Chapter 46: 046 Country Beiwu Introduces Foreign Aid_1
"Then don’t take it to heart," Ding Ruijie advised, her tone that of an experienced veteran. "It’s like this every year during the competition. There are all sorts of people on the internet."
Wen Jiang’s past experience with bullying had already been thoroughly investigated at the time of signing the contract. It’s just that they didn’t think Wen Jiang was the type to be bullied, which made the details of the matter rather puzzling.
Moreover, with the encounter with Wu Fanjia, who also dared to take direct action, it was even more...
"I don’t mind at all," Wen Jiang said with a light smile. "Sister Ding, don’t worry about these things. Rest assured, the competition won’t be affected by it."
"That’s good." Ding Ruijie breathed a sigh of relief, hearing that Wen Jiang truly wasn’t bothered. She then added, "Even so, you should still look at online comments less. Don’t mind them. Just focus on preparing for your competition. This time we don’t plan to put pressure on you. Just do your best to be in the top ten."
In fact, the fans’ guesses were not wrong at all. The upper management was already greatly weakened from replacing 4 S-level Players for Sheng Hongying, and with General Jimo Xiao’s departure, they were utterly overwhelmed and had no time to deal with lower-level competitions.
They couldn’t have expectations for every competition.
Moreover, even with the Jimo Family’s support from behind, profits were still sliding downhill this year.
Investors are realistic. Mount Flower’s finances were also particularly tight this year. To reinforce Sheng Hongying’s team, they would have to spend enormously to recruit another 4 S-level Players, likely at an unexpectedly exorbitant price.
They truly lacked the energy to maintain support for the lower ranks and might even directly terminate contracts with some lower-level Spirit Card Masters.
Wen Jiang was very unlikely to be among them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed her from the start if there were such concerns.
"Okay, got it."
After talking with Ding Ruijie and hanging up the phone, Zero Egg continued to laugh wildly and triumphantly in Wen Jiang’s mind.
Someone had leaked negative information about Wen Jiang, which gave Zero Egg another idea: Although it was too far away to attack the main system of the Blue Star APP, creating hundreds or thousands of alt accounts was still doable.
In a moment, multiple accounts would say how bad a person Wen Jiang was, while dozens of alt accounts would turn into diehard fans of Wen Jiang, mindlessly clashing with others. This would incite anger from others, and at the very least, it would harvest dozens of Points every fifteen minutes—a real windfall!
Zero Egg reflected, Only after taking another path with its host did it realize how naïve its previous ideas were.
What’s the use of relying on the female rival’s jealousy? Arguing with others online, those Points were simply earned while lying down.
The main thing was that it never occurred to it before that Wen Jiang could also take the route of becoming famous. If nobody knew about Wen Jiang, then even if it used Wen Jiang’s name to spew vicious insults online, it would be useless.
And the person who leaked negative information about Wen Jiang probably didn’t expect that not only would the negative information not affect Wen Jiang, but it also provided a way to make money.
Of course, Wen Jiang found the messages from the System and the online arguments deeply distasteful.
Amidst the online storms, the Dongzhou Partition League arrived quietly.
A Spirit Card Master has two matches daily, scheduled at irregular times. However, they are always spaced out into two sessions. This is because a single match can often leave a Spirit Card Master severely drained, unless a significant skill gap allows for a quick conclusion.
The advancement system was very simple: win one match, earn one Point. Whoever has the most Points advances. If Points were tied, they would randomly enter overtime matches.
With hundreds of participants from the Card Association and the other three countries, the competition, depending on how it unfolds, usually lasts from half a month to a month.
Each division’s competition venues were separate. For example, individual matches were held in individual venues, and team matches in team venues. With so many people, it wasn’t possible to provide everyone with a reasonably planned schedule.
Spirit Card Masters who weren’t competing themselves could also go watch matches at other venues—of course, buying their own tickets.
Wen Jiang’s matches on the first day were scheduled for one at noon and another at eight in the evening, so there was plenty of time.
She arrived at the competition venue early and ran into a few familiar Spirit Card Masters. Among them was the one who had been holding a cat plushie the other day, from a mid-sized Card Association called Tarot.
Upon seeing her, that Spirit Card Master smiled and waved at Wen Jiang.
You don’t hit a smiling face, so naturally, Wen Jiang also nodded and smiled back.
Perhaps because Wen Jiang seemed good-tempered, which didn’t quite match her perceived aura, this Spirit Card Master was also a bold one. She tentatively approached Wen Jiang to say hello: "Hi, I’m An Fuxue from the Tarot Association."
Wen Jiang nodded. "Wen Jiang, from Mount Flower."
"I know who you are," An Fuxue said with a smile. "All you Spirit Card Masters from the big associations are famous. We pay close attention to you every year. I noticed you at the hotel that day."
"Mhm," Wen Jiang smiled too. "I also heard your comment that the Mount Flower Association is ’tanking’ and ’seems to have given up on this year’s competition.’"
An Fuxue: "..."
This was the very definition of awkwardness.
An Fuxue had apparently never encountered someone like Wen Jiang, who could render her speechless from the get-go. Her face flushed a strange red for a moment, but she still admitted frankly, "Indeed, I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I thought you were just another newbie. Mount Flower wouldn’t have let you join an international competition right off the bat if they weren’t confident in you."
An Fuxue had thick skin and was determined to forge a good relationship with Wen Jiang. "Is this really your first competition? You haven’t participated in even small ones before?"
"No. I signed with Mount Flower a few days ago, and they arranged the matches for me right away."
An Fuxue was astounded by Wen Jiang’s answer. "Then you must be very strong."
A player pushed straight into the limelight without any formal training or procedures must be incredibly strong. So, those online rumors were definitely orchestrated by someone.
Wen Jiang waved her hand modestly. "It’s alright. I’m only a little bit strong."
An Fuxue: "..."
While they were talking, other Spirit Card Masters nearby also took notice. Online, Wen Jiang was the one whose reputation was being most wildly manipulated. Seeing her act so nonchalantly, they couldn’t help but admire her composure. Is this really her first competition? How can she remain so calm?
She seemed to be a formidable opponent indeed.
Others had gloomy expressions. After all, the news on the internet must have been exacerbated by other associations, aiming to take down a player whenever they could.
Seeing that Wen Jiang was unaffected, they naturally realized this was bad news for them.
As the audience for the live event gradually entered, the competition was about to begin. The central projection screen started to display the list of participating players. A dense series of names flickered past. Ordinary people, unlike Spirit Card Masters, wouldn’t possess such strong memory. Wen Jiang had no reaction, as she didn’t recognize any of the players.
Oh, wait. Now she vaguely knew one: An Fuxue.
Suddenly, An Fuxue exclaimed, "HOLY SHIT! The rumors were actually true? Noah really transferred to Country Beiwu!"
As these words were spoken, the expressions of the surrounding Spirit Card Masters immediately turned sour.
Wen Jiang, curious for once, asked, "Who is Noah?"
An Fuxue turned back to look at her, seemingly shocked. "You don’t even know that? Haven’t you watched any matches before? Noah is from the Sanctuary Empire, a very strong B-level Spirit Card Master. There were rumors that the Tianqiluo Association from Country Beiwu spent a fortune to recruit him for the Dongzhou International League. I didn’t think it would actually be true!"