Chapter 37: Call Me Sister

"Wow..."

Leona kept her eyes tightly shut, yet she was staring intently at the magnificent scene before her. Although her hands were occupied by the subconscious urge to cover her eyes, she still held onto Ge Xiaolun’s hand out of habit. Even as they slammed into the air wall, they remained linked in close proximity. Even amidst the continuous sonic booms, she had no trouble seeing everything clearly right in front of her.

"I swear, I really didn't mean to do that. *Slurp*—"

Leona muttered, staring fixedly at Ge Xiaolun's eight—no, nine-pack abs. She truly only wanted to get back at him for his mocking laughter, to break his flight ability and let him bump into the air wall and get completely disoriented. After all, they were both third-generation gods; playing around wouldn't break them. But she had completely forgotten that Ge Xiaolun was wearing ordinary clothes, which instantly disintegrated in such an intense environment...

"If you're going to look, fine, but what’s with covering your eyes with a peace sign? Are you using Amaterasu or something?"

Ge Xiaolun was almost too angry to function. Setting aside the fact that Leona had pranked him—he had, after all, been the one to start the snide remarks first—he hadn't expected her to be so quick-witted, pulling off a sabotage without a moment’s hesitation. But looking at the way she feigned modesty by covering her eyes with a peace sign, he was speechless. She was truly a "little sun" with the temperature of a star burning in her heart; she didn't even bother to pretend.

He pointed at Leona, issuing a stern warning. The next second, he summoned his dark alloy armor, covering his entire body. After all, he didn't have any peculiar habits.

"Whoa! This youngster?!" Leona, receiving the warning, looked at Ge Xiaolun in shock. As expected of the newly awakened Power of the Galaxy—can he point at people without even using his hands?

"The last few times I flew with Qiangwei, she would always say she was afraid I’d take advantage of her in the sky..." After donning his dark alloy armor, Ge Xiaolun suddenly grabbed the back of Leona's neck. Looking at her momentarily stunned expression, he sneered, "But now, I really do feel like taking advantage of you in the sky."

Good grief, the Sun of Light lives up to her name. She can't fly, but her "exhaust" is explosive! A single solar nuclear blast was enough to send his anti-void capabilities into chaos. Though it was only a brief, minor disruption, it forced him to crash into the very edge of the blade he had been dancing on.

"Hey, big guy, you don't have to be so intense, do you?!" Leona’s eyes widened with a hint of shock at his words. Taking advantage of someone in the sky? It really was a method she hadn't considered back on the Sun Star...

"I feel like I have to teach you a lesson, otherwise I can't take you flying anymore," Ge Xiaolun remarked. He hadn't felt this way when carrying Qiangwei or Xiaoli, but flying with her came with its own risks.

"You laughed at me first!" Leona pouted, feeling indignant. Look at the things Ge Xiaolun had said to tease her—was she lonely? Was she afraid of flying alone? Was that just how she was programmed? He might as well have pointed at her nose and called her a blockhead...

"So you think I was wrong?" Ge Xiaolun glanced at the wilderness of the earth growing closer and smiled.

"You were!" Leona huffed.

"Then I guess I was wrong..." Ge Xiaolun smiled and nodded, then released her hand, grabbed her shoulders, and with lightning speed, flipped her orientation. Then, he instantly pulled away.

"Huh?!" By the time Leona reacted, she realized she was plummeting toward the ground headfirst.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop messing around! I don't know how to fly yet!!!" Watching the ground rush up, she couldn't help but panic. Unfortunately, suspended in mid-air with nothing to push off of, she could only flail her four limbs like a small turtle.

*Boom!*

A second later, a headless beauty’s torso grew out of the ground, her two beautiful long legs kicking uselessly.

*Thump!* Two seconds later, Leona pushed off the ground with her hands, struggling to pull herself out like a carrot. She patted her dizzy head and looked at Ge Xiaolun, who was floating above. She pouted with a dark expression, not saying a word.

Ge Xiaolun had already changed back into ordinary clothes; after all, dark alloy armor wasn't suitable for the city. Floating in the air, he looked down at Leona with a smile: "Was I wrong?"

Leona didn't dwell on it. She gritted her teeth and growled viciously, "You jerk, just wait until I learn how to fly..." With a flash of golden light beneath her feet, she rushed toward Ge Xiaolun, grabbed his hand, and the two quickly disappeared into the wilderness.

...

A short while later, in Tianhe City. In a bustling commercial street, inside a men's clothing store.

"Xiaolun, I think this one looks good. Come try it on and see if it fits." Leona held up a brand-new short-sleeved shirt, happily beckoning to Ge Xiaolun, who was leaning against the doorway.

