The trio opposite them didn’t give Quentin the time to speak at all. They rushed straight toward them.
Quentin frowned.
Although his love of showing off wasn’t very reliable, his instinct as a martial artist was. He stepped in front of Nora and Justin at once.
Unfortunately, the other party had numbers on their side.
They actually weren’t hard to beat; rather, it was because he had to defeat them one by one. Their opponents had sent their two Class C team members to go after Nora and Justin while a Class B member stuck to Quentin instead.
Justin was carrying a child, so he definitely wouldn’t be able to attack.
Nora, a woman, had also only managed to make every punch a killing blow the day before by taking advantage of her opponents underestimating her. Once the two Class C contestants got rid of the two of them and joined forces with the Class B martial contestant, with three of them against Quentin alone, they might not necessarily lose!
Although Quentin had delusions of grandeur, he wasn’t stupid. Otherwise, Ian wouldn’t have picked him to take control of the Smiths’ underground forces. After figuring it all out in an instant, with an awful look on his face, he said, “Hang in there, the two of you. I’ll come over and help out as soon as I can!”
After speaking, he used all of his strength and executed his most vicious moves, taking advantage of an opening where the Class B martial artist wasn’t paying attention to land a karate chop on his neck.
The Class B martial artist blacked out and fell onto the floor.
Quentin feinted and dealt another strike. After defeating his opponent in two moves, he turned around to provide reinforcements. He thought that it was finally time for him to show off his might, but he instead saw that…
The two Class C martial artists that had charged toward Nora and Justin had already collapsed outside of the ring.
Quentin: “??”
He stood there in a daze and asked in stupefaction, “What happened?”
What else could have happened? Nora and Justin had sent the two of them flying with a punch and a kick respectively, of course.
“…”
The whole place fell quiet for a moment. Then, the emcee announced, “Team Third In The World wins!”
The audience erupted into fervent cheers.
A dazed Quentin followed Nora and Justin out of the ring. As soon as they exited the ring, people swarmed toward them from every direction.
“Smithin!”
Someone called his name.
Quentin coughed, straightened his back, and looked behind him excitedly—a beautiful little girl was standing behind him and looking at him shyly.
Quentin thought that she must be a fan who wanted to confess her love to him, so he asked gently, “What’s the matter?”
The little girl raised her head and said, “Would it be convenient for you to move to the side a little? I’d like to take a picture of No. 028 and No. 820’s family of three, but you’re in the shot!”
Quentin: “???”
He turned back and looked at Nora and Justin, who were walking in front. The two of them had already been surrounded by fans and their popularity was in no way inferior to Big Brother and Big Sister’s…
How unlucky!
He’d originally wanted to form a team with two weaklings to highlight how tall and mighty he was, but how come they had stolen all the limelight instead?
Quentin took a deep breath and looked at the little girl coldly. “No, it’s not convenient,” he said.
After saying that, he joined Nora and Justin.
Hmph.
He, Quentin Smith, was the one that Team Third In The World relied on. Otherwise, would they even be in third place?
Did those ignorant fans know who the strongest one in the team was or not?
He, Quentin Smith, was not going to move aside today.
Seeing that he simply refused to move aside no matter what, the fans continued to frantically snap away with their cell phones. Only then did Quentin finally feel a little better.
The trio reached the resting area at the side. While waiting for their next match, Quentin secretly picked up his phone and accessed the martial arts tournament discussion forum.
The tournament had set up a private website that only those attending the tournament would know of. The website was very hard for outsiders to find.
The circle was too small, so one could say that this was a culture unique to them.
A post about Team Third In The World had gained thousands of views in the forum by then.
He opened up the post, intending to see how everyone was singing praises of him… But in the end, he instead saw a photo as soon as the page loaded.
In the photo, he had originally been standing between Nora and Justin, but he had been Photoshopped away.
Nora wore a silver mask and a red tight-fitting dress.
Justin wore a black mask and a full-black outfit. In his arms was a little girl in a white princess dress, who was also wearing a silver mask.
They felt very much like a family of three.
In the comments:
‘Team Third In The World is really strong! Even when faced with a Class C opponent, One Punch Beauty still won with just one punch. Does she only know that one move?’
‘Ahhhh! If I weren’t already sure that Big Brother is resting right next door, I’d have thought that the man carrying the child was Big Brother! His physique looks so much like Big Brother’s! They are both so tall and handsome!’
Someone even asked:
‘Shouldn’t there be three people in a team? Is Team Third In The World a family of three?’
Someone kindly answered: ‘No, the last member is Smithin, but he’s not important. Your focus is off, bro.’
Quentin: “???”
How was he not important?!
Quentin turned off the phone viciously!
He looked at Justin, who was next to him, and suddenly said, “Why don’t I carry the kid for the next match?”
Only by carrying a child would one be able to steal the limelight. Why hadn’t he thought of it just now?
Justin: “?”
He raised his eyebrows, handed Cherry to him, and said, “Sure.”
With someone carrying Cherry for him, he could take the opportunity to loosen his muscles a little.
Thus, when it was time for the next match, Quentin walked in the forefront with Cherry in his arms and entered the ring, while Nora and Justin followed behind him leisurely.
Seeing how there were indeed more people looking at him, Quentin felt that he had made the right strategic decision.
The corners of his lips curled upward. Just as it was about to form a smile, voices from either side of him traveled over.
“Why is Smithin holding the child this time?”
“Maybe carrying the child prevents No. 820 from doing his thing! If he lets Smithin hold her, he would be able to use his arms!”
“You’re right! Also, doesn’t Smithin look like a bodyguard holding the child for them? That couple sure is laid-back! They don’t look like they’re here to compete at all. They’re clearly here for shopping!”
Quentin: “?”
Was it too late for him to return the child?
The corners of Quentin’s lips spasmed.
Then, several people could be heard discussing something.
“Why is their team named Third In The World?”
“It’s probably to pay tribute to Big Brother and Big Sister! Looks like their goal this time is the third place!”
“I wonder who will be able to take third place, No. 820 or No. 028?”
Quentin: “!!!”
He was the one who would!!
He was confident that apart from Big Brother and Big Sister, no one could beat him in a fight in New York! This was infuriating!
Quentin was seething. Once they reached Class F and the team automatically disbanded, he would definitely challenge No. 028 and No. 820 to a fight!
The huffy and frustrated Quentin fought ruthlessly and swiftly after that and defeated the opponents with Nora.
Their matches that day ended with them winning both. Together with Nora’s two victories from the day before, once they won another match the next day, they would advance to Class B.
Nora stretched. She was about to leave when she heard someone exclaim, “Big Sister is on! She’s going to compete!”