Regrouping

Early the next morning, everyone got up early. The usual horseplay was gone, replaced by a shared silence. Liu Chuang tried to lighten the mood, only to find the other two in the dorm wearing grave expressions, so he shut his mouth.

Wei Zitong brushed his teeth woodenly, looking deeply preoccupied. His gaze kept drifting toward the balcony of the girls' dorm opposite. Lena was washing her face there, and her eyes drifted over as well. When she saw Wei Zitong, she blinked, seemingly about to say something, but Du Qiangwei, who came out right after her, blocked her view.

Du Qiangwei had returned to her usual cold and aloof demeanor. Without saying a word, she focused on what she was doing.

With her line of sight blocked, Lena felt a little irritated. But when she saw Du Qiangwei's sour expression, she lost the urge to flare up. Straightening, she tilted her head back, only to see Wei Zitong walking away.

"Stop looking. He's gone," Du Qiangwei said coldly without looking aside.

"Hmph, we'll see where he goes later!" Lena snorted.

"Don't waste your effort." Du Qiangwei's tone remained icy. "There's no place for you in his heart..."

"Is there a place for you, then?" Lena shot back.

"Me?" A trace of nearly imperceptible pain appeared on Du Qiangwei's icy face. She murmured as though mocking herself, yet also asking herself the question.

Then she gave a bitter smile. "I'm a soldier. I'm only a soldier..."

"Tch! Boring!" Finding it dull, Lena stopped paying attention to Du Qiangwei's almost crazed muttering. She glanced at the empty balcony opposite, then returned to the dorm.

When everyone arrived at the virtual reality neuron connection chamber and stood before Jace, they were all exceptionally well-behaved. Even Lena, who was usually so carefree, only kept glaring at Wei Zitong.

Wei Zitong looked at his nose, then at his heart, wearing the composed air of an old master. It made Lena furious. She swore that once they entered the Virtual World, she would teach this disobedient little horse a proper lesson!

In truth, Wei Zitong was lost in thought. It seemed the world's course had veered farther and farther off track. At least, things at Super Seminary had gone off course. Apparently, perhaps, probably, there hadn't been a virtual reality training segment in the anime, had there?

Ever since he had appeared, the world had inevitably begun changing little by little due to his involvement. Calculating the time, Morgana should be descending upon Earth soon, and Monkey should be making his entrance as well. Yet the world had remained strangely peaceful. Aside from Yan descending at Angel International Building, the Taotie causing trouble a few times, and the battle between the crocodile and the Taotie appearing on television, virtually nothing else had happened.

It was too peaceful.

There was not the slightest hint of activity in the media reports or on the official forums.

The night before, he had searched countless websites online, but even the crocodile videos had been deleted. It was as though some force was deliberately concealing something.

He did not hear a word Jace said, nor did he react to Lena's glances.

It was only when everyone began dispersing and preparing to enter the Neuron Connection Pods that he snapped out of his daze and mechanically walked over to his own Docking Pod No. 2.

Just as he was about to open the hatch, he suddenly felt pain in his ear. Lena's voice followed. "What's wrong with you today? So distracted? You even dared ignore this Goddess's meaningful looks?"

"Ow, ow, ow! Let go, let go, let go!" Wei Zitong bared his teeth and begged repeatedly.

"Hmph, just wait and see how this Goddess deals with you later!" Lena said furiously.

"Lena!" Jace's stern voice came from ahead. "Return to your position!"

Lena jolted, stuck out her tongue, then turned and glared at the innocent-looking Wei Zitong before heading toward her own Docking Pod.

After entering the Docking Pod, Wei Zitong slowly lay down, took a deep breath, and pressed the activation button.

A tingling sensation swept through him. The moment he closed and opened his eyes, Wei Zitong knew he had arrived in the Virtual World. Opening the hatch and stepping out of the Docking Pod, he found the exact same scene as yesterday. The purple administrator Docking Pod was gone.

