Chapter 50 : Chapter 50
Chapter 50
On Friday, the Team Competition roster and the competition venue were officially announced.
As expected, the competition venue was an undeveloped island region.
As for the teams...
Ji Qing glanced at the teams formed by the members of Class S, and an inexplicable trace of contemplation flashed through his mind. He thought, If nothing unexpected happens, the members of these three teams will form the new Class S.
Team One: Ji Qing, You Xingluo, Liu Mu;
Team Two: Shao Huayu, Zhou Que, Feng Youyou;
Team Three: Xie Chang’an, Gu Lingxue, Ling You’er, Song Xiaoran.
“It’s still a little unexpected,” Ji Qing murmured. “What exactly happened?”
He had met Xie Chang’an on Sunday night, while Song Xiaoran had said on Monday morning in class that his team had already been finalized. In other words, Xie Chang’an had not personally approached Song Xiaoran.
So had it happened through some other channel?
Ji Qing’s gaze drifted involuntarily to Gu Lingxue’s name, and he speculated in silence: Gu Lingxue knew Feng Youyou, Feng Youyou knew Ling You’er, and Ling You’er was familiar with Song Xiaoran.
If Feng Youyou could learn through that channel that Shao Huayu’s team was short of people, then Gu Lingxue could presumably also get to know the other two through that same channel.
“I should find a chance to look at the manga,” Ji Qing murmured to himself.
He was genuinely curious about how things had developed to this point, but that could wait until the eve of the Team Competition. Ji Qing took a deep breath, picked up his uniform jacket, and walked toward the door.
Today, they had an online livestream lecture.
According to the school’s notice, Friday afternoon’s classes had been moved to Saturday afternoon, and all first-year students were required to come that afternoon to listen to the arrangements for the Team Competition.
Compared with the previous Team Competitions, the school seemed to be attaching considerable importance to this island-themed one.
Ji Qing thought in boredom, The school’s reason is probably just that they’re worried something will happen to the students. Compared with the Danger Zones around Yancheng, the island is obviously much more dangerous.
He really did not know why there had been such a change.
While brooding over it, Ji Qing walked toward the Class S classroom.
By the time he reached the classroom door, he found that Zhou Que had deliberately taken a seat beside Song Xiaoran. Looking thoroughly perplexed, Zhou Que asked, “Why did you suddenly end up on a team with Xie Chang’an?”
“It’s a pretty complicated reason,” Song Xiaoran replied with a bitter smile.
At first, Song Xiaoran had not expected the cooperation to come together so easily. When Zhou Que had first mentioned Xie Chang’an, Song Xiaoran had only thought that Xie Chang’an’s combat style was quite suitable for becoming his teammate.
But at that time, it had been nothing more than a passing thought.
The influence of the cafeteria incident at the beginning of the semester had lingered for a long time. Song Xiaoran had privately guessed that Xie Chang’an probably did not think very highly of him, so he might as well look for someone else.
His team with Ling You’er was confirmed first.
During the last few days of the Individual Competition, the two of them had both sensed that several of their classmates likely already had teams.
At that moment, Ling You’er had grabbed his sleeve in a panic and whispered, “How about the two of us team up? It’s much easier to find one person than an entire team...”
The more she spoke, the weaker her voice became.
Song Xiaoran, meanwhile, had simply smiled gently and replied in a friendly tone, “All right.”
They were both from Class S anyway, and it would also make it convenient for them to look after each other. That was what Song Xiaoran had thought at the time. What he had least expected, however, was that he had not gone looking for Xie Chang’an, and yet Xie Chang’an had come looking for him instead.
Strictly speaking, though, neither of them had done it deliberately.
Compared with the slow-moving Song Xiaoran, Ling You’er had formed her side of things much faster. The very next second, she told Feng Youyou about her worries, and after that, Feng Youyou recommended Gu Lingxue to her.
And Gu Lingxue had long since agreed to team up with Xie Chang’an.
