Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest
Chapter 970: 24: Disbanding the Team

Chapter 970: Chapter 24: Disbanding the Team

The relationship between Zhou Hongyu and Yan Yu is indeed intriguing.

At first, it was definitely loathing and hatred to the extent that even mentioning “Yan Yu” was inconvenient within the team, as the captain’s mood would turn extremely sour.

So, when did the change begin?

Zhang Huaide carefully recalled and deduced that it was most likely after the incident at the Kunlun Mountain Mysterious Realm, as the changes were more noticeable after that. However, if he traced further back, Zhou Hongyu’s attitude had already started to loosen.

Between women and men, whether the fondness is positive or negative is not important. As long as you can be remembered by the other party, even negative impressions have the chance to turn positive; having no impression at all is the true impasse.

As for whether the relationship between these two is fated or doomed, Zhang Huaide didn’t care and had never inquired into it before. What he truly cares about now is that Yan Yu and Tang Xiaolian seem to be getting a bit too close.

Yan Yu starting a harem is none of Zhang Huaide’s business; but if Yan Yu’s harem extends to the Huofeng Team, causing Zhou Hongyu and Tang Xiaolian to start a chaotic scene, then that becomes highly relevant to Vice Captain Zhang Huaide.

He decides to have a talk with Zhou Hongyu first.

Zhou Hongyu attended a Martial Arts School in high school, and practiced martial arts every morning. Even as a Cultivator now, the habit of staying fit remains.

In the mornings, she practices boxing and sanda, goes for long runs or swims in the afternoon, and in the evening, either watches TV in the team meeting room or goes back to her room to rest.

After lunch, Zhang Huaide said goodbye to Yan Yu and went straight to the gym.

Zhou Hongyu happened to have just finished a 20,000-meter run, came out of the locker room changed, her hair still dripping wet.

“What’s up?” she asked bluntly.

Zhang Huaide knew that being too roundabout making it hard for her to understand could easily trigger Zhou Hongyu’s annoyance, so he also got straight to the point:

“Captain Zhou, how is your relationship with Captain Yan?”

“What about it?” asked Zhou Hongyu indifferently, “Did the higher-ups send you to ask?”

Zhang Huaide neither confirmed nor denied but continued to speak:

“Although Captain Yan is still single, the higher-ups believe that he has secretly teamed up with Vice Captain Chen; otherwise, it’s impossible to explain the immense support Governor Chen has given him.”

“Nonsense!” Zhou Hongyu said displeased, “Politics are politics, power is power, I’ve never heard of the two being conflated. With Chen Lingyun’s talent, there are plenty of better choices for Yan Yu, why choose her? Just because she has a good father? What is her father’s Cultivation level?”

Zhang Huaide immediately got a clear answer and felt assured, then tentatively added:

“Indeed, I haven’t heard any scandals about Captain Yan and Vice Captain Chen either, the higher-ups’ speculations are just reasoning backwards from the outcome. Speaking of close relationships, his relationship with Little Lian is also quite good.”

“What are you trying to probe here?” Zhou Hongyu raised an eyebrow and said, “Little Lian likes him, haven’t you noticed?”

Zhang Huaide, who already had an answer, suddenly started to second-guess.

If Captain Zhou likes Yan Yu, then why, when discussing the matter of Little Lian being her romantic rival, does she remain so calm and with no hint of jealousy?

“I didn’t notice,” he honestly replied, “I only know that they are quite close.”

“Now you know, no need to make a fuss,” Zhou Hongyu said indifferently, “They’re both single; it’s normal for her to like Yan Yu.”

Zhang Huaide was left feeling disheveled by the wind, as he began to quickly overturn some of his own judgments and couldn’t help considering more possibilities.

Tang Xiaolian likes Yan Yu, Zhou Hongyu seems indifferent to Tang Xiaolian liking Yan Yu—does that mean she actually doesn’t like Yan Yu? Or does she like Yan Yu as well, just not seeing Tang Xiaolian as a threat? Or has she agreed with Tang Xiaolian on a fair competition, hence the indifference? Or is it possible that for Tang Xiaolian’s sake, she decided to bow out?

