At the mention of age, Helian Niancheng’s countenance darkened.
He was indeed already 30, whereas Gu Qingjiu was only 22 this year.
When Hilda was pressing them previously, they could still use the fact that Gu Qingjiu had yet to graduate as an excuse, and she would often mention this, “You’re already 30!”
Helian Niancheng wasn’t that passionate about having children because now that Gu Qingjiu had graduated, they could spend more time together, and he wanted to have her all to himself.
But hearing this still made him uncomfortable.
He narrowed his eyes. “Since that’s the case, you can try and see if a 30-year-old man still has it in him.”
With that, he lifted Gu Qingjiu onto his shoulders.
The extremely happy Gu Qingjiu giggled as he carried her into the bedroom.
*
In July, this year’s international competition officially began!
Gu Qingjiu met up with the chairman of the association and the rest early on.
This year, other than a few newly-added officials, the same crowd attended the event.
Commanding Officers such as Nian Chusheng were among those who accompanied them there.
This year’s competition was held in a tropical area in South America.
It was more commonly known as the forest system.
The topography was much more complicated than the last time, and at the same time, more bizarre and changeable.
When Yin Ruoyi and Gu Qingjiu arrived at the competition venue, Elder Gong was still imparting his wisdom remotely.
“You yourselves know the outcome of your regular training. Ruoyi, you need to perform as you usually do. You did a pretty good job in the previous battle, but this year other countries introduced a new player as well, so don’t think that you have no threats other than Cruff.”
Upon hearing Elder Gong’s words, Yin Ruoyi’s countenance turned cold, but he responded with a severe expression, “Got it, Teacher.”
As for Gu Qingjiu, Elder Gong merely gave her a short piece of advice, which Gu Qingjiu had never heard Elder Gong says to her before.
“Qingjiu, you only need to remember one thing: when there appear any deviations in situations during the battle, just trust your intuition and ignore everything else.”
Elder Gong’s words had deep meaning behind them, making Gu Qingjiu freeze for a moment. Yin Ruoyi, too, cast two surprised glances at Gu Qingjiu.
Since her teacher said this, he must have his reasons for doing so. After snapping out of her trance, Gu Qingjiu nodded and replied, “Got it, Teacher.”
“Alright, that’s all from me, lest my words affect you two. The two of you mustn’t let Cruff take down three consecutive wins in this match!”
Elder Gong said. With that, the communications were cut off.
Gu Qingjiu and Yin Ruoyi glanced at each other and nodded.
Competing in tropical rainforests made the competition more complex. Besides having to guard against the swift and alert opponents, they also had to watch out for all sorts of dangers in the forests.
This competition would last for three entire days.
The players could bring along a small bag that didn’t contain quite enough food. If one eliminated another player, the other party had to leave behind their bag. This way, the players could obtain sufficient nourishment.
Besides testing the shooters’ response abilities, it was also a test of their survival skills in a forest setting.
Gu Qingjiu felt that this was indeed much more difficult than the previous one.
However, competing in a forest was her forte!
After resting for a day in the hotel, the players were blindfolded and led into the competition venue.
They brought each person down from the plane, and the particular spot they were led to was utterly random.
The engine sounds from the surroundings would also affect the players’ judgment. Hence, when the game first started, there was no need to worry about others finding out about the location you descended upon.
The players each wore an ear mike, which was used to listen to the international judge panel’s instructions. Other than that, there was no further help.
Gu Qingjiu’s first battle in the international competition had officially begun!