Chapter 1632 The Chess Player?
Shi Aotian saw Smir's actions and kept them in mind.
He didn't say much, just waved his hand as if to shoo them away:
"Alright, go find my brother."
"Great Colonizer, then this sure-kill item..." Smir raised the scepter again, feigning doubt.
"Hehe, keep it. Consider it a reward for your hard work," Shi Aotian replied casually.
"I hope you can successfully delay Xu Xiao's progress towards godhood, just as you promised Shi Bashi."
"Smir will do his utmost!" The Oglin fox-man put away his scepter-like killing weapon and crawled back into a crouching position.
After holding the position for three or four seconds, I slowly withdrew.
After his figure had completely disappeared, Shi Aotian sighed and said with great emotion:
"A mere Oglin slave owner possesses such intelligence and resourcefulness, paving the way through mountains and building bridges across rivers, and in a short period of time, he has made the most of five thousand mercenaries."
"And my foolish younger brother, Shi Bashi, received so much help and had such favorable conditions, yet in the end he could only wait to be fed like a good-for-nothing..."
"It's true what they say, comparisons are odious..."
But despite the感慨 (feelings/reflections)
Shi Aotian didn't actually show any disappointment on his face.
On the contrary,
He also felt that Shi Bashi's incompetence was a great opportunity created by God for Shi Aotian!
Just imagine,
If Shi Bashi possessed the intelligence and talent of Smir, and with the assistance of the mysterious Song Siming,
So, is the person sitting in this position now still Shi Aotian?
Perhaps, like his inflexible father Shi Jinglei, he had already died in some unknown, dark corner.
"Ability is only the foundation of success; to go far, one also needs the favor of timing and destiny..."
Shi Aotian muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly:
"A chess piece? I wouldn't stoop to that."
"If I'm going to be one, I'll be the one playing chess!"
……
Eight cosmic times later.
The dazzling light of a star, weakened by the atmosphere, eventually transforms into a soft glow that falls upon the earth.
The first gentle breeze of the morning brushed against Xu Xiao's face, gathering all the slightly disheveled black hair behind her head.
The teleportation array before him shimmered with light, as if an invisible hand had gently lifted the corners of Xu Xiao's lips, causing him to bloom into a heartwarming smile.
"Ah Shou, Sister Wu, you've arrived."
"Xiao Xiao!" Wu Siyuan exclaimed in surprise when she saw the figure outside the formation.
Ignoring the fact that the array's light hadn't yet faded, he rushed towards the woman and gave her a big hug:
"It's been so long since you thought to call me. I thought you'd become the chosen one and looked down on your old friend."
Wu Siyuan looked at the woman in her arms with delight.
"You've lost weight, your face is almost all thin!"
"Hmm? Your breasts are still quite full..."
"Sister Wu!" Xu Xiao blushed and said coquettishly.
"Alright, let's get serious." Wu Siyuan glanced cheerfully at Ma Han, who had leaned closer behind her, and said earnestly:
"I heard from Ma Han that my main purpose in coming here is to locate the owner of the 'tagalong'?"
Wu Siyuan thought that Xu Xiao would immediately nod in agreement and explain in detail what needed to be done next.
The woman looked blank and subconsciously turned to look at Ma Han behind her.
"Well, she must have forgotten." Ma Han quickened his pace and explained to Wu Siyuan:
“We were attacked last night after we sent you a message.”
"The squad leader used her authority and power to save me."
"Oh, I've heard of that..." Wu Siyuan looked at Xu Xiao with a sudden realization:
“Every time Xiao Xiao uses her authority, she consumes a portion of her memories.”
"So yesterday, in order to save you, she forgot to call me over to do something?"
“That seems to be the case.” Ma Han nodded in agreement and continued:
"The reason for this is mainly because the memory consumed is completely random and cannot be actively chosen."
"And once the class monitor forgets it, he has no way of remembering it and is completely unaware of which memory he has consumed..."
"Maybe I should prepare a notebook to write down important things..." Xu Xiao muttered to herself somewhat embarrassedly.
"That way, even if I lose the corresponding memory someday, I can still recall it through the notebook and it won't delay things."
"It's alright, Xiao Xiao. Just try to use your authority less in the future." Seeing this, Wu Siyuan hugged the woman again with eyes full of heartache.
"And you still have us!"
"Even if one day you forget everything, we will be by your side to help you remember it little by little."
The atmosphere then became somewhat sentimental.
However, Ma Han spoke up, pulling everyone back to reality.
"Once the squad leader's memory is lost, it seems impossible for him to 'recall' it, right?"
"And even if you try to remind her, she forgets much faster than usual."
"It can only create new memories... Yes, that's right, it's about creating new memories."
"Then let's create it!" Wu Siyuan stretched out her fist and lightly punched Ma Han's shoulder, pretending to be angry.
"Anyway, we'll always be with Xiao Xiao!"
“Yes, ‘memory’ and ‘creation’ have similar meanings,” Lin Shou stepped forward and chimed in with a smile.
"do not mind the details."
"Okay—" Ma Han replied with a funny expression, stretching out a big yawn:
"Now that you two are here, I can finally relax a lot."
"Oh right, have you had breakfast yet?"
As he spoke, he took out two pieces of sweet potato from his storage container and handed them to Lin Shou and Wu Siyuan.
"I've already eaten," Wu Siyuan said, glancing at the tuber that resembled a ram's horn, showing little interest.
Lin Shou also shook his head, clearly more interested in the mission:
"Sister Wu and I are ready to start working anytime."
"Do you have the remains of that 'tagalong'? Can Sister Wu check if there are any traces of the user on it?"
"If the corpse is intact, my [Puppet Heart] might be able to directly control it and have it lead us to the location of the mother insect."
"No." Ma Han took back one piece of sweet potato, wiped the other piece casually on his clothes, and put it in his mouth to eat.
"The tagalongs that my squad leader and I found either burst open or were charred; none of them were left behind."
"But don't worry, those tagalongs will definitely come back. When they do, you can just use your talent to control them and you can catch one easily."
“No problem.” Lin Shou had no objection to Ma Han’s arrangement and expressed his full cooperation.
Although Wu Siyuan was slightly surprised that she couldn't start working immediately after arriving, she still chose to obey the arrangements.
However, she did not intend to completely follow Xu Xiao and Ma Han's wishes.
Instead, she opened her mouth and revealed another mission she had come for.
……
