My Insect Fusion System: Invincibility Begins with a Cockroach

Chapter 118: The Jade Flute Fairy and the Flerken Girl

After finishing the tournament rulebook, Fly finally had a clear picture of the schedule.

The four teams would engage in a round-robin group stage; barring any tiebreakers, a total of six matches would be played.

The first team to secure three points would advance to the top eight.

Once everything was settled, Mr. Carter specifically took Fly and the others to a Cheesecake Factory to feast to their hearts' content.

It wasn't until around 3:00 PM that he led the group to the Sycamore City Stadium.

The stadium utilized a closed-dome design, capable of seating just over a thousand spectators.

Compared to Star City's stadium, this place seemed incredibly shabby.

"Didn't they say Sycamore City's economy was strong? Why does this stadium feel so rundown?" The moment he stepped inside, Jett couldn't help but complain.

In his eyes, even though this martial arts stadium was clean and had all the necessary facilities, its interior design was seriously outdated.

"It is just the group stages, after all. While there will be television broadcasts, the Martial Academies participating at this stage are relatively weaker, so naturally, they don't draw much of a crowd."

"Honestly, in the eyes of the general public, it's debatable whether these group stages even count as the actual Jade State League."

"So, our position in The Jade State League is basically the so-called wildcard bracket, right?" Fly remarked. "Even if we make it to the top eight, no one will hold any expectations for us."

Fly chuckled self-deprecatingly; this was simply the reality of being the underdogs.

"What about the upperclassmen brackets?" 'Emperor' Valerius asked curiously. From the moment they arrived, he had seen numerous students from other schools trickling into the stadium's competitor waiting area.

Yet, there was no sign of Star City High's upperclassmen.

"Their match days are different from ours. It starts with the ninth grade, followed by the tenth, then eleventh..."

"After all, The Jade State League has always maintained excellent television ratings."

"Group stages, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the grand finals—each bracket takes two weeks to complete, meaning all four brackets will span a full two months."

"The longer they stretch it out, the higher the economic returns..."

"What is it?" Pausing his explanation, Mr. Carter frowned. He noticed 'Emperor' Valerius staring intently in a specific direction, his eyes filled with an inexplicable wariness.

Just what had this guy seen?

In an instant, Mr. Carter, Jett, Fly, Dean Sterling, and Genevieve all followed Valerius's gaze.

Approaching from the other end of the corridor were two young girl.

One was dressed in a flowing white gown, her dark hair loosely pinned up, her sleeves fluttering gracefully. Holding an emerald green jade flute, she looked just like a fairy descending from the clouds.

The girl walking beside her, on the other hand, wore a pink lolita dress embroidered with elegant peach blossoms. Her black hair was tied into twin tails, giving her an incredibly energetic vibe. However, she was holding a fluffy pink cat plushie in her arms, creating a striking visual contrast.

But...

The one who truly captured 'Emperor' Valerius's attention was the young woman in white.

He actually rubbed his eyes, trying to confirm if this was an illusion. Yet, these two young women, as breathtaking as driven snow and blooming peach blossoms, continued their graceful approach.

Almost everyone passing by couldn't help but stop in their tracks, casting stunned glances their way.

They conversed with one another, not sparing a single glance at the surrounding crowd, as if there was absolutely nothing in this shabby stadium worth their attention.

"Why... why are they here?" 'Emperor' Valerius swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Beside him, Jett had also locked his eyes onto the two girls, unable to look away.

"Valerius bro, I suddenly understand a certain saying." He didn't even dare to blink as he spoke.

"Hm?"

"Love arrives unannounced, yet runs unimaginably deep... What is love, that it makes one willing to brave life and death?" Playing the part of a poet, Jett began reciting romantic verses with absolute sincerity.

"Hey, hey, that's enough out of you!" 'Emperor' Valerius's face darkened with exasperation.

Seriously, had this guy never seen a girl before?

"Mr. Carter, they..." Just as Valerius turned his head to speak to his teacher, he was shocked to find that it wasn't just Jett—even Mr. Carter and Dean Sterling were staring in a daze.

They looked exactly like inmates who had just been released from prison after not seeing a woman for over a decade.

"Hey!" Feeling a surge of annoyance, 'Emperor' Valerius tried to snap them out of it, but it was completely useless; they were entirely deaf to his words.

This was too much!

Are you guys here to compete, or to gawk at girls?

Valerius turned to Fly, only to find him staring straight at the two young women as well.

