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Chapter 117: Traitor

"Oh," Xiong Zhigang nodded slowly. "How come I haven\'t heard of you?"

"Hahaha."

"With Senior Xiong\'s status, it\'s natural he wouldn\'t pay attention to such a newcomer."

"I\'ve heard of him. The most valuable player in the first and second rounds of this season\'s High School War God League competition. Quite impressive, making waves."

"Hmph, what\'s so great about that?"

"This league has been running for years. We\'ve seen plenty of rising stars who fizzle out. How many actually make it to the end?"

Several boys at the table chuckled.

It was clear that Xiong Zhigang held a high status, since the others were so deferential toward him. An angry Tan Qingying was about to say something when Li Xiaofei gently squeezed her hand under the table, silently stopping her.

"Oh, so you\'re the latest rising star," Xiong Zhigang smiled faintly. "Forgive my rudeness. It turns out we have a connection. I spent my first year of high school at Red Flag High School as well."

"Hmm?"

Li Xiaofei was surprised. This person was a student from Red Flag High School?

"Have you already graduated from high school?" Li Xiaofei asked.

Xiong Zhigang replied, "I\'m a senior this year."

Li Xiaofei was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "Did you transfer schools?"

A boy named Mu Yuanzhi laughed and said, "Senior Xiong was the Rookie of the Year in the S249 season, the Kill Leader in the S250 season, and the Season MVP. Now, he\'s the chief captain of the top-ranked team at Duxing High School, the number one prestigious school in the base city. Kid, now you know there\'s always someone better and another mountain to climb."

Li Xiaofei ignored the boy and sent a light-core message to Chen Fei, asking for detailed information about Xiong Zhigang.

Chen Fei\'s reply was brief:

Just a traitor.

Li Xiaofei realized. Before he could send another message, Chen Fei sent another one.

Did you run into him? Try not to provoke him. This guy is very cunning and manipulative. He’s willing to do anything to achieve his goals.

When he read the message, Li Xiaofei understood the situation. It seemed the separation was unpleasant, and Red Flag High School had suffered because of it.

He looked at Xiong Zhigang and deliberately asked, "Why did you leave Red Flag High School after your first year?"

Xiong Zhigang replied indifferently, "We had irreconcilable differences."

"Heh," Li Xiaofei retorted bluntly, "This is the first time I\'ve heard someone so shamelessly dress up betrayal as something so noble."

"Betrayal?" Xiong Zhigang smiled faintly, "Li Xiaofei, there\'s no need to be so harsh. It was Red Flag High School that let me down first by reneging on their promises. Forget it, you don\'t know my story, but you\'ll definitely choose the path I\'ve walked in the future."

Li Xiaofei sneered, "Your path is better left for ingrates."

Anger flashed through Xiong Zhigang\'s eyes.

"Xiong-kun is really impressive," Mizutani Hikaru suddenly spoke up, her Jiepeng-accented voice and her large eyes filled with admiration.

"You\'re too kind," Xiong Zhigang smiled warmly. "Miss Mizutani\'s Jiepeng martial arts are also impressive. I\'d love to exchange techniques with you sometime."

"I\'d be delighted," Mizutani Hikaru replied. Her voice could charm even the hardest of hearts.

The male students around them felt their hearts soften at her words. As they were speaking, the host\'s voice began to echo throughout the banquet hall. The room erupted into a lively commotion, with many people instinctively standing up and applauding.

Xiong Zhigang and the others also stood up to clap. It turned out that the dignitaries from the first and second tables were making their entrance.

The group was led by a middle-aged man in black. He had a handsome and refined face that exuded an elegant charm. He walked with the poise of a dragon or a tiger, his expression serious and commanding respect. That was none other than Inspector Li Zhoumin.

City Leader Tan Zhenwei was walking on Li Zhoumin’s left. On his right was a middle-aged man in military uniform. Though he was not tall, he was extremely robust. He wore a military cap and had a stern, square face that exuded authority and carried a faint aura of blood and iron. It was clear that he was a martial arts expert.

