Zhuang Silin's attitude was clearly rather conservative.
She took a sip of tea and offered a contrasting opinion. "To gain something, you must first give something. It's not necessarily a good thing for someone who shouldn't have this kind of ability to gain power beyond their own capabilities through artificial intervention."
Wen Ruide disagreed with her idea, retorting, "But being able to master the technology of artificially intervening in evolution is also a proactive advantage for us. At least we already have this technology; as for how to apply it, we can discuss that later."
Xu Jintang did not participate in the debate between the two, but simply lowered his head and remained silent.
Half an hour later, Xu Jintang left the office.
As soon as I stepped out of the teaching building, I ran into two fans wearing ghost face masks.
She cleared her throat, turned and left discreetly.
Soon, the weekend arrived, the day the competition organizers invited the qualifying teams to the dance.
Yan Yuting took Xu Jintang's hand and they went downstairs together.
Today, Yan Yuting was dressed like a princess, with slightly wavy shoulder-length hair and a red bow on her head. Her round and cute face made her look exactly like a young lady from a wealthy family.
"How do I look? I think I look pretty good in this for the ball, right?" Yan Yuting twirled around, her hair fluttering behind her ears.
Xue Zhongqi, dressed even more flamboyantly than her next door, struck a pose with feigned coolness, "Don't I look pretty cool in this outfit?"
Song Tianqi also changed into a black suit today.
His expression was slightly shy, but his narcissism remained undiminished. "Compared to me, you two are still a bit lacking."
Xu Jintang stared at the three of them speechlessly, "Anyway, we all have to wear masks, so what difference does it make how we dress up?"
"That's true, but it's a ball after all, and I feel like I'd be doing it wrong not to dress up." Yan Yuting tossed her hair again.
Jiang Shiyi was the most composed.
She didn't even change her clothes; she was still wearing her usual casual clothes.
Xu Jintang didn't dress up much; she simply put on a ghost face mask when she went out.
The five of them returned to the underground black market.
Holding the invitation in his hand, Xu Jintang's gaze fell on the location. "Where is the Mirage?"
The others didn't know either.
Xue Zhongqi suggested, "Let's ask someone."
Holding the ball invitation, Xu Jintang approached a stall, squatted down, and asked, "Boss, do you know where the Mirage is?"
The stall owner pointed in a direction, "Go that way."
Just as Xu Jintang was about to thank him, the stall owner suddenly smiled and handed her a notebook, saying, "Could you sign this? My daughter really likes your team."
Xu Jintang paused, turned to look at the others, and asked, "Who's signing this?"
Jiang Shiyi remained silent.
Finally Yan Yuting volunteered. "I'll do it! I practiced my signature beforehand, I didn't expect it to come in handy."
As she spoke, she walked over and took the pen and notebook from the stall owner, quickly signing her name on them.
The stall owner glanced at Xu Jintang again, "Um... my daughter's favorite Foodie' and 'Ruthless Killer,' I wonder if it would be convenient for you two to..."
Xu Jintang immediately waved his hand, "I won't sign."
The main problem is that the handwriting is bad.
Jiang Shiyi also refused, saying, "I won't sign either."
The stall owner was a little disappointed, but still smiled and agreed, "Thank you very much."
Xu Jintang cleared his throat, stood up, and led the team towards the Mirage.
Last time they came to the black market, they only explored one half of the area, but this time the ball they were going to attend was on the other side.
Not far ahead, Xu Jintang saw a cluster of buildings shrouded in mist.
The clouds and mist were clearly man-made, but they looked incredibly realistic, as if the entire building were standing high in the sky.
"This craftsmanship is amazing!" Song Tianqi exclaimed, looking at the cluster of buildings in front of him in amazement. "No wonder it's called Mirage; it looks just like a fake."
Xu Jintang was also thinking to himself: How much money must have been spent to build such a large-scale underground city?
It's good to be rich.
"Hello, are you one of the teams invited to the ball?" A receptionist approached with a smile.
Xu Jintang hummed in agreement and handed over the invitation.
The receptionist checked their documents and quickly gestured for them to come in, saying, "Please come in, everyone."
Before entering, Xu Jintang casually asked, "Will the boss of your black market be attending today?"
The receptionist smiled slightly and said, "Yes."
Yan Yuting, who was standing next to him, was taken aback. "Black market bosses are participating too?"
When a few of us visited the black market last time, we remarked on how wealthy the black market owners were.
I never expected to meet the real person so soon.
Xu Jintang withdrew her gaze, pursed her lips, and stepped onto the stairs.
She had just been wondering why the official ball of the competition was being held on the black market, so she casually asked, not expecting that the black market owner would also be attending.
