Chapter 34 Yu Xing Recruits Talents, The Disdained Group

Chapter 34: Yu Xing’s Unwanted Recruitment Group

Yu Xing’s gaze instantly fixated.

She had received many private messages, but most were obviously fake, and Yu Xing couldn’t be bothered to respond. This one, however, was different; this person knew Sister Xiu.

Although Yu Xing had asked about the man in the photo, the fact that this private message sender knew Sister Xiu at least proved they had known her twenty years ago.

Could he be the man in the photo? Yu Xing felt a surge of excitement and immediately replied to the message.

[Do you know the person in the photo?]

The private message had been sent an hour ago. After sending her reply, Yu Xing waited but received no response from the sender. Instead, she got a message from Jiang Hui.

[Transfer]

[I’m a man of my word when it comes to business. Here’s 50 million. Is that acceptable?]

Yu Xing: "!!"

She quickly accepted the payment—it really was 50 million!

Though Yu Xing had been certain she would get the money, seeing so many zeros in her account still made her uncontrollably excited.

Yu Xing sprang to her feet, startling Miao Yuanjin, who had been engrossed in her terminal.

Miao Yuanjin’s eyes widened as she watched Yu Xing pace around the bed, a strange grin plastered on her face, emitting an unsettling cackle. It perfectly matched the textbook description of contamination.

No, even if Yu Xing was annoying, she was still a Divine Chosen, and the only one here qualified to stand beside her. Miao Yuanjin couldn’t just watch Yu Xing be contaminated into a mindless, instinct-driven creature!

Miao Yuanjin also leaped up, raising her hands and shouting, "Moon God! Grant me the power to Purify!"

Yu Xing was still lost in her inner euphoria when a chilling light suddenly enveloped her. For a moment, she thought she saw God…

From last night until this afternoon, Jiang Hui had done only one thing: investigate Yu Xing, a student at Seventh Middle School.

Normally, he wouldn’t care about the identities of Divine Chosen. He was just an ordinary businessman; as long as there was profit to be made, he was content. But this time, he felt it necessary to look into Yu Xing.

He hadn’t known what he was getting into, but the investigation shocked him. Yu Xing was a well-known figure at Seventh Middle School—the campus forums were practically flooded with posts about her.

The problem was, these posts were all gossip about her personal life. From them, it seemed the innocent-looking girl was actually a player, maintaining romantic relationships with multiple men and women simultaneously. Not only that, she had gotten men so jealous they dueled, skipped school, dropped out, broke the law, and even landed in jail…

*Hiss…*

Jiang Hui sucked in a sharp breath. Young people these days were truly something else.

But that wasn’t the main point. He still managed to extract some useful information from the gossip—for example, Yu Xing was a D-district lowlife, and she hadn’t attended classes for several days.

Jiang Hui’s investigative methods didn’t stop there. Soon, he uncovered even more astonishing news.

Yu Xing had only recently become a Divine Chosen. The reason she wasn’t attending classes was that she was studying at the church. And the deity she worshipped was a new god—Yu Xing was the first Beloved of the God of Misfortune!

After reading this, Jiang Hui’s first thought was: Just give her the 50 million. It wasn’t worth offending a god’s first Beloved over such a sum.

But then, something else occurred to him, something that sent shivers down his spine: If Yu Xing was the Beloved of the God of Misfortune, then who was the person who left the lightning marks at Sister Xiu’s barbershop?

Upon closer inspection, the person who had used lightning powers at the barbershop was at least a Level 4 Divine Chosen.

Everyone knew that one couldn’t be a Divine Chosen of two gods. Therefore, the person at Sister Xiu’s barbershop that day couldn’t have been Yu Xing.

Yet, after the contaminated creature was dealt with, Yu Xing had messaged him demanding payment—and from Wang Kunyu, he had learned his offer was 50 million.

This could only mean one thing: Though Yu Xing was a newly-minted Divine Chosen, she knew a Level 4 Beloved of the God of Thunder and Lightning—and could get that powerhouse to do her bidding.

