Chapter 170: Of Course, I’m Here to Protect You

Shi Ji ran into Lin Xinyan halfway along the road.

Lin Xinyan had noticed the movement of the monster swarm and was initially planning to head in that direction to see if she could help. However, after only passing a few streets, she witnessed a powerful tornado instantly wiping out the entire swarm. She stopped in her tracks, speechless, nearly dropping her Divine Dance Spear. Thankfully, she caught it in time.

She had never seen an X-ranked hero in action before, nor could she have imagined the sheer power they could unleash. But after witnessing what just happened, Lin Xinyan was convinced that the strength behind that devastating blow could only belong to an X-ranked hero.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stood there for a long moment, stunned. What had once been just a wild guess now seemed like a reality. It truly felt as if a mighty X-ranked hero was hidden somewhere in Yinshuang City.

The suddenness of the event made her heart race with excitement. She continued staring at the sky, lost in thought.

“Such enviable power… That terrifying strike could have easily wiped out two districts of Yinshuang City.”

Lin Xinyan was a practical person, but even someone as grounded as her couldn’t help but be swayed by the allure of such absolute power.

With the danger now resolved, there was no longer a need for her to worry. 

Realizing she had completely forgotten her prior agreement to meet with Shi Ji, Lin Xinyan scolded herself. She hadn’t even informed him of the situation after discovering the monster swarm. She felt a little guilty about it.

Guessing that Shi Ji should be arriving at their meeting point soon, she decided to contact him and ask him to wait for her a little longer.

As she turned to leave, preparing to message Shi Ji through her wrist communicator, something unexpected happened. 

So lost in thought, Lin Xinyan hadn’t noticed the figure standing behind her.

She accidentally bumped into someone.

At that moment, she scolded herself again. Even if lost in thought, she should always stay alert. If the person behind her had been an anomaly, she could’ve been seriously injured by now.

Just as she was about to apologize, she paused in surprise. The person she had bumped into was none other than Shi Ji.

He stood there with his usual playful grin.

In fact, Shi Ji had been standing behind Lin Xinyan for a while now, but this sometimes absent-minded girl hadn’t even noticed his presence.

Lin Xinyan gave Shi Ji a light shove. 

“Why didn’t you say anything when you got here? You scared me!”

“I just wanted to mess with you,” Shi Ji replied with a chuckle.

After calming herself down, Lin Xinyan added, “I didn’t notify you earlier, that was my mistake. I’m sorry about that.”

Lin Xinyan was always so polite.

Shi Ji shook his head. “It’s fine. I happened to be walking this way and ran into you. What are the odds?”

Lin Xinyan was a bit puzzled. “This route is longer. Why’d you come this way?”

Now, there was no way Shi Ji would admit it was because he knocked down a row of trees and then got lost while trying to flee. How could he possibly say that?

“Oh, uh… I got lost.”

“Really?”

“Of course! You know how clueless I can be.”

“If you’re clueless, then what does that make me?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t just ‘uh-huh’ me.”

“Hehe!”

“By the way, earlier on the phone, you sounded all flustered. What was going on?”

“Oh, that? Nothing, really. Hehe, it was just… an accident.”

“You’re acting very suspicious right now.”

“You’re overthinking it, Xinyan. Oh, by the way, I think from now on, unless absolutely necessary, we should stick together.”

“Why’s that?”

Shi Ji didn’t hide his intentions. “To protect you, of course.”

Lin Xinyan gave Shi Ji a special feeling. He felt like he needed to protect her. As for why… he was more than willing to do so.