Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Director Zhen has long been married, and he and his wife are as loving as ever. He surely understands these things.

After hearing Xu Xingguang say this, Xiahou Huai Gui felt even more useless, like a worthless piece of waste. ”Let’s get to the point, how should we respond to the Huo Family’s old helmsman?”

Xu Xingguang smiled mysteriously, ”For now, don’t tell him my true identity. Just say that I will go to Divine Concealment Island to meet him myself.”

”When are you going?” Xiahou Huai Gui said, ”I should at least know a rough timeframe.”

”During this period.” Since we are close to Divine Concealment Island, it’s unreasonable not to visit when we’re practically at the doorstep of my fiancé’s house.

”Alright, got it.”

Xu Xingguang was about to hang up the phone.

Suddenly, Xiahou Huai Gui said, ”Miss Xu, if things don’t work out with him, we could give it a try.”

”At a young age, not learning something good, but choosing to steal someone else’s partner.” Xu Xingguang directly hung up on Xiahou Huai Gui’s call. She didn’t care what Xiahou Huai Gui felt about her; anyway, she had no romantic feelings towards him.

She said she was a face-con, but that wasn’t entirely accurate. To be precise, she was a color devil.

At the Drunken Beauty Photography Studio, the first time she saw Huo Wen’an, Xu Xingguang’s eyes calmly scanned over his cold, white skin and unusually red lips, and what she imagined was the scene of trapping him between walls and ravaging his lips.

To put it bluntly, Huo Wen’an aroused Xu Xingguang’s primal desires as a woman.

And such feelings, Xu Xingguang had never experienced with Xiahou Huai Gui or any other man.

As the filming progressed, the tacit understanding among the main actors fully coordinated, speeding up the filming progress significantly.

After finalizing the script and receiving unanimous approval from the director group, the actors’ group, and the editing group, Xu Xingguang left the crew ahead of schedule and flew back to Yujiang City with Song Chi.

She had to return to harvest the first batch of important medicinal herbs.

The first batch of herbs she planted was a plant called ’Attractive Fragrance Grass’, which looked like wild celery, but its true function lay in the fruit hidden beneath the soil.

It bore a light yellow fruit that looked somewhat similar to the goat milk fruit found in deep mountain forests. This fruit had a very magical effect; it could awaken the dormant corpse centipede, stimulating their hunger.

If utilized properly, the fruit of the Attractive Fragrance Grass could be used to detect patients parasitized by corpse centipedes in advance.

Xu Xingguang hadn’t reported to the 23rd secret action group because she was waiting for the Attractive Fragrance Grass to mature.

After harvesting the fruit of the Attractive Fragrance Grass and smoking it with a specially prepared spice for five days and nights, the fruit emitted an aura resembling human blood. Yet, it had an additional rich sweetness.

With the help of Song Chi and Sister Lin, Xu Xingguang ground the fragrant fruit into powder, packed it into incense boxes, and set off with them for Jing City.

*

In Jing City, at the Alliance Military Department Deep-Sea Research Lab, the entire 10-member 23rd secret group was summoned back to the lab today.

The team leader was a woman in her fifties, wearing a blue-gray long robe, with long hair styled in soft waves.

She pinned up her softly waved hair with a black hairpin, staring coldly at the members of the 23rd secret group as she announced surprising news. ”The team leader is reporting to the lab today, so don’t slack off. At that time, report your findings to the team leader.”

”Deputy Leader.” A tall man in his thirties curiously asked the deputy leader, ”Is our team leader male or female? How old? Are they very stern?”

A woman with short curly hair adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses and shook her head, ”I haven’t seen them either.”

Upon hearing this, all the members began whispering to one another.

Since the existence of corpse centipedes was publicly disclosed by Medicine Farmer Star, there have been three cases globally.

But strangely, the other two people’s symptoms differed from Xiahou Huai Gui’s.

One male patient, under the influence of the corpse centipede, not only didn’t show signs of illness but his intelligence suddenly soared. In just three years of high school, he went from an average student to the top scorer in the province’s college entrance examination.

Another female patient, after being parasitized by a corpse centipede, suffered terribly from the illness, but her appearance underwent a complete transformation, turning from an overlooked small clerk to a top beauty that even the young executive fell for.

And these two parasitized patients both suddenly died.

Overnight, they were suddenly drained of blood and flesh by the corpse centipede, almost allowing the corpse centipede to manifest.

Fortunately, they were discovered by the health department of their countries, secretly transported to the military department in an explosion-proof cabin, leading to the discovery of the corpse centipede.

Thus, it’s apparent that the corpse centipede is highly variable.

Xia Country has no shortage of talents, and the leader capable of guiding their group to research the corpse centipede is surely a mature and steady medical expert with profound knowledge.

”Our team leader couldn’t be a seventy or eighty-year-old, could they? I wonder if they have good hearing and if they need a hearing aid.”

”Could be a genius, like Ye Mingluo?”

”Probably not Ye Mingluo, I’ve heard that even Ye Mingluo was unable to do anything about Young Master Xiahou’s strange illness. The one who saved Young Master Xiahou was Medicine Farmer Star.”

”So, our team leader is Medicine Farmer Star?”

”Should be, right?”

”Deputy Leader.” A middle-aged man looked at the woman with soft waves and said, ”You’re also a senior member of the Lan Zhong Auction House, it’s said that Medicine Farmer Star is also a member of their auction, do you know their background?”

Months later, the Medicine Farmer Star who cured Young Master Xiahou is still regarded as a mysterious big shot in their eyes.

The deputy leader furrowed her brow, regretfully sighing, ”Lord Medicine Farmer Star is very low-key, I haven’t had a chance to meet him.” After speaking, she glanced at her watch, her expression turning serious as she softly said, ”The team leader should be arriving soon, I’ll go upstairs to meet him.”

”Alright!”

Once the deputy leader left, everyone hurriedly tidied up their disheveled appearances, trying to make a good impression on the team leader.

The 23rd underground research lab is established in the Imperial Territory next to the Alliance Army headquarters. In this sea area, many research stations operate independently, each with different functions, and they never encounter each other during commutes.

This arrangement is also to prevent private interactions and the illegal trade of information.

The deputy leader took a 270-degree sea view elevator straight to the surface.

The 23rd research lab occupies five floors below the seabed, but above sea level, there is only a small watchtower. It looks as ordinary as any other watchtower.

And Xu Xingguang was sitting on an inflatable raft, quietly waiting for her colleague to receive her.

The deputy leader reached the surface, stood on the watchtower, and instinctively searched the sea surface for their ’aged and steady’ old team leader. Instead of spotting the old leader, she only saw a young woman in a red windbreaker.

The deputy leader looked at Xu Xingguang, her expression transitioning from confusion to doubt, and then to shock.

Being in the Imperial Territory, supervised and protected by the army, anyone here must have been approved and cleared by the army. So, she is probably the team leader they are supposed to meet.

But she looked too young!

She looked about the same age as her daughter!

”Young lady, are you here for sea fishing?” the deputy leader asked a question that she herself found ridiculous and amusing.

Xu Xingguang smiled with pursed lips, jumped onto the watchtower platform, then suddenly brought her legs together and delivered a very formal military salute, ”Xu Xingguang, captain of the 23rd Secret Research Group, reporting for duty!”

Hiss!

The deputy leader was utterly dumbfounded.