Everyone stepped out of their Docking Pods one after another, and Jace appeared at the right moment. He swept his gaze over them and said, "Today, you will regroup. But once your teams are formed, they cannot be changed, so choose carefully!"

"They can't be changed afterward either?" Lena asked, blinking her lovely large eyes.

"They cannot be changed in the Virtual World!" Jace replied. "Starting today, you will be divided into Super God Team 1 and Super God Team 2. While tackling challenges together, you will also spar with each other!"

"What?"

Everyone's expressions changed again and again. After such a painful lesson, who would want to spar with Lena? Who would dare spar with Lena? Solar Flare Bombardment was no joke!

In an instant, several people rushed behind Lena, including Cheng Yaowen and Liu Chuang, who had not teamed up with her yesterday!

Zhao Xin was the fastest. With a whoosh, he arrived behind Lena, followed closely by Cheng Yaowen and Liu Chuang!

Lena burst into laughter and smugly glanced at Wei Zitong, who was still lost in thought.

Ge Xiaolun was caught in a dilemma. He really wanted to join Lena's powerful team, but he also wanted to be on the same team as Du Qiangwei. Yet Lena's team no longer had room for two more people...

Wuji Yi also wanted to join Lena's team, but Lena rejected him. She wanted to save the last spot for Wei Zitong.

Rui Mengmeng had never been abused by Lena and had no fear of her. She simply felt that following Brother Zi Tong would be better, so she walked behind Wei Zitong.

That made Lena panic. Wei Zitong had actually formed a team all by himself!

"Master Yi, come over here!" Rui Mengmeng called to the ashen-faced Wuji Yi.

Wuji Yi had no choice but to walk toward Wei Zitong.

"Looks like I don't have a choice!" Qilin shook her head, glanced at Du Qiangwei, who was still standing motionlessly in place, and headed toward Wei Zitong.

Du Qiangwei's feelings were actually quite complicated. She definitely did not want to be on the same team as Lena. She still wanted to compete with Lena again and sharpen her abilities. She wanted to be on the same team as Wei Zitong, to stand behind this man, but she was also afraid—afraid that the heart she had struggled to strengthen would become weak once more...

"Wait!" Lena suddenly shouted, startling everyone. Taking advantage of their distraction, she immediately used the Flowing Light Technique to rush to Wei Zitong's side. Smiling, she said, "This Goddess's horse naturally has to be on this Goddess's team!"

Wuji Yi quickened his pace, while Zhao Xin reacted the fastest. Almost the instant Wuji Yi reached Wei Zitong's side, Zhao Xin appeared behind Wei Zitong as well!

The teams instantly returned to yesterday's lineup!

"Xin Ye, you're not loyal at all!" Cheng Yaowen cursed, hopping madly.

"Sorry, Yaowen, but I don't want to get abused again!" Zhao Xin said with a sly grin.

"Who abuses whom is still uncertain!" Du Qiangwei said coldly as she walked to Cheng Yaowen's side.

Ge Xiaolun was overjoyed and scampered over to stand behind Du Qiangwei.

Qilin, who had only made it halfway, sighed helplessly and could only turn back.

Wei Zitong finally came out of his daze. Looking from side to side, he asked, "Is the regrouping finished?"

"It's finished!" Lena naturally hooked her arm through Wei Zitong's. "Little White Horse, you can't escape this Goddess's grasp!" As she spoke, she pressed herself closer to him, her face full of provocation and flirtation.

A strange, delicate fragrance unique to a divine body entered Wei Zitong's nose, making his body stiffen. He was not used to it, and felt an...

Urge to sneeze.

He hurriedly avoided Lena's burning gaze, turned his head away, and said, "Since the regrouping is finished, let's continue today's mission!"

Seeing that the two teams had been reassigned, Jace walked between them and said, "Continue yesterday's mission today. I hope you will not be like yesterday, abandoning your teammates and indulging in some individual-duel mentality. The military must complete its missions with the greatest efficiency. Understood?"

"Understood!" everyone shouted in unison.