Chapter 344: Invitation from the Red Cross Society (3k)
“I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that I’ve already smelled the finals in the preliminaries.”
“You’re not the only one who feels that way. By rights, they wouldn’t go all out in the first round, but this ‘Moyu Team’ and the capital’s team are really fighting for real.”
“Sigh, even though they won, their subsequent preliminary matches are going to be troublesome. That guy is clearly out of combat.”
The frost and snow above gradually dissipated, revealing the platform below, which looked like ruins. This made the onlookers gasp. They had seen intense competitions before, but they had never seen a fight to the death in the preliminaries.
“We have investigated these five people, and they basically obtained their resources through their own efforts… that Frost Blade makes me sigh. It seems all her resources were earned by herself, and she’s ‘one of ours’.”
Looking at the empty space below and the resumed match, Yun Mo lost interest. He slowly withdrew his gaze and landed on the trending searches on his phone, lamenting,
“However, a team that didn’t use much government resources managed to defeat our elite team that was built with resources. So… are elites still elites?”
His secretary smiled and replied softly, “Mr. Yun, our country’s elite students are still elites. They just ran into some tough opponents.”
“But… what do you mean by ‘our people’?”
After a pause, the secretary looked at Yun Mo curiously, unable to understand the meaning. “Our people” could refer to many things, such as the country, the government, or even colleagues.
“Heh heh… I don’t know about that. This ‘our people’ is from the Magic City base.” Yun Mo tapped the table lightly, shook his head, and smiled wryly, “But it’s unlikely to mean what you think. Our organization’s priests can’t meet the requirements to join.”
While they were talking, a figure in monk robes appeared beside them again, making a “Amitabha” gesture with one hand and asking with a smile,
“Mr. Yun, it’s a shame that the two vanguard teams from Dragon Country have clashed. It seems that with their injured state, they might not even be able to defeat teams from some small African countries.”
“Heh heh, there’s no need for Master Shudra to give more advice. You should focus on your own situation! Apart from the Son of God’s group, you don’t seem to have any other means.” Yun Mo chuckled, not giving the other party much face, and replied casually.
“It’s Brahmins…”
The monk was choked, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but he dared not express it. He lowered his voice and said solemnly, “Mr. Yun, you should worry about your school’s students. Not only did these two teams clash, but apart from Shenhai University, most other academies have encountered top universities. Even Magic City University has clashed with our Son of God.”
Yun Mo remained silent, his gaze fixed on the arena. It was precisely because of this that he felt worried. The Moyu Team was too much like a fleeting bloom, shining briefly but with an uncertain future.
The competition continued, but with the life-and-death battles of the previous two teams, the subsequent matches, although still intense, could no longer shock the audience. It was like after eating rich hot pot broth, one would find clear soup unappealing.
The competition continued until 6 PM, and the points rankings for the first round were released. In the hotel, Su Jiu opened her phone to check the rankings on the official website.
The list was roughly as everyone expected. Apart from the dark horse “Moyu Team” ranked second, most of the strong teams had either five or four points.
The first place was taken by Stanford University from Eagle Country, who had also defeated their opponents with a zero score. They had appeared before Su Jiu and the others and had a Half-King level powerhouse, so they were not to be underestimated.
The third to sixth places were also occupied by teams with five points. Eagle Country, Bear of the Snow, the United States, Divine Elephant Kingdom, and others all had their representatives. However, what surprised Su Jiu the most was seeing a face that looked very much like Xiangzi at eleventh place. Like other teams with four points, that team’s strength was quite mysterious, clearly having not made their full move.
After all, many teams with four points could have scored five points, but they felt that advancing was enough and there was no need to reveal their methods in advance, causing their teams to let weaker members test the waters.
The next matches seemed to be decided by online live draws, and the official matches would be held tomorrow at noon. This gave Su Jiu enough time to go outside the city to hunt Black Cloud Beasts with the bounty hunters.
“Beep beep…”
But just as she was about to pack up and leave, a phone call stopped her. She looked at the caller ID – United States, Fog City. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, but she still answered, “Hello? Who is it?”
“May I ask if you are Miss Frost Blade? We are from the International Red Cross Organization. Would you be interested in taking on a position with us?”
The voice on the other end of the phone quickly asked after connecting, sounding somewhat cautious and with a broken Chinese accent.
Upon hearing this, Su Jiu was slightly stunned and asked with confusion, “Take on a position? Why would you find me?”
She didn’t immediately refuse this purely public welfare world organization, but wanted to hear what they had to say.
