Su Yang glanced at Ren Lingxi and nodded with a smile. "Alright."
"This lovely Lingxi is too polite, buying us coffee as soon as she arrives."
Ren Lingxi smiled at Zhang Ziming, who had spoken. "Don't mention it. It's only right since it's our first meeting."
As she said this, she and Su Yang walked towards the coffee shop.
Soon, the two of them returned, each carrying three bags of coffee, and placed them on the table.
Looking at the twelve cups of coffee, Meng Wenzhou chuckled. "Lingxi, did you know there were twelve of us?"
"Mmhmm, Brother Yang told me. You six each need to find a teammate, so that makes twelve, right~"
"True, but then again, we don't know if those three who haven't arrived yet will be able to find teammates."
Hearing this, Zhang Ziming laughed. "Haha, that Old Chu guy was the first to go look, and he still hasn't come back~"
"Yeah, he's the loudest but the slowest to act."
After the group sat around the table drinking coffee and getting to know each other for a while, a familiar figure finally appeared in the distance.
"Look, Ji Bo is back," Zhang Ziming said, pointing at Ji Bo approaching from afar.
"Oh? Didn't expect him to be back first."
At that moment, Ji Bo and a girl walked briskly towards the group.
As they got closer, Ji Bo looked at the six seated people and stammered, "You guys..."
His eyes flicked to Ren Lingxi beside Su Yang, and his expression immediately cracked. He closed his eyes, rubbed them, and looked again.
Seeing this, Meng Wenzhou glared at him. "What are you doing?"
"Ah? N-n-nothing, nothing at all..."
Ji Bo scratched his head and introduced the girl beside him. "Let me introduce you first. This is my teammate, whom I had a hard time finding. Her name is Yang Xiaoling."
After saying this, he turned to Yang Xiaoling. "Xiaoling, these are the friends I told you about."
This Yang Xiaoling next to Ji Bo looked slightly plump, about 160 cm tall, and probably weighed around 120 pounds.
Her face was round, but her features weren't bad. She had shoulder-length hair and looked quite cute and well-behaved.
She wore a white floral short-sleeved blouse, with black athletic shorts and a pair of white sneakers on the bottom. Her legs were fleshy but well-shaped.
Seeing this, Su Yang thought to himself, 'Oh? A bit chubby, but not bad looking.'
—System, scan.
[Yang Xiaoling, Appearance Score: 78]
—Indeed not bad. This kid Ji Bo knows how to pick them.
—Might as well check the other two's scores.
[Wang Shuyue, Appearance Score: 77]
[Chen Chen, Appearance Score: 75]
—Well, well, who would've thought this Yang Xiaoling has the highest score among the three.
—Not bad.
Yang Xiaoling stepped forward, exchanged greetings with everyone to get acquainted, and then sat down with Ji Bo next to Su Yang and Ren Lingxi.
Meng Wenzhou then suggested, "I think we should book the restaurant first. Otherwise, it'll probably be crowded later. Originally, it was Old Chu's treat, but since he's not back yet, let's just book it ourselves."
"Sounds good. Let's do it. What does everyone want to eat?" Zhang Ziming asked.
Su Yang looked at the four girls. "How about we let the four new friends choose?"
"Sure, sure. You guys discuss it. You can eat anything you want. It's on us guys~" Zhang Ziming said with a smile, looking at the four girls.
The personalities of these four girls were all relatively outgoing and cheerful. They weren't shy and were easy to get along with.
Introverted 'i' people definitely wouldn't come to participate in this kind of activity with strangers anyway.
The four of them had already become familiar with each other in this short time. Hearing Zhang Ziming's words, Ren Lingxi thought for a moment and said, "There's a wild mushroom and yak meat hotpot place in the ancient town. I just searched for it on Little Red Book, and the reviews are pretty good. Do you guys want to try it?"
Ren Lingxi said this while smiling and looking at the other three girls.
The others nodded. "Sure, we're not picky~"
"Haha, great. Then let's go for that~"
"Okay."
Seeing this, Su Yang confirmed, "Lingxi, what's the name of this place you mentioned?"
"Let me see... It's called 'Old Fatty Yak Hotpot'."
"Old what? Old Fatty?"
"Yeah~"
Hearing this, the guys couldn't help but laugh. "Haha, when did our Fatty Brother come to Li City to open a hotpot restaurant?"
Meng Wenzhou leaned back in his chair and joked, "Who knows."
"Haha, alright, enough of that. So, we're set on this place then."
"Mmhmm."
As he spoke, Su Yang opened the Tuan Tuan app to book a private room.
Seeing this, Zhang Ziming reached out to stop him. "Yang Yang, what are you doing? You won last time. Tonight's on me."
"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Okay then~"
Su Yang said, turning off his phone.
At that moment, Ren Lingxi beside him turned and asked with a smile, "What did Brother Ziming just call you? Yang Yang?"
Su Yang was taken aback and explained, "Uh... for some reason, he's called me that since the first time we met. I guess I've gotten used to it~"
"Hehe, really? Then can I also call you Yang Yang like Brother Ziming does?"
Hearing Ren Lingxi's words, the others exchanged knowing smiles.
Zhang Ziming teased, "It's allowed, Lingxi. I give my approval~"
Su Yang looked up with a helpless smile. "Fine, call me whatever you like~"
Ren Lingxi's big eyes sparkled mischievously. "Then I'll change how I address you from now on. I'll call you Yang Yang too~"
"Okay~"
......
As they chatted, Zhang Ziming quickly found "Old Fatty Yak Hotpot" on Tuan Tuan and booked a private room.
After securing the dinner spot, the time was 5:50 PM.
Everyone had finished their coffee, but Liu Bo and Chu Qiunan still hadn't returned.
Zhang Ziming stood up, looked around at the people on the street, and frowned. "Why aren't those two back yet?"
Meng Wenzhou said with his eyes closed, "Maybe we should ask. Waiting like this isn't great. If they really can't find anyone, our group of ten is enough anyway. Didn't Ji Bo say the minimum is ten people?"
Ji Bo nodded. "Yeah, when they two get back, we'll have exactly ten, which is enough."
"Alright then, I'll ask."
Zhang Ziming took out his phone, opened the guys' exclusive group chat, and tagged Liu Bo and Chu Qiunan.
Zhang Ziming: What's going on with you two immortals? We're getting hungry waiting. Why aren't you back yet? If you really can't find anyone, just forget it. Hurry back for dinner. We have enough people now anyway.
Two minutes after sending the message, Chu Qiunan finally popped up to reply: Coming, coming. What's the rush? Who said we couldn't find anyone?
Zhang Ziming: So you found someone?
Chu Qiunan: Obviously~ Of course we did.
Zhang Ziming: What about Fatty?
Chu Qiunan: Old Fatty is with me. I found two girls. They both agreed to join us. I saw Fatty hadn't found anyone, so I gave one to him as a teammate.
Liu Bo: You're talking nonsense! Wasn't it me who found them?
Chu Qiunan: How did it become you who found them? Clearly, I was the one who invited them.
Liu Bo: Hey? Trying to steal my credit now?
Seeing that the two were together yet still bickering on WeChat, Zhang Ziming typed impatiently: Alright, alright, stop bickering. Just come back, okay?
Liu Bo: Coming, coming~

ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!