Chapter 49 : Chapter 49
Chapter 49
After the class meeting ended that afternoon, Shao Huayu and Zhou Que were still looking for teammates.
Shao Huayu had specially reserved a classroom to use as a place to discuss possible candidates. Although, in Shao Huayu’s view, there was no real need to keep looking. He was truly exhausted from it...
Beside him, Zhou Que gave a lazy yawn and muttered in a low voice, “Hua Yu-ge, how about we just enter the competition like this?”
“No.” Shao Huayu’s answer was absolutely decisive.
No matter what, he was not going to compete under that wretched score multiplier. Shao Huayu would rather withdraw than allow his ranking to end up near the bottom of the list.
“Either pry someone away, or withdraw,” Shao Huayu said seriously.
Although Shao Huayu was also very interested in the island-themed competition setting, he would never allow his reputation to come under even the slightest possible doubt.
He would rather withdraw than settle.
At that, Zhou Que weakly slumped onto the desk. “Ugh...”
His head, which had been muddled by You Xingluo’s nonsense yesterday, cleared up a little once more. Resentment toward both You Xingluo and Ji Qing began to well up in Zhou Que’s heart again.
Liu Mu had been threatened, so what excuse did the other two have?
Years of getting along with Liu Mu made Zhou Que directly rule him out. Zhou Que thought with mild irritation, Liu Mu probably would not dare do anything this absurd. Only You Xingluo would have the leisure for this sort of thing...
Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives.
You Xingluo pushed the door open in one motion and waved cheerfully at the two people inside the classroom. “Ta-da, here I am!”
Zhou Que immediately pointed at his nose and cursed, “Traitor!”
As for Shao Huayu, he did not even spare You Xingluo a glance. The more he spoke to You Xingluo at a time like this, the harder it was to suppress the urge to drown him.
For a moment, Shao Huayu’s entire presence turned several degrees colder.
“What a wrongful accusation. No matter how many times you say it, it’s still a wrongful accusation.” The corners of You Xingluo’s eyes seemed to moisten out of nowhere as he spoke. “I sincerely did it for Liu Mu’s good. Wasn’t it you two who wanted Liu Mu to come to Class S?”
At that, Shao Huayu set down his terminal and said coldly, “That was not what you said in class.”
“That was because I got carried away. I admit I was wrong.” You Xingluo immediately retreated in order to advance, swaying as he covered his mouth and protested, “You can’t slander a good person like this. I truly am a good person.”
Zhou Que seemed half convinced. “That actually sounds a little reasonable.”
Yesterday, Zhou Que had already had his head washed once by You Xingluo’s twisted logic, so the second round went especially smoothly. Shao Huayu forcibly suppressed the urge to smack Zhou Que to death and said coldly to You Xingluo, “Come up with another excuse. Ji Qing already used that one yesterday.”
How ridiculous, Shao Huayu thought.
No wonder those two could get along so well. Their first sentence was always “What a wrongful accusation,” then in the middle they both tried to throw the blame onto someone else, and in the end neither could hold back their laughter.
They were plainly working hand in glove.
Shao Huayu found it laughable that he had actually believed Ji Qing’s explanation yesterday.
After hearing that, You Xingluo blinked in surprise. He immediately returned to a normal expression and asked with a frown, “Hua Yu, did you go looking for Ji Qing?”
“No,” Shao Huayu replied flatly. “We ran into each other on the road.”
“Oh~” You Xingluo drew out the last syllable meaningfully. He had originally been worried that Zhou Que had gone to Ji Qing yesterday to demand an explanation, but it turned out Shao Huayu had run into Ji Qing by chance.
Had the trap he had casually planted earlier really started to work so quickly?
At that thought, You Xingluo’s eyes shifted slightly, but he did not intend to keep asking. A proper amount of joking was good for one’s mental and physical health. Too much joking, however, really would put cracks in their friendship.
“Don’t worry. My Prophecy tells me there’s no problem.” You Xingluo clapped his hands, then sat down beside Shao Huayu with a smile. “This is just an interesting little joke, all right?”
“No,” Shao Huayu said just as coldly as before.
Although Shao Huayu did sometimes grow tired of familiar things around him, that did not change the fact that this matter was utterly absurd. You Xingluo had not even left him any buffer time to look for teammates.
How was he supposed to speak calmly under circumstances like this?
“But my Prophecy tells me this is the optimal arrangement.” You Xingluo blinked innocently and comforted him. “You should have a little faith in the value of me as a prophet.”
“...”
Shao Huayu said nothing.
