As Ji You said this, the surroundings suddenly froze.
Whether it was the audience or Ji You’s buddies standing beside her, they were all stunned by her audacious move, almost dropping their jaws.
This—
She genuinely, single-handedly, redefined what it means to have no shame.
Truly.
Nobody could be more shameless than her.
It made Shen Changqing worry whether Little Shengsheng, driven by embarrassment and rage, might declare his withdrawal from the Alliance and immediately start bombarding the Rag Queen with a Particle Cannon barrage?
Cough cough...
Shen Changqing felt that his concerns were not at all unnecessary. If it were someone with a shorter fuse, they would have exploded for sure!
And—
Shen Changqing hoped that after Ma Dashuai found out, he wouldn’t explode!
Then—
With a tense face, Little Shengsheng slightly curled the corners of his mouth and said, "300 points."
Huh?
Everyone was dumbfounded!
Not furious at all?
Actually started to haggle?
Ji You immediately shook her head, saying, "No, no, I had to give up 500 points to make a deal with my teammates already, selling it for 300 would be a huge loss for me, a complete rip-off, I’d be left with nothing."
Little Shengsheng: "300!"
Ji You with a bitter face: "Oh dear! Little Shengsheng, you can’t do this, if you go on like this, we can’t even be sisters anymore."
Little Shengsheng: "300! Otherwise, I’ll send our conversation to Ma Dashuai right now."
Ji You: "..."
You’re ruthless!
Ji You was cursing inside, but still smiling on the outside, "Oh my! We’re sisters, family, why say such distant things, 300 it is then."
At this point, Ji You’s tone shifted, slightly serious, "But as family is family, sisters should still settle accounts clearly, we have to exchange the goods for the money directly, otherwise it’s easy to hurt feelings."
Little Shengsheng’s mouth twitched: This Rag Queen truly redefined her understanding of humanity’s lower limits time after time.
Fortunately, it was just a one-time cooperation. They’d deal with other things after killing the Flame Beast.
Cough cough...
Little Shengsheng, with a stern face throughout, completed this transaction very seriously.
Ji You got the points and almost laughed crookedly: As expected, the brave die of it and the timid starve, the ancients truly did not deceive me!
Beside her.
Shen Changqing suddenly said, "Rag Queen, how much Stinky Grass slime do you still have?"
Upon hearing this, Ji You’s eyes flashed with wariness, immediately responding, "None left, truly none left."
Shen Changqing was skeptical.
Ji You, with a serious face, said, "Cough cough... Trust me, if I really had any, I wouldn’t have bought 2 jin from Little Cutie at such a high price! Cough cough... That damn Little Cutie, ripped me off 1000 points! And that stingy Little Shengsheng, selling it to her for 300 a jin, I’ve literally made a net loss of 400 points."
Shen Changqing: "..."
Zhang Ye couldn’t stand listening anymore and said, "But you just made 5000 points from Ma Dashuai!"
points!
Such a large sum, enough to make one envious, jealous, and hateful, Zhang Ye was even considering robbing her right there.
Ji You glanced at him and cursed, "I earned the money through my own abilities... cough cough... I earned the money through my own abilities. Do you have any complaints? If you do, then go make some yourself."
Zhang Ye: "..."
After this interlude, everyone returned to face the grim environment.
The location of the Flame Beast’s nest had been mostly determined through the exchange of information between the three parties. Now it was a matter of seeing whether the Flame Beast would make its next move. The three parties agreed that if the Flame Beast remained inactive for over half an hour, it would mean that it had returned to its nest to hide.
Then, the plan would need to be changed.
...
Half an hour later.
The three-party Alliance met again:
Shen Changqing said, "We must find a way to take action. Dragging this out is not in our favor." Everyone has a fixed HP of 100, but it would slowly decrease due to injuries, hunger, fatigue, and other factors.
Therefore, waiting indefinitely was not an option.
Ma Dashuai pondered for a moment and then said, "Each team sends an investigator to cautiously check out the top of the hill for specific intel."
As soon as Ma Dashuai made the suggestion, Shen Changqing and Shengsheng remained silent. Suddenly, Shengsheng turned to Ji You and said, "We’ve already figured out the general locations of the other teams. I think it’s better to use the trick on you and the Handsome Young Master’s team that we used before."
"Cough cough..." Shen Changqing choked.
Shengsheng, with a stern face, said, "That’s right, it’s to lead the disaster eastward, to draw the Flame Beast toward the other teams’ direction. The Rag Queen and Little Cutie in your team are strong in this regard. At that time, we will try our best to cooperate with them and seize the opportunity to kill the Flame Beast."
Ji You: "..."
A chill inexplicably rose up behind Ji You.
This—
This Shengsheng, appearing so generous on the surface, was actually so petty behind the scenes.
Upon hearing this, Ma Dashuai’s eyes lit up, "I agree too."
Shen Changqing frowned and said, "We must ascertain the Flame Beast’s exact location before we can decide on the next plan."
He didn’t agree with Shengsheng’s proposal. The Rag Queen and Little Cutie were indispensable parts of the team, with strong abilities; how could Shen Changqing let them take the risk so easily?
However, Ji You said, "Xiaoqing, I also think Shengsheng’s suggestion is good. Here’s what we’ll do: Little Cutie and I will continue to take action, and you must all cooperate with each other when the time comes. But you must understand, there’s only one chance. If we don’t kill the Flame Beast this time, it’ll be more difficult later on."
Ji You looked at Ma Dashuai, then at Shengsheng, and said bluntly, "Our team will take on the risky task, but if both of your teams think of hiding your strengths and not giving it your all..."
Ji You left the implication unspoken.
Shengsheng said, "Our team will give it our all, we won’t engage in any underhanded tricks."
Ma Dashuai also said, "What do you take me, Ma Dashuai, for? Our team will definitely not deliberately hold back our strength."
Ji You grinned, chuckled, and said, "Don’t be angry, guys. We’re all brothers and sisters here. It’s better to be ugly upfront than to have disputes afterward, don’t you agree?"
Ma Dashuai and Shengsheng said nothing, but the looks they gave Ji You already conveyed their intentions. As top contenders in their respective districts, they all had their pride and obviously disdained the idea of breaking their promises.
Then.
Shen Changqing said, "Since that’s settled, each team will send out an investigator to check out the Flame Beast’s exact location."
Everyone agreed.
Here, both investigators Xuzhou and Zhang Ye, fearless of death, showed no sign of backing down. Both expressed their willingness to investigate the situation of the Flame Beast. After considering for a moment, Shen Changqing decided to send Xuzhou.
Xuzhou was clearly more reliable than Zhang Ye in terms of meticulousness.
Xuzhou quickly followed the other two teams’ investigators toward the direction of the mountaintop. All three, smeared with Stinky Grass sap, cautiously avoided alarming the Flame Beast and gathered very clear intel, also taking control of the situation at the summit.
Afterward.
The three swiftly returned to their teams, the whole process went smoothly without any dangers.
Ji You listened carefully as Xuzhou recounted the situation, then turned her head to look at the hostage who was tied up all this while, grinning, she said, "Hostage buddy, dawn has broken, time for you to start working."
Hostage buddy: "..."