Chapter 154: Recruiting Members (2/2)

Ai Hui set off to find Duanmu Huanghun without any further delay.

There was no time to dwell on past grudges.

Duanmu Huanghun was still slightly embarrassed to see Ai Hui, especially since he had to be his deputy. If someone had brought up something like that before the calamity, he’d definitely have dismissed that person as insane. Now, however, he was clearly aware that Ai Hui was much more suited for the role of a team leader. Ai Hui had played a pivotal role in the past two escapes from the blood fiends’ clutches.

Although he was a bit vexed, Duanmu Huanghun spoke calmly. “Give me the list of names and I’ll gather the members.”

Ai Hui went straight to the point. “You, me, Fatty, Lou Lan, Jiang Wei, and Wang Xiaoshan. We shall assemble at the Vanguard Training hall.”

Duanmu Huanghun furrowed his brows. He had assumed that Ai Hui would select students with exceptional abilities and not this motley crew. Jiang Wei was pretty capable, but Wang Xiaoshan, the earth elementalist who had built the mound in the Garden of Life, was mediocre. He had never seen Fatty demonstrate anything before, but he knew there was nothing special about him either. At least Lou Lan was a good pick as his healing ability would definitely come in handy.

Ai Hui knew what Duanmu Huanghun was thinking and directly asserted, “Do you think the number of activated palaces will matter in front of the blood fiends?”

Duanmu Huanghun was at a loss for words. There would indeed be no significant difference if they were facing larger blood fiends.

Ai Hui glanced at Duanmu Huanghun and said, “We will not be handling dangerous missions. The elementalists, teachers, and training ground personnel will be around to take those. To be precise, we’re just here as a backup, dealing with smaller things like blood insects. Furthermore, we’ll be working with Shi Xueman’s team. They’ll be the ones going up against the stronger blood fiends. That’s why trust is more important than ability for our team.”

Duanmu Huanghun wasn’t comfortable being told that his role wasn’t particularly important. For a genius, being overlooked was a difficult pill to swallow.

He knew, however, that Ai Hui was merely stating facts, and that the things he said made sense.

“If you insist, I have no objections,” Duanmu Huanghun said expressionlessly. “I’ll perform my role as your deputy as required.”

It took a lot out of him to say the word “deputy.”

Since when had Brother Huanghun ever been someone’s assistant?

Since when had Brother Huanghun ever been slighted by others?

Having experienced a series of disturbing events up till now, Duanmu Huanghun felt extremely discontent. He couldn’t find an outlet to vent his frustration.

He may be a prideful individual, but he wasn’t someone who made a fuss out of everything. Things that he had to bear with gritted teeth only served to trigger Duanmu Huanghun into action.

“I’ll definitely surpass you in every way!” Duanmu Huanghun swore to himself.

Ai Hui was unaware of the vows that Duanmu Huanghun was silently swearing, but it wasn’t as if he’d give a hoot if he knew. He looked Duanmu Huanghun in the eye and said, “Let’s begin.”

Duanmu Huanghun went off to find Jiang Wei and Wang Xiaoshan while Ai Hui headed towards Manager Li’s shop.

……

AI Hui was flabbergasted when he saw Manager Li. He exclaimed, “What happened to you, Old Li?”

Manager Li’s hair had all turned white as though he had aged rapidly.

Manager Li laughed bitterly and avoided his question. “I was just about to look for you; we have to settle the money for the Bunny Hair. Bunny Hair Arrows have been selling like hotcakes, and I can hardly keep up with the demand. Here’s twenty million, keep it safe. If nothing happens over the next ten days, you can come over to settle the bill again.”

Ai Hui kept the money, but strangely, he didn’t feel any happiness upon receiving it.

“Old Li, are there any more Bunny Hair Arrows in the shop? Please keep some from the next batch for me.”

Manager Li happily agreed. “No problem.”

Ai Hui continued to ask, “Are there any more heavy shields in the store?”

“Heavy shields?” Manager Li responded with a nod. “Almost all of the arms have been expropriated by the magistrate court. All I have left are some of this second-hand heavy equipment from years ago. I haven’t been able to sell them because they’re too heavy. Come take a look, you can have whatever you like since they’re not worth much anyway.”

Ai Hui followed Manager Li to the storehouse where he really saw a bunch of rusty second-hand heavy gear. Ai Hui picked out an ironwood shield weighing over 150 kilograms. He brushed off the dust and polished off the rust, revealing a shield as sturdy as a wall. It was incredibly solid, truly an excellent find.

Ai Hui thanked Manager Li before lugging the ironwood shield back to the training ground.

The Dragonspine Inferno he was carrying on his body weighed 110 kilograms. In addition to that, he was lugging the even heavier ironwood shield which weighed about 170 kilograms, a combined weight of 280 kilograms. Carrying such heavy items thoroughly exhausted Ai Hui, reminding him of his days as a laborer in the Wilderness as he panted heavily.

After much effort, he finally managed to carry the shield back to the training ground. As he entered, he heard Lou Lan cheering, “Ai Hui is back!”

Before Ai Hui could put the shield down, however, he heard Fatty frantically shout, “Come quickly, take a look at this!”