Chapter 332 Classmate? Commander! (3.5k)
As the brawny bounty hunter left, everyone dispersed, some heading out of the city gates and others returning. Su Jiu looked beyond the city gates and said to Vivian with a smile, “Let’s go earn some extra cash.”
They needed to see if there were any kind-hearted Battle General level monsters willing to give a starving poor girl some resources to eat.
Besides the Advanced Magic Crystal, Su Jiu only had three Beginner Magic Crystals left. If the former wasn’t so sturdy and durable, the three Beginner Magic Crystals alone wouldn’t be enough for her and E Huo to eat. She hadn’t bought instant noodles in a long time, mainly because it took time to wait for delivery. During this period, she hadn’t stayed in one place stably.
“It’s late, why don’t we go back to the hotel the students booked to sort out the competition matters?”
Vivian, of course, had no idea that Su Jiu’s pockets were cleaner than her small face. Aside from some cash, she had nothing edible to offer.
Then, without waiting for Vivian to think, Su Jiu took her small hand and walked towards the city gates. Yellow lights shone every three meters. As they passed by small stalls, they could feel an unprecedented liveliness.
Amidst the shouting and moving figures, bounty hunters, soldiers, Eagle Country’s official forces, adventurers, and some students participating in the World Championship had formed a small post station.
“These students aren’t wearing their school badges, but instead, they’re wearing various medals from external forces.”
Su Jiu, with her sharp eyes, noticed something unusual and said with surprise.
“Perhaps it’s because the situation is quite serious? In this wartime preparation state, many officials don’t care about your student status; they’ll impose restrictions if they need to.” Having experienced countless wars, Vivian naturally understood more than Su Jiu, and then she chuckled and added,
“In a state of war in the West, if your identity is clear and you have strength, you can even obtain temporary military status.”
Looking at the soldiers, Su Jiu saw that some of them looked like students. She couldn’t help but sigh that the World Championship came at such a perfect time, providing a continuous supply of manpower for the city’s defense. While they might not be participants in the World Championship, many would gladly serve as temporary soldiers, post on social media, and earn high salaries.
Upon reaching the main street, they saw several students walking and chatting cheerfully. They wore silver medals with shields and twin swords, clearly indicating they were High-level Adventurers, and these were the most easily obtainable medals to prove identity and strength.
Medals of different tiers like Black Iron, Silver, Gold, Blue Crystal, and Red Obsidian, except for some special elite organizations, were the universal ranks recognized by organizations worldwide.
Black Iron corresponded to the Warrior Class, Silver and Gold corresponded to the War General to Half-step War King Level, Blue Crystal was the Battle King Level, and Red Obsidian was for peak War God Level experts. The shapes also varied across the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced stages.
In this state of wartime readiness, wearing a medal that represented one’s strength was the best way to gain freedom without restrictions; otherwise, even leaving the city gates would be difficult.
Soon, Su Jiu and Vivian strolled to the end of the city gate, where rows of soldiers were stationed. However, passage wasn’t strictly forbidden; they could still see one or two people passing through, wearing silver medals from unknown guilds on their chests.
“Stop right there! No one below the Advanced Stage Warrior is allowed to exit the city gates during this period. Either wear your identification medals, or please return!” A voice speaking Chinese, filled with a bit of a dismissive tone, spoke, not sounding very friendly.
Upon hearing this, Su Jiu and Vivian turned to see a long-haired youth wearing a snow-white hat, who was quite young. He was dressed in a military uniform and wore a beret, likely a student temporarily playing the role of a soldier.
“Classmate, we want to scout the terrain and hunt monsters. These are our symbols of identity.”
With Vivian’s introduction, Su Jiu understood the local rules and took out the crystal medal previously awarded by the Adventurer’s Guild president, placing it on her chest. Vivian then tapped her ruby ring on her right index finger and produced a crystal medal, also wearing it on her chest.
After seeing Vivian put on her medal, Su Jiu looked back at the long-haired youth and then smiled, cupping her fists. “Please, classmate, allow us to pass.”
“No, please return. I need to be responsible for your safety.”
The long-haired youth twitched his lips as he looked at the crystal medals they were wearing. He had initially thought that if they produced an Advanced Stage Warrior medal, he would let them pass. But suddenly producing crystal medals made him feel like they were treating him like an idiot.
“Why? Isn’t it enough to be an Advanced Stage Warrior to leave?”
Blinking her eyes, Su Jiu pointed at the people coming and going through the city gates, clearly having been out of touch with the grassroots for too long and not understanding what crystal medals represented.
“Don’t make a fuss. There’s plenty of time to go out during the day. Look, there are soldiers on duty precisely to ensure the safety of traveling tourists. Going out now would just be adding to their burden.”
Waving his hand, the long-haired youth turned around and looked sternly towards the watchtower, pressing his beret down and saying in a low voice.
It wasn’t his fault for misunderstanding. In a large city like Seattle, only the City Commander was qualified to wear such a medal.
The two people, who didn’t look like old folks, suddenly produced medals that only Battle Kings could possess. It was hard not to suspect they had bought them from a nearby dollar store as toys.
“Little brother, you might have misunderstood. We both indeed have the strength of a Battle General… Look at this.”
Hearing the long-haired youth’s explanation, Su Jiu realized he had misunderstood but wasn’t annoyed. She smiled and summoned a faint crimson external qi with her fingertip, flicking it towards the sky. The external qi shot into the sky with a “swish!”
Seeing that Su Jiu and Vivian wanted to show something else, the long-haired youth’s face showed impatience. He still had patrols to conduct, but he glanced at the crimson streak. Soon, his impatience slowly turned into a hint of astonishment.
