Make me leave the team? My beast girl and I can win easily.

Training Room No. 1, Wujiang Vocational and Technical College for Extraordinary Abilities.

The air was filled with the smell of sweat.

The four members of the Dawn Squad have just finished a round of high-intensity simulated combat training.

Xia Yue, Liu Hui, and Yang Mei were resting against the wall, panting heavily.

Zhang Tian sat in a corner a little further away, his gaze somewhat unfocused, lost in thought.

It must be admitted that they have been training almost recklessly during this period in order to fight for a future.

It did indeed lead to a visible improvement in the strength of these four people.

As a shield warrior, Liu Hui's positioning was noticeably more composed and experienced than before.

When pulling monsters, you know how to use the terrain and no longer charge recklessly like before, wasting healing resources.

After replacing his equipment with several pieces of level 20 high-quality gear, his health barely broke through the 2500 mark, and his defense and magic resistance also increased significantly.

Although it still lags behind top-tier tanks.

But it's already considered acceptable among ordinary students.

Yang Mei's skill control chain is now more precisely connected.

She has now developed her own expertise in predicting the enemy's movement trajectory.

It can effectively utilize the control and slowing effects of ice-based skills, creating opportunities for teammates to deal damage.

Even though her mana and sustain are still weaknesses, her ability to control the battlefield is at least commendable.

As for Xia Yue, this archer, who was once hailed as the "strongest damage dealer" among martial arts professionals, developed a stubborn and ruthless streak after experiencing a series of setbacks, including being rejected by Lin Yu.

She spent almost all her time in the training room, repeatedly practicing the rhythm of skill release and her own positioning.

Her DPS also increased with difficulty from over 700 to just over 900.

This output is considered above average for archers around level 20.

Zhang Tian, ​​the team's secondary DPS, was the only one who improved the least. His DPS only slowly increased from over 700 to around 750, a negligible improvement.

Moreover, he is often distracted during training, and frequently misses shots or makes positioning mistakes.

Xia Yue privately advised him several times to concentrate.

But Zhang Tian always gave vague replies, then turned around and went back to his original state.

After a few attempts, Xia Yue gave up trying to persuade her.

She even started to think that if Zhang Tian continued to drag her down like this, she might really have to consider "optimizing" him out and finding a more reliable contributor.

However, for Zhang Tian, ​​training was no longer important.

All he could think about was the time he had arranged to meet with Cai Zhiqi.

"We'll meet in two more hours..." Zhang Tian said, his head down, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of his knife, his heart pounding with excitement.

As long as he completes the task assigned by Cai Zhiqi—

While Lin Yu was inside the instance, they secretly placed the item on the entrance teleportation device...

All the problems will be solved!

Not only can it get rid of Lin Yu, this thorn in our side.

You'll also receive a $30 reward and a piece of perfect quality jewelry!

From then on, all the younger students in the school would respect him!

Xia Yue will also look at him with new respect and become completely dependent on him!

Every time he thought about this, he couldn't suppress the morbid restlessness in his heart.

In his distorted perception, Cai Zhiqi's image became increasingly lofty, as if radiating a "heroic" aura.

He selectively ignored the risks and potential consequences of the mission.

Just then, the door to the training room was pushed open.

Li Xu walked in with leisurely steps.

Behind him followed a middle-aged man with a serious face and a capable demeanor.

It was the Li family's steward.

Upon seeing Li Xu arrive, Xia Yue and the other two quickly got up from the ground and forced smiles as they went to greet him.

This is their opportunity to showcase the results of their training over this period of time.

They also hoped to win Li Xu back and persuade him to rejoin the team.

"Young Master Li, you've arrived!" Xia Yue tried her best to make her voice sound sweet and confident. "We've just finished a round of training, so we'd like to ask you for some pointers."

Li Xu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping around the training room.

"Let's begin. Let me see how you've changed over this period of time," Li Xu said calmly.

Xia Yue immediately gave the others a wink.

The four quickly got into the zone.

Liu Hui activated the training equipment, Xia Yue and Yang Mei stood behind, and Zhang Tian slowly picked up his twin swords.

A few minutes later, the simulation ended.

The instrument gave them a relatively high overall evaluation of their performance.

Xia Yue and the other two looked at Li Xu with slight trepidation.

Li Xu stared at the data panel in silence for a few seconds before slowly speaking:

"You have indeed made progress during this period."

