Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 146 - 142: Unexpected Friend

Chapter 146: Chapter 142: Unexpected Friend

Wang Xu stood in front of the villa at the center of the estate, grinning as he awaited the arrival of the group. Seeing the familiar face of Hu Daoke, he could no longer contain himself, quickly surging forward to embrace Wang Xu in a bear hug, startling everyone present.

"Instructor, I’ve really missed you!" Hu Daoke said loudly, his voice tinged with a cry. It startled everyone to see this usually rough man express his emotions so openly for the first time.

However, Wang Xu didn’t seem to be bothered by this crude display of affection, as he jovially patted Hu Daoke’s head, taunting, "You’re all grown up. What are you crying for?"

Cheng Ziang could not stand it any longer and stepped forward, tugging Hu Daoke by the back of his collar and directing him back towards the group.

"Long time no see, Luo’er." Upon seeing Luo’er step forward, Wang Xu greeted her with a smile.

Luo’er looked at him without much expression. Despite being excited to see Wang Xu, her pride prevented her from showing her true feelings in front of everyone.

Luo’er’s feelings towards Wang Xu were not any less than the others; after all, Wang Xu was merely an instructor to them. Luo’er, on the other hand, was brought up by Wang Xu. One could say her feelings for him were a mix of brotherly and fatherly love.

"We nearly died on the road." Luo’er sighed after staring at him for a long moment.

"It seems you’ve had a hard time." Wang Xu looked around at the group, shaking his head with a smile.

"You can say that again, " Hu Daoke interjected, "We nearly starved to death, almost begging for food across the journey."

"I’m sorry for that. I apologize for the lack of logistical support. A lot of the preparation for your journey into the Otherworld only started a few months before your departure, so some oversights were inevitable," Wang Xu reassured.

"As long as we don’t have to travel by horse carriage again," Hu Daoke muttered under his breath. He quickly shut up after Cheng Ziang nudged him from the side.

"Did we accomplish our task?" Luo’er avoided looking at Hu Daoke and turned the question to Wang Xu.

"Yes," Wang Xu nodded, "Headquarters is pleased. Your performance far exceeded expectations and you’ve provided a lot of vital information beyond what was asked for."

"Naturally, we risked our lives for it." Luo’er seemed relieved.

"But what interests me more is the tale of your adventures during these past days," Wang Xu said as he looked at her.

"Traveling about, shooting guns, collecting information – that’s it!" Luo’er nonchalantly declared, scratching her head in a dismissive manner.

"You’re giving me the short version." Wang Xu remarked with a wry smile.

Luo’er let out a long sigh, "It’s a long story."

"Then let’s go inside and talk. We’ve prepared meals and accommodations for you all, and there’s a mystery guest too," Wang Xu said, stepping aside to make way and threw a suggestive remark into the air.

"A mystery guest?" The group exchanged unsure glances, wondering who this mystery guest Wang Xu mentioned could be.

As they were about to go inside, Wang Xu’s attention was suddenly drawn to a curious looking young girl next to Tangmo. "Who’s this little girl?" he asked.

"She..." Tangmo bent down to shield the girl, fumbling for words as he turned to Luo’er for help.

"Her name is Yaning. She’s a Marsyan," Luo’er replied truthfully.

"Are you guys trafficking young girls now?" Wang Xu looked around at everyone in disbelief, before turning his scrutiny back to Luo’er.

"It’s complicated. In short, her parents are dead, so I’ve made myself responsible for her. That’s why I brought her here," a sigh escaped from Luo’er.

"What do her parents’ deaths have to do with you, and why are you responsible for her?" Wang Xu asked, looking completely puzzled.

"I told you it’s complicated. Can we go inside and talk about it?" Luo’er glared at him, her patience clearly running thin.

"Alright," Wang Xu glanced at her and then at Yaning, before waving them in and saying, "Let’s go in and talk!"

Tangmo looked at Luo’er appreciatively and then picked up Yaning. They followed Wang Xu towards the villa of the estate. Walking up the long stairs, they entered a spacious hall. Large French windows made from Earth-sourced transparent glass let in abundant sunlight from the outside.

Upon arrival, Wang Xu didn’t immediately address them, but instead showed them to their individual rooms, asking them to freshen up and get dressed.

The group, having endured rain, snow, mud, and slept on dirty straw for days on end, looked like beggars stepping into a wealthy relative’s house. They hesitated to even set foot on the villa’s pristine ceramic floor.

The house staff had prepared large tubs of hot water for everyone. The three big men quickly cleaned themselves and jumped into their respective tubs. Despite their naked bodies being in proximity to one another within the tubs, none of them felt any embarrassment. After months of surviving life-and-death situations together, their relationship had evolved to a point where they no longer cared about such trivial matters.

"My, just washing my hair has produced a pile of mud. It’s as if I was washing a head made out of mud. This won’t work, I need to get my hair cut later," Hu Daoke, who was lounging in the tub, complained as he touched his hair.

Cheng Ziang was sitting in the tub, the hot water reaching just above his mouth, blowing bubbles into the water. After a long silence, he finally couldn’t resist asking, "Who do you think is the mystery guest the Instructor mentioned?"