Regardless, since Zhou Hongyu doesn’t mind, there won’t be any team explosion.

Zhang Huaide secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he doesn’t want to one day be asked by his superiors for his opinion, to choose between the Crimson Feather Nine Phoenix Fire and the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu.

Still, just to be safe, he asked cautiously:

“Captain Zhou, do you really not mind that Little Lian likes Captain Yan?”

“It’s not that I don’t mind,” Zhou Hongyu pondered for a moment, “or to put it another way, I’m actually quite happy.”

That is certainly the truth because there are too many girls around Yan Yu, some with exceptional emotional intelligence and brilliant minds. Zhou Hongyu thought to herself that she was not smart enough; her only strength was a fairly good appearance, but even that couldn’t entirely surpass them.

Having Tang Xiaolian as a wingwoman, taking over the role of strategist for Zhou Hongyu in the realm of love, really saved her a lot of trouble.

Zhang Huaide fell silent, completely baffled.

His observations suggested that Zhou Hongyu liked Yan Yu, but she openly stated that she was happy about Little Lian also liking Captain Yan—so was his observation wrong, or was Zhou Hongyu lying?

Back in his room, Zhang Huaide took out his laptop and began to draft a report.

The email was sent from an address, and the content of this email would ultimately reach the desk of the Pingxi Army Commander Sun Rongxing.

The Privy Council had once conducted psychological assessments on all the Cultivators of the top teams to confirm their ability to resist Heart Demons. Among all the results, Zhou Hongyu was the most dangerous one—identified early on as having a tendency towards “self-destructive behavior,” which is not caring about her own life.

As the deputy captain of the team, Zhang Huaide was soon secretly appointed by the Pingxi Army’s upper echelons as both Zhou Hongyu’s monitor and fuse. The former means to regularly monitor her psychological health and report; the latter means to prevent her when she acts irrationally, putting her own life in danger.

As the relationship between Zhou Hongyu and Yan Yu improved, her self-destructive tendencies also visibly started to fade away. However, Zhang Huaide had not been told to stop his work, so he still had to report his new observations truthfully.

The analysis was difficult to write.

After much contemplation, Zhang Huaide believed that Zhou Hongyu still harbored feelings for Yan Yu, and she hadn’t lied about the matter with Tang Xiaolian. It was very likely that the two had reached some sort of agreement, and hence were not concerned about the fact that they were romantic rivals.

But if Zhou Hongyu were to lose the competition, its consequences and risks were unpredictable. Zhang Huaide had mentioned in previous reports that he believed Zhou Hongyu’s psychological state had become more stable and healthy, largely thanks to the affection she had developed for Yan Yu, which provided her the “drive to keep living”.

After composing his analysis and speculation, Zhang Huaide clicked send, then took off his glasses and wiped the somewhat dusty lenses.

He took a sip of strong tea, when suddenly his phone rang.

“It’s me, Zhang Huaide.”

“Mm.” Sun Rongxing’s voice came from the other end, “Huaide, you’ve worked hard these past days. From now on, you don’t need to report on Zhou Hongyu’s situation anymore.”

“Alright.” Zhang Huaide agreed and then paused for a moment before asking, “May I know why?”

Sun Rongxing seemed to have anticipated his question and replied:

“The higher-ups are considering something to do with a Golden Core True Man. If there are no surprises…”

“…you won’t be in a position to continue the observation anymore.”

——————————————

The advent of the team system was naturally well-argued and deemed necessary from the outset.

In Lu Country, Cultivators were divided into four careers, determined by their individual characteristics. Those with abundant True Yuan would become Magic Cultivators, those with quick reactions would become Sword Immortals, those with bright minds would become Envoys, and those who didn’t fit any of the prior categories would become Assistant Officers, using various types of Magic Treasures to leverage their unique strengths.

