Strip me of my armor? I'll summon the Emperor in a flash!

Chapter 18 Armored Team Two
海边
The salty sea breeze swept over the rocks with the spray of waves, and the hem of Li Yan's black trench coat fluttered in the wind.

He stared at the rolling dark clouds on the horizon until he heard familiar footsteps behind him.
"Boss, what brings you to see us today?"

A voice sounded from behind Li Yan, followed by a series of footsteps.

Li Yan turned around after hearing the voice.

He smiled as he watched the five people approaching him.

"Diannan, you've arrived!"

Li Yan looked at the leader of the five men and said with a smile.
South of the palace!

Captain of Armor Team Two!
That's right, these five people are the current Armored Second Team!
When Li Yan was in the Armor Squad, his relationship with the Armor Second Team was much better than that with the First Team.

Moreover, he also won the respect of the Armored Second Team even more!

This led the members of the Armored Second Team to call him Boss.

"Boss, what brings you here today?"

Dian Nan's voice had a metallic quality. When this man, who always wore sunglasses, walked to Li Yan's side, the surging waves were reflected in his lenses.

"Yeah, boss!"

"I heard they kicked you out of the Armor Squad. You have no idea how angry I was when I heard that!" Jersey said angrily.
"Yeah, boss, what right did they have to kick you out!"

"And that Dongshan guy, what kind of bastard is he, daring to steal your Wind Eagle Armor!"

Several people took turns expressing their anger, each trying to vent their frustration.

Li Yan listened with a smile, but then shook his head.

"Don't be angry. I called you here today because I have something very important to tell you."

"Hmm? Boss, just say what's on your mind. As long as it's not about sending us to our deaths, everything is negotiable."

Jersey puffed out his chest.

Li Yan smiled and shook his head, "How could I possibly send you to your deaths?"

As he spoke, Li Yan took out five armor summoning devices and handed them to them.

Five armor summoners appeared before them, startling Dian Nan and his group of five.

"Boss, what's this?" Bei Kai asked, his face filled with shock as he looked at what Li Yan had taken out.
They were all from the Armor Squad, although they were the second squad, they were not unfamiliar with the Armor Summoner!
They recognized me at a glance, even without me saying anything.

However, at this moment they still found it hard to believe.

"Boss, how come you have the armor summoner?"

"You didn't steal all the summoning devices from the research institute, did you?"

Several people stared wide-eyed at Li Yan, their faces filled with disbelief.

"No, this isn't a Squad Armor Summoning Device!"

"Boss, what is this?"

Dian Nan looked at Li Yan with a puzzled expression.

This is an armor summoner, but it is not an armor summoner.

"This is the Dark Armor Summoning Device!" Li Yan exclaimed.

"What?!"

"Dark Armor?"

The group gasped in disbelief as they stared at the summoner in Li Yan's hand!

"Boss, you didn't actually join the film industry, did you?" Jersey asked Li Yan hurriedly.

His tone was anxious, and somewhat incredulous.

As soon as Zexi said this, even Diannan and the others looked at Li Yan.

The atmosphere around them froze instantly.

He stared intently at Li Yan, wanting to get a real answer from him.

And to be honest, they've heard some rumors during this time.

I just don't know if it's true or not.

"No, I have never been involved in the film industry."

"On the contrary, I've killed more people from the Shadow Realm than those so-called Team One members," Li Yan denied.

At the same time, he was also a little puzzled. Why did everyone think he had joined the film industry?!
He never said he wanted to join the film industry.

"Phew! That's good."

Fang Zhong breathed a deep sigh of relief upon hearing Li Yan's answer, feeling much more at ease.

To be honest, they didn't believe Li Yan would join the film industry either.

Based on their understanding of Li Yan, he was the most ruthless and killed the most alien beasts in the previous battles!
"Boss, what's this?"

Dian Nan pointed at the summoner, then looked at Li Yan, his face full of confusion, though he didn't know where Li Yan had gotten the Dark Armor Summoner from.

"As the second armored team, do you believe you'll have a chance to summon armor in the future?"

"They say it's the second team, but if nothing unexpected happens to the first team, you probably won't have a chance to summon your armor."

Li Yan's words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling everyone to the bone.

