Right now, I was heading to the dorm building assigned to our university, continuing to explain to my girls that there's nothing between me and my little sister... ahem, I mean, cousin, and it's just their overactive imaginations playing tricks. For some reason, they didn't believe me and kept asking awkward questions. To be fair, it was mostly TuTu doing it. Jiao Jiao just occasionally tossed fuel on her jealousy fire to keep the entertaining show going... Eh, enjoying my torment—maybe she's a sadist? That would explain a lot.
"I'm telling you, it's all a game! She couldn't get you back into her clan, so now she's trying alternative methods! Calling you 'little brother,' squeezing out tears—it's disgusting! And she probably took some pills to fix her usually expressionless face. I'm telling you, it's a setup! Fall for it now, and you'll end up running errands for the Mu Clan!" – TuTu kept fuming. She didn't wield spirit element magic, so she had no clue that little sister... ahem! Damn, it stuck! Ahem, no pills—cousin took no pills, and somehow I touched something in her soul that broke her old personality... How can I not take responsibility in this situation? Naturally, as a caring big brother! My girls' fears are baseless!
"TuTu, don't get so worked up. See, cousin didn't come with us to the dorm. That means she's not that clingy—just no one's talked to her... family-style in ages. It's family business, no politics." – I kept trying to calm my girl.
"Didn't come with us? If it were up to her, she wouldn't let go! Good thing the Imperial teachers dragged her off, thinking her weird behavior was from the crushing defeat. Their top genius got beaten for the first time, so her mind snapped a bit." – TuTu mimicked the whispers from the arena crowd. Well, at least the comments calling me a damn heartthrob who makes every girl around fall for me were few... and I hope they stay that way.
"Alright, topic closed. We've got exactly five days until they call us all for that 'practice.' We have to go to a monster-ruined city and assess the monster population so the government can decide if it's worth rebuilding." – Since calming her didn't work, I tried shifting to something neutral.
"Hmph, fine, I'll let you off this time. Where exactly are they sending us, and who's going with us? Since it's university practice, not a Hunter mission, there'll be escorts." – Snorting, TuTu finally stopped nagging about cousin's scheming and got interested in the practice.
"Teams from our university and Imperial are going. No escorts—we're on our own." – I smiled, watching her face stretch.
"But that's insane! Who knows what's in a ruined city! Sending inexperienced students without escorts is like guaranteeing a few deaths until the rest figure out to bail!" – Not mincing words, my girl questioned the organizers' sanity.
"Well, that's why it's purely voluntary. And before going, we sign a liability waiver." – I explained the terms mockingly, so she'd get my opinion right away.
"Let me guess—no penalties for refusing, but those who dare go get enough resources as reward to tempt even clan kids?" – Jiao Jiao joined in, her face spreading into a smirk like mine. We both knew what was behind this offer.
"Hmph, these old geezers want another youth trial again. A few not surviving? They don't care. But in their fossil minds, survivors get experienced and polish their talent." – TuTu snorted. She might seem dumb, but she's got a brain.
"To be fair, organizers got info that the city's got no Warlords, and not many other monsters left. Under those conditions, students might survive... Though I wouldn't trust info from just one scout team. Especially when I know the real power balance." – I sighed, amazed at the organizers' carelessness and steel balls.
After all, Imperial team members were from prestigious clans—if their heirs die there... organizers would get skinned for resources to cover the losses from raising them since childhood, just to break even. Eh, rotten clan politics—I'd never hear of it, but where can I escape it? Though, I do have somewhere...
"Mu Bai, how do you know? About the practice and the city situation. I get even organizers lack the latter." – Jiao Jiao asked logically.
"I've got a source, but it's not super reliable. It nailed the Black Church attack on Shanghai last time, so I'm hedging. Anyway, no danger for us three in Jinlin—just one mid-tier Warlord pseudo-dragon from the Swamp Lizard lineage. You can handle the rest even with Silver Grass. So, I suggest hitting the Hunters' League these five days for scouting and beast-kill missions there. They must have some, low-paying since it's still quiet. But we need contribution points more, and we're going anyway—might as well do a few quests." – That's how I explained my knowledge source to the girls.
"Why not take a full city-clear mission? They'd pay way more points." – TuTu asked, dropping questions about my intel. Gold, not a girl.
"You wanna crawl sewers and basements for months hunting stragglers? We're there for practice—a week max. They'd pay peanuts extra; easier to cull a few monster packs." – Jiao Jiao answered for me, ignoring my source too. Smart girl.
"Hmph, so selfish. What if I wanna be humanity's hero and help selflessly?" – TuTu snorted playfully, not serious.
"Heh, heroes mostly get honored posthumously, so I'll spank you if you even try. I need that ass for a ton of things and ain't losing it." – I smacked the blonde's butt, making her let out a sweet moan. Damn pervert.
"But I'm already Shanghai's heroine..." – With a mischievous glint, TuTu wiggled her ass, begging for more than a smack.
"Heh, soon as we hit the room, I'll explain in detail the difference between circumstantial hero and the type running around offering help." – Smacking her ass again, I switched to serious topics.
"Anyway, I promised this ages ago, and the moment's here. Tomorrow morning, I'll awaken your long-discussed elements, then boost your bodies to Warlord level. These five days before practice give time to adapt to the new physique. Jinlin'll be a great training ground to refresh monster melee skills. I'll even teach you a couple moves my martial arts teacher showed me last visit." – I shared the long-awaited news, delighting the girls.
"Heh-heh-heh, time to celebrate! Right, sis-TER-en-ka?" – Giggling joyfully and turning to Jiao Jiao, TuTu mocked my address to Mu Ning Xue, stretching it seductively. I even blushed a bit.
"I agree, little sister." – My second girl joined the joke, then they both smirked slyly, grabbed my arms, and dragged me to our room at high speed.
Eh, if only such days never ended.