Chapter 333: Lazy Team (3k)
The two arrived at this couple’s hotel. Upon entering, they found it wasn’t as gaudy as the outside. The lobby was neat and orderly, and the crystal lights on the ceiling emitted an orange glow, making the onset of winter weather seem somewhat mild.
After surveying the surroundings, Su Jiu’s gaze fell upon the coffee shop in the right-hand lobby. At the tables for two, Li Yi and two others were seated, holding paper documents, appearing somewhat out of place.
“How can these three discuss competition content in this environment?”
With a soft chuckle, Su Jiu walked over, holding Vivian’s hand. The others’ serious discussion brought her some satisfaction; at least she hadn’t chosen the wrong people for the spots.
The latter also withdrew her gaze from the hotel, looking back at Su Jiu with some suspicion. If Su Jiu weren’t walking with her, she would have suspected Su Jiu had deliberately asked their fellow villager to book a couple’s hotel.
“Two ladies, please have a seat.”
Soon, the three at the table noticed Su Jiu. Ah Hu, being wise, pulled two chairs from a nearby couple’s seat, made a welcoming gesture, and then stood behind Li Yi like a servant.
After Su Jiu and Vivian were seated, Li Yi waved to Chen Jia’er and softly instructed, “Jia’er, go over there and ask the waiter to bring some hot coffee.”
“Ayi, perhaps not. Don’t…”
Looking at Li Yi with concern, Chen Jia’er knew he wanted to talk about her withdrawing from the competition and have that prominent person add her to the list. This was clearly asking too much. The worst outcome would be if it implicated Su Jiu and she also lost her spot.
“Just go order the coffee.”
Waving his hand again with some helplessness, Li Yi threw an apologetic glance at Su Jiu, but his expression was one of restraint, clearly indicating that as a young master, he wasn’t used to asking for favors.
However, for the sake of his girlfriend, with whom he had faced life and death, he had to swallow his pride and beg…
Glancing at the worry on Chen Jia’er’s face, Su Jiu, of course, wasn’t foolish. With a little observation, she knew Li Yi had something to ask of her. She quickly spoke up first, smiling, “What’s wrong? We’re all teammates now. There’s no need to hide anything.”
“Alas… it’s about Jia’er. The old family head of their Chen family said that future succession will not be based on lineage but on performance in the world competition to determine closeness.” Li Yi paused and explained under their bewildered gazes, “These elders of the old aristocratic families are basically connected to the Chinese government to varying degrees. The battles in the previous few sessions have greatly disappointed them. This time, it’s rare that their family has produced some promising juniors, and they are sparing no effort to let them perform.”
Blinking and looking at Chen Jia’er, whose hands were resting on her skirt, Su Jiu pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, “You mean: she has to compete with Chen Qianyun for family head succession?”
“No… Sir, I absolutely didn’t mean that.” Chen Jia’er quickly waved her hands, a look of panic on her face, clearly unsure of what to do.
Hearing this, Li Yi turned to look at Chen Jia’er, who was still standing still, her head shaking like a rattle. He then said to Su Jiu with a bitter expression, “Family struggle? How is that possible… Sigh, I just want Jia’er to gain her grandfather’s notice and receive some protection, so she won’t always be bullied by her sister and those relatives. But she basically has no chance to stand out in her sister’s team.”
“Miss Su Jiu, I implore you to give her a chance. Her strength is not weak. Like me, she has reached the late stage of mid-level Battle General, just one step away from High-Rank Battle General.”
At this point, Li Yi’s usually dark and handsome face turned red. He lowered his head, clearly having abandoned his so-called pride by having to beg someone younger than himself.
“There’s no need for that. My team is short on people anyway; adding you won’t make much difference. Ah Hu, you can join too? We’re all freshmen, so we can look out for each other.”
Looking at the young man lowering his head, Su Jiu sighed, then looked up at Ah Hu, who was standing to the side, and said with a smile.
She just felt the unpredictability of fate. Who would have thought things would be like this six months ago? But Su Jiu wasn’t petty or vindictive; otherwise, she wouldn’t be where she is today.
As soon as she said this, not only Li Yi and Chen Jia’er were stunned, but even Ah Hu, standing behind them, was also taken aback. Then, an unprecedented excitement erupted on his face, hidden by his thick beard.
He quickly bowed halfway and clasped Su Jiu’s hands, saying with utmost sincerity, “Thank you, Miss, for not holding a grudge. Ah Hu never dreamed of being able to step onto that stage. I will definitely not disappoint you.”
Although he had a fierce aura and was confident he could outperform the official team members in a life-or-death struggle, his strength was only barely at the mid-level Battle General. He wouldn’t even be a substitute, let alone be selected. He couldn’t possibly fight people in an exhibition match to prove his strength, could he?
“Haha, no need to be so polite. You two just add your names first. I’ll prepare some strengthening items for you later.” Laughing heartily, Su Jiu had a good impression of this impulsive man who had served in the army. He seemed to have helped evacuate students while injured during the Ancient God Sect attack that day.
“This… Miss Su Jiu, I thank you on behalf of both of them. I dare not speak for the Li family, but if you ever need me, Li Yi, just call my name.”