No wonder Yu Xing had been so audacious as to threaten him.

With such a formidable ally, Yu Xing wasn’t being arrogant—she was simply giving him a heads-up, offering him a chance.

He immediately decided to transfer the money, but before doing so, he had one more call to make.

That person was none other than Wang Kunyu, who had survived five days trapped in Sister Xiu’s barbershop.

Wang Kunyu had just managed to shake off the Divine Chosen Team and had been discharged from the hospital that afternoon. He had barely gotten home and was about to dig into some comfort food when Jiang Hui’s call came through.

Wang Kunyu’s butt clenched, and he quickly ducked into his room, activating anti-eavesdropping interference before accepting the call.

A holographic screen unfolded before him, revealing Jiang Hui in a white lab coat, looking somewhat haggard.

"Wang Kunyu," Jiang Hui said.

"Stop!" Wang Kunyu snapped. "How many times do I have to say it? Don’t use my name—call me by my alias! What if someone finds out?!"

"Fine. Blazing Tyrannosaurus," Jiang Hui said. "I heard you were taken in by the Divine Chosen Team right after getting out. You didn’t rat me out, did you?"

Wang Kunyu rolled his eyes and flopped onto the couch. "No, I’m not that unprofessional. I didn’t say a word about you."

"Good." Jiang Hui trusted Wang Kunyu; they had worked together many times before.

"Here’s why I called," Jiang Hui said. "That day, the person who saved you—"

Before he could finish, Wang Kunyu’s eyes lit up. He eagerly interrupted, "Right! You have Bull Warrior’s contact info, don’t you? Can you give it to me? I want to add her as a friend."

"…" Jiang Hui paused. "Bull Warrior?"

"Yeah," Wang Kunyu said excitedly. "I didn’t know you were connected to such a powerhouse."

Jiang Hui gave a hollow laugh but didn’t deny it. Humoring him, he said, "Could you tell me everything that happened after you met her? This was our first collaboration, and for future deep cooperation, I need a comprehensive understanding of her abilities."

Wang Kunyu bought it completely and recounted every detail of what happened after he was freed from the fridge. As he spoke, Jiang Hui’s face grew increasingly serious. He lowered his head and tapped away on his terminal.

Wang Kunyu asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Keep talking," Jiang Hui said without looking up. "I’m just making a transfer."

This time, Jiang Hui didn’t hesitate—he immediately sent the 50 million to Yu Xing.

"The Divine Chosen Team is investigating Bull Warrior," Wang Kunyu said. "But I didn’t mention you, so they won’t be able to trace her through you."

Jiang Hui nodded. "You did very well."

"Now, can you give me Bull Warrior’s contact info?" Wang Kunyu pressed. "She saved my life—I want to thank her."

Jiang Hui forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "I’ll have to ask for her opinion first. It’s not my call."

"Right, right," Wang Kunyu said understandingly. "Big shots have their own quirks. Can you ask her for me, then?"

After ending the call, Jiang Hui was now certain: The bald person in the mask and trench coat wasn’t Yu Xing. Yu Xing and Bull Warrior were not the same person. But Yu Xing definitely knew Bull Warrior, who probably had to keep her identity hidden and thus used Yu Xing as a front for jobs.

Jiang Hui thought about messaging Yu Xing right away to pump her for information about the powerhouse.

But then it occurred to him that since the powerhouse didn’t want to reveal their identity, they would naturally dislike being probed like this. There were others in Seven Cities who handled these kinds of deals besides him. What if he angered the powerhouse and they refused to work with him again?

So Jiang Hui sent Yu Xing another message.

[This collaboration was very pleasant. I hope we can work together again.]

The commotion in the dorm was loud enough that some classmates, thinking there was trouble, rushed into Yu Xing’s room. What they saw was Miao Yuanjin using Purify on Yu Xing.

At the time, Yu Xing’s face went completely blank. She asked Miao Yuanjin, "What are you doing?"

Miao Yuanjin: "..."

"It’s bad!" someone shouted. "Yu Xing and Miao Yuanjin are fighting!"

