Chapter 1015 - 371: Chu Kuanglan Falls in Love and Builds a City Beyond the Great Wall!? (2)

Another girl on shift, A Lin, came over with freshly baked muffins.

With a playful smile, she naturally wrapped her arm around Hua Jing’s slender waist and rested her chin lovingly on her shoulder.

Raising her eyebrows at Qian Ge and the others, she said, "Alright, alright, you old guys don’t need to wonder anymore! Our Little Hua here is spoken for! However..."

She deliberately extended her voice and winked mischievously.

"It’s not Captain Fang."

"What?!"

"She’s taken?!"

"Who?! Which lucky guy managed that?!"

The playful smiles froze on the faces of Qian Ge and Old Ma.

Then they drooped, like eggplants hit by frost.

A wave of indignation, akin to seeing their prized cabbage snatched by pigs, erupted in synchronized moans.

The speed of their reactions made A Lin giggle.

Hua Jing buried her face in A Lin’s neck, overcome with embarrassment.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

The gloom brought by the icy claw tragedy in the café was significantly dispelled by this sudden gossip.

Qian Ge clutched his chest, looking as if his heart was broken: "Little Hua, tell Uncle Qian who this lad is. Which troop is he from? Is he treating you well? If he dares bully you, just speak up, Uncle Qian and the old brothers will grab our gear and rush to defend you."

Hua Jing raised her head, her cheeks still flushed, her eyes sparkling.

Gratefully and smilingly, she looked at the old soldiers who truly treated her like their daughter.

Just as she was about to speak.

A Lin tightened her hold around Hua Jing’s arm, lifted her chin proudly and mischievously, and crisply delivered the answer: "Qian Ge, your kind heart is noted by Little Hua! But..."

She deliberately paused and slowly delivered the rest to the eager veterans: "I advise you to save your effort. Little Hua’s sweetheart is Chu Kuanglan, the one with Fang Qingyu, wielding the Door Board Giant Sword."

"..."

The air instantly froze.

The bold expression on Qian Ge’s face also stiffened.

Chu Kuanglan?!

Even though Fang Qingyu’s brilliance almost overshadowed the whole squad.

The others...

Are not simple either.

Chu Kuanglan is also known as an extraordinary talent with formidable combat power.

Thankfully, the awkward atmosphere did not last long.

Because outside, beyond the ajar café door.

A commotion and exclamations suddenly erupted from the street.

"Fang Qingyu and the others are approaching, you can see the ship’s silhouette from the harbor."

The voice cut through the cold wind, clearly reaching inside.

Hua Jing’s smile suddenly froze.

Then, a brilliant spark of delight exploded in her clear eyes.

"What are you waiting for?!"

A Lin reacted swiftly, releasing her hold and giving Hua Jing a push, smiling with mischievous yet genuine sincerity, "Go, go! Don’t worry about the shop."

Hua Jing gave A Lin a grateful glance.

"Let’s go! No more waiting!"

Qian Ge shot up, grabbed the leather hat on the table, and placed it on his head, moving crisply and decisively.

"Take our car, guaranteed to reach the harbor in half an hour."

Hua Jing felt warm inside, nodding vigorously.

Without hesitation, she followed Qian Ge and the others out of the café.

...

Ark of Hope.

The ship’s steel bow effortlessly broke through the heavy ice floes on the Arctic Ocean.

At the front of the deck, the cold wind was as sharp as knives.

Fang Qingyu and the others stood side by side.

Silently gazing towards the increasingly clear deep-water harbor at the horizon.

The frigid air filled their lungs, stinging their nasal passages.

Lead-gray, heavy clouds pressed low against the sky, seemingly within reach.

Merging with the distant undulating glaciers into a vast, lifeless gray and white.

Only the sporadic navigation lights from the harbor.

Stubbornly twinkled in the boundless desolation.

"So fast..."

Qi Hao tightened his collar, exhaled white breath instantly shredded by the wind, his voice filled with emotion.

Their thoughts inevitably wandered back to when they first left the Arctic.

At that time, they were just five people.

It was only when they joined with Old Qin and Su Wanqing on the ship that they formed a team of ten.

Everyone thought that going to the City of Injustice was just a minor skirmish.

But they hadn’t anticipated that Tier Two power was merely average in the City of Injustice.

Nor did they expect in just two months, everyone’s skills had climbed a big step.

And upon returning, they brought back a full ten thousand people, like a dream.

Now they are not just a small operational team of the Federation.

But they command a transcendent army returning.

Fang Qingyu did not speak.

He simply stood quietly at the very front of the bow.

His combat uniform flapping wildly in the wind.

Beside him, half a step back, Jiang Wei stood silently.

Her crimson hair fluttering in the wind.

Just then, a slightly silly chuckle broke the tense silence.

Everyone looked towards the sound.

Only to see Chu Kuanglan, this hulking man, grinning, showing a row of white teeth.

He was silently laughing towards the direction of the harbor.

He even instinctively raised his hand.

Vigorously rubbing his face, chapped by the cold wind.

Then he tidied his wind-tousled short hair.

Moved with a hint of awkward apprehension.

"Hey? Old Chu!"

Qi Hao was the first to react, immediately winked and moved closer, bumping Chu Kuanglan’s solid arm with his shoulder.

"Look at you, eager your eyes might pop out, that grin about to reach your ears, what’s the rush, longing to see someone?"

He emphasized the last four words intentionally.

The teasing tone was heavily soaked with banter.

Chu Kuanglan stumbled from the bump, regained his composure, unusually flushed with dark red on his typically fearless, rugged face.