Chapter 182: 182 Mount Flower S Rank withdrawal_1
Wen Jiang’s words almost made everyone’s mouths drop open in shock. Even Song Jue and Song Yi couldn’t help but exchange a look, as if they wanted to burst into incredulous laughter.
Not able to protect them? Did Wen Jiang even know what she was talking about? They, as S Rank players, needed protection from an A-Rank Spirit Card Master?
But then they thought of Dong Shao, who had been inexplicably injured, and the desire to criticize turned into a stiff smile. Even the coach looked at Wen Jiang in shock. If Wen Jiang weren’t currently acting as their boss, he would have sincerely suggested she get her head checked.
Wen Jiang also knew her words must seem laughable to them. She couldn’t openly discuss Dong Shao’s issue; after all, they wouldn’t understand the existence of resentment. As for the person behind it, that was still merely her own speculation. Even though Wen Jiang trusted her intuition, it wasn’t enough to convince others.
Hua Zhuo, however, realized that Wen Jiang was not joking. Her wheelchair slid over to Wen Jiang, and she said in a low voice, "Come with me."
Once outside and in a quiet corner, Hua Zhuo asked, "Whom do you suspect?"
"Yu Jian," replied Wen Jiang. She couldn’t elaborate on the problem with the System, simply lowering her eyelids and murmuring, "A few days ago, during the battle against the Crying Angels, I encountered a similar situation. But I was guarding them then, and we weren’t affected."
She hadn’t expected Yu Jian to dare to attack S Rank team members, and to do so undetected; she counted that as her own oversight. This woman had always stayed out of her sight, making her difficult to track.
Hua Zhuo’s expression gradually grew darker. "Yu Jian targeted Mount Flower? Why?"
Wen Jiang suspected it was related to her. Her own actions hadn’t been particularly covert, so Yu Jian probably suspected she was another person in control of a System. Such a person would certainly not regard her, another System-holder, as an ally. Likely, these actions were meant both to target Wen Jiang and to test something. Wen Jiang wasn’t afraid of resentment. If Yu Jian wanted to test that, Wen Jiang could also deduce in reverse that resentment might be an item provided by the System. Her own System was foolish, often clueless, but that didn’t mean the other person’s Heaven’s Mandate System was the same. The Heaven’s Mandate System was an old pro who had completed many tasks; it surely possessed many powerful items. Of course, if Yu Jian was solely targeting Hua Zhuo out of simple malice, Wen Jiang would just have to admit she had overestimated Yu Jian’s intelligence. After all, smart people love to complicate things. With this one incident, she had too many factors to consider—what if Yu Jian was indeed just a foolish woman? Judging from her failure against Song Ji and her continued jealousy towards Hua Zhuo, it was evident that she wasn’t rational.
Wen Jiang felt she had to consider it from both angles. Smart people weren’t always the most frightening; sometimes, impulsive fools like this were more cause for concern. You could never predict when they might suddenly decide to stab you. The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. She was relying on herself; Zero Egg was just a useless little wretch. And the Heaven’s Mandate System might well be relying on itself to guide this host... But how did it choose this target in the first place?
If Yu Jian knew what Wen Jiang was thinking at that moment, she probably would have wanted to stab Wen Jiang to death.
Hua Zhuo sighed. "With Dong Shao’s condition, participating is no longer possible. We can only announce our withdrawal." She added, "The Crying Angels’ team members also announced their withdrawal; their support suffered a similar issue. One victim was Mount Flower, and the other was Mount Flower’s opponent. There seems to be something wicked about this year’s competition."
Wen Jiang nodded. She planned to wander around Card City soon to see if she could find traces of that woman.
That evening, with Hua Zhuo’s approval, Mount Flower decisively announced their withdrawal.
Divine Punishment was also thrust into the center of the storm. Being outskilled was one thing, but Dong Shao was the only one injured and had been fine in all previous matches. Clarence injuring someone with his first move, despite his strength, made the targeting seem blatant. Yunxia could afford to lose. However, if things continued this way, wouldn’t it mean that other Yunxia associations could also target weaker Spirit Card Masters from the Sanctuary?
The controversy over surrendering cards hadn’t yet subsided when the International Card Association found itself dealing with another issue: it announced its intention to investigate Dong Shao’s injury.
Clarence himself eventually responded. He stated he had no intention of hurting Dong Shao and was merely engaging in normal combat. He, too, was puzzled as to how Dong Shao had been injured. A frame-by-frame analysis of the video showed no indication that he had struck the blow, especially since Spirit Card Masters fought from a distance through their Card Spirits.
In the end, a UR-Rank Spirit Card Master stepped forward, promising a thorough investigation into the matter, and only then did the fighting among fans subside.
But with several major controversies occurring this year, the disputes between Yunxia and international parties intensified, especially amid accusations from abroad that Dong Shao had deliberately faked his injury to frame Clarence. After all, if someone from a second-tier association successfully framed Clarence, he could potentially be banned, which would be a huge loss for Divine Punishment.
Because of this, Hua Zhuo didn’t suspect Divine Punishment; instead, she believed Wen Jiang’s words even more. Given Yu Jian’s methods, it was indeed possible for her to carry out such a scheme, seamlessly shifting the blame onto someone else.
Even though Mount Flower announced their withdrawal, the angry fans still couldn’t be reasoned with.
Dong Shao knew that because of him, Mount Flower couldn’t continue in the competition. Although he was the victim, he voluntarily issued an apology after returning, stating he was very sorry that his situation had led to the suspension of Mount Flower’s competition schedule.
Rational people, of course, comforted him. After all, no Spirit Card Master would want to suffer such an injury. However, the irrational ones only focused on the withdrawal.
Unexpectedly, the one ultimately caught in the crosshairs of public outcry turned out to be Sheng Hongying.
[Angry! It’s too sad! Mount Flower is acting like a coward, withdrawing after an injury without even putting up a fight!]
[Damn it, calm down with the insults, will you? The guy’s injured! How do you expect him to compete? Do you have any idea how much an injury impacts a Spirit Card Master? And there are no substitutes for this! What else could they do but withdraw?]
[I’m telling you, the problem lies with Sheng Hongying! Whether it’s her previous teammates or the current ones, how does Sheng Hongying always manage to remain perfectly unscathed? I think her teammates end up like this because she jinxes them!]
[To hell with anyone dragging Shadow God into this!]
[What in the world does Shadow God have to do with this crap? I’m speechless! Can she magically predict her teammates getting injured?]
[The three rookies are truly damn miserable. They came here excited to participate in the competition, only to be knocked out in the first round of their first international event. It’s a disgrace, especially for Du Zhaiyue. Isn’t this a stain on his professional career?]
[Hahahahaha! So much hype before, and now knocked out in the first round of the world competition. Truly befitting of Mount Flower!]
[Although the S Rank might not have good news this year, the A-Rank Group could possibly bring some. Can everyone please try to watch the competition a little more peacefully...?]