The incident quickly came to the attention of the clergy in the Church. Unauthorized use of Divine Skill by Divine Chosen who hadn’t yet graduated was strictly prohibited in the dorms.

And Miao Yuanjin didn’t explain. Admitting she wanted to save Yu Xing was more unbearable than being forced to clean toilets.

As dusk fell, everyone was pulled out by the stern-faced Jiang Lingwen to stand as punishment—without having eaten dinner.

Not just Yu Xing and Miao Yuanjin, but all the students.

They stood in neat rows as Jiang Lingwen scolded them for several minutes. Then she said, "You are not enemies—on the contrary, you are partners! Whether you join the military, the Divine Chosen Team, or become freelance contamination hunters in the future, you will need to work together!"

Jiang Lingwen took a deep breath and continued, "The next lesson has been decided. It will be a team battle. Form groups freely, five members each. There will be a practical match later, and the winning team will receive an excellent evaluation from me. This evaluation will be recorded in your files, giving you priority in future selections, whether for the military or elsewhere."

Hearing this, the young Divine Chosen perked up with excitement.

Yu Xing didn’t care. She had no intention of joining any organization—she just wanted to return to school and live happily with her two sweethearts.

"You two!" Just as Yu Xing was daydreaming, Jiang Lingwen suddenly pointed at her and Miao Yuanjin. "You two must be in the same group!"

Miao Yuanjin: "..."

Yu Xing: "..."

Everyone looked at them with a strange mix of excitement and anticipation. Given how tense their relationship was, could they even cooperate? The likelihood of them fighting was much higher. Being in the same group as them would make winning difficult.

So after Jiang Lingwen left, everyone quickly scattered, eagerly searching for teammates—except Yu Xing and Miao Yuanjin, who were left standing alone.

Yu Xing wasn’t worried. With so many students, divided into groups of five, there would inevitably be stragglers. She just needed to wait patiently.

Hands behind her back, Yu Xing hummed a tune unhurriedly as she returned to the dorm, still riding the high of the five million added to her account. Nothing else could dampen her mood.

Opening her terminal, she saw Jiang Hui had sent her another message, expressing hopes for future collaboration.

*Hmph.* Yu Xing smirked, thinking what a hard-to-read guy he was. She had merely ignored him for a day and dropped some tough talk, and he couldn’t take it—transferring the money and emphasizing future cooperation.

Wasn’t it obvious he just wanted to see her again?

Did she not understand what men like him were thinking?

With a smug smile, Yu Xing set down her terminal—only to see Miao Yuanjin giving her the stink-eye.

"…" Dealing with men who had crushes on her was one thing, but handling women with deep-seated feelings was something Yu Xing had no clue how to handle.

She silently turned away, pretending not to notice.

"Yu Xing!" Miao Yuanjin couldn’t understand how Yu Xing could still smile. "No one’s coming to team up with us. Aren’t you worried?"

"Worried?" Yu Xing didn’t get it. "What’s there to worry about? Once everyone else forms their teams, the stragglers will have no choice but to join us."

"You—!" Miao Yuanjin’s face turned beet red with anger. "The leftovers will be the weaker ones! How are we supposed to win with them?"

Yu Xing: "Friendship first, competition sec—"

She couldn’t finish because Miao Yuanjin’s look was truly terrifying.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Yu Xing sighed.

"Go invite the stronger ones to join us," Miao Yuanjin whispered. "I think Zhao Lan is good. Aren’t you close with her?"

Yu Xing didn’t understand. "Why me? Why don’t you do it?"

Miao Yuanjin’s face stiffened, then she lifted her chin proudly. "I would never beg them!"

"You won’t beg, so you want me to?" Yu Xing found it amusing. She plopped down on the bed, kicking her legs idly. "I won’t either."

"You—!" Miao Yuanjin was so furious she was about to burst into tears again.

Ever since coming to the Church, nothing had gone right. It felt like everyone and everything was against her.

Miao Yuanjin was breathing hard. If not for the Church, her father could easily arrange any teammates she wanted. She wouldn’t have to stress over something this small.

