Jiang Qiao and Jiang Yue, the father and son, were now playing the roles of Captain Xia's trusted right-hand men and loyal supporters.
They casually let a tough, not-to-be-messed-with air show through. Their brash, devil-may-care attitude made the other Awakened somewhat wary of them.
No matter how you looked at it, the other team members had never known one another before, nor did they share any close ties. It was unlikely they would band together as one at a time like this.
So after Captain Xia had vented his anger, and they saw those two "Left and Right Protectors" looking ready to pick a fight at any moment, most of them backed down and obediently kept quiet.
Two or three still felt they'd lost face, or thought their abilities meant Old Xia should be trying to win them over. Why was he treating them like this instead?
Old Yang, the proxy from the core region who had spoken up first, wasn't having it.
"Heh. Old Xia, you said it yourself. If the higher-ups hadn't insisted on sending proxies from the core region to help, I wouldn't have been interested in coming here. Since you're so tough, Old Xia, don't blame me for walking away."
As he spoke, Old Yang brushed off his backside and actually headed for the door.
Old Xia didn't stop him. With a cold smile at the corner of his mouth, he slowly scanned the room. "Anyone else? You've got one minute. If you want to leave, get moving. I won't stop you."
These people had been chattering and making a big fuss earlier, but when they were actually given the chance to quit, most of them weren't nearly as bold as Old Yang. They sat as if their bottoms had been welded to their chairs, and