Wang Lan looked up at Prince Kester in astonishment, admiring the man's odd way of thinking. Using a nuclear bomb to silence his own men? He had to give Kester credit for such a ludicrous idea. Wang Lan preferred to believe it was an operational mistake rather than using a nuclear bomb for silencing.

However, a previous speculation made by Longya during an exchange with Jin Wenbing seemed somewhat plausible—the nuclear bomb might have been detonated by someone of higher authority than Wang Mingling, perhaps with the intention of killing Wang Lan.

But this possibility seemed slim. No one knew before the transaction whether Wang Lan would even show up. Besides, using a nuclear bomb to kill Wang Lan? Although Wang Lan was ranked second on Paradise Bird's hit list, surely they wouldn't go to such lengths for him.

Soon, the team of academy teachers led by Longya returned. While the process was fraught with danger, the outcome was a cause for universal rejoicing. Wang Lan's side didn't lose a single hair, while Paradise Bird didn't gain a thing.

Since it was a joyous occasion for all, the campaign against the Third and Fourth Different Dimensional Spaces was put on the agenda.

In celebration of everyone coming through unscathed, Princess Aier invited Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun to her backyard for a barbecue. With the crisis in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow gradually resolving and one danger after another safely overcome, Princess Aier's smile became more radiant.

"Wang Lan, see how my culinary skills are?" Princess Aier proudly presented a grilled chicken wing to Wang Lan.

"You eat it; mine will be ready soon. The joy of barbecuing is cooking what you want yourself. Food you grill with your own hands always tastes better. And if it doesn't turn out delicious, well, crying while you eat it is also part of the fun..."

Yu Ruoyun slightly averted her gaze upon hearing this. In the trash can beside her lay a chicken leg that was charred on one half while barely cooked on the other.

"Aier," Wang Lan suddenly called out, "I still don't think the incident today was that simple. Those two nuclear bombs definitely weren't an accidental explosion; they must have been meticulously planned."

"Meticulously planned? For what purpose?"

"The problem is, we don't know who's behind this, so we can't determine their motive. But I have a gut feeling the bombs exploded just as we got close. That means... they were meant for us."

"Do you have any guesses as to who it might be?"

"No idea. Besides, this is the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. It's not appropriate for me to investigate, nor would it be convenient."

"..." Princess Aier looked at Wang Lan in bewilderment. "Does reversing your sentence carry any special meaning?"

Wang Lan looked at her delicate expression and had a realization. No matter how well one learns a foreign language, it remains just that—a foreign language. Heck, many native Chinese speakers don't fully grasp the depth and subtlety of their own language.

"It means I want you to conduct a covert investigation. I even suspect that Stephen isn't the biggest fish hiding in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, or at least he's not the only one."

"Alright, I'll arrange for someone to investigate tomorrow. Let's eat now; there's plenty of delicious food today."

Yu Ruoyun sat quietly by the charcoal grill, carefully inspecting the barbecue fork in her hands. A seemingly simple task felt surprisingly difficult. What does 'about right' cooking time mean? How much is 'about right' anyway?

As Yu Ruoyun struggled with the grand task of grilling, she suddenly smelled a rich fragrance. Wang Lan placed a freshly grilled chicken wing in front of Yu Ruoyun.

"Here!"

"I'll grill my own."

"Forget it. You're just like two other people I know. I can tell how you'd grill just by one glance."

"Two people? The same kind? Which two?"

"One is Jiang Xinyu," Wang Lan said, "and the other is my aunt."

"Oh?" For a moment, Yu Ruoyun felt a sweet surge in her heart. Was this a sign of closeness?

"The kind who are naturally hopeless in the kitchen. No matter how high your IQ is, you turn into an idiot once you step into the kitchen."

CRACK! The pure steel barbecue fork in her hand snapped.

「On the third day,」 the newly assembled force of four thousand headed towards the Third Different Dimensional Space. Since the Third Different Dimensional Space was the weakest of the five, and with an ample supply of vaccines, they reached the spatial node in just two days.

Wang Lan, Yu Ruoyun, and Princess Aier stood at the entrance to the Different Dimensional Space. Princess Aier, her expression solemn, took measured steps towards the node.

"Aier, maybe you should consider preserving this space as a Pioneer Space. A country's survival cannot always rely on the help of others. If the Kingdom of Ice and Snow wants to rise, it must develop its own Star Martial Warriors."

"Given the current predicament of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, we don't have the strength to maintain a Pioneer Space. We don't even have five hundred Star Martial Warriors left," said Princess Aier with a bitter smile.

She was all too aware of the importance of having the capacity to independently develop Star Martial Warriors for the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. The third space was indeed very suitable, but alas, even with the opportunity at hand, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow had no chance to seize it.

Perhaps in the future, new Different Dimensional Spaces will emerge for the Kingdom of Ice and Snow; maybe... history will repeat itself. But their present dilemma left them no choice but to let go.

BOOM—

A fierce punch landed on the spatial node. A sharp crack followed, and fine fissures spread across the node.

"The friendship between the Kingdom of Ice and Snow and Jade Country will endure forever with the heavens and the earth. If I ever face difficulty again in the future, you'll come to help me, right?"

Faced with Princess Aier's loaded question, Wang Lan flashed a brilliant smile. "Of course!"