Su Jiu’s words made Li Yi a little flustered. He had thought it was a stroke of luck to join the team, but now they could receive strengthening training, which suddenly left them at a loss.
In fact, Su Jiu’s way of doing things could be described as direct and righteous, without much calculation. Those who align with her values could be treated well…
And those who deserved to be killed would never be shown mercy!
“Hey, let me join too and give it a try.”
Watching Su Jiu operate her phone to add the two, Vivian chuckled, nudged Su Jiu’s arm, and her eyes held a trace of anticipation. Participating in the competition with her annoying servant and witnessing honor together was much more fun than playing games.
“Silly… You want to come too? But isn’t it restricted to only freshmen and sophomores?” Su Jiu stopped operating her phone and looked up at Vivian in surprise.
Vivian’s background as an honorary professor at Cambridge made it unlikely for her to find any loopholes in the world competition.
The other three also looked at Vivian curiously. They could tell that many of Su Jiu’s decisions involved consulting with her. They initially thought they were classmates, but seeing this, it seemed that was not the case.
“Pig…”
Rolling her eyes, Vivian tapped Su Jiu’s head with her slender fingers. Under Su Jiu’s dead-fish-eyed gaze, she couldn’t help but chuckle before slowly explaining, “I sometimes use another identity to participate in student discount activities. My current specific identity is a student at a certain obscure university, and it’s a name you’re familiar with—Yun Xi.”
Immediately, Su Jiu, with a look of suspicion, entered the various information Vivian provided and found that it was indeed valid. Her age was shown as eighteen, just entering her freshman year.
The fact that the Silly Duke’s alias was so well-made was truly amazing. She would probably even attend a few classes…
“We need to come up with a team name. Once the number of members is sufficient, a team name is required.”
Soon, Su Jiu’s five-person team was assembled. After everything was sorted out, Su Jiu mused, and everyone turned their gaze to her. This nameless team was born in this couple’s hotel, which was absurd yet also held a mysterious aura like that of underground operatives.
The others remained silent, their eyes fixed on Su Jiu as if waiting for her to make the decision. Even Vivian watched quietly, somewhat expecting her to come up with a good name.
“How about we call ourselves the Lazy Team? The weirder the team name, the weirder the victory.”
Looking around at everyone, Su Jiu smiled and spoke of her favorite pastime. She didn’t want to pick a flashy name; that would draw too much attention.
As the silver bullet that shattered Dragon Country’s curse of not being able to enter the top five, how could she exert her tremendous influence if she didn’t lurk in the dark night?
Except for Vivian rolling her eyes at Su Jiu, Li Yi and the other two naturally nodded in agreement, praising her naming for its charm. Su Jiu invited them to join; even if the team was called “Shit,” they would find ways to praise it.
“Alright, since we’re all teammates, the next step is our improvement phase. Remember to get these item consumption fees reimbursed.”
With the basic matters mostly settled, Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the three of them, starting with Li Yi. Not only was her mental power strong, but the experience gained from the strange doctor was also incredibly rich.
She could see at a glance that the young man before her had many hidden injuries and lacked powerful flames and complementary items as a catalyst to successfully outline his inner core pattern.
Everyone quickly nodded. It was only right to pay some fees for improvement.
“You two stay away from him, and spend some money to disperse the people around us. You might get hurt later.”
Su Jiu then said to the two behind Li Yi, followed by forming a sword shape with two fingers on her left hand, emitting a rich dark green faint light. Then, she took out a winged dragon egg, half her height, from her ring, chipped it open with a knife and fork, and said to Li Yi quite seriously, “Concentrate and drink this entire egg.”
Immediately, Su Jiu’s fingertips glowed with a brown flame. With a flick of her finger, she shot the flame onto the center of his brow.
Feeling a warmth at his brow, his skin seemed to be scorching and crackling, yet it continuously brought a healing sensation. Li Yi dared not delay and began to “gulp gulp” the enormous egg. A suffocating heat slowly spread throughout the coffee shop.
Su Jiu, forming seals with her left hand emitting a green healing aura, said sternly, “Engrave the inscription, quickly!”
Half a minute passed, and a lion’s roar suddenly came from him. A phantom of a fiery lion shot up into the sky, and with a sound like popping beans, Li Yi’s body tensed. He suddenly opened his eyes, the colossal shadow of a lion within them. He stared blankly at Su Jiu, muttering,
“High-Rank Battle General… I made it?”
Seeing this, the two people around them were amazed. After all, Li Yi had always been very slow at inscribing, which was why he couldn’t get into the official team. Su Jiu actually had such skill!
Soon, Su Jiu used some herbs to help Ah Hu reach the late stage of mid-level Battle General, and then helped Chen Jia’er directly break through to High-Rank Battle General. The effect was terrifying.
“The world competition is the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll go outside the city together to practice team coordination and skills.”
With the grateful gaze of the two, Su Jiu took Vivian’s hand and headed towards the room upstairs. Doing this was a bit tiring, and it was time for the two of them.
In fact, what she knew wasn’t limited to this. With the presence of E Huo, she only needed to watch them display their skills a little to improve their skill proficiency through micro-manipulation.
