Chapter 142: Qingli Departs

Xue Qi and the others also noticed this strange phenomenon. His eyes were filled with worry as he rushed to Qing Li’s side and said, "Boss, look at this—"

Before he could finish, a gesture from Qing Li silenced him. Watching the composed Qing Li, the anxiety in Xue Qi’s heart slowly began to subside. He knew that his boss must have his own considerations, and their duty was simply to obey orders.

Qing Li nodded, looked at Xue Qi, and said, "Continue the fight!"

Xue Qi offered a military salute and replied loudly, "Yes!" before turning and running off.

Qin Yu watched Xue Qi’s retreating back, a trace of concern flashing in her eyes. "Brother Li," she said, her voice heavy with worry, "this way of fighting is not sustainable. We cannot seem to eliminate these mutant animals, but the energy of our people is limited. Once we reach our limit, I fear this base..."

She left the rest of the sentence unsaid, knowing that Qing Li understood exactly what she meant.

Qing Li watched the mutant animals still pressing forward, a dark glint in his eyes. He knew that a high-level mutant creature must be orchestrating all of this, and the strange behavior of these beasts was likely linked to it. However, finding that king amidst the overwhelming sea of mutants would be a monumental task.

As he thought this, he waved his hand, and a bolt of lightning struck down, instantly obliterating a third-tier mutant.

Qin Yu watched as Qing Li continued to attack in silence. She sighed softly and redoubled her own efforts, using her water-based abilities to take down as many mutants as possible.

Time slipped away in the relentless battle between humanity and the mutants. The moment the sun dipped below the horizon, the mutant animals suddenly stopped as if on command, retreating in unison by about a hundred meters.

The humans within the base, exhausted, felt a surge of relief at the sudden withdrawal and sat down to rest and replenish their energy.

Qing Li looked at the retreating army of mutants with a flicker of confusion. He knew that these creatures were generally more formidable at night; if they had continued their assault, breaking the base would have been a matter of time. Why had they stopped so abruptly? Had something happened to their leader?

***

While Qing Li was deep in thought, at the rear of the mutant army, a fourth-tier lion flicked its tail, a look of smug satisfaction on its face.

"Hmph, I really am a virtuous lion! Look, the sun has set, so it’s time for a ceasefire. We shall resume the fight tomorrow! Truly, a lion as honorable as I am is a rare sight indeed!" The lead lion thought with glee, its eyes slowly drifting shut.

Surrounding it were a pack of third-tier mutants. They lay silently on the ground, watching their slumbering leader with blank, expressionless faces.

Back at the base, Qin Yu watched the resting mutants, and a strange thought suddenly crossed her mind. She tugged at Qing Li and whispered, "Brother Li, do you think the leader stopped because it feels like attacking us at night is taking advantage of us? Could it be that it wants a fair fight?"

It must be said that Qin Yu’s train of thought had, quite bizarrely, aligned perfectly with that of the Lion King.

Qing Li was stunned by her words. For some reason, he suddenly felt that Yu’er’s logic made perfect sense.

He looked at the darkening sky and said with a hint of "sorrow," "Perhaps that is the case."

Both Qing Li and Qin Yu twitched the corners of their mouths, their internal thoughts now eerily synchronized: *That foolish mutant king! The Lion King is what you call upright! Upright! You bunch of foolish humans!*

Qing Li rubbed his temples and then patted Qin Yu’s head. "Yu’er, how about this: you go back and steady the others, and I will slip out of the base to scout the leader’s position."

Obscured by the night, Qin Yu could not see the expression on Qing Li’s face. She only felt his gaze fixed upon her, as if he were trying to pull her into his very soul.

She struggled internally for a moment before shaking her head. "I’ll go with you! Little Mei and the others are at the base; they should be fine."

Qing Li looked at the persistent Qin Yu and sighed helplessly. "Yu’er, it’s not that I don’t want you with me, but it will be much easier for me to move alone."

Qin Yu froze. Was Brother Li disappointed in her? Did he think she was holding him back? At this thought, her spirits dampened. Her strength was indeed still far from his.

Sensing her sudden despondency, Qing Li pulled her into his arms and whispered, "Yu’er, I believe that one day you will stand by my side! I will wait for you."

Qin Yu nodded sullenly and replied, "Mm, Brother Li, I will definitely catch up to you!"

***

Qing Li stroked Qin Yu’s hair and chuckled softly. Her face flushed red; Brother Li’s smile was so charming! Fortunately, it was night, and he couldn't see her blushing, otherwise, it would have been truly embarrassing!

"Brother Li, I’ll go calm Little Mei and the others down. You must come back safely!" Qin Yu stepped out of his arms and looked at him firmly.

Qing Li nodded and smiled. "Don't worry! I made a breakthrough during my recent seclusion! I’m not afraid of that leader at all! You just go back, rest well, and wait for my return, alright?"

Qin Yu could only nod, though in her heart, she thought: *I will be waiting for you right here!*

In the end, Qing Li left the base alone; no one else noticed his departure except for Qin Yu. As he leaped from the base, he looked back and saw her face full of worry. Qing Li smiled, turned, and quickly vanished into the darkness.

Qin Yu did not see him look back. She simply stared into the darkness, her face clouded with lingering concern. She wondered when Brother Li would return... she already missed him! And they had only been separated for less than two minutes!

After resting for a while, Xue Qi immediately wanted to find his boss. However, upon reaching his destination, he discovered that Qing Li was gone! And he had left his sister-in-law behind! My goodness! The world must be going insane!

Xue Qi shook his head, trying to convince himself that he had simply killed too many mutants and was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, blinked a few times, and looked at the spot again—only his sister-in-law was standing there! What on earth was going on?!

Qin Yu noticed someone approaching and turned around. Seeing Xue Qi’s frantic movements, she couldn't help but smile, her worried heart lightening considerably.

She looked at him and asked with a chuckle, "What are you doing?"

Xue Qi, wearing an expression of "I’m having hallucinations," said in terror, "Sister-in-law, I’m done for! I can only see you! Boo-hoo-hoo!"

Qin Yu paused and said, "Brother Li had some business to attend to, so he left."

Xue Qi was stunned and immediately asked, "What business?"