Chen Gu was about to rally and explain the benefits of joining Fire Hammer Squad to Luo Zhe in greater detail, hoping to bring him back around.
But then Wu Tong, who had been chatting happily with his former team captain at the edge of the crowd, suddenly walked over. Chen Gu couldn't help feeling nervous. That old fox Wu Tong wasn't here to poach someone, was he?!
"Luo Zhe, I was just about to call you." Wu Tong walked over with a smile and patted Luo Zhe on the shoulder. "Come on, let me introduce you to some new friends."
As he spoke, Wu Tong started to put an arm around Luo Zhe and lead him toward the crowd.
Chen Gu couldn't stand by any longer. He hurried forward to block Wu Tong, spreading his arms like a mother hen guarding her food. "Brother Wu, poaching someone right in front of me? That's not playing fair!"
Wu Tong was completely baffled by Chen Gu's words. How was he poaching his guy?
"Old Chen, what are you talking about? What do you mean, poaching someone right in front of you? And when have I ever poached your guy? I was just taking Luo Zhe to..." As he spoke, Wu Tong glanced at Luo Zhe and suddenly understood. He shot Chen Gu an exasperated look.
"Look at you, so stingy. Luo Zhe is with Fire Hammer Squad. He's not going anywhere. No one's trying to poach him."
Chen Gu didn't care that Wu Tong had called him stingy. The moment he heard, "Luo Zhe is with Fire Hammer Squad," his heart leaped with joy. Right now, all he wanted was to bring Luo Zhe into Fire Hammer Squad. As long as nobody was trying to steal him away, everything else was negotiable.
"Then you promised, right? If your captain snatches Luo Zhe away, I'll come eat at your house every day and eat you out of house and home!"
Wu Tong hurriedly raised his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, no one's poaching him! Who'd dare steal someone from you, Lord Chen Gu? I'd be the first to object. Happy now?!"
A thug wasn't scary when he was uncultured. What was really scary was a thug with brains—especially one like Chen Gu, who had both brains and patience. Who could stand that?!
Luo Zhe listened from the side, speechless. He'd once thought his former neighbor, Aunt Xiao, was the most unreasonable person in the world. But after meeting Chen Gu, he realized that record had been broken yet again!
After finally getting rid of Chen Gu, Wu Tong hurriedly dragged Luo Zhe away. Otherwise, if that lunatic Chen Gu got some wild idea into his head, they might not be able to get away at all.
Instead of leading Luo Zhe into the packed crowd, Wu Tong took him to the edge, where a silver-haired man in a black robe stood. It was the man Wu Tong had been talking to earlier.
Wu Tong said to the silver-haired man in black, "Captain, this is the genius our Dojo recruited this year, Luo Zhe."
Captain?
Luo Zhe curiously studied the silver-haired man. Wu Tong was the top person in charge of Extreme Martial Arts Hall throughout Yangzhou City, with a very high standing. If even he called this man "Captain," then who exactly was he?
The silver-haired man glanced at Luo Zhe. His eyes seemed like an endless starry sky, enveloping Luo Zhe completely. Under his gaze, Luo Zhe felt as if every part of him had been seen through.
Before Luo Zhe could react, the silver-haired man suddenly laughed, and the feeling of being seen through vanished at once.
"Not bad. You've got potential."
The silver-haired man reached out to Luo Zhe first. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhou Yu, captain of War Shadow Squad. Would you be interested in joining—"
Before Zhou Yu could finish, Wu Tong hurriedly caught his outstretched hand and stepped close to whisper in his ear. "Captain, Luo Zhe is a talented martial artist personally recruited by Supervisor Zhuge. The supervisor told me earlier to have him join Fire Hammer Squad first and get some experience. Once he's grown a little, we'll move him to a better War General Level squad."
Zhou Yu understood immediately. So this was a young master with connections—a protected talent whose growth had already been mapped out for him. Zhou Yu stopped bringing up the idea of Luo Zhe joining their squad, and even his warm smile dimmed a little.
Seeing this, Wu Tong realized his captain had misunderstood something. But with Luo Zhe there, he couldn't explain much, so he forced a smile and introduced them. "Luo Zhe, this is the captain of the squad I used to be in, Zhou Yu. He's a powerful War General Level martial artist. You might get the chance to work together someday in the Wilderness Zone."
Luo Zhe curiously studied Zhou Yu. He seemed to be the third War General Level martial artist Luo Zhe had met since arriving at Bright Moon Residential Area, and he looked much stronger than Wu Tong and Chen Gu.
But for some reason, after Wu Tong said something to him, Zhou Yu's attitude had changed completely. It was as if he were a different person.
If Luo Zhe knew that Wu Tong had accidentally saddled him with the label of "rich kid," he'd probably cry himself to sleep in the bathroom.
"Hello, Captain Zhou. I'm Luo Zhe. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you'll look after me."
"Of course. I'm sure we'll have a chance to work together."
Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes and gave Luo Zhe a long look. At first glance, he didn't seem to have any of the bad habits of a rich kid. But Zhou Yu had seen too many second-generation martial artists throw their weight around because of their family backgrounds. He quietly lowered his opinion of Luo Zhe by several notches, and naturally didn't go out of his way to make conversation.
Seeing that Zhou Yu had no desire to chat, Luo Zhe was happy to take it easy. He obediently stood to one side and kept quiet.
The atmosphere turned awkwardly quiet. Wu Tong knew it was his fault for saying the wrong thing, but for the moment, he had no idea what to say to liven things up.
"Ding!" Just then, the elevator reached the sixth floor.
The doors opened, and under Qiu Yi's guidance, the eight people taking the Quasi-Warrior Assessment that day filed into the Martial Arts Training Hall. Wu Tong had been fretting over how to break the silence, so he quickly stepped forward and called out to the other onlookers. "They're here. Let's stop chatting."
"Qiu Yi, get the test ready," Wu Tong instructed. Then he turned to Luo Zhe and Zhou Yu. "Captain, Luo Zhe, you two can keep chatting. I need to test them for the Quasi-Warrior Assessment."
Zhou Yu nodded. Luo Zhe spoke up right away. "It's fine, Uncle Wu. Go take care of your business."
Uncle Wu!?
Hearing Luo Zhe address Wu Tong that way, Zhou Yu couldn't help laughing. He shook his head, thinking, Right, I'm already middle-aged. Why am I getting worked up over a kid? If he was born into a good family, that's his own ability. Why was I begrudging him for being rich today?
Seeing Zhou Yu laugh for no apparent reason and then shake his head, Luo Zhe had no idea what was going through his mind. He could only ask with concern, "Captain Zhou, what's wrong?"
Zhou Yu smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine. I just suddenly figured something out."
Looking at Luo Zhe, who had shrunk back to where he'd been standing, Zhou Yu reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't call me Captain Zhou anymore. Just call me Uncle Zhou, hehe."
"Oh." At Zhou Yu's smile, Luo Zhe instinctively shifted a step to the side.
Luo Zhe thought, Maybe killing too many monsters gives them psychological problems. Chen Gu is like that, and now Captain Zhou is too.
With that thought, he stopped worrying about Zhou Yu's sudden change in attitude.
After all, these middle-aged men were under a lot of pressure, and once they got older, their hair fell out and their moods swung all over the place. It was understandable. They were going through menopause, so he could forgive them.
By then, Wu Tong had collected the identity cards of the eight people taking the test and was preparing to start the Quasi-Warrior Assessment.
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