Of course, while emphasizing the play to their strengths, they must also compensate for their weaknesses. Sword Immortals lacked the ability for large-scale bombardment, Magic Cultivators struggled with close-quarter combat, Envoys weren’t strong enough in direct combat, and Assistant Officers relied too heavily on the uniqueness of their Magic Treasures… Thus, combining Cultivators from different careers to work as a team, where one could attack while another supported, gave rise to the team system.

After Core Formation, the situation underwent a drastic change.

There were already two Golden Core Cultivators; Yan Yu leaned more towards being a Sword Immortal, while Liu Longtao leaned more towards being a Magic Cultivator. The former was capable of unleashing the Yin-Yang Dust Sword Formation, which supplemented the large-scale destruction capability; the latter’s magic power greatly increased after Core Formation, suitable for both long-range and close combat, defensively and offensively. The original drawbacks of their careers had been forcibly compensated for by the Golden Core Realm.

Using gaming terms, there is a beauty in how certain numerical strengths can completely overpower original mechanics.

Technical assessments believe that any Golden Core True Man, regardless of level, basically has the ability to operate independently. Having them execute missions in the pattern of a small team of five or six would be a waste of manpower and time.

In that case, just dismantle it.

When Lu Country’s upper echelon plans to make significant changes, it never announces them outright, preferring instead to let “insiders release ambiguous rumors” to gauge the reaction of specific groups. If nothing happens, then they’ll make an official announcement; if there’s a strong reaction, they’ll refute the rumor and deny it.

This time, the insider was Chen Lingyun.

“The teams are going to be disbanded after Core Formation?” Lin Ning cried out in disbelief, “How can that be alright?!”

“For now, it’s just someone proposing this plan,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “After all, for a long time to come, the number of Transcendents in the Golden Core Realm will be extremely scarce globally, and there aren’t many enemies who require several Golden Core Cultivators to face them together. Compared to continuing with the team system, it would definitely be more efficient to carry out missions alone.”

“But…” Lin Ning couldn’t find a reason to object and could only show a stubborn look of resistance.

She did not want the team to disband; the reason being simple: she had been with it so long, she had grown attached.

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do,” Su Yunjin said reasonably, “And besides, Ningning, even if the team no longer exists, we can still live in the same villa, right? In reality, there won’t be much of a difference.”

Contrary to Lin Ning’s reaction, she was indifferent to the disbanding of the team. As long as she could stay by the captain’s side, official designations didn’t really matter.

“I… I also don’t want the team to disband!” Xie Ruoxi shouted, “I can’t execute missions alone! I can’t do it! I need someone to cover me!”

“Ruoxi’s situation is indeed a bit special,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “I guess even if you reach Core Formation, the higher-ups would still assign you a Sword Immortal bodyguard just to be safe. Of course, it definitely won’t be a Golden Core Sword Immortal.”

Xie Ruoxi looked like she had lost everything, completely stunned.

Zhao Yuanzhen scoffed and said:

“The dismantling of the team is inevitable. In the current environment, after reaching Core Formation, you can basically do whatever you want worldwide, there’s no need for sticking together anymore.”

In the Cultivation World, apart from the reputable sects that produce numerous talents, most sects’ Golden Core True Men can take disciples and pass on their knowledge, so what she said wasn’t wrong—it’s time to stand on their own.

Chen Lingyun’s gaze flowed, and with a bright smile, she turned to Yan Yu and asked:

“How about you? ‘Captain’, what do you think?”

She heavily emphasized the word “Captain”, as if mocking him for “soon not being one anymore”.

Yan Yu looked at Lin Ning’s distressed face and Xie Ruoxi’s dispirited figure, pondered for quite some time, and then said with a smile:

“Compared to the official and impersonal system of the team, it’s indeed time for us to establish a closer, new relationship.”

“I have a few spots open for girlfriends… Anyone interested in signing up?”