Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 1301 651_2

Finally, the detective.

Since the Silent Annihilation Titan incident, he became a notorious intermediary in the shadows of the Giant City.

He undertakes certain private tasks for various families.

After all, he's the real deal who can summon the Champion!

The officials are pleased, which allows him to quickly grow and master secret intelligence that isn't easy for them to investigate or understand. He actually became a very busy man.

The two met, staring each other down, and after a long while, Li Yelai asked, "Just in case, brother... I need to ask first, got any private jobs for me?"

"Not this time!"

The detective grinned. His business was now quite diverse, even extending to settlements outside the city.

But the most troublesome among them was merely an independent Third Awakening Spiritual Ability User who eloped with a family's noble lady.

Such "private jobs" don't merit inviting the Champion to intervene.

The officials took great interest in the "private jobs" Li Yelai was involved in.

The real situation might be that summoning the Ninth Generation Champion could randomly bring forth the Eighth Generation Champion and the entire Champion Team One. Plus, more Overlords, including the Little Mad King and Doll...

Did that person violate some celestial law to have Giant City's high-end fighting force come after him?

Unless, the one eloping with him was Li Yunyan....

Erlang God had such a grudge against Liu Yanchang for a reason.

"Uh... not sure if I should be thankful or disappointed." Li Yelai quipped.

Every private job the detective took was terribly interesting, quite dangerous for Li Yelai back then, but the rewards were substantial. The Mechanical God Core was brought about by a private job.

He had to confirm in advance.

In case he missed some loophole, leading to a greater crisis.

And on the last day before heading to No.1 Border City.

Within the family apartment, the kitchen was filled with an enticing aroma. Li Yunyan, wearing an apron and dotted with sweat on her forehead, was serving the final dish of brilliantly red braised ribs into a plate.

In the living room, Doll and Cheese had already set the tableware, and the air was filled with the warm aroma of home-cooked food. Li Yunyan had been busy preparing the dinner meticulously since the afternoon.

She specially invited Doll, Cheese, and... the Little Mad King.

Having learned from Jing Lin that Li Yelai might be targeted by an assassin, even with top-tier assassins lying in wait, Li Yunyan's heart had been in suspense all along.

Anxiety wrapped around her like vines, making her restless.

Upon hearing that Jiang Ling would be partnering with Li Yelai for the next mission, her worried heart finally settled a bit.

She didn't know much about the Little Mad King, mostly through official mission files and some online descriptions.

But she knew very well that the solitary girl was the strongest assassin in the Giant City!

And according to some gossip, she might also be a sister-in-law?

In any case, there's been plenty of gossip about this subject after the Disaster Fog incident.

Having the strongest assassin by her brother's side was undoubtedly a great security.

And so, tonight's dinner gathering was held.

It was dubbed a small gathering of friends, but Doll and Cheese understood Li Yunyan's thoughts. They more or less shared similar views.

When the Little Mad King saw the family apartment and her gaze lingered on the warmly set dining table and the dishes spread out, she seemed somewhat unaccustomed to such a purely "homey" setting, given she rarely ate with others, even with Li Yelai she just had some jerky to get by. But soon she returned to her customary calm.

And when Li Yelai went to the door to get bubble tea.

The Little Mad King, facing Li Yunyan's 'social bribery' kind of closeness, softly said: "Rest assured, as long as I'm here, no assassin will approach him."

This was her promise to everyone—even if they chose not to believe it, she would ensure it.

Faced with the Little Mad King's straightforward assurance, Li Yunyan felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Thank you..."

Li Yelai returned holding the bubble tea, asking: "What's up, thanking for what?"

"Nothing." Cheese chuckled, deflecting the topic: "Speaking of Captain Yang Chen's upcoming good event."

"Oh, you all heard?" Li Yelai laughed hearing this.

He had indeed caught wind of some matters, it seemed that Captain Cang Bai was... pregnant.

Captain Yang Chen is having a child. The Champion's offspring! Surely another human genius!

But considering the customs of No.3 Border City, it's best not to make it public within the first three months of pregnancy.

Otherwise, Li Yelai would've already prepared gifts for a visit.

He even inquired about what to gift, ordinary folks might offer bird's nest and similar supplements.

For a Spiritual Ability User, perhaps an Extraordinary Creature might serve as a suitable supplement.

And so, Li Yelai and Moon Shadow planned that after his promotion to Overlord, they'd head to the Doomsday Forest to hunt an Ancient Dragon.

Thus, Li Yelai said: "Better not spread it around, let them announce it themselves."

"Pregnant... Captain Yang Chen is an Overlord, Captain Cang Bai is a Sixth Sense user. They've only been together for a few months and are often apart, how could she be pregnant?" Li Yunyan scratched her head, "Isn't it said that the probability of high-level Spiritual Ability Users having children is low? Did I remember wrong?"

"That's right. Hence, some captains believe it's due to the luck balance within Champion Team One." The Little Mad King spoke: "They think your brother's bad luck causes the rest of the team to have very good luck. Thus, Captain Yang Chen was fortunate enough to have a child."

"You're saying I sound like Childbearing Guanyin?" Li Yelai quipped: "Speaking of which, teammate, where'd you hear this gossip? Not like you."

"I am not a Second Generation; I really overheard them while in stealth," the Little Mad King responded.

Indeed, the Little Mad King wasn't interested in gossip. In this regard, she was sufficiently indifferent, even numb.

And the Second Generation she spoke of referred to the Second Generation Champion.

That white-haired champion always said, 'I don't listen to much gossip,' yet controlled the magnetic field to continuously gather sounds from kilometers away.

This was revealed by the Fourth Generation Champion; other overlords didn't even notice.

"If this news spreads, many families might approach Xiao Ye, right?" Doll asked, "After all, the Spiritual Ability Families care most about reproduction rates."

"Indeed, if it truly has this effect. Even the King would have to come, even the King of the Restricted Zone would take risks to compete for this. For strong ones at a high-level life level, stable childbearing is very important. Didn't you see how useless the Son of the King became? If it could be done wholesale... I can't even imagine," Cheese added.

"No no no, what you should be more concerned about is, if this theory is correct. Won't my brother never have offspring?" Li Yunyan had on a 'Is my Li family going extinct? Should I use the Reversal Mirror to save this?' kind of panicked expression.

Cheese lightly scoffed, "What are you even thinking? Tonight just..."

And behind her, a billboard silently floated up, displaying the subtitle.

[She's just talking nonsenseヽ(°▽,°)ﾉ] Doll was learning mischief, starting to undermine too.

"When is the ark gathering?" the Little Mad King asked.

"In three days."

"Use the gathering to see which Ark Chosen Ones plan to take on the task."

Li Yelai nodded slightly.

...

Meanwhile, in another part of the wilderness outpost.

Wei Yang gazed at the night sky, eyes twinkling, seemingly communicating through the starlight.

She then turned her gaze back and asked: "Where has the Forbidden Zone team reached?"

"They've merged into a caravan, but they won't enter No.1 Border City."