Could it be... that this Ability User Competition is also being orchestrated by black market bosses?
"Do you know what kind of organization is behind the Ability User Competition?" Xu Jintang asked, turning around.
Xue Zhongqi shook his head. "Never heard of it. It seems that holding Ability User Competition every year has become a tradition, but no one has ever really investigated who the organizers are."
Yan Yuting and Song Tianqi were even more unaware of the situation.
Jiang Shiyi spoke up, "All I know is that the organizers of this competition are not from the Federation, nor are they from the military academy or our Myriad Treasures Pavilion. As for other forces, the only ones with the financial resources and power to host such a large-scale competition are the black market bosses."
Xu Jintang pursed his lips even tighter, feeling that something was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Upon entering the Mirage, the luxurious interior design immediately caught everyone's attention.
Xu Jintang raised her head and looked at the crystal chandelier hanging at the top.
The melodious classical music playing in my ears was long and soaring, making me want to close my eyes and be captivated.
At that moment, a strange figure suddenly appeared in Yu Guangzhong's mind.
Xu Jintang glanced over subconsciously.
A worker in a black market uniform hurried past, as if he was on his way to do something.
Xu Jintang sized up his figure.
Without giving it much thought, I looked away and continued walking inside.
Thank you all for joining us for the ball. There are still thirty minutes until the ball officially begins. Our boss has prepared afternoon tea and some desserts and snacks for everyone to enjoy. If you encounter any problems during the ball, please feel free to contact our staff for assistance. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
The person in charge of reception said with a smile.
By this time, many teams had already arrived.
When Xu Jintang came to the dessert table looking for something to eat, she happened to run into Xiao Linghe from the Soul Awakening Team.
He casually picked up a glass of red wine, took a small sip, and kept his gaze fixed on Xu Jintang. "We meet again."
Xu Jintang also raised a glass of wine and toasted him, "Meeting is fate, let's drink!"
Xiao Linghe curled his thin, sensual lips into a smile, raised his hand, and raised his glass to Xu Jintang. "Cheers."
"So, in that case, we're friends?" Xiao Linghe swallowed the red wine in his mouth and continued.
Xu Jintang flatly refused, "Then your definition of friendship is really hasty."
Xiao Linghe's words were cut off. He paused for a moment, then chuckled, "I was hoping to use this excuse to get your identity information, but it seems there's no hope."
"Yes," Xu Jintang replied crisply, downing his glass of red wine before turning and leaving.
As Xiao Linghe watched her figure gradually disappear into the distance, a hint of interest rose in his eyes. He raised the cup in his hand and took another sip.
Xu Jintang strolled around the ballroom, and soon after, he ran into Huai Yangxia from the Silver Light Military Academy.
Silver Light Military Academy was really lucky. They were already in dire straits in the previous round of elimination.
As it turned out, they were drawn against the weakest team in the entire competition, and then advanced to the top 16 with remarkable ease.
"Hey, you're the captain of the Mask Squad, huh?" Huai Yangxia, still with that arrogant look, suddenly walked over and blocked Xu Jintang's way.
Xu Jintang glanced at him. "What's up?"
Huai Yangxia sneered, "You guys seem to be quite popular lately, come and get to know me."
"I'm sorry, but we're not people you can just get to know whenever you want," Xu Jintang replied coldly.
This sharp retort immediately shut Huai Yangxia up.
His face turned extremely pale. "It truly lives up to its reputation."
He had naturally noticed the popularity of the Mask Squad, and he had also heard that the members of the team didn't have very good tempers.
But to his surprise, he was immediately criticized.
At this moment, Xiao Linghe walked over from behind, looking at them curiously. "Do you two know each other?"
"We don't know him." Xu Jintang and Huai Yangxia answered in unison, as if on cue.
Xiao Linghe smiled. "Since you two are free, why don't you join in a little game we've spontaneously organized?"
Xu Jintang turned his head to look over, "What game?"
Have you ever heard of the "Undercover Assassin" game?
Xu Jintang frowned. "No."
Huai Yangxia looked at her with an expression as if she were an idiot, "You've never even played an undercover assassin game? You're so out of touch."
Xu Jintang, feeling slightly reassured for being behind for the first time, straightened his back a little. "Tell me the rules of the game, maybe I'll get it after you hear me."
Xiao Linghe quickly explained, "The rules aren't difficult; it's a role-playing game. Among a group of ordinary players, there will be several undercover assassins hiding their identities. In each round, players must deduce who is most likely to be the undercover assassin based on the clues they have discovered so far, and then vote to eliminate the player with the most votes."
"If all the undercover agents and assassins are eliminated at the end of the game, the ordinary players win. Otherwise, the undercover agents and assassins win."