The crimson streak exploded in the sky. The explosion was small, but the commotion was not. A gust of wind surged from the center of the explosion, and the immense air pressure blew his long hair straight.
“How was that? Can we go out now?” Su Jiu gently blew on the white smoke from her fingertip, her face filled with a calm expression, asking with a smile.
“That power is equivalent to an Intermediate Battle General…”
After being stunned for nearly a minute, the long-haired youth finally came to his senses. He looked at the two of them, sizing them up with an uncertain expression, and then sighed, took out a camera from his bag, and said, “The two of you can enter and exit freely, but you’ll need to have a photo taken for the record.”
Su Jiu and Vivian exchanged a glance, then nodded. They struck a “cheese” pose about ten meters away from the long-haired youth. Vivian’s silly trait always manifested in strange ways. Just as the long-haired youth was about to press the shutter, she suddenly said, “Remember to use the beauty filter!”
Damn it, who asks for a beauty filter when taking this kind of photo! What if they can’t identify the body!
His eye corners twitched again. The long-haired youth suppressed his urge to complain. After taking a photo, and under Vivian’s insistence, he gave her a copy, then turned to continue with his work.
Unexpectedly, as he turned around, he bumped into a tall figure, also in a military uniform and beret, with a white-headed eagle medal shaped like a crystal on his chest. His American-style square face exuded majesty. He looked at the long-haired youth and said in a low voice, “What happened? Why was a skill released in the sky over the inner city?”
“Commander!”
Showing no hesitation, the long-haired youth snapped his legs together and immediately gave a not-so-standard military salute. Then, he recounted what had just happened, simultaneously handing the recently taken photo to the tall white commander. “These are the two girls wearing fake crystal medals. They should be with…”
The long-haired youth clearly still believed the medals were fake, but out of consideration for Su Jiu and Vivian’s strength reaching Battle General level, he let them leave.
Taking the photo, the white commander furrowed his thick eyebrows, scrutinizing it. After a moment, he looked at the long-haired youth very seriously and said earnestly, “The medals are real. You probably shouldn’t call them classmates, but rather… Commanders!”
“Commanders? But they look so young?” The long-haired youth’s eyes revealed a hint of shock, speaking with disbelief.
Glancing at him, the white commander looked towards the city gate, squinted, and smiled casually. “The girl in black is wearing the official Adventurer King medal from the Adventurer’s Guild, and the girl in the white dress is wearing…”
He paused slightly, his eyes growing deeper, and even his tone carried a hint of respect. “An image of a spear piercing a skull… If I’m not mistaken, this is the Commander’s medal from our Western Expeditionary Force back then.”
“Expeditionary Force?”
The long-haired youth was stunned for a moment, but seeing that the white commander had already turned to leave, he immediately closed his mouth. Being able to become a squad leader among a group of students meant he wasn’t foolish; there were some things he shouldn’t ask.
The two emerged from the city. Su Jiu could feel a strong smell of blood wafting towards them, causing her to frown slightly. However, they were only here to scout the path today, so they didn’t venture further in.
Looking at the ground ahead, as if splattered with black blood, stretching as far as the eye could see, Su Jiu glanced at a few gleaming spots and revealed a faint smile.
Barely ten meters out of the city gates, they were already being targeted by many malevolent gazes, some from monsters, and some from… humans.
Naturally, the two were not afraid. External qi energy shields surged around them, and those malicious energies immediately lessened, seemingly subdued. After wandering for about an hour, they encountered almost no Battle General level monsters attacking the city, but they had pretty much mapped out the path.
Not far from the city, with one foot propped against a large black rock, Su Jiu glanced at the time on her phone and the single Beginner Magic Crystal in her hand. She looked helplessly at Vivian, who was bowing and drawing on the stone with her fingertip, and said, “It’s late, and it’s time for our meeting with those students. Let’s head back to the hotel. Why are you setting up so many traps?”
“Just a moment more, finishing the last one.”
Continuing with her work, Vivian smiled and waved her hand in reply. A moment later, she stood up straight, her eyes glowing red, and looked at the unchanged stone, saying to Su Jiu, who looked bewildered,
“My array isn’t just a capturing trap. If they are triggered by a large number of monsters simultaneously, they will cause a certain alchemical explosion, capable of killing a Battle King.”
Vivian’s rose-red eyes gleamed with cunning. “There are no monsters now, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be monster attacks in a few days. Given the severe situation in the city, I believe there will be large-scale monster assaults later. At that time, this bomb array, activated by my guidance, will surely have a good effect.”
“Thank you…”
Su Jiu gently squeezed the proud Silly Duke’s small face and said softly, knowing that she likely realized Su Jiu was penniless and had thus lowered herself to make such arrangements.
Vivian lightly swatted Su Jiu’s hand away, raised an eyebrow, and quietly moved a distance away, looking at her cautiously and saying softly, “Miss Su, please don’t be too familiar. These things are all mine, and I have a large family of servants to support.”
“Let’s go. They’re waiting for us at the hotel lobby’s coffee shop.”
Su Jiu looked at the Silly Duke in front of her with dead fish eyes, then took her hand and turned back towards the city gate. She thought to herself: ‘I’m also her servant, so it wouldn’t be too much for me to get eighty to ninety percent then, right?’
“This is…”
As the night deepened, the two took a taxi to the hotel Li Yi had booked for them. Amidst the flashing red lights, an unsettling feeling arose. Su Jiu narrowed her eyes and looked up, her gaze falling on the English words. After a moment of silence, she silently gave Li Yi a thumbs-up.
【Love Hotel】
Unbeknownst to them, he had no choice but to book it because there were no other rooms available, and he had repeatedly emphasized to the front desk that the rooms had to be proper.
