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Gu Xiaoxi certainly hadn’t forgotten the rumors she had overheard last night in the banquet hall.

People said that the relationship between the Deputy Commander and Jing Rui was out of the ordinary.

What exactly the insider story was, Gu Xiaoxi couldn’t tell.

She felt that this West wasn’t as straightforward and simple as he appeared to be.

The atmosphere in the elevator had become very odd ever since this West arrived.

When Gu Xiaoxi reached her own office floor, she left the elevator with Yun Xiao and the others.

Afterward, she turned to Jing Rui and said, "Auntie, if you have any troubles that you can’t resolve, just tell me. I’ll help you beat up those shameless people."

When she said this, she spoke very arrogantly.

West instinctively furrowed his brows, clearly very disgusted by Gu Xiaoxi’s words.

The shameless people she referred to, were they implying him?

"Alright, get back to work," Jing Rui said with a smile, as beautiful and charming as ever.

The elevator doors closed, and Jing Rui and West continued upwards.

However, the atmosphere in the elevator had changed.

West reached out and wrapped his arm around Jing Rui’s waist, looked down at her fair neck, and spoke in an ambiguous tone, "The little girl you brought is not simple."

Jing Rui turned her head, her expression cold as she said, "Officer Luo, we are in the work area. Please show some respect."

"Who doesn’t know about our affair! Haven’t you gotten used to it by now?" West insisted, his hand restlessly wandering around Jing Rui’s waist.

Jing Rui couldn’t bear it and pushed him hard, stepping back and angrily said, "I’m telling you, it’s best you don’t push your luck too far."

"How heartless you turn! Without me, where would you be today! Being my lover, does it belittle you?" West’s gaze was wicked as he eyed Jing Rui, his greedy eyes becoming increasingly malevolent.

The elevator doors opened, and Jing Rui bolted out, not wanting to stay with this man for a single moment. If possible, she wished this son of a bitch dead.

People do irrational things, and the worst thing she had done was, in order to stay here, she sold herself to become his secret lover.

She had lived a lonely and unsupported life, with loved ones and children all leaving her behind.

Perhaps, the only status she had here was the reason she lived for.

Yet, there was someone who always kept a tight grip on her, preventing her from gaining freedom.

West looked at the departing figure of Jing Rui, stroking his chin. His sharply chiseled cheekbones and short stubble gave him a wild appearance. The way he looked at Jing Rui was like a hunter eyeing his prey, filled with confidence and bloodlust.

...

Gu Xiaoxi had her own dedicated office area.

Her work assignments were diverse.

As long as the requests came from others and they paid enough money, they would take the job.

At first, the headquarters assigned Gu Xiaoxi with various tracking tasks. These were a breeze for her.

Every day, she led everyone from the workshop to bars, home, street racing, or playing shooting games together.

Since the banquet, everyone who needed to go out for missions had left.

Those left were not all enemies.

During this period, Gu Xiaoxi also got to know some allies and made preliminary acquaintances.

The leader of Team 68, Qiao Yuhang.

It was that lean man who had helped Gu Xiaoxi set a trap for Huo Jin by toasting with white wine the other night when Huo Jin came looking for trouble.

Although he had no Special Ability or Inner Strength, he had carved a place for himself in the International Alliance with his strong physique and shrewd mind.

Though he was often marginalized here, and seldom had the chance to stand out, he still tried hard to gain a foothold.

There was no other reason but that his country needed him.

Perhaps he helped Gu Xiaoxi because he knew how hard it was for every newcomer to settle in this place.

Gu Xiaoxi was very grateful to those who had helped her and later found Qiao Yuhang to be a good person, so they hung out together.

Besides carrying out missions, most of the time, Gu Xiaoxi and the others were idle to the point of restlessness.

During his spare time, Jing Rui would take them around the entire territory of the International Alliance.

The International Alliance was currently undertaking a major mission, and as a newcomer, Gu Xiaoxi naturally wasn’t chosen to participate.

However, when only a few people returned out of the many teams dispatched, everyone started to take the matter very seriously.

The situation was such that someone had received news of a major terror incident that had occurred recently in Snow Country, north of Iceland.

The villagers started disappearing gradually, and anyone who went into the mountains to search for them never returned.

Consequently, more and more people of Snow Country were disappearing, and even the deployment of the military didn’t change the situation.

Late, Snow Country suffered many losses.

Finally, the king couldn’t bear to see his subjects and soldiers die for no reason.

Therefore, he was willing to offer a bounty of four billion, hoping that the International Alliance could help them resolve this issue.

A bounty of four billion was even more than that offered for the Giant Rat King.

And since it was just a simple matter of investigating and searching for people, the International Alliance would naturally send its core members.

But, the first group that went didn’t return.

So, after half a month, they dispatched a second group.

Still, the second group did not return either.

Subsequently, they simply sent a third group...

In the end, only three people came back. They were said to have been scared back within minutes of entering the Snow Mountain.

After their return, they knew nothing about what they encountered on Snow Mountain. They were probably just deserters at the moment of battle!

Therefore, another large meeting was held regarding this matter.

When Officer Luo asked the people present, "Who is willing to undertake this mission?"

Everyone sitting below was silent.

Gu Xiaoxi included did not speak.

Because the people who had been sent before were core members of the International Alliance, each one an elite with the most advanced weaponry at their disposal, yet none had returned. This clearly indicated how dangerous the mission was.

Officer Luo slammed the table and exclaimed angrily, "You are all members of our organization, and now the mission needs you. No one has anything to say, huh?"

"..." The silence persisted.

Gu Xiaoxi sat there indifferently! After all, she disliked how they kept the good opportunities for those with connections and handed over the dirty work to unrelated individuals.

Even if she wanted to go, she wouldn’t raise her hand easily.

"Because the danger and difficulty level of this mission has increased to 5S level, Snow Country has raised the bounty to five billion. Moreover, anyone who makes a significant contribution in this mission will receive a promise from the alliance. So, those who wish to go now, raise your hands!"

With the promise of a huge reward comes the brave.

Facing such generous rewards, everyone exchanged glances, and quickly three teams volunteered.

These were Huo Jin and two other teams, people whom Gu Xiaoxi wasn’t familiar with.

Gu Xiaoxi thought it over and over, and held back from raising her hand.