After reading the message, Xie Sen was thrilled by the reward, but considering his current abilities, he sighed. With the strength of the males here, it would be incredibly difficult for him to even make the top three.
He also planned to learn more about the permit to leave the city, but time was running out. If he didn't rest, his lunch break would be less than an hour.
After a busy afternoon, he headed straight back to his apartment. Maine wasn't there.
Maine returned a little later than the previous day, having finished making dinner before returning. This time, Maine wasn't injured, though he still smelled faintly of blood.
"I'm going to shower first," Maine said, heading into the bedroom.
Xie Sen sat at the table, his chin resting on his hand, puzzled, pondering what Maine had done.
When Maine emerged from her shower, she saw him with a thoughtful expression on his face. Sitting down, he tapped the table lightly. "What are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about what you've been doing these past few days?" Xie Sen asked bluntly, his eyes looking at him expectantly, hoping he would tell him directly.
Maine paused, holding his knife and fork, raising an eyebrow at him. "Haven't you figured it out yet? If not, just wait a few days. I told you, keep it a secret."
So he could figure it out? Xie Sen thought back to their conversations over the past two days. When he'd asked why it had to wait a few days, Maine's response was that the league was about to start.
This meant it was related to the league. Could he be setting up the venue? Impossible, that wasn't illegal.
Xie Sen couldn't come up with an answer, but the thought of the league intrigued him. "You want to join the league, right? For the rewards?"
Maine nodded. "A-level contract space deductions are very expensive. Getting one is the best, but the most important thing is the exit permit."
"Is the exit permit important?" Xie Sen was about to learn more.
"Without an exit permit, you can't leave Star City. The wild contracted beasts are all outside the city."
This meant there would definitely be many males participating, especially those with high-level contracted beasts, since they would need to find the contracted beasts themselves.
"So, if we don't look for our contracted beasts, then having permission to leave the city doesn't matter anymore?"
"No," Maine shook his head. "Unless you want to stay in the city forever, a permit is necessary. While it's dangerous outside, there are abundant resources."
Xie Sen thought about the energy that Adam had dispersed, and wondered if it had a specific range.
After dinner, Xie Sen returned to his room and called Adam. He hadn't encountered any problems in the past few days, so he hadn't disturbed Adam, and Adam
's energy hadn't been depleted. "What's wrong?" Adam's voice echoed in Xie Sen's mind.
Xie Sen asked directly, "Does your energy have an approximate range? Do we need to leave Star City?" "
I don't know. I can't sense it now, but the space-time shock was so strong at the time, it's likely quite far away from us."
It seemed he would have to participate in the league. Xie Sen nodded, "I understand," and then told Adam about his energy harvest over the past few days.
A Dan was thrilled: "You're amazing! With this, we'll be able to activate the second plant soon!"
Xie Sen smiled: "Yeah, you're amazing too! Without my plant affinity, I wouldn't be able to do this."
The two of them exchanged compliments, and A Dan continued to sleep, accumulating energy. Xie Sen went out and knocked on Maine's door.
Maine opened the door to see Xie Sen beaming. "Did I disturb your sleep?"
"Not yet," Maine asked. "What's up?"
Xie Sen looked at him expectantly. "I want to join the league. I saw the instructions and it says you can team up with four. Let's team up!"
Maine was slightly startled. He always did everything alone. Even though he knew he could find teammates, he never considered teaming up.
"I know my abilities are far inferior to yours, but I'll do my best not to fall behind!" Xie Sen added quickly when he saw him refuse.
He was currently gaining over ten energy points daily in the gold medal. Starting tomorrow, he would be working on the front lines, interacting with the beast masters, and gaining energy even faster.
Three days from now was his day off. He'd already chosen a location, ready to buy some supplies, visit the children at the orphanage, and then head to the slums. He'd gain a lot of energy in a single day.
That way, he'd probably be able to activate his second plant before the competition, significantly strengthening his abilities and not holding Maine back.
He tilted his head, his distinct black and white eyes brimming with anticipation. Maine realized he couldn't say no, so he nodded, "Okay." "
Yeah, that's great!" Xie Sen happily jumped up and hugged Maine, shaking his body from side to side before releasing his hand. "I'll do my best!"
Maine's eyes flickered. The moment the boy's slender body touched him, he'd expected to push away out of disgust, but instead felt the urge to hold him tightly.
That touch... was so warm.
Maine lowered his eyes, his fingers slowly curling into fists, but luckily he held himself back. This wasn't his warmth; he'd eventually leave.
Xie Sen, oblivious to his annoyance, asked again, "Do you have any other teammates?"
"No, I don't need any."
Xie Sen instantly understood. Maine had no intention of finding any teammates; he simply wanted to go alone.
He wasn't clear about the specifics of the competition, nor did he know if teammates were crucial, so he didn't say much, simply saying, "I'll do my best to help you."
While his physical prowess couldn't compare to Maine's, he didn't consider him useless.
