After parting ways with Pi Jia Jia, Luo Xiao Le seized the opportunity to return to the kitchen and hide Mo Chen and the others in her own separate room.
"Why did you all come in?" Luo Xiao Le was somewhat stunned. She had initially thought Mo Chen would only bring Wang Biao with him, as neither of them possessed abilities and wouldn't be easily dealt with by that machine.
Wouldn't it be necessary to leave someone reliable outside to act as a lookout… in case something went wrong here…
"Someone is still outside, providing support," Lin Xia's tone changed between her two sentences. Wang Biao and the others couldn't tell, but Luo Xiao Le, who spent every day with her, understood the subtle shift immediately and grasped her meaning.
They had also confirmed that the spy was the ring man and had left him outside the barrier to prevent him from causing trouble.
"It's too dangerous for you to be in here alone, so of course, we had to come help you!" Wang Biao added.
"But Zhou He followed us in on her own…" the stubbled man scratched his head. They hadn't intended to let this troublesome young lady in either.
Their plan was to isolate the ring man and keep the relatively reliable Zhou He, so that if their operation failed, they could timely report back to Luocheng Base.
Who knew she had barged in at the last moment!
"Alright, since you're all in, just be careful," Luo Xiao Le decided. There was no time to send Zhou He out now, so she opted to quickly exchange information with the others.
She briefly explained the situation regarding the ability users here to everyone, emphasizing the key point, "The person in charge of collecting ability spheres will come tomorrow!"
"So we're acting tomorrow then?" others confirmed with Luo Xiao Le.
"That's right…" Luo Xiao Le was about to say something when a commotion erupted at the kitchen entrance. A very rough voice called out, "Who? Who was cooking this afternoon! Get out here!"
"Don't worry, it's nothing. I'll go deal with this minor trouble today. You guys hide here and don't make a sound," Luo Xiao Le shushed them and turned to leave.
She had already anticipated this consequence when she added a large dose of laxatives to the food.
However, the moment she turned, her wrist was instantly grasped by a pair of strong yet gentle hands.
Wang Biao and the others glared from the side.
Why wasn't this cold iceberg spouting about "nip it in the bud" at a time like this!
This hypocrite! Handsome, yes… but still a dog!
Luo Xiao Le felt a warmth in her heart, knowing he was worried. She felt Mo Chen was becoming increasingly human.
"Don't worry, at most I'll be locked up for a bit. It won't affect tomorrow's plan. I'll be right back," Luo Xiao Le smiled, squeezing Mo Chen's wrist in return, signaling them to relax.
…
"Oh no, please don't do this, please don't resort to violence!" Brother Wang's anxious voice could be heard as he tried to physically block the intruders from entering.
"Is it you? Are you the one who cooked today!" The people from the outpost were aggressive, raising their weapons to strike at Brother Wang.
"Don't be like that, sirs, let's talk this through properly!" Da Qiang and the others quickly stepped forward to intervene.
"It was me," a clear yet piercing voice came from behind.
"Xiao Le, go back!" Old Li was extremely anxious.
"I was the one who cooked today," she said, her large eyes showing a hint of innocence. "Did something happen?"
"You're the new one, right? Everyone in the mess hall got diarrhea today. You explain! What happened!" The man, leading a small team, pushed aside Old Li and the others and strode menacingly towards Luo Xiao Le.
"Ah? How could this happen? Please wait a moment…" Luo Xiao Le appeared shocked, then hurried back into the kitchen, and after some effort, returned, holding something in her hand.
"...Sob, sob, I'm truly sorry, esteemed sirs. It seems the potatoes used for cooking today had sprouted. I must not have cooked them thoroughly, leading to some food poisoning…" Luo Xiao Le held up a sprouted potato, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at them.
"You!" The team instantly flew into a rage. "Do you even know how to cook! You're just causing trouble! Take her away and chop her head off!"
"You can't do that, sirs! This sprout must be new and not yet familiar with the work!" Old Li and the others pleaded.
"Besides, the workload in the kitchen is too heavy right now. If she helps, it lightens the load. If she's gone, everyone will have to wait half an hour longer for their meals!" Brother Wang wailed.
Even Lin Xia and the others inside the room heard it and felt a sense of pity.
"…" The captain scratched his head. Executing this sprout now wasn't an option, but not punishing her wouldn't quell his anger.
After a long pause, a cunning glint appeared in his eyes.
Not killing her, but beating her and scaring her, that should be enough!
"Guards, take her away!" He waved his hand, and several people rushed forward to grab Luo Xiao Le.
They practically dragged her away!
"Xiao Le! Xiao Le!" Brother Wang and the others were anxious. What good could come of a young girl like her being taken away!
To their surprise, Luo Xiao Le nonchalantly waved at them.
Being dragged away wasn't comfortable, but it seemed to require less effort than walking herself.
She seemed to be enjoying it somewhat.
…
"Go in!" Luo Xiao Le was immediately brought to where the ability users were held.
She was unceremoniously kicked in with a butt-first landing!
Luo Xiao Le slammed onto the ground with a yelp, landing on her backside.
"Be careful, don't damage any of her useful parts. Just let off some steam. She can't take many hits," the captain instructed his subordinates.
"Yes, Captain!" Several outpost members rolled up their sleeves and surrounded Luo Xiao Le, launching a barrage of punches and kicks.
"It hurts… Ah! Stop hitting! Sob, sob…" Luo Xiao Le wailed on the ground, desperately protecting her head.
The moment she was kicked, the defense system on her clothes had activated.
Now, their fists felt like a Thai massage against her body, and she found her bones and muscles incredibly relaxed.
To conceal her enjoyment, she clutched her head, trying her best not to burst into laughter.
But someone seemed even happier than her…
"Serves you right for not cooking properly, for causing us trouble!" After the initial symbolic kicks, the soldiers seemed to grow increasingly excited, their blows becoming heavier, as if hitting her gave them some kind of thrill…
On Luo Xiao Le's emotional panel, the happiness meter, which had been at 65%, suddenly shot up to 80%!
Luo Xiao Le blinked in surprise… The members of the Azure Dragon Gang were truly perverts!
Five minutes later, the energy bar joyfully soared to 100%…
Good heavens, the happiness ability bar was also maxed out!
Luo Xiao Le was utterly speechless. While she wanted to quickly fill the energy bars and complete the mission, the process felt a bit too perverted…
"Alright, stop hitting! She's not moving anymore!" The squad leader quickly rushed over to intervene when he heard no sound from Luo Xiao Le for a while.
Luo Xiao Le immediately pinched her own arm hard, producing bruises, tears, and a choked voice…
"Help… help… me…" she extended one hand tremblingly towards the squad leader…
Then she suddenly collapsed, appearing to have fainted on the ground…
"Captain… this might… have beaten her to death…"
"Didn't I tell you to be sensible with your blows! With her build, would she survive?"
The captain was furious. "Forget it, drag her in. It's all blood and gore in there anyway. Just dump her in the back and hide her. No one will notice if one less person is there."
The others quickly and clumsily dragged Luo Xiao Le into the cave filled with ability users.
They hid her directly behind a cross.
"What bad luck, have to find another cook again," the squad leader grumbled as he led his men away, spitting on the ground.