Thus, Song Xiaoran and Xie Chang’an had become teammates through a chain of fortunate coincidences.
And so the four-person team was formed.
The instant Song Xiaoran finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Ji Qing sucked in a breath of cold air after hearing it. Filled with admiration, he thought, Girls really do act fast. But rather than saying Ling You’er’s execution was strong, it would be more accurate to say Feng Youyou’s was.
With her enthusiasm and cheerful personality, Feng Youyou had successfully broken through the final obstacle on the road to forming that team.
Xie Chang’an’s outstanding performance in the Individual Competition, Song Xiaoran’s financial pressure, the friendship between Ling You’er and Feng Youyou... all of these had helped the team come together.
And the most crucial point of all—
Ji Qing keenly realized that Ling You’er might not even know about the conflict between Song Xiaoran and Xie Chang’an. At the beginning of the semester, she had been almost completely invisible, so she might not have paid any attention to it at all.
And Song Xiaoran, with his gentle temperament, had likely never reminded her either.
This... Ji Qing silently broke into a cold sweat.
It was practically coincidence piled on top of coincidence. No wonder Song Xiaoran had said the reason was complicated. It really was complicated.
Ji Qing’s earlier guess had been wrong, but it had also been right.
The real culprit behind the appearance of that four-person squad was neither Xie Chang’an nor Gu Lingxue. It was Feng Youyou, who had connected everyone together.
And yet she had been persuaded by her teammates to withdraw...
Ji Qing suddenly felt a little regretful.
But upon second thought, he felt there was nothing to regret. If he had not listened to You Xingluo’s suggestion, he would definitely have found his teammates by now as well.
The opinion of the third teammate really was quite important.
Being forced to disrupt the plan at the last minute had not been Ji Qing’s wish.
Feng Youyou had a very strong-willed personality and her own firm opinions when handling matters. Forcing her into a team might well have caused the team’s coordination to plummet.
Hm? Ji Qing suddenly froze.
All at once, he understood why Feng Youyou had been persuaded to leave by her teammates. The people from Class B had probably planned from the beginning to coast through it, and Feng Youyou’s title as “third place in the Individual Competition” had only increased the pressure on them.
Ji Qing sighed quietly to himself.
Zhou Que could not help exclaiming, “That’s such a coincidence.”
Shao Huayu nodded. “It really is.”
Now that they knew the full cause behind the four-person team, the two of them said nothing further. Teammates for the Team Competition were hard enough to find as it was, and Xie Chang’an’s strength was also quite impressive.
“As for Gu Lingxue, I remember she seemed to have fought Ling You’er...” Zhou Que tilted his head back as he tried to recall it. “Her Ability looked pretty good, but I don’t know how strong she is overall.”
“I don’t know that either,” Song Xiaoran said calmly.
But after a slight pause, he added in a somewhat cool tone, “Since Feng Youyou was the one who recommended her, I’ll trust her for the time being.”
Since he was participating in the competition, he naturally hoped to get the scholarship. Song Xiaoran lowered his eyes and thought, Still, with Ling You’er here, that part actually isn’t something to worry about.
Ling You’er’s Ability was Ghost Possession.
Support had always been her strong suit, and on top of that, Ling You’er had plenty of combat experience. Song Xiaoran did not think there would be any problems during the competition. If the school had not explicitly imposed a team-size requirement, the members of Class S could have entered on their own.
“I’m here! I’m here!”
While the group was talking, Ling You’er came running over in a fluster. She grabbed the doorframe with both hands, panting as she looked around in panic. “Has it started already? It hasn’t, right? It shouldn’t have, right?!”
“Not yet,” Song Xiaoran replied gently.
“That’s great!” Ling You’er let out a long breath of relief.
Seeing that, Ji Qing smiled helplessly.
