Chapter 917: Bullying Teammate

Riverbank Hotel, Southern Ni Nation, the next day’s afternoon.

In the double room renovated in an exotic style, Nainai and Dr. Jia sat on two separate beds. For this mission, Nainai had transformed into a college student, complete with short black hair, white shirt, jeans, and a canvas travel bag slung over one shoulder. Her glasses completed the scholarly look.

Dr. Jia, on the other hand, was disguised as a middle-aged man with thinned hair and a beer belly, dressed in a polo shirt and black suit pants, hung with a ring of keys.

They appeared as father and daughter.

Dr. Jia had wanted to bring Parry, but Qing Ling vetoed the idea. A parrot couldn't be disguised as another animal and would draw too much attention.

Reluctantly, he'd entrusted his pet to Lying Wood at the S Base, along with pages of detailed care instructions. Even now, he couldn't stop fretting. He'd talked about nothing but the parrot during their journey until both Qing Ling and Nainai had forced him into silence.

"Nainai." After thirty minutes of quiet, Dr. Jia broke. "Your organization...none of them abuse small animals, right?"

Nainai scoffed. "None of this Empress' subjects would go down the path of the fallen."

"Good, good." Dr. Jia licked his lips nervously. "And there aren't any flowers there? That bastard is allergic to pollens..."

The door swung open. A tall, slim woman strode in, platinum blonde curls swept up to showcase her elegant neck and collarbones. Her white camisole and black pencil skirt emphasized her curves, but her sharp, icy eyes contradicted the alluring outfit.

Qing Ling, playing the role of Nainai's stepmother and Dr. Jia's young wife, looked distinctly uncomfortable. The pencil skirt restricted her movement, and she'd repeatedly suppressed the urge to tear the constraining fabric for better mobility. Throughout their journey, Dr. Jia had attracted envious stares from passersby; The pedestrians were clearly judging him and questioning how he deserved the good luck, though Dr. Jia never even glanced at his “young wife”. All he thought about was his pet.

"We can take a ferry across the Ni River," Qing Ling announced coolly, closing the door. "The desert beyond should be our destination."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dr. Jia lifted a Black Gold briefcase.

"Wait." Qing Ling thrust a bag of clothes at him. "Put these on."

Dr. Jia reached in and froze, pulling out a white bra. Confused, he dug deeper, finding an entire set of women's clothing.

He turned to Qing Ling. "What kind of joke is this, Green Snake?"

"The ferry segregates passengers by gender." Qing Ling glanced at Nainai. "Transform Dr. Jia into a woman so we can stay together."

The crossing would take only twenty minutes, but Qing Ling wouldn't risk letting Dr. Jia out of their sight. If it were night, she and Nainai could simply fly him across the river under cover of darkness. But at four in the afternoon, with tourists and locals crowding the area, using their Talents would only invite trouble.

“No problem!”

Nainai bounced onto Dr. Jia’s bed excitedly, eyes bright and lips curled into a smirk. She had been itching to make a man into a woman. The last time she did it was to turn Gao Yang into Can. That gave her a lot of ideas and experience.

Dr. Jia and Gao Yang had wildly different builds, making this a good practice.

"Stay back!" Dr. Jia scrambled away. "Don't touch me! I'll scream, I really will—"

"Then scream!" Nainai cackled. "No one will come to your rescue even if you scream until you're hoarse!"

...

Ten minutes later, the bathroom door creaked open.

The middle-aged man had vanished. In his place stood a middle-aged woman with a round face and striking features, dressed in a rose-printed dress that struggled to contain her newly voluptuous figure. Large auburn curls tumbled down her shoulders, completing the transformation. “Her” figure was almost cartoonish—Dr. Jia’s beer belly had to go somewhere, so Nainai shifted the fat to the breast and the hip.

Qing Ling frowned. She had underestimated Dr. Jia’s size. She should’ve bought a plus-size dress.

"I'm filing a complaint to Gao Yang!" Dr. Jia's voice cracked with indignation. "You're bullying your teammate during the mission! Stomping on the dignity of a genius!"

"Be quiet." Qing Ling's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Or I'll make sure you stay quiet permanently."

Dr. Jia's mouth snapped shut. He'd meant it as mere grumbling. He hadn't expected Qing Ling to be wound so tight she'd threaten murder.

They checked out of the hotel and went downstairs with their luggage, hailing a taxi to the harbor. Blending in with the tourists, they boarded a ferry. They reached the desert across the river in twenty minutes.

Then they took camels around the desert on the riverbank. Soon, the tourists were taken to a short hill consisting of broken stones, waiting for the well-known sight of sunset in the desert.

The stone hill was the end of this isolated island. The desert ahead was visible, but impossible to enter.

Strangely, both guides and tourists halted at the hill as if by unspoken agreement. No one even suggested venturing deeper into the desert, as if some collective instinct held them back.

After returning their camels, Qing Ling, Nainai, and Dr. Jia settled on the hill's edge, maintaining a careful distance from the other tourists. Dr. Jia's feminine disguise didn't extend to his behavior. He sprawled on a boulder with his legs spread, yanking at his collar for air. The look in his eyes suggested he was one discomfort away from stripping off his top.

"Hah, you know, there used to be quite the tourist attraction out there." Dr. Jia squinted into the distance, gesturing toward the desert. "Now the Mist has swallowed it whole. Even the signboards have vanished. Pretty obvious who's behind this."

"The Heavenly Way?" Qing Ling murmured.