Chapter 590: A Show of Force! Ling Shuang

Wow!

You're a seventh-rank Master, and also the director's assistant—do you really not have the authority to arrange accommodation for them?

Xu Jingming finally saw through it—this was clearly a show of force to intimidate them!

The fact that he had been appointed as the instructor for this branch's Elite Training Camp.

Zhao Song should have known about this already; the fact that accommodation is being messed with now almost certainly means it's intentional.

It's as if they're plainly telling you: even if you're an eighth-rank Grand Master, here you still have to follow my orders!

Upon hearing this, Ling Shuang's beautiful eyes slightly narrowed.

A faint aura of an eighth-rank Grand Master began to stir, as if about to erupt.

Seeing this, Xu Jingming quickly said, "Teacher Ling, the villa has two floors—sharing it isn't a problem."

Hearing this, Ling Shuang's aura slightly receded; after a moment of thought, she seemed unwilling to press further:

"Then let's leave it like this for now. We'll change accommodations tomorrow."

"Sorry, sorry—I'll arrange it first thing tomorrow morning."

"Right now, I'll take you all to the accommodation area to rest, and I'll tell the cafeteria to send over meals..."

Zhao Song offered another triple apology, then led Ling Shuang and the others toward the accommodation area.

The villa assigned by the Thunder Martial Arts Branch was noticeably inferior to the one Xu Jingming had at headquarters.

Still, each floor was about three hundred square meters—quite spacious.

Ling Shuang's villa was even larger, with each floor measuring over four hundred square meters.

Aside from the villa next to Ling Shuang's, the other three villas were each located in different parts of the accommodation zone.

Thus, this one became Xu Jingming's residence.

Notably, among the nine people traveling to Dayangzhou,

only Ling Shuang and Xia Lan were female; the rest were all male.

Facing other trainees she didn't know at all, Xia Lan naturally chose to share the same villa as Xu Jingming.

"Alright, accommodations are settled. From now on, you're free to do as you please."

"You can report to the Elite Training Camp, or do whatever else you want."

These trainees were all elites from the headquarters' Heavenly Prodigy Training Camp.

The Thunder Martial Arts Branch placed no restrictions on their activities after arriving in Dayangzhou.

Thus, after arranging accommodations, Ling Shuang dismissed the team.

But Xu Jingming and Xia Lan were kept behind by Ling Shuang.

"Let's go eat first, then talk."

Under Ling Shuang's guidance, Xu Jingming and Xia Lan entered the larger villa.

The dining table in the villa's living room was already piled high with dishes, their fragrances filling the air.

After spending a full day on the fighter jet, Xu Jingming was hungry.

Without much formality, he sat down and joined Ling Shuang and Xia Lan in a hearty meal.

By the time dinner ended, it was already eleven at night.

Hum—

Ling Shuang wiped her mouth with a napkin, then waved her jade hand—the space around the table instantly separated itself.

From outside, it appeared as if that patch of space had twisted, obscuring all movement within.

"Dinner's over. Now let's talk business."

Ling Shuang said softly.

The coldness and faint fury in her eyes vanished, replaced by her usual calm and detachment:

"The branch director here in Mocheng is Liu Shan. He possesses an A-class enhancement-type ability, ranked eighth-rank upper-tier."

He's a staunch loyalist of Deputy Director Hu Hu Jinyu. Today's actions were meant not only to intimidate us,

but also to provoke us into reacting.

If we truly lose our temper and strike back, Liu Shan will have an excuse to have Deputy Director move us back—or force us to leave the Thunder Martial Arts Branch, which I won't allow."

"Therefore, I expect you both to avoid any direct confrontations with branch personnel in the coming period."

"So you were just pretending to be angry earlier?" Xu Jingming finally realized.

"What? Do you think your teacher is that naive? Easily provoked?" Ling Shuang's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"What, do you think your teacher is that naive, easily provoked?" Ling Shuang raised her eyebrows slightly.

Xu Jingming couldn't help recalling his previous interactions with Ling Shuang in the virtual world.

Now that he thought about it, she really did seem quite... naive. And soft.

Now that you mention it, you really do seem quite young—and very soft.

Got distracted.

Xu Jingming snapped back to focus and said seriously, "No, no—I just want to know, what if they go too far?"

We can't just let them slap our faces and not retaliate, can we?

"Do whatever needs to be done—we're not made of mud."

Ling Shuang's beautiful eyes flashed with cold light. "But with me here, they won't dare go too far."

"As long as we can fight back, that's fine." Xu Jingming exhaled in relief.

He came to Dayangzhou primarily to hunt ferocious beasts—he had no time for political games or scheming here.

If they left him alone, fine. But if someone was truly that foolish,

he wouldn't mind letting them learn firsthand what cruelty meant!

"It's late. Go rest now."

"I'll take you to report at the Elite Training Camp tomorrow morning."

I'll take you to register at the elite training camp tomorrow morning.

Xu Jingming and Xia Lan both nodded, then left Ling Shuang's residence and returned to their own villa.

"Xu... Xu Captain, the villa has two floors— which one do you want?"

In the first-floor living room, Xia Lan asked softly.

She never imagined she'd have the chance to share a villa with Xu Jingming!

Even if only for one night, she was already content.

"Second floor. I prefer being upstairs." Xu Jingming said casually.

Back when he was at Mo University, he'd always chosen the second floor of his dorm.

"Also, just call me Jingming from now on."

Hearing "Captain, Captain" all the time made Xu Jingming feel oddly uncomfortable.

Always calling him "Captain, Captain," Xu Jingming felt something was off.

A faint, pleasantly surprised smile appeared on Xia Lan's face. "Then, Jingming, see you tomorrow morning."

Xia Lan's lovely face broke into a faintly surprised smile: "Then, Jingming, we'll see you tomorrow morning."

Xu Jingming nodded, then climbed the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had five rooms: bedroom, bathroom, training room, leisure room, and media room.

In the center was a living room of about forty square meters.

Among the rooms, the training room was the largest, spanning over a hundred square meters.

"Eva, infiltrate the villa's main control AI and scan the entire villa."

After entering the bedroom, Xu Jingming summoned Eva.

Living on someone else's turf, he was genuinely uneasy,

especially when the other side showed no goodwill.

"S-class, don't worry, leave it to me." Eva's holographic projection appeared—green hair in twin tails.

Pale blue virtual light spread out, beginning to infiltrate the villa's main control AI.

Just a few seconds later, Eva excitedly cried out:

"S-class, the main control AI has been successfully infiltrated! This villa really had a lot of hidden tricks!"

"S-class! The main AI has successfully infiltrated! This villa really left behind plenty of backdoors!"

A 3D projection of the villa appeared, each room marked by a flashing red dot.

"These red dots indicate sound collectors installed in each room.

All our conversations are being eavesdropped on.

Of course, under my control now, these devices are completely disabled."

Eva proudly puffed out her small chest.

Eva proudly puffed out her small chest.