Maine glanced at his slender figure, seeing his serious expression, and chuckled, "Okay."
Xie Sen returned to his room and immediately logged onto the Star City University forum, looking up strategies for the league. He clicked on the top post.
"Although the beasts on the island are all below C-rank, the lower the level, the more numerous they are. If you're unlucky enough to encounter one, it's still very difficult. It's best not to go alone; having teammates will make things much easier." "
The island also has various carnivorous and poisonous plants, as well as miasma areas. In the early morning, fog is thick, so students with poor sense of direction should definitely seek out teammates."
"The optimal team configuration: two combat specialists, one medical specialist, and one information specialist. This combination is perfect. You won't have to worry about getting lost, being frightened by wild animals, or being poisoned."
The thread owner's explanation was clear and concise. Below it were comments. Xie Sen casually glanced at the thread and unexpectedly saw Maine's name, so he began to read more carefully.
"The three strongest departments of Xingcheng University, it seems that there will be many such combinations in this league!"
The following replies were a bunch of echoes, and suddenly a different reply popped up in the middle.
"The best configuration, if paired with the strongest people, then wouldn't it be a sure win for the championship?"
There were many comments below this reply, all copied and pasted "...I dare not think about it!"
"The classmate above is very thoughtful! As everyone knows, the top scorers in the graduation exams for the three departments are all famous solo athletes. Of course, no one dares to team up with them."
"Long Teng from the Combat Department is known as a fighting maniac. He wants to fight anyone he sees. If you team up with him, you're afraid that there will be internal fighting before you even meet an opponent."
"Bai Jiao from the Medical Department is notorious for keeping strangers away. What's more, as a female who is stronger than a male, who would dare to team up with him?"
"Maine Kes from the Information Department... This surname is studying in our school, which is embarrassing. You can't offend him, let alone please him. It's a dilemma. Who would be willing to team up with him?"
"That analysis was so good! I almost cried by the end. Sob, I really want to team up with Maine! He's so handsome!"
"Hey, you're killing those whimpers with one punch! Can you please stop being anonymous? You're just taking advantage of your anonymity to talk nonsense."
"Wow, that person above is so sharp and ruthless."
Xie Sen couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he saw this. Maine's handsome face flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but feel bad. Just because he was the illegitimate child of a powerful family, he was isolated. Even if someone wanted to play with him, they wouldn't dare.
He remembered Maine saying he wanted the A-level contract space deduction, the championship reward. With just the two of them, it would probably be difficult.
He had seen Maine's skills, and he also remembered Long Teng saying that he and Maine were equally skilled, which meant that Maine could handle both the combat and information systems.
He wondered if Maine knew anything about detoxification. If not, if he wanted to win the championship, he would at least need a medical teammate!
He asked Maine at breakfast the next day, and Maine shook his head: "I don't understand at all. It's okay, just buy more detoxification pills."
"Can detoxification pills detoxify all poisons?"
"No, we have to be careful, we won't necessarily be poisoned."
Xie Sen felt it was not very reliable: "It would be more practical to have a teammate from the medical department, just in case. Don't you want the space deduction? Our goal is to be the champion, we have to be serious."
Maine looked at him: "Do you want to find another teammate because I want to win the championship?"
"Of course," Xie Sen nodded, "Without you, I wouldn't think about the ranking at all. As long as I can pass and get permission to leave the city, it will be fine."
Maine pondered for a moment: "I see, I will see if there is anyone suitable in the next few days."
Xie Sen thought of what was said on the forum: "I heard that the first place in the medical department is Bai Jiao. He seems to be alone often. It would be great if he could join us!"
His eyes lit up: "Can you contact him? I want to ask him."
"Sure," Maine nodded, "I'll contact him."
Xie Sen blinked. Both of them are used to traveling alone. Can they communicate well?
"Why don't you give me his contact information so I can go find him?"
"No need," Maine looked at him. "Are you interested in him?"
"No." Xie Sen gave a dry laugh. He couldn't say he doubted his communication skills.
After dinner, Xie Sen went to work at Gold Medal. His first day on the front lines of the Male Contracted Beast Department went smoothly. He was initially startled by the various large beasts, but he eventually realized his friendliness was effective with them, and he calmed down, rubbing their necks without batting an eyelid.
The owners and caregivers, accustomed to the torment of contracted beasts, were overwhelmed with gratitude. Treating patients had never been so relaxing!
At the end of his shift, Xie Sen counted his energy levels. In just one day, his energy had increased by twenty-three. He smiled happily and returned to his apartment, feeling satisfied.
Coming out of the parking lot, he spotted two figures, one tall and one short, standing at the apartment door, craning their necks to gaze towards the parking lot. Seeing him, they immediately ran towards him.
"That's him!"
"Hey, it's you!"
The two shouted almost simultaneously as they approached.
Xie Sen looked at the short old man next door and the tall Long Teng, and asked doubtfully, "What do you want to talk to me about?"