"Fly Ansel!" Valerius practically shouted his full name.

Who was the one that said a true man's ambition should surge forward like a mighty river flowing into the sea, why squander it lingering in the soft embrace of romance?

So it turned out he just hadn't met a girl who caught his eye yet?

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"Valerius, do you think that cat plushie she's holding is some kind of Warrior Gear?" Fly honestly didn't expect to be called out like that; his focus hadn't been on the two girls at all.

While their beauty was indeed extraordinary, what did that have to do with him?

Instead, his attention was fixed on the cat plushie the lolita-clad girl was hugging. When he first glanced over, he swore he saw its eyes blink.

But after rubbing his eyes and looking again, it seemed no different from a regular stuffed toy.

"I just have a feeling there's more to them than meets the eye. They might turn out to be formidable opponents in the group stages," Fly analyzed softly.

In truth, from the moment he stepped into the stadium, Fly had been keeping a close eye on the competitors from other schools.

Yet, in his eyes, everyone else was simply unremarkable.

Except for these two...

"They're no group stage opponents," 'Emperor' Valerius stated. "They're..."

"Hiss..."

Mid-sentence, Valerius couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

"Seems like they're looking this way!"

"!!!" Hearing this, Fly quickly turned his head, only to see the white-clad girl staring right at them with eyes as cold as snow.

"Was I speaking too loudly just now?" Fly suddenly felt a bit tense.

"Might as well just walk over and ask for their numbers?" Jett also leaned in and asked.

The group stages wouldn't start until past five. Anyone waiting around in this area had to be either a competitor or stadium staff.

While the two girls were stunning, they only looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. Judging by this, they were likely participating students just like them.

Being around the same age and happening to cross paths here, asking for their numbers wouldn't be crossing a line, right?

However, just as Jett convinced himself and mustered the courage to walk over...

Two guys beat him to the punch. Both stood around six feet tall and wore blue-and-white team uniforms. Clearly, they were also students here for the group stages.

"Hey ladies, how about exchanging numbers? I'm Spencer Sinclair from Grand River High, a Beast Warrior with a Mythical Species Totem. You're here for The Jade State League too, right?"

"If you're interested in martial arts, we could head to my room, and I could give you a few pointers."

Spencer Sinclair radiated an overwhelming sense of confidence. He came from a wealthy family, possessed a Mythical Species Totem, and was practically a guaranteed shoo-in for the eight elite universities of The Tulip League.

Furthermore, in terms of overall strength, Grand River City ranked near the top among the four Martial Academies in the group stages.

"Dammit, someone beat me to it." Jett gritted his teeth in frustration.

You really couldn't hesitate when it came to romance; just a few seconds of indecision, and someone else had swooped in.

So aggravating!

"Give it a rest. A guy like you wouldn't stand a chance anyway," 'Emperor' Valerius shot Jett an exasperated look.

"Their status isn't something you can just casually approach. It's best not to invite trouble," he added.

"Still, just standing by and watching doesn't feel right, does it?" Jett said hesitantly.

When their path was blocked by those two guys, a flash of disgust had crossed both girls' eyes simultaneously. They clearly wanted nothing to do with this attempt at hitting on them, right?

If he seized this opportunity to play the hero and bail them out, he might just earn some major brownie points.

"Are you out of your mind?" 'Emperor' Valerius was left speechless.

Even though Jett was slightly taller and better-looking than Spencer Sinclair, what made him think he was qualified to play the knight in shining armor?

Despite being ruthlessly mocked by Valerius, Jett showed no signs of backing away.

"Never mind, I should probably handle this." After a moment of hesitation, Mr. Carter stepped forward. At the end of the day, he was a teacher.

Seeing female students from another school being harassed, stepping in to reprimand the troublemakers was the right thing to do.

But before Mr. Carter could even walk over, the white-clad girl abruptly lifted her arm, her flowing sleeve fluttering as she gave a dismissive wave to signal Spencer Sinclair to back off.

Holding his phone, Spencer froze.

He just wanted to add her as a friend, yet he was being completely brushed off.

To make matters worse, quite a few bystanders had stopped to watch the scene unfold.

If it were an ordinary guy, they probably would have taken the hint and walked away.

However, this was Spencer Sinclair—Grand River City's strongest freshman Beast Warrior, possessing an incredibly rare Mythical Species Totem.

Since childhood, everyone had hailed him as a genius.

