No strange things are allowed to evolve!

Who knew we'd run into such a tough nut to crack?

However, he dared not complain at all; all he felt was relief.

Thankfully, I managed to keep my job.

"Alright." Jiang Shu finally let him go: "Then tell me, but let me make this clear first, whether I help you or not is my business. You have no right to force me or hold me hostage, understand?"

"I understand, I understand. I didn't have any dangerous thoughts in the first place, so don't worry."

"That's good."

After Jiang Shu's antics, Shaqima became much more obedient.

Perhaps knowing that force wouldn't work and that Jiang Shu wouldn't take it, Shaqima didn't dare to threaten him anymore. She could only try to appear as sincere as possible and even prepared for the worst, asking Jiang Shu to at least keep it a secret even if he decided not to help after hearing her story. This was the bottom line for the Bureau of Different Principles.

Jiang Shu readily agreed to this reasonable request.

"Here's the thing, regarding the first person in the Ultimate Arena, that person has a highly suspicious identity and is extremely likely to cause serious harm to the entire Evolutionary World. After investigation, we are almost certain that she and the organization behind her are brewing a terrible conspiracy. For this, they need the Anti-Combat Order, which can command the entire Anti-Combat Alliance, as an important auxiliary tool."

For some reason, we cannot disclose this information for the time being, lest we alert her. Therefore, at this stage, all we can do is prevent her from winning the tournament.

When it came to serious matters, Sachima became much more serious:

"But unfortunately, that organization has been preparing for this for a long time. The person they put forward is too strong. Among the strongest young people in our organization who meet the requirements for the competition, I, who can be ranked in the top three, can only rank tenth in this preliminary round. Although the other two are ranked higher, there is still a considerable gap between them and that person."

This situation is giving us a huge headache, and we have no choice but to seek outside help. Just then, you appeared and gave me hope.

There's still some time before the main tournament starts, and you still have room to improve and a chance to defeat her. So I hope you can help us. It doesn't necessarily have to be winning the tournament, but just stopping her and preventing her from taking the title is enough.

Is the younger generation of the Bureau of Different Strategies the strongest?

Who sealed it?

How come I didn't know?

Jiang Shu almost laughed.

He hasn't even left the mountain yet, isn't this ridiculous?

While Jiang Shu was somewhat surprised that the number one ranked person was his enemy, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

He had long sensed that this year's competition was not entirely innocent; the various forces were vying for power, and something big was bound to happen.

Thinking this, Jiang Shu asked, "Is that person a rebel?"

"You even know about rebels?" Sachima asked, somewhat surprised.

Compared to the Bureau of Different Systems, there are not many evolved beings who know about the Rebels.

But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Jiang Shu is just a rogue cultivator, so it would be unreasonable for him to be so mysterious and powerful without something. Rather, it's more accurate to say that Shaqima approached him because she was looking for this, hoping that Jiang Shu might be able to bring help from other places. So he didn't think too much about it.

He simply replied, "While I also wish I were a rebel, at least we would know more about them and have some experience dealing with them, if not be adept, but unfortunately, that person is not a rebel."

"No?" Jiang Shu was quite surprised this time.

“Yes, it’s a very mysterious organization.” Sachima nodded. “Actually, I don’t know much about them either, but they are a recently emerged organization with a completely different purpose from the Rebels, but they are equally dangerous.”

"Well..."

I've never heard of that before.

Jiang Shu was truly at a loss now.

How much is the bureau chief still hiding from me? What are his true intentions in sending me here?

He couldn't figure it out for the time being, but Jiang Shu had already decided to help.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't really helping out; it was more of a favor. After all, his original goal was to win the championship, and this was also a matter within the Bureau of Different Principles, so there was no reason for him to refuse.

However, one thing is one thing, and he still wanted to keep clear accounts even between brothers.

"What can I get?" he asked directly.

“This…” Sachima thought for a moment, feeling that it was not convenient for her to make the decision herself, so she could only say, “The specifics still need to be discussed with the higher-ups, but I will definitely not let you help for nothing. If you really manage to do it in the end, I will definitely make you satisfied.”

“Hmm…” Jiang Shu pondered for a moment: “Before I give you an answer, there is one more thing that needs to be confirmed.”

