Chapter 643 - 613: The Final Choice

As Lin Xinghai spoke, all eyes fell on Xiang Tianhua.

The students from East Sea Academy wore looks of anticipation. They hoped Xiang Tianhua would form a powerful alliance with Lin Xinghai to quickly catch up to the other two academies.

The students from the other two academies wore similar expressions.

But they were hoping for discord between the two. After all, it was perfectly normal for a school’s two top geniuses to clash.

In the spotlight, Xiang Tianhua returned the gesture, clasping his hands toward Lin Xinghai. He smiled and said, "I heard you were here, Mr. Lin, so I made a point of coming to meet you and see if there was any chance for us to cooperate."

With these words, it became clear to everyone that Xiang Tianhua had come with good intentions.

The students from East Sea Academy grew instantly excited, eager to see what Xiang Tianhua and Lin Xinghai could accomplish if they joined forces.

The students from the other two academies, however, couldn’t help but sneer. This was, of course, an outcome they were unhappy to see.

"I have many questions for you, Senior Xiang. Why don’t we speak over here?" Lin Xinghai said with an immediate smile.

Although Lin Xinghai had no intention of teaming up with Xiang Tianhua for missions, he obviously couldn’t say that out loud.

Xiang Tianhua seemed to read between the lines as well, but a tacit understanding passed between them. They quickly moved inside the human wall formed by the Xinghai Squad.

"I’d heard of your reputation as the number one genius, and to be honest, I was a little unconvinced. But your performance since arriving here today has completely changed my view of you!" Xiang Tianhua said with a wistful sigh.

"Senior Xiang, you’re being too modest. Everyone knows you’re the strongest student at East Sea Academy and could break through to the Divine Demon Realm at any moment!" Lin Xinghai replied at once.

It was a classic case of mutual flattery. After they both praised each other for a bit, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Lin Xinghai took the opportunity to ask Xiang Tianhua what the situation was like inside the green toxic mist.

Xiang Tianhua had nothing to hide and told him everything he knew.

Lin Xinghai listened intently. He even brought up the current list of missions and asked Xiang Tianhua to help analyze which type would be most suitable for his team.

"Based on what you’ve said, your greatest strength is Speed, which is perfect for quick-strike attacks. I’d suggest you pick some extermination-type missions. They’re of moderate difficulty, and the Points you get from killing Abyssal Creatures could be a nice bonus for you."

"Of course, if our two teams join forces, we could also take on a high-difficulty mission. I’ll lead the main assault, and you can provide support. We should be able to finish it quickly," Xiang Tianhua concluded, extending the invitation once more.

Lin Xinghai nodded. Xiang Tianhua’s suggestions were nearly identical to what he had been thinking.

"Thank you for the suggestions, Senior Xiang," Lin Xinghai said. "As for the mission, my team has never taken on a Third Level Task before, and I’m afraid we would just slow you down. We’re planning to start with some simpler tasks first. Perhaps we can cooperate later when the opportunity arises."

It was a polite refusal.

Xiang Tianhua wasn’t surprised by Lin Xinghai’s refusal.

After all, Third Level Tasks weren’t so difficult that they absolutely needed to team up.

Perhaps later, when they qualified for Fourth Level Tasks, would be the real time for cooperation.

His main purpose in coming over this time was simply to make a friendly gesture.

So Xiang Tianhua nodded immediately. "Alright, we’ll cooperate when the opportunity comes. Also, Mr. Lin, I hope you can break into the top 10 as soon as possible."

"To be honest, I’m at a disadvantage being the only one from our academy up there. I’m being targeted from all sides. For example, when it comes to accepting Third Level Tasks, I have a hard time getting any of the easier, high-reward ones."

"What’s more, the teams from the other two academies help each other claim missions. For instance, some good missions might pop up while I’m out on one."

"If those missions don’t have a tight time limit, other teams from their academies will accept them first, then transfer them to their teams in the top 10 on the Points leaderboard."

"It’s a competition of a school’s underlying strength, and in that regard, our East Sea Academy is a little behind. Our Third Level Teams can’t compete with theirs for missions, so my Points have gradually started to fall behind."

Lin Xinghai was taken aback by this. He knew the competition was everywhere, but he hadn’t expected it to be this fierce on the very first day.

If he hadn’t come along, Xiang Tianhua might have actually been pushed out of the top 10 as time went on.

At this thought, Lin Xinghai’s mood grew a bit somber. He looked at Xiang Tianhua and said seriously, "Three days. In three days at most, I will break into the top 10."

Hearing such a confident declaration, Xiang Tianhua was stunned for a moment before breaking into a laugh. "Haha, alright then. I’ll be waiting."

With that, he stood up and prepared to leave. However, he paused before taking a step, looked at Lin Xinghai with slight hesitation, and said, "I’m graduating next year. In fact, I already spend ninety percent of my time with the Military Department. In the future, you’ll be the student representative for East Sea Academy."

After saying his piece, Xiang Tianhua strode away without another moment of hesitation.

Lin Xinghai was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh.

Lin Xinghai, of course, understood what Xiang Tianhua meant with his final words. He was telling him that he didn’t care about the title of "Strongest of East Sea Academy." Lin Xinghai was free to take it, so he shouldn’t hold back for any reason.

But Lin Xinghai wasn’t someone who cared about such empty titles. What he wanted was to become humanity’s strongest expert as quickly as possible.

After Xiang Tianhua left, the crowd of students couldn’t help but break into a flurry of discussion, all eager to know what the two had talked about.

But Lin Xinghai ignored all of this, instead considering which Third Level Task he should accept.

In fact, after his conversation with Xiang Tianhua, he already had a general idea in mind.

However, just as he was about to make his choice, the large screen up front refreshed, and a new Third Level Task scrolled into view.

It was an extermination-type Third Level Task, requiring the elimination of all Mutated Zombies and Abyssal Creatures within a certain area.

For most teams, this type of mission was thankless work. Such clearing operations were time-consuming, and the Points awarded were generally not very high.

This mission, however, offered 300,000 Points—significantly more than a normal clearing task.

Lin Xinghai examined the mission details carefully. The data showed that within the last hour, scanners had detected at least three Third Level Mutated Zombies, fifteen Second Level Mutated Zombies, and nearly thirty First Level Mutated Zombies in that area.

In addition, the presence of a Fourth Level Mutated Zombie could not be ruled out.

Furthermore, the number of Abyssal Creatures in the area exceeded 30,000.

These numbers made it far more difficult than a standard clearing mission, which was why the reward had been increased so much.

But even so, under normal circumstances, no team would choose such a mission. Although the reward was higher, the increased difficulty and mission time meant the trade-off was hardly worth it.

For Lin Xinghai, however, it was the exact opposite. This was precisely the kind of mission he had been searching for.

For other teams, the mission reward was the most important source of Points. But Lin Xinghai was different.

The Points from killing Mutated Zombies and Abyssal Creatures were also part of his calculations—in fact, they were a major component.