Chapter 554: Combat Power Delivered to the Door

What are those two doing?

Ying Duo tilted his head in confusion, as if a huge question mark in fluorescent green lines were about to be sketched over his head.

Meng Kexin shifted her body slightly, giving him the road behind.

Although the alley was quite narrow, she mainly wanted to make a point.

If Ying Duo wants to leave, she can help him hide his past.

Meng Kexin also didn't know what Yang Yixie thought of these former "classmates," but she did see Shen Zexi's sincere heart as a youth.

There were no entanglements of interest, purely a friendship among youths.

It was something she had missed back in school days, yet witnessed for the first time in the game.

But Ying Duo remained silent in place for two seconds, then proactively launched an attack.

【Shen Zexi current affection: 60 (awkward)】

【Qi Hengyu current affection: 60 (awkward)】

It should be noted that when Ying Duo was grinding the affection quest for Luo Jinyou, 60 already counted as the friendly range.

And after so much time, with the Church loudly broadcasting Ying Duo's many misdeeds, their affection for Ying Duo still barely remained on the friendly borderline.

Yang Yixie dislikes that trope where former friends keep hounding him, "Why did you defect? Did you betray our ideals?"—the clichéd plot of a hot‑blooded manga.

Rather than a bunch of people waffling around for ages, he prefers to charge straight ahead; as long as he's busy enough, no one has time to fuss over it.

But now Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu are very "busy"; the more tense a person gets, the more they can execute countless feints in a single second.

Although I don't admit it, once you've seen Chen Mo Zhi and Meng Kexin deeply bound, almost never apart, it's hard to believe there's nothing between them.

But that's the fact.

Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu still entered this cruel world too early; they didn't realize that the seemingly shadowy, fierce Chen Mo Zhi is actually the one most thoroughly protected and clean by his family.

Chen Mo Zhi had no idea what madness these two old classmates had suddenly launched.

His nose twitched slightly; scent is his forte. Though the air reeked of garbage, he managed to pick out a familiar fragrance within the stench.

It was Meng Kexin's scent.

Well, that might be misleading, but their family has always kept scented sachets in the wardrobe, so Meng Kexin's clothes always carry a scent she chose herself.

So, what exactly is it he can't look at? These two are still so tense.

Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu dared not say much; just now Meng Kexin and Ying Duo were pressed uncomfortably close, Ying Duo's hand resting on Meng Kexin's shoulder—such a posture, such a scene...

Though reluctant to admit it, it truly resembled a famous scene that occupies most of a shoujo manga!

"Just in time."

Before they could reach any conclusion, Ying Duo used 【Teleport】, landing directly beside Chen Mo Zhi, his golden eyes scanning them one by one.

【Chen Mo Zhi current affection: 59↑ (trust)】

Hm?

Ying Duo had just checked Chen Mo Zhi's affection, and upon seeing him for the first time, Chen Mo Zhi raised his affection right in front of him.

Although it's known that this young master of the Chen family is a bit naive and sweet, isn't that a bit too pure?

No wonder Meng Kexin is ultra‑protective of him, fearing she might hurt the young master's heart.

"How did the young master get here?"

Meng Kexin didn't want to scramble out of the trash can, so she briefly revealed her ability and vaulted over the alley.

The girl leapt lightly from the second floor, landing beside Chen Mo Zhi, her gaze fixed on Ying Duo.

She worried Ying Duo might act rashly and utter a cutting remark, breaking the young master's heart.

Can't help it; in the eyes of cynical adults, Chen Mo Zhi is probably the most innocent of all.

Even Luo Jinyou, after being taken advantage of by Ying Duo repeatedly, became savvy; Chen Mo Zhi's savvy is limited to handling the Chen family's affairs.

"... the support you mentioned over at the Dome, is that Ying Duo?"

He glanced at Ying Duo beside him; Meng Kexin had just been talking with Ying Duo. Though he didn't know why Qi Hengyu and Shen Zexi were so tense, Meng Kexin and Ying Duo have always had interactions.

Meng Kexin gave Ying Duo a look; if she said yes, at least Chen Mo Zhi would retain a good impression of Ying Duo.

After all, the deeds of the Flame City Cannon are so incomprehensible that they can't truly envision Ying Duo in that role; perhaps that's why they can never fully regard Ying Duo as an enemy.

"Yes." Meng Kexin didn't want to deceive Chen Mo Zhi on this matter; she took the box Ying Duo had given her and slipped it into Chen Mo Zhi's hand.

"Inside is the 'Bee Queen' Aberrant Species Core; with this, the Chen family should soon be able to craft a remedy to heal the family head."

Chen Mo Zhi took the box, opened it, and saw indeed an Aberrant Species core resembling amber, radiating extremely strong energy; the source was certainly a rather powerful Aberrant Species.

"I recall the 'Bee Queen' was killed in Tianmian City."

Shen Zexi released his arm from Qi Hengyu's shoulder, and seeing them get down to business, reverted to his usual gentle self.

After being apart for a while, the gentle boy's brows now bore a touch of toughness and decisiveness, but sadly, a pixelated character's face can't show that.

Shen Zexi has been at the Heresy Tribunal these days; thanks to the organization's uniqueness, he's also heard a lot of news from the Dome.

Including but not limited to: Ying Duo, upon returning to the Dome, hijacked a zeppelin's wanted notice; Entropy Rise was causing all sorts of mischief at the Dome Headquarters; and finally, Min Tianyou appeared at the Dome, the identities of the Bee Queen and Shepherd were exposed, and the Bee Queen was utterly dead.

If the Church hadn't listed Ying Duo's crimes point by point on the wanted notice, Shen Zexi would suspect that Ying Duo was actually a Church‑sent Co‑Absorption undercover.

You mean Ying Duo just finished his undercover mission, went back to the Dome, and then his teammates are about to die?

Shen Zexi and Chen Mo Zhi had previously speculated that the contact linked to Meng Kexin might even be Min Tianyou, never suspecting Ying Duo.

"Have you reached a cooperation with Min Tianyou?"

Shen Zexi pondered for a while, and could only guess that Ying Duo and Min Tianyou surely have some private dealings.

In the end, the defection meant that, aside from his own Mercenary Corps, he contacted every old acquaintance, right? Oh no, also the ever‑present Luo Jinyou...

Ying Duo didn't know where everyone's thoughts had twisted to, but he knew that the ready-made Divine Oracle (unlucky combat power) had just shown up at the door.

A simple‑minded, easy‑to‑use ready combat force!

It should be noted that the Divine Oracle's Aberrant Arts are all conceptual techniques; even with a low personal level, they're still powerful teammates.