Chapter 46: The Second Team Member

The collar and sleeves of the kimono were trimmed with silvery-white cuffs, and what caught the eye most were the scattered white cherry blossom patterns adorning the fabric, which added a touch of effortless agility to Seito's steady demeanor.

Moreover, the two tachi swords at his waist matched the custom-made belt to perfection!

Suddenly putting on traditional Yamato ethnic attire made Seito rather shy. "Well, you see... my mom mailed me these new clothes for the kendo tournament. I never had the heart to wear them. I just realized this was the only outfit I had left, so I put it on."

Gu Hansue’s eyes sparkled. "It looks amazing! Oh god, I never realized your skin was this good, Seito!"

Jiang Yi turned from the clothes to look at Seito’s blushing face, only then realizing how remarkably smooth Seito’s skin really was—just like a freshly peeled hard-boiled egg!

Although the HP Potion could heal old scars, it had nothing to do with general skin quality. This meant that Seito, who had always looked so dusty and disheveled, was actually a shy pretty boy underneath!

No wonder people always said mixed-race individuals were exceptionally good-looking! Jiang Yi had been somewhat skeptical at first, but seeing Seito now, he couldn't help but offer silent praise...

After the two of them thoroughly teased the blushing Seito, they finally let him off the hook as he practically wished he could dig a hole and hide in it. They then returned to their previous conversation. Seito blinked—had Gu Hansue been tricking Dongfang Tian the whole time?

Goodness, he hadn't even noticed. Gu Hansue gave him a proud, aloof look; if even he could tell, she wouldn't stand a chance of fooling Dongfang Tian!

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment before looking at the two of them. "There is something I want to tell you. Tomorrow, I want to leave this place. I still have many things I need to verify. Are you willing to come with me?"

Seito raised his eyes. "Are you going to look for her?"

Jiang Yi nodded calmly. "Yeah, I still want to verify it in person."

Gu Hansue grinned. "What are you two talking about? But don't you even think about leaving me behind! This big sister is sticking with you! Dare to ditch me, and I'll shoot an arrow right through your head!" As she spoke, she brandished the golden bow at her side.

"Alright... As long as you want to tag along, I'll take you with me! Happy now, young lady?" Jiang Yi wasn't very good at interacting with girls and always found it impossible to refuse them...

Gu Hansue was satisfied and went back to organizing her arrows. Jiang Yi turned to Seito. "What about you, Seito? Are you staying here, or..."

Jiang Yi didn't elaborate, but Seito understood what he meant. After pondering for a moment, Seito looked up. "Jiang Yi, your body has recovered now. Do you still need a bodyguard? The kind that comes with room and board?"

Jiang Yi was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter, hearty and clear. "No, I don't need a bodyguard anymore!"

Seito’s expression darkened slightly, only to hear Jiang Yi continue, "However, I am in urgent need of comrades to fight shoulder to shoulder. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Seito blinked. "But I'm not an esper. I'm not as powerful as you guys!"

Jiang Yi patted his shoulder. "Then tell me, can you still swing your sword?"

Seito suddenly straightened up, grabbed his white-hilted sword, and beamed with absolute confidence. "Of course, my sword is the strongest!"

The intense confidence Seito had in his sword made him exceptionally radiant. Gu Hansue chuckled; as expected of the club's dazzling newcomer this year, he certainly had guts!

"My name is Jiang Yi. Welcome aboard!"

Seito looked at Jiang Yi’s outstretched right hand and suddenly grabbed it firmly. "I'm Ji Seito. I look forward to working with you!"

The two exerted strength at the same time, their clenched fists firm and powerful...

After calming their excited emotions, the three of them began chatting casually back and forth. Jiang Yi suddenly asked, "By the way, Seito, why does Big Ash seem so terrified of you?"

Seito rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Ah, that business. Just a few days after I first arrived and reported to school, I saw some pet enthusiasts in our school organizing a rescue effort for stray cats and dogs, and they happened to be trying to catch Big Ash. But those guys couldn't catch it at all, and right then, Big Ash charged toward my direction, so I..."

Seito’s explanation left Gu Hansue and Jiang Yi speechless. They offered a silent three-second prayer of condolence for Big Ash before bursting into gloating amusement.

Big Ash was notoriously ferocious at the university of technology; not only did it steal food, but it had also bitten people on multiple occasions. The school had even dispatched people to capture it, but Big Ash was too smart—whenever it encountered someone strong, it would run away, only to return later to prey on ordinary passersby.

"Oh right, I heard them say back then that they wanted to neuter the stray dog. I thought it was a pretty meaningful cause, so I took Big Ash to the pet clinic with my own hands. I even paid for the neutering myself..."

Seito explained proudly, which immediately sent Gu Hansue, who was drinking water, into a fit of wild coughing. Meanwhile, Jiang Yi felt a sudden chill between his legs and instinctively shrank back a bit...

They chatted late into the night before the three of them finally rested. When the agreed-upon time for action arrived the next day, Dongfang Tian stood proudly at the head of his team. Watching the three figures walk down from upstairs, he frowned slightly, noticing that Jiang Yi walked in the absolute lead, while Gu Hansue and Seito actually lagged half a step behind him.