He shut off the terminal projection in one motion and glared at You Xingluo in annoyance. “Fine. Then let’s see when the third person shows up. Otherwise I absolutely—”
But halfway through, Shao Huayu shut his mouth in frustration.
With their respective identities, there was no such thing as cutting ties between him and You Xingluo. The Shao Family and the You Family interacted closely. Even if this matter ended badly, Shao Huayu would still have to grit his teeth and accept it.
In the end, Shao Huayu let out a cold laugh. “Heh.”
“Oh dear~” You Xingluo deliberately put on a troubled look. Naturally, he knew exactly what Shao Huayu was considering and knew that he absolutely would not rashly say anything about cutting ties.
It was just that this matter really had gone somewhat beyond Shao Huayu’s tolerance.
Resting his chin on one hand, You Xingluo still spoke in that gentle tone. “If you’re already this angry now, what will you do if you run into something similar in the future?”
Shao Huayu frowned. “Other than you, who else would have the leisure for this sort of thing?”
“Hm, that isn’t necessarily true~”
Shao Huayu did not say anything more after hearing that. He had finally managed to pull himself out of the whirlpool of anger. If he kept talking to You Xingluo, he might really strangle him on the spot.
Shao Huayu hated this feeling of losing control.
Xie Chang’an was like this. Ji Qing was like this. And You Xingluo even more so. One after another, every single one of them kept adding new obstacles to the plans he had already laid out. Why did they all have so much spare time on their hands?
Just as Shao Huayu was sulking in silence, a light and lively knock sounded at the door.
Why would anyone come here?
Shao Huayu looked up in surprise, only to see a girl with orange twin ponytails peeking her head inside playfully. “I heard from a friend that you’re still recruiting people here, right?”
Huh? Shao Huayu was startled inwardly.
He recognized her. She was the contestant who had fought Zhou Que, the third-place finisher in the Individual Competition, and also someone who had been spending a great deal of time with Ling You’er recently. But as far as Shao Huayu remembered, Ling You’er had said before that Feng Youyou had settled her team very early on.
Ling You’er had even felt very sorry that she had not been able to team up with her.
Because she had truly been coveting Feng Youyou’s Ability and had very much wanted to try possessing someone and generating a wind field. As a member of a Team Competition squad, Feng Youyou’s Ability was very suitable for scouting and keeping watch.
Warily, Shao Huayu asked, “Hadn’t you already found a team?”
“That’s a complicated story.” Feng Youyou sounded deeply regretful.
Leaning one shoulder against the classroom door, she explained at a rapid pace, “I formed a team with friends from Class B before the Individual Competition, but then one of my friend’s friend’s teammates got poached away. Their team no longer met the minimum number, so they wanted to merge into a team they already knew.”
“And on top of that, my performance in the Individual Competition was too outstanding, so it made my friends feel pressured.”
At the end, Feng Youyou lifted her head and gazed into the distance with a melancholy expression. “So they asked whether I could go find another team on my own.”
“What kind of trash friends are those?” Zhou Que blurted out.
“That really is hard to judge,” You Xingluo added.
Just as Zhou Que was about to offer a few more sharp comments, Shao Huayu made a snap decision. “Accepted.”
He rose and walked over to Feng Youyou, then solemnly extended his left hand. “Thank you for providing such important support to our side in this time of crisis. I am confident that my team will not disappoint you.”
“Y-you really make that sound official.” Feng Youyou blinked in surprise.
Then she clasped both hands around his in return and said earnestly, “Thank you for accepting me. I believe that during the Team Competition ahead, we will absolutely be able to get along harmoniously and achieve further success together.”
“Of course there’ll be no problem,” Shao Huayu replied with complete confidence.
If he still failed to take first place with a teammate like this, he would be letting down the Shao Family behind him. The taut string inside Shao Huayu’s heart relaxed at once.
Things had not yet reached the point of being beyond salvage.
At that moment, when Shao Huayu turned back to look at You Xingluo sitting upright in the classroom, several traces of complexity flashed through his eyes.
You Xingluo blinked. “Still, I really didn’t expect this either...”
He had indeed known that a suitable teammate would appear, but the thought that “the third-place finisher in the Individual Competition would be kicked out by her teammates” had truly never crossed his mind.
The situation was astonishingly unexpected.
How could there possibly be a team that disliked a teammate for being too strong? Were they worried about being targeted by other teams? Surely they would not do something that foolish, would they?
You Xingluo found the whole thing deeply strange.
But just as the prophecy had said, a suitable teammate had appeared.
