° Back at the base, inside Ren Han's tent, a shady business was being held among the soldiers.

° Ziek, seated behind a laptop, spoke in a casual tone, "How about one LVL 4 nuclei if I include a video featuring Lily Chen and Sophia Wang?"

°  "That's way too expensive!" a soldier protested.

° Ziek turned the laptop around and clicked on a play button, "The value will only increase."

°  Gritting their teeth, the soldiers exchanged glances and reluctantly handed over one LVL 4 nuclei. Yes, you guessed right. Ren Han was selling adult content to them.

°  Ren Han lifted his eyes and smiled at the remaining soldier, "Don't fret, your secret will die with me."

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*WARNING* Mature content R-16+ - START

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° When everyone left, Ziek stretched his body and stole a glance at his laptop. Today, he was so going to exhaust his little buddy and have a night of sweet sleep. Making himself comfortable on the bed, he went through a few videos and waited for his little buddy to react.

°  Nah, not his type. He switched to another video, and then another. An hour passed, and he still didn't find what he wanted. By then, his buddy woke up, but he didn't feel like jerking to any of the women. Finally, he stopped on a particular video. A woman with large black-rimmed eyeglasses and black stockings being banged from behind?

°  'This will do for now.' His eyes were focused on the screen when a thought popped up in his mind. Didn't grandma wear similar eyeglasses? He grabbed his phone to check it out. Scrunching his eyes, he compared the two women's glasses for longer than he should, 'What the fūck am I doing?' 

° He threw his phone away in panic, quickly switching to a random video. There was no way he'd ever admit that his eyes stayed on grandma's photo the whole time.

°  The more time he spent with grandma during the day, the harder she came back into his mind during the night.

° Laying in his bed, Ziek was biting his arm hard, to stop himself from calling out a name.

°  'Bi──' He bit his arm harder to stop his wandering mind. However, the moment he imagined her soft lips against his, the biting changed into passionate licking and sucking.

°  His fiery eyes were coated with unwillingness, while his swollen member said otherwise. He didn't want to lose his mind over a woman who didn't belong to him. 'Fūck. Fūck. Fūck.'

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*WARNING* Mature content R-16+ - END

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° The next day, he issued orders to his teammates and vanished from sight.

° Abandoning his current plans, he embarked on a journey outside the country. How could he ever compare himself to the likes of Bing Shi or Yi Zen? He attempted to stand on equal footing with them, but their prowess was too overwhelming, overshadowing all his achievements. Was it due to their age? Was that why Bing Shi treated him like a child?

° Starting anew from the ground up, he immersed himself in his work—a step he probably should have taken from the outset, because now, he missed her more than anything.

°  Women and lust were such a pain in the ass. His legs were getting tired from moving on too many times.

° Ziek held onto the belief that with time, his emotions would cool down. And after half a year, they did (from overworking). Content with this change, he disembarked from the ship cabin and strode toward the main hall. "Prepare yourselves; you're about to meet Bing Shi," he instructed his subordinates.

° A hundred or so foreign men and women gaped at their Boss with widened eyes; their leader knew Bing Shi?!?! Their heads bobbed enthusiastically, "Yes!!!"

· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

Current time...

Back at the base, soldiers looked up at the sky with their mouths agape, their eyes almost fell from their eye sockets, "Is that a ship?!?"

The modern amphibious ship landed boldly next to the base, showing its adaptability for both land and water. Massive landing legs supported the ship's weight, allowing it to rest confidently on the ground. Wide, tinted windows lined the sides of its black body, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

"Look at the front!" Pony pointed at the man in black, "Isn't that Ren Han?"

Tedy burst into loud laughter, "What an extravagant way to travel."

Upon seeing Bing Shi, Ziek's heart nearly leaped out of his chest, "What is this, bullshit!?' His feelings hadn't cooled down at all! Just a simple sight of her sitting with her legs dangling in the air, and he felt his body shivering. 

'It's just lust. Yes, pure lust, nothing else.' He took a deep breath, settling next to Bing Shi, ready to greet her, but she shut him down abruptly, "..."

"...Grandma..."

"Yes?"

"Are you mad?" Ziek inquired, swinging his feet in rhythm with her own dangling legs. Nervousness was gnawing at his insides. This was not how he had envisioned this encounter.

"Nah, I should thank you instead." Bing Shi watched how he landed the huge ship precisely, "I lost lots of weight because of your unfinished work. Thanks."

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked. What had happened during his absence? Did she always sound so distant? Her baggy clothing obscured any noticeable changes. Did she mean that she would be angry if she gained back her weight? 

"Of course not. The more, the merrier," Bing Shi rose to her feet to escape the throng of men surrounding Ren Han. Giving them their space, she headed silently toward her tent.

Was she always so icy and detached? Ziek tilted his head as he watched her disappear, "Is something wrong with Bing Shi?"

"Hm?" Wan Ke turned around, raising an eyebrow. "It might be because of General Yi Zen. In the past half year, she's been competing with Fu Lian for his attention."

Nods of agreement circulated among the group. When they turned back to look, however, Ren Han was nowhere in sight.

Seeing the ship, they approached it with curiosity, only to be met with hundreds of intense gazes. Undeterred, they formed a defensive stance and stared back defiantly. Thus began a staring contest between the two bases.