Chapter 153: Easy Prey

Wanqi Lianjun glanced at him and said, "You are the only one who lacks self-control."

Wanqi Weihan immediately shut his mouth. The imposing aura of his father was simply too overwhelming.

"Xuan Guo is still of some use for now, but your father has already uncovered some clues. It won't be much longer, and she won't be able to jump around for long," Wanqi Yi said to Xuan Xuan, considering that Xuan Xuan was the one who had been wronged.

Xuan Xuan nodded understandingly, though she wondered what exactly had been uncovered. Could it be that while she was in the Star Network, Xuan Guo had already contacted other Zerg?

"What happened to Xuan Guo again?" Wanqi Weihan asked, casting a cautious glance at Wanqi Lianjun after he finished speaking.

"Instead of having the spare time to care about this, why don't you go practice your mecha piloting? You're completely wasting such a good mecha that Xuan Xuan gave you," Wanqi Yi glanced at him. It wasn't that he disapproved of them knowing about these matters, but this affair involved the Bai family, and he did not want to speak ill of the Bai family in front of the two brothers before everything was fully investigated.

No matter what, that was also their mother's natal family. Even though they had little contact, those people were still their uncles and grandfather.

Wanqi Weihao and Wanqi Weihan slumped their heads despondently as they watched Wanqi Yi return to the study. Wanqi Lianhao called out to Xuan Xuan and followed them inside.

Seeing them enter, Wanqi Yi said, "We just received news that Xuan Guo is about to resume contact with the Zerg."

Xuan Xuan knew much more about the Zerg, and Wanqi Yi wanted her to be informed as well.

To be courting death so quickly—Xuan Xuan could not understand it. "Why is she suddenly planning to look for the Zerg again?"

"Bai Ruchen sought her out. He probably grew impatient seeing that we haven't made any moves. Of course, this is just our speculation; they haven't taken action yet," Wanqi Lianhao explained.

Xuan Xuan nodded with understanding. They probably assumed that after discovering the Wanqi family, no further investigations were being conducted, which made them increasingly daring. The long line had been cast, and the big fish was about to bite.

However, Xuan Guo had not made any moves yet, at least not judging by the lack of reaction from the Zerg within her body. "I will try my best to stay vigilant recently."

Wanqi Yi nodded. It would naturally be best if Xuan Xuan could remotely monitor Xuan Guo, but he added, "You must also look out for your own safety."

Xuan Xuan knew that as someone capable of detecting Zerg parasitism, she was likely an eyesore to them, an existence they would want to deal with as early as possible. However, she wasn't the only one who could detect them; Lou Yitong could as well. Xuan Xuan reminded him, "Dad, Lou Yitong must be protected too."

Wanqi Lianhao nodded; that went without saying.

Meanwhile, Bai Ruchen was not only considering contacting the Zerg with Xuan Guo; ever since he was parasitized by the Zerg, Xuan Guo was the first person that came to his mind whenever anything happened, let alone events related to Xuan Guo herself.

"Are you saying that the mecha in the Rookie Competition was genuinely built by Wanqi Xuanxuan herself?" Xuan Guo asked, her eyes wide as she stared at Bai Ruchen before her.

Bai Ruchen nodded. "Yes."

"Impossible," Xuan Guo's voice was shrill. How could Wanqi Xuanxuan possibly build such a mecha by herself?

Bai Ruchen explained, "Kuang Hongyi is her teacher."

"Didn't Kuang Hongyi claim he never accepts trash? Back then, a mecha-crafting genius who graduated from the Federal First Military Academy asked to become his student, and he refused." Even his own son was dismissed by Kuang Hongyi as lacking the raw talent for mecha crafting; how could he possibly accept someone as useless as Wanqi Xuanxuan?

Bai Ruchen felt helpless, but this was the reality. "The Federal First Military Academy has already investigated and verified it."

Xuan Guo gritted her teeth. If Wanqi Xuanxuan had truly built it, then she had essentially slandered her, openly defying the authority of the Federal First Military Academy. If the academy decided to deal with her, even Bai Ruchen would have no reason to intervene.

Moreover, with this slander on her record, her reputation would be virtually ruined.

"What should we do?" Xuan Guo asked.

Bai Ruchen suddenly said, "What if Wanqi Xuanxuan mysteriously disappears beforehand?"

They would have to deal with Wanqi Xuanxuan sooner or later anyway; eliminating her tomorrow would at least protect Xuan Guo.

"Disappear? How is that possible?" With members of the Wanqi family constantly by her side, it would be difficult for Wanqi Xuanxuan to meet with any accident. Countless people followed her wherever she went, and Wanqi Weihao and Wanqi Weihan looked as though their eyes were glued to her. How could they possibly allow anything to happen to her?

Bai Ruchen asked, "Wanqi Xuanxuan is useless, isn't she?"

Xuan Guo sneered, "She's utterly useless in both literature and martial arts—good for nothing."

Bai Ruchen smiled. "I heard she has no psychic abilities, and even her spiritual power and physical combat skills are poor?"

Xuan Guo nodded. "I really don't know why the Wanqi family treats her like a precious treasure."

"Then it will be easy to handle," Bai Ruchen smiled.

Xuan Guo said, "But she can detect Zerg parasitism."

Bai Ruchen sneered, "That's precisely why she deserves to die even more. However, since she has the skill to modify mechas, let's capture her alive first; she still has some utility."