Once Ling You’er had taken her seat, the members of Class S were finally all present. Ji Qing shifted his gaze back to the projected screen and waited for the principal and the school competition organizers to explain the precautions for the Team Competition.
On the screen, the principal spoke in a stern tone. “At the request of the Hunter Guild, the venue for this year’s Team Competition has been changed to an island near Xicheng. This island fell two years ago and was only recaptured at the beginning of this year.”
“Because Aberrant unrest has been frequent this year, the Hunter Guild is temporarily unable to organize a sweep operation. Since our school is relatively close to Xicheng, the Hunter Guild has specifically entrusted us with carrying out the sweep.”
“There is danger, but the lord of that region has already been eliminated. If any students are still uneasy, they may apply for exemption from the competition within these two days.”
The principal paused, then emphasized, “The rules for this year’s Team Competition are different from those of previous years. Students, under the premise of ensuring your own safety, you must explore as much of the area as possible and eliminate as many Aberrants as possible.”
“The school will lift the prohibition on firearms. In addition...”
Ji Qing frowned tightly.
Rules like this... rather than calling it a Team Competition, it would be more accurate to call it a sweep operation organized by the school.
“So they really are short on manpower,” Zhou Que commented casually.
“Aberrant unrest has been quite frequent in recent years. The nearby towns probably aren’t willing to lend people to Xicheng either,” Shao Huayu said blandly. “Because they wouldn’t gain anything from it.”
“I took a look at the island’s location.” You Xingluo lowered his head and stared at his terminal, a meaningful smile curving at the corner of his mouth. “Its geographical position is extremely advantageous. In the past, it served as a transfer harbor for fishing boats going out to sea.”
“After the island fell, fishermen had to make a detour of several hours before they could return smoothly.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Song Xiaoran said.
“No wonder Xicheng is in such a hurry,” Shao Huayu said.
Areas that had already fallen were not allowed to be traversed at will.
According to Federation law, such an area had to go through at least one sweep operation to ensure no Aberrants were hiding there, and the environmental Infection Index had to be close to the Infection Index inside the towns before passage could be reopened.
Because Xicheng had been unable to organize enough people, the transfer harbor had remained unusable the entire time.
As a coastal town even more dependent on the fishing industry than Yancheng, they would definitely do everything possible to solve this problem. As a nearby Ability academy, Third Ability Academy was undoubtedly one of the schools Xicheng had turned to for help.
“The danger level shouldn’t be too high,” Ji Qing said softly.
Since the school was willing to let first-year students go, it had presumably already scouted the situation inside the island thoroughly. Li Xuehua’s earlier busyness was probably closely related to the island's reconnaissance work.
But the lord... Ji Qing’s eyes suddenly darkened slightly.
Low-level Danger Zones usually did not have a lord. An Aberrant that could be called a “lord” generally possessed extremely strong dominance over the Danger Zone it occupied.
The reason the transfer harbor had fallen so quickly must have been the appearance of that lord.
A trace of worry surfaced in Ji Qing’s heart.
This trip to the island sounded extremely dangerous, but no matter how dangerous it was, Ji Qing had to go. As the top-ranked first-year student, Ji Qing knew very well that he could not shrink back.
The lecture ended very quickly.
Ji Qing rose neatly to his feet, intending to return to the dorm ahead of the others. He still had Xie Chang’an’s Tang Saber to get repaired, but before that, Ji Qing walked over to You Xingluo.
“Hm?” You Xingluo looked up in surprise.
Ji Qing said, “Sometime over the next two days, let’s find a chance to discuss our plan of action. The island map should be released today. When that happens, reserve a classroom.”
“All right,” You Xingluo replied, looking somewhat puzzled. “But... where are you going today?”
Ji Qing answered briefly, “To deal with a personal matter.”
After saying that, Ji Qing left the classroom directly. He had no intention of giving You Xingluo an opportunity to ask further questions. In any case, he would not have told him.
You Xingluo looked thoughtful at that, but said nothing more.