46 Peculiarity

“How could this be?” Qi Xi was momentarily stunned on the spot.

“How could it be you?” she murmured in disbelief.

At that moment, Qi Xi suddenly turned around. The Thornflower was so startled by her glare that she jumped. Anxiety was etched on her face, torn between worrying about Xihongchen’s well-being and her own safety. Seeing Qi Xi’s fierce gaze, she instinctively flinched.

“Thornflower? How did you find Xi... Hongchen?” Qi Xi asked, frowning.

This time, it was the Thornflower’s turn to be shocked. Her mouth formed an ‘O’ of astonishment, her eyes full of disbelief and confusion. Instead of answering Qi Xi’s question, she posed her own: “How do you know Xihongchen’s identity? How do you know Xihongchen?”

Qi Xi arched a brow, finding it rather amusing. “Of course I know. What’s so strange about that?”

Just then, the Thornflower seemed to recover. After more than a century of life, she had gained considerable wisdom. Time had not dulled her mind; if anything, she was even sharper. In an instant, she ran through dozens of possibilities and quickly landed on one. She asked, “Are you... Qi Xi?”

“You know me?” Qi Xi asked in surprise. This Thornflower actually recognized her? She had always thought this person looked familiar. Who was she, really?

To her astonishment, Thornflower was even more surprised than she was. Her eyes widened. “Incredible! Are you really Qi Xi?!”

“Of course I’m Qi Xi. And you are?” Qi Xi pressed on, preparing to use her Mind Reading, but the other woman answered before she could act.

“My name is Lu Lu. Do you remember now?” Thornflower’s eyes filled with eager anticipation.

The name unlocked everything for Qi Xi. So this was that young female teacher from over a century ago! In all these years, she had risen to such a status, and Qi Xi herself had nearly killed her... The twists of fate were truly astonishing.

“You’re the teacher from a hundred and twenty years ago, the one who brought several students?” Qi Xi still found it hard to believe.

“It’s me! That means you really are Qi Xi!” Lu Lu said delightedly. “I never imagined I’d see you again... Wait, why are you in disguise? Are you trying to provoke the great powers to attack Rockefeller?”

At this point, Xihongchen, who had been beaten nearly to death, had mostly recovered. Clutching his head, scenes flashed before his eyes. Like Qi Xi, he had just awakened to the realization.

“You’re... senior?” Watermelon, holding his head, got up and asked cautiously.

Qi Xi nodded.

“Ah! I can’t believe I just fought... fought with a senior!” Watermelon suddenly yelped with excitement.

Qi Xi couldn’t help but smile at Watermelon’s reaction, but said nothing more. Turning to Lu Lu, she said, “We need to find an opportunity to have a proper conversation.”

“No problem,” Lu Lu agreed.

“Then I’ll take my leave,” Qi Xi said, turning to go.

“Senior...” Watermelon wanted to follow, but Qi Xi stopped him: “You’d better stay here.” With that, she vanished into the night, masking her presence so thoroughly that no one detected her departure.

“Let’s go,” Lu Lu said to Xihongchen.

He nodded.

As soon as the two stepped outside, a crowd rushed over, their faces tense. “Are you all right?” “Where’s that Rockefeller?” “Were you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Rockefeller has disappeared. I need to rest; let’s end this banquet here,” Lu Lu said with an apologetic smile.

She then got into a car and disappeared into the night, leaving the assembled dignitaries exchanging baffled glances, unsure what to say.

Qi Xi soon arrived at a villa on Mount Everest, washed the blood from herself, and poured some water to drink. The day’s events raced through her mind, and suddenly all the inexplicable things made sense.

First, Xiao Fengyu—a mere gene-edited human—had no right to attend such a gathering, unless she had the backing of Lu Lu, known as the Thornflower, who could certainly secure entry to a central banquet like this. Second, Watermelon’s strength was suspicious, but with Lu Lu’s help, it was entirely possible for him to have grown so powerful. What surprised Qi Xi most was that this woman called Lu Lu, despite having no apparent power or status, had managed to become a pivotal figure in the Taiping Army, known as the Thornflower! But then again, Qi Xi realized she didn’t truly know this woman’s background; perhaps Lu Lu had powerful connections behind her.

The next day, Qi Xi met privately with Lu Lu and Xihongchen.

The strike against Rockefeller commenced swiftly. This attack was carried out by Lu Lu’s private army, without any communication with the upper echelons of the Taiping Army. In this campaign, two others joined the war: Qi Xi and Watermelon. With two half-step Kings among them, victory was inevitable.

They soon conquered all of Rockefeller’s one hundred sixty-odd private nations and thirteen key base cities. The world was astonished—this blitzkrieg took only three days, a true lightning war.

In the process, the Thornflower—who had only been a somewhat notable figure within the Taiping Army—suddenly stepped onto the world stage, drawing the eyes of countless people. This war became the true fuse, igniting an all-out assault on Rockefeller. With Qi Xi’s plan finally revealed, not only the Red Army, but also the Victorious Army, the Soviet Army, the White Angel Association, and even the White Cross and Black Knights launched massive offensives against Rockefeller’s territories.

In an instant, the world was engulfed in smoke and fire once again.

A month later.

The Rockefeller family’s domains had completely fallen. More than a dozen Rockefellers were dead—a staggering blow for the family, one that was impossible to measure. The whole world had united against them, and the once-mighty Rockefeller behemoth was tottering. Everyone could see with their own eyes that the Rockefellers were on the verge of destruction.

Yet Qi Xi sensed something was amiss. Among the dozen or so Rockefellers killed, not a single King had been found. It was all too suspicious...