Married by Paper, Loved by Fate 36

36: The Reserved Tsundere

This isn’t a lot?!

All the beastmen present were stunned, some even blushing with excitement and tears welling up.

This is enough food for them for at least seven days!

They were finally saved!

Lu Xiao hadn’t expected Shen Tang to actually bring supplies.

She wasn’t just talking big.

She truly meant it, and she acted on it.

In the crowd, some beastmen’s eyes were fixed on the supplies, a flicker of greed in their gaze.

Lu Xiao’s eyes were cold and stern. He immediately unleashed the powerful pressure of a peak Tier 7 beastman, his sharp, grayish-blue eagle eyes majestically sweeping across everyone.

“These supplies are our guarantee for leaving this place. As captain, Vice-Captain Lu and I will distribute them fairly. If I find anyone contemplating these supplies…”

He immediately fired a shot into the open space.

*Bang!*

The bullet hit just ten centimeters away from the tiger beastman who had been stirring.

The tiger beastman’s face turned pale. He swallowed, the fear of death overriding his greed.

The other beastmen also withdrew their ill intentions. Lu Xiao was a peak Tier 7 beastman, and no one present could defeat him. To act against him would only lead to a more miserable death than those mutated beasts!

“Lu Qi, take out half of the supplies and distribute them to the team members. The other half will be reserved for later use when needed.”

“Yes, Captain Lu Xiao.” A young beastman with green hair stepped forward, organized the supplies, and distributed them to the team members as instructed.

The famished beastmen could no longer wait. As soon as the supplies were handed out, they descended upon them like hungry tigers.

The taste of these high-energy compressed biscuits wasn’t much better than nutrient solution, but they hadn’t tasted much fine cuisine before, so to them, it was already a rare delicacy.

One high-energy compressed biscuit was enough to provide ample energy for a ravenously hungry adult beastman for half a day.

“Lu Xiao, I have something I need to discuss with you privately,” Shen Tang said, walking up to him and lowering her voice.

Lu Xiao looked down at Shen Tang, his brows furrowed slightly. He nodded faintly, “Follow me.”

Shen Tang followed him into an abandoned workshop. This seemed to be where Lu Xiao had been resting these past few days. It was clearly cleaned and looked reasonably tidy.

Lu Xiao closed the door and locked it. The walls had good soundproofing, so outsiders couldn’t hear them.

There was only a small window in the workshop, and sunlight could barely penetrate, making the light dim.

The faint shadow behind Lu Xiao stretched long, winding onto the wall.

His imposing and upright stature, his deep and stern features, his high nose bridge, and his sharp jawline exuded a commanding and mature handsomeness. The scar on his left eyebrow added an indescribable unique charm, making him extremely attractive.

With only the two of them inside, Lu Xiao could finally ask his question, “How did you end up here? And with so many supplies?”

“That… would be a long story!”

“Then make it a short one. I have patience,” Lu Xiao said, walking up to her and looking down from above. His stern gaze was like an interrogation, and no lie could escape his eyes.

Shen Tang instinctively felt nervous, but realizing there was nothing to hide, she decided to tell him the whole story, “…and that’s how it happened. I was framed by those two females. When I woke up, I was thrown into the wilderness. Later, I happened to run into you guys.”

“And the supplies?”

“I am an Imperial Princess, after all! How could I not have some private savings? And the wages you guys gave me before, I saved some money to buy supplies. In case of any unexpected events in the future, I would at least have a way to protect myself!”

Lu Xiao sneered, “It’s impressive that you had the foresight. I thought all your money was donated to charity at the casino.”

Shen Tang’s mouth twitched. She hadn’t expected this scoundrel to be so sharp-tongued while appearing so unassuming, and his venom was hidden beneath a gentle facade!

Fearing that Lu Xiao would see through her, she deliberately imitated the original host’s arrogant and domineering demeanor, saying in exasperation, “I’m bad, not stupid. Of course, I need to keep some things for myself to survive. If I weren’t relying on you to get out of this dump right now, I wouldn’t be willing to take out these supplies!”

Hearing her explanation, Lu Xiao’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly. After all, in his understanding, Shen Tang was an extremely selfish female. How could she willingly hand over supplies? This explanation actually made him trust her more.

But regardless, Shen Tang’s timely assistance had helped them through their difficult time.

Lu Xiao’s stern gaze fell on Shen Tang again. He noticed bruises and cuts from branches on her exposed skin. He didn’t know what she had gone through these past few days, but her skin had become much softer and fairer, making minor injuries very apparent.

She must have suffered a lot on the journey, but she hadn’t cried and made a scene like before. She seemed much calmer and more composed, which surprised Lu Xiao and made him linger on her for a few extra seconds.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Lu Xiao’s favorability +20. Please continue to work hard!]

Shen Tang heard the mechanical voice suddenly ring in her mind and looked at Lu Xiao in surprise. As their eyes met, the man immediately looked away, his stern face as calm as ever, showing no change from his usual demeanor.

Tsk.

Still a reserved tsundere!

A smile curved Shen Tang’s lips. She then said mysteriously, “Actually, besides supplies, I have other good things!”

With that, she took out all the crystal cores from her system backpack.

She had harvested over three hundred crystal cores after using up the insecticide.

These crystal cores could quickly replenish the beastmen’s abilities, enough to rapidly restore the team’s combat power to its peak, supporting at least three days of fierce battle!

This time, even Lu Xiao’s icy-looking face showed a crack. He stared intently into her eyes, his voice low and stern, “Where did you get these crystal cores?”

While Shen Tang could still find a plausible reason for the origin of the supplies, crystal cores were difficult to obtain even with money, let alone hundreds of them at once!

Shen Tang didn’t want Lu Xiao to be suspicious of her, so she said generously, “Everyone has their secrets. You don’t need to worry about that. You just need to know that I’m willing to give them to you.”

“However, the crystal cores are not free. I need you and your subordinates to help me with something: retrieving the Energy Core hidden in the factory!”

Lu Xiao narrowed his deep eyes, looking at her with a meaningful gaze. “You even know about the Energy Core?”

He was starting to suspect that this fat woman wasn’t lost by accident, but rather seemed to have approached them with a premeditated plan!

Shen Tang’s mouth twitched. She sighed, realizing this scoundrel, true to his military background, had incredibly sharp investigative skills!

Shen Tang simply pretended not to notice his suspicious gaze and said frankly, “I heard about the Energy Core from Xiao Jin and Shen Li. They said the City Lord personally led people to the contaminated area just to obtain the Energy Core in the abandoned factory. That Energy Core must be very valuable! Of course, I can’t come here for nothing. I need to get this good thing!”

Hearing her say this, Lu Xiao knew that Xiao Jin had returned safely to the troop, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had long noticed that his mental agitation was very unstable and was afraid he would have an outburst along the way, but thankfully, nothing happened.

“We are also here to obtain the Energy Core, but it’s not that simple,” Lu Xiao said, walking to the table and taking out a deciphered research report.

Dylan