"So, Xiangzi-jie, what exactly do you mean by that?"
At that moment, Ye Ling popped out from beside Xiangzi.
But the ingratiating tone in her voice and the fawning look in her eyes made Takashiro Xiangzi frown. Why was this big fox still addressing her so politely all the time now? Their relationship was getting stiffer, not closer.
"Drop the awkward honorifics already," Xiangzi said, putting away her smile as she shot Ye Ling a look. Her left hand couldn't resist patting that big fluffy tail. "We've known each other for days now. How are you getting more formal with me instead of less?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll switch back," Ye Ling said at once, all but yelping as her sensitive spot was attacked.
Only then did Xiangzi let her off.
Inside, though, Ye Ling was panicking.
That was because she'd discovered Xiangzi's little secret a few days ago. If she kept acting the same as before and somehow annoyed Xiangzi… then wouldn't she end up turned into fox-fur clothing?
"Listen carefully," Xiangzi said. "I understand how everyone feels. For everyone's safety, and to preserve the timber resources around camp, from now on you can cut down the bushes and saplings near the camp, but leave the mature trees around the base and along the downhill road alone. We still need some concealment."
That had been her reasoning from the start. Back when she first chose this place, Xiangzi had deliberately ordered the logging teams to work only in the areas she had already scouted.
Originally, she'd intended to send everyone back to the safety of camp and give them easier work. Sure, some people were already doing those jobs, but there weren't many options. She couldn't exactly force a group of reluctant people deeper into a forest whose situation was still unclear.
But now things were different.
Those eager, restless workers were volunteering to go.
That saved Xiangzi the trouble of coming up with another plan.
A short while later, she reorganized everyone's assignments.
First, they had to put out the fire, so it wouldn't spread into a forest blaze. A spark could start an inferno, and if the whole mountain caught, nobody would be getting out. Setting the mountain on fire wasn't just illegal—it was suicidal.
Only after she was sure there wasn't a single ember left that might reignite did Xiangzi lead the group back toward the camp.
"No time to waste. I'm going to start dealing with those things right away," she said. "Ye Ling, once you get back, notify the full original seven, plus Saito. Tell them all to gather in the main building tonight for a meeting."
"Got it. I'll tell them after work," Ye Ling replied. Then she looked at Xiangzi worriedly. "You really don't need anyone with you? Xiangzi-jie?"
"Go handle your own work first," Xiangzi said. "I'm leaving."
After tossing Ye Ling that reminder, Takashiro Xiangzi headed back inside. She needed to put on some gear and grab a weapon she could actually use properly.
Once she was equipped, she moved through the nearby forest at an easy pace, though her mood was complicated.
Honestly, why had she gotten so soft?
The old her hadn't been like this.
From a purely rational standpoint, she'd made quite a few mistakes these past few days.
Xiangzi had begun to realize that she was turning into a glorified firefighter—rushing around to stamp out emergencies. When the others had to deal with trouble on their own, their performance was… not great.
Every sudden incident still required her to go personally.
She needed to adjust the others' equipment, their mindset, and their combat abilities.
Otherwise, sooner or later, Takashiro Xiangzi would really end up unable to handle everything alone.
Even if she split herself into a hundred and eight pieces, it still wouldn't be enough.
Now that she thought about it, the current situation had already strayed from her original intention. As a leader, she was still too inexperienced.
If simple survival had really been her number one priority, then she never would have accepted all those people who came asking to join.
Even maintaining a small team was exhausting. Now she was effectively managing close to fifty people.
The last time she'd ever had to manage that many had been back in school, when she served as captain of the kendo club.
Compared to this, though, that was nothing.
Back then, all she'd needed to worry about were her club members' relationships, training schedules, and preparing for competitions.
And she'd had other people helping her.
Now… yes, everyone was helping where they could, but suddenly carrying the weight of so many lives still put enormous pressure on her.
And there was an even more serious problem.
One she'd noticed a long time ago.
This time, she intended to fix it properly.
"What we need are more specialists," Xiangzi muttered to herself as she walked through the woods with her weapon in hand. Even the snow underfoot concealed threats to life. "Doctors. Soldiers. Farmers. Forestry workers. Skilled technicians. We're short on all of them. Most of the people who joined us are just office workers and retirees. There are barely any real technical personnel at all."
She'd already killed two pale, fleshy worm-things hiding beneath the white cover of the snow. They had died easily enough.
"Seriously, how do these things even survive subzero temperatures with nothing but meat on them?"
Using the tip of her knife, Xiangzi lifted one of the corpses and looked it over closely. Its pale body was streaked with translucent, dark green blood. The clawed mouthparts looked vicious enough. Its soft white flesh was neatly split open by the precise fatal cuts Xiangzi had made with her blade.
Apparently unable to hold back any longer, the System finally spoke up.
[Actually, Xiangzi, you're wrong. These bugs were hiding inside a fallen tree trunk. The viral matter converts the energy in their bodies into heat, helping them endure the winter. If your foot hadn't landed right on one of their heads and startled them awake, they wouldn't even have triggered an emergency response to attack you.]
[See? That's what happened. And yet you still hardly ever come talk to me anymore now that the daily settlement reports are gone. You heartless, faithless woman.]
"Come on, don't say it like that," Xiangzi said helplessly. "It's just that I really haven't had the time. You've seen how busy I've been lately."
[Oh yes, of course. Busy. So busy you still found time to work very hard in Huaxiu's and Miranda's beds.]
That made Xiangzi flush.
"That was a special case, okay? I didn't expect it either. Honestly… I kind of feel like I wronged them both a little."
At those words, the System seemed to grind its teeth.
[Then why don't you think properly about how to keep Huaxiu and Miranda safe? Surely someone as gentle and considerate as you doesn't want her lovers to get hurt.]
That made Xiangzi's expression sharpen.
"So something new is coming, isn't it?" she asked.
The System never said things like that for no reason. Something was clearly about to happen.
It wasn't just infected creatures she had to worry about anymore. The Holy Disciple Organization could show up at any time too. Their current firepower was still too weak, and the good weapons in hand were far too few. If only she could get another truly useful piece of equipment…
Thinking that, Xiangzi asked quickly, "Do you have any gear recommendations?"
[We'll talk when you get back. I already scanned the area around your camp. There aren't many of these worms—just a few small clusters here and around the lake. And the number of infected plants is pitifully low. Just go clear the spots I marked for you. We'll talk later.]
Xiangzi looked at the points the System had marked on her map and set about cleaning them out.
For a while, she burned through quite a few knives and molotovs.
It was one thing to fight in a blaze of glory.
It was another to be squatting there afterward with an entrenching shovel, digging through snow to smother flames.
Watching Xiangzi like that—cute, in a way.
When all was said and done, the forest around the camp would be safer again.
And for once, that was enough.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 25
After Maxing Out Every Class 25
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