Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 314: Special Forces' Meeting

The arrival of the missive elevated Zhang Lie's position in Qi once again.
Of course, by this point, power within Qi was immaterial to Zhang Lie.
He perused the missive, then put it aside.
If he really wanted to do anything, no one in Qi could stop him, so the position was meaningless.

That said, when those of the special forces heard about the news, Zhou Liao quickly paid him a visit, insisting on housing Zhang Lie in the best cottage in the settlement and being so genial a host that Zhang Lie was getting goosebumps.

To be frank, Zhang Lie didn't care much for such luxury—his childhood had been one of poverty, and he had learned to dispense with them.
If not for how eager Zhou Liao seemed, he wouldn't have agreed to move to that other cottage.
Subsequently, he refused all other offers from Zhou Liao.

The two of them decided that Zhang Lie would get first pick of two or three hunters for his special forces team from the final roster of selected applicants in around a week's time, and Zhang Lie intended to have his new gene fragments fully digested by then.

After leaving Zhang Lie's new cottage, Zhou Liao convened a meeting with all nine team leaders of the special forces, excluding Zhang Lie himself. 

By then, the third team, which had gone out on a mission, had conveniently returned, so all the troops were present.
However, the third team leader, Zhuo Yihong, was rather nonplussed by the other team leaders' behavior.

After all, he still hadn't heard about what had happened in Qi that day, nor the dramatic changes that Zhang Lie's arrival in Qi heralded.

“Alright, everyone's here! I only have one item on the agenda: Deputy Leader Zhang's selection of hunters for his team.”

Everyone but the third team leader perked up.

“The governor has agreed to let all of you team leaders participate in the selection, but if you intend to do so, you need to choose a new team leader in your stead.
In other words, if you want to participate, you'll need to prepare to give up your position as team leader in case you get selected.”

Zhou Liao had anticipated the team leaders' exuberant response—indeed, if not for the governor expressly forbidding him from participating, he might well have done so himself.

The other team leaders hastily nodded.
After witnessing Zhang Lie's ridiculous strength for themselves, it was obvious that they would choose to join his team rather than remain team leaders—well, obvious to everyone but Zhuo Yihong.
He didn't understand why this sort of thing needed an announcement, nor why everyone else seemed so excited about it.

“Troop Leader Zhou, could you explain what's going on? I'm quite confused by all this fuss, and who's this Deputy Leader Zhang? Furthermore, what's this about troop selection? Have team leaders always been allowed to participate?”

“Ah!” Zhou Liao rapped his own head.
“I forgot that you wouldn't have known about what happened today.
You've heard of Zhang Lie, of course?”

Zhang Lie's name had spread far and wide over the first three realms, and essentially everyone of note had heard of him.

“Of course! Champion of the Void Cup, the one whom everyone seems to exaggerate about?” He blinked as the other team leaders, Zhou Liao included, turned to him as though he were a fool.

Zhuo Yihong reared back in surprise.
“Is something wrong? Was it something I said?”

“Team Leader Zhuo, I recommend seeing Zhang Lie fight for himself before you make such a judgment about his strength, or you could easily land yourself in hot water! Anyway, yes, the Zhang Lie that you've described is now the deputy leader of the Qi special forces!”

“Really?”

“The governor instated him in this position himself! Of course, as the deputy leader, he'll need his own team, and we've combined that with the recruitment process for the special forces this time around.
The reason the team leaders are eligible to participate is because Governor Xiao wants to give you all an opportunity, but whether or not you want to take it is up to you.

However, Deputy Leader Zhang has just informed me that he only has three available spots in his team, so even if you participate, you aren't guaranteed a spot.”

Zhuo Yihong frowned again.
“Troop Leader, I'm still confused about something.
Why would any of us want to give up our positions as team leaders just to be a regular member in his team? Surely none of us are fools?”

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