Chapter 1965

Shangguan Ting's face flushed red on the spot.

Huff—

She was quick to anger, but she never lost her reason when angry.

That was where her real strength lay.

You could have a bad temper, you could have a poor disposition, but you had to stay calm at all times.

Shangguan Ting was exactly that kind of person.

Highly emotional, yet utterly composed.

It sounded contradictory, but it was precisely her ability.

That was why she could keep leading the Phantom Squadron in charge after charge, racking up impressive results without ever running into any truly serious crisis.

One had to admit, she was genuinely capable.

Shangguan Ting pressed down her fury and said, "Captain Li, your squadron earning first place wasn't easy—I should be the one congratulating you."

"Mm, you're right, Captain Shangguan is the impressive one."

Li Ruanyu's tone was soft, completely without aggression.

Utterly gentle toward Shangguan Ting.

The gentleness of a victor toward the vanquished.

Yet Shangguan Ting only grew angrier.

Bitch!

What an actress!

Just wait until the annual battle rankings come out!

Shangguan Ting said nothing more; her perfectly fair cheeks puffed out slightly—she was gritting her teeth hard.

Her fists were clenched so tight the medal she'd just received was nearly crushed out of shape.

Soon, the three captains stepped down from the stage.

All three squadrons received the "Collective First-Class Honor Medal" and "400 Contribution Points."

And because the Jade Squadron had broken the highest record, it received an additional "200 Contribution Points."

Gu Zhan watched Shangguan Ting leap down again and sighed inwardly.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

Fortunately, Shangguan Ting also "accepted her loss gracefully"—she didn't, like some previous captains, cry foul play or anything of the sort.

The cheers from below continued.

Next, the captains of the other squadrons came up on stage and received their respective awards: the "Collective Second- and Third-Class Honor Medals" and "100–300 Contribution Points."

Every squad had completed a large number of missions this month, so of course they all deserved some recognition.

And besides, it was the end of the year, so everyone got a little more than usual.

Perhaps this was, in some sense, a "year-end bonus"?

Right after that.

Gu Zhan cleared his throat.

"Alright, now comes the part everyone's been looking forward to—announcing the full-year results of every squadron this year!

"First, in 12th place, Nanlin Squadron: 5.77 million!

"Nanlin Squadron only joined in October, and they have the fewest members, so this ranking doesn't really tell the whole story.

"And Nanlin Squadron's results in this final month alone exceeded 2 million—given their lord count, that's an outstanding performance.

"So we've decided to award Nanlin Squadron the 'Third-Class Annual Medal' and '300 Contribution Points' for every member.

"Give them a round of applause."

Soon, friendly applause rang out.

They did indeed have the fewest lords—that was an objective factor.

Gu Zhan loudly explained this reasoning to save them some face.

But a ranking was a ranking.

You couldn't give them special treatment just because they were weak.

In fact, in a world like this, it was the strong who got the special treatment.

They could only receive the lowest medal and reward.

Fortunately, though, all the bottom-ranked squads got the same reward.

Including the Stream Squadron Zhao Chi was in, the Nangu Squadron, and a whole string of other village-level squadrons.

Fortunately, even so, the rewards they received were still substantial.

After all, that was 300 Contribution Points.

And every single person got them.

The previous months' "Collective First-Class Honor Medal" had only granted 300 Contribution Points.

The "Best Newcomer Medal" Zhao Chi had received was also only 300 Contribution Points.

So it was by no means a small sum, and the lords of these squadrons were still quite satisfied.

Soon, the results of all 10 squadrons had been announced.

As expected, only the Jade Squadron and the Phantom Squadron remained.

Shangguan Ting was, surprisingly, a little nervous.

Facing a dragon hadn't made her feel this way.

But she still pretended not to care in the slightest.

Seated in a sofa chair, one long leg crossed over the other, swaying gently.

Arms folded across the chest, relaxed and at ease.

But her hands were clenched tight.

Her fingernails dug painfully into her palms, yet she felt nothing at all.

She stared fixedly at Gu Zhan's mouth.

Terrified that the next words she heard would be the name Phantom Squadron.

Jasper Squadron…

Jasper Squadron…

She had never in her heart called out the name Jasper Squadron so many times.

This was the very first time.

Jasper Squadron!

It must be Jasper Squadron!

Gu Zhan, if you dare say Phantom Squadron, I'll tear you apart…

Shangguan Ting herself did not even notice that her breathing had grown rapid.

Her body had gone ramrod straight as well.

Her unremarkable chest actually pushed out a faint, smiling curve.

Gu Zhan did not dare look down at all.

After all, Gu Zhan's strength was considerable, and he had long since sensed Shangguan Ting's enormous pressure.

But there was nothing to be done.

The facts were right before his eyes; he couldn't just blurt out something random just because Shangguan Ting would be displeased, could he?

But he truly did not dare look at Shangguan Ting either.

He only said seriously:

"Next up, we have the team that placed second for the year.

"I believe that whichever one it is, it is an exceptionally outstanding team of ours.

"First and second were always very close; whichever team ultimately has the regret of taking the runner-up spot, I hope everyone gives them the warmest applause.

"This second-place finish will receive the 'Annual Second Special Class Medal' as well as a reward of 1,000 Contribution Points for every member.

"Everyone, congratulations to Phantom Squadron for taking our annual second place with a score of 11,041,000!

"Captain Shangguan, please come up on stage to receive the award!"

The applause truly erupted violently.

Everyone stared at Shangguan Ting.