Chapter 126

Yes.

Dalton replied excitedly.

Only a day had passed, and he already missed his four close brothers terribly.

Going it alone is painful; sticking together is true happiness.

Lin Ke declared his stance, and the three immediately sped toward the 3 o'clock direction.

Airisi suggested she could fly ahead first, but Lin Ke vetoed the proposal.

She is a local apprentice from the North District, and her identity is rather sensitive.

Appearing suddenly before Ba Ke and his group would easily provoke an extreme reaction.

Soon, the three caught up with Ba Ke's party ahead.

Boss!

Ba Ke, Ajio, and Lin En saw that the pursuers behind them were Lin Ke and Dalton, and immediately lowered their guard.

The two happily went up to meet them, greeting loudly.

Come with me.

Lin Ke, without ceremony, directly issued orders in the manner of a boss.

He actually didn't want to do it that way either.

But speaking kindly to the five brothers often puts them on different wavelengths;

Acting like a boss, however, is extremely efficient.

No problem, we all follow the boss's lead.

Ba Ke Watt slapped his chest firmly, declaring resolutely, "Whatever the boss tells us to do, we will do! Absolutely no second thoughts!"

Saying that, Ba Ke kept winking at Isco Alexander.

The subtext was telling Isco Alexander, who had been trying to persuade the two of them to obey Lan Ni. Tai Le's command:

My boss is here, you motherf***er, still dare to chirp?

Hello, boss!

Lin En Hewitt wasn't as rough as Ba Ke; he steadied himself and greeted Lin Ke, then said, "Being able to act alongside the boss is something we could only wish for."

Hmm.

Lin Ke nodded, not even glancing at Lan Ni. Tai Le and her group, adjusted his course, and walked straight ahead, saying, "Then let's go together."

Airisi, Ba Ke, Lin En, and Dalton immediately followed.

Wait.

Lan Ni. Tai Le suddenly spoke up at this point, wanting to call out to Lin Ke's group.

Who would have thought Lin Ke completely ignored her and just kept going straight.

She had no choice, so she hurried a few steps, stepped in front of Lin Ke, and said, "I have a few things I want to say; give me a chance."

Fine.

This time Lin Ke did not snub Lan Ni. Tai Le's dignity; he raised his right hand to halt his companions' steps.

Our South District originally has few people; if we don't act as a group, we hardly stand a chance against the North District.

Lan Ni. Tai Le spoke gently and explained her view: "Moreover, this is not just a Two Districts Grand Comparison; it also involves a wager between two mages. This importance, I'm sure you understand."

Lin Ke listened quietly to Lan Ni. Tai Le's words, his expression unchanged, then countered: "A snake cannot survive without a head, and a team is even worse without a leader. If we team up, whose orders will we follow? Yours or mine?"

Saying that, Lin Ke glanced back at Isco and the other two members of the Newblood Mutual Aid Society, smiling, "Or perhaps one of them?"

Isco Alexander immediately changed his face, cutting in front of Lan Ni. Tai Le, and shouted sternly: "Of course we listen to Taylor. She has the highest talent and best grades; if not her, who then? You? Linke Grand, whom the academy specifically pointed out twice as having inferior talent compared to others?"

Those words were not pleasant to hear.

Because what he said was the truth.

Four of the five brothers immediately started making a racket.

?? ￠o => This line appears to be garbled: "?? ￠o". We must translate faithfully; it's not Chinese characters but symbols. We should output exactly as is? The rule: translate faithfully, never skip, summarise, or merge paragraphs. So we need to output the same line? But we need to translate into English. However, it's not translatable; it's likely a placeholder for an emoticon or something. We should output the same symbols? The instruction: "Translate faithfully — never skip, summarise, or merge paragraphs." It doesn't say we must convert non-text to English; we should keep it as is? Usually we would output the same line. But we need to output translation. Since it's not Chinese, we can't translate; we should output the same line as is. However, the rule says "Translate faithfully — never skip, summarise, or merge paragraphs." If it's not translatable, we just output it unchanged. We'll output "?? ￠o".

Fuck your mother's stinking bullshit!

If you can't speak, shut your stinking mouth!

You believe it or not, I'll beat you to death?

What the hell are you, daring to drag my boss into this?

You motherf***er want to be a sycophant, don't drag me into it.

Pah! What trash, a disgusting creep who gets off on women kneeling!

Lin Ke let the four brothers hurl insults at Isco, while also throwing in some sarcastic remarks toward Lan Ni. Tai Le.

Since they intend to follow Lin Ke as boss, they naturally ought to do what underlings should do.

For example, when the boss finds it inconvenient to say certain things, they become his mouthpiece.

Their attitude must be arrogant, their speech vulgar, their actions violent.

The five brothers are clearly well-versed in this.

Unfortunately, only four are present, missing Dijie Fenli; otherwise it would be livelier.

"Grand, may I address you as such?"

Lan Ni. Tai Le's eyes, like autumn water, fixed on Lin Ke's gaze: "Could you please have your companions quiet down so I can say a few words?"

Speak.