"That\'s Ding Longao, the commander of the garrison in the base city," Tan Qingying whispered.

The garrison commander and the city leader held equal positions of power in the base city. They were followed by the heads of the five major families, five elderly gentlemen with white hair and beards. They all appeared kind and benevolent, smiling and greeting everyone. They radiated an aura of high moral standing and respect.

Next came the heads of various government offices, followed by star entrepreneurs, major taxpayers, well-known experts, scholars, the president of Liuhe University, and other social elites. There was also a Jiepeng representative wearing a kimono. The twenty people took their seats according to their name tags and the banquet officially began.

Li Xiaofei watched curiously, but then felt a bit disappointed. The entire process wasn\'t much different from those of five hundred years ago. An opening speech, a few words from the leaders, a couple of cultural performances, followed by more speeches from the leaders...

Those engrossed in the pursuit of fame and fortune watched with great interest. Li Xiaofei, on the other hand, felt drowsy.

"Li Xiaofei, please be more serious," Xiong Zhigang admonished. "Being present at such a solemn and sacred occasion is an honor. Don\'t yawn and look so unsophisticated."

"None of your business," Tan Qingying retorted bluntly.

Li Xiaofei smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I was fighting star beasts on the city wall all night and didn\'t get any sleep. I\'m too tired."

"Why don\'t you say you went to the wilderness to hunt a Beast King?" Xiong Zhigang mocked.

"Exactly, you shouldn’t be making up stories just to impress a girl."

"Miss Tan, you should be careful not to be deceived by lying commoners."

"You dare to tell such tall tales."

"Everyone knows it was Goddess Ye Liuying who took down the Beast King outside the city last night and saved the base city once again."

The other boys, who were already annoyed with Li Xiaofei, seized the opportunity to ridicule him.

"It doesn’t matter if you guys believe it or not," Li Xiaofei couldn\'t be bothered to argue with kids.

But this attitude looked like guilt after being caught in a lie to Xiong Zhigang and his friends, and they laughed even more.

"Are you guys done yet?" Tan Qingying snapped and said, "Keep being nasty, and I\'ll smash your mouths in."

She was like a protective mother leopard. The boys quickly fell silent with awkward expressions. They didn\'t dare offend the city leader\'s daughter. But their glares at Li Xiaofei were now filled with even more hostility.

Li Xiaofei couldn\'t care less about the stares and whispers.

The charity auction then began in earnest. High-ranking officials and social elites would often donate one or two items for free. The proceeds from the auction would go into designated fund accounts to support one or two specific causes.

Just like in his previous life. Li Xiaofei had initially entertained the idea of participating in the auction to snag a good deal. However, he quickly realized he had been naive.

The big shots at the banquet started the bidding with tens of thousands of star coins. It was like they had money to burn. Some auction items were merely second-hand goods worth a few dozen or a few hundred star coins, but because the donor was a high-ranking official, the wealthy attendees fought over them and drove the prices sky-high.

It was utterly ridiculous. A rich man\'s game.

Although Li Xiaofei wasn\'t poor, he couldn\'t compete with these people. All the income from his organization went towards developing the slum, and his own earnings were spent on cultivation resources.

Every penny was spent wisely. There was no way he could afford to waste money in such frivolous games.

After watching for a while, Li Xiaofei felt bored. He turned to Tan Qingying and said, "I\'m going to the restroom."

He walked out of the banquet hall alone. Outside, the fresh night breeze hit his face. When he breathed in the fresh air, Li Xiaofei felt his mood improve slightly. The events at the auction made him uncomfortable.

So many poor and ordinary people struggled to make ends meet in the base city, working hard every day just to survive. Numerous low-level martial artists risked their lives hunting star beasts in the wilderness, and countless soldiers shed their blood and gave their lives to defend the base city... Yet the people from the five major families were living in luxury.

So much money was being thrown away like water just to curry favor with leaders and important figures.

"Hey? What are you doing here?" A familiar female voice suddenly came from the side.