugh.
As someone who had joined the military and participated in many battles, she deeply agreed with what Lin Fei had said earlier.
Power exists to help the weak—not to bully the weak.
From the intel she had on Liu Kai, this guy was a textbook scumbag.
If she had run into him under normal circumstances, she probably would've taught him a hard lesson herself—just like Ah Jie and Old Du, who still treated him like some kind of treasure.
Every time Liu Kai screwed up, Ah Jie would immediately bail him out.
That kind of warped mess.
And yet, in the future, they would still have to work alongside this kind of person, shoulder to shoulder, to resist the impending alien invasion.
Just thinking about it made the future look pitch-black.
"Although all his teeth were knocked out, there aren't any serious injuries. He's still alive."
There was laughter she couldn't suppress in her voice.
Du Kao didn't say anything. It seemed clear that Lin Fei had held back.
Moreover, Du Kao had been monitoring everything through Derma No. 3 and had naturally heard Lin Fei's speech before leaving.
Still, he didn't immediately trust Lin Fei.
As a former commander of the Derma army, he wasn't someone who would easily take another person at their word.
What's more, Earth was about to face the invasion of the Gluttonous Horde.
At such a critical juncture, someone like Lin Fei—of unknown origin—suddenly appearing made it perfectly normal to remain suspicious and vigilant.
They could perhaps ease their attitude toward Lin Fei somewhat.
But they still needed to have a proper talk with him.
"Qiangwei, you… forget it. Let Ah Jie handle this."
Du Kao had just started speaking when he abruptly changed his mind.
Originally, he'd thought that since they were both young, they might have more common ground.
But thinking about Qiangwei's evaluation of Lin Fei and her attitude, he immediately abandoned the idea.
Better to let Ah Jie make contact instead.
However, Qiangwei raised an eyebrow, stood up, and slipped her hands back into her pockets.
"Why send Ah Jie? To talk to him?"
"Come back first. I'll have Ah Jie deal with this."
"I'd better go myself. Ah Jie's always got that bureaucratic way of talking, painting big empty promises. What if he annoys the guy?"
Du Kao thought about it—and she wasn't wrong.
Lin Fei might look young, but that mouth of his was truly sharp.
And they knew far too little about Lin Fei's personality. If Ah Jie really left a bad impression—or even made an enemy of him—
That would be more trouble than it was worth.
"Alright, alright."
"Where is he? I'll go now."
Qiangwei was in a great mood.
"He's on the commercial street parallel to this one, together with Su Xiaoli. They're getting ready to eat."
"Perfect. I haven't had dinner yet either."
"I just finished a mission and got a call from Aunt Lianfeng, so I rushed over here."
"Since Liu Kai's fine, I'll go find him first. You can have your people handle Liu Kai."
As she spoke, Qiangwei strode off on her long legs wrapped in tight leather pants, heading to find Lin Fei.
"Qiangwei?"
Inside Giant Gorge, Du Kao tried to say something more.
But the encrypted channel had already disconnected.
Du Kao only felt a headache coming on. He still couldn't relax about Qiangwei and Lin Fei interacting.
So he contacted Ah Jie, who was outside.
"Ah Jie, go to that location and rendezvous with Qiangwei."
...
Inside a nicely decorated restaurant.
Since it was already around eight in the evening, there weren't too many diners left, which could be seen through the glass walls from outside.
Su Xiaoli tugged on Lin Fei's hand and walked toward the restaurant.
"This is the place. I ate here a few days ago—really delicious."
The girl's fox ears twitched lightly with excitement.
All the way there, Lin Fei hadn't pulled his hand away.
Instead, he was staring at those fox ears.
To others, they would just look like cosplay props.
But he knew—they were real fox ears.
He couldn't help being curious about how they felt to the touch.
Still, he restrained himself and didn't reach out.
The two entered the restaurant and found a corner seat by the window.
A refined-looking female server came over with menus.
"Hello, may I ask what you'd like to order?"