My Top-Tier Tycoon Wife

"Even if I have to plunge into the Nine Nether, I will find you and bring you back!"

"Even if I have to step into Hell, I will travel alongside you!"

Embracing certain death, Luo Xiu resolutely leaped into the abyss.

However, what greeted him was not darkness and pain, but a burst of dazzling light. He felt his body become weightless as a brilliant light flashed before his eyes. Before he could even react, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Once his eyes adjusted to the intense light, he looked around and found himself in the middle of a dense crowd. He then realized he was back at the salt pits in the dormitory area.

Xu Qianqing and the other girls hurried over to him.

"Dr. Chen, are you okay?"

"How are you, Gentlemanly Doctor?"

"..."

Feeling the girls' concern, Luo Xiu paused for a moment before asking, "What exactly happened? Wasn't that place already..."

Zhang Yi patted her chest, her face pale. "That scared me to death! I really thought we were going to die in there. Thankfully, at the critical moment, the four seniors teleported all of us contestants out."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu felt a wave of relief, though the fear lingered. He truly thought he had met his end back there.

He stepped out of the crowd, his face full of gratitude as he looked at the four elders who were still maintaining the teleportation formation. All of them were pale and panting from the effort.

"Thank you, Seniors!"

One of the elders sighed softly. "As long as you young geniuses didn't perish in there, that's all that matters. Otherwise, the four of us would have been reviled for all eternity."

Luo Xiu clasped his fist in a formal salute, thanked them again, and then turned to leave.

He hadn't seen Lin Xiyue in half a month and was very worried about her injuries. After leaving the salt pits, he took Xu Qianqing and the other girls back to the dormitory area. Upon returning, however, Luo Xiu didn't see Lin Xiyue. Sun Li and Lin Jianlong were also gone.

A logistics staff member told him, "Long Shuai, Special Agent Sun, and Miss Lin just left. It seemed to be something urgent."

"But don't you worry, they should be back soon. You should get some rest first. Just let us know if you need anything."

Luo Xiu didn't overthink it. He pulled out his phone, saw it was just after nine in the morning, and crawled into his tent to sleep.

It was a fitful, groggy sleep. After all, a tent in the wild was nowhere near as comfortable as his own bed at home.

Around four in the afternoon, a logistics staff member woke Luo Xiu up, telling him he needed to go to the salt pits to hand over the fortuitous finds from their trip. Luo Xiu could only force himself to get up, taking the four girls with him to the salt pits.

When they arrived, they saw a large carpet spread out in the salt pits, with tables and chairs arranged on it. The four elders sat at the table, appraising the "fortuitous finds" submitted by the teams from various countries. They then gave a comprehensive score based on quality, quantity, damage, utility, and other factors.

Zhang Yi thought about the Magical Treasures in Luo Xiu's Gold Bracelet, which were about to be turned over. She suddenly felt a pang of distress and pinched Luo Xiu's arm. "Gentlemanly Doctor, can't you secretly keep a few?" she whispered. "We worked our butts off for those! I even broke a nail taking apart that ancient tomb."

"Absolutely not!"

Before Luo Xiu could speak, Xu Qianqing's stern voice cut in from the side.

Zhang Yi stuck out her tongue and muttered, "I see there's a reason you became the vice-captain."

Xu Qianqing said earnestly, "To be honest, I'm also reluctant to part with those treasures. But we're members of Team Hua Country, highly valued and representing our nation at the Shi Wu Great Reef. Our every action reflects on Hua Country's reputation. If we act on greed, we'll tarnish our country's name."

"Besides, these items are all going to be used in the war effort. No one dares to claim them for private use. In a way, we're contributing to the defense of our homeland."

Zhang Yi decisively gave Xu Qianqing a thumbs-up.

Luo Xiu glanced at Xu Qianqing as well. This girl's ideological awareness is really quite high now.

"Well, this is strange. Why is everyone on Team Hua Country empty-handed?" a playful female voice remarked from nearby.

Luo Xiu looked over and saw a foreign woman with a voluptuous figure and a bewitching face. From the national emblem on her combat suit, he recognized her as a member of Team T Nation. The woman was holding a small bronze cauldron that exuded an ancient aura, likely one of her finds from the Secret Realm. Behind her, the other members of Team T Nation were all carrying large and small bags filled with Magical Treasures, appearing to have had a bountiful harvest.

The foreign woman curled her lip. "It seems Team Hua Country is just a bunch of losers who couldn't find a single thing."

Zhang Yi sauntered over with a grin and draped an arm over the woman's shoulder. "My dear beauty, with a mouth that foul, your boyfriend must have uremia, right?"

"Why don't you show us all the great treasures you found? Come on, slap me in the face with them."

The woman's face darkened. "I'm a man!"

Startled, Zhang Yi yanked her hand back and jumped away. "Hmph, disgusting freak!"

At this, a male member of Team T Nation sneered, "Wasn't Team Hua Country so tough in the first round? How come you've come back with nothing?"

As Team T Nation voiced their taunts, other competing teams waiting in line began to gather, surrounding Luo Xiu and his group. They all remembered how this degenerate doctor had run rampant in the first round, robbing everyone he came across. A surge of collective anger rose within them. Now that they had an opportunity, they were naturally going to give them a harsh verbal lashing.

A coach from Team H Nation laughed. "It looks like Team Hua Country is going to be eliminated in this second round. What a pity."

"In our world of Martial Artists, it's not just about fighting and killing. You need insight, and more importantly, you need the blessings of the Great Dao!"

"Exactly! What's the use of being a good fighter? What's the use of being a genius? In the world of Martial Artists, only those who survive to the end are kings!"