Feng Youyou, whom both of them could approve of and whom Class S had discussed not long ago, had just happened to appear fresh and clear before them and joined the team. The whole thing sounded almost magical when heard for the first time.
But since Feng Youyou had not joined Song Xiaoran’s team, that meant Song Xiaoran’s team already had four members. You Xingluo tilted his head with some hesitation.
So who had the other two teamed up with?
***
When Ji Qing received a message from You Xingluo that afternoon, he had just returned to the dorm room.
As he looked at the words You Xingluo had sent, the astonishment in his eyes was almost impossible to conceal. Song Xiaoran’s group had teamed up with Xie Chang’an, and Feng Youyou had joined Shao Huayu’s team.
“That’s truly shocking...” Ji Qing said in a low voice.
After being reminded by the Manga Forum, Ji Qing had already known that Song Xiaoran might team up with Xie Chang’an. From the perspective of manga readers, the readers had explained the logic behind that decision.
Ji Qing himself had also detected the signs through quiet observation. Although it sounded unbelievable when first heard, he could not deny the independence of others’ actions simply because he had not witnessed them with his own eyes.
During the time Ji Qing was meeting Xie Chang’an and arguing with Shao Huayu, the others in Class S had also been acting for the sake of the Team Competition. But the thing Ji Qing had least expected was—
Feng Youyou had chosen to join Shao Huayu’s team.
Ji Qing frowned instinctively.
If the former still had some signs leading up to it, then this matter had gone completely beyond Ji Qing’s expectations. He calmly studied You Xingluo’s message, and the other party was clearly just as confused.
After spending time with him during the Individual Competition, Ji Qing understood that You Xingluo’s Prophecy carried a great deal of uncertainty.
For many things, he knew only the outcome and not the reason behind it.
If Ji Qing wanted to accurately understand what the others in Class S had done after the Individual Competition, then he would probably have to rely on the manga. His fingertips tapped lightly against the tabletop, and a trace of hesitation flashed through his eyes.
No, not yet. Ji Qing warned himself.
He could not rely too heavily on the manga. Rather than looking now, it would be better to wait until the Team Competition arrangements were completely settled. Having made up his mind, Ji Qing pulled out the chair beside the desk and sat down.
He took out the Bronze Mirror and the Tracking Map from the Pure White Space.
The Tracking Map looked like an ancient scroll of parchment, with traces of yellow sand clinging to it. Whenever Ji Qing moved it, yellow sand would always end up on his fingers and cuffs.
Ji Qing spread the Tracking Map open across the desk.
He had already cleared the items off the desk earlier, and the broad surface only barely managed to fit the parchment flat. While recalling the usage instructions given by the shop, Ji Qing placed the Bronze Mirror in the middle of the parchment.
After waiting a few seconds, a strange runic array surfaced on the blank parchment.
The Bronze Mirror was swallowed bit by bit into the parchment, the process so slow that it was like watching a ship sink. Ji Qing waited patiently for the Tracking Map’s next step.
Once the Bronze Mirror had been completely swallowed, a flat map of the school gradually appeared.
A pair of tiny footprints appeared at the school gate. They walked toward the dormitory building, then toward the Training Building, circling again and again through the areas students often visited.
Ji Qing watched their every movement calmly.
He suddenly realized that this ought to be Xie Chang’an’s route before meeting him. Ji Qing immediately smiled. Xie Chang’an had really gone to quite a lot of places over the past few days.
The tiny footprints abruptly stopped in front of the Administrative Building.
The route after that no longer followed the areas students usually traversed. It entered the underground passage of the Administrative Building, wound its way toward the school’s back hill, and finally stopped at a certain point without moving again.
“The back hill...” Ji Qing murmured softly.
As Ji Qing examined the map in front of him, he also recalled the school’s terrain as he knew it. He thought, It seemed the school’s Collection Vault was underground beneath the hills, very close to the Administrative Building and the training base.
What lay before Ji Qing now were two possible paths:
The first was to follow the underground route Xie Chang’an had taken before and go to the Collection Vault. The second was to enter the Collection Vault through the hilly area above the underground vault.
But the latter would create too much disturbance, and searching for the World Book would also require time... A thoughtful look flashed through Ji Qing’s eyes.
After thinking for a long while, Ji Qing let out a soft sigh. “...It’s time to come up with an Ability for Li Yuan.”
If things went smoothly, then all would be well. If they did not, this would become Li Yuan’s first official appearance in the wasteland world.
Let him witness the teachers’ strength for himself.