Whether Li Zhichao was furious or not was none of Jiang Fan's concern; he simply started counting.
"1"
"2"
"3"
I gave you a chance to beg me, but you didn't cherish it. You'll regret it later.
With that, Jiang Fan turned around deftly and disappeared into the Red Maple Forest a few seconds later.
"Huff--huff--"
Li Zhichao was so angry he was panting heavily. He said he had seen arrogant people before, but he had never seen anyone so arrogant.
Xu Yan snorted coldly, "This kid thinks too highly of himself, relying on the fact that he's a genius recruited by the school, completely disregarding us seniors. I think he's just deliberately trying to scare you. He hasn't fully ventured into the Red Maple Forest; he's just waiting on the edge for you to go in and beg him."
Li Zhichao agreed with Xu Yan's analysis.
Xu Yan continued, "We can't fall into his trap, otherwise if we really find him, we'll be completely led by the nose."
"That's right!"
Li Zhichao let out a deep breath and looked in the direction Jiang Fan had left earlier.
Raising his voice, he shouted, " Jiang Fan, I know you're nearby. Listen to me, I'm giving you one last chance. Count to three, come out yourself, and we'll call it even. If you don't come out, don't blame me for leaving you behind with the team."
He followed Jiang Fan's attitude from before, giving him no time to react and starting to count immediately.
"1"
"2"
3!
After the sound faded, there was an eerie silence; not a single response was heard.
The weather was exceptionally clear today, with not a breath of wind, so there wasn't even the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.
What happened? Did he really leave?
"I think we should just leave. I believe Jiang Fan is just being stubborn and suffering for the sake of saving face. Let's see if he follows us once we're far away," Xu Yan suggested.
Li Zhichao nodded and waved to the crowd.
"Let's go into the Red Maple Forest."
He didn't follow the direction Jiang Fan had gone in, but instead chose a slightly off-center route.
Zhou Ming, another leader in the team, couldn't help but speak up, "Are we really going to abandon Jiang Fan? Isn't that a bad idea? After all, he's just a freshman. This is the Inner Wilderness Zone. Let alone a freshman like him, even one of us coming in alone would have a nine-out-of-ten chance of survival. He definitely won't survive alone."
"Are you blaming me? You saw it yourself, I gave him chances, more than once, but he didn't cherish them. What? Do I, his senior, have to kneel down and beg him to stay?" Li Zhichao said unhappily.
That's not what I meant, it's just—
"Alright!" Li Zhichao interrupted Zhou Ming impatiently.
"Just like Xu Yan said, Jiang Fan definitely hasn't gone far. He's secretly observing us nearby. Once we're really far away, he'll get scared and quietly follow us. After all, no matter how important face is, it's not as important as life."
Hearing this, Zhou Ming sighed, said nothing more, glanced back in the direction Jiang Fan had just left, and muttered to himself, "Hopefully he can swallow his pride and follow."
The scene shifts, and after separating from the main group, Jiang Fan completely lets loose, chasing after any monster he sees and slashing at them.
As he watched his points steadily increase, an almost perverted smile spread across his face.
It's so much more fun in the Inner Wilderness Zone! Look at how fast my points are skyrocketing!
He came here with a purpose: he exchanged all the points he earned in the Inner Wilderness Zone Fortress No. 31 for health and vitality.
Although consuming the Qi and Blood Fruit can increase strength regardless of all conditions, the rapid increase can affect one's comprehension at that level, which is still a drawback.
The Crazy Old Man had nagged him about this countless times, saying that a tall building starts from the ground up, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of a solid foundation, and that going too fast is not a good thing.
Therefore, his goal this time is to earn enough points to exchange for a Psychic Fruit.
It takes 100,000 points to exchange for a Psychic Fruit, and the effect of consuming Psychic Fruit is to double your current Psychic Power.
His current Psychic Power is nearly 14,000P, which would double to 28,000P. The threshold for becoming Advanced Psychic is 100,000P, and to reach that level, he would need to consume 3 Psychic Fruit.
As he pondered, he saw a dozen or so fist-sized Red Maple Ant emerge from the pile of dead leaves and swarm toward him with a soft rustling sound.
"Perfect timing!"
With so little, he was too lazy to even move, and directly used his Psychic Power to manipulate the Ice Flame Hedgehog Spines.
Just as he killed the dozen or so Red Maple Ant, he sensed a group of people approaching from the woods.
I also spotted the chubby guy leisurely lagging behind at the back of the line.
Upon seeing Jiang Fan, the fat man's large eyes instantly lit up, filled with fervent desire.
He and Jiang Fan are truly destined to be together!
Just as he was about to rush over and give Jiang Fan a big hug, another figure rushed out first.
It was none other than their team leader, Huang Ying.
When Huang Ying came to Jiang Fan, her eyes curved into crescent moons with a smile.
" Jiang Fan, what a coincidence! I didn't expect we'd run into each other here."
Everyone present could see that Huang Ying was infatuated with a boy.
The fat man gave Jiang Fan a thumbs up, saying nothing, but he was already completely in awe of him.
No wonder our ancestors often mentioned a certain phrase to him.
--Beauty is justice
Huang Ying noticed something was wrong and looked behind Jiang Fan.
"Why are you alone? Where are Li Zhichao and Xu Yan?"
"We've broken up." Jiang Fan didn't intend to explain further.
Upon hearing this answer, Huang Ying was so angry that she put her hands on her hips.
"They've gone too far! Even if they have a grudge, they wouldn't abandon you in a place like this!"
"Actually, I'm the one who abandoned them."
Jiang Fan's explanation was completely useless.
"You shouldn't try to be a good guy anymore. Even now, you're still speaking up for them!" Huang Ying said, looking at Jiang Fan as if he were a pushover.
Well...
Jiang Fan "..."
"It's better if you don't go with them, so they won't give you any trouble. How about this, you come with us," Huang Ying extended an invitation.
The fat man chimed in, "Yeah, Brother Fan, why don't you come with us?"
"No need, I'll stay alone," Jiang Fan replied.
No one expected Jiang Fan to refuse, and they all looked at him with disbelief.
"You—you really aren't coming with us?" Huang Ying felt like she couldn't speak properly, completely unable to understand why Jiang Fan would refuse.
Jiang Fan smiled politely and then walked ahead alone.
The fat man immediately chased after him, saying, "I'll go with you."
"Go back." Jiang Fan waved his hand at him.