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Shangguan Bing Xue's distinctive silver-colored hair that most of the time fell free and unrestrained all the way down onto her lower back. at this moment was tied in a high ponytail, exposing her slender neck like that of a beautiful swan that shimmered under the glow of the moon and the artificial light bulbs.

The survivors and the armed men stood stunned as they looked at her passing by as if she were a goddess from another world, and it was only after several seconds that everyone finally managed to snap out of their daze before bowing hurriedly in respectful greeting.

Everyone knew perfectly well that this beautiful goddess, who was as cold as ice, was basically the second in command just below the highest leader. Technically, she was the real representation of just below one but above all the others.

While everyone was stunned and flashes of lust and desire passed through the eyes of all the men regardless of their ages, the only one who had no visible reaction was Bai Zemin.

But how could he react like the other humans? After all, next to him was a woman who was not only more beautiful but also exuded seductive charm from every pore of her body.

In a few seconds, Shangguan Bing Xue emerged from the walls of the base and in a few blinks of an eye appeared before Bai Zemin.

As she looked him up and down as if studying something, he asked in confusion, "What are you doing here...? I thought I saw you walking into your room earlier."

Before leaving to the dark forest, Bai Zemin had witnessed with his own eyes as everyone, including Shangguan Bing Xue, walked off to their rooms to sleep. Considering that it was already past 2 am and it had already been several hours since he left the mansion, everyone should be sleeping comfortably in their beds.

Shangguan Bing Xue finally looked at him with her two beautiful blue eyes and answered his question calmly, "I just couldn't sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and since insomnia was stronger than me, I decided to go out to level up... It's just that I didn't expect to meet a commotion on my way to the forest, and only now I know you were here too."

"Is that so...?" Bai Zemin frowned slightly and felt that something didn't make sense but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Besides, it was also true that Shangguan Bing Xue had fallen behind with her level due to all the logistical work that needed to be done at the base, so it was reasonable that she would want to take every opportunity to absorb Soul Power from different creatures.

Of course, although Shangguan Bing Xue had stagnated around level 40, this did not mean that her strength had stagnated by any means. Even putting aside the equipment Bai Zemin forged for her, Shangguan Bing Xue herself had absorbed a lot of Soul Power from powerful soul evolvers during the suppression of Kang Rong's forces, gathering at least 50 stat points.

"I understand." Bai Zemin finally nodded after thinking things through carefully.

"En." Shangguan Bing Xue nodded without saying anything else and simply looked him straight in the eyes.

After a moment, he calmly said, "But anyway, you've come at a good time."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at him as if hinting him to continue.

Bai Zemin explained as he pointed to the corpse of the Infernal Scaled Lizard, "As you can see, I've been hunting in the forest for a while now and this is the second First Order beast I've hunted in the night. The second one was a huge snake that fortunately was already moved to the military area, but this beast is simply too big and its weight makes it simply impossible for our current vehicles to lift it, let alone move it."

Shangguan Bing Xue put an index finger to her lower lip and while gently tapping with her delicately manicured fingernail, she thought aloud, "Even if the vehicles could withstand the weight of the monster, I'm afraid the strength of the engines won't be enough."

In fact, even though the vehicles were modified, the engines were exactly the same. In Bai Zemin's group, engineers of all kinds were being recruited, but modifying the current technology was by no means simple and without clear plans or ideas it was just impossible to get any work done in the short term.

Therefore, the power of the current engines was barely enough to move the modified vehicles; let alone modified vehicles weighing several tons. Such a thing was simply an unattainable fantasy dream.

"That's right." Bai Zemin nodded before calmly continuing, "Therefore, I thought that since you also wish to level up, we could both go hunting in the forest. That way we can freeze the corpses with your skill to prevent a beast from touching them and then, when we finish hunting to our heart's content, return to bring them back to base one by one... What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me." Shangguan Bing Xue practically nodded the next instant he asked the question, slightly surprising him. Perhaps realizing this, she calmly explained, "I can't think of a better idea than yours. If one of us had to move the bodies one by one a lot of hunting time would be lost and the other's plans would be affected."

"... Decided then." He nodded with a slight smile before turning to look at the middle aged man and ordering in a deep voice, "Geng Shi, I want you all to start dismantling what can be dismantled from this beast's body while she and I go deeper into the forest. If you need more people simply look for Lu Yan's daughter, she will take care of it."

"Understood." Geng Shi, the person in charge of this small group of twenty hardworking survivors nodded.

