Chapter 169: Chapter 159: She and Qin Ling

Tang Mo hadn’t cared about her rank on the leaderboards for a long time.

But ever since Xiao Tao started sticking by her side, the girl stared at her rank every single day, making it impossible for Tang Mo to ignore.

If her rank dropped even a little, Xiao Tao would spend the whole day glaring at her with a look of profound disappointment. It put an incredible amount of pressure on Tang Mo.

’Isn’t 87 a pretty lucky number?’

She was still a long way from dropping off the leaderboards entirely. Tang Mo herself was quite satisfied with it.

"So, Momo, are you and Qin Ling... still in touch?"

Seeing that the previous topic was a dead end, Wen Jianshu brought up another matter he was concerned about.

Qin Ling had long since secured a firm grip on the military’s core forces in the base. Even the Alliance Exchanges and mission centers scattered across the smaller bases in Huaxia had almost all fallen under his control.

But the guy was quite a character. Even after grasping all the fundamental lifelines of power, he didn’t kick the Wen Family and Li Family out of the picture.

On the contrary, Wen Jianshu clearly felt that Qin Ling was delegating more authority and becoming a hands-off manager.

Unless there was a major decision to be made, his shadow was rarely seen in the central building.

The anxieties that Wen Jianshu and Li Xian initially held gradually began to ease.

Later on, the Mist Team’s fame skyrocketed in S Base after they completed several of the highest-difficulty missions posted at the mission centers.

Only then did everyone understand that power wasn’t what Qin Ling truly wanted. Compared to the trivial affairs within the base, he had much greater ambitions.

If Tang Mo could end up with Qin Ling, Wen Jianshu couldn’t be happier.

But Momo had been gone for several months... He had no idea if the two of them were still in contact.

This was clearly a topic Lin Yi was also very interested in; she quietly slowed the pace at which she picked up food with her chopsticks.

"Contact? A little, but not much."

Tang Mo thought for a moment before answering seriously.

She had been constantly busy with all sorts of things while she was away.

Qin Ling had also been leading his team on missions, so they really weren’t the type to be all lovey-dovey on video calls every day.

"Oh, I see. It’s alright. Momo is so outstanding, she’ll definitely meet someone even better in the future."

The disappointment in Lin Yi’s eyes was hard to hide, but she still had absolute confidence in her daughter’s excellence.

Watching her mom and stepdad trying to act nonchalant despite their obvious disappointment, Tang Mo found it rather amusing.

’It’s not time yet. I don’t want to go public about my relationship with Qin Ling just yet.’

’I’ll wait a bit longer. A better opportunity will come.’

After dinner, Tang Mo took Xiao Tao to the training camp. Only there could they receive the most systematic training and push their attribute values to the limit.

She was no longer the dirt-poor girl she used to be; she now had the financial means for both her and Xiao Tao to spend every day immersed in the training camp.

She had asked around about Qin Ling indirectly and found out he had taken his team out on another mission. They would have to wait a few more days to see each other.

Although Tang Mo and Xiao Tao had different attributes, Tang Mo didn’t need to learn how to use spiritual power.

When it came to using spiritual power, no one was more skilled or versatile than she was. After all, none of the instructors here knew spiritual power healing or external spiritual power attacks.

They could only teach spiritual power enhancement and cultivation methods, the most basic things that Tang Mo didn’t need at all.

So, she paid for both of them and joined Xiao Tao in a class to learn how to better utilize their physical Strength.

Although spiritual power had become her strongest form of attack, she still preferred to keep it as a hidden skill, an ultimate trump card.

Normally, it was more convenient to just use Wind Breaker.

Xiao Tao was extremely serious in class, paying meticulous attention and not missing a single word the instructor said.

Tang Mo was moved by the girl’s thirst for knowledge. Worried she would exhaust herself while just starting to learn how to use her body, she even advised Xiao Tao not to push herself so hard.

"No way. This instructor is so expensive per hour, how could I not study hard? That would be a waste of money."

Xiao Tao said with a dead-serious expression.

’So that’s how it is. Thriftiness is the mother of progress,’ Tang Mo realized.

After trying out every weapon in the classroom, Xiao Tao finally chose a blade as the weapon that suited her best. She absolutely loved the one in the classroom, which weighed well over a hundred pounds.

Compared to the blade Xiao Tao was holding, Tang Mo’s Wind Breaker looked positively petite and delicate.

Xiao Tao was only about 165 centimeters tall, even shorter than Tang Mo. The sight of her carrying such a massive blade on her back was so incongruous that Tang Mo could barely look.

’A violent, super-strong Barbie doll.’

Terrified for her life, Tang Mo silently kept this thought to herself.

"Every weapon in this training camp has been carefully selected from the armory and is for sale. If you really like it, miss, why not buy it?"

The big, brawny male instructor teaching the Strength class astutely recommended the blade to Xiao Tao.

In that instant, Tang Mo saw a striking resemblance between the instructor and a gym’s personal trainer trying to sell a class package.

"How much is it?" Xiao Tao genuinely liked the blade. The weight was perfect for her and it felt natural in her hands, so she asked.

"This blade is arguably the heaviest one in our training camp. The master who forged it used many precious materials and spent a very long time on it..."

"So how much is it?" Tang Mo had never liked salespeople who used too many tricks. ’Can’t we just be honest with each other?’

"Three High-level Crystal Cores," the brawny instructor dropped the price.

"Three High-level Crystal Cores??"

Xiao Tao let out another one of her classic, Xiao Tao-style gasps of surprise.

Tang Mo, on the other hand, was mentally prepared for the price. Although this blade was far inferior to Wind Breaker, the materials and weight were plain to see, so it was never going to be cheap.

What’s more, she had already discovered upon returning to the base that with the general increase in everyone’s power and the massive acquisition of Crystal Cores, prices in the base had undergone a world-shaking transformation. They were frighteningly high.

"Then... then I’m not buying it."

In the end, Xiao Tao grit her teeth and reluctantly put the blade back, her eyes still fixed on it as if saying a final farewell.

The bag Tang Mo had given her last time contained a total of two High-level Crystal Cores. She counted the rest of the Crystal Cores she’d gathered from previous hunts, but even with those, she couldn’t make three High-level Crystal Cores.

’I’ve already troubled Tang Mo enough. From now on, I should rely on my own efforts to earn Crystal Cores. I’ll come back and take this blade home then.’

"Three High-level Crystal Cores. Here you go."

Just as Xiao Tao was waging this internal struggle, Tang Mo had already paid for the blade and picked it up.

"Here, take it."

This blade was seriously heavy. It was a struggle for Tang Mo just to hold it, so she quickly thrust it into Xiao Tao’s arms.

"I... Thank you, Momo."

Tears welled up in Xiao Tao’s eyes. She mumbled a few times, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to push her beloved blade away.

Tang Mo looked up at the sky. ’Maybe it’s time to find the right opportunity to let the kid know about our family’s financial situation. This extreme frugality can’t go on forever.’

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