Lin Ke nodded, not specifically going to stop them.

The four brothers gave him plenty of face, promptly ceasing their barrage against Isco on their own.

This action implicitly highlighted that Lin Ke was a real big shot, not a fake boss.

A hint of surprise quickly flashed in Lan Ni. Tai Le's eyes.

She knew quite a lot about the five brothers who firmly occupied sixth to tenth place in the grade, knowing they were the type who pretended to be foolish but weren't really.

There was a huge discrepancy between their outward behavior and true nature.

She had always thought the five brothers were cozying up to Lin Ke not out of genuine allegiance, but to find a banner to shelter under.

Unexpectedly, the five brothers genuinely admired Lin Ke and willingly became his followers.

With his petty, vindictive nature, how could he possibly win people over?

Lan Ni. Tai Le was puzzled.

But now is not the time to investigate these matters.

She composed herself and sincerely said, "I will listen to you, as long as you show the qualities of a qualified leader, I can also guarantee that Isco and the others will listen to you."

Lan Ni. Tai Le promptly adjusted her strategy, insisting on teaming up with Linke Grand, but gave up the idea of competing for command.

If you can't beat them, join them?

No!

She made these efforts not necessarily to team up with Lin Ke, but merely to show the Paro Wizard.

If the bet fails, when looking for reasons, they won't find fault with her.

"Taylor..."

Isco couldn't understand and still wanted to say more.

Lan Ni. Tai Le glanced over, and he immediately stopped talking.

The other two Newbloods almost completely followed Lan Ni. Tai Le's lead, saying whatever she said, with no thought of voicing their own opinions.

Lin Ke thought seriously and felt that teaming up with Lan Ni. Tai Le had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that whether it's Lan Ni. Tai Le, Isco, or even the two silent Newbloods, they are all outstanding among the Newbloods of the Southern District Storm Sea.

If we can unite them well and make good use of them, they would certainly be a helpful force.

The disadvantage is that people's hearts are hard to unite.

Isco has clearly shown his intention not to accept Lin Ke's leadership and command, and the two silent Newbloods obviously only obey Lan Ni. Tai Le's orders.

If something arises and Lan Ni. Tai Le's view opposes Lin Ke's command, it would not only be no help but become an obstacle.

If that's the case, it's better not to form the team at all.

All things considered, Lin Ke leans more toward not forming a team.

But he is not a unilateral decision-maker; he still wants to hear his companions' opinions.

"Please step aside for a moment while we discuss."

Lin Ke spoke frankly to Lan Ni. Tai Le.

"Okay."

Lan Ni. Tai Le agreed, not only stepping away herself but also pulling the visibly unwilling Isco away.

"What do you all think? Should we form a team?"

Lin Ke looked over Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke, Ba Ke, Ai Ji Ao, Lin En, and Da Er Dun, whose presence had unconsciously faded, to ask for their opinions.

"I don't mind; anything goes, I'll follow the boss."

Da Er Dun's remarks were unexpectedly enthusiastic; his speech amounted to nothing but an expression of loyalty.

Ba Ke and Ai Ji Ao's actions were perfectly in sync; they both turned their heads to look at the strategist Lin En.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Lin En's face turned a little unnatural: "Look at the boss, whatever the boss says goes."

Those with many thoughts think more and also worry more.

Lin En didn't want the boss to misunderstand him as scheming to form a small clique.

If the boss really misunderstood, he would have nowhere to explain himself.

Lin Ke smiled and didn't let this little incident bother him.

A great man once said, "No party within the party, imperial thinking; no faction within the party, myriad oddities."

We should allow others to have their own ideas.

However, on major matters, we need to unify thinking in advance.

Once thoughts are unified, they cannot easily be changed, or else things will collapse.

"And you, Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke, what do you think?"

Lin Ke saw that four of the five brothers were all lazy good-for-nothings who didn't want to think, so he turned his gaze to Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke, who kept her head down playing with her fingers.

This person is the one with the most special status in the small team.

And also the one whose opinion should be most fully consulted and respected.

"Me?"

Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke blinked her big eyes, showing a cute, innocent expression like a little white rabbit, "Hey hey, you actually asked me!"

Apparently quite surprised, Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke reacted a bit before giving her opinion: "That Bichi doesn't seem like a good person, with lots of scheming. In my view, we might as well just blow her up."

Split personality can really be severe.

Using the cutest expression and tone to say the most violent words.

However, Lin Ke understood Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke's meaning.

He also didn't deliberately walk over to Lan Ni. Tai Le; he just waved his hands from afar to express regret.

Actually, there's nothing to regret.

Lin Ke himself also didn't want to team up with Lan Ni. Tai Le.

He doesn't fear reckless opponents; he fears those who are thoughtful and deep-minded.

Playing mind games, so annoying!

Lan Ni. Tai Le didn't keep pestering, just watched Lin Ke and his group leave.

"Where are we headed next?"

Iske secretly let out a breath, then hurriedly distracted Lan Ni's attention.

She kept staring at Linke Grand's back.

"Keep up."

