Li Feng dragged Cain and the others to a spot some distance from the women. Even after leaving the women's vicinity, Xiao Ge and Xiao Mu's eyes still occasionally glanced towards the girls.
Seeing this, Li Feng snapped his fingers directly in front of them:
"(Snap!) Wake up!"
Li Feng's snap and shout, as if possessing magical power, jolted Xiao Mu and Xiao Ge's thoughts free from their wandering imaginations, and they asked in a daze:
"Ah... ah? What's wrong?"
Seeing their expressions, Li Feng sighed and then said:
"I feel like something isn't right. These women's appearance is too strange, like female ghosts in a horror movie. I think we'd best keep our distance from them."
Hearing Li Feng's words, Cain nodded. Ever since those girls approached him, a faint pain had started in his palm.
At this moment, Xiao Mu said, "They are just some poor girls."
"We've encountered countless enemies along the way, they are cruel and brutal, armed with all sorts of weapons... and then you tell me, it's perfectly reasonable for a bunch of beautiful women to suddenly appear in this desolate wilderness, in the dead of night... Cain, do you believe I am The Emperor of Mankind?"
Hearing Li Feng's question, Xiao Ge replied in a daze, "You're not, my thought is... they might need help, we should uphold virtue..."
Li Feng directly interrupted Xiao Ge:
"That's not your thought, that's your 'little brother's' thought... Deep breaths, try to get your blood flowing to your brain, not down there."
"They are so pitiful, they..."
"Now your 'little brother' is speaking, your 'little brother' is taking over your brain..."
"I'm not!"
"You are... When your 'big brother' can't control your 'little brother', your 'little brother' becomes your 'big brother'."
Just as Li Feng and the two were arguing about 'body control', Emily from over there called out, "Our school is on the other side of that wall. Would you mind escorting us?"
Hearing Emily's words, Xiao Mu and Xiao Ge said, "See, it's just next door. There's nothing wrong with being virtuous and helping others..."
At this moment, Cain spoke up: "I think we should be prepared. We can go and see what the situation is, after all, we have superior firepower."
Cain was now worried that if these girls truly were innocent civilians, and he abandoned them and left... if anything unfortunate happened, Cain himself would feel uneasy. On the other side of the wall stood a grand country estate, solemnly and peacefully rooted in the earth.
A plaque hanging above the main gate bore several large characters. 'St. Trinia Academy', an institution founded for the daughters of distinguished families. The forest path, paved with bluestone slabs, wound its way from the main gate, silently revealing its identity and history.
Xiao Ge continued to explain to Li Feng, "See, those are just poor female students from the nearby school."
As the gate slowly opened, warm light and the rich aroma of food wafted out, eliciting uncontrollable rumbling from everyone's stomachs.
Emily spoke at just the right moment: "Gentlemen, I've just prepared dinner. Would you be willing to join us?"
The beautiful girls took over, persuading softly, their voices like a gentle breeze across heartstrings, completely dismantling the defenses of Cain and the Soldiers. Even Commissar Cain frequently experienced 'disconnecting and reconnecting' situations.
Li Feng stood at the doorway, watching as the Commissar, drawn by the scent of food and warmth, had already entered the house. Adjutant Yugen, though feeling uneasy like Li Feng, still followed his superior's steps closely. And Xiao Mu and Xiao Ge had long since been pulled inside by the girls.
"Is there something troubling you, handsome?"
Emily stood on the porch, looking down at Li Feng, who stood alone in the rain on the bluestone steps, like a queen. Li Feng looked up at Emily on the porch. Her eyes held an indescribable confidence and composure, as if everything was under her control. Rain streamed down his cheeks, and the chill gradually penetrated to his bones, but a subtle unease churned within him.
Li Feng hesitated for a moment, but his feet did not move. The warm air, the scent of food, the company of beautiful women... while difficult for Li Feng to refuse, everything now was too strange; the superficial tranquility concealed some elusive power.
"Why don't you come in?"
Emily's voice was as soft as silk, yet carried an irresistible force.
"It's so cold out here, how long will you stand in the rain?"
Her tone was both caring and seductive. Li Feng took a deep breath, his gaze never leaving her face: "Who exactly are you? And why are you here?"
Emily smiled faintly, gracefully descending the steps, her footsteps remarkably clear in the silence. "Us?"
She walked up to Li Feng and whispered, "I am a teacher at this school, and those girls are my students."
"The rebellion and suppression on this planet have been going on for almost a month. You are in a war zone, and yet you don't seem at all eager to leave?"
Emily didn't answer immediately. Instead, she raised her hand and gently touched Li Feng's shoulder, with a subtle power:
"Sometimes... the answer isn't important. What's important is whether you're willing to accept it... Once you accept it, you will understand the true meaning of everything..."
And at this moment, after Emily touched Li Feng, her expression instantly turned from confusion to horror, then back to calm. Emily smiled slightly, withdrawing her hand indifferently. She slowly turned, her skirt swaying gently, and walked towards the house, her voice drifting like a dream:
"Come in, dinner won't taste good if it gets cold."
And on Emily's palm, for some reason... a faint burn appeared on that fair hand. And the shape of that burn... was very much like that of a rosary beads. Her silhouette disappeared into the light, leaving Li Feng standing alone in the rain. A moment later, Li Feng sighed deeply and finally stepped through the gate.
The door slowly closed behind him with a soft click, like an invisible lock quietly separating him from the outside world.