Chapter 175: No One Can Be Sacrificed

Hearing these words, Chen Yi reached out and gently patted Chen Yaxi on the head. "Of course you need to work a little harder. Although you have quite a few artists under your management now, you must never grow arrogant and complacent. After all, you should know that there is always someone better out there."

"I know!"

Curling her lips into a smile once more, the little girl's eyes flashed with a hint of determination.

"Actually, I understand. In your heart, you always want to win, but you don't want to bring pressure to everyone else, so you end up bearing way too much on your own shoulders. But now, you can share it with all of us."

"That's right."

Chu Yunxi raised an eyebrow as well. "You never spell things out clearly. Who on earth can guess what's going on in your mind?"

"My dear wife, are you blaming me again?"

"Hey!"

Chen Yi scratched the back of his head. "I'm a rather straightforward person and I never think to explain everything explicitly. We can just take it slow and I'll explain things to you all as we go."

"But we are all intelligent people; you don't need to spell it out for us to know what you're thinking. To be honest, we can all see right through your intentions. You just want to take the lead and charge ahead whenever a crisis strikes. But what if something happens to you? Could the rest of us possibly survive on our own? Honestly, you can't even think things through properly, yet here you are lecturing us!"

Watching Chen Yaxi furrow her brows, Chen Yi burst into a hearty laugh. He knew this young lady would certainly argue the point, but there were some things he simply had to do.

Gradually turning serious, Chen Yi spoke up once more.

"Well, since you've all told me that you want to cooperate properly, my next order is this: every single one of you must choose a different skill or project to study. Those who cannot fly must specifically seek out someone who can and master this ability. Those lacking offensive skills must learn how to attack. After all, not everyone can protect the rest of us at a moment's notice, and we also need to give ourselves some room to relieve the pressure, don't we?"

"That is well said, I suppose."

Pouting once more, Chen Yaxi raised an eyebrow.

Deep down, she knew that her older brother was far more proactive than anyone else, capable of solving any difficult problem he encountered. Yet precisely because of this, he shouldered all the pressure himself, which left everyone else feeling helpless.

With that thought, the little girl spread her hands in a gesture of resignation.

"You two can figure out what you want to do on your own. Regardless of how others feel, you need to seriously think about our next arrangements right now. Brother, you're not alone in this; you have to place everyone in their proper positions. Only then can everyone feel at ease. Otherwise, what's the point of any of this? Am I right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi realized that the little girl had seen right through it all. He had always regarded Chen Yaxi as a child and hadn't paid much attention to her actions, but now he realized he had been mistaken. The little girl was slowly growing up; she had her own heavy thoughts, yet they were beyond his ability to guess or fathom.

Once again, a gratified smile appeared on Chen Yi's face, and his gaze hardened with resolve.

"Alright, little girl. Since you put it that way, I'll give you a chance. Your brother promised to create more opportunities for everyone to strengthen themselves, so do you have any better ideas?"

"I'll teach them."

Giving a gentle wave of her hand, Chen Yaxi spoke with unwavering determination in her eyes.

"You've seen my abilities; what's so difficult about it? Flying is just a small matter. I've thought about it—those without the ability to fly cannot possibly survive long in this world. What we need to do next is to help the people around us master flight as much as possible. As for the other skills, honestly, they aren't all that hard, so Brother doesn't need to make separate arrangements for those."

"I had no idea you had such high standards, little girl."

Nodding approvingly at Chen Yaxi once more, Chen Yi praised her sincerely.

"It seems you are much stronger than I imagined. By now, you are fully capable of standing on your own two feet."

"Don't put it like that."

Pouting with a smile, Chen Yaxi's expression turned somewhat troubled.

"In the past, I might have thought I was something special, but not anymore. Having been through so many heartbreaking farewells, I finally understand."

In truth, Chen Yaxi had seen through the fragility of life. Every time she saw Chen Yi face danger, their hearts would leap into their throats. Now that everyone was finally gathered together, they naturally needed to follow the rules of this world. With a resolute gaze, she looked straight at Chen Yi.

"Brother, take good care of my sister. The two of you are a match made in heaven."

These words instantly displeased Chen Yi. "Why are you only talking about protecting me? Aren't you going to protect yourself?"

"No."

Spreading her hands once more, the little girl immediately blinked her eyes.

"I'm just telling you the honest truth. No one can predict the future. Today hasn't even passed yet—isn't it a bit too early to talk about tomorrow?"

These words carried a profound and lingering meaning.

Fearing that the little girl might be contemplating self-sacrifice, Chen Yi immediately pulled her close, his eyes turning fierce.

"You listen to me very carefully. I don't care what you're thinking inside, but you are in this together with us. You must never put yourself in danger, understand? If you ever utter such ominous nonsense again, I will definitely punish you."

Lu Kai and the others also grabbed little Yaxi's hands, their eyes filled with anxiety.

"Exactly. The rest of us are still alive and well, so why are you talking such defeatist nonsense? Rest assured, with us around, nothing will happen to you."

Though she knew they meant well, Yaxi harbored far too many thoughts in her heart, and a sense of grievance washed over her.

"You all keep saying we must survive, but can the problems we're facing now be solved just by wishing for it in our heads?"

These words left everyone momentarily stunned, but they quickly snapped back to reality.

"No matter what, you must persevere. If you doubt yourself, sooner or later it will ruin everything. We refuse to let that happen, so we hope you realize that you either live and die with us, or you act like a fool on your own."

Chu Yunxi pulled Chen Yaxi into an embrace and cast a glance at everyone present.

"Alright, say no more. Yaxi is still a child, and whatever she thought of was just a fleeting notion. No one is allowed to scold her anymore. Our top priority right now is dealing with the people from that organization; nothing else matters."

Chen Yi had wanted to make further arrangements, but seeing the heavy atmosphere, he decided to say nothing more.

"Very well, let's leave it at that for now!"