"Who cares, they aren’t a bad person. Why do you always overanalyze these trivial matters!" Hu Daoke rolled his eyes at Cheng Ziang, leaning his head against the side of the tub.

If Cheng Ziang had a weapon in his hand, he would have undoubtedly used it to hit Hu Daoke. With a glare at Hu Daoke, he turned his gaze to Luo’er.

"I don’t know either," Luo’er shrugged, "But judging by his tone, it should be someone we know."

"We all know each other," Cheng Ziang pondered for a moment, then asked, "Could it be your grandfather?"

Luo’er didn’t seem angry, now he barely got upset with his grandfather anymore. He shook his head and said, "Probably not, his health condition wouldn’t allow him to enter Otherworld. Besides, he’s powerless at the headquarters now, how could he possibly come to Otherworld so easily."

"We all know each other, and they’re from headquarters..." Cheng Ziang thought for a while before lifting his head, "I think I know who it is."

"Who?" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but ask, sitting up.

"None of your business, as long as they’re not the bad guys!" Cheng Ziang snapped back rudely.

"You!"

Hu Daoke was audibly miffed, he scooped up some bath water and splashed it at Cheng Ziang. Cheng Ziang was not to be outdone, and splashed water back at him.

"Both of you cut it out!" Luo’er, squinting into the water sprays, shouted with his arms outstretched. He stood between the two, and unfortunately caught all the water they splashed at each other.

They played around for quite a while. All three were just about exhausted by the time they came out of the bathroom and changed into fresh clothes. The girls had been waiting for them in the hallway for a long time, they didn’t have children’s clothes prepared for Yaning so she had to put on Tangmo’s outfit. Despite that it was the smallest size available, it still looked comically oversized on her.

Tangmo was holding Yaning, her face beaming with a loving smile. As she turned around and saw the spent-looking Luo’er, she couldn’t help but ask, "What happened to you all, Luo’er?"

Luo’er sighed, shook his head and said, "We had a minor incident."

Baiyue glanced at him, the same drained expression on her face. Looking into each other’s eyes, they shared a sense of mutual exhaustion.

"Are you all cleaned up?" Wang Xu walked over from somewhere and asked, smiling.

"Instructor, don’t we have any Earth-style clothes here? I’m really missing our school uniforms," Hu Daoke queried.

"This is Otherworld, you want to wear Earth-style clothes and risk being found out?" Wang Xu replied.

He stepped forward, looked at Yaning in Tangmo’s arms, then asked, "Are you planning on leaving her here?"

"Can we?" Tangmo lifted her head to look at him, a pleading look in her eyes. She turned to Luo’er for help.

Luo’er stepped forward, "We can’t keep her around us, so we thought to leave her here. If that’s not an option, I can take her with me."

"I didn’t say it wasn’t an option," Wang Xu chuckled at his response.

"So, it’s okay then?" Tangmo asked excitedly.

Wang Xu sighed, then looked at Yaning again. She stared at him with her big, curious eyes, not a hint of fear evident in her bright gaze.

He looked at Yaning as if he had something to say, but ended up just turning back to the group instead, "Come over here, let’s introduce you to them!"

"Them?" The group exchanged puzzled glances, then followed him.

They all walked down the brightly-lit, wide hallway to a spacious hall. There was a long table styled after Otherworld designs, with a few people sitting around it. Some familiar figures were present.

One of them was facing the window, bathed in the outdoor scenery. As he heard them walk in, he turned around, smiled, and greeted, "Long time no see, Zero Team!"

"Murong!!"

The group gasped, for it was none other than the Hunter Team that had ranked first in the selection contest but had its Advance Team spot snatched away by the second-ranked Zero Team.

Why were they there? Could it be that headquarters planned to dispatch two Advance Teams at the same time, or was this an indication of a plan to expand the scope of the Advance Team?

Puzzled, Luo’er turned to Wang Xu. Noticing his glance, Wang Xu explained, "Murong and his team are here to study."

"Study, study what?" The one asking was Hu Daoke.

"Magic Practice!" Wang Xu answered.

Luo’er opened his mouth, but ultimately decided not to continue asking. Indeed, if one wanted to practice magic, Otherworld would be the best choice. Although the Virtual Battlefield could simulate magic, it was, after all, still a simulation and not as realistic as practicing in Otherworld.

"It’s been almost half a year now. You all seem much more mature." Seeing that Luo’er didn’t respond, Murong continued speaking with a smile. His demeanor was just as humbling as it was the first time they had met.

"After suffering for several months, naturally we’ve changed quite a bit," Luo’er walked up to him and replied, somewhat teasingly.

Murong chuckled and was about to respond when Zhuanzhu, who had been sitting next to him with his arms crossed, interrupted. "Yeah, come to Otherworld and suffer, you’re really at a loss here."

"Zhuanzhu!" Before Luo’er had a chance to retort, Murong immediately snapped back at him. He shot Zhuanzhu a glare and turned to Luo’er with an apologetic look, "Sorry, he’s made a fool of us again."

"Hmph!"

Seeing Murong’s apologetic expression and the grumpy-looking Zhuanzhu, Luo’er couldn’t help but chuckle coldly.