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Chapter 35 – Who Is Lin Xiao?
The Black Rose team meeting room.
In the empty room, only the silhouette of a man was projected in front of a computer, sitting quietly and staring intently at the image on the big screen. Despite his somewhat soft and feminine features, his penetrating gaze gave a slight sense of oppression and an awe-inspiring cold temperament.
Liao Yuan, the man in charge of the training camp, took a deep breath, knocked lightly on the door, and said: “The list of several newcomers recommended by each team has arrived.”
You Jing turned around and said, “Bring it to me and let me have a look.”
Liao Yuan hurriedly handed him the stack of documents.
You Jing took it and casually asked, “Is the person recommended by the guild department here?”
Liao Yuan replied: “He is, all the information is here.”
You Jing flipped through the newcomers’ files page by page, and there was an unbearable silence in the room, broken only by the soft sound of pages being turned.
When some words came into his view, he stopped flipping through the pages, and his calm expression wavered slightly. His eyes, glued on the name written in the column, suddenly flickered.
After reading all the information and materials word for word, the strength of his thin fingers was slightly out of control, and a few distinct wrinkles were left on the sheet of paper. His lips tightened imperceptibly, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up, quickly headed for the door, and blurted out a sentence: “I’m going to the training camp.”
With such a sudden movement, before Liao Yuan had time to react, he only saw that figure disappear out the door, and after a moment of surprise, he hurried to catch up.
…
At this moment, in the training hall, the atmosphere was not very friendly.
Zhang Jin has been standing behind Feng Sheng watching, so he could clearly realize the gap between the two. Surprised, he patted Feng Sheng on the shoulder to signal him to stand up, then pulled the chair over and sat down. After logging into the character, he casually looked up at Lin Xiao, smiled, and asked, “Do you mind playing again with me?”
Lin Xiao, without even thinking about it, immediately nodded and said, “Well, I do mind.”
Zhang Jin never expected that the other party would refuse so straightforwardly. After being choked like this, the smile on his face was a bit forced, “What, are you scared? Don’t worry, the result of this match will not count. I just want to compete and try my best.”
Lin Xiao smiled slightly and calmly admitted, “Yeah, I’m scared. So I choose to refuse.”
Feng Sheng, who had just lost two rounds in a row, was already angry, so he couldn’t help but chime in, saying, “You’re new here, is this the attitude you should have towards the seniors?”
~Oh, really, who is the senior here?~ Lin Xiao looked up at the two of them, noncommittal.
Xiao Li, on the other hand, felt a little displeased as he heard all this from the sidelines and stood up from his seat. “Isn’t it just a solo? Let’s go, I’ll play with you!”
Zhang Jin smiled at him with a good attitude: “It’s always been the rule for newcomers to be tested when they first come to the training camp. Your level as the greatest solitary expert is well-known, so it can’t compare; of course, there is no need to compete.”
Xiao Li snorted coldly: “Yeah, right, as if you could beat Lin Xiao.”
When they heard these words, the expressions of the other old members inevitably turned a little ugly.
Lin Xiao glanced at Xiao Li speechlessly. My dear friend, do you want to mediate the fight, or do you want to fight?
Feng Sheng’s face became even more gloomy, and his words were more direct: “I already said it, this is the first established rule of the training camp, don’t you understand?”
Sensing the gazes from all directions, Lin Xiao sighed helplessly, raised his head to look at Zhang Jin, whose smile didn’t reach his eyes anymore, and said, with a slight grimace, “After entering the Black Rose training camp, the first week will be a theoretical test, the second will be a hand speed test, the third will be a personal combat test, and the fourth week will be a final comprehensive ability test. During the one-month trial period, each round of tests will be based on actual scores to assess whether members are fit to remain in the club and continue training. These should be the rules established since the camp was founded, right? I just don’t know when the new rule was added that ‘seniors’ would assess the strength of new members?”
“This is quite comprehensive.” Taken by surprise by his eloquent speech, Zhang Jin looked Lin Xiao up and down and slightly lowered his tone, “It’s just that the training camp is not as simple as you think. If you want to be promoted successfully, it’s not enough to put yourself in the limelight.”