In Dongfang Tian's eyes, this attitude vaguely placed Jiang Yi in the leading position? How could that be? Even if it wasn't Gu Hansue, if Seito had become their leader, Dongfang Tian wouldn't have been too surprised. But Jiang Yi? A guy whose strength he couldn't detect at all?

The person he had consistently looked down upon finally made Dongfang Tian pay a sliver of attention.

Jiang Yi stood confidently in front of Dongfang Tian, his right hand resting on the hilt of the saber at his waist. He chuckled at Dongfang Tian's probing gaze. "Kept you waiting, Club President Dongfang. Let's move out!"

Dongfang Tian didn't reply, instead giving Gu Hansue a deep look, finally confirming his suspicion from her expression. Suppressing the anger burning in his heart, Dongfang Tian nodded. "Alright, let's move out!"

Jiang Yi's trio and Dongfang Tian's group of fully ten people marched majestically out of the gymnasium. Watching them from afar, Zhu Caijun and Li Zhi Tian exchanged glances and hurriedly retreated into the indoor swimming pool...

As they walked, Dongfang Tian said to Gu Hansue, "Hansue, let's head to the cafeteria today!"

Jiang Yi was stunned and couldn't help looking over. But very soon, he realized that the cafeteria Dongfang Tian was referring to wasn't the No. 1 Cafeteria he had stayed in before, but the No. 3 Cafeteria!

Longjiang University of Technology covered a vast area, so there were a total of three cafeteria buildings across the entire campus. However, because each cafeteria was managed by a different contractor, their operations varied somewhat!

The No. 1 Cafeteria was the largest in floor area, the tallest, and offered the most diverse food among the three.

Especially after being renovated a year ago, the current No. 1 Cafeteria had added many modern, intelligent machines. It could be said to be one of the iconic cafeterias of the university!

As for the No. 2 Cafeteria, both its floor space and business status fell far short of the No. 1 Cafeteria. However, its defining feature was that it mainly served international Western cuisine, designed specifically for foreign college students studying at the university!

The No. 2 Cafeteria didn't require meal cards; dining there was strictly cash-only...

Despite that, the people who frequented it the most were actually Chinese students, since foreigners coming to China naturally wanted to try Chinese cuisine rather than tasting their own home cooking in a foreign land...

As for the No. 3 Cafeteria, Jiang Yi had never even set foot in it, because this last-built cafeteria was a bottomless money pit, or could be summed up in a single word: 'Extravagant!'

Whether in terms of interior design or business operations, the No. 3 Cafeteria was no different from star-rated restaurants outside. Aside from catering to genuinely wealthy students who came there to order meals, it was primarily used to host visiting school leaders! Thus, everyone jokingly referred to it as the 'Corruption Building'!

The reason Dongfang Tian chose this place, besides fancying the food there, was mostly because he wanted to relocate his team's stronghold to the No. 3 Cafeteria!

Compared to the barren gymnasium, the No. 3 Cafeteria was absolute paradise! Evidently, not only Dongfang Tian, but even Gu Hansue and Seito had been to the No. 3 Cafeteria. Upon hearing Dongfang Tian's proposal, both of their eyes actually lit up!

Once they stepped out of the gymnasium's sphere of influence, the surrounding zombies began to multiply. The thirteen of them no longer dared to chat casually, and everyone gripped their weapons tightly! Fortunately, if the gymnasium lacked anything else, it had more than enough weapons for two or three per person to spare.

Dongfang Tian was carrying a long sword! The slender blade reflected a frosted silver glow in the sunlight. This sword was not a cheap prop for performances, but a weapon forged through genuine craftsmanship!

It had been custom-made at great expense to serve as the martial arts club's crowning treasure when the club was first established!

Seeing the zombies staggering and gathering ahead, Dongfang Tian didn't draw his sword. Instead, with a cold wave of his hand, Li Gang—who looked like an iron pagoda behind him—wielded his steel saber and charged forward with his team members!

The six of them made almost no sound at all, their footsteps exceptionally light as they sprinted! They swung their weapons with utmost decisiveness, showing not a shred of terror in the face of the horrifying zombies! With a single slash from Li Gang's saber, the zombie directly in front of him had its head severed cleanly from the neck down. Following up with a vicious kick, the headless corpse flew backward and crashed into two other zombies, knocking them to the ground. Before they could even struggle to stand back up, a fierce chop of the steel saber sent a football-sized head rolling away!

Compared to Li Gang, the others were much less formidable, yet they showed no cowardice when facing the zombies, dispatching their targets with swift and concise movements!

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, caught Dongfang Tian glancing his way, and smiled, nodding in acknowledgment. After Li Gang cleared out all the zombies, his five subordinates immediately and proficiently searched every single corpse, stripping away anything usable. Only then did Dongfang Tian give the order to advance!

Although the fights ended quickly, they still produced some noise, prompting another batch of frenzied zombies to rush over. The three members equipped with longbows promptly unslung their weapons, drew the bowstrings to their limits, and loosed their arrows. Three zombies immediately crashed to the ground. The group didn't even pause, stepping directly over the corpses to press onward, while the three archers casually retrieved their arrows from the fallen foes as they passed...