But here in the Church, no one would kowtow to her because of her family background. Worse, even when she tried lowering her pride, no one wanted to associate with her—not even for meals.

They were clearly targeting her!

Isolating her!

All the grievances piled up until Miao Yuanjin finally couldn’t hold back. She opened her mouth and broke down in messy tears.

"WAAAAH!"

Yu Xing: "?!"

Yu Xing was startled. Why was she crying again? No one had provoked her!

If she kept crying so loudly, what if Jiang Lingwen came back?

"Stop crying!" Yu Xing leaned in, wanting to cover Miao Yuanjin’s mouth but remembering her Broomstick Star Skill. Helpless, Yu Xing finally said, "If you keep crying, I’ll… I’ll shove a toilet plunger in your mouth."

The crying stopped instantly. Miao Yuanjin stared at her in horror.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Yu Xing, as if granted a reprieve, hurriedly called, "Who is it? Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Da Ya standing there.

Da Ya had wrapped her beautiful curls in a headscarf. She glanced at Miao Yuanjin’s tear-streaked face before cautiously asking Yu Xing, "I’m on bathroom duty for the girls’ dorm this week. Is… now a good time for me to clean?"

"Yes, yes!" Yu Xing couldn’t take another minute alone with Miao Yuanjin. She quickly let Da Ya in.

Da Ya worked quickly, cleaning the toilet in minutes. As she stepped out, Yu Xing offhandedly asked, "Why work now? Isn’t everyone busy forming teams?"

At this, Da Ya’s face immediately twisted. "You think I don’t want to? No one is willing to team up with me!"

Da Ya complained loudly. Behind her, Miao Yuanjin, who had been surreptitiously drying her eyes, instantly stopped—then perked up her ears to listen.

"How could that be?" Yu Xing didn’t understand. "You’re so pretty—why doesn’t anyone want you on their team?"

Da Ya put her hands on her hips and said, "Exactly! Exactly!"

"But they said the Divine Skill of a Rain God Chosen has no offensive power at low levels. All it does is get people wet—it’s useless otherwise." Da Ya complained bitterly. "So no one wants to team up with me. I’m so sad…"

"Hey, don’t be sad." Yu Xing comforted her. "Look, nobody’s lining up to team with me or Miao Yuanjin either."

Da Ya glanced at Yu Xing, then at Miao Yuanjin. United in their unpopularity, she felt a little better. She said, "Actually, lots of people wanted to team up with you. You’re being… dragged down by her."

Da Ya cautiously peeked at Miao Yuanjin.

Though she didn’t name names, Miao Yuanjin wasn’t stupid—she knew exactly who Da Ya was talking about.

She immediately turned her head and glared fiercely at Da Ya. "How did I drag her down? I’m a Moon God Chosen!"

Da Ya yelped and dove behind Yu Xing, then peeked out and said, "It’s true! I heard them talking. Yu Xing’s Divine Skill is unique, and she even has experience fighting pollutants. Everyone wants to team up with her. But you’re different—the Moon God Chosen’s skills work on pollutants, not people. Teaming up with you means one less person; we’d be fighting four against five."

"You—" Miao Yuanjin was so angry she nearly fainted.

But she couldn’t refute it because it was the truth.

After fuming for a moment, Miao Yuanjin could only blurt out, "You’re useless too!"

Da Ya shouted back, "At least I’m more useful!"

"You’re the most useless!"

"You’re the most useless!"

"Alright, alright." Yu Xing rubbed her temples, exasperated. She scratched her head and said to Da Ya, "Since nobody’s picked you yet, why not join ours?"

Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin both stiffened, then jumped up at the same time.

"I object!"

"Great, great!"

"…"

The two quickly exchanged glances, then turned away simultaneously. "Hmph!"

"I object!" Miao Yuanjin stomped her foot angrily. "This isn’t just your team! Inviting someone has to be approved by me too!"

Yu Xing patiently explained, "I thought about it. Since all three of us are leftovers, it’s better to team up now rather than be forced together later. We’re actively forming a team, not being chosen as a last resort. That way, it sounds more dignified."

