"Take this!"
Su Ye waved his hand, and a straight-backed long blade appeared in his grasp before being tossed to Song Xixi.
"Ah!"
Suddenly gripping a lethal weapon, Song Xixi—having undergone years of peaceful education—couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Brother Ye, what… does this mean..."
She examined the weapon—it resembled a Japanese katana, but there were subtle differences. Holding it, she could feel a sense of dominance and sharpness unlike anything she had experienced before. A trace of worry crept into her heart.
'Is killing someone the price of joining the Great Wall Guardians? Is this my test of loyalty? But… who am I supposed to kill?'
'Could it be that among these sisters, there is a traitor or spy?'
At that moment, Song Xixi's mind raced at high speed, though in a rather unconventional direction.
Su Ye shook his head. "Time is short, so I won't explain too much. Take this Tang Dao—I'll teach you some techniques now."
As he spoke, Su Ye closed his eyes again. His consciousness connected with Song Xixi's, transferring an entire set of blade techniques he had learned from a Tang Dao master in Chinatown directly into her mind.
Song Xixi's eyes rolled back slightly, and when she opened them again, the Tang Dao in her hands no longer felt like a heavy, unfamiliar weapon. Instead, it felt like an old friend—one she could wield with absolute control, executing numerous techniques effortlessly.
As if on instinct, she flipped her wrist, twirling the blade in an intricate flourish. The Tang Dao danced through the air in her grasp, moving with an unnatural fluidity.
"This… is so cool!"
"Why can V-mama suddenly do this? Can I do it too?"
"I'm so jealous!"
Though their hearts were brimming with anticipation, without Su Ye's permission, they had no choice but to squat in the distance, watching Song Xixi with eyes full of admiration, almost glowing with envy.
"V-mama is really kind and has always taken care of us. If we flatter her enough, maybe she'll share her secret!"
Song Xixi's teammates exchanged glances. The two South Korean members remained silent, but the last one—a Chinese descendant born in the U.S., whose parents were from Taiwan—spoke fluent Mandarin and was notably ambitious.
"Brother Ye, I can do flips too!"
Her voice wasn't loud, and as she spoke, she cast a pleading look at Song Xixi—not in a manipulative way, but simply out of genuine longing.
Song Xixi quickly nodded. "That's right, Brother Ye! Xiaoyun is great at flipping—she's even better than me! Do you want to see?"
Su Ye turned toward the short-haired, slightly androgynous-looking girl. "Are you sure?"
"To wear a crown, one must bear its weight. This is not just about showing off—it's a great cause that requires willpower, dedication, and possibly even one's life."
"You weren't raised in Dragon Country, so you might not fully understand what this means. That's why I need to make it clear to you beforehand."
"Once you do this flip, it means you accept my conditions. If you ever go against my will or Dragon Country's interests, taking back your power—or your life—will be as easy as reaching into a pocket."
"I hope you understand this clearly."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Brother Ye, I want to do the flip!"
For some reason, her determined expression made Su Ye think of a scruffy, fierce-looking man with missing teeth, kneeling on the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face, crying out, "Coach, I want to play basketball!"
Basketball didn't do anything wrong, yet everyone seemed so eager to beat it to death.
"Alright then, since you insist, I'll grant your wish!"
Su Ye flipped his hand once more, revealing a red crystal identical to the one from before.
Upon seeing the red crystal, the surrounding girl group members instantly became envious.
"Wait, so that thing isn't one-of-a-kind? Does that mean we still have a chance?"
"But… Su Uncle Ji just said that to get it, we have to accept Dragon Country's will. Can we really do that?"
"It might be difficult for us. Even if we can do it, would they even trust us?"
"I don't know…"
"But if we don't try, how will we know? Dragon Country is so powerful—accepting its will doesn't seem like a bad thing, right?"
Before they could reach a conclusion, Su Ye spoke up again.
"You're lucky. I only brought two Enlightenment Crystals today—I gave one to Xixi, and I just happen to have one left!"
