Chapter 178

Chapter 46: The Battle Begins

　　The young maiden’s day was passing by ever so slightly on the boring side.

　　After yesterday’s big commotion, classes at Tianhai University were naturally suspended. Fortunately, aside from that, no other incidents occurred, and most of the students stayed obediently in their dorms.

　　Mainly because everyone thought that with Miss Dragon King keeping her wife right here on campus, this place must be safe.

　　Then the school staff approached Bai Ling, saying that given the current situation, people were all anxious and afraid to leave their homes. Could she set an example for the students to show everything is truly secure?

　　They even handed her a basketball.

　　Thus, on a sunny morning at Tianhai University, Bai Ling stood alone on the sports field, idly dribbling the ball. The vast stadium, capable of holding thousands of people, was now occupied solely by her.

　　She performed a flashy one-legged jump shot to congratulate Germany for winning the World Basketball Championship and then lazily sat down on the nearby steps, zoning out.

　　She knew Yuan Xiaoling was attending a municipal meeting at the moment and had also seen the two new announcements issued by the city government on her mobile phone. One was a detailed explanation of the incident filled with verbose but ultimately useless words. The other officially named the creatures.

　　”Charm Dream Demons.” That name must’ve been thought up by Yuan Xiaoling.

　　But since the explanation was done and the naming complete, why hasn’t she returned yet?

　　It’s not like she missed Blonde-haired Maiden… Alright fine, she did miss her. But this current state wasn’t entirely due to longing. It was just that without Blonde-haired Maiden around, there wasn’t much for her to do.

　　Which was practically the same as missing her…

　　Picking up her mobile phone, she opened WeChat Mini Programs and scrolled to “Flower Blossom Bridal Photography Studio Official Account.” Initially wanting to check if her photos were ready, she instead noticed a new announcement.

　　[Flower Blossom Bridal Photography: Esteemed friends, due to yesterday’s sudden incident, our employees are currently resting at home, and operations have temporarily ceased. Please wait patiently for further notice regarding reopening.]

　　What? Suspended?

　　[Actually, you guys don’t need to go back home. Just stay at the shop; the Central District military base is right next door. Even if something happens, reinforcements would arrive faster than at your homes. So, you could continue operating and working normally…]

　　Instinctively typing out these words, Bai Ling hesitated, eventually deleting them silently.

　　If she sent it, it would seem like she was too eager or desperate. Plus, what if the staff just wanted to take a few extra days off?

　　So, what should she do now? Maybe she should return to the dorm and play some games. She downloaded Azur Lane a few days ago to find a wedding dress, and they were about to release new skins—very spicy ones…

　　Buzz buzz buzz! Incoming call notification—it was Yuan Xiaoling.

　　”Hello, uh-huh, it’s me… What?”

　　……

　　Below the Municipal Building, a usually quiet spot, today was packed with all sorts of people. Although dressed decently, none of them looked like typical office workers.

　　Driving up, Bai Ling noticed the roadside was already full of parked cars. Preparing to find an empty space, someone immediately approached her car.

　　”Miss White, you’ve arrived. Please proceed inside quickly; we’ll park your car.”

　　Getting out, she realized almost everyone standing below the Municipal Building was part of her group. Ordinary office workers hid behind coffee shops observing secretly, too scared to show themselves.

　　Bai Ling glanced at the person welcoming her. Though silent, her expression clearly asked—what’s going on?

　　”Miss Yuan gathered us, saying there might be a major battle,” he whispered. “People from both legions have arrived—not the entire army, but still over a hundred soldiers combined.”

　　Bai Ling nodded lightly and headed upstairs.

　　A couple hundred people indeed made this the largest scale operation they’d seen in a while.

　　In the conference room upstairs, the previous leaders had cleared out, leaving only a few responsible for receiving frontline information, along with Luo Xing and Li Li who were coordinating with Yuan Xiaoling.

　　When Bai Ling pushed open the door, Yuan Xiaoling was confirming some information.

　　”That place used to be called Fulin Apartments. During the Chamber of Commerce era, one of their real estate developers acquired it, erased its old name, and planned to redevelop it. But there’s been no news since then, and we haven’t received any applications.”

　　Hearing this, Yuan Xiaoling quickly understood.

　　Back then, the Yun Family collaborated with the Chamber of Commerce and requested a base where their vanguard forces could reside permanently in Tianhai City. Old Fulin Apartments was the chosen location. After erasing its original name, it became a secret place largely ignored by others.

　　Had they not exposed themselves today, finding this place would’ve required a more labor-intensive search.

　　So…

　　”What happened?” The cool voice of the young maiden came from behind. “You called so many people.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling turned around and saw Bai Ling had arrived, handing her the photo. “Take a look at this.”

　　Random corpses, decayed branches piercing through their bodies.

　　”Corrupted Wooders?” Bai Ling immediately understood. “Did you find their hideout?”

　　”It’s less about finding it and more about them exposing themselves… which is why I’m puzzled.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling sipped tea twice before handing it to Bai Ling, suggesting she calm herself with a couple of sips. Then she recounted the events.

　　”…That’s how it went. We traced the IP address from the post and discovered their main base,” said Blonde-haired Maiden, shrugging her shoulders. “Pretty strange, huh.”

　　They had been searching for them in Tianhai City for quite some time now. Although the search wasn’t extremely intense, it was still an official investigation. They searched for so long without results, and today they suddenly popped up unexpectedly.

　　To put it in online terms, it was somewhat alarming. It messed with Lemon’s plans and made Rainy Ganyu confused. Were their brains not functioning properly?

　　”Do you think it might be a trap?” Bai Ling asked. “What do you plan to do?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling’s face tightened. “I believe we must go.”

　　That was the issue. While it seemed deliberate, they had already located the enemy, and the enemy knew they were exposed. They couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, right?

　　What if it really was their mistake?

　　”Regardless, we have the home-field advantage and numerical superiority. This battle cannot be avoided,” Yuan Xiaoling picked up her coat from the table. “Let’s prepare to depart. Don’t let them escape.”

　　Exiting the room, she summoned several legion commanders and gave them explicit instructions.

　　Though they had the numerical advantage and weren’t far behind in rank compared to the regular troops, that was relative to the opposing side. If facing late-third-tier Corrupted Wooders, their average level was still slightly weaker. Therefore, they needed to fully utilize their numerical advantage, seek teammates when confronting Corrupted Wooders, and support each other.

　　The characteristics of Corrupted Wooders were very distinctive, and their intelligence had already been disclosed. Any random Heart’s Sea expert on the street could recite it by heart. Yuan Xiaoling wasn’t worried about first-encounter kills.

　　”The things to note are these. Prepare the vehicles, and let’s head out!” Blonde-haired Maiden placed her hands on her hips and issued the order to commence the battle.