Chapter 267 - 266: Super 3S

To the right, two people were locked in combat. To the left, Xi Yu was cradling his arm, feigning sharp breaths of pain.

Jian Yu knew just watching was useless. She might as well find something she could do.

She looked away from the fight and took Xi Yu’s hand to check his arm.

His long sleeve was difficult to remove, so she just pulled open his collar and tugged the fabric down from his shoulder, making it look like she was about to give a patient an injection.

Xi Yu’s skin was already very fair, making the red patch on his arm look particularly stark and jarring.

’It smells... kinda good.’

’No wonder I keep smelling grilled octopus.’

Jian Yu swallowed. She was getting a little hungry.

Without a change in expression, she began to heal him.

Xi Yu remained perfectly still, his eyes sparkling and the tips of his ears flushing pink.

Several tentacles unfurled from his back, their tips shyly rubbing against one another.

As the pain in his arm faded, Xi Yu tentatively extended a tentacle. "This one is hurt, too."

Jian Yu took the tip of the tentacle, turning it over to inspect it.

It was pink and felt like jelly. There was a small scrape on it; she must not have released enough of her healing Green Mist earlier for it to heal completely.

Jian Yu had never seen them injured before. Back on the Mecha, she had felt a sense of unease and had subconsciously released a large amount of Green Mist.

After all, gunfire usually felt like little more than a tickle to Xi Yu and the others.

Even a Level 2S Awakened would struggle to get close to them while they were conscious.

Jian Yu unconsciously squeezed his tentacle a couple of times, causing the base of Xi Yu’s ears to turn a faint red.

He leaned in and hugged Jian Yu. "It doesn’t hurt, baby. I just wanted a hug."

Jian Yu blinked and hugged him back.

She had been so lost in thought that she’d forgotten to blink, and her eyes felt noticeably dry from being open so long.

Patting Xi Yu’s back, Jian Yu lifted her gaze, which froze for a subtle moment.

"..." Gu Qi looked away.

’So that’s where I fall short.’

’It’s not that my moves are bad, it’s that my target is spoiled for choice.’

’Anyone with three powerhouses wrapped around her finger wouldn’t give someone like me a second glance.’

’It’s not like she’s blind.’

In his heart, Gu Qi really did want to latch onto Jian Yu’s golden... thigh.

But he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could compete with three of them.

He’d thought he had a chance earlier, assuming Jian Yu only had Sheng Yue—and it was obvious at a glance that Sheng Yue had no idea how to sweet-talk a girl.

’Coincidentally, he had nothing *but* the ability to sweet-talk. And who doesn’t know how to live off a woman?’

Gu Qi could tell Jian Yu was embarrassed.

’Too many fish in the pond. When they’re all squeezed together, how could it not be awkward?’

Gu Qi snuck several glances at Sheng Yue, his frustration growing with each look. ’What a hopeless case.’

’How can anyone be so wooden!’

He watched as on one side, a world-shaking battle raged, while on the other, a scene of tender, sweet affection unfolded.

And then there was Sheng Yue, all alone, his eyes practically screaming with jealousy, envy, and hurt, yet he was too stubborn to let it show.

’He’s just torturing himself.’

Gu Qi coughed twice. ’Considering they were nice enough to get me out of the Ultimate Eye,’ he thought, ’I can at least give him a little hint.’

But before he could even open his mouth, a single, chillingly casual glance from Sheng Yue froze him in place.

Gu Qi pouted and swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

Sheng Yue watched them with cold eyes.

The curve of his lips straightened into a thin, hard line.

Gu Qi shook his head. ’What a stubborn mule.’

’Look at the other two. So proactive!’

Enduring Gu Qi’s strange stare, Sheng Yue walked over.

His tall figure cast a shadow over her, and Jian Yu tilted her head up slightly.

Sheng Yue’s lips thinned, his fingers clenching into a fist. "I don’t feel well either."

Jian Yu reached out, took his hand, and began to heal him.

’One on each side.’