Lu Xiaoyao was basically the person delegated by Shangguan Bing Xue to take charge of the logistics team, so regardless of the time or place, even if she was sleeping comfortably in her bed, she had to work when circumstances required it. Like any high-paying job, the responsibilities were also too great to worry about things like schedules.

After giving a few more orders to the personnel, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue looked at each other for a moment, and as if by prior agreement, they both dashed straight into the dark depths of the forest. In just a second or two, they both completely disappeared from the sight of the workers and the armed men, leaving behind nothing but an explosive breeze of cold wind whipping across the ground on which they were previously standing.

* * *

"Why do you want them to start working now?" Shangguan Bing Xue asked as she followed Bai Zemin from a distance of fewer than two meters.

Moving through the forest like a fish moving in the water, he casually replied, "I'll probably stay here until dawn since I still need to do some more experiments with the Gravity Manipulation skill I received after killing that soul evolver named Shan Li. Considering that there are still around 5 hours until sunrise, those 5 hours can be well spent instead of wasted."

A group of one or two dozen people working on the body of the Infernal Scaled Lizard for 5 hours would be more than enough to, at the very least, remove a lot of the beast's scales. Even if they only managed to remove about an eighth of the total, that was better than nothing.

The survivors who had experienced starvation were afraid that one day the rations provided by the base government would again be of poor quality or unstable as in the past, so whenever a job opportunity appeared they were all willing to give their all even if it meant staying up all night without sleep.

In addition, considering that the pay for working a day helping to dismantle the bodies of the beasts was not only a good piece of mutated beast meat but also beingfed properly during that day, there was basically no one willing to decline such an offer.

For the survivors of the North Camp, the appearance of Bai Zemin and his group was literally like gods descending on Earth in times of crisis.

Shangguan Bing Xue naturally understood everything after hearing the explanation he gave, so she simply nodded with a neutral expression on her face and followed him closely.

What Shangguan Bing Xue did not know was that, on the opposite side of Bai Zemin, a beautiful woman was also following him closely.

As he moved and jumped between the trees with dexterity, Bai Zemin could not help but look back a couple of times to observe the two great beauties following him closely and was secretly surprised as Lilith and Shangguan Bing Xue were literally as if they were two completely opposite beings.

Lilith possessed a deep black dress that covered almost every part of her beautiful skin but outlined her body perfectly.

On the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue wore most of the time a white dress that came just below her knees and was slightly puffy but still could not hide her perfect body.

Lilith's hair was as black as the blanket of the night without stars and moonlight, it seemed as if all the light would be swallowed up just by being close to its brightness.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Bing Xue's hair was a cold silver color similar to the rays of moonlight at night, shining like snow lotuses.

Lilith's eyes were red like intense fire and it was as if a flame was constantly burning inside them while mocking glints could be seen occasionally.

On the contrary, Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes were blue like the ice accumulated on the planet's poles that only exuded coldness and distance while its sharpness seemed to be enough to keep all living things away.

Lilith's personality was warm, playful, mischievous, even slightly naughty; on the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue's personality was cold, serious, indifferent, and it seemed as if she was a saint who never thought about worldly matters regarding a man and a woman.

This was the first time Bai Zemin had the opportunity to observe both women carefully. Although he had had them side by side in the past, this was the first real time he could take a moment to properly appreciate both beauties.

Both women were strikingly beautiful, but the charm and beauty they exuded were complete opposites just like south and north or heads and tails on a single coin.

In a moment of careless slippage, he couldn't help but ask in a whisper as he looked at her, "Do you have a sister who is the complete opposite of you?"

"Excuse me?" Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes widened slightly due to the sudden question and she unconsciously replied, "My mother only had me."

Even she herself did not realize that she honestly answered Bai Zemin's question until after the words left her lips.

Bai Zemin was already regretting it when he murmured that question. Although the two of them got along relatively well and it could even be said that the trust between the two of them had grown a lot, he by no means believed that his relationship with her was close enough to talk about such personal matters.

However, little did he expect to receive an answer.

When he looked back in surprise, he saw the same stunned and surprised look in Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes.

Apparently, even she herself did not expect to answer. Bai Zemin thought silently.

But in fact, Shangguan Bing Xue felt her heart flutter fiercely. If someone else were to talk to her about her family, her mood would probably melt to the point where that person would shiver with cold. However, she surprised herself by answering honestly and with no apparent problems.

