Chapter 110: Xiang Youyou's Phone Call

"Damn it! All our people sent to Tianfu were killed. Their identities are sensitive, so we can't use this to pressure Hua Country. It's infuriating!" In the meeting room, the patriarch of one of the fifteen great families of the United States pounded the table in anger, his face a mix of shock and fury.

"Steve, calm down a bit," another patriarch from a different family reassured him calmly. "Now is not the time to get worked up. We should consider our next move."

"What else can we do? We've cultivated elites in our family for decades, and now one-third of them are gone. Kung Fu Panda is too terrifying, and we still haven't found out his true identity. I absolutely refuse to let our family's strength suffer any further losses. I'm out!"

Surprisingly, none of the other patriarchs opposed this statement. Because the losses they suffered were no less significant than this patriarch's, and despite their full confidence in finding Kung Fu Panda and retrieving the Snake-Slaying Sword, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of Kung Fu Panda's shadow. Their families had already lost a large number of elites, and now members of their respective families were beginning to become restless. Some who eyed the position of patriarch even openly challenged them, making these patriarchs feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

The purpose of convening this meeting was simply to see what the attitudes of the other families were. If they continued like this, they wouldn't be able to play the game anymore. Furthermore, even if they obtained the Snake-Slaying Sword, they believed it would only serve a certain political purpose, without causing any damage or loss to the military strength of Hua Country. However, the losses to their families were real.

Given this situation, giving up the Snake-Slaying Sword became the inevitable choice.

"Well then..." The silver-haired elder's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness. "Let's vote. Those in favor of withdrawing, raise your hands."

Fifteen people, without exception, raised their hands.

...

"Side quest completed. Host gains 100,000 experience points and 100,000 gold coins."

Upon hearing the dragonfly's voice, Li Nianlong was momentarily stunned: Was it already completed?

Brother, what's wrong?

Seeing Nalan Ruyue's gesture, Li Nianlong came back to his senses and shook his head. "It's nothing, just that I'll be separated from you for a few days. I'm a bit worried."

Ever since reaching level 40, the idea of ​​assassinating Long Zongheng had been lingering in his mind, unable to be dispelled. After dealing with the power of the American family in Tianfu, he had even less reason to stay. It was an inevitable choice to travel.

He had already taken a long leave from the massage parlor. Perhaps he would never go there again in the future. As for the Liu family, they had prepared several identity cards for him, including young, middle-aged, and elderly ones, and even a woman's identity. In total, there were six, ready to conceal Li Nianlong's identity at any time.

Nalan Ruyue also learned about this news, but she didn't say anything. She quietly helped Li Nianlong pack his luggage, like a wife seeing her husband off on a journey.

Hearing Li Nianlong's worried words, Nalan Ruyue felt a warm feeling in her heart and smiled slightly. "Brother, don't worry about me. I'm already very familiar with the environment here. It'll be fine."

"That's good. If not..." Li Nianlong wanted to say: If not, you can go to the Liu family's residence for a few days.

But he didn't have a strong sense of belonging to the Liu family yet. Asking them for help with identity cards had already made him lose face. If he sent Nalan Ruyue there again... With the means of Shao Meiyun and Old Master Liu, Nalan Ruyue might really be at risk of falling.

Perhaps sensing the reason for Li Nianlong's hesitation, Nalan Ruyue smiled slightly. "Brother, don't worry! I'm really fine. Trust me, I'm not a fragile girl. I can take care of myself."

Li Nalanlong admired Nalan Ruyue's strength. Sometimes, he even felt ashamed of himself. If it weren't for the system's help, he wouldn't have even touched such a goddess. But fate had its own way of bringing two unrelated people together in such a dramatic way. He couldn't believe it himself if he said it wasn't fate.

Holding Nalan Ruyue's hand and gently caressing it, Li Nianlong looked into her eyes and whispered, "Short or long, I'll be back. Is there anything you want? I'll buy it for you."

Being held by Li Nianlong's hands and feeling the electric current transmitted by them, Nalan Ruyue's face blushed slightly. She withdrew her hand and gestured a few times: If possible, could you bring me back a roast duck? It's been a long time since I've had one, and I'm craving it.

Roast duck was a specialty of Dragon City and was also famous worldwide. But roast duck vendors were rare in Tianfu, and it wasn't easy for Nalan Ruyue to find one.

"Rest assured," Li Nianlong nodded. "I'll bring back ten for you."

Nalan Ruyue covered her mouth and chuckled. "Where are we going to finish all of them?"

"It's okay. We have money. We'll eat one and throw away nine."

Nalan Ruyue's eyes curved like crescent moons as she laughed, her stomach starting to ache.

At that moment, Li Nianlong unexpectedly received an unexpected phone call. Seeing the name on the phone, he answered it with a hint of confusion, "Hello."

"Is this Teacher Liu?"