’Two gorgeous men.’

’And their hands are both just as beautiful.’

’One cool and pale, the other snow-white.’

’Long fingers... they look so vigorous.’

’Don’t go there.’

Jian Yu squeezed her eyes shut, shaking the suggestive images from her mind.

A tremendous roar echoed from the horizon.

The sundered cliff face exploded, sending a plume of dust and smoke into the sky.

Gu Qi’s brain, which had been enjoying the show, short-circuited.

All the chaotic thoughts in his head vanished. He rushed forward. "What’s happening? Is that damned old man really that powerful?"

A newly minted genius versus one from the older generation.

’Looks like the one with more combat experience has the upper hand?’

Gu Qi couldn’t make heads or tails of a battle between titans.

He just knew that a small fry like him couldn’t get caught in the crossfire. "Can they win? Are they losing? It’s over, it’s over! We’re dead for sure this time."

There was one more thing he didn’t have the guts to say out loud: ’Shouldn’t we run for it?’

Jian Yu knew Sheng Yue wasn’t in good condition, so she looked at Xi Yu. "Ayue, go help."

Sheng Yue wasn’t injured; he was just exhausted, his energy reserves nearly empty.

He didn’t try to act tough. He just stood silently beside Jian Yu and took out a Soul Power Crystal Card to replenish his energy.

It was slower to absorb than a Beast Crystal, but it replenished more energy.

Xi Yu lingered, dawdling for a moment, clearly displeased.

He turned, his face dark and sullen.

’Damn that Yan Tianba. Ugly name, even uglier personality.’

Gu Qi, unfamiliar with Xi Yu’s temperament, was scared witless by his sinister expression, his own face turning deathly pale.

He declared his stance, his gaze as determined as if he were enlisting. "Whether you can win or not, I’ll stand with you! This old man... er, this young man will never be the one to flee for his life alone!"

Xi Yu wasn’t listening. His ears were ringing, but he couldn’t help but look at Gu Qi, who was being the loudest.

Gu Qi panicked. "I’m really not leaving! We escaped together, after all! You’re the top figures of the Imperial Capital Star, generals of the Alliance Military District! I’m not an ungrateful person!"

Xi Yu pulled his shirt back into place, straightening the collar.

As taciturn as ever, he said, "We can win."

Propelled by his tentacles, he left the spot.

Gu Qi stared, dumbfounded.

’Surreal. This is too surreal.’

’No wonder people always said I was sheltered.’

Within seconds, Xi Yu was fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Ling Yanzhi.

Gu Qi cleared his throat, embarrassed.

His heart, which had been in his throat, had just settled back into his chest when Admiral Yan’s furious voice rang out from the distance.

Admiral Yan’s tone dripped with sarcasm. "The two of you ganging up on me. Aren’t you afraid of becoming a laughingstock when word gets out? Ganging up on one person, a two-on-one fight—is this the so-called standard of a Super 3S Awakener?"

Gu Qi froze.

’A Super 3S Rank Awakener?’

’I thought Level 3S was the highest?’

He waited quietly for Ling Yanzhi or Xi Yu to respond and clear up his confusion.

But the pre-battle trash talk you always see in movies and on TV never came.

Ling Yanzhi and Xi Yu were both utterly silent; neither of them said a single word.

The three of them clashed, creating the chaos and intensity of a hundred-person brawl.

The fight was a dizzying blur. Gu Qi couldn’t even tell who was who, let alone bet on the outcome.

He felt like a layman watching a sport he didn’t understand, accidentally cheering for the wrong team simply because he couldn’t follow the action.

The muffled thuds of their blows seemed to magnify, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.

Gu Qi felt an unbearable frustration building inside him.

’Don’t any of them have mouths?’

’Fine. *I* have a mouth.’

Gu Qi shuffled his feet.

He sidled up next to Sheng Yue. "Super 3S... is that stronger than Admiral Yan’s Level 3S? Hey, who do you think is the strongest out of those three?"

’No answer?’

’So cold and aloof?’