Chapter 183: The Shameless John

“What? Is there a problem?” Seeing John become so nervous in an instant, Rod felt puzzled and asked with a smirk.
“Hehe… um… well, it’s better than having to go alone, right? It wouldn’t be good without you, after all. You’re our captain—we can’t forget you when there’s good news. Look at me, how much I care about you! Captain, you can’t refuse my kindness!” Upon Rod’s question, John’s face stiffened for a moment, but then he shamelessly continued to flatter him. Hearing this, even Kenny and Wiski, who were aware of the situation, couldn’t help but twitch their lips—feeling nauseous. Truly a master at flattery. At the same time, they secretly admired John’s eloquence; he could probably make even the dead sound alive and the foul smell fragrant if he tried hard enough.
“Enough, John. Just say it straight. Captain, here’s the truth: We happened to meet Sister Linda Xue just now. John went up to talk to her and heard exciting news. Sister Linda said she and Alice serta Sister Lucia Xue had planned to go to the market tonight since it’s a holiday tomorrow. After hearing that, John volunteered to act as their bodyguard, but he was rejected. And that’s how it happened…” With a amused expression, watching John rack his brains to hide the truth, Kenny couldn’t hold back anymore. He was afraid he might even be tempted to slap him, so he decided to tell Rod the real story.
“Kenny!” But before he could continue, John interrupted him, his face red as if his embarrassment had been exposed. He urgently shouted, fearing Kenny would go on.
“Go on, ignore him!” Rod, amused by John, signaled Kenny to continue. He wanted to see what condition John would end up sacrificing or how it would connect to him.
“Hehe, in the end, John said since the captain also needed to buy things and was planning to go tonight, it would be safer if they went together. That’s basically what he said. After his persistent pleading, Sister Linda finally agreed. That’s why he rushed over to find you! If the captain doesn’t go, how can John go?” With a faint smile, Kenny revealed the whole truth. Watching John’s twitching lips and flushed face, Kenny felt a sense of revenge—after all, John had spoken ill of him in front of the captain last time. This could be considered revenge.

“Kenny, you… you, huh, you still cooperated after all, right? Now you have the nerve to shift all the blame onto me. I remember you, captain—Kenny cooperated too, and Viski did as well! Since you know everything now, just state your position: are you going or not? Anyway, I’ve already told Senior Linda that we’re all going. If you want to buy something, you’ll have to explain it yourself if you don’t come!” Cornered, John resorted to his shrewd tactics—simply flipping over all the obstacles and acting like he had everything under control.

“Do you think I should go?” Rod felt amused looking at them. Kenny cooperating was expected, but he didn’t expect Viski to get involved too. Seeing Viski’s rare look of shyness and embarrassment was quite funny.

“Go! We must go!” Kenny and Viski quickly agreed, no longer caring about anything else.

Watching the three of them, Rod felt helpless—he felt like he’d been betrayed. This feeling reminded him of his time in Fire City with Cambi and Jerome. Oh right, he suddenly remembered—Kiro said he would tell him about Cambi and the others’ whereabouts. His eyes lit up; he wanted to rush over to find that damned guy right away. He had almost forgotten about it after that battle, after tormenting Nils so much!

But then, as if remembering something, he didn’t rush. Seeing the expectant expressions on their faces, he smiled slightly. “If we’re going, why not leave now?” With that, he walked past them toward the door.

“Go? Yes! We definitely going! What are you waiting for, John? Don’t you want to go?” Rod’s words stunned them again. They thought he would refuse after learning the truth, but instead he agreed so readily. They hurried after him, afraid of falling behind. Turning back, they saw John still standing there in shock. Kenny teased, “Damn you, Kenny! You bastard—you’re the one who won’t go! Remember, next time there’s anything good, I definitely won’t take you with me!” Shouting that, he rushed after them without any intention of falling behind.

