“Will there be any problems in letting them go like this?” I was still a little worried.
Sandora answered, “Don’t worry, the Xyrin Empire’s technology won’t go wrong so easily. The nerve-control agents implanted in them will guarantee they will not let a word slip. My gut tells me that they haven’t told us the whole truth; if we didn’t do this, we would never know who the mastermind is.”
“This is rather problematic.” I sighed. “It seems like I am really not cut out for such work requiring a huge amount of thinking and brain cells. You are actually quite good at this, and it will be such a waste if you don’t put it to good use.”
“Hence, annihilating every human that has animosity towards you is the simplest and most effective method for you.” Pandora—who had a very low sense of presence right from the start—suddenly said as she elevated her sense of being in an instant.
I rapped her head with a moderate amount of strength and said, “Battle-crazy maniac!”
Sandora was even worse; the Warsong Princess on a temporary truce actually placed her hands on her chest and said with a pure and innocent face, “I need to leave the battlefield and fighting behind; only peace can rescue this chaotic world…”
I wonder who was the fellow that thought of implanting parasitic organisms in others!
By the time we got back home, it was already one in the morning.
Time within the holographic world moved differently with the real world. Hence, although we had spent a considerable amount of time in there, in actual fact; we hadn’t wasted much time in the real world. My Big Sister thought that we had only left for not even an hour… which was the time we spent looking for Aliya.
Once we entered, I realized that all the lights at home were switched on. As Big Sister was very thrifty, this was a rare sight. The only explanation was that today’s incident had scared her badly. She could only use this method to comfort herself.
I had just spoken when I heard the sound of a collision from Big Sister’s room. After that, Big Sister’s tearful but still beautiful face peeped out from behind her room door. Seeing that it was us, she immediately looked extremely relieved as she rushed to us.
“Ah Jun!” My Big Sister cupped my face as she did not hide her anxiety whatsoever, “How are you? Are you hurt? Three thugs were looking for you just now. I… are you alright?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I comforted my Big Sister by patting her quivering back. Since young, my Big Sister had taken care of me and took on the responsibility of this family; however, no matter how strong she seemed, she was still an ordinary girl. Encountering such a terrifying incident, it was normal to have this reaction.
“Ah Jun,”—Big Sister suddenly raised her head and looked worriedly at me—”have you caused trouble outside? Why did those three men say you have offended someone you shouldn’t have? Or are you hiding something from me?”
What was going to come… finally came.
At this moment, one of the highest leaders of the universe’s strongest Empire was faced with a tough choice.
“I suggest that you don’t tell her the entire truth.” Sandora’s voice suddenly rang out in my heart.
“Why not?”
“It might not be a good thing, knowing so much. The Empire’s secrets are not that important for people who can protect them. However, your sister is but an ordinary person. If she comes into contact with these things, she would have to pay a price. For example, what if someday, some people have designs on the Empire? At that time, Chen Qing—who knew the Empire’s secrets and couldn’t protect herself—would become their number-one target.
“Rather than sending as many soldiers as you can to protect her, you’d rather not let her get in touch with these things her whole life. Furthermore, even if she is your kin, once she knew that you are no longer an ordinary human; could you guarantee that her relationship with you will be as per normal?”
I grew silent.
Sandora’s words made sense. I believed that the Empire’s soldiers could protect my Big Sister well under any circumstance and that even if Big Sister knew about my secret, she would still accept me. However, rather than going through so much hassle and potential problems, it would be better if Big Sister was as far away as possible from things that shouldn’t appear in her life. She should be able to peacefully and happily live her life. At the very least, there was no need to disrupt this peace at the moment.
“Ah Jun,”—seeing me grow quiet, Big Sister looked at me curiously—”what’s the matter? Why aren’t you talking? Can’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”
Standing on one side, Sandora said, “Don’t worry; they are just some insignificant thugs. Some triad boss had some misunderstanding with Chen Jun. However, as I have intervened, those unlucky thugs will not cause any more problems. I believe that the Chinese government would take my words as a princess into consideration.”
“Is that so?” Hearing Sandora’s assurance, Big Sister relaxed slightly. However, she was still a little doubtful. “Ah Jun, how did you offend someone from the triads?”
I shrugged and said, “Who knows? The triads have never needed a reason to do something. Don’t you know me? I am very obedient and well-mannered normally.”
Seeing Big Sister still wanting to say something, I immediately tried to distract her. If she continued to ask, my story might start to fall apart. “Right, Big Sister, we are going traveling the day after tomorrow. How’s the preparation?”
Big Sister had a unique characteristic: she could only focus on one thing at a time. Once a second matter came pressing, she would immediately forget about her first task. This quirk of hers was a saving grace to me now. Big Sister immediately forgot about the triads and the three thugs as she immediately started to look forward to the upcoming trip.
She supported her face with a hand, as if thinking about anything she might not have prepared yet, as she said, “I have more or less prepared everything; Qianqian’s family as well. The problem is the two of you are so secretive: you guys aren’t telling us where we are going. I am not sure if I should bring some other things or not. Ah Jun, can you tell me now at long last? Where are you two planning to bring us to?”
I smiled and said, “It’s—a secret!”
As a matter of fact, even I did not know the destination of this trip.
After telling Lin Xue of our plan to go traveling, she had confidently slapped her chest and guaranteed that she would settle everything; she had then disappeared. Until now, she refused to tell us what kind of itinerary she had planned for us. Whenever we talked on the phone, she would keep on reassuring me, saying, “Relax, I will definitely give you guys a big surprise!”
In fact, since I decided to hand this task to this lady that I have never gotten along well with, I had never relaxed a single moment.
…
As it turned out, my instincts were quite reliable.
“This is the so-called New Year seven-day Golden Week commemoration tour you have arranged for us?!” Seeing the vast expanse of sand and huge rocks scattered, I angrily protested to Lin Xue.
“To be more precise, it should be called ‘the New Year seven-day Golden Week to commemorate the ending of high school and the beginning of a new era tour’,” Lin Xue said seriously as if not minding my murderous look at all.
Where did she think of such a ridiculous name? Lin Xue, do you think that you have a flair for making jokes? Or did you think that messing around with two Xyrin Emperors and a Xyrin General gave you a sense of accomplishment?
Dang it; Lin Xue had actually arranged for us to come to a desert!
The Sahara Desert!
Alright. I’d admit that this place was filled with mysteries, foreign cultures, and ancient glorious ruins of civilizations long past; it was indeed not a bad spot for a trip. If these ancient ruins were discovered by some entrepreneurial businessmen, they could definitely make this place into a money-making machine. However…
To bring us to the Sahara Desert to tour the stone structures of ancient civilization during the New Year; what was Lin Xue thinking?
Furthermore, since our trip to the alternate world, Qianqian and her father had developed a serious case of phobia of deserts and ancient ruins of sorts; was Lin Xue intentionally trying to create trouble?!
According to the original plan, Qianqian’s parents were supposed to come along. However, as Uncle Xu could not get away from work, Auntie had decided to accompany Uncle Xu; and only Qianqian had come along with us.
Oh, as well as Sandora.
Unexpectedly, my Big Sister had not been negatively affected by the surprise tour plans; she was actually filled with excitement.
In her words, this was a rare opportunity to explore and wasn’t something that could be done normally. As long as they were all happy, she didn’t mind the destination that much.
At the start, she had actually felt a little strange that I had managed to arrange a tour to the Sahara Desert. However, as I had Sandora as a perfect excuse, I had attributed this entire trip to her; and everything made sense to my Big Sister.
For some reason, I kept having a feeling that this desert tour Lin Xue had arranged was not going to be purely sightseeing.