Aboard the Giant Gorge, Du Ka'ao's expression turned grave.
"It seems… he's discovered us!"
Lian Feng nodded.
Her fingers flew rapidly across the control console, tapping at high speed. Very soon, the system reconstructed the scene from just moments ago.
"When Lin Fei was just now… ahem, talking about A-Jie, De诺 No. 3 briefly captured a moment where his line of sight turned toward our direction."
"…It may be necessary for me to meet him in person."
Before this, although Lin Fei had been able to overpower and brutally suppress Liu Chuang, that was ultimately because Liu Chuang's gene had only just awakened.
What concerned them more was Lin Fei's appearance at such a critical juncture, and which mysterious civilization or faction he truly belonged to.
But now—
Their focus had shifted to Lin Fei himself.
Du Ka'ao began contacting A-Jie.
"A-Jie? A-Jie?"
"A one-hundred-year-old geezer… old man…"
"A-Jie?"
"General, my acting is bad… I'm an old man…"
A-Jie was still mentally shut down.
Du Ka'ao's brow twitched violently at the sight.
Lin Fei's mouth really was vicious—but you've followed me for tens of thousands of years, how did you end up with such fragile glass-hearted nerves?!
"A-Jie, this is an order!"
"Yes! General!"
The stern voice snapped A-Jie upright. He instinctively responded.
Only then did he slowly come back to his senses.
"A-Jie, give the communicator to Lin Fei. I have something to say to him."
"Yes."
A-Jie took out the communicator, but the moment his eyes met Lin Fei's, his body shuddered again as if from conditioned reflex.
"L-Lin Fei… the general wants to speak with you."
A palm-sized blue holographic screen appeared on the communicator.
After flickering twice, it stabilized.
A figure appeared on the screen.
"Old Du?"
Rose looked at the square-faced man in military uniform with a stern expression appearing on the screen.
Through the communicator, Du Ka'ao faced Lin Fei directly.
"Lin Fei, hello. I am Du Ka'ao, Supreme General of the Celestial Dynasty."
"I apologize for our discourtesy. However, with Blue Star currently facing a crisis, I hope you can understand."
"I wonder when you might have time—could we meet and talk in person?"
To be honest, Lin Fei was a little surprised as well.
He had indeed sensed the窥探 from De诺 No. 3.
He'd even planned to find some time to talk with Du Ka'ao and tell him to stop pointing that De诺 No. 3 at him all the time.
He wasn't a celebrity—no need to stalk him!
What he hadn't expected was for Du Ka'ao to be this decisive: the moment Lin Fei made his stance clear, Du Ka'ao immediately reached out and even proposed a meeting.
"Meet in person? Sure. I've got time right now."
Hearing this, Du Ka'ao's expression stiffened briefly.
Then he nodded.
"Very well. How shall we choose the location?"
"At your Super God Academy will do."
"Alright. I'll have A-Jie take you there shortly."
The communicator shut off.
But inside, A-Jie was screaming in misery.
He really had developed psychological trauma toward Lin Fei.
He really, really didn't want to face that mouth again.
But this was the general's order—he had no choice.
So he could only swallow his bitterness and cautiously say to Lin Fei:
"Then… shall we head over now? I happen to be driving."
"Why are you being so careful?" Lin Fei crossed his arms and sized A-Jie up.
"Am I that scary?"
"Ahem… n-no, not at all."
"Not at all? So you're saying I'm not handsome anymore?"
"Handsome. Very handsome."
A-Jie forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"Lin Fei, stop bullying A-Jie already."
Before Lin Fei could say anything else, Rose stepped in beside him to defuse the situation.
After all, A-Jie was still her colleague.
"Alright, alright."
Lin Fei waved his hand dismissively.
To be honest, it wasn't just because A-Jie had been spying on him—nor even the later plot where Rui Mengmeng would be sweet-talked into joining the Male Troop.
That hadn't happened yet.
But A-Jie had repeatedly bailed Liu Chuang out, indulging him and allowing him to grow more and more lawless.
As a result, how many people had Liu Chuang bullied and hurt?
Because of that, Lin Fei had never had a good impression of A-Jie—or the Super God Academy as a whole.
A-Jie finally let out a sigh of relief and looked at Rose with gratitude.
As expected, Rose was reliable.
The general had nearly scared him to death.
Fortunately, because he was wearing sunglasses, no one could see his expression.
"Still, there's no need for you to drive us to the Super God Academy. Just tell me the address—I'll head over myself in a bit."
"Then I'll take you there," Rose said.
"I'll be going back to the academy later anyway."
She was staying overnight in the academy dorms.
There were many dormitories in the Super God Academy, originally reserved for the future formation of the Male Troop and other members.
"Alright then—but I need to take Xiaoli home first."
"Huh?"
Su Xiaoli looked at Lin Fei in surprise.
"A-Fei, you're taking me home?"
"Of course. It's late, and it's not safe for a girl to be walking alone at night. As a guy, I should obviously escort you home."
Su Xiaoli's expression froze.
Reflected in Lin Fei's handsome, sharp-featured face, her alluring yet pure eyes slowly welled with emotion.
She didn't even know who her father was, and had never met him even once.
That woman—her mother—had abandoned her alone since childhood.
This was the first time someone had cared about her like this.
Pursing her pink lips, Su Xiaoli broke into a bright smile.
"Okay~"
"Didn't expect this guy to be so thoughtful."
Rose stood with one hand on her hip, thinking.
But inside, a faint ripple stirred as well.
Even as a super warrior, she was still a girl—and she had her soft spots.
Being protected and cared for like this had nothing to do with strength.
Rui Mengmeng's clear eyes also revealed a trace of longing.
She, too, had never experienced the feeling of being cared for.
In her world, ever since dropping out of middle school, she'd only faced cold stares and bullying.
Every time she finished work and walked home alone at night, she felt afraid.
She really wished someone could walk her home in the evenings.
Even once would have been enough.
"But… A-Fei, how are you going to take me home? By taxi?"
"That'd be too boring."
"Huh? Don't tell me it's a ride-hailing app?"
"Heh—nope."
Lin Fei closed his eyes, smiling mysteriously.
This instantly aroused the curiosity of the girls present.
"A-Fei, what is it? Hurry up and tell us~"
Still moved from earlier, Su Xiaoli was now much more relaxed with Lin Fei.
Her pure yet charming face pouted as she urged him.
"Well then…"
The corner of Lin Fei's mouth lifted. He raised his left arm, revealing the Phantom Scale Ability Lock on his wrist.
His right hand tapped the crystal node shaped like a phantom scale on the forehead of the device.
"Phantom Scale Flash Ride!"
Buzz!
A fiery red streak, trailing flowing light beneath the streetlamps, appeared ahead of them—
A motorcycle with a striking kirin-scaled front roared forth through the night!