Why did you provoke me?

Qingyuan closed her eyes, exhausted.

"Teacher Qing, do you think we're too useless?" Teacher Sun sighed from the side.

"Didn't they already tell us how? Then let's practice. We can even survive death on the alien battlefield, so why can't we endure this little bit of hardship?" Qingyuan looked at them with a hint of disappointment. When did they become so timid and hesitant? They hadn't even started, and they were already thinking about failure.

"Let's go back and find something to practice on. If the big things don't work, we'll start with the small ones. We need to train ourselves hard." Qingyuan's expression was somewhat ferocious. "At first, I thought it was the aliens' strength that left us helpless. Now it seems that our own incompetence led to the tragedy of those warriors."

Since arriving at the base, Huang Yan hasn't actually managed to remove the alien herself; Qing Yuan has always been there to help her. Therefore, she has no experience of failing. She also can't truly understand the emotional journey of Qing Yuan and Teacher Sun. Now that Qing Yuan says to practice hard, she'll just have to obey.

"Yes, practice hard," Teacher Sun chimed in from the side.

Niannian walked backwards, looking at Yu Meng, "Fourth Sister, how come they're so weak? Their lines have so little strength, how did they become bone painters?"

"The standard for becoming a bone painter is the branching of lines, not the toughness of the lines," Yu Meng explained.

"I think the aliens stuck in their minds are a sign of their incompetence. You're not even as strong as an alien, how could you possibly kick it out of your mind?" Niannian pouted.

"We still need to teach them as soon as possible, otherwise the two of us will have to do all the work. Don't you think we'll be exhausted?"

"Fourth Sister, I'm not tired at all. That way, all my lines can be well-fed." A happy smile appeared on Niannian's face. "If all my lines are well-fed, then they must be incredibly strong. Fourth Sister, do you think if that happens, I could fly in the sky for a while?"

I imagined that kind of scenario in my dream, and it felt okay.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you know how many soldiers like them there are? Even if we were made of iron, how many nails could we hammer in?"

"I was just thinking about it. You always have to have something to strive for, right?"

"Niannian, how long did you practice back then?"

"About three months, I guess? It took about two months after I followed you back to the old house."

"No, this is taking too long. I don't want us to stay here at Jingchuan Club forever." Yu Meng frowned. "Niannian, do you have a faster way?"

"No. They have too many things to do and their hearts are not pure. Practice will be very slow. When I was practicing pulling the tea mug, the eldest sister would make me tie the line to the tea mug as soon as I opened my eyes and I would stay there until I went to sleep. That period was simply a nightmare for me."

Yu Meng sighed again. It was too hard for her; she had to be taught every single step, and Yu Meng didn't have that kind of patience.

Niannian quickly took two steps and arrived in front of Yu Meng. "Fourth Sister, why don't we hand this over to Eldest Sister? Eldest Sister is very good at teaching."

Yu Meng shook her head. "No. My eldest sister's talent is too low; we can't let her get involved in this. So, until they've learned it, I'll have Secretary Wu not send anyone over."

"Fourth Sister, no. My growth lines need to get stronger. If I don't get enough to eat, when will they ever become stronger?"

"Then let's send fewer people," Yu Meng said helplessly.

"Fourth Sister, there are only two people today, so I don't get a share," Niannian said, sounding a little aggrieved.

"Let them watch your performance tomorrow, give them a boost, maybe they'll learn faster," Yu Meng suggested.

"Then give all the people who come tomorrow to me," Niannian said happily.

At the same time, the five men gathered in a room. Three soldiers were standing in the room.

"Let Niannian demonstrate her method today," Yu Meng said. "Perhaps it will offer you some inspiration."

Qingyuan and Teacher Sun breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Yu Meng's attitude was the same as yesterday.

Among the lines drawn by Niannian, the small gray line is the strongest. Therefore, Niannian also chose it.

Niannian moved very quickly, and the strange lines she pulled out seemed to have been drained of their energy. They were limp and thrown onto the table by Niannian's lines.

Qingyuan looked at Niannian expectantly. "Niannian, can you tell Aunt Qing what you did? Aunt Qing doesn't understand it at all."

After thinking for a moment, Niannian asked, "Aunt Qing, could you poke a small hole in this oddly shaped line with your needle?"

Qingyuan shook her head. "I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure. How about I try it now, and then you can give Aunt Qing some pointers?"

Niannian nodded, "This is easy to do, Aunt Qing, you give it a try."

"Aunt Qing, use your full strength, this alien's lines are very strong," Yu Meng said. To be honest, she wasn't very optimistic about Qing Yuan.

"Alright!" Qingyuan paused for a moment, then plunged in hard. A soft sound reached her ears, and Yu Meng was overjoyed—it was done.

Niannian's eyes lit up, and she shouted loudly, "Aunt Qing, absorb it quickly!"

Qingyuan looked up at Niannian. "Absorb? How do I absorb?"

Nian Nian blinked. "Use your lines to absorb the energy from its body."

Qingyuan's face turned bright red, and finally she shook her head, "No way."

Niannian and Yumeng looked at her with suspicion.

"Aunt Qing, imagine your lines as a thin tube, and then suck up the water," Yu Meng instructed.

Qingyuan tried it, but it still didn't work.

Yu Meng explained, "When the lines of thought enter the mind, they immediately insert themselves into the alien lines, absorb some of their energy, and then it will be much easier to pull them out. That's the method that thought of."

Yu Meng looked at the three of them and asked, "Who wants to try today?" Yu Meng then looked at Huang Yan.

Huang Yan's face was a little pale, but she still nodded.

Unexpectedly, Huang Yan actually pulled out the lines.

The lines on the table are very dynamic, with one end even raised, as if surveying the surrounding scenery.

"The three of you together. By whatever means necessary?"

Teacher Sun tentatively tried to insert the lines onto it, but failed immediately.

Yu Meng shook her head inwardly. They didn't even have the ruthlessness of their eldest sister. She wondered what they were thinking. Could they possibly launch a probing attack against an enemy instead of delivering a fatal blow with all their might?

The three lines were being toyed with by the oddly shaped lines. Yu Meng could hardly bear to watch. Nian Nian stared wide-eyed at the table, her mouth agape.

"Using all means is not an excuse for you to play around with each of you using a single thread." Yu Meng's tone was somewhat angry.

The three of them blushed, and it was unclear how many times their faces had turned red.

Huang Yan was the first to react. She used her own lines to tightly wrap around the irregular lines on the table, and then slammed it hard onto the table.

Yu Meng wanted to cover her eyes with her hands. How did she come up with such a move that would hurt the enemy a thousand while also hurting herself eight hundred?

Niannian, watching from the side, had her eyes shining and immediately started giving instructions. "Sister Yan, tie your lines to both ends, then slam the middle onto the table."

Huang Yan listened to advice and immediately changed her strategy. After more than ten attempts, the strange-looking line she had pulled out completely slumped onto the table and remained motionless.

Niannian clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Sister Yan, it's done!"

"Really?" Huang Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked doubtfully.

Niannian pointed to the irregular lines on the table. "If it's in this state, it means it has submitted."