QT: Against My Will-Chapter 527 - 8.44 - Stinky Becomes a Playful Interuption - Monster Heist

° With the playful interruption on her back, Bing Shi continued on their journey until she filled everyone’s bags with anything she found valuable. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

° Stinky Bun was having a blast firing his toy gun at the dead ants and some harmless glowing flowers on their way, his aim getting better with each shot despite being shaken around by his mommy. He already took too many breaks, and mommy decided it was best for him to rest at home if he ask for a break again.

° With each step, Bing Shi could feel her energy waning. After a few hours of walking, the air began to thin, making it difficult to breathe. Did the colony have no end? She shrugged her shoulders, and continued to go deeper.

° "Mommy, mommy." Stinky Bun tugged at the harness around his body. His diapers needed a change and his body ached.

° The boy immediately fell asleep on the spot after he informed his mommy. His head wobbled around a few times before falling forward.

° With a gentle touch, Bing Shi placed Stinky Bun into XiaoPu’s embrace and sent them back to the safety of their space, together with Kuro and Baby Shiro.

° With a deep breath, Bing Shi stretched her body, feeling the tension and fatigue slowly melting away, "Ugh, I feel like I’ve been run over by an ant! Good job everyone, let’s call it a day."

° The remaining systems looked at her incredulously, "Madam, we believe that the cause of your fatigue and tension is from carrying Young Master on your back."

° Bing Shi laughed at their sudden seriousness, "Well, I guess that’s just the price you pay for having a toddler on your back for a whole day." But her attempt at humor was met with silence, prompting her to ask, "So, is nobody going to lead the way out of this labyrinth?"

° They looked at each other. This was an EMP area. Usually, it was either their master, XiaoPu or Baby Shiro who would lead the way. They were usually only tasked with intimidating the young master with their strength, "We are afraid it will take a while for us to figure it out."

° When they continued to look at each other in silence, Bing Shi stood up, "Alright, I’ll lead the way," she said with a sigh. She had tried to avoid the souls further away from her group, but it seemed like she would have to ask them for some directions.

° While they made their way deeper into the colony, they stumbled upon a group of LADs. Without hesitation, Bing Shi and her team sprang into action, firing their weapons and coordinating their attacks to assist the other group to defeat the ant queen. Offering their mercenary services in exchange for a free fetch back home.

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° While Alain filled his garage with a whole truckload of valuable ingredients to use in his cooking, Bing Shi entered her adoptive parents’ shop with a huge grin on her face, dragging a large bag of treasures behind her.

° "Mom, Dad, look at what I found!" she exclaimed, dumping the bag’s contents onto the counter.

° Mr. and Mrs. Night were shocked and amazed when they saw the treasures she had brought for them.

° "Oh my goodness, where did you get all of this?" her mother exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder, quickly closing their store.

° The items she brought back were not something one could collect at the borders of the barrier or steal easily from the LADs.

° They thought she must have ventured deeper and that’s where the real shock came. All the twenty mercenaries that accompanied her in the beginning returned safely, and were currently buying the fish in their shop, "..."

° |"Are they not going to disconnect from their bodies and return home?"| Bing Shi asked Ru Quan, who had sent the systems to her in the first place.

° |Just tell your parents to accept them as a dowry. Your suitor is waiting in your room in case you would want to introduce him too.|

° Just then, Bing Shi saw how one of the mercenaries came up to her parents with a letter, followed by a deep bow. Her chest suddenly heated up and she ran to her room in a flustered state.

° ’Uff, it’s just not fair to be courted by someone who has a cheat sheet to my heart,’ she thought to herself while rubbing the butterflies in her stomach, feeling overwhelmed by his quiet extravagance.

° Upon reading the contract, her parents were equally flustered. The document stated that the mercenaries would be bound to work under the Night family for the next thirty years — a friendly gesture to strengthen the relationship between the Night family and their daughter’s suitor.

° "It must be a scam." her parents discussed it together in a whisper, before returning the letter to the mercenary in polite refusal.

° The mercenary smiled politely and replied, "This is not a contract, and thus cannot be refused. It is simply a gesture of goodwill."

° "..." Mr. and Mrs. Night was used to cleaning up after their son’s crime activities all the time and expected Shina to bring even more trouble to their lives, but they were ready to give her proper guidance on how to hide her traces.

° So far, they didn’t even have time to blink and Shina had already adjusted to the underworld life so well! Look! She had already found a suitor willing to offer her twenty lives as a token of love!

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Juliet raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the fact that their Lady wasn’t the one who wanted to join the LAD, "And how did you end up catching the attention of the LADs?"

"Let’s just say I stumbled upon a situation where I had to ask them for some assistance," Bing Shi replied cryptically, "I just did what I had to do to survive. And apparently, the LADs were impressed by my skills."

Her group exchanged glances, wondering if there was more to her story than she was letting on.

After they cleared the battlefield, the recruits wasted no time and moved swiftly toward the nearby mines to lend a hand in the recovery effort.

Bing Shi was determined not to use any magic spells to help restore the barrier and offered her assistance in other ways like helping with repairing the structure.

There she met the rest of the recruits that weren’t picked up by the LADs, including Elera, who was busy preparing ingredients for a hearty military meal.

The mines were owned by the seven big clans and a few other groups, making the restoration work crucial to the economy of the entire nation.

The mines were often destroyed by natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides, as well as the occasional attack by beastly creatures.

Bing Shi walked over to Elera, curious about what she was cooking. "Hi. Where are the other cooks?"

The smell coming from the pot was...unique, to say the least. It was a strange mixture of burnt garlic, overcooked broccoli, and something that smelled suspiciously like honey. She couldn’t help but wonder what the end result would be, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be pretty.

"The kitchen was under direct attack. They didn’t evacuate in time," Elera added a pinch of salt, then a scoop of sugar, followed by a handful of herbs that nobody could identify. She even threw in some leftover scraps of chicken meat, just for good measure, "I promise it will taste better than it smells."

"Have you cooked for such a large group before?" Bing Shi wrinkled her nose, but decided to keep an open mind, "Nevermind, I will just call someone to help you out."

She didn’t want her team to be rewarded with a questionable meal after putting in so much work. She pulled out her communication device and called for backup.