Chapter 133: Mutual Probing

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Mutual Probing

She was so angry her breathing grew rapid.

Lin Ji, however, continued to smile.

He took a step back, creating some distance.

Then, he spread his hands.

"It was President Ye who started joking with me first," Lin Ji said.

"How come you, President Ye, can’t take a joke yourself?"

Ye Xinglan was left speechless by his words.

She opened her mouth.

But she didn’t know what to say.

After a long moment, she managed to force out a sentence:

"I... I’m a girl!"

Her voice carried both grievance and anger.

"How can you compare yourself to me, a girl?"

As soon as she said it,

even she felt something was off.

But she still stubbornly finished speaking.

After hearing this, Lin Ji frowned.

He looked Ye Xinglan up and down.

Then, he slowly spoke:

"President Ye."

"Before you came to this world..."

He paused.

"Were you a loyal user of a certain social media platform?"

As soon as he said this,

Ye Xinglan’s expression instantly became incredibly vivid.

She opened her mouth.

Wanting to retort.

But not a single word came out.

And the female members of the Rose Society standing behind her all began to wear subtle expressions.

They glanced at each other.

Their eyes filled with awkwardness.

But not one of them dared to speak up for Ye Xinglan.

They all understood.

The man before them was not someone to be trifled with.

And if it hadn’t been for him earlier...

most of them would have been blown away by that fierce wind.

So at this moment, everyone remained silent.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

Seeing that it was about enough, Lin Ji waved his hand.

"Alright, President Ye."

"Stop dawdling."

Lin Ji turned and looked at the pile of raw ore.

"Let’s start digging quickly."

"Time is short."

"We need to hurry."

Ye Xinglan bit her lip.

She shot Lin Ji a glare.

It was a glance full of charm and allure.

Carrying annoyance, yet hiding some indescribable emotion.

Lin Ji saw it and felt a slight stir in his heart.

But he didn’t say anything.

He simply signaled Qin Yao to continue refining.

Soon, the two teams began cooperating on the mining.

On Ye Xinglan’s side, Xiao Ya was responsible for turning the soil.

Qin Yao handled the refining.

On Lin Ji’s side, Su Qingyue and Shen Manyun also helped collect the raw ore.

The efficiency was high.

In less than half an hour,

a thick layer of refined Blue Crystal Ore had piled up on the ground.

The dark blue crystals shimmered under the sunlight.

The energy fluctuations were so dense they were almost visible to the naked eye.

Lin Ji counted them.

Sixty pieces in total.

Each about the size of a fist.

The purity was above ninety percent.

"As agreed,"

Lin Ji spoke.

"Fifty-fifty split."

He looked at Ye Xinglan.

"President Ye, any objections?"

Ye Xinglan shook her head.

"No objections."

She said it decisively.

This time, she truly had no objections.

Although Lin Ji’s earlier words had upset her,

she also understood clearly.

Without Qin Yao’s refining ability, even if they dug out more raw ore, they wouldn’t be able to take much away.

Now, being able to get thirty pieces of high-purity Blue Crystal Ore...

far exceeded her expectations.

Even the female members behind her felt the distribution was fair.

No one had any objections.

Lin Ji nodded.

He began dividing the ore.

Thirty pieces to Ye Xinglan.

Thirty pieces kept for himself.

Qin Yao naturally walked over and helped Lin Ji load the crystals into his backpack.

Her movements were natural.

As if she had long been accustomed to doing such tasks.

Ye Xinglan watched this, her gaze growing even more complex.

But she said nothing.

She merely silently collected her own share.

"Alright."

Lin Ji waved his hand.

He looked toward the depths of the jungle.

"Let’s keep moving."

As his words fell.

Ye Xinglan suddenly spoke up:

"Are we still going forward?"

Her voice carried hesitation.

"Captain Lin, that gust of wind just now..."

She didn’t finish.

But her meaning was clear.

Lin Ji turned to look at her.

"Are you scared, President Ye?"

He asked.

Ye Xinglan’s expression shifted slightly.