The short-haired girl, Liu Xiaoyun, excitedly took the crystal—now named Enlightenment Crystal—and, without hesitation, stuffed it into her mouth.
"Xiaoyun, you don't need to eat it!"
Song Xixi quickly stopped her, but the crystal had already vanished from her hands.
"So, there were only two… What a shame! We won't get a chance now!"
As the girl group members watched with both disappointment and anticipation, Liu Xiaoyun first furrowed her brows, then suddenly hunched over as if she was feeling unwell.
"Brother Ye, what's happening? Is something wrong?"
Song Xixi asked worriedly, but Su Ye shook his head. "It's fine. Everyone's abilities are different, so the transformation process will vary. Let's wait and see."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Xiaoyun suddenly let out a loud gasp, followed by a ripping sound—her pants tore open at the back, and a large, fluffy white object burst through the hole.
"Huh?"
Before Su Ye could react, the Nine-Tails inside him suddenly spoke up. "This little one… actually awakened that ability?"
Su Ye looked at the fluffy white thing—it was a massive tail, soft and full, practically begging to be touched.
As that thought crossed his mind, Su Ye subconsciously reached out and grabbed the tail.
"What's going on here?"
But the moment Su Ye's hand made contact, Liu Xiaoyun let out a soft "Ying~" and her face turned completely red.
Su Ye looked at her in confusion, but he didn't let go. Instead, he slightly tightened his grip and pinched lightly, "This is real? You actually grew a tail? Why do you have this? Also, how do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Liu Xiaoyun blushed and remained silent, while Song Xixi had no idea what was going on.
Inside Su Ye's body, Kurama was already laughing uncontrollably.
"You little rascal, acting like a scoundrel in front of so many people and still asking what's wrong. As expected, you really are Su Mutian's kid. This shamelessness runs in the family!"
"No, Old Nine, why are you resorting to personal attacks? Isn't insulting people bad?"
"Besides, I just grabbed a tail. Why are you so anxious? It's not like I grabbed your tail!"
"Ahaha, have you been locked inside for too long and gotten too lonely? So now when you see a fox, you think it's one of your kind?"
"Stop joking around. You must be mistaken. Even though she's female, she's a different species!"
Kurama had metaphorical black lines all over his forehead. "What nonsense are you talking about? I was talking about grabbing the tail, what are you talking about?"
At this moment, Kurama almost roared in frustration. Do you even know what I'm talking about?
Kurama was about to shout in frustration, using a language that Ye could understand but would get him locked up if he spoke it out loud.
Even though he didn't say it out loud, Su Ye could basically understand what Kurama meant. After all, the two were connected in mind.
"How is it the same? If it feels the same, then why don't you retract your tails too? Always leaving them out for everyone to see—aren't you embarrassed?" Su Ye also shouted.
Kurama retorted, "Why should we be embarrassed? We always keep them out in the open!"
"..."
Alright, Su Ye had nothing to say to that.
At this point, his own mind was a mess. A lot of things made sense when he said them, but soon after, they disappeared from his thoughts, leaving him unsure of what to say.
Since he himself didn't have a tail, he naturally couldn't use his own perspective to challenge someone else's expertise.
"Alright, Liu Xiaoyun, right? Try it out. What abilities do you have?"
Liu Xiaoyun's fluffy fox tail swayed gently. The blush on her face hadn't faded yet, but upon hearing Su Ye's words, she still proceeded to demonstrate.
She first swung her arm, and with a "whoosh," it cut through the air like a shadow.
Watching her movements, Su Ye couldn't help but think of two phrases: "Fingers as swift as the wind, momentum as fast as lightning!"
Though the structure of her moves was different, the essence was similar—something that flashed before your eyes, and once you snapped out of it, you'd exclaim, "What the hell was that?"
"Good strength and speed. What else?" Su Ye continued asking.
Liu Xiaoyun raised her hand, and a ball of energy suddenly appeared in her palm. It was black and purple, looking extremely aggressive.
