Chapter 119 - Challengers Association (2/2)

The two people did the spiritual exchange and soon heard Xue Mingyue’s voice. “We’re here.”

She parked the car in front of a beautifully designed building.

It was a three-storey villa built of pure solid wood. At this time, the villa was lit up with warm yellow lights.

There was a small river in front of them and a wooden pathway that reached the front of the villa. Flowers were planted in front of the door and it was surrounded by tall trees. There was also a swimming pool the same size as a basketball court. It could be seen that the owner here enjoyed life very much.

Xue Mingyue took everyone to the door and gently knocked. “President, the people you are looking for has come.”

A low voice came from inside the house. “Bring them in.”

The trio walked into the villa.

A man approximately 40 years old was sitting on the sofa. He had an upright posture and wore a grey Chinese tunic suit. He gave off a very cultured first impression. The villa was entirely decorated in the Chinese style. There was a full range of solid wood furniture and looked very imposing.

There was a delicate tea set on the coffee table and he was making tea in the teapot. The man looked up at the three people. He had an imposing manner around him and spoke lightly, “The three of you, please sit. I made tea and we can drink while chatting.”

The three people had to walk over and sit down.

The man introduced himself. “I am called Gui Yuanzhang. I am a calligrapher in reality.”

Xiao Lou took a cup and was surprised. “Mr Gui? I’ve heard of you.”

Gui Yuanzhang looked at him. “Is that so?”

Xiao Lou replied, “My father loved calligraphy and collected some of your works.”

Gui Yuanzhang laughed. “It’s an honour.”

He handed them the delicate purple teacups and said, “Xiao Xue should’ve told you that I’ve been paying attention to the two of you because you broke the world records of the Hearts rooms. I went to the Intelligence Bureau and found that Group Leader Yu is a real police officer and Professor Xiao is a forensic doctor. The two strong people joined hands and the Hearts secret room should be very easy, right?”

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were surprised. They hadn’t expected him to find this out.

Yu Hanjiang frowned. “Is there an intelligence agency that allowed you to find out our real ident.i.ty?”

Gui Yuanzhang smiled. “Yes, the Intelligence Bureau is also a challenger organization. They have collected a lot of information on challengers and locals. They can answer whatever you want to ask as long as you can afford the price.”

Liu Qiao heard up to here and couldn’t help gently clenching his fists. There was an organization like the Intelligence Bureau. Could she go to the Intelligence Bureau and ask about the whereabouts of her sister?

Gui Yuanzhang glanced at her. “Little girl, you seem to have something on your mind?”

Liu Qiao didn’t say anything about her sister. Perhaps it was a woman’s sixth sense but this man always gave her a strange feeling. She didn’t dare to show her weakness in front of a stranger. What if the other person knew she had a sister and took her sister to threaten her?

Thinking up to here, Liu Qiao calmly replied, “Nothing, I just think this Intelligence Bureau is somewhat magical.” She quickly changed the topic. “Mr Gui, Miss Xue said that the ultimate goal of your a.s.sociation is to return to reality, right?”

Gui Yuanzhang nodded. “Yes.”

Liu Qiao asked, “How many people are there in your a.s.sociation?”

“The Distant Guild one of the largest a.s.sociations in the Card World, with over 10,000 members.”

Liu Qiao wondered, “Then why did the keeper tell me that until now, no one has successfully cleared this world?”

Gui Yuanzhang suddenly fell silent.

Xiao Lou hadn’t expected Liu Qiao to be so sharp. Just now, he was afraid that she would say something about her sister when she became excited. If her weakness was exposed to strangers then it could cause trouble. Fortunately, Liu Qiao was careful enough to not say too much to strangers. She knew the existence of the Intelligence Bureau and could find her sister on her own. This was the most sensible approach.

Her question was crucial and all three people waited for Mr Gui’s answer.

Moments later, Gui Yuanzhang told them, “It is because the later secret rooms are too difficult. We organized an elite team of 10 people. Among them are reasoning writers, sports athletes, dance teachers, Mathemathics Olympiad champion, singers, painters… it was a gathering of the best talents from various fields. As a result, they only went to one S-grade secret room, J of Hearts, and completely disappeared.”

He picked up the purple teacup and drank the tea. He sighed and whispered, “Even the Intelligence Bureau can’t find their whereabouts. They should’ve all died in J of Hearts.”

Xiao Lou couldn’t help feeling taken aback.

A reasoning writer’s a.n.a.lytical ability should be no worse than him and Group Leader Yu. The Olympiad champion’s calculation ability might be more powerful than him and athletes were physically strong. A dance teacher had a flexible body and talents such as singing and painting could create a magical effect when encountering a barrier. Such a strong team couldn’t even clear the instance?

“Since then, many people have been afraid to challenge the J and above secret rooms. At present, the average progress in this world is the seventh level and the highest is stopped at the 10th level.”

A bit of bleakness flashed in his eyes. “My group insists on going back but we were greatly damaged after losing such an elite team. It is difficult to duplicate.” He looked up at the two men. “Your presence gives me some confidence.”

Xue Mingyue smiled next to him. “Since Group Leader Yu entered the Card World, you refreshed the record of 2 of Hearts, Rose Funeral. The president has been watching you since there. We have many experts in the guild. If you want to go back then you can consider joining us.”

Gui Yuanzhang said, “The later secret rooms will be more and more difficult. It is only by gathering a large number of experts that there is hope of clearing this world.”

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were a bit moved but they didn’t make a hasty decision.

Yu Hanjiang’s spoke in a low voice. “Mr Gui, thank you for the invitation. We can’t give you an answer immediately. We have several friends we separated from when entering the main city. Once they come, we will discuss it with them and then tell you our decision.”

Gui Yuanzhang was startled. “Isn’t it just you two? I remember the world record only has your names.”

Xiao Lou smiled and explained. “They are friends we know from the Spades secret room. We are like-minded and discussed forming a team in advance. We can’t act in bad faith.”

Yuanzhang asked, “I can help you find them. What are the names of your friends?”

Xiao Lou shook his head. “We won’t trouble you. We have a good meeting place and the time is approaching. We should go back first and meet with our friends.”

Gui Yuanzhang suggested enthusiastically, “Why not stay at my place tonight?”

Xiao Lou stood up. “We won’t trouble you. After thinking clearly, we will personally come to visit.”

The other side smiled and no longer suggested it. He let Xue Mingyue send them back.

XIao Lou said they were meeting with friends at the city central square. Xue Mingyue returned the trio to the central square. Xiao Lou pulled Yu Hanjiang and Liu Qiao to a corner with no one present and directly used Tao Yuanming’s to return to the Peach Blossom Spring at the airport.

Looking at the familiar Peach Blossom Spring, Xiao Lou was finally relieved.

-A heart’s defenses were indispensable.

Joining this challenger organization might cause trouble for them.

It was better to wait until they found Shao Qingge and Xie Qi to talk about it. It was currently Monday in this world and there were four days until the World Weekly. They needed to investigate and collect enough information before making a decision.

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