As they moved through the forest, cutting through large patches of dense thick grass and dodging at lightning speed the trees that appeared in front of them, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue kept silent. Both of them apparently had many things to think about regarding what had just happened.

Lilith watched everything from the side without pointing out or commenting on it at all. In fact, there was a faint, seemingly amused smile on her face as she watched the interaction between the two people which indicated that she was having a good time that could only get a little better if she had popcorn on her.

After approximately a minute, Bai Zemin finally broke the silence and said what he thought was correct at the time.

"I'm sorry for asking a strange question completely out of the blue."

Who in their right mind would ask a strange question like the one he asked just before while they were in an area plagued with danger where the scythe of the god of death could fall at any moment? Probably no one...

Shangguan Bing Xue fell silent as she listened to his words of apology. This made Bai Zemin think that she was upset, so he simply decided to stop chatting and focus more on his main goal by coming to this place.

However, his assumption proved to be completely wrong soon after when she said in a natural and calm voice, "It's okay. Don't worry."

Bai Zemin looked back for a moment before nodding his head without speaking and then looked forward again. His footsteps never stopped.

More than forty minutes flew by.

Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue searched for First Order beasts in a perimeter of over 300 square kilometers around the base but failed to find anything.

During all this time, the two were in seemingly tactical silence and the only sound they could hear apart from the occasional roar of some beasts or the cold night wind was the sound of their feet gently tapping the ground every time they pushed forward.

Bai Zemin was calm on the outside as well as on the inside. He already knew that even hours could pass without meeting a First Order beast; he himself had experienced it before after all.

However, apparently Shangguan Bing Xue had not forgotten the previous topic because after almost an hour, she brought it up again.

"Why did you ask that question earlier?" She asked with a slight frown. Her gaze was fixed on Bai Zemin's back, brimming with confusion and wariness.

Bai Zemin did not look back and answered without thinking too much, "I know a person who is very beautiful, somewhat more beautiful than you, but she is basically your counterpart. Her hair is deep black, she wears black clothes, and in contrast to you she is quite playful and mischievous. Right before I just had a flash of that person's image and couldn't help but compare her to you for a second, which led to me unconsciously asking that question."

Shangguan Bing Xue inadvertently raised an eyebrow and a glint of surprise flashed in her bright blue eyes when she heard Bai Zemin's words.

Although she was not a fan of physical appearance and mainly focused more on a person's heart and purity, she was aware of how beautiful she was. Even when she was not overly concerned about her physical appearance and only paid attention to what was necessary, her beauty was still dazzling to the point where men old enough to be her grandfather often looked at her with red eyes like those of a beast.

Shangguan Bing Xue was clear that her beauty was undoubtedly at the top, and probably few women in the whole world could compare to her.

Due to her family background, even if she did not want to, she was often forced to attend important events in the past, so she naturally met with many incredibly beautiful women. Although she stopped attending such events several years ago, Shangguan Bing Xue had basically met with thousands or tens of thousands of women beautiful enough to make men's hearts flutter; but none of them managed to get close to her.

Precisely for thathat reason, she was surprised to hear that Bai Zemin knew a woman who was more beautiful than her. She was not hurt by any means, however, due to her own experience over the years, she could not help but feel doubt in her heart.

Of course, Shangguan Bing Xue did not know that in reality, Bai Zemin was already giving her too much credit by saying "somewhat more beautiful than you" since although Shangguan Bing Xue was undoubtedly beautiful, she still lacked quite a bit in comparison to Lilith, who even with all her monstrous charm suppressed was still more beautiful.

She unconsciously blurted out, "Well, I hate the color black."

Bai Zemin was dumbfounded and unconsciously looked at his current outfit.

Black armor, black cloak, deep dark brown boots, black gloves, black shoulder pads... The corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times as he said lightly, "Yeah, that's understandable... Considering your personality, I think white and blue suits you better."

Although Bai Zemin's words seemed to be praising her, for some strange reason Shangguan Bing Xue felt that he was mocking her.

"What do you mean by my personality?" She asked without noticing the slightly grumpy tone that she was using for the first time in many years."Let me tell you that even though I don't like the color black, dark clothes don't suit me bad at all."

Bai Zemin really was at a loss for words regarding the current Shangguan Bing Xue.

Where had gone that ever rational woman whom he had met in the past? Where was that reliable woman with whom even someone like him could relax around? The current her was not much different from any other young adult girl who had left adolescence not long ago.

"Don't you know how the title everyone gave you at the base?" he finally asked as stopped his steps to turn around and look at her face to face.

