Who said this card is outrageous?

"All right……"

"But now only the Jinqiu City team hasn't come out yet. Could it be them?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in surprise. Some of the quicker ones immediately pulled out the team's information and discovered that one of the two fourth-tier extraordinary individuals leading the team was a martial artist.

If he has that armor, that's certainly a possibility.

However, before they could continue their discussion, news broke at the scene—the advance team stationed in the rift confirmed that the six-man squad from Jinqiu City had been completely wiped out, and their bodies had been recovered.

The scene erupted in uproar.

This time, the squads that entered the rift did suffer casualties. Several squads had previously lost one or two people, and even two vice-captains went missing.

However, most of the team survived.

Now, news suddenly arrives that the entire army has been wiped out, and not just missing, but their bodies have all been recovered.

They immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

Since Jinqiu City can gain access to the rift without needing to team up with others, it indicates that the city has strong overall strength, and the team should at least have some trump cards capable of dealing with fifth-tier transcendents.

Compared to the strength of most teams present, even if they are not superior, they are basically at the same level.

This means that if they encountered an opponent capable of annihilating the Golden Hill City team, they would most likely suffer the same fate!

At this point, the whereabouts of all fifteen teams that entered the rift for exploration are now clear, and there is naturally no need for the points calculation team to stay any longer.

The others also had no reason to stay. However, it was foreseeable that the annihilation of the Golden Hill City team would be a topic of ongoing discussion for some time to come, until all the teams left the city.

……

Zhang Che didn't rest along the way. All he could think about was getting back to his lodgings as soon as possible to get some rest and clean himself up.

Although there are many water sources in the subspace filled with high concentrations of fire-attribute extraordinary energy, very few are usable directly.

By calculation, Zhang Che hadn't taken a bath for almost half a month.

If there's really no other way, then so be it, but since we've already left that subspace, there's no need to mistreat ourselves anymore.

The girls in the group had just left the rift, experiencing the stark contrast between the ice and fire environment of the warp and the outside world. Their feelings of wonder and relief were still fresh in their minds.

After nearly two hours, Zhang Che finally saw the outline of the villa, and his heart was filled with longing to return home.

But when he finally arrived at his doorstep, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Zhang Che's heart, causing him to subconsciously withdraw his hand that was already reaching for the door.

"What's going on?" Zhang Che wondered, but the tremor was fleeting. He tried to find its trace again, but he couldn't find it. It was as if nothing had happened.

Could it really be just my imagination?

Despite his thoughts, Zhang Che felt that the villa, which should have been a safe haven, suddenly took on a different meaning when he looked at it.

This made him a little nervous.

However, Zhang Che finally made up his mind and went inside. After all, this was already the safest place in Qi'an City. If he was afraid even here, then there wouldn't be many safe places left in the entire city.

Once inside the villa, with the main gate no longer an obstacle, the familiar presence of Song Ruolan and the others came into Zhang Che's sensory range.

"Huh? Why is everyone gathered in the main building's living room? Could something have happened?"

Zhang Che noticed that the others hadn't gone to rest; instead, they had gathered together, as if they were waiting for him.

My heart sank, so I didn't care about anything else and quickened my pace toward the main building's living room.

"Why are you all here...?"

Before he could finish the word "inside," Zhang Che's gaze fell upon Fu Xing and the others sitting upright on the sofa like well-behaved children.

The seat that Zhang Che should have normally sat in was occupied by a girl who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old.

Her skin was fair and translucent, her figure was slender, and her long, light silver hair fell to her waist. Although her eyes and brows were somewhat aloof, there was no hint of sharpness or detachment.

The girl was wearing an ice-blue dress and was sipping a cup of tea slowly. She only put it back on the table after she saw who it was.

"You are Zhang Che."

The girl simply observed him quietly, without making any other movements.

But Zhang Che felt as if he were in an ice cave, and the invisible pressure was about to crush him.

Chapter 266 First Meeting with Lin Zhaoli

"Yes."

Under suffocating pressure, Zhang Che only had the strength to utter this one word.

After receiving the answer, the girl nodded gently, and the pressure on Zhang Che disappeared. He also took a few deep breaths.

Zhang Che didn't ask such a brainless question as the other party's identity. Don't forget that this is Lin Jiming's house, so naturally there are photos of her younger sister, Lin Zhaoli.

Putting everything else aside, there's a photo of Lin Jiming and his sister on a table against the wall on one side of the living room. The sweet-smiling girl in the photo is sitting right in front of everyone.

Not to mention that terrifying strength, Zhang Che felt that the opponent could kill everyone present with just a thought!

As his thoughts raced, Zhang Che heard Lin Zhaoli's voice again: "What are you still standing there for? Do it."

"Oh, yes." Zhang Che quickly walked over to Fu Xing and found a place to sit down, his posture equally proper, not daring to overstep the bounds in the slightest.

On the other side, Lin Zhaoli looked at the group sitting upright, and she didn't know what she was thinking. She just said gently, "I have already looked into the house. Since it was my brother who allowed you to move in, then everything can continue as before."

As she spoke, Lin Zhaoli reassured the others, "Don't be so nervous, I don't eat people."

“Especially you, Zhang Che, you are a friend approved by my brother, so you are also my friend. I will probably be in the city for a few days. If you need any help, you can come and find me directly.”

