Chapter 196 Brother’s Heart is Bitter

Gao Tian didn’t rush them directly to the wall of the Spire; instead, he pulled over in a narrow alley a street away from the outer wall.

“Let’s prepare here for a bit. I’ll send someone to scout the area, and once the other teams divert all the guards’ attention, we’ll go straight in and break through the wall.” Gao Tian looked at Ling Mo with a very serious expression, “Remember, we only have five minutes at most to act, and our team’s task could be crucial to the success of the entire operation. I hope you can do your best.”

Ling Mo nodded, “No worries, we’re pros at explosions. We won’t even need five minutes, one minute will do.”

“That’s even better,” Gao Tian paused and asked, “But I still have to remind you, the outer wall of the Control Hub is very solid. Small explosives likely won’t do the trick, so be prepared.”

“Who said we would use small explosives?”

“Then?” Gao Tian looked confused.

He hadn’t seen this group bring any heavy stuff with them. Had they hidden it on them, or did they stash the gear here ahead of time?

“Don’t worry, what we brought can blow the whole Spire sky-high,” Ling Mo grinned.

With his current abilities, he could easily be described as a walking weapon depot.

Seeing this, Gao Tian decided not to ask further, “Alright, get ready here, I’ll go with my team to check the outer wall.”

“Wait,” before he could leave, Tian Yi and Zhu Di approached him, “We’ll go with you just in case something happens.”

Gao Tian looked at Tian Yi with a strange expression for a moment before nodding, “Okay.”

After they left, the fat guy couldn’t help but click his tongue, “Wow, they trust us way too much—by the way, did they even check your explosives beforehand?”

“I showed them a C4,” Ling Mo squinted slightly, “But I’m also curious why they trust us so easily. Even in a system storyline, it shouldn’t be this unreasonable.”

The fat guy stroked his chin, “Maybe it’s just because they’re stupid—who goes around scouting while carrying a distraction device?”

“Then you’re just insulting the whole city,” Murong Yue interjected, “A group this brainless has managed to stay hidden for so long and even come up with a plan to flip the Control Hub, you buy that?”

“…Good point,” the fat guy pondered, “This city really has some serious issues.”

“Alright, let’s not stick around here,” Xia Jincang clapped his hands, “Let’s use this time to scout the surroundings; it might come in handy when we escape later.”

No one objected to this suggestion, so those left behind spread out to survey the nearby terrain.

Just as Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo were about to leave, Xia Jincang stopped them, turning to Ling Mo with a polite smile, “I want to chat with my sister about something.”

Xia Xinyan paused, then gave Ling Mo a look urging him to leave first, then faced Xia Jincang, “What do you want to talk about?”

“I heard you last night…” Midway, Xia Jincang stumbled with his words. After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked, “Did something happen to you? Were you bullied?”

Xia Xinyan: “…”

She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

Thinking about it, a former rival who would instantly pick a fight every time they met was now standing in front of her, genuinely asking if she had been bullied, causing her goosebumps to spike.

In her past life, she would have kicked him away by now, but currently… she wasn’t sure why she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Maybe it’s because you don’t hit someone who’s smiling at you. Plus, he did seem to care.

Still, while she wasn’t inclined to tear into him again, she didn’t exactly feel like being nice: “Who told you that?”

“Before getting in the car, I asked Tian Yi and the others.”

“I’m fine. Is that what you wanted to say?”

“No, I…” Xia Jincang opened his mouth, eventually shifting to another topic, “There’s something else; this city is not as simple as we thought. You have to be very cautious.”

He was concerned that directly asking those questions might make his sister even more distant from him.

Upon hearing this, Xia Xinyan became interested, “What did you find out?”

“Nothing concrete yet, but this main storyline task is definitely not going to be easy.”

“I know that much. How could the highest difficulty dungeon have an easy mission? I meant, have you confirmed the location of the Control Hub? Is it really this Spire?”

“I… haven’t confirmed yet.” Xia Jincang shook his head.

There were too many smokescreens in this city, and a lot of the information was misleading. Plus, he hadn’t brought many people he trusted along—mainly because he had only intended to bring his sister to tackle a dungeon, not to expect a high-difficulty one that left him unprepared.

Often, problems can’t just be solved with raw strength.

Xia Xinyan said, “Oh, got it. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out.”

Xia Jincang was taken aback and suddenly forced a smile: “Ah… Brother has something to discuss with Ling Mo. You can just stay here for a bit and join him later.”

He said that and left the alley without waiting for her response.

Xia Xinyan: “…”

This guy really is…

Tsk.

On the other side, Ling Mo was observing the pedestrians on the street when he didn’t find Xia Xinyan, but instead encountered Xia Jincang.

“I want to talk to you about something.” Xia Jincang stood next to him, joined him in observing the passing crowd, speaking as if casually, “What happened to Xinyan last night?”

Since he couldn’t ask his sister, he came to ask Ling Mo.

Ling Mo paused, then shook his head, “Nothing, she was just tired.”

“Don’t try to fool me, what’s really going on with her?” Xia Jincang’s tone turned slightly displeased.

Ling Mo remained silent for a couple of seconds before lightly laughing, “If Brother Jincang doesn’t believe me, you can ask Xinyan directly.”

“You…” Xia Jincang took a deep breath, “Fine, I’m not asking you that. Did you sense a very strong aura appear on the edge of the city yesterday?”

“I did, what’s up?”

That should be the aura that Xia Xinyan released yesterday.

He hadn’t questioned why Xia Xinyan could unleash such strong energy because he trusted her.

Besides, the stronger Xinyan was, the better; it would ensure she had enough power to protect herself when he wasn’t around.

“This shows that this city hides a presence stronger than any of us, but it’s highly unlikely they’re hostile. I hope you know what to do— even if it’s just a game, I don’t want my sister to suffer any harm.” Xia Jincang spoke earnestly.

“…Understood.” Ling Mo nodded.

After a moment of thought, he still decided not to tell Xia Jincang that the aura actually belonged to his sister.