24: Chapter 24 The Empress is Jealous: Who is that woman from Earth?!

The night breeze was cool, but the air on the balcony was so stiflingly hot it felt as if it could ignite.

The cigarette in Jiang Chen's hand had burned down to the filter, scorching his fingers and making him shudder; he hurriedly stubbed it out in the ashtray.

He stared at his phone screen, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead even more profusely than when he had faced the needle of Academician Chen Shuyin just moments ago.

On the screen, the chibi silver-haired Empress was still tirelessly hacking away at that unfortunate piece of granite.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Each strike felt like it was landing on Jiang Chen's own skull.

That pitch-black dialogue box kept popping out text, every word piercing his heart, carrying a sense of resentment that sent shivers down his spine.

[Jiang Wanqiu (Darkening): Father God, why aren't you speaking?]

[Jiang Wanqiu: During the sacrifice just now, Wanqiu heard it. That woman's voice... it was very close, right inside your temple.]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Who is she? Is she a newly chosen temple attendant of the God Realm? Or... is she your companion over there?]

Jiang Chen swallowed, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, not knowing which key to press first.

What kind of god-tier hearing is this?

When Academician Chen Shuyin walked in earlier, the phone had indeed been on speaker, but he had clearly locked the screen quickly! Could the connection channel of this game be a high-fidelity two-way link?

"Calm, I must stay calm."

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, his brain racing.

He absolutely could not admit it at this moment!

If he let this Empress, who had just awakened her "yandere" attribute, know that he had just been having a "deep exchange" with a beautiful academician in the basement, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If things went wrong, the next thing sacrificed over wouldn't be a mech, but a nuclear warhead with "mutual destruction" written on it.

Jiang Chen typed rapidly, his hand speed soaring to the peak of someone who had been single for twenty years:

"Ahem, Wanqiu, you've misunderstood."

"That... that was just an older woman who came to fix the sewer."

The moment the message was sent, the sound of tree-chopping on the screen stopped.

Jiang Wanqiu slowly turned around, and the status bar above her head, which was emitting black smoke, flickered slightly as if judging the truthfulness of his words.

[Jiang Wanqiu (Suspicious): Fixing the sewer? But... her voice sounded very crisp, very young, and carried a kind of... confidence that made Wanqiu very uncomfortable.]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Father God, you aren't lying to Wanqiu, are you? Does the sewer of the God Realm need a woman with that kind of voice to fix it?]

Jiang Chen almost spat out a mouthful of blood onto the screen.

Is this woman's intuition made of radar?

"It really was an older woman!"

Jiang Chen gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and decided to smear Academician Chen Shuyin to the end: "The voice is just an illusion! She looks... um, very sloppy! She wears glasses thicker than bottle bottoms, her hair is as messy as a chicken coop, and her face is full of... radiation spots! Plus, her personality is eccentric, and she drools over iron lumps all day long!"

Far away in the basement, Academician Chen Shuyin, who was fanatically researching chips, suddenly let out an earth-shattering sneeze.

"Achoo—!"

She rubbed her nose and looked at the thermostat in confusion: "Strange, have I caught a cold?"

And in the game, this unscrupulous description clearly had a miraculous effect.

The black smoke above Jiang Wanqiu's head dissipated noticeably to the naked eye.

[Jiang Wanqiu (Pensive): Face full of radiation spots? Eccentric personality? So she is just an ugly artisan...]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Since that's the case, she must be a good fighter, right?]

Jiang Chen: "???"

How does her train of thought work?

Before Jiang Chen could react, Jiang Wanqiu sent a series of murderous questions:

[Jiang Wanqiu: Father God, as your temple attendant, looks are secondary, but strength must be top-notch!]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Is she as good a fighter as Wanqiu? Is her swordsmanship faster than Wanqiu's?]

[Jiang Wanqiu: If the God Realm were hit by a nuclear strike, could she, like Wanqiu, stand in front of you without hesitation and use her own body to withstand all the radiation and shockwaves for you?!]

Looking at this series of questions filled with exclamation marks, Jiang Chen fell silent.

Although these were just words across a screen, he could feel the loyalty in the Wasteland girl's words, so fervent it was heart-wrenching.

Blocking a nuclear bomb?

Academician Chen Shuyin would probably calculate the nuclear yield first, and then drag him away to run for it.