"Good enough is fine. It’s just clothes; why bother buying that one?" Ge Xiaolun was idly scrolling through his tablet, waving his hand dismissively.

"Tsk, how can you settle for 'good enough' when it comes to clothes?" Leona walked over with enthusiasm, holding the shirt up against his frame. "Besides, I ruined your clothes, so of course, I have to compensate you~"

Fun is fun, and games are games. They were just getting to know each other, after all; she couldn't just ruin his clothes and ignore it. As for the other matter... well, in the world of warriors, a man losing a bit of his dignity by being seen didn't mean he was losing a piece of his flesh, so she didn't need to compensate for that.

"But then again, you really should get a few sets of dark-core series casual wear. As the glorious Power of the Galaxy, isn't it pathetic to only have one set of black armor?" She nodded in satisfaction after checking the size, then added a thought. She had subconsciously forgotten that Ge Xiaolun was prone to "clothes-bursting" because she wore specially crafted garments that couldn't be destroyed by ordinary combat intensities, unlike the embarrassment Ge Xiaolun had just suffered.

"My dear Lady Leona, our Blue Star isn't as wealthy as your Sun Star," Ge Xiaolun replied with a wry smile. Did he not know that super-soldiers should wear specialized clothing? But Blue Star was currently so poor it was "coughing up blood," and he had only joined the Super Seminary a few days ago; he didn't want to reach out and demand material resources from Du Kao and the others. As for everything else, he was only just beginning to secure genetic resources for himself starting today.

"Heh," Leona suddenly remembered something and looked at him with a smirk. "So, even you know that Blue Star’s resources are scarce. It seems reading up on universal common knowledge is useful after all. You won't be spouting any more foolish nonsense about how billions of people all have super-genes, right?" Though she had never looked down on him for his bold claims yesterday, she still found the thought both innocent and funny. Perhaps one day, thousands of years later, after Ge Xiaolun had truly grown into a real god, she could still use this to tease him.

Ge Xiaolun just smiled, scrolling through his tablet as he replied casually, "Do not mock a youth for being poor." Although he often complained about Blue Star's poverty, that was just venting. The consensus—both in the show and out—was that Blue Star lacked resources, but in his view, that was a joke. And even if he excluded the "Xiongxin" (Male Core), he held the same opinion.

"Oh, I get it," Leona said, placing the shirt into the bag held by the clerk, chuckling. "Do not mock a youth for being poor, do not mock a middle-aged man for being poor, do not mock an old man for being poor; the dead are the greatest." She reached out and playfully tapped Ge Xiaolun's chin, looking at the face-saving young man with a teasing glint in her eyes. "How about this: call me 'Sister Na,' acknowledge me as your big sister, and I'll cover all your future specialized casual wear. I'm older than you anyway, so you won't be losing out."

Ge Xiaolun glanced at her and shook his head with a light laugh. "I haven't spent my parents' money since I was eight, and I’ve never developed the habit of spending a woman's money... I won't make any grand promises, but unless I'm backed into a corner, I prefer to be self-reliant."

Hearing his words, the amusement in Leona's eyes changed slightly. It wasn't malice, but rather a hint of scrutiny and an unnameable complexity. She curled her lips, turned away, and took a pair of men's underwear from the clerk to inspect it.

"But perhaps one day you'll realize that, given Blue Star's situation and the problems it faces, rather than waiting until you're in a desperate position to beg for help everywhere, it's better to find good-willed friends to lend a hand... That would be quite nice." She held up the underwear, measured it against Ge Xiaolun, then tossed it to the clerk and said firmly, "A size larger. This one won't hold it."

"Good-willed friends are great, and I like making friends too," Ge Xiaolun said, scrolling through his tablet with a calm tone. "But I used to be a businessman, mostly. Compared to doing things based on favors, cooperation and trade are usually much cleaner and more efficient."

The smile in Leona's eyes dimmed, replaced by a touch of lament and a bit of helplessness. "But your Blue Star is currently seeking and accepting help from the Sun Star..."

"I don't want to argue about this with you; the people making those decisions aren't me." Ge Xiaolun held up the tablet. "And I am currently thinking about how I want to do things in the future."

He who is not in the position does not discuss the policy, nor does he bear the responsibility. He would not forget kindness, but he would not be coerced by small favors either.

Leona watched him quietly for a moment, then suddenly smiled. She turned to let the clerk pack the selected clothes and then shoved the bag into Ge Xiaolun's arms.

"Then how about we make a trade?" She looked at Ge Xiaolun with a playful glint in her eyes. "I'll cover the clothes for you and Xiaoli from now on—I can even take care of Qiangwei’s—and I will be the Captain of the Xiongbing Company."