"Take our Team H Nation, for example. We found a shrine right after we went in, filled with countless treasures. That is what you call a fortuitous encounter from the Great Dao!"

Zhang Yi scoffed. "I think you've all eaten so much kimchi your brains have turned to salt. You picked up a pile of scrap metal and you're not only smug about it, you even have the nerve to show it off?"

The coach from Team H Nation retorted, "Even if it's scrap metal, it's still better than Team Hua Country coming back empty-handed!"

"If that Secret Realm hadn't suddenly collapsed and teleported us out, we would have found even more treasures!"

"Unlike some useless trash who picked the best spot and still came up with nothing. That's the difference!"

Zhang Yi burst out laughing. "A tiny little country like yours dares to act so arrogantly in front of my Hua Country?"

"This junk you picked up? If you tried to sell it at a scrapyard, the old man wouldn't even give you a penny a pound for it! My grandma's broken fan is worth more!"

"I guess you people have never seen anything good in your lives, treating this junk like treasure."

Xu Qianqing shook her head helplessly. "Let it go, Xiao Yi. Don't argue with them."

"..."

As time passed, amidst the harsh condemnations from the other countries' teams, it was finally Team Hua Country's turn to present their finds.

Seeing Luo Xiu walk up empty-handed, the other contestants prepared to enjoy the show. Many were already smirking in anticipation.

But in the next moment, they saw Luo Xiu take the Gold Bracelet off his wrist and place it on the table. He said to the elder sitting across from him, "I obtained this Storage Magical Treasure inside. That shouldn't be a violation of the rules, right?"

"It is not."

Luo Xiu nodded and deliberately raised his voice. "Inside, there are a total of three hundred and seventy-nine Magical Treasures, one set of Jade Clothing Treasure Armor, and additionally, thirty-nine transcribed Taoist Arts."

As soon as he said this, the entire area fell dead silent.

"Is he bluffing?"

"Three hundred and seventy-nine Magical Treasures? And a legendary set of Jade Clothing Treasure Armor!"

"He must be bluffing! Definitely!"

"..."

Facing the crowd's disbelief, Luo Xiu's expression remained calm. He picked up the Gold Bracelet, took a few steps back, and then gave it a slight wave. A loud RATTLE and CLANG echoed as all kinds of Magical Treasures appeared out of thin air, forming a tall mound in front of him.

In an instant, the salt pits were filled with the brilliant glow of treasures. The light was so dazzling that the contestants from the other countries were nearly blinded.

The four elders serving as judges shot to their feet, their beards practically pointing at the sky, their eyes glued to the small mountain of Magical Treasures.

"This... this... This really is Jade Clothing Treasure Armor!"

"Could that be the Flying Wheel?"

"Is that the Questioning Cauldron?"

"My heavens, how do all these Magical Treasures look brand new?!"

"The quality is superb! Flawless!"

"Damn it, they even have the merciless Shadow Needles!" one of the elders cursed, unable to restrain himself.

"And these transcribed Taoist Arts... the more I look at them, the more profound they seem. They must be supreme Taoist Arts!"

"For the love of my ancestors... with these Magical Treasures and these Taoist Arts, you could establish a super sect!"

"Indeed! I'm afraid even reclusive sects like the Proud Sun Sect and Xianyin Valley don't have this kind of foundation!"

"Hahahaha... I'm looking forward to this Martial Combatants Coalition more and more!"

"Chen Shuisheng, your contribution is immense! You deserve the highest merit!"

Luo Xiu, however, remained humble. "My teammates and I found these together."

"Hmm... good. Not arrogant, not impatient, not greedy for all the credit. An excellent disposition. You will surely be a pillar of our Hua Country in the future!"

Luo Xiu tossed the Gold Bracelet onto the pile. "Oh, and let's make it a round number. Add this Storage Magical Treasure, for a total of three hundred and eighty."

With that, he turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Zhang Yi and the girls all stood with their chests puffed out and chins held high, completely vindicated.

At this moment, silence was more eloquent than words.

Aside from the few cussing elders, the entire area was speechless. Everyone stared, eyes wide and mouths agape, looking at the members of Team Hua Country as if they were ghosts. Those who had just been mocking Team Hua Country looked down at the "treasures" in their own hands, their faces burning with shame. Compared to what Luo Xiu had brought out, their own finds truly did look like scrap metal.

As he passed the coach from Team H Nation, Luo Xiu paused and patted him on the shoulder.

"That jar in your hand is pretty nice. You can take it home to store kimchi."

The coach from Team H Nation gritted his teeth, but he was powerless to say a word.

...

After returning to the dormitory area, Zhang Yi found the logistics staff, ordered a feast of dishes, and requested several cases of beer, declaring that they needed a proper celebration. The celebration, fueled by beer, went on until well past seven or eight in the evening. Luo Xiu and the four girls sat around the campfire, boasting and chatting, their laughter echoing through the night.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the dormitory area.

"Kill the demoness!"

"Yes, she must be executed immediately! No need for an interrogation or investigation!"

"My wife and son were killed by that Heretic Cult!"

"..."

Curious, Luo Xiu got up and jogged over to see what the fuss was about.

Squeezing through the crowd, he immediately saw Lin Xiyue, Sun Li, Lin Jianlong, and Wendy. And there, kneeling on the ground with her hands bound, was the female contestant from M Country—the one Wendy called "Grenna." She was covered in blood.

Despite her battered state, Grenna's expression was calm.

An elder in the crowd drew his saber and roared, "Long Shuai, this Heretic Cult demoness must be executed tonight!"

"..."