The other party was silent for a moment, and faint English voices came from the phone. Then, they sighed and said, “Because we need someone with prestige to recruit priests… Your performance in the World Championship was too brilliant. If we can recruit some volunteers with this, we might be able to attract some young priests.”
Hearing their explanation, Su Jiu was not a fool and immediately frowned, retorting, “Prestige? Would the World Red Cross lack priests? Or are you planning to use my name to do something bad?”
“Miss Frost Blade, you misunderstand…”
The other party quickly explained, even mixing some English into their Chinese: “Our organization is purely a public welfare organization, but we have to go to places where two countries are at war, and civilians cannot evacuate, resulting in countless casualties… Many of our previous priests have gone missing, and now people are reluctant to go to civilian areas in their own name. We can only recruit new volunteers.”
“Isn’t combat prohibited during the World Championship? And, as far as I know, the international standard mark for priests prohibits invasion.” Looking at Vivian, who was walking towards her, Su Jiu pressed the speakerphone button and found a place to sit down, asking confusedly.
“This… I cannot answer…” It seemed Su Jiu’s question had hit a critical point, and the other party fell silent. After a long while, they slowly said,
“Miss Frost Blade, we are truly helpless, which is why we are making this request to you. It does not involve nationality, nor does it involve any organization you belong to. You only need to agree to be our honorary member.”
The voice sounded somewhat heavy, as if for some reason, they could not tell Su Jiu the reason. However, it was evident that the resistance was not ordinary.
Without immediately answering, she looked at Vivian. Su Jiu felt it didn’t matter, as she wouldn’t lose anything significant.
After a moment of thought, Vivian gently rested her chin on Su Jiu’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Agree to them. The Red Cross indeed offers no substantial rewards, but some rescue missions can earn personal honor, which is recognized by many countries…”
Then, she paused and said something that made Su Jiu’s body stiffen slightly, “For example, congratulations from Dragon Country, the most mysterious one. It is said that with each level up, you receive earth-shattering rewards, but I don’t know the specifics.”
“Congratulate?”
Feeling the warmth from her ear, Su Jiu’s face showed a thoughtful expression. She remembered that she was only half a “congratulations” away from reaching the second level, and then she could buy advancement materials for Extraordinary Attributes, and she was worrying about how to advance.
“The conditions for Dragon Country’s congratulations are extremely harsh. Strength is useless, and killing people is useless. This ancient Eastern country’s congratulations are only awarded to those brave heroes who save civilians.”
Vivian thought Su Jiu didn’t understand the meaning of “congratulations” and chuckled, her eyes showing a hint of respect.
“Perhaps.”
Hearing Vivian’s words, Su Jiu sighed and gave a wry smile. She didn’t consider herself a hero who saved people; it was driven by self-interest. Then, her gaze fell on the phone, and she said softly, “I can become your honorary member, but I have a request: if you have any missions that can bring international honor, you can call me.”
On the other end of the phone, hearing Su Jiu’s voice, the previous low mood was almost swept away, and he said excitedly, “Thank you for being willing to become an international warrior. I, Ming Lai En, may the Holy Light be with you…”
“May there be peace in the world.”
After a few more polite exchanges, Su Jiu hung up the phone. After all, it was just as the other party said, just a nominal position, and she didn’t actually need to do anything.
Seeing Su Jiu hang up the phone, Vivian also got up gently and took out her phone to search the news. After a moment, she seemed to have found something and softly said to Su Jiu, who was about to go out, “It is indeed two countries at war, not a monster war.”
“It seems that a small country has had its territory invaded. Many international organizations were also involved… and then disappeared. From what I’ve seen, your country and my country have provided humanitarian material aid to that small country, proving at least that the Red Cross’s actions are righteous rescue efforts.”
Taking a deep breath again, Vivian opened and closed her eyes, her rose-red eyes quietly falling on Su Jiu’s face: “If you really intend to save people in the name of the Red Cross then, you must be careful.”
“Pfft, me? Don’t you know me? I’m the type who doesn’t get up early without profit, so why would I participate in rescue efforts in my personal capacity?”
With her hand on the doorknob, Su Jiu paused her steps, rolled her eyes, and turned around. Her face still had that smiling expression. Seeing Vivian’s disbelieving look, she walked forward, patted Vivian’s head, and smiled,
“Even if I go, I’ll hide in the hospital to treat the wounded and won’t step out half a step.”
With that, Su Jiu went out the door and headed towards the defense zone. Just now, the bounty hunters had sent more news, asking her to hurry over, as they seemed to have found traces of the Black Cloud Beast.