"Wanqi Weihao and Wanqi Weihan are always with her. What should we do?" Xuan Guo naturally wanted nothing more than to capture Xuan Xuan, but she knew that with the presence of Wanqi Weihao and the others, it was simply impossible.

Bai Ruchen said, "Lure them away. You can handle a solitary Wanqi Xuanxuan by yourself, right?"

Wouldn't it be easy to trick Wanqi Weihao and Wanqi Weihan into leaving?

Furthermore, without spiritual power or physical combat skills, dealing with her in Xuan Guo's hands would be like child's play.

"Tomorrow at the Federal First Military Academy, it's bound to be extremely crowded and chaotic. Right before entering the arena, I'll have people deliberately disperse them and then stall Wanqi Weihao and his brother," Bai Ruchen said. "I'll arrange a few people for you; you can just take them and capture her directly."

After saying this, Bai Ruchen added, "The Wanqi family has made zero investigations into the Zerg. They seem completely unaware and have no suspicions about us."

"It probably won't be that simple." Xuan Guo felt a lingering sense of unease. Although things had been progressing relatively smoothly and they had cleaned up their tracks even when minor flaws appeared, she still felt that the Wanqi family could not possibly have failed to notice.

Bai Ruchen smiled and said, "That's because you don't understand the relationship between the Bai family and the Wanqi family. Especially since the person who originally discovered this matter was Wanqi Lianjun—it makes sense that he wouldn't suspect anything, given that his two sons are my nephews."

Only then did Xuan Guo feel slightly reassured. With this layer of connection between the Wanqi family and the Bai family, they naturally wouldn't harbor excessive suspicions toward the Bai family members.

"Our operation proceeds as planned. You should contact your father," Bai Ruchen said, then asked, "Are his manpower reserves sufficient? If not, I can arrange a few more people for you."

If possible, the Bai family did not want to be controlled by others. Contacting the Zerg through the Xuan family's connections was naturally inferior to the Bai family establishing contact themselves. If they could wedge their own people in, they wouldn't need to rely on the Xuan family later—especially since the Xuan family members were insatiable wild wolves who might turn around and bite them at any moment.

"No need. If I need anyone, I'll speak up," Xuan Guo refused without hesitation.

Naturally, Xuan Guo would not let Bai Ruchen have his way, especially since she could clearly see right through his intentions.

Once she lost her advantage and the Bai family tried to cut her off, what would become of her? The larva inside Bai Ruchen's body could only control the Zerg, not her. Once the Zerg and the Bai family established direct contact, she would become completely useless.

Xuan Guo knew best how useless things were disposed of; she never wanted to become that discarded piece of trash.

After Bai Ruchen left, Xuan Guo immediately contacted her father, Xuan Qin. How much support the Bai family would give her tomorrow depended on how much contribution she could make. Bai Ruchen alone could not represent the Bai family, especially since the one calling the shots in the Bai family was Bai Zhenhua, not to mention the existence of Bai Rumeng.

Right now, she, Xuan Guo, was the Xuan family's only hope, and that was her value.

Within the Xuan family, she now came first; even her father had to obediently listen to her.

After contacting her father and asking about the situation on his end, learning that there were no major issues, she noted that the Zerg inside her body had seemed somewhat restless lately.

That was why Xuan Guo felt uneasy, suspecting that the previous events had gone too smoothly. However, it now seemed that wasn't the case; there must be some other reason.

The next morning marked the beginning of the finals of the Rookie Competition. Following the earlier allegations that someone had accused the Wanqi family of cheating—though for all these years, only the Federal First Military Academy had ever accused others of cheating, and no one had ever dared to question its fairness—such a bizarre event naturally drew countless onlookers. Furthermore, the strength of the competing teams in this year's rookie tournament was formidable, making it a great spectacle to watch.

When Xuan Xuan and her group arrived at the school, it was already a sea of people. Together with Wanqi Weihao, Wanqi Weihan, and Lou Yitong, even though they used the VIP passage, the path leading up to the martial arts arena was still packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

Wanqi Weihao tried his best to stay right behind Xuan Xuan, but as the crowd grew denser and under deliberate pushing and shoving, Wanqi Weihan and Xuan Xuan were soon separated. Xuan Xuan pulled on Lou Yitong to stop, and Wanqi Weihao asked, "What is it?"

People all around were deliberately weaving through them, intentionally widening the distance between her and Wanqi Weihao.

The corners of Xuan Xuan's lips curled upward. It seemed that as soon as she mentioned it earlier, someone had already grown impatient and made a move.

She wasn't going anywhere else, nor did she have other business to attend to. Waylaying her at the school turned out to be a good method, but someone seemed to regard her as a soft persimmon. Was she really that easy to manipulate?

She thought to herself that as long as Wanqi Weihao was around, they would never dare to make a move. It seemed she needed to lend them a helping hand. She instructed Lou Yitong, "Stay close to Wanqi Weihao."

Then she told Wanqi Weihao, "I'll notify you later, and then you can rush over."

Wanqi Weihao frowned. Although he didn't know what Xuan Xuan was planning to do, he refused to let her take any risks. "No way."

Xuan Xuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Even someone I can't defeat—do you think you can protect me?"

Thinking of Xuan Xuan's terrifying strength, Wanqi Weihao flushed with embarrassment. Xuan Xuan's strength had always outpaced theirs, and trailing behind her, they had merely been a pair of dead weights.

"Take good care of Lou Yitong," Xuan Xuan instructed. "In a moment, pretend you lost track of me and first go find Wanqi Weihan. I want to see what on earth they are trying to do."