"It's me. Are you Teacher Xiang?" Xiang Youyou's voice wasn't very recognizable, and Li Nianlong didn't have a deep impression of her. Coupled with the inevitable slight changes in voice over the phone, he wasn't sure if the caller was Xiang Youyou.

"Yes," Xiang Youyou readily admitted. "Teacher Liu, sorry to bother you at this time. Do you have time now? I have something I'd like to trouble you with."

It was already ten o'clock at night. Xiang Youyou calling him at this time inevitably led to certain thoughts, but Li Nianlong didn't have any of those messy thoughts. Instead, he found it strange. "Teacher Xiang, it's quite late. Is it urgent?"

The implication was: If it's not urgent, I won't go.

Xiang Youyou chuckled lightly, "It's not exactly urgent, but my electric scooter ran out of battery, and it's quite far from home. I don't have good relations with the other teachers, and I don't know anyone. So... if you're busy, never mind. I'll see if I can find a charging station."

"Where are you? I'll drive over," Li Nianlong said.

Thank you, Teacher Liu, I'm on the east side of Tianfu Road, near the south, next to a gas station.

"Got it, wait for me for fifteen minutes."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Liu."

"Don't mention it, see you soon."

"Alright."

Hanging up the phone, Li Nianlong said to Nalan Ruyue, "It's the teacher who's taking over for me. We've gotten along quite well these past couple of days."

Seeing Li Nianlong explaining himself so actively, Nalan Ruyue's smile was somewhat sweet. "It's okay, brother. Hurry up and go! It's not safe for a woman to be out alone at this hour."

"Is she relatively safe-looking?" Despite having a good figure.

Nalan Ruyue raised her eyebrows and took Li Nianlong's coat, pushing him out the door.

On the east side of Tianfu Road, near the south, Xiang Youyou was sitting on a chair by the roadside, eating a bowl of hot dry noodles.

It was already late September, and the nights in Tianfu were a bit cool. Xiang Youyou was wearing sportswear, feeling no chill at all. She ate her hot dry noodles with satisfaction written all over her face.

Beep beep—

A car pulled up and stopped by the side of the road. The window rolled down. "Teacher Xiang, what are you eating?"

Xiang Youyou looked up, seeing Li Nianlong inside the car. She smiled and set aside her hot dry noodles. Li Nianlong also got out of the car and patted the electric scooter in front of him. "Nice scooter! The battery should be pretty big. How did it run out of power?"

Xiang Youyou chuckled awkwardly. "I thought the battery was big, so I only charged it once every few days. But today, I suddenly wanted to eat hot dry noodles, so I went on a long trip. I didn't expect the battery to run out."

Hot dry noodles were a famous snack in Jingchu and were well-known throughout the country. But there were few places selling hot dry noodles in Tianfu, and it wasn't easy for Xiang Youyou to find one.

"You're quite careless for a woman," Li Nianlong laughed.

"Oh, come on!" Xiang Youyou laughed and punched Li Nianlong lightly. "Although I have a bit of a tomboyish side, I'm still a lady on the inside."

"Alright! I believe you're a lady." Li Nianlong rubbed his shoulder. "Lady, you have quite the strength."

He went to the back of the car, took a thick rope, and tied it to the bumper. "Teacher Xiang, where do you live?"

"On XX Road, XX Community."

"So far?" Li Nianlong was surprised. XX Road was more than twenty miles from Tianfu Road! It would take over ten minutes to drive there.

Xiang Youyou grinned.

Li Nianlong was speechless. "You went so far just to eat hot dry noodles. You're quite persistent, Teacher Xiang."

"I have no choice. I'm from Jingchu. I've been eating Tianfu cuisine all this time, so of course I want to try some hometown snacks. It was hard for me to find a place selling hot dry noodles. Even if it's far, I have to come." Xiang Youyou said matter-of-factly.

"The price is that you can't go home," Li Nianlong said, leaving Xiang Youyou speechless. He punched his shoulder. "Go on!"

Xiang Youyou laughed and rubbed her shoulder. "Thank you, Teacher Liu. I promise not to go over 120 miles per hour."

"Let me drive!" 

"I'm just kidding. I promise not to go over 60 miles per hour." Xiang Youyou hurriedly got into the car, closed the door, and said, "It's really warm in here! It's much more comfortable inside the car."

Li Nianlong sat speechlessly on the electric scooter. "Let's go!"

"Okay!" Xiang Youyou started the car, stepped on the accelerator, and—sputtered.

"Huh? Why did it stall?"

Sputter—

"..."

Sputter—

"I don't believe it!"

Sputter... sputter... sputter—

"..." Li Nianlong propped up the electric scooter, walked to the front, and knocked on the window with a grim face. "Go to the back!"

Xiang Youyou banged her head on the steering wheel, her face flushed.

I really can drive! It must be that I'm not doing it right...