Su Ye's mouth twitched. "Old Nine, could this girl be your descendant? Doesn't this energy ball look like a Tailed Beast Bomb? Be honest—have you been 'spreading your seed across the world' and leaving descendants everywhere?"
Kurama instantly got angry. "Do you think I can't deal with you anymore? Do you believe I won't self-destruct right now and make you die an ugly death?"
Su Ye coughed lightly. "It was just a joke! Why are you getting so worked up?"
"Test its power!" Su Ye said to Liu Xiaoyun in front of him while conversing with Kurama in his mind. However, his face showed no signs of his internal discussion.
"Alright!"
Liu Xiaoyun didn't hesitate and directly threw the energy ball toward a distant corner of the wall where no one was standing.
Then, with a loud "boom," the wall was blasted into a gaping hole, with rubble scattered all over the ground.
"Liu Xiaoyun, right?" Su Ye said with a smile.
"Yes, Brother Ye!" Liu Xiaoyun nodded.
Su Ye quickly asked a somewhat insidious question, "You were born in America, right? Now that you've become a superhero, do you have any plans to return and serve your country?"
Liu Xiaoyun shook her head without hesitation. "Although I was born there, I have no sense of belonging. When I was a child, I saw how my parents were bullied and oppressed by people over there. So, I have no intention of serving them in any way!"
"Besides, I know where our roots are! I know whose blood runs through my veins!"
Seeing her resolute expression, Su Ye nodded. "Alright then, I believe you two."
"Yes, Brother Ye! What are your orders?"
Song Xixi and Liu Xiaoyun immediately straightened their backs, looking ready to receive orders at any moment.
Su Ye raised his hand and pointed outside. "Some 'friends' are coming. Go out and give them a proper 'welcome'!"
Hearing the emphasis on the words 'friends' and 'welcome,' Liu Xiaoyun hadn't reacted yet, but Song Xixi instantly raised an eyebrow.
"How many? Are they strong?"
Su Ye sensed for a moment. "Not bad, around a hundred of them. Each one is roughly equivalent to a weaker version of Iron Man."
"Iron Man? You mean that 'I am Iron Man' Iron Man?"
Upon hearing the name Iron Man, the girl group members, who had now fully assumed the role of the background audience, gasped again.
They had seen how powerful Iron Man was on TV.
Over a hundred Iron Men, even if they were weaker versions, were still quite formidable.
"So many 'friends'—are they planning to set up a base here?"
Everyone immediately had this thought. Since there was already a military base here, it made sense to assume they were coming to station themselves.
But Song Xixi had already grabbed the Tang Dao that Su Ye had given her and was heading out with Liu Xiaoyun.
"Brother Ye, don't worry! This is our first battle together—we won't let you down!"
Hearing Song Xixi's words, Su Ye hadn't even responded yet, but the girl group members were already getting excited.
"V-Mama truly deserves her title! Even when welcoming guests, she treats it like a battle. That's the real definition of making guests feel at home!"
"Exactly! I wonder if V-Mama needs any help. Uncle Su might not think much of us, but maybe those Iron Men could use our services!"
"Yeah, if we could have a good conversation with Iron Man, that'd actually be pretty nice!"
"Suddenly, I'm kind of looking forward to this!"
"How about we recommend ourselves?"
Watching Song Xixi and Liu Xiaoyun walk out, the girl group members excitedly discussed among themselves.
Just then, a loud boom sounded as the corner of a nearby building was smashed apart. A metallic body crashed in, sending shattered glass and debris flying everywhere.
"Ahh!"
The sudden destruction immediately caused the girl group members to scream in panic.
Then, as if by instinct, they all ran towards Su Ye. At this moment, he seemed like the only source of safety for them.
Meanwhile, behind Su Ye, Helen Cho had already claimed the safest spot and was tugging on his sleeve.
"These… they belong to him? Ultron?! Why is he here?"
Su Ye chuckled. "They're definitely not here for me. Looks like Dr. Zhao has quite the charm—even robots are falling for you!"