She gritted her teeth.

"I’m not scared."

She said.

"It’s just that I feel..."

"There’s no need to take the risk."

Lin Ji smiled.

He didn’t speak.

He simply turned and walked toward the depths of the jungle.

Qin Yao immediately followed.

Su Qingyue and Shen Manyun also followed.

Ye Xinglan stood in place.

Watching Lin Ji’s retreating figure.

She bit her lip.

Then, took a deep breath.

"Follow."

She said to the female team members behind her.

The team set off again.

Heading deeper into the jungle.

After saying those words, Ye Xinglan already regretted it in her heart.

She knew she shouldn’t have asked.

But the words were already spoken, and she couldn’t take them back.

Lin Ji offered no explanation, simply turned and left.

This made Ye Xinglan’s mind even more unsettled.

She clenched her lips and quickly caught up with the team.

As she walked, she pondered in her heart.

Why didn’t Lin Ji explain?

Did he see through my probing or not?

The more Ye Xinglan thought about it, the more agitated she became.

As an intelligent and beautiful woman, she had always felt her thoughts were deeply hidden.

Few people could truly see through her.

But facing Lin Ji...

She felt completely seen through.

This was the first time in her life she had experienced such a feeling.

Ye Xinglan felt somewhat afraid.

But besides fear, there was also a strange sense of anticipation.

It was an unease from being seen through.

Yet also... a joy from meeting someone who understood.

These two emotions intertwined within her.

Ye Xinglan snapped back to reality.

She turned to look at Granny Fu.

Granny Fu leaned on her cane, walking beside her.

The old woman’s eyes were fixed on Lin Ji’s back ahead.

"That young man is not simple."

Granny Fu said quietly.

Ye Xinglan nodded.

Of course she knew Lin Ji was not simple.

"He was testing you."

Granny Fu continued.

"And you were testing him."

"But it seems..."

The old woman paused.

"You didn’t find out anything."

"Instead, he saw right through you."

The words were blunt.

Ye Xinglan’s expression changed slightly.

But she didn’t refute it.

Because what Granny Fu said was the truth.

"Keep following."

Granny Fu said.

"Let’s see what he really wants to do."

Ye Xinglan took a deep breath.

She nodded.

The team continued deeper.

The further they went, the more obvious the environmental changes became.

The frequency of the wind had clearly increased.

Before, a gust would blow every few minutes.

Now, almost every one or two minutes, a gust would sweep through.

And the wind force had grown stronger.

Blowing against their faces, it felt like being cut by knives.

The temperature was also dropping.

The women instinctively tightened their clothes.

But it was no use.

The wind was bone-chillingly cold.

No matter how thickly they dressed, it couldn’t block it.

"So cold..."

A girl from the Rose Society whispered.

Her voice trembled.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Several of the weaker girls in the team were already starting to turn pale.

Their walking pace had noticeably slowed.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Their eyes also revealed fear.

After all, they had all witnessed the power of that earlier gust of wind.

If it happened again...

They might not be able to withstand it.

But at the front of the team, Lin Ji’s footsteps did not falter in the slightest.

He even walked faster.

Qin Yao followed closely behind him.

Su Qingyue and Shen Manyun gritted their teeth and kept up as well.

The condition of these three women was clearly better than that of the girls from the Rose Society.

This wasn’t just because they were stronger.

It was also because...

Lin Ji had always been standing in front of them.

Every time the wind blew, Lin Ji would slightly turn his body.

Using himself to block most of the wind force for them.

It was still cold.

But at least they wouldn’t be blown off their feet.

Ye Xinglan saw this, and a wave of complicated emotions surged in her heart again.

She also wanted to protect her team members.

But she couldn’t protect them all.

There were too many people.

And her talent wasn’t defensive in nature.

"Everyone, stay close together."

That was all Ye Xinglan could instruct.

The female team members immediately huddled together.

Sharing warmth.

But this only provided a little relief.

The wind still blew in gusts.

Blowing unease into their hearts.

Right at that moment—

"Hey, look over there."

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