Chapter Eighty-Eight: Gathering

In an unremarkable classroom at the Third Middle School of Yangcheng, Liu Zong sat in a corner seat. Nine months had passed since the school struggle began, and today was the final day of Liu Zong's death penalty.

In fact, as early as three months ago, the team organized for Liu Zong's mission had already finished recruiting, but it was only today that Liu Zong intended to gather the members for the first time.

It was not that Liu Zong did not want to bring them together sooner, but he knew his standing was insufficient. In the game, strength might still win him a voice, but in the real world, he did not have that much influence.

Three months was enough time for ambitious people to undermine Liu Zong from within. It was better to meet on the last day; if anything needed doing, it could be raised and handled that very day. No matter what schemes they might harbor, by the next day they would have to enter the game and begin the mission, and there would be little they could do.

So Liu Zong simply shut himself away in the library for three months, reading books, and only yesterday did he send word through the light screen for the members to gather here.

The first person to arrive was a man who did not look very old and dressed quite plainly, the sort of person who could be lost in a crowd without anyone noticing.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he said, "You must be Liu Zong. My name is Lu Shang. I know you have a habit of arriving early, so I came a little sooner to tell you something."

Liu Zong froze. "I don't think I know you. How would you know my habits?"

Lu Shang smiled with confidence. "I'm the biggest intelligence broker in the school. If I want to investigate someone, I can find out anything. That includes both the school and the game, so..."

"So what?" Liu Zong asked, puzzled.

At that, Lu Shang said a little awkwardly, "So please just pretend you didn't see that I lack the strength for the job."

Hearing that, Liu Zong laughed as well. "Originally I was planning to hire four Level 1s. If my own strength weren't lacking, there wouldn't have been any Level 0s involved in this at all."

"I know. But I haven't been idle these past three months either. Take a look at this first." Lu Shang brought a light screen over to Liu Zong.

Liu Zong glanced at it curiously and found that it actually contained records about the Resonance Amber of the Adara Insect Clan, along with some details from the battle against the Great Demon years ago.

"After taking this mission, I spent two months gathering all sorts of information in the game hotel. Some of it only came in just a few days ago. See if any of it is useful to you."

From these materials, Liu Zong understood what Lu Shang had been doing for the past two months. He also understood how much the chances of success for this mission would change with Lu Shang present versus absent.

Without thinking further, Liu Zong extended his right hand to Lu Shang. "Welcome aboard."

Hearing that, a trace of a smile appeared on Lu Shang's face. "Thank you, Captain. Here's a free piece of information for you: some of your teammates this time will come with a few little troubles of their own."

Liu Zong blinked in confusion. Just then, the classroom door opened again, and a round-faced girl with glasses and twin braids walked in, hugging a thick white-covered book to her chest.

Upon seeing Liu Zong and Lu Shang talking, the girl lifted her chin high, gave them a sidelong glance, and said in a proud, haughty tone, "Mortal, my name is Reina. It is your good fortune that I am joining your team.

"Don't think that because you've been in the library for the past three months, I'll look at you differently. I'm not falling for that."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something. Tilting her head, she snorted, "Of course, if you perform well, I wouldn't mind giving you a pair of the socks I've worn."

At that, Reina's face actually reddened slightly. She said nothing more, simply hugged her book and sat down.

At this point, Lu Shang leaned close to Liu Zong's ear and whispered, "Reina is the daughter of the library director. She's read every book in the school and is very well informed. Her attribute should be wind, and she seems to follow a summoning path. Her strength is probably around Level 0, eleven stars. She has several pieces of equipment that boost summoned creatures.

"Because she reads too much herself, she always assumes the things in books are right, so in dealing with people she likes to use the contents of books as her standard. I don't know what kind of world-shattering book she just read to make her talk like that."

"Oh? I heard something about receiving socks just for joining a team?" another voice said. "Big sister here has a pair of freshly removed, original-flavor socks. Little handsome boy, as long as you let me join, I'll give you a pair. I guarantee they're black silk."

While Lu Shang was explaining Reina, the door opened again. This time, a flamboyantly dressed woman entered. Her face was beautiful, but she carried herself with a dismissive air.

If Reina had the attitude of someone high above, treating everyone as background mortals, then this woman looked at people as if they were trash or monkeys, simply never regarding ordinary people as beings on the same level.

The moment he saw her, Lu Shang whispered in Liu Zong's ear, "This is Yuan Yan, the fourth daughter of Yuan Wei from the Yuan family. By kinship, she's a cousin of Yuan Ying in our team. She probably came to take Yuan Ying's place."

Liu Zong nodded, feeling inwardly that it was wonderful to have Lu Shang around. If not for him, Liu Zong would still have had to ask who this person was. Now he could simply point toward the door with a swaggering air and say, "The door is over there. Please turn left when you leave, and help me close it on your way out. Thank you."

At Liu Zong's words, Yuan Yan's expression changed instantly. She kicked over the table in front of her and said viciously, "What? Someone like you, a lowly commoner, shouldn't be kneeling before me and licking my feet? And you dare tell me to get out?"

Liu Zong swept her with a cold glance. "It seems I need to have the Yuan family..."

Lu Shang cut in quietly from the side. "The current head of the Yuan family is Yuan Kuan, Level 3."

Liu Zong raised his chin and said with a supremely arrogant expression, "Then please bring Mr. Yuan Kuan here and have him escort you out."

Reina stared at Liu Zong with some surprise, because she realized that his expression now was imitating the very look she had worn just moments before.

Hearing her grandfather's name, Yuan Yan flew into a rage as well. Just as she was about to say, Do you think you can even get in touch with my grandfather?, she noticed that Liu Zong had already opened a light screen. Thinking again of how Liu Zong had already earned the right to drink at that bar, she suddenly wondered: what if he really did know Yuan Kuan?

She knew the family's affairs all too well. Without the support of the family, she would not even measure up to an ordinary person.

At that thought, Yuan Yan shot a vicious glare at Liu Zong and Lu Shang and said resentfully, "Just you wait."