It also made them fall into deep thought instantly.

Indeed, if the members of the Armor Team hadn't run into problems, they probably would never have been able to summon the armor in their entire lives!
"Boss"

Just as Wen Dong was about to speak, Li Yan interrupted him.

"Here, I'll tell you something else: headquarters has figured out a way to summon armor without using the Light and Shadow Stone."

"None of you knew about this, did you?"

"No one told you to summon the armor."

Li Yan's words struck them like a bolt from the blue.

The faces of the group were filled with disbelief, and they stood there dumbfounded.

Li Yan glanced at the group and continued, "If headquarters wanted you to summon armor, they could have done so using this technology long ago."

"But they still didn't, they didn't even tell you about this technology."

Li Yan's words kept ringing out, silencing them and leaving them speechless for a moment.

At the same time, I felt a little disappointed.

Disappointment with headquarters.

If what Li Yan said is true, and the headquarters possesses this technology, why don't they tell a few of them?
"Boss, I heard you stole the Light and Shadow Stone from the research institute?" Dian Nan suddenly asked, as if he had just remembered something.

"Don't say it was stolen, it was a deal between them and me, they agreed to let me take it."

"At present, only the Fire Shadow Stone and the Water Shadow Stone remain in the research institute."

"So, how do you think Dongshan and the others summoned the armor?"

Li Yan did not hide anything from them, but directly told them what he knew.

Upon hearing Li Yan's words, the members of the Armored Team Two clenched their fists, their eyes filled with raging anger.

Jersey suddenly slammed his fist on the fence by the shore, blood seeping from his knuckles: "Those bastards! Why didn't they tell us—"

Suddenly, the waves crashed violently against the rocks, and a salty mist enveloped everyone.

"I've called you here today to give you an opportunity!"

"An opportunity to become a true Armor Warrior!"

"Not the second team, not the backup!"

Li Yan's words clearly reached their ears, giving them a glimmer of hope.

The real Armor Hero!
Instead of being a backup or substitute for the first team!

"Boss,"

Dian Nan shifted his gaze from the Dark Armor Summoner to Li Yan, unsure of what to say. It seemed that words could no longer express his feelings.

"Boss, you're my boss, I'll definitely follow you!" Jersey grabbed the Dark Snow Mastiff Armor Summoner and shouted.

With unwavering gaze and resolute words, he is Li Yan's loyal follower!
Jersey took the Dark Snow Mastiff Armor Summoner.

Without further hesitation, Dian Nan and the others took the Dark Armor Summoning Devices that corresponded to them.

"If Jersey took it, how could I be left out?" Wen Dong chuckled as he held up the Dark Wind Eagle Armor Summoner.

The others laughed when they heard this.

"That's right, we can't let Jersey look down on us!"

"We're a complete team when we're together!"

Seeing this, Li Yan nodded with satisfaction.

In fact, he had already had his own ideas about the ownership of these Dark Armor Summoners from the very beginning.

That's their Armored Second Team!
He also highly approves of the Armored Second Team.

They're not comparable to those few people on one team.

In the original work, if their second team were the same as the first team, given their fighting style, the mutant beasts would have been wiped out long ago!
They are the kind of team that would rather gang up on each other than fight one-on-one.

Instead of the Armored Team where some members are just slacking off and others are fighting amongst themselves.

"Alright, now that you've made your choice, you'll be glad you made it."

Li Yan's eyes swept over the crowd as he slowly spoke.

"From now on, whatever you ask us to do, boss, we'll do it without hesitation!"

"Boss, we'll do our best."

Several people said in unison.

"Keep trying! You're still too weak!"

……

"What, you've been following me for so long, and you still won't come out?"

Li Yan suddenly stopped, his black leather boots crushing a fallen leaf on the damp asphalt.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing through the rain to the shadows at the alley entrance.

Rain dripped down his jawline, leaving dark stains on the collar of his trench coat.

A soft hum came from around the corner, and a slender figure emerged from the puddles.

Bing'er wore a dark red leather jacket today, with raindrops still clinging to the ends of her hair, reflecting shimmering light under the streetlights.

With each step she took, her high-heeled ankle boots stomped an angry sound in the puddles, as if playing some kind of discontented rhythm.