Upon hearing this, the three of them's eyes lit up instantly, and a sense of anticipation welled up in their hearts.

It seems... there's a chance?

However, Li Xu's next words were like a bucket of ice water.

They completely extinguished the flame of hope that had just been ignited within them.

"Unfortunately..." Li Xu's voice remained calm, "You are making progress, but others are also making progress."

"I just watched the training session of the Wind and Moon Squad this morning."

"Their progress is faster than yours."

Li Xu looked at Xia Yue and the other two, whose faces were gradually turning pale, and spoke in an icy tone.

"Based on the strength you've demonstrated so far, the 'Wind and Moon Squad' is still stronger than you."

"You've been eliminated by me."

He paused, a hint of weariness in his voice.

"Butler Li, considering how hard they've trained, let's give each of them a reward of 2000 yuan for their hard work."

After saying that, Li Xu didn't look at Xia Yue and the others again, and left the training room without turning back.

That indifferent figure seemed to have never paid them any attention.

"Young Master Li! Li..." Xia Yue subconsciously tried to call out to him.

The words got stuck in his throat, and he ultimately couldn't say them.

The training room fell into dead silence.

The three members of the team stood frozen in place, as if all their strength had been drained away.

Li Xu's last words were like a knife, stabbing them deeply into their most vulnerable spots.

The words, "You've been eliminated by me," shattered their last remaining illusions.

An indescribable resentment rose uncontrollably from the depths of their hearts, distorting their faces.

Back then... back then, if Li Xu hadn't sent someone to contact them and hint that he wanted to join their Dawn Squad...

How could they be so blinded by greed as to force Lin Yu out of the house just to make room for her?!

If it weren't for Li Xu, they might be enjoying the school's special support and even breaking national records alongside Lin Yu!

How could things be like this now, where you're sweating buckets in the training room, only to be given "hardship money" like a beggar being given alms!

Now that's great, Lin Yu, their real sugar daddy, is gone, and Li Xu, their "sugar daddy," has also packed up and left.

Their Dawn Squad ended up empty-handed.

Not only did they gain nothing, they also ended up being universally hated!

Xia Yue bit her lip hard, her body trembling slightly with anger and humiliation.

At this moment, Butler Li walked over.

He had no expression on his face, took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out eight thousand yuan in cash, and handed it over.

Looking at that stack of banknotes, Xia Yue felt an intense irritation.

She suddenly raised her head, her voice filled with barely suppressed grievance:

"Butler Li, it was all agreed beforehand that after we had the support player leave the team, Young Master Li would join our squad!"

"Now Young Master Li isn't joining the team again..."

"Isn't this...isn't this a joke on us?!"

Butler Li's originally calm expression instantly darkened upon hearing Xia Yue's words.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and the powerful aura of a level 52 professional was released without reservation!

Although they didn't directly attack, their invisible aura, like a heavy mountain, suddenly pressed down on Xia Yue and the other two!

They were just students in their early twenties; how could they withstand the pressure from such a powerful figure?

Suddenly, I felt short of breath, my legs went weak, my face turned pale, and I couldn't even speak.

"You bunch of useless trash, you dare to make demands of me here?!"

Butler Li's voice was icy cold, filled with undisguised contempt.

"The reason I took a liking to you guys was because I thought you had some potential and could be an asset to the young master at school."

"And what about you? Look at yourselves now, what a terrible sight you've become!"

"I got punished by the young master for my poor performance, and he docked a lot of my salary!"

"I haven't even settled accounts with you, yet you have the nerve to question me?!"

With each word he spoke, the oppressive aura emanating from him intensified.

Xia Yue and the other two were so pressed down that they were almost collapsing to the ground, cold sweat pouring down their faces. How could they dare to utter a single complaint?

"Hmph! A bunch of useless trash!"

Seeing that they were all silent, Steward Li snorted coldly and suppressed his aura.

He casually tossed eight thousand yuan at Xia Yue's feet: "Take the money and get lost!"

"Don't bother the young master again, or... you'll face the consequences!"

After saying that, Butler Li didn't even bother to look at them again, and turned to leave in a hurry.

All four members of the team were deathly pale.

Even after the suffocating sense of oppression dissipated, it still made them feel uneasy.

Xia Yue's legs went weak and she almost knelt down, but Liu Hui and Yang Mei quickly helped her up.

"What...what are we going to do..." Yang Mei picked up the money from the ground, her voice trembling with tears. "We haven't finished our team assignment for school this month..."