Lan Ni glanced at Iske, saw through his thoughts completely, but didn't show it on her face, merely giving a brief order.

Iske's face stiffened instantly.

Given that, they don't want to team up, yet you're sticking to them and want to tail them?

What the hell kind of sense is that?

Iske had previously tried hard to prevent teaming up, worried that Lan Ni's attention would be snatched away by that guy Linke Grand.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to realize that the gap between him and Lin Ke wasn't just reflected in their rankings in several exams.

It also showed in every aspect, such as academic research and decisiveness in combat.

After finally breaking up the teaming plan, now they want to tail them?

This is even worse than teaming up.

Iske swallowed his anger, and in the end helplessly followed Lan Ni's steps.

"Boss, they're following behind us—what should we do? Should we drive them off?"

Daerdun stared at the real-time reconnaissance screen for a while, confirmed the situation, then reported.

As the team grew, it naturally needed to further clarify division of labor.

Otherwise it'd be a chaotic mess, like a rabble, completely losing the team's essence and true meaning.

Ba Ke and Aijio led the way, clearing the path;

Lin En was careful, took the rear, and simultaneously managed four reconnaissance puppets, watching both sides;

Daerdun took control of the round flying disc, conducting real-time surveillance of the surroundings to catch anomalies.

As for the bionic eagle, it was Airusi's personal property, and Lin Ke had no interest in it.

Lin Ke and Airusi, being the strongest, naturally took charge of combat whenever needed, meanwhile collecting samples, making specimens, and doing side quests.

Hearing Daerdun's report, Lin Ke decisively replied, "Don't bother with her; we'll keep moving forward."

Just because they're ahead doesn't mean we can forbid others from following behind.

There's no such reasoning.

If it really comes to a conflict, falling behind and taking a detour from another direction make no difference.

"Yes."

Daerdun acknowledged and focused his attention on other directions.

The six of them continued forward at their pace.

During this time, they encountered several small teams, all local apprentices from the Northern District.

They spotted each other from afar, stayed wary, then separated.

Among them, there was even a team composed of members of the Pureblood Will; they merely stared at Lin Ke with complex expressions for a long time, but ultimately took no action.

At most, they just used the communication artifact to report their position to others.

Lin Ke also didn't bother with them.

With so many Pureblood Will members, if they really went all out fighting and killing, they might not even be able to defeat them or kill them all, and wasting time on the truly important main and side quests would be bad.

So far, the first item of the main quest—choosing a faction—still has no result.

What if we end up killing all our own faction members—what would we use to fight the faction war?

It's likely that the local apprentices of the North District, lacking a numerical advantage, immediately started shouting for a fight against the Newbloods of the South District's Storm Sea, and this is partly why.

"Boss, I found Dijie Finli."

Lin En suddenly shouted excitedly, "That kid and the Boss you mentioned—the three solo operators who can unite are together."

Upon hearing that, Lin Ke immediately became interested.

The round flying disc and bionic eagle in high-altitude surveillance didn't detect it, but the low-altitude reconnaissance puppet did—there must be something special going on.

If we can learn from it, we can use it to deal with high-altitude surveillance artifacts.

He walked over to Lin En's side and carefully watched the real-time reconnaissance image projected.

It turned out that Dijie and those three solo-operator Newbloods were hiding in a pit; they must have spotted the surveillance artifacts flying back and forth in the sky and deliberately hid like that.

The conventional optical surveillance mode is easier to overlook.

"Come on, let's go fetch Dijie back to the team."

Lin Ke felt a bit disappointed; he had thought Dijie or those three had found a way to deal with the high-altitude surveillance artifact.

Suppressing his miscellaneous thoughts, Lin Ke made a decision.

The team stopped, and Ba Ke and A Ji Ao went together to the pit where Dijie and the four were hiding.

Not long after, six people returned.

"Boss."

"Dijie saw Lin Ke, immediately greeted him enthusiastically, then solemnly introduced to the three behind him, 'This is my Boss; you surely know him too. How about it, my Boss invites you to join us, to act together, so we'll have some backup—will you agree or not?'"

The three exchanged glances, and finally pushed forward a short-haired girl to communicate with Lin Ke.

The short-haired girl was named Betty Mai Ji, and her personality was not particularly outgoing.

But among the three, she was the least socially anxious.

Betty Mai Ji habitually lowered her head, then forced herself to lift it and stare directly into Lin Ke's eyes, her lips trembling as she asked, "You… you wouldn't deliberately… deliberately drain our… would you?"

After a commotion, it turned out the socially anxious trio's fear was that Lin Ke would treat them as cannon fodder.

Lin Ke shook his head, declaring resolutely: "No!"

Well... then okay, we'll join your team... team.

Bei Di Mai Ji let out a long breath, as if having received a weighty promise, and immediately made a choice.

The other two nodded at the same time, showing agreement.

Lin Ke, seeing this, didn't know how to describe his feelings.

Not only did they gather five brothers, they also brought in three more, and the team grew.

This should have been a good thing.

But the team members are socially anxious—how should they be commanded?

This is a problem.

(End of chapter)