Chapter 298 - 295: The Pride of the Branch

Chapter 298: Chapter 295: The Pride of the Branch

Daylight was breaking. "Time to get up. Don’t you have class today?" Feng Hao finished dressing and gently patted her on the rear through the sheets.

Xi Yueyao let out a soft groan, reluctantly poking her head out and pouting, "I don’t want to go to class. I want to ride the train."

"..." Veins throbbed on Feng Hao’s forehead. "We’ve been at it all night, and you still haven’t had enough?"

"Not enough, not enough," Xi Yueyao said, still wanting more.

"Stop fooling around and get to class. I’ll take you to the Origin Secret Realm another day," Feng Hao huffed.

Xi Yueyao pursed her lips, unwillingly crawling out of bed. She sluggishly got dressed, then obediently followed Feng Hao out the door.

After leaving the general store, Feng Hao had planned to visit Elder Tang, but he found the blacksmith’s shop was closed.

’Did he have to go out for something?’ Feng Hao shook his head to himself and could only pull Xi Yueyao into the Mansa.

Inside the car, Xi Yueyao gazed playfully at Feng Hao, a particularly sweet smile gracing her lips.

Baffled by her staring, Feng Hao couldn’t help but ask, "What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?"

"Hee hee, you’re my man now. I’ll look at you whenever I want," Xi Yueyao said, lifting her chin proudly.

"So you’re saying I wasn’t your man before?" Feng Hao chuckled.

"It’s not the same," Xi Yueyao said, smiling foolishly to herself, lost in her own thoughts.

Chatting and laughing, they soon arrived at the Power Department Branch. Just as they entered, they were met by West Moon Ridge and Xiyue Frost, who had been waiting for them.

Xiyue Frost shot Feng Hao a cold look, then pulled Xi Yueyao away toward the academic building, leaning in from time to time to whisper questions to her.

West Moon Ridge, on the other hand, was much more reasonable. She cast a meaningful glance at Xi Yueyao before turning to Feng Hao with a knowing smile. "Kiddo, you’d better treat Yaoyao well from now on. If you don’t, I’ll never forgive you."

"Er..." Feng Hao scratched his head awkwardly. "Don’t worry, Aunt. I will."

"Good." West Moon Ridge nodded in satisfaction before sighing. "Now that Yaoyao’s bloodline issue has been resolved, it’s time for me to return to the Holy Hall."

"You’re leaving, Aunt?" Feng Hao asked, surprised.

West Moon Ridge nodded with a sigh. "The Celestial Eagle Team has been running rampant lately, and as a special envoy, I can’t be absent. By the way, have you learned anything about the person I asked you to look into?"

Feng Hao froze for a moment, only then remembering West Moon Ridge’s request. He grew instantly embarrassed. "Uh... I forgot."

"It’s alright, there’s no rush anyway," West Moon Ridge said with a faint smile. "Just keep it in mind."

"Will do." Feng Hao nodded in understanding. The air suddenly grew quiet.

Feng Hao glanced around awkwardly, a sudden feeling that something was missing. It took him a moment to realize what it was. "Oh, right! Aunt, where’s Chief Black Cat?"

"You mean Miaomiao?" West Moon Ridge chuckled. "She had a litter of kittens last month. She’s busy taking care of them right now."

"Holy crap, Chief Black Cat is a girl?" Feng Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

West Moon Ridge couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "You’re just figuring that out now?"

"Ahem, a misunderstanding. A total misunderstanding," Feng Hao said, clicking his tongue awkwardly.

"I see you and Yaoyao are both quite fond of pets. After Xiaomiao is weaned, I plan on letting you two raise her."

"That would be fantastic!" Feng Hao nodded in delight. To be honest, he was extremely fond of Chief Black Cat, and the thought of raising one of her kittens was more than he could ask for.

After a bit more small talk, West Moon Ridge departed in her flying car.

Feng Hao didn’t linger at the Power Department Branch. After entrusting the young lady to Xiyue Frost’s care, he hurried back to the general store.

Now that he was back, he naturally had to get the general store open for business. At the same time, he planned to put more effort into his mechanics research, build an MP4 player as soon as possible, and share a few gigs of "seeds" with the young lady to help improve her "train-riding" skills.

During his time at the Grand Hall in the Mu Country, his skills as a Mechanic had improved significantly, reaching at least the level of a Level 4 Mechanic.

As a result, developing the MP4 player was a process completely free of obstacles.

Business at the Treasure Pavilion next door was as booming as ever. With products like the Life Spirit Pill and Snow Frost Ointment, the daily flow of customers was simply too great to count.

Feng Hao had wanted to catch up with Xue Qingshan and his daughter, but unexpectedly, the pair wasn’t there. He only received his large share of the profits in Magic Crystals—a full one hundred and thirty Level 6 Magic Crystals. Of course, these were compressed crystals, not natural ones.

In short, after one trip next door, Feng Hao was suddenly a rich man.

Back at the general store, Feng Hao hunched over his mechanical workbench and started tinkering, making some preparations for the grand opening.

But he hadn’t been working for long before a large group of people burst into the shop. It was none other than Qian Sanduo and a group of higher-ups from the Branch Hall.

"Haha, my pre-selection tournament champion! You’re finally back!" Qian Sanduo laughed heartily as he rushed forward, pulling Feng Hao into a bear hug, his face alight with excitement. "Quick, come with me to the Branch Hall. Everyone’s waiting to see you."

"Whoa, what’s going on?" Feng Hao asked, stunned.

"No time for questions. Just come with me," Qian Sanduo said impatiently.

"But what about my shop?"

"This is no time to worry about business!" Qian Sanduo chuckled in exasperation and started dragging Feng Hao away. "You have no idea! When the news of your victory got back, the entire Branch Hall erupted."

Feng Hao was speechless. "Even so, is there really a need to be in such a rush?"

"You’re the pride of our Wolf Country Branch Hall! Every thief in Wolf Country is proud of you," Qian Sanduo said, beaming.

"..." Feng Hao was at a loss for words.

A short while later, surrounded by Qian Sanduo and his group, Feng Hao arrived once again at the Branch Hall in Five States City.

He had no idea what to expect, but the sight that greeted him as he entered the main hall of the branch still came as a shock.

The vast main hall was packed wall-to-wall with thieves; there wasn’t an inch of room to spare.

The moment Feng Hao walked through the door, the entire hall fell silent, and every single eye turned to focus on him.

Qian Sanduo didn’t waste any time. He pushed Feng Hao to the front, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, "Allow me to introduce him! This is Feng Hao, the man who swept away all opposition and defeated the geniuses of every other branch hall in the thief pre-selection tournament! He is also one of our very own, a thief of the Wolf Country Branch Hall!"

UPROAR!

The instant the words left his mouth, the hall exploded into a clamor, and the scene descended into chaos.

"So that’s him? The champion of the thief pre-selection? He certainly looks the part."

"Haha, I’d love to see the looks on the faces of those guys from the other branch halls. It must have been priceless!"

"Yeah! Let’s see who dares to look down on us Wolf Country thieves now."

"I heard the competition in the pre-selection tournament was fierce this time. I have no idea how he managed to win it all with only Level 40 strength."

"Who cares how he did it? The fact that he represented the Wolf Country Branch Hall and won makes him our pride and joy."

"That’s right. I really hope he can win the final championship a year from now. When that happens, we’ll be able to hold our heads high when we’re out on a job."

...