"If we don't run the dungeon soon, we won't get any credits..."

"The problem is... we don't have any reliable support players willing to join our team anymore..." Liu Hui said dejectedly. "Everyone on the forums is criticizing us for being ungrateful, our reputation is ruined..."

Xia Yue leaned against the wall, her face ashen, unable to even utter words of comfort to her teammates.

An unprecedented sense of despair enveloped her.

A former campus star, now reduced to this state.

She felt that her future was bleak.

In this suffocating atmosphere, Zhang Tian, ​​who had been sitting in the corner, suddenly stood up.

The agreed time is getting closer and closer.

His confidence grew ever stronger.

He walked up to the three men, his face radiating an unprecedented confidence.

"Don't give up!" Zhang Tian's voice was resolute, his gaze sweeping intently over his three teammates. "You have to believe in me!"

The three were taken aback by his sudden declaration and looked at him blankly.

"I've found a way to greatly increase my strength!"

Zhang Tian's tone was seductive, and his confident expression gave the three desperate men a sense of exhilaration.

"Two days at most!" Zhang Tian held up two fingers and shook them vigorously. "It will only take two days!"

"I will definitely lead our Dawn Squad back to the top!"

"No, it's stronger than before!"

"At that time, Lin Yu, the 'Romantic Squad'... they'll all be insignificant!"

He spoke with such certainty and persuasiveness that Xia Yue and the other two found themselves unconsciously beginning to believe him.

Even a drowning person can regain hope by grasping at a straw.

"Really...really, Brother Tian?" Liu asked hesitantly.

"Yueyue, are you willing to believe me?" Zhang Tian did not answer Liu Hui directly, but instead fixed his gaze on Xia Yue's face.

Those burning eyes seemed to see into her very soul.

Xia Yue blushed slightly under his gaze.

The slight resentment I had before seemed less important now.

She needs hope, she needs someone to tell her that everything can be salvaged.

"Brother Tian, ​​I...I definitely believe you." Xia Yue took a deep breath and forced a sweet smile. "You've always been very talented, I know that."

Hearing Xia Yue's admiring praise and seeing the familiar shy look on her face, Zhang Tian felt as sweet as if he had drunk honey, so comfortable that he almost floated away.

His vanity swelled to its peak in an instant.

"Great! Yueyue, that's enough for me!" Zhang Tian waved his hand triumphantly. "Just wait for my good news in the next couple of days!"

He glanced at the time; it was almost time to meet Cai Zhiqi.

Without further delay, he nodded to the three of them and turned to walk out of the training room.

As he reached the door, he was suddenly inspired to write a poem that fit the mood.

Unable to resist, he began to recite aloud, his voice echoing in the empty corridor:

"Laughing loudly, I stride out the door; how can I, a man of such talent, be a mere commoner!"

"Hahahahaha!"

With a hearty laugh filled with smug satisfaction, Zhang Tian disappeared outside the door.

In the training room, the remaining three looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

After a long pause, Yang Mei cautiously asked, "Yueyue, Liu Hui... do you think what Zhang Tian just said is reliable?"

"Does he really have some kind of method to suddenly become stronger in just two days?"

Xia Yue touched her still slightly flushed cheeks.

Recalling Zhang Tian's confident gaze just now, the sense of dependence in her heart seemed to deepen even more.

She nodded vigorously: "I believe in Brother Tian. Although he is sometimes concerned about saving face, he rarely boasts."

"Since he dared to say that, he must be confident."

"I believe in Brother Tian too," Liu Hui chimed in. "He... has obsessive-compulsive disorder and cares a lot about how others perceive him."

"He wouldn't speak so confidently about something he wasn't sure of, much less talk nonsense in front of us."

"He must have found some connections or obtained some powerful items."

"Yes, I'm willing to believe in Brother Tian this once too." Yang Mei nodded, hope rekindling in her eyes. "Maybe... Brother Tian is a hidden genius like Lin Yu?"

"Perhaps he just didn't show it before, or was he restricted in some way?"

Although the idea was somewhat absurd, at this moment, it became the "possibility" they were most willing to believe.

Ultimately, Zhang Tian is now the last hope for the Dawn Squad.

What else can they do but believe him?

The three composed themselves and silently left the cold and empty training room.

They prayed in their hearts again and again.

They prayed that Zhang Tianzhen could bring about a miracle and lead them out of this quagmire of despair.