Rod paid no attention to the noise made by the guys behind him. What concerned him most now was the news about Kambi and the others. After all, it had been nearly a year since they left Blaze City, and there had been no news from them at all. How could he not worry? The reason he decided to agree to their request was that Rod knew if Alice was going, then Kiro surely wouldn’t be left behind. First of all, Kiro was recruited by the Porter family, and he must have received some instructions at the academy—his top priority would definitely be to protect Alice’s safety. Of course, he wouldn’t neglect such a task. Since he was also going, asking questions later would be quite simple.

Under John’s “enthusiastic” guidance, the group quickly arrived at the girls’ dormitory. “Hmm, it’s right here. We’ve agreed on a time—about half an hour left. They’ll be here soon!” But what John said next made Rod want to punch him!

Suppressing his urge to hit him, Rod glared at the damned guy. “Why did you drag me here so early?”

“Hehe, as a gentleman, one shouldn’t keep a lady waiting too long. That’s good manners, you know? Captain, you should learn that. Otherwise, you’ll end up in shame. You’re not young anymore. Besides, you really shone at the Continental Tournament. And after defeating Sean, the fifth-ranked expert in the academy, with just two moves that day, you’ve become a celebrity. Countless people want to recruit you. The empire isn’t idle either—my old man even asked me about you. He’s interested in you too. Sooner or later, you’ll have to join the nobility. If you don’t, I can’t afford to lose face!”

“Anyway, Captain, you might consider joining my old man. He won’t treat you badly. Hehe, it’ll also save me from his constant nagging. Your joining might even give me freedom!” Hearing Rod’s words, John looked at him disdainfully before showing a shameless grin and asking for his opinion.

“Die if you want, but don’t drag me in. Besides, since you don’t want to die, there’s no reason for me to die!” Rod rolled his eyes. It was amazing this guy could say such shameless things. Rod was completely convinced now.

“Do you guys think the same?” Rod turned to ask Viski and Kenny beside him.

But obviously, he was disappointed. The next moment, his face twisted in pain. He was speechless about these guys, as Viski and Kenny both nodded in agreement with John’s words.

“Hehe, Captain, take a look. How about it? Anything left to say now? I told you! You must study, otherwise you’ll really fall behind!” John said excitedly, with a look of satisfaction on his face. It was rare to see the captain embarrassed, and he wouldn’t miss this chance.

“Enough, I don’t want to deal with you guys. You’re hopeless!” Rod wasn’t stupid enough to share their same mindset! Who said only men could wait for those women? Those women just dawdle when they have nothing to do, spending an hour or so doing nothing. Did men have to wait there too? That seemed too unfair. At least Rod wouldn’t do that! Once might be okay, twice might be okay, but three times—no. It wasn’t that he couldn’t tolerate it, but there was no need to wait in advance. Since they agreed on a time to meet, being a bit early was sufficient; there was no need to arrive an hour early just to wait for them to dawdle.

The time that followed was unbearable and difficult. After a long wait, as endless as the time from the creation of the world by Pangu to 2012, and as the sunset dimmed the land, the figures of the women finally appeared.

Watching the three women slowly walk outside, Rod almost went crazy. They were at least half an hour later than the agreed time, as John had said. It seemed to prove that saying “women are always late” was true.

“Hehe, Rod, you guys came so early! Alice was looking for her clothes just now, so it took a bit longer!” Linda said politely with a smile as she approached, showing no sign of embarrassment. As for Alice, she remained cold, as if uninterested or unaware of anything.

With a sigh and a hidden smile of bitterness, Rod said helplessly, “Well, can we set off now?” These guys had wasted far more than just a little time. Looking at Alice ahead, her beige gauze dress did look nice, but it seemed to be all superficial. Strangers might be fooled, but Rod, who already knew her inside and out, could he be deceived by such an appearance?

“Hey, Rod, you’ve come too? Quite early!” At that moment, Kiro’s familiar voice came to his ears. Turning around, he saw Kiro and Anderson walking towards them. Looking at the two of them, Rod sighed inwardly—after all, they were still the better choice. They had arrived at just the right time; it seemed they had gained experience from countless such waits. This also taught Rod a lesson, helping him understand how to handle similar situations in the future.