With minimal losses, the Third Different Dimensional Space was closed. Not only were the senior students from the academy at ease, but even the mercenaries who had traveled thousands of miles found the task to be a breeze.

Some mercenaries even thought that those who described the Kingdom of Ice and Snow as a harrowing training ground had exaggerated the difficulty—or, perhaps, those previous individuals were simply too weak to complete even such an easy mission.

「After closing a Different Dimensional Space, the army took a brief three-day rest.」

In the dead of night, when all was quiet, Wang Lan sat cross-legged on his bed, staring at his system in a daze. He had just earned another thirty thousand skill points. Where should he allocate them? Thirty thousand skill points were only enough to upgrade a platinum-level skill once, or to enhance a gold-level skill to platinum.

However, a Star Martial Warrior's greatest taboo is to waver after establishing their combat style. Since he had settled on a close-combat instant-kill approach, coveting mage skills would simply be a waste. And Wang Lan's close-combat strength had already reached his expectations.

The Dance of the Dark Butterfly was very useful. Now he could escape using it or teleport instantly. For damage output, he had the Extreme Heat Light Beam, and for defense, the Holy Shield. For clearing wide areas, there were the Earth Fire Roar and Heavenly Fire Extinguishing World.

Eventually, Wang Lan's gaze settled on the Holy Shield and the Dance of the Dark Butterfly. Both of these Star Martial Skills were Platinum Rank One, and thirty thousand skill points could upgrade either one once.

After considering his recently upgraded Phoenix Constellation Saint Cloth, Wang Lan decided to invest the points into the Dance of the Dark Butterfly.

He could now split into twenty Nether Butterflies at once, and the duration of the Nether Butterfly form could be extended to three seconds. Previously, the Nether Butterfly state only lasted about one second; Wang Lan would be forced to reappear even if he didn't want to.

The Nether Butterfly state is practically a cheat; it can ignore physical and elemental attacks, as if it were an illusory product. This state is colloquially known as 'invincibility mode.'

After allocating his points, just as Wang Lan was about to undress and go to bed, he heard some noises outside his door. The footsteps were familiar, making his heart pound.

With only the fourth space left unsealed, Wang Lan and the others' trip to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow was nearly over. Once the last space was sealed three days later, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow would be reborn, and they would return to their homeland.

With departure imminent, Princess Aier was visiting stealthily in the dead of night... What did she want to do?

This wasn't Wang Lan overthinking; he had been through similar situations before. Even though it was Wang Lan who had taken advantage of Xie Sisi, slipping away after reaping the benefits wasn't his style. Precisely because of this, even though it was in his nature as a man, he diligently restrained himself and kept his distance from Princess Aier. It wasn't that Wang Lan didn't want to, nor that he had the desire but lacked the nerve; he simply didn't want to be a scoundrel. Before things with Jiang Xinyu were clear, Wang Lan might have had an excuse, but he couldn't be a beast now.

"Who is it?" Wang Lan asked in a low, tense voice, his body taut.

"Wang Lan, it's me! I think I have some leads on the investigation."

Oh... It seems I was overthinking," Wang Lan thought as he got up and opened the door. Princess Aier was dressed normally.

"Today, a clerk secretly told me that when they were clearing the ruins of Ger Hotel, they found some evidence, but Stephen ordered two pieces destroyed. The clerk found it suspicious, so he secretly kept them and claimed they had been destroyed."

"What kind of evidence?"

"After I obtained them, I immediately had them studied. They said it's some sort of signal transmission device. Come with me; we should find out its true purpose soon."

"Alright!"

Wang Lan put on his clothes and left with Princess Aier. They hadn't exited the camp when they saw Yu Ruoyun, in a trench coat, standing outside gazing at the sky.

"You came out so quickly?"

"What do you mean quickly? What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just taking a walk because I couldn't sleep. What about you two...?"

"Princess Aier has made some progress. Come on, let's go see."

The three of them followed Princess Aier to a research institute in Ice City. The institute was brightly lit. Led by the Guards, they entered the laboratory.

"Your Highness, we can confirm this is a signal transmission device. Moreover, this type of signal transmitter is a fixed device, not a variable frequency transmitter. The signal transmission pattern is extremely complex, intricate, and precise. Any slight discrepancy in a single component would cause a deviation in the signal's frequency. It's like a mechanical lock with thousands of unique features, where one lock only matches a single key."

Upon hearing this, the faces of Wang Lan, Yu Ruoyun, and Princess Aier changed dramatically.

"A nuclear detonation signal transmitter?" Wang Lan exclaimed.

"There should be no mistake. But... why would a nuclear detonation signal transmitter be destroyed?" Yu Ruoyun asked, puzzled. "This one was destroyed in the explosion. Could it be that the explosion wasn't from the battle, but rather the person from Bear Country self-destructed to prevent the nuclear detonation device from falling into Paradise Bird's hands?"

"It should be so," Wang Lan murmured, scratching his chin and falling into contemplation. "If the detonators for those two nuclear bombs were here... where did Paradise Bird get their detonator from? If the nuclear detonators were already destroyed, how did those two nuclear bombs explode?"

"Could it be that Paradise Bird also has the same type of nuclear bombs?" Princess Aier wondered aloud.

"No, that's not right!" Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Wang Lan's eyes. "I think I know!"

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