Despite having only known Shen Xiao for a few days, Lu Qingyue felt that, for some reason, she could trust this young man completely.
If anyone else had asked her to strip in the middle of a life-and-death situation like this, she would have refused point-blank, even if her life were on the line.
But this was Shen Xiao.
He must have a reason, he must have a plan.
However, just as Qingyue was about to undo the buttons of her undergarments with trembling hands, Shen Xiao suddenly caught her wrist.
"Put them back on," Shen Xiao said flatly, without looking back.
"Huh?"
"I mean, wear this leather armor over your sweater, then put your coat back on. Also, put on the knee guards, the gloves, and the rest."
Qingyue stared at the leather armor in confusion.
"So... you asked me to take off my clothes just to put this on?"
"Yes. This armor needs to fit snugly against your body for the protection to be effective. If you wear it over a thick cotton coat, your movements will be restricted, and the armor will feel too tight. What exactly... were you thinking just now?"
Lu Qingyue froze.
Her face, which was already red, now felt as if it were burning intensely.
"I-I... I understand!"
Shen Xiao didn't dare turn his head. He was truly bewildered, how could a girl this innocent and "miraculous" become the Demon Empress who would destroy the world in the future?
He began to doubt, could he have the wrong person?
But for now, safety was the priority.
...
In less than two minutes, Qingyue was fully dressed. Her face was hidden behind a level-three helmet that Shen Xiao had provided.
She could only hang her head low, her voice sounding like a weak squeak.
"I'm sorry... I misunderstood."
"It's okay, maybe I didn't explain it clearly enough. In the future, just ask before doing something... 'strange'," Shen Xiao replied casually.
"Now, listen. Three against seven are good odds. Stay inside the car; let me handle this."
Shen Xiao glanced outside.
Lao Shi and Lian Mao were already sprawled on the ground, coughing up blood.
Damn, these Association practitioners are truly weak.
They didn't even last two minutes, he thought.
Outside the car, a blonde youth kicked Lao Shi's helpless body.
"Boring. Only rank two? I could finish you all off by myself."
"Cao Wei, should we just kill them?" one of his subordinates asked.
"Kill them, take the potions, and let's go," replied the rank-three leader, Cao Wei.
The blonde youth raised his hand, a large fireball beginning to condense in his palm.
"Goodbye, beautiful lady."
However, just as he was about to slam the fireball toward Lao Shi, something impossible happened.
The fireball actually reversed direction as if it had a life of its own and slammed directly into the blonde youth's face!
BOOM!
"What happened?!" they shouted in panic as they saw their comrade killed by his own flames.
"Careful! There's an incredibly powerful fire element user inside the car!" Cao Wei warned.
"They can seize control of an opponent's flames! Do not use the fire element!"
Cao Wei turned to the lightning element user beside him.
"Attack! Destroy the car's fuel tank!"
The lightning agent nodded.
He pressed his hands together and released a lightning bird that streaked low across the ground toward the tank.
However, the lightning bird suddenly veered mid-path.
The agent's control was completely severed.
The bird instead lunged toward the comrade beside him, slashing his throat until blood sprayed violently.
"There's a lightning user in the car too! They took over my attack!" the lightning agent screamed in terror.
"Damn it! Drink the potions now!" Cao Wei ordered.
The remaining four men immediately swallowed the red Life-Burning Potions. Instantly, their auras surged from rank two to rank three.
Click-
The car door opened. Shen Xiao stepped out in full combat gear.
A small fire dragon could be seen coiled around his right arm, the Raging Dragon Flame.
Shen Xiao didn't give them a second to breathe. He raised his arm, and the fire dragon roared.
A wave of flame capable of devouring everything exploded forward.
WHOOOSHHH!
The four enemies who had just consumed the potions were instantly swallowed by the fire before they could even attack.
Only Cao Wei managed to jump back in time, though his clothes were partially scorched.
Cao Wei stared at the blackened corpses of his comrades with bulging eyes.
He looked at Shen Xiao, trying to read his power level, and his heart nearly stopped.
"Only... rank one?!" Cao Wei screamed in disbelief.
"What kind of joke is this?! How can a rank one use an S-class technique like the Raging Dragon Flame?!"
It was a technique capable of killing a rank-six practitioner, a technique that even Cao Wei had studied for ten years without success.
How could a rank-one brat release it so effortlessly?