Chapter 218: [Golden Tickets Bonus - ]
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Zich opened his conversation with Helen.
The earliest message had been sent not long after he returned home.
[Helen: Have you arrived home?]
Three minutes later.
[Helen: Why did you disappear immediately after the tournament ended?]
Another five minutes later.
[Helen: father said you already left the association.]
[Helen: You didn’t actually go home to eat, did you?]
[Helen: That sentence you said during the interview is being reposted all over the forums.]
[Helen: Someone has already made a "Champion Goes Home to Eat" commemorative badge.]
[Helen: There’s also a limited-edition doll of Slimy eating.]
Upon seeing this, Zich instinctively turned and glanced at Slimy, who was still guarding the three empty bowls.
Slimy tilted its body.
"Bo?"
Zich lowered his head again.
The intervals between the later messages gradually became longer.
[Helen: We’re planning to find somewhere to gather.]
[Helen: It isn’t a formal banquet, and no one from the association will be there.]
[Helen: Mira is coming.]
[Helen: Jayden should come too.]
[Helen: You’re the champion. Don’t tell me you won’t even attend something like this.]
One hour later.
[Helen: Where are you?]
[Helen: Zich?]
[Helen: You didn’t already fall asleep, did you?]
The next morning.
[Helen: Good morning.]
[Helen: Reply when you see the messages.]
[Helen: Don’t pretend you didn’t see them.]
Then came the final messages, which had only been sent a short while ago.
[Helen: We’re going to Silvermoon Court in the Central District inside the inner ring tonight.]
[Helen: We’re only eating and talking. It won’t take up much of your time.]
[Helen: A car has already been arranged.]
[Helen: You only need to tell me whether you’re coming.]
[Helen: I’m asking one last time.]
[Helen: Are you coming or not?]
Zich stared at the screen for a long time.
He did not particularly enjoy gatherings like this.
From childhood until now, he had spent most of his time living near the cemetery outside Stoneheart City. Apart from his parents, there were almost no people he could truly call familiar.
After entering the Mountain of Ascension, he had met more and more people, but most of their interactions still revolved around battles, missions, and benefits.
A gathering without any clear objective felt even more unfamiliar to him than a battle.
At that moment, Slimy somehow jumped onto the side of the bed without him noticing.
It extended a tentacle and quickly tapped the communicator screen.
Beep.
A message was sent.
[Zich: I’m coming.]
The room instantly fell silent.
Zich lowered his head and looked at Slimy.
Slimy slowly withdrew its tentacle as though nothing had happened.
"Bo."
Zich remained silent for several seconds, but ultimately did not retract the message.
Almost the instant it was sent, Helen’s reply arrived.
[Helen: Finally alive?]
[Helen: Seven tonight.]
[Helen: The car will arrive near your home.]
[Helen: Dress a little more formally.]
Zich looked down at the ordinary black shirt he was wearing.
[Zich: I don’t have formal clothes.]
The other side remained silent for around ten seconds.
[Helen: ...]
[Helen: Then at least wear something clean.]
Zich closed the communicator and stood up from the bed.
By evening, the setting sun had gradually descended, covering the entire cemetery in a warm layer of gold and crimson.
Lorraine stood at the doorway and looked at Zich, who had already changed clothes. The surprise on her face was even greater than when he had become champion.
Zich was still dressed in black.
However, this time he was not wearing combat clothing. Instead, he wore a tailored black long coat over a simple dark-gray shirt. His silver-white hair had also been properly arranged instead of hanging loosely as it usually did.
The clothes had been prepared and sent over by Helen as she didnt want him to look like a country bumpkin.
Their measurements fit him almost perfectly.
Clearly, she had paid a very close attention to him.
Lorraine walked around Zich once.
"You’re only having dinner with friends?"
"Mm."
"Are there girls?"
"Helen and Mira."
Lorraine’s eyes immediately brightened.
"Two of them?"
Zich glanced at her.
"Jayden is coming too."
The anticipation on Lorraine’s face noticeably diminished.
Leon, who was arranging tools in the yard, raised his head.
"Who is Jayden?"
"The one who lost to Lucien during the tournament."
Zich answered.
Leon thought seriously for a while.
"The young man who always looks at you as if you killed his parents?"
"Probably."
"Then you two really could become friends." Leon nodded. "Neither of you looks like you enjoys talking."
"Don’t speak nonsense." Lorraine glared at her husband before walking up to Zich and adjusting his collar, even though it was already perfectly straight.
"Don’t come back too late tonight."
"And when you speak to other people, don’t always answer with one word."
"If someone asks how the food is, you can’t just say, ’It’s fine.’"
"If someone asks how you’ve been recently, you also can’t just say, ’Not dead.’"
Zich remained silent for a moment.
"When did I ever say ’not dead’?"
"That was how you answered the neighbor last time."
"She asked how I was doing inside the Mountain of Ascension."
"So you told her you weren’t dead?"
Zich thought about it.
"It was the truth."
Lorraine took a deep breath, seemingly preparing to continue lecturing him.
However, at that moment, an extremely faint energy vibration suddenly came from the distance.
A ring of transparent ripples spread through the air above the yard.
Immediately afterward, a luxurious flying car with a deep-green body slowly passed through the evening sky and appeared above the cemetery.
The body of the flying car was extremely long and sleek. There were no unnecessary decorations on its surface, only golden lines resembling tree patterns that flowed slowly across the vehicle.
Two emblems were printed near the door.
One was the ancient tree emblem of the Green Group.
The other was the crossed-swords emblem of the Players Association.
Even though neither Leon nor Lorraine understood flying cars, they could tell that the vehicle before them was not something ordinary people could ever come into contact with.
It produced no engine roar. It did not even disturb the leaves of the surrounding trees as it slowly stopped less than half a meter above the ground.
The door opened silently.
A middle-aged driver wearing a black uniform stepped out from the front seat. After approaching Zich, he bowed slightly.
"Mr. Zich."
"Under Miss Helen’s and the Players Association’s arrangements, I am here to take you to Silvermoon Court."