As soon as Su Mo returned to his apartment, there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Xia Qingqing.”
Su Mo opened the door to see Xia Qingqing and Huo Jingshuo standing outside.
If this were before, he could have understood it, but what was going on now?
One had to remember, he was currently Lin Qianye, a model young citizen famously strict about cuckolding herself.
Su Mo looked at Xia Qingqing and Huo Jingshuo at his door and asked, puzzled, “Can I help you?”
The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, “We’re here to invite you to join our team.”
“Oh,” Su Mo replied casually, not indicating whether he was willing or not.
This was the main point of Long Tianyu’s announcement today: form groups of six, freely chosen, and also elect a team leader. It was supposedly in preparation for the upcoming assessments and training.
The reason Su Mo didn’t agree immediately was precisely because he couldn’t figure out what these two were really up to.
Had his disguise been exposed?
That couldn’t be.
Su Mo considered his acting skills; if not top-tier, they were definitely first-rate. It was impossible for him to have been found out so quickly.
And if he hadn’t been exposed, these two should be the ones who disliked him the most, so why would they come to invite him personally?
Su Mo immediately adopted a sarcastic tone: “Don’t you hate me? What brings you to my doorstep?”
A flash of shrewdness passed through Xia Qingqing’s eyes as she said with a smile, “That was all a misunderstanding before. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up…”
“Exactly. After discussing it, we agreed that you joining our team is the most logical choice and the most beneficial for everyone,” Huo Jingshuo chimed in.
Xia Qingqing continued, “First, we’re all from Xia Kingdom. In terms of our shared heritage, we’re all family here. Second, you could say we got to know each through our… conflict. Being in the same team will help us coordinate better.”
Su Mo raised an eyebrow, attempting to counter their argument: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your good friend’s man?”
Xia Qingqing suddenly smiled mysteriously: “You won’t.”
“Why not?” Su Mo asked, puzzled by her certainty.
The two suddenly became furtive. After checking that no one was around, Xia Qingqing said in a low voice, “Because he… isn’t really up to it.”
After saying this, both their faces flushed slightly.
Su Mo’s face remained expressionless, but he roared internally. These two really are ‘unruly if not disciplined for three days,’ daring to say I’m not up to it right to my face…
What man could stand such an insult?
The key point was that even a proper girl like Huo Jingshuo had become less proper under Xia Qingqing’s influence.
Su Mo mentally noted this debt to be settled later, then instantly put on an expression of disbelief: “That can’t be. He looks pretty sturdy to me.”
“What good is looking sturdy? I’d say Zhuge Zhi looks honest, but is he?” Xia Qingqing grew agitated. “Not honest at all! He still hasn’t paid back the money he owes everyone. If he weren’t at least conscientious and loyal in other aspects besides money, I’d have stopped talking to him long ago.”
Unconsciously, her emotions shifted, and Xia Qingqing’s full wrath landed on Zhuge Zhi.
Seeing her stray from the topic, Huo Jingshuo quickly pulled it back: “So, what’s your decision? Do you want to join us or not? It’s fine if you don’t, we can find someone else.”
What a classic ‘give them line enough’ move!
Su Mo had no mind to continue bantering with them, so he pretended to be provoked: “Yes! Why wouldn’t I!”
Getting his confirmation, the two exchanged a glance, seeing the satisfaction in each other’s eyes.
Good, objective achieved!
Leaving Su Mo’s residence, they excitedly high-fived. Huo Jingshuo looked confident: “It’s almost certain, it’s her!”
“Right. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so calm. It’s all an act,” Xia Qingqing said with a laugh, her tone firm.
“But we’d better not expose her. After all, even Old Yang hasn’t said anything, which means she’s probably on some mission. We shouldn’t mess things up.”
They had gotten quite familiar with Yang Jie, so they referred to him as ‘Old Yang’ behind his back.
Of course, in front of him, they still had to call him Instructor Yang; calling him Old Yang wasn’t proper, and they didn’t dare.
“So, we need a reason that makes others think there’s nothing suspicious about us inviting her in,” Xia Qingqing said.
Huo Jingshuo thought for a moment, and an idea popped into her head: “As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. We’re keeping the enemy right under our noses.”
Xia Qingqing gave a thumbs up: “And also, Su Mo is a playboy, getting involved with Lin Qianye again, hehe… they sure have their kinks.”
“We single dogs don’t understand their strange preferences.”
“Not bad, not bad. Our Jingshuo is finally catching on, learning to be less proper too…”
Huo Jingshuo: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
Xia Qingqing: o((^▽^))o
…
Head Instructor’s Office.
Long Tianyu leaned back in his chair, frowning deeply. The instructors sitting across from him were also lost in thought, each looking displeased.
“Head Instructor, are you serious about this?” An instructor from Goryeo broke the silence first: “They are all elites. What if one or two die? That would be a loss for all of humanity.”
Long Tianyu stared into his eyes, responding word by word: “We are training warriors, not incompetents. Warriors must fight, must see blood. Even if some of them might die, we must be psychologically prepared for it.”
As he spoke, he stood up: “I assume you have all seen the trainees’ performance over the last two months. I wouldn’t call it bad, but it’s certainly poor.”
No one refuted his words.
“Their poor performance isn’t just due to themselves; it’s more influenced by their environment. I specifically provided them with such comfortable living conditions, but what I got in return was complacency from the vast majority.”
“This proves that growing up in a pressure-free environment, most of them cannot discipline themselves strictly, let alone improve. At this point, giving them a bloody lesson is far better than coddling them in a cradle. Does anyone else have objections?”
This time, everyone remained silent.
After a while, Yang Jie suddenly spoke: “I don’t think the intensity is enough. It should be increased further.”
The others looked at him as if he had said something outrageous, their expressions full of disbelief.
But Long Tianyu became interested and motioned for him to continue.
Yang Jie adjusted his glasses, a gleam of intelligence in his eyes: “The trainees’ pressure level is going up, but us instructors seem a bit too relaxed. So I think we, including the Head Instructor, all need to put more pressure on ourselves too.”
Hearing this, the other instructors’ faces darkened; a few even looked like they wanted to hit someone.
“What do you propose?” Long Tianyu ignored the others’ changing expressions; he was only interested in the pressure Yang Jie mentioned.
“I think we should create a ranking for all instructors. Those with higher rankings get more resources to train their students, while those with lower rankings need to hand over some of their resources. As for the ranking rules, I think they should be based on the performance of the trainees they lead, decided collectively by everyone.”
Upon hearing this, some expressed agreement, but many still said it was unfair, as it would only make the strong stronger and the weak weaker.
Yang Jie’s response was simple, just one sentence: “Natural selection, survival of the fittest. This world was never fair to begin with. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Training a few top-tier experts is far more cost-effective than training a bunch of mediocre half-experts.”
His words gradually gained more acceptance. Only Long Tianyu still looked puzzled: “Then tell me, how should I add pressure?”
Yang Jie pushed his glasses up again, a slight smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
Those familiar with him knew: He’s about to start showing off!