Delta: Who are you saying has suffered a loss of strength?

"Meeting adjourned!"

Qiu Ying made the decision on her own, stood up from her chair, and started to walk out.

Han Che swallowed his words helplessly and got up to leave.

"Han Che".

Xiao Bai's voice drifted from behind, and everyone in the room paused in their tracks.

Qi Yuzhe had just stood up when he sat back down.

The mule stood next to Qiuying, looking at this and that, unsure whether to move or stop.

"I'm leaving now, bye-bye!" Qiu Ying reacted the fastest, grabbing Mule's collar with her left hand and Qi Yuzhe's sleeve with her right, dragging the two of them out the door together.

The mule was pulled along, staggering a couple of steps and almost tripping over the threshold. It mumbled "Hey hey hey" as it was led out.

Qi Yuzhe didn't struggle, but before walking out, he looked back at Han Che and then closed the conference room door.

Han Che ignored them, only glancing at the doorway where they had disappeared before turning back to look at Xiaobai.

"What's wrong, Xiaobai? If you don't like today's team assignments, you can switch. I don't know what's wrong with Qi Yuzhe today, he can be on my team..."

"No, I have no objection. What's wrong? Don't you want to be on my team?" She tilted her head slightly as she spoke, looking at Han Che and blinking.

"Uh—" Han Che's tongue got tied. "No—that's not what I meant. I was afraid you'd think it was unreasonable."

He was speaking with his back to the conference room door when Xiaobai stood up from his chair.

She walked around the conference table toward Han Che, her steps neither hurried nor slow.

Han Che watched her face getting closer and closer. Her long, silvery-white hair shone with a soft luster under the overhead light, and the ends of her hair swayed gently.

Han Che felt a little nervous without realizing it; his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and he swallowed.

When Xiaobai walked up to him, she didn't stop, but took another small half step forward.

The two were so close that Han Che could feel the faint airflow from her breath; her chest was almost touching his.

Han Che instinctively leaned back, but there was only the edge of the conference table behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

"Uh, Xiaobai?" Han Che broke the silence.

Xiao Bai didn't answer. She raised her right hand and gently placed her fair palm on the center of Han Che's chest. The warm touch of her palm against the fabric was transmitted through the clothes.

Han Che felt something poke under her palm.

Xiao Bai's soft voice came from her chest, "Here, take this, it's safe."

Han Che looked down and could only see the whorl of hair on her head and the silver strands of hair, as well as the fingertips of the hand she was pressing against her chest.

He subconsciously raised his right hand, placed it on the back of Xiaobai's hand, and grasped her hand.

Xiao Bai's fingers lingered in his palm for about a second before she pulled her hand back, and the object in her palm fell into Han Che's hand the instant their hands met.

Han Che knew what it was just by grasping it.

"Quantum storage is a rare item, extremely rare, and practically priceless," Xiaobai said in a low voice. "I only made two. Here, take one as insurance."

Han Che opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xiao Bai didn't give him a chance to speak: "The real danger of the battle will come after everyone has gathered."

"You'll most likely still have to work with Qi Yuzhe to handle some troublesome matters, so I'll leave this one to you two as a backup. I'll go with Qiu Ying and Mule with the main group, and I'll keep the other one for ourselves as a safety net."

Han Che's eyes sharpened; he immediately understood Xiao Bai's intention.

"I won't stray from the main group," Han Che said softly.

"That's not necessarily true..." Xiaobai muttered even softer.

Han Che didn't know how to refute it, because what Xiao Bai said did make sense.

He looked back on his previous actions and realized that he had always gone alone whenever he encountered an emergency, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

This habit can't be changed overnight, and in this kind of operation involving cooperation with two unfamiliar teams, if something goes wrong, he will most likely still stick to his own pace.

"Okay, I understand, thank you, but why are you being so secretive?" Han Che was referring to why they were being so mysterious.

"There are only two," Xiaobai said. "You have to keep it a secret."

"Is this because you're afraid your teammates will be jealous?" Han Che didn't say anything, but just nodded silently.

"Alright, you don't need to come tomorrow or the day after. Go back and get some rest!" Xiao Bai suddenly took a step back and stepped out of the shadow in front of Han Che, speaking in a light tone.

"Okay, sure." Han Che nodded in agreement.

Xiao Bai turned and walked towards the door, but after taking a couple of steps, she turned back and urged, "Let's go! I'm really tired today, let's go home early."

Han Che was still standing there staring at her in a daze. Her profile was clearly defined in the corridor light that leaked through the crack in the door, and the corners of her mouth were slightly curved.

After putting the props in his pocket, Han Che followed Xiao Bai out of the conference room.

……

On the way back, Han Che declined the mule's offer to take them, using other matters as an excuse, and walked along the river with Qi Yuzhe.

"Why walk when there's a car available?" Qi Yuzhe muttered to himself, looking at the river beside him.

"Walk a few steps, it won't kill you," Han Che said irritably.

Qi Yuzhe pursed his lips, then, remembering something, said, "I heard you've been drinking?"

Han Che frowned. He knew what Qi Yuzhe was talking about and didn't want to pay him any attention.

"Drinking with Xiaobai at night and not coming home at all?" Qi Yuzhe raised his eyebrows and said in a sly tone.

Han Che remained silent and continued walking with his head down.

"Did you succeed?" Qi Yuzhe chased after them.

Han Che lowered his head, not wanting to look at him, but Qi Yuzhe had no sense of boundaries, crouching down to look at Han Che's expression from below.

"I heard you two slept at a club? How exciting!" Qi Yuzhe grinned mischievously.

"Get the hell out of here!" Han Che couldn't take it anymore and slapped Qi Yuzhe, but Qi Yuzhe dodged it.

"Why this attitude?" Qi Yuzhe said with dissatisfaction, then seemed to understand something, "Seriously? You couldn't even get this? Brother Han, are you even capable?!"

Qi Yuzhe still had a playful smile on his face, but when he looked over, he saw Han Che's gloomy face, and his eyes revealed either anger or... murderous intent.

Qi Yuzhe was startled and quickly wiped the smile off his face. "What's wrong?"

Han Che didn't say anything and continued walking on his own.

The wind by the water brushed against Han Che's face, sending chills down his spine.

He remembered that the first time he came here for a walk was in late autumn, when the weather was still crisp and clear, but now it was quite chilly.

For some reason, Han Che felt a little dazed; the sense of belonging he had felt before seemed to have faded somewhat.