"What's wrong? Why are you so unhappy?" Li Yan smiled, his gaze sweeping over her taut jawline.

He had noticed someone was following him long ago—the faint scent of jasmine, and the deliberately soft yet still familiar footsteps.

Bing'er suddenly stopped five meters away from him, raindrops dripping from her bangs onto her eyelashes.

"You still remember me?" She crossed her arms, her leather jacket rustling softly. "I thought you'd forgotten me!"

She emphasized the last syllable heavily, as if she wanted to nail the words into the other person's heart.

Li Yan noticed that she was unconsciously rubbing her left wrist with her right hand—there was a light pink scar there, which she had accidentally left in the film industry some time ago.

He took half a step forward, and the rain immediately soaked her shoulder line.

"What are you saying? Even if the entire Shadow Realm were wiped out, I would still live!"

"If you're not dead, why didn't you come looking for me?" Bing'er suddenly looked up, her wet eyes gleaming under the neon lights. "I had to come to you in person."

Her voice lowered, "Ever since you defeated the Shadow Realm's King and the Shadow Guardians, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Yan had already reached out and pulled her under the roadside awning.

The plastic canopy roof rattled as the rain pounded against it. He took off his trench coat and wrapped it around her slightly trembling shoulders.

“Okay, okay, it was my fault.” His thumb brushed against her cool earlobe, touching the silver earring—a gift he had given her for her birthday last year.

Bing'er turned her face away, her flushed ear tips peeking out from her hair: "You always do this."

"I've been too busy lately." Li Yan pulled out a half-pack of crumpled cigarettes from his pocket, then thought for a moment and put it back. "How's Xi Zhao doing lately?"

Upon hearing this name, Bing'er's expression suddenly became complicated.

She stared at the blurred neon sign in the rain, her voice as soft as a sigh: "He joined the ERP research institute."

His fingernails unconsciously dug into the seams of his leather jacket. "Those people guarantee he can still summon the Snow Mastiff Armor."

Li Yan frowned slightly. "When did this happen?"

"Three days ago." Bing'er crossed her arms and gave a cold laugh.

The rain suddenly intensified. A muffled rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, like some ominous premonition.

“Interesting.” He squinted, raindrops streaming down his brow bone. “But not much.”

"What do you mean?" Bing'er looked at Li Yan. She felt that there was more to Li Yan's words than met the eye.

She even had a bad feeling about Xi Zhao.

"Literally!"

"Think about it, Xi Zhao was originally from the film industry, but now he's joined the ERP Research Institute. What will they think?"

Li Yan's casual remark made Bing'er realize something instantly.

Her face immediately turned ashen.

Yes!

How could those people view Xi Zhao? He was originally from the film industry, and had even opposed them before.

Now that Xi Zhao has joined them, the people inside the research institute probably won't be too friendly.

"I understand!" Bing'er grasped it immediately, and she said through gritted teeth.

"I'll get Xizhao removed from the ERP Research Institute as soon as possible."

A mocking smile curled at the corner of Li Yan's lips. "Retreat? No need to retreat!"

"Now that Xizhao has joined, let him stay there."

“After leaving the ERP Research Institute, Xi Zhao had nowhere to go.”

"But you should tell him to be careful of Bei Miao."

Li Yan thought of the creator of the "rotten orange theory," the god of civil war illusions, and couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"Bei Miao? That Black Rhino Armor?" Bing'er's eyes flickered, somewhat puzzled.

Li Yan sneered, his fingertip tracing a watermark on the damp wall: "That summoner of the Black Rhino Armor is notorious for 'those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.'"

"Especially for someone like Xi Zhao who came from the film industry, his hostility towards Xi Zhao is probably the strongest!"

"You mean," her nails dug unconsciously into her palms, "that he'll target Xi Zhao?"

Raindrops created tiny ripples in the puddle between the two people.

If that's the case, then she'll have to remind Xi Zhao.

She also had some impression of Bei Miao, the summoner of the Black Rhino Armor.

Or rather, she used to know him.

But that only applies to the past.

What was then is now.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Xizhao will handle whatever comes up."

"Come home with me."

(End of this chapter)