After saying all that, Lin Zhaoli knew that staying here would only make these young people uncomfortable, so she left the living room and went back to her room.

Several more minutes passed, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Lin Zhaoli had returned to her room.

Pan Tingting was the first to give in and buried her face in Li Yao's arms.

Her physical condition was already somewhat poor due to a slight depletion of mental energy, and she had just been in a state of high tension. The fact that she had been able to persevere until now was already a result of her great effort.

Fu Xing looked on with a look of deep sympathy: "Phew, I didn't expect His Majesty Frost Domain to come back at this time. I was the first one to come in just now, and I was almost scared to death."

As he spoke, he touched his forehead, which was not actually cold sweat, clearly indicating that he was genuinely frightened.

After all, this is a genuine eighth-tier transcendent being, and a sword saint specializing in combat. Even someone as formidable as my grandfather probably wouldn't last three moves against him.

However, on the other hand, it was quite a novel experience to hear such an important person, who was not related to them at all, speak so...so gently.

After Fu Xing expressed his opinion, even Song Ruolan, who had previously met high-level superhumans, felt that it was indeed true, not to mention the other four people who had only seen such important figures on television.

But the most enviable one is Zhang Che, after all, they just heard Lin Zhaoli admit that he was her friend and said that they could ask her for help if they needed anything.

Of course, everyone was aware of their place, knowing that even if such verbal promises from important figures were truly effective, they could only be used in life-or-death crises; otherwise, they would only diminish or even erase the friendship between them.

……

"Yes, yes, Lady Lin Zhaoli's title is 'Frost Domain Sword Saint'. I originally thought she was a very cold and aloof beauty."

Li Yao was the quickest to speak, and was the second to pick up the conversation.

"I never expected that the beauty was real, but she's not cold at all. No way, I hereby declare Lady Zhaoli my idol, and I'm going to be her fan for life!"

Li Yao became more and more excited as she spoke, until Pan Tingting in her arms let out a painful groan due to her excessive movements, at which point she quickly sat up straight again.

"Tingting, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

“It’s okay…” Pan Tingting held Li Yao’s hand weakly, and then said to her with a firm tone, “My good sister, count me in too.”

"Ok!"

The two women reached a consensus once again.

Leaving aside the two girls' celebrity-obsessed topics, Zhang Che was confirming with Song Ruolan and Ruan Ruoshi whether they had handed Lin Lei and the other girl over to the city hall.

"The person was handed over when we were in the valley. At first, Lin Lei tried to accuse us, but when the person in charge of receiving the person heard that you were our captain, he took the person away directly."

"Those people probably think that the person who personally killed Mirage Princess wouldn't lie to them about things related to the Eye of Truth."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Che was momentarily at a loss for words, only able to sigh inwardly that he hadn't expected so many things to still be connected to her after killing Shen Ji.

However, now that the city hall staff have taken over, the rest is no longer his concern; those above him will handle that.

Just as they finished discussing business, Zhang Che looked up and saw that Fu Xing had somehow joined Li Yao and Pan Tingting, and the three of them were having a very lively discussion.

Of course, Li Yao, the intelligence expert, was mainly in charge of speaking, while the other two listened. And the content was basically all related to Lin Zhaoli and her brother.

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Che and the other two couldn't help but go over, and then they overheard Li Yao saying that a big shot from the Adventurers' Guild had a keen eye for talent and discovered Lin Zhaoli's talent after her parents died, so he decided to take her back to train her.

With both parents dead, he and his older brother were left to depend on each other for survival. Wasn't this a gift from God to the Adventurers' Guild?

Once they're properly trained, they'll be the rightful heirs!

However, it's clear that even the big shot who adopted Lin Zhaoli and her sister back then didn't expect her to be so successful. The higher-ups of the Adventurers' Guild must be grinning from ear to ear.

"Alas, compared to Lady Lin Zhaoli's talent, Lady Lin Jiming is far inferior..." Li Yao sighed as she said this.

"Shh!" Fu Xing quickly interrupted, "Are you out of your mind? This is not something we can just talk about!"

As he spoke, he deliberately pointed in the direction Lin Zhaoli had just left.

The perception of high-level superhumans is extraordinary; who knows if the other party is watching them right now?

If someone overhears what they said about crickets biting someone's own brother, they'll definitely suffer.

Knowing she had spoken out of turn, Li Yao immediately shut her mouth tightly, not daring to utter another word.

Seeing this, Zhang Che had no choice but to step in and end the matter, telling everyone that it was officially over and that the most important thing was for everyone to go back and get some rest, and that any important matters could be discussed tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed and soon left the living room.

Chapter 267 Initiative

Time flies by.

Somewhat surprisingly, Frost Domain Sword Saint seemed to be a homebody. Apart from their meeting three days ago, Zhang Che had hardly seen her at the villa.

The other person locks himself in his room all day, and I don't know how he manages to eat and drink.

Of course, since he was a high-ranking, extraordinary figure, appearing and disappearing without a trace was a basic skill for him, and Zhang Che couldn't simply use the methods of an ordinary person to understand his actions.

Maybe no one even noticed Lin Zhaoli coming in and going.

Zhang Che didn't want to think about these trivial matters right now, because the team had just received a notice yesterday telling them to go to the city hall to collect their rewards for this exploration mission.