Countless girls had actively thrown themselves at him.

It was no exaggeration to say that in just two short months, he had dated nearly every passably attractive ninth-grade girl at Grand River High.

He was a playboy in the truest sense of the word.

"Hey, she told you to get lost. Are you deaf?" the lolita-clad girl beside her finally snapped. She couldn't care less which school this 'genius' came from. "What's so great about a Mythical Species anyway?"

"What's so great about a Mythical Species?" Spencer's face darkened.

It was one thing for the girl in white to dismiss a genius Beast Warrior like him, but now someone was actually claiming his Mythical Species was nothing special.

How could he possibly tolerate this?

"Heh heh..." He let out a sinister chuckle. "A Mythical Species might be nothing special, but it's a hell of a lot better than trash like you who still plays with dolls."

As he spoke, Spencer deliberately glared at the cat plushie in the girl's arms with a look of utter contempt.

While he didn't know which school they were from, the fact that a girl her age was still running around hugging such a childish doll was proof enough that they were just immature brats. How much time could they possibly spend cultivating? How much combat strength could they actually have?

"Hey, don't tell me you two are trash from Star City?"

"Hmph."

Spencer let out a cold snort. "Forget it. I don't need to waste my breath on Star City garbage."

Fly: "???"

Genevieve, who had been happily watching the drama, was left speechless: "???"

Well then, looks like the stray bullets are hitting us now.

For Spencer Sinclair of Grand River High, the team from Star City High was his strongest opponent in the group stages. He had already mentally cursed them out countless times. So, when humiliated and looking for a way out, he accidentally blurted out the insults he had been rehearsing in his head.

As the saying goes: spoken in passing, taken to heart.

In one fell swoop, he had completely offended everyone from Star City High.

"Fly." 'Emperor' Valerius, who had just been mocking Fly moments ago, now wore a look of pure displeasure.

Spencer hitting on those girls had nothing to do with him.

But calling Star City trash was crossing the line.

Although Valerius wasn't a Star City native, he was currently enrolled at Star City High. For a potential group stage opponent like Spencer to call Star City High trash was essentially an indirect insult directed right at him. How could the ever-arrogant 'Emperor' Valerius possibly endure that?

"Got it," Fly replied. Even though it felt like they were catching strays, he wasn't about to stand idly by after being insulted for no reason.

"What did you just say about Star City?" Fly strode forward, his voice low as he confronted Spencer.

"Another one?" Spencer raised an eyebrow, instantly assuming they were all in this together.

"Heh heh, what's the matter? Trying to play the hero for your little girlfriend?"

"Careful not to get cucked, bro."

"Girls who like prancing around in skimpy lolita dresses are always the most promiscuous."

Spencer glared venomously at Fly, refusing to hold back his vicious tongue.

His teammate, however, hadn't expected things to escalate this far and quickly tugged at his sleeve. "Let's just go regroup. The matches are starting soon."

Yet, Spencer completely ignored the suggestion to regroup.

"I am the strongest in Grand River City!" With that, he shoved his teammate aside and pulled out his Beast Totem Card.

The smell of gunpowder in the air grew stiflingly thick.

The lolita-clad girl hadn't expected Fly to step up; she had no idea who he was.

Still, she hadn't been counting on some other guy to fight her battles anyway.

"What did you just say about me?" the lolita-clad girl asked, her voice dropping an octave. Suddenly, the cat plushie she had been hugging tightly opened its eyes wide, staring dead at Spencer.

"This thing moves? Pfft..." Seeing the plushie suddenly look his way, Spencer couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.

This girl was seriously too childish.

An animatronic toy?

Just what was going through her head?

But in the very next second, the cat plushie abruptly unhinged its jaw, its mouth stretching open wider than its entire body.

"Hey, Spencer, look out!" Realizing something was horribly wrong, his teammate frantically shouted a warning.

Countless tentacles suddenly erupted from the plushie's maw, whipping directly toward Spencer's face with a vicious slap.

"Kitty Tentacle Smash!" the lolita-clad girl cried out in tandem.

Bang!

With a deafening crash, the massive tentacles practically embedded themselves into Spencer's big face.

The next instant, his feet left the ground, and he was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string!

"Spencer!?" His teammate jumped in fright, only able to watch helplessly as Spencer slammed headfirst into the wall and immediately lost consciousness.

This entire scene made Fly draw a sharp, cold breath. My god, isn't that the legendary Flerken?!