"You said."

"Although you said you investigated me beforehand, how can you be so sure I'm trustworthy?" Jiang Shu asked, voicing her doubts. "I mean, this is such an important matter, you wouldn't have just casually inquired about it, would you?"

The answer to this question will determine whether Jiang Shu can trust Shaqima, or in other words, whether Shaqima is a bad teammate or a true partner who can share information.

“Of course we wouldn’t be so hasty,” Sachima replied. “I won’t hide it from you. Actually, we didn’t just start investigating you. We ask our colleagues to investigate everyone who enters the final arena as soon as possible. The information we received is that your background is clean and you are a force that can be won over if necessary. That’s why I came to you.”

That's fine.

How is this any different from you asking my parents if I'm a good kid?

The information about herself that the bureau could find had probably already been completely reset by the minister and the bureau chief, so Sachima probably would never have imagined that her information would be false.

It's not that real, at least.

"Alright then." Jiang Shu was completely relieved. "I'll take it."

Delta Force is in its new season, let's speedrun 3x3!

Hehe, taking a day off~

Chapter 310 Nickname-Level Powerhouse

"Really? That's wonderful."

Upon receiving Jiang Shu's affirmative reply, Shaqima visibly relaxed.

However, it's clear that he didn't feel completely at ease with the feeling of "it's all settled," but rather that he felt more at ease because he had a companion.

That's not surprising.

After all, in Shaqima's eyes, Jiang Shu's current combat strength is still quite strong but limited. However, if he were to level up and further unleash his abilities, he might be able to contend with the number one fighter.

For him, winning over Jiang Shu was not a high-stakes gamble; at most, it was just an additional investment to increase the chances of success.

However, Sachima did a good job of putting on a show.

Of course, it's also possible that Jiang Shu's old-fashioned fighting style had a deterrent effect on him.

In short, he then comforted Jiang Shu, saying, "But don't put too much pressure on yourself. Do what you can. It's okay if you can't do it."

Seeing his hesitant expression, Jiang Shu could roughly guess that what he probably wanted to say most was—don't say it was my fault if something happens to you or you suffer any losses.

Seeing this, Jiang Shu teased, "I still prefer your unruly side."

Sachima's face darkened: "I already said it was a misunderstanding..."

"It's not just what happened just now, but also what happened back in the arena, where you kept verbally attacking me, didn't you?"

Jiang Shu smiled and said:

"It seems our Comrade Sachima is very competent, keeping her work and life very separate."

"You mean that?" Seeing that Jiang Shu didn't seem really upset about it, but was just joking, Shaqima didn't mince words and said directly, "That's just a persona."

"There's a character setting?" Jiang Shu became interested. "Is it like the kind of identity and personality you're given when you're undercover? You have to act according to that character setting?"

“Not entirely,” Sachima replied. “Well… I would say that while we don’t have what you’re describing, it is indeed necessary for work.”

He paused, then explained somewhat helplessly, "My companion and I came here with a mission, not to make friends or anything like that, so we might not be as enthusiastic about socializing as the others in the final arena."

Honestly, I don't even want to bother with people who clearly lack the ability to help us stop the number one team, or who have any potential. Work is already stressful enough; I have absolutely no mood for pointless socializing, you know what I mean?

"I understand." Jiang Shu nodded in approval.

Useless social interactions are indeed meaningless. Not only do they not bring any benefits, but they are also difficult to obtain emotional value. They often get you into trouble and get involved in things that have nothing to do with you.

This kind of social interaction is particularly torturous for people who are prone to internal conflict but are too embarrassed to say no.

For Jiang Shu, this refers to people who don't pay any fees to join, don't place any orders, and just send all sorts of spam messages to his backend every day.

For example, phrases like "I believe you're a good boy, stop posting these things online and just live a good life with me," "Brother, I'm a student, can you give me the resource pack for free?" and "Young man, you have such big muscles, I really want to tear your underwear apart."

In short, you can tell at a glance whether someone is a potential customer or not.

"So I simply put on a tough-to-get-along-with attitude, which made many people who wanted to befriend me back down."