Shangguan Bing Xue also stopped almost at the same time and her eyes met his. As for his question, she did not answer anything.

How could she not know the title "Ice Princess" that normal citizens, militia, and even soul evolvers had secretly given her? Shangguan Bing Xue was perfectly aware of her personality after all.

Seeing that she did not reply, Bai Zemin shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Well, it's not like this is a bad thing... I know behind my back there are some people who call me a dictator, a mass killer, selfish, cruel, and many other things more. I think the title Ice Princess fits you well not only based on your personality, even your favorite colors and your skill live up to such a nickname."

As in any government regardless of the country, there were people dissatisfied with the decisions and the government ruled by Bai Zemin. After all, each mind was a world apart with infinite thoughts and ideals; it was simply impossible for everyone to be happy.

Moreover, Bai Zemin was also aware that he was far from being the perfect leader; he was just another human, a young man in his early twenties.

However, he was doing the best he could based on the current world situation. Also, he was not forcing anyone to stay in the place he and his subordinates secured; everyone was free to leave peacefully. But as long as they were under his standard, they would have to obey by hook or by crook.

It was as simple as that. As long as those who were in some way or another important to him understood that everything he did was with good intentions, that was more than enough... But even if no one understood, he would probably continue to act this way; after all, this was the kind of being that the existence called Bai Zemin was.

"I guess so." Shangguan Bing Xue sighed and rested her delicate back protected by her leather armor on the surface of the trunk of a large tree. She looked at him and asked, "That girl you speak of, could she be your girlfriend?"

Maybe it was the fault of the dark night, maybe it was the dangerous place they were in that forced them to trust each other more, or maybe it was that Shanggu

Shangguan Bing Xue's guard was especially low after being protected by Bai Zemin for a full day without him taking the slightest chance to do anything improper; but the mood had lightened and the atmosphere between the two had become a lot more intimate.

"She? My girlfriend?" Bai Zemin's eyes went wide at the truly unexpected question.

He unconsciously glanced over to where Lilith was previously, but was once again surprised to see that at some point, she had disappeared. As to whether she was around or had gone somewhere, Bai Zemin was betting more on the second option since he could not detect her fragrance in the vicinity.

Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him and asked in confusion, "She isn't?"

Bai Zemin didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said a little tongue-tied, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Just a thought." She shrugged her shoulders with a demure expression.

Bai Zemin sighed and shook his head as he said softly, "She's not my girlfriend. She's more like... A great friend whom I can trust with all my heart. A person to whom I owe a lot, and I hope I can ever reimburse her for it."

A flash of great surprise and disbelief shone in Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes.

She was well aware of the kind of person Bai Zemin was; a young man who although smiling in reality always kept a respectful distance from everyone, proud and arrogant as to be unwilling to owe anyone anything, but above all, someone who even in his sleep kept a firm grip on his weapons for fear of being stabbed in the back by those who were supposed to be his allies.

She did not know who such a person might be. As for Lili, she did not even pass through Shangguan Bing Xue's thoughts as although Lili and Bai Zemin seemed to be very close, she did not believe that the two of them had reached such a level of trust.

Without knowing why, the curiosity in her heart only grew bigger and she unconsciously asked another question, "She is a person you have known for a long time?"

Bai Zemin leaned his back on the surface of the tree in front of the one Shangguan Bing Xue was using as a backrest and chuckled as he said, "Not at all, not at all... In fact, she and I met not long before you and I knew each other... Well, perhaps it would be more correct to say it was before you knew me."

While Shangguan Bing Xue would probably assume that he and the mystery girl met a few months earlier, Bai Zemin had no way of telling her that in reality he and Lilith only met a few hours before he and Shangguan Bing Xue met near the gym; if he did that then he would have to clarify a lot of things which he didn't want the others to know. Therefore, the little misunderstanding could only stay for now.

If Shangguan Bing Xue stayed fighting alongside him, leveling up quickly, becoming stronger, and neither of them died early, it would only be a matter of time before she and Lilith met. When that happened, naturally many things would become clear on their own.

"Before I met you?" Shangguan Bing Xue tilted her head and looked at him blankly.

She hadn't realized how comfortably she was talking to Bai Zemin; a young man whom she had met a little over a month ago. No... Perhaps she was aware. However, she felt comfortable enough to have a casual, heart-to-heart conversation with him without so many barriers.

How long had it been since the last time such a thing had happened? Probably so long that it might be difficult for Shangguan Bing Xue herself to remember.