"She cannot."

Jiang Chen sighed. This time, he didn't lie, but instead typed a line very seriously:

"In this world, no one is braver than you, and no one is more loyal than you."

"Wanqiu, you are one of a kind."

This sentence was clearly the ultimate move.

On the screen, Jiang Wanqiu froze.

Immediately after, that pitch-black status bar went "pop" and exploded, instantly turning into pink heart bubbles.

That killing god who had been holding a knife to chop stone was now squatting on the ground, covering her face, with a trail of steam rising from the top of her head.

[Jiang Wanqiu (Extremely Shy): Fa... Father God... are... are you confessing your love to Wanqiu?]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Wuwuwu... Wanqiu was wrong! Wanqiu shouldn't have doubted Father God! Wanqiu is going to run a twenty-kilometer weighted cross-country to apologize!]

Phew—

Jiang Chen slumped in the rattan chair and let out a long breath.

Finally, he had coaxed her.

This "cross-dimensional online relationship" was more thrilling than defusing a bomb.

However, although the crisis was averted, the drive Jiang Wanqiu just showed to "become stronger to protect Father God" reminded him of something.

Although the Wasteland has advanced technology, because of the civilization gap, many tactical concepts are actually very backward. Basically, they rely on brute-forcing with equipment or close-quarters combat by superpowered individuals.

Since she is his "number one fighter," he must properly train her.

"I need to find her some teaching materials."

Jiang Chen rubbed his chin, his gaze falling on the high-performance laptop next to him that he used for gaming.

Send serious military textbooks?

No, those are too boring, and Earth's modern warfare concepts might not be useful in the environment of the Wasteland.

What is needed over there?

It's individual heroism! It's mech combat! It's super soldiers! It's visual impact!

Jiang Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.

He skillfully opened the portable hard drive filled with many terabytes of "study materials" and clicked on a folder named [Classic Movies].

"Avengers: Endgame"? Scheduled!

The "Iron Man" collection? Must schedule! That is the romance of a man in a mech!

"Transformers"? This is good, teach her how to fight against mechanical lifeforms!

Jiang Chen even impulsively dragged "Pacific Rim" in as well.

"These things are sci-fi movies on Earth."

Jiang Chen smirked while packing the files, "But in the Wasteland, they are definitely 'God Realm Tactical Guidance Videos'!"

"Wanqiu, oh Wanqiu, don't blame Father God for fooling you."

"If you can learn even half of the flashy moves in here, what mutated beasts or Machina Legion could stand against you?"

[Ding!]

[Transmitting large data package: God Realm Tactical Video Materials (Top Secret Edition).]

[File size: 500GB.]

[Estimated transmission time: 10 seconds.]

Jiang Chen clicked send, then solemnly typed a line in the dialogue box:

"Wanqiu, in order to make you stronger and able to cope with any future crisis."

"This was specially prepared for you by Father God, combat footage from the strongest warriors of the God Realm."

"You must observe carefully and grasp the essence. Especially the man wearing the red mech, and the strong man holding the shield."

"That is the ultimate embodiment of the God Realm's power!"

Not two seconds after the message was sent.

Jiang Wanqiu on the screen stood up abruptly and gave a standard military salute to the sky, her expression as solemn as if she were receiving the Imperial Seal.

[Jiang Wanqiu (Passionate): Understood! Father God!]

[Jiang Wanqiu: Wanqiu will study them day and night! I will never fail Father God's expectations!]

[Jiang Wanqiu: The day Wanqiu masters this divine skill will be the day I sweep across the Wasteland for you!]

Looking at the Empress's pumped-up appearance, Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction.

But he never expected.

That the pile of popcorn movies he casually sent over would trigger such an absurd "Cultural Revolution" in that simple Wasteland world.

And he never expected that, a few days later, when he saw Jiang Wanqiu again, the originally aloof Empress's style would become... so nosebleed-inducing.

"Alright, the wife is coaxed, time to get down to business."

Jiang Chen closed the laptop, stood up, and stretched.

Downstairs, Academician Chen Shuyin was still tirelessly disassembling the android.

And outside the villa area, a commercial hunt targeting him was quietly beginning.

"The Wang family?"

Jiang Chen walked to the railing, watching the neon lights flickering in the distant city, his eyes gradually turning cold.

"Since you are in such a hurry to die, I will grant your wish."