Da Ya: "…"

Miao Yuanjin: "…"

Da Ya was utterly impressed. Wait, you can spin it like that to save face?

"Our group is still short two members." Yu Xing turned to Da Ya. "Who else got passed over?"

Da Ya: "…"

"There’s Ke Yuan." Da Ya glanced out the window and whispered, "Ke Yuan performed terribly this morning. They said his movements were stiff, worse than an Old Era robot, so no one wants him."

"Then I’ll go find Ke Yuan." Yu Xing turned to Miao Yuanjin. "Alright, stop crying. I’ll listen to you and go find teammates now."

*With teammates like these, we might as well not bother…*

Miao Yuanjin’s heart ached, wishing she could run home and cry in her father’s arms.

Yu Xing headed out to track down Ke Yuan, but he wasn’t in his dorm. Just as she was about to ask where he was, she ran into Zhao Lan in the shadowy courtyard.

"Good evening," Yu Xing greeted.

"Evening~" Zhao Lan smiled.

"Found a team yet?" Yu Xing asked.

"Not yet." Zhao Lan chuckled. "The dorm was getting too crowded, so I came out for a walk."

Zhao Lan’s dorm only housed her and Da Ya. If it was too crowded without Da Ya, it meant many people had come to recruit Zhao Lan.

She was clearly in high demand. Yu Xing was quite envious.

But running into her like this felt like fate. So Yu Xing extended an invitation, "Would you like to join our team? Da Ya’s with us too."

"Sure." Zhao Lan nodded with a smile.

"…"

She agreed so readily, so casually, that Yu Xing was stunned. She hadn’t expected Zhao Lan to say yes.

"You’re agreeing? You don’t know our team’s situation?" Yu Xing wondered if she’d misheard.

"I’m agreeing." Though Zhao Lan was smiling, her expression was serious. "I’ve thought about it. There are no useless Divine Skills, only people who don’t know how to use them. Besides, you’re strong. You once cleared out a whole truckload of contaminated creatures by yourself. I believe in your strength. And Da Ya’s my good friend. I want to be her teammate."

Seeing how earnest Zhao Lan was, Yu Xing felt a little uncertain.

Honestly, Yu Xing had always seen Zhao Lan as the serious type—she seemed to have no ulterior motives toward her. But now, Yu Xing wasn’t so sure.

Still, since Zhao Lan was willing, Yu Xing could only welcome her.

Back at the dorm, Zhao Lan followed behind Yu Xing. She smiled and greeted the two waiting teammates. "Hey guys~ From today on, we’re teammates in the same group."

"!!!"

Miao Yuanjin and Da Ya were both shocked. Yu Xing cleared her throat, covering her mouth with her fist, and said, "Not welcoming?"

She winked at Miao Yuanjin. "Who was it that told me to go find Zhao Lan? Now that she’s here, why aren’t you reacting?"

"Ohmygosh! Yes! Welcome!" Da Ya lunged and clung to Zhao Lan. "Sooo happy you’re here! *sniffle*"

Miao Yuanjin kept her cool, but she was clearly pleased. She just nodded at Zhao Lan and said, "Welcome."

Zhao Lan hugged Da Ya and asked, "Do you have anyone in mind for our last teammate?"

When Zhao Lan learned Yu Xing wanted Ke Yuan, she nodded in approval. "Ke Yuan is a Beloved of the God of Steel. We need someone like him. He’s perfect, actually."

"But his performance this morning…" Miao Yuanjin made a face.

"He’s just still getting the hang of his Divine Skill. That can be improved with training." Zhao Lan analyzed. "His skillset is exactly what we need. None of us four are good at close combat. We need someone like Ke Yuan."

At first, finding Ke Yuan had seemed like a last-ditch option. But hearing Zhao Lan’s analysis, he suddenly seemed like a great choice.

"Then let’s all go recruit Ke Yuan." Yu Xing waved at everyone. "Let’s go show him what team spirit looks like."