Sachima sighed:

"And although I was considered one of the top in my area, I realized after leaving that there are countless heroes in the world. I couldn't beat the number one, nor could I beat my colleagues, or even several other people. So I could only stay in tenth place."

"So you just set it up?"

“It’s not a pleasant thing to say, but it’s true.” Sachima shrugged. “If there’s no need, I usually just stay out of the way and spread the word that only the person who defeated Hiroshima Heatwave is qualified to challenge me. Before I met you, he was actually quite reliable. He turned down quite a few people who wanted to challenge me.”

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Jiang Shu finally understood. It turned out that Sachima stood up for Hiroshima Heatwave because she felt that the tool she had finally found for continuous exploitation had lost its authority and could no longer share her pain and anger in the game.

There was no genuine or moving emotion; all that existed was the despair of a poor, downtrodden worker who couldn't even take a break.

Sachima lowered her head and sighed, "I hope you understand."

"Understood," Jiang Shu replied.

Both of them silently raised their glasses, then clinked them together and took a sip.

It's like two middle-aged men, exhausted by life, helplessly enjoying a moment of peace at a barbecue stand.

"Anyway, there's not much to say about these things." Sachima changed the subject: "I think you'd be more interested in other information than that."

"About first place?"

“We can talk about that later.” Sachima kept everyone in suspense for now: “Let me first give you a brief analysis of the other eight people you will have to face before her, so that you can stand in front of her more quickly.”

"it is good."

“I found out that you only recently joined this qualifier, which is already in its final stages, so I think you probably don’t know that in almost every tournament, every player who is capable of competing for a top-ten spot gets a nickname.”

"Nickname?" Jiang Shu asked, puzzled. "What's the use of that?"

"If I had to pinpoint its function, it would probably be to gain more fame."

Shaqima explained:

"After all, most evolved beings' real names or self-chosen, nonsensical IDs are not easy to spread or remember, not to mention that a considerable number of people participating in the competition use aliases."

It's impossible to know exactly which year it started, but it has now become a tradition. When everyone determines that someone has the ability to stand out among their peers and is qualified to participate in the final competition, they will spontaneously give them some easy-to-spread nicknames.

This can actually be considered a consolation prize for the qualifiers. Even if you don't win the championship of the competition, or even if you don't make it into the main competition, as long as you have a nickname, you will be more easily remembered and more likely to make a name for yourself in the world of evolution.

This is why many people who know they can't win the championship still try their best to push forward. With the popularity of the competition and the promotion by the organizers, people with nicknames are more successful, and becoming famous through them is what they dream of.

This is a nickname-level powerhouse.

"Is there something about Title Douluo?"

“It’s not that formal.” Shaqima thought for a moment: “It’s more like a nickname in Water Margin, which can reflect a person’s personal style and abilities to a certain extent.”

"So you suddenly brought this up to show me their abilities using nicknames?" Jiang Shu understood Shaqima's intention.

"Yes."

Sachima gave an example:

"For example, the Ninth is a swordsman who is one of the few whose skills are all designed to enhance physical skills and weapons. The skills themselves have no offensive capabilities. Even his spiritual root characteristics are designed to enhance weapon control."

His characteristic is that his swordsmanship is simple and unadorned yet powerful and heavy. It may seem full of flaws, but he simply slashes at you, and you have no way to avoid it and can only passively take the hit.

There was once an evolutionary predecessor of his type. Legend has it that after reaching the level 18 limit, he was able to split a vast ocean in two with a single sword strike, revealing the seabed beneath.

And ninth, he can now cleave a river in two with a single sword stroke.

"Isn't the gap a bit too big?" Jiang Shu was speechless. "I can understand there's a difference, but by specifically mentioning that senior, doesn't that just make Ninth's current level seem even more ridiculous?"

“That river is called the Yellow River,” Shaqima said calmly.

"Brilliant."

"Under the same conditions, he is now doing better than that senior did at his age, so everyone believes that perhaps he doesn't even need to reach the limit level before he can split the sea with a single sword like that senior."

Sachima continued:

"So guess what his nickname is?"

Jiang Shu thought for a moment: "A sword that splits the sea, and a nickname like the one in Water Margin... then it should be called something like the Sea-Splitting Sword?"

"It's very close," Sachima said regretfully.

So what should it be called?