“Of course, it’s not enough being in the limelight, but is it possible to successfully promote a regular team member by suppressing newcomers?” With this remark, Lin Xiao’s smile finally faded away, and he looked at Zhang Jin with an indifferent expression, “Training camp is the place where the future pillars of the team are discovered and also the place that carries unlimited possibilities. Since you call yourself a ‘senior’, you should set a good example, and think about how to improve your own strength instead of only wanting to belittle your competitors. Seeing what has become of the training camp, it’s really disappointing.”
There was almost no fluctuation in his tone and no superfluous emotion, but a state of emptiness seemed to be weighing heavily on everyone’s hearts following his speech. There was an indescribable sense of deterrence all over the place.
When Lin Xiao’s gaze swept over him, Zhang Jin felt a slight chill down his spine. The smile he was trying to maintain was long gone and there was no trace of warmth left on his face.
Angrily, Feng Sheng slapped the table, blue veins popping out on his forehead: “A rookie who just joined the team on the first day, what status do you think you have and what position do you hold to express your disappointment here? Where did we fail to set a good example? Admit that you don’t dare to accept brother Zhang’s challenge, what kind of hypocritical airs are you putting on!”
Just now, Lin Xiao only got emotional because of the current atmosphere in the training camp. He wasn’t actually expecting that a few of his words could change anything, so he just quietly looked at the two with a faint smile and said nothing.
There was an awkward silence all over the room, as no one could have imagined that things would suddenly develop in such a tense situation. They all looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.
Suddenly, a cold voice was heard from outside, sounding extraordinarily clear and imposing: “Since everyone is so energetic, starting tomorrow, the training camp vacation is canceled.”
At the sound of this voice, Feng Sheng’s hand, which was vigorously slapping the table a moment ago, suddenly trembled, and Zhang Jin also stood up from his seat in an instant.
Not only they, but all the old members of the camp stood up from all sides and straightened their backs.
Being the captain of the Black Rose team, You Jing had been to the training camp before, but only a few times for official matters. So, for many people who looked up to him and hoped to meet him, it was still extremely difficult to be in his presence. At this time, his sudden appearance in the camp during the holidays obviously caused a great psychological shock to everyone, and even the thought of the ruined holiday didn’t hurt anymore.
The old members’ sudden straightening stance caused the newcomers to follow suit and stand up respectfully, even though they didn’t fully realize what was happening.
As they clearly saw the man entering the door and were swept by his deep gaze one by one, they all fell silent, and their heartbeats suddenly sped up.
Under such a circumstance, Lin Xiao’s attitude, who not only did not get up to greet him but actually bowed his head lower and lower, looked particularly unusual and conspicuous.
Liao Yuan, who came with You Jing, did not expect such a situation in the training camp. Silently wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he gave Zhang Jin a stern look and said, “What’s going on? You were asked to meet the newcomers here, why did this happen!”
Zhang Jin managed to squeeze out a smile, but he didn’t dare to say another word.
After all, the so-called ‘entry rules’ were his own self-made assessment for the sake of establishing his prestige. If the boss really wanted to investigate, even if he successfully dragged the ignorant newbie into the water, he would never be able to come out clean either. According to Team Leader You Jing’s methods and character, it was quite possible to be kicked out of the training camp directly.
Although Zhang Jin liked to play tricks from time to time, he was still considered a good player in the training camp, so in a way, Liao Yuan’s questioning was to overcome the situation. Seeing that he didn’t talk back, he was satisfied and didn’t continue to ask. He turned around, smiled at You Jing, and changed the subject: “Leader You, who is the person you said you were looking for here?”
You Jing’s eyes fell on the figure crouching in front of the computer, and after a moment of silence, he spoke again in an unfathomable, emotionless tone, “Who is Lin Xiao?”
After the words fell, the whole place was eerily silent.
No one answered, but some vaguely remembered that this name had been mentioned by Xiao Li before, so the audience’s eyes seemed to be drawn silently, as if on command, to a certain person.
Such attention felt like a burning fireball, but there was also a line of sight with a type of invisible coldness that was particularly sharp and clear.
There was no way for Lin Xiao to escape, so he sighed helplessly, stood up, and looked at You Jing resignedly, “It’s me.”
When their eyes met, the deathly still atmosphere around them was like a stalemate. Even the surrounding temperature seemed to have suddenly dropped to zero.