Chu Xuan, having dropped his disguise, walked to the window. He glanced at everyone before finally meeting Yujin's gaze. "Three minutes until the story begins, eight minutes until the North Polar Team arrives."
"Before it starts, I want to know… the Lord God you mentioned. What exactly is the purpose of gathering us here?"
"To know the meaning of life." Zheng Zha answered immediately.
Chu Xuan didn't look at Zheng Zha. His eyes remained on Yujin, clearly unsatisfied with that answer.
Yujin thought for a moment. "Maybe… for entertainment."
Chu Xuan nodded. "Understood."
"Then… we still have some time. I want to know what abilities you claim you can exchange with the Lord God."
"Also… that guy with the cigarette just mentioned something about the last team battle. What was that about?"
"I need to analyze."
"No need to analyze." Yujin interrupted Chu Xuan's thoughts. "The North Polar Team will arrive ten minutes later than us. Choosing a battlefield like Scream, where it's almost impossible to 'take advantage,' shows that the gap between our teams isn't that big."
"I should account for most of this team's combat power."
Yujin said bluntly, "Ninety percent."
Chu Xuan nodded, his CPU-like mind running calculations at full speed.
"I propose that, when the difference in strength isn't too large, we pretend to form an alliance. We can even send the six weakest among us, along with you, to negotiate with the North Polar Team as a gesture of friendly exchange."
"If we achieve all the rewards, we can earn two thousand reward points and a C-rank side quest almost without lifting a finger. It's a very cost-effective choice."
"Without considering their intelligence, the probability that the North Polar Team will fall for it is seventy-four percent, rounded to the nearest decimal."
"Once the alliance is formed, strike the opposing team members unexpectedly! Catch them completely off guard!"
Yujin looked at Chu Xuan and commented, "You and your 'annoying' intelligence."
Yujin could guess Chu Xuan's intent behind such a setup.
It was simply to gain more understanding of this world, this space, and the entire Central Continent team.
There were five newcomers this time. Chu Xuan proposed sending the six weakest members to negotiate.
This was to allow the already friendly Central Continent team members to spare their weakest member for the mission.
Regardless of the outcome, if the veterans of the Central Continent team agreed to this plan and sent a so-called weakest member on the adventure, it would reveal the team's weak cohesion and high selfishness, making them easily influenced by outsiders. This was something that needed attention for future planning.
The rest, Yujin didn't bother analyzing.
Chu Xuan's intelligence was indeed annoying.
And Yujin's was just ordinary.
A single word's difference, and yet their thinking dimensions were completely different.
"First, I reject your idea." Yujin waved his finger. "Combat is unavoidable. We can't even estimate what their mission is. What if it directly conflicts with ours? What if they're helping the Ghostface escape legal punishment? How would we resolve that conflict then?"
Chu Xuan, hearing the possibility of a mission conflict, silently ran his calculations.
Yujin continued, "The Dark Forest Rule: in the universe, if one civilization is discovered by another, it will inevitably be attacked by higher-level civilizations."
Only Chu Xuan present fully understood this principle, and he couldn't help but raise his estimation of Yujin slightly.
One more thing: everyone else's scores were zero.
"So, we should start preparing for a team battle with the North Polar Team."
"Also…"
Yujin looked at everyone.
"Anyone — I mean anyone — who does something extremely harmful or even dangerous to me personally, I will pay a thousand reward points to have them killed."
Yujin's tone allowed no argument, and everyone understood that clearly.
"If team interests are violated, the punishment will be judged by all of you."
After saying that, Yujin, on cue, pushed open the classroom door.
The scene began.
In an abandoned factory, fifteen people sat in a circle, loudly debating.
A punkish white youth with red-and-green hair scratched his head as he spoke.
"Central Continent team, huh? Didn't that white psychic from the Devil Team — the one who nearly wiped us out before — mention that the Central Continent team had Farmers?"
"Mm."
A somewhat shy high-schooler of about fifteen years old nodded and added, avoiding the gazes of newcomers and teammates.
"Dio Brook's clone said the Central Continent team's farming-captain was taken out by them, but there are surviving members of the Farming Team."
The high-schooler glanced away from the others.
"There's a big feud between the Devil Team and the Central Continent team! Central Continent team's farming-captain almost annihilated the Devil Team!"
The punkish youth was astonished.
"Central Continent team's that strong? Can we even take them?"
"Don't worry."
A baby-faced white guy shrugged and blew out a cold breath as he spoke.
"Our appearance later in the timeline means this Central Continent team has already been 'cleaned up'."
"Great, great!"
The punkish youth pounded his chest.
"Then let's start farming points! A fifteen-person raid — can't imagine how many reward points and side-quest scenes we'll get!"
No sooner had he finished than a long-haired girl clutched her temple in pain and cried out.
"A very powerful lifeform is heading toward us! It's coming very fast!"
On a storm-darkened town street, a figure streaked forward.
He was a ninja, a pirate, and a veteran.
He was Yujin, the ceiling of Central Continent team's combat strength.
When Chu Xuan learned how much Yujin contributed to the Central Continent team's fighting power, he made a bold suggestion to Yujin.
That suggestion was to actively search for the approximate location of the North Polar Team.
If possible, they should launch a sneak attack, kill one or two of the enemy newbies first, and seize the initiative for Central Continent team.
Working with Chu Xuan was, in truth, a double-edged sword.
But if he followed his advice completely, even if it was dangerous, the potential benefits would indeed be maximized.
Using his Observation Haki, Yujin began scanning the skies above the small town.
Soon, he noticed several distinctly abnormal auras, all concentrated within the protective barrier of an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town.
Inside the factory, the senior members of the North Polar Team immediately turned their gaze upward.
"Flying!? What kind of enhancement is that?"
"I don't know… looks like some kind of monster-type power."
"Is this kind of enhancement even possible?"
Alexis, a nonconformist young white man, was dumbfounded.
He looked at his high school-aged companion, Albert Allen.
"Allen! Didn't you say the Devil Team had already cleansed the Farming Team? What's going on here?"
Albert shook his head immediately.
"How would I know?"
Just a single glance from Yujin's direction of enhancement was enough to leave the North Polar Team confused.
And that was just the start.
He had actively sought this place out.
That meant he probably had perception-based abilities—something like mental scanning!
Seeing the slump in morale, North Polar Team's captain, Gonniel, snorted coldly.
"What's with these faces? Afraid of what? We've never shown fear when facing the Devil Team!"
Meanwhile, the large dog lying on the ground suddenly spoke in human words.
"Last time we faced the Devil Team, we and the West Sea Team were nearly wiped out by that sword-stomping guy… Dio Brooke also mentioned that they almost got taken out by the Central Continent Team's Farming Team Captain."
"Let me think…"
The dog furrowed its brow in thought.
"Could it be… that the Central Continent Team's captain has the Resurrection Cross Seal?!"
The words sent a chill through even Gonniel, the North Polar Team captain.
He knew better than anyone the strength of the sword cultivator, Fuming.
After all, he had almost died at Fuming's hands.
Last time, the North Polar Team, Devil Team, and West Sea Team had all clashed.
North Polar Team had allied with the West Sea Team.
If it weren't for a veteran member of the West Sea Team, who had taken the dark witch path and used a cursed doll to transfer damage to one of the Devil Team's newcomers…
Gonniel would have been completely finished under that golden light.
Bev Field, the long-haired girl with mental control abilities, swallowed nervously.
"L-Last time… that Devil Team mentalist said that… the Central Continent Farming Team captain… had enhanced herself along the Parasite path?"
At those words, Gonniel collapsed back onto his chair.
"Y-Yes… that's right."
****
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