You're Too Much of a Bleeding Heart; You Probably Won't Live Long

"Then we'll have to use some force..."

Ma Han leisurely picked up the thread, heat surging within his palms as he instantly drew forth a Flame Longbow.

The atmosphere turned tense once more!

This time, however, no fight broke out.

After a brief standoff, Ying Zi'an snorted coldly and tossed the Origin Crystal onto the floor.

"Take it. Stop blocking my way!"

With that, he left the classroom without looking back.

Xu Xiao bent down to pick up the Origin Crystal, her expression complicated as she glanced at Lu Li, who had retreated far away.

"Had this guy planned everything from the start...?"

Taking the Origin Crystal Wang Chao handed her, Xu Xiao walked toward Lu Li and extended an invitation.

"Lu Li, would you like to join us?"

Lu Li, who had been browsing the ability description, froze for a moment before decisively shaking his head.

"No. I told you, you're too much of a bleeding heart. If I became your teammate, I probably wouldn't live long."

Xu Xiao's face flushed red. Suppressing the anger in her heart, she retorted,

"We're classmates. We should be helping each other!"

"Besides, do you really think you'll live longer fighting alone than with us?"

"Yep." Lu Li nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Unreasonable!"

Xu Xiao stuffed the Second-Order Mana Crystal into Lu Li's hand and turned back toward the crowd.

On her way back, she found Wang Xuyan squatting beside a corpse, struggling to pry open Zhao Hui's clenched fist.

"What are you doing?"

Perhaps because she was in a bad mood, Xu Xiao's tone came out somewhat harsh.

"Uh, I... Sister Xiao, Zhao Hui has a Second-Order Mana Crystal too. He's dead anyway and can't use it, so I thought it would be better to put it to greater use..."

"So you're looting the spoils?" Xu Xiao narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

Wang Xuyan panicked and hurriedly added,

"Sister Xiao, don't misunderstand. This Mana Crystal belongs to everyone. I wouldn't dare keep it for myself."

As she spoke, Wang Xuyan tremblingly held the Mana Crystal out before Xu Xiao.

Yet Xu Xiao did not reach for it. Instead, she turned to face everyone in the classroom.

"If everyone is willing to trust me, please join my team. I guarantee that I won't abandon a single teammate, and that all supplies will be distributed fairly!"

"Then... then what do we need to do?" Tian Yuhao raised his hand and asked tentatively.

"Take part in decisions and obey orders."

Xu Xiao answered calmly, "I've said before that I'm not a dictator, but a team needs a leader to develop."

"Until someone better comes along, I'll temporarily serve as captain."

"What about the Mana Crystals obtained from killing monsters?" Cheng Duoduo asked timidly.

"I'll distribute those as well. But I will explain every distribution to everyone. If anyone has objections, you may vote to change my decision."

Xu Xiao truly deserved her reputation as a former class monitor. Everything she said and did was airtight, giving people a sense that she was trustworthy.

"I'm joining!" Tian Yuhao was the first to speak.

"Me too!" Cheng Duoduo immediately followed.

"Me too..."

"I'm in!"

Voices rose one after another in the classroom, with the vast majority choosing to join.

The few who did not immediately state their positions also changed their minds after speaking with Xu Xiao and became part of the team.

Watching everything unfold before him, Lu Li shook his head helplessly and prepared to leave the classroom.

He hadn't teamed up with Xu Xiao in his previous life, and he naturally wouldn't do so after being reborn.

However, just then, Wang Chao suddenly blocked his path.

"Lu Li, wait."

Lu Li frowned, wondering why they wouldn't let him leave when there was nothing left for him to do here.

Wang Chao grinned foolishly.

"The class monitor still has a Third-Order Mana Crystal. It's fine if you don't join us, but shouldn't you stay and discuss how to divide that thing?"

Lu Li was somewhat taken aback.

He had struggled through the apocalypse for so long in his previous life, scheming against others nearly every second of every day.

The vile deception and treachery had nearly made him forget that honesty and trustworthiness still existed in human nature.

"Huff..."

Lu Li let out a soft breath and replied,

"I didn't contribute to the battle. You can keep the Mana Crystal."

Wang Chao immediately became anxious upon hearing that.

"Don't say that! Without the weakness you provided, how could we have possibly taken down that Queen Bug in one go?"

"Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly, right?"

Lu Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"How about this? Have Xu Xiao give me that Second-Order Mana Crystal, and we'll call it even."

Wang Chao nodded and immediately ran toward Xu Xiao.

A Third-Order Mana Crystal contained 100 experience points, while a Second-Order Mana Crystal contained 20.

Dividing them according to contribution, Lu Li was actually taking a loss. But then again, if Wang Chao hadn't proactively suggested splitting the rewards, he might not even have received this Second-Order Mana Crystal.

Xu Xiao quickly agreed to the distribution proposal and tossed the Second-Order Mana Crystal from Wang Xuyan's hand to Lu Li.

This scene left everyone present stunned once more.

Watching Lu Li's departing back, Tian Yuhao spoke in confusion.

"No, Sister Xiao, why did you give that Second-Order Mana Crystal to that useless Lu Li? He's not even our teammate..."

Tian Yuhao felt that Xu Xiao was a little hypocritical.

This woman had clearly said she would not become a dictator and would distribute all resources fairly, yet she had turned around and given a Second-Order Mana Crystal to an irrelevant piece of trash?

Xu Xiao did not get angry in the face of the question.

"Here's the thing. Without Lu Li's help earlier, we wouldn't have been able to kill that Lv.6 Mantis Queen. He deserves a share of the spoils, and that doesn't violate fairness."

However, Tian Yuhao was not satisfied with Xu Xiao's explanation.

"Lu Li helped? He's just a Black Iron piece of trash. What help could he possibly provide?"

"Class monitor, I remember you said earlier that when you found Lu Li, he seemed to be getting chased by that Queen Bug, right?"

"Don't tell me you've taken a liking to that pretty boy and are using the team's resources to curry favor with him?"

Tian Yuhao's words dripped with sour jealousy.

Xu Xiao furrowed her delicate brows and carefully sized up the classmate before her, then spoke with some impatience.

"Black Iron [Scout] isn't entirely useless. Lu Li knew the Mantis Queen's weakness, which was why we were able to kill it successfully."

"Tian Yuhao, you awakened [Scout] too. Don't tell me you didn't know that?"

"What?"

For a moment, Tian Yuhao suspected there was something wrong with his ears.

He had awakened [Scout] himself. Aside from sensing the locations of Mana Crystals within corpses, its greatest use was increasing his own alertness.

Checking item information and the like was an additional function that only came with his Bronze [Scout].

Yet that piece of trash Lu Li could use Black Iron [Scout] to see through a monster's weakness?!

How was that possible?!

Seeing the shock on Tian Yuhao's face, Xu Xiao asked in confusion,

"What's with that expression? You seem very surprised."

"Of course..." Tian Yuhao muttered, his mind still unable to process it.

"[Scout] can't possibly see through a monster's weakness. Lu Li is lying!"