NOVPUBAll these ten individuals were themselves strong, and they had also mastered new talismanic magic thanks to Enlightenment Cola, with some even mastering two moves at once.
With this, both the main members and the substitutes were in place.
Afterward, Cao Youyi introduced another person to Ma Lu.
She was a young woman wearing a body-hugging qipao with curled hair, chatting and gesturing towards the Principal's Office with another young woman in Western dress holding a bellows camera.
Upon seeing Ma Lu, the young woman with curled hair's eyes suddenly lit up. She walked over and extended a delicate hand, her voice soft as she said,
"Principal Ma, I've heard so much about you. I am Lu Yingying from the Ping City Daily."
Cao Youyi said, "She's the friend I mentioned to you last week."
"Ah, hello Miss Lu," Ma Lu shook hands with Lu Yingying.
"Miss Lu Yingying wants to start a speciallumn in the Ping City Daily to report specifically about you and Hou De; she'll also be ampanying you to Lingnan."
"I love heroes the most," Lu Yingying said, looking at Ma Lu, with a flirtatious sparkle flitting through her peach-blossom eyes.
"Recently, I heard about Principal Ma stepping up in a time of crisis to take over Hou De, saving the school from being delisted by the Ministry of Education, and then using a series of measures to eradicate entrenched problems and revitalize Hou De. I have great respect for you.
"This time I finally got the chance to interview you, and I've heard that you also plan to challenge the Church Lingnan Education College. I can't miss this opportunity to witness your heroism firsthand."
"You flatter me, Miss Lu."
Lu Yingying's peach-blossom eyes were remarkably powerful, naturally exuding charm without any deliberate posing, making her gaze all the more lethal because of it.
After greeting Lu Yingying, Ma Lu pulled Cao Youyi aside and whispered, "What's the background of this Lu Yingying?"
"Why, Principal Ma, are you interested in pursuing her?" Cao Youyi asked in return.
"What are you talking about? Do I seem like that kind of person," Ma Lu said earnestly, "I'm onlynsidering that we might work together long-term, so I just wanted to know more about her."
"I see," Cao Youyi explained. "Lu Yingying is the youngest daughter of the president of Long Chang Chamber of Commerce. She studied abroad in the Western World and was placed at the Ping City Daily by her father because she wanted to be a reporter."
"No wonder," Ma Lu realized, "The Hero Group has clearly embargoed us; it's only this kind of naïve rich girl who would darever us at a time like this.
"Hmm, she is worth getting to know more deeply. I'll meet her again in a bit. And that photographer with her, who is that person?"
Lu Yingying's status was not simple, and those associated with her were unlikely to be ordinary. Moreover, not just anyoneuld afford a camera these days.
"I don't know her," Cao Youyi shook his head, "I haven't seen her before, but since she's with Lu Yingying, she must be from the newspaper. I'll have someone inquire at the newspaper later."
"No need, I'll just go ask Lu Yingying directly. Also, has the plane been booked?"
"It's booked, we take off at 5:30 am, and after landing, there will be a carriage from the Carriage Shop to take you to Lingnan."
Cao Youyi was still somewhat uneasy and added, "Lingnan won't be easy to deal with, especially since they have their ace, Luo Hengyi."
"Arding to information gathered by Qiutong, Luo Hengyi has once again passed the rank certification exam earlier this year. He's now third rank, his signature Golden Body Talisman, once activated, can make him invulnerable to water and fire, impervious to swords and spears."
"Combined with Samadhi True Fire, he can even take on three opponents at once. Unless something unexpected happens, he will appear in both the individual and team battles."
"Hmm, it's quite impressive to have third rank strength at such a young age. But no matter, now that we know his moves, there's nothing to fear."
Ma Lu said, "Let the students on the list rest early. We'll depart promptly at 4:30 am."
Cao Youyi also arranged a room for Lu Yingying and her photographer partner to rest, but the two were so excited that they said they wanted to take more photos of Hou De.
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Actually, there wasn't much to capture in the dark, but the two simply wanted tontinue exploring the school.
Hou De nowadays was not the same as it used to be, but it still occupied a good half of Shouyang Mountain. Coupled with many abandoned school buildings, wandering around at night was still quite interesting, just like strolling through a haunted house in another plane.
Cao Youyi didn't expose their motive and let Qi Baichuan ampany them.
By 4 a.m., everyone gathered at the school gate. Lu Yingying and her photographer partner looked exhausted, huffing and puffing.
Lu Yingying felt a bit embarrassed, as she had wanted to interview Ma Lu on the plane, so she approached Cao Youyi to ask if there was anyffee to drink.
Cao Youyi shook her head, "The school doesn't haveffee."
"That's bad. There's a café in town, but it's definitely not open at this hour," Lu Yingying was somewhat troubled.
Ma Lu, overhearing theirnversation, had an idea and spent 6 education points to buy two bottles of refreshingffee from the store, and handed them over.
"Coffee? Just so happens I have some." 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
"Really?"
Lu Yingying was somewhat skeptical; cannedffee had not yet been invented in this world. To drinkffee one had to either go to a café or grind it fresh at home.
The small can didn't look like itntainedffee at all.
But she accepted the can regardless, though puzzled on how to open it.
So Ma Lu took it back from her hands and pulled off the ring.
Lu Yingying found it very novel, mimicking Ma Lu's actions to open another can and handed it to her photographer partner.
She even looked at the ring pull from all angles in front of her eyes.
"Stop looking, just throw it away quick, it's quite sharp. Be careful not to cut your hand."
Lu Yingying verbally agreed but didn't throw it away, instead, she sneaked it into her pocket.
As the daughter of the head of the chamber ofmmerce, she obviously wasn't short of money, but this little trinket was something she had never seen before and was indeed a novelty, so she wanted to keep it for a bit longer to play with.
Then she took a sip from the can – indeed, it wasffee.
However, the flavor was very unusual, unlike any she had tasted before, with a very rich creamy taste, and although it wasld, it was still quite delicious.
Lu Yingying had initially taken only a small sip, but soon she tilted her head back and finished the can with a gulp.
"Really curious, how on earth did you fit theffee into this can?" With a can offfee down, Lu Yingying felt much more refreshed and asked.
But Ma Lu just blinked, "Secret."
Lu Yingying, actingquettishly, grabbed Ma Lu's arm, "Principal Ma, just tell me."
Before Ma Luuld say anything, her photographer partneruldn't bear to watch any longer andughed lightly twice, prompting Lu Yingying to reluctantly let go of Ma Lu's arm.
"Then I'll ask you again once we board the plane, right, the interview, this is for the interview."
Once everyone had arrived, Li Zhengweiunted the number of people again, and only then did they descend the mountain and take a horse-drawn carriage to the airport.
This was the snd time Hou De had chartered a flight within a short span of two weeks, and the airport manager rgnized them.
He personally wemed them at the door and had blankets prepared for each person on the plane so that those who hadn't had enough sleepuldntinue to rest.
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