Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang suddenly sat up.

"You want to leave Ali here with me? And another colleague? I refuse. This is my house, my private territory. Even if you are beautiful, even if you are my superior, I will never agree to this."

Looking at the firm attitude of Shen Qiang, Qian Shanxue said seriously, "Ali needs to recuperate, and I don't feel comfortable leaving her elsewhere. Although your cultivation is only at the Qi Condensation stage, I know you have the ability to take good care of her."

Shen Qiang frowned and said, "Don't be so presumptuous. You need to understand that I am a doctor, not a nanny. Don't leave Ali here; she will cause me a lot of trouble."

Qian Shanxue's brow furrowed, "I can pay her rent for her. She is a patient, your colleague, and, you are a medical soldier in the team. You have no reason to refuse."

"My girlfriend will be jealous. Is that reason enough?" Shen Qiang, only wearing underwear, leapt from the bed.

Qian Shanxue furrowed her brow and thought for a moment, "Tell her that Ali is your cousin."

"Cousin?" Shen Qiang raised an eyebrow and said, "I, Shen Qiang, have a professional relationship with you. If you force Ali into my home, you're intruding into my life, and I can't accept that. I have a right to privacy."

"This is an order," Qian Shanxue said coldly. "Captain Shen Qiang, you must accept."

"I quit," Shen Qiang blurted out without thinking. "I don't mix business with personal life."

Qian Shanxue's brow furrowed, and after a moment of silence said, "Actually, I don't want it this way either, but Ali got hurt under your treatment, which has been officially recognized as effective. They all think that under your care, she can certainly recover quickly."

Shen Qiang raised an eyebrow and said, "I've already done what should be done; her staying here makes no sense."

Qian Shanxue furrowed her brow, "At most a week, if quick, three days. Is that possible? Ali is injured, and the new person is a real novice, never having been on a mission and only at the Golden Core stage. Under these circumstances, I don't feel comfortable leaving the two of them in the hospital."

"Because once I go out on a mission, there's no one to protect them. So please help me, look after them for a while, even if just for a few days."

Looking at Qian Shanxue's serious eyes, Shen Qiang fell silent.

If it had been before, before he genuinely understood the tasks and the Bounty Hunters platform, no matter what Qian Shanxue said, Shen Qiang would have driven them out without hesitation. But now, looking into Qian Shanxue's eyes,

Shen Qiang's heart suddenly softened.

After all, everyone has a heart made of flesh. During the mission, although Ali acted foolishly, at least she had tried her best to protect Shen Qiang.

So, after thinking for a long time, Shen Qiang said, "One week, that's the limit."

Qian Shanxue's eyes brightened, "Okay."

Shen Qiang hesitated and then said, "She can only stay in the guest room downstairs and also, you must ask her, she can't go to the second floor, can't go to the third floor, and can't go to the garden downstairs."

"No problem."

Qian Shanxue agreed promptly.

Shen Qiang turned and walked toward the bathroom, "I need to use the toilet now, brush my teeth, and get dressed. I hope by the time I come downstairs, you've already clarified everything with her."

...

Fifteen minutes later.

Buttoning his shirt, Shen Qiang went downstairs.

Walking through the living room downstairs, Shen Qiang immediately saw Qian Shanxue and Ali sitting on the long bench in the patio garden, enjoying the sun and having breakfast.

Shen Qiang walked over.

"For you," Qian Shanxue handed a hand-grabbed pancake to Shen Qiang, then continued eating hers very seriously.

On the side, Ali, with one hand holding porridge and the other operating her phone, glanced at Shen Qiang. She flaunted the Storage Ring on her hand that was holding the pancake and said with a faked smile, "If it weren't for the special reward from the team, I wouldn't even know how excellent I am."

Shen Qiang helplessly gave her a scornful look.

This Storage Ring, wasn't it clearly given by Qian Shanxue?

Moreover, it was given when Shen Qiang hadn't even shown any interest in it.

Although he had the intention to clear things up, after glancing at Qian Shanxue, Shen Qiang decided to hold back.

Seeing Shen Qiang keep silent, Ali frowned, "Hey, you, I remember saving you, you know. You haven't even thanked me yet."

This statement amused Shen Qiang.

It was absolutely ridiculous!

Clearly, it was Ali who had recklessly charged out. If it weren't for Shen Qiang's strong medical skills, Ali would have been dead a long time ago.

Yet, in her mouth, it had somehow turned into her saving Shen Qiang.

Arguing over this with a young girl seemed pointless.

So, Shen Qiang just smiled and sat down, quietly eating his hand-grabbed pancake.

The pancake had already gone soft.

But it was still warm.

And it was not too bad.

Seeing that both Shen Qiang and Qian Shanxue remained silent, a somewhat proud Ali chirped while eating porridge, "Wow, Colonel, Colonel, look, my bounty has increased again—it has already reached twenty million!"

Watching her somewhat exhilarated expression, Shen Qiang frowned helplessly. In fact, if it weren't for his well-performed surgery and the fact that Ali, albeit not so great in cultivation, had been practicing Body Refinement from a young age—making her physically much stronger than ordinary people—right now, she wouldn't even have the energy to chatter, let alone hum.

"Increase in bounty means increased danger for you. If I were you, I would feel nervous, not smug," he said.

Hearing Shen Qiang's words, Ali raised her eyebrows proudly, "What do you know? The higher the bounty on a Dragon Group member, the bigger the threat they pose to those dark forces and the stronger their abilities are. So, yeah, the height of the bounty is directly proportional to the ability."

Shen Qiang raised an eyebrow, "If I put a bounty of millions on a pig, does that mean the pig is stronger than you?"

Ali furrowed her brows, "You're just jealous because you're a nobody. I bet most people in the Cultivation World don't even know you exist, and even if they do, a Qi Condensation stage weakling like you would hardly fetch more than a few hundred thousand. Killing you would be a piece of cake for them, so offering a bounty for you is basically throwing money away."

Seeing Shen Qiang frown unhappily.

Ali said with a laugh, "Not convinced? Then let me search right now. If your bounty is even half as high as mine, I'll admit you're pretty impressive, that you are a promising newcomer."

Qian Shanxue, standing nearby, frowned slightly, "Ali, Shen Qiang is already very impressive. Don't flaunt your seniority here. Normally, a usual Dragon Group member starts with a few hundred thousand—it's quite common. Comparing yourself with him, aren't you being a bit unfair?"

Ali raised her eyebrows proudly, "Of course, I have to compare, otherwise he won't accept me as a leader."

Having said that, she began searching on her phone.

"Oops, Shen Qiang's name isn't there. Let's try searching East China Combat Zone, Qian Shanxue's subordinate. Ah, here it is!"

Hearing this, Shen Qiang was surprised. He had only been on a mission with them once; to be listed with a bounty already was a testament to the vast reach of this platform.

But then, Shen Qiang saw Ali staring blankly.

Noticing her weird look, Shen Qiang frowned, "What's wrong?"

Qian Shanxue simply took Ali's phone and while looking at it, she read aloud, "Masked man, name unknown, age unknown, cultivation technique unknown, cultivation at Qi Condensation stage, has the ability to kill above his level, bounty amount... thirty million!"

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