Matthew Atkinson
Oxford, United Kingdom
Meanwhile, Matthew received a call from his grandfather.
"Grandpa? Why did you suddenly decide to call me?" he asked.
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask how things are at university?"
"I'm doing very well."
Matthew guessed that the old man was calling at this time, probably to ask him where he was spending the Winter Holiday.
So, he asked, "Grandpa, are you trying to find out if I'm going home for the Winter Holiday?"
Unexpectedly, the old man opposite him said, "Winter Holiday? You don't need to come back home for the Winter Holiday. Come back when you are strong enough to avoid any accidents."
Matthew: "..."
He had been considering whether to go back to visit his parents during the winter holiday, but unexpectedly, the old man didn't want him to come.
But Matthew understood why. After his success on the eighth layer, he had become much more famous, and the number of bounties on his head on the dark web had increased.
It was understandable that his grandfather wanted him to stay on campus.
"Grandpa, is there something else you need then?" he asked. Matthew had no idea what his grandfather wanted to talk about, unless it was the winter holidays.
"Yes. There is something I wanted to tell you." The old man on the other end of the phone said.
Then his grandfather added. "When I was exploring the Supernatural Realm before I retired, I had a few old friends with whom I had a pretty good relationship. I even saved one of them's lives... Now his youngest daughter is an extremely powerful expert. At the beginning of the year, she passed the standard assessment for a seventh-rank supernatural."
"Matthew, the first day of next month is the time of the Global Layer event, and you still don't have a team yet, do you?"
Hearing this, Matthew finally understood the old man's intention.
"Grandpa, are you planning to have me team up with that powerful expert?"
"Right."
The old man said, "That old fellow's health is getting worse and worse, and he still owes me a huge favor. While he's still here, I might as well take advantage of this favor. Once he's gone, this favor will be gone too after all."
That made sense.
A debt of gratitude was not the same as a monetary debt.
Monetary debts could be forced on the children, but with debts of gratitude, whether a child would repay them depended entirely on the other party's willingness to acknowledge them.
If they didn't acknowledge it, there was really nothing his grandfather could do.
But Matthew didn't want to trouble the old man with this matter.
"Grandpa, I don't think it's necessary to go through all that trouble. My abilities are quite good too..."
The old man immediately said, "Matthew, I know you are quite strong, but there are many experts in the Global Layer. It's not that I want to discourage you, but with your current strength, you are not good enough in the Global Layer."
Matthew: "..."
It seemed the old man didn't realize just how strong he was now.
The old man continued, "Even if you are quite strong now, you still need a powerful person to cover for you. Do you understand what I mean?"
Upon hearing this, Matthew's eyes lit up.
He certainly understood what the old man meant.
If he led Natalie and the others to a good ranking, or even the championship, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
Because it simply wouldn't make sense.
How could a group of freshmen win the Global Layer Championship?
However, if there were a seventh-rank expert in the team, then it would make sense.
Even if their team wasn't the top seed, it was understandable for them to pull off an upset. After all, a dark horse could emerge in any competition.
Perhaps some would still have doubts, but at least the government and other organizations wouldn't be pursuing this with all their might.
This would buy Matthew time. And time was all Matthew needed right now.
Thinking about this, Matthew immediately replied, "Okay, Grandpa, you're right. I'll follow your instructions."
The old man smiled and said, "I've already spoken to my old friend. I'll send you his daughter's number later. You can contact her yourself... Oh, by the way, you've met before. She was the seventh-rank expert who came to help during the last spacetime rift crisis."
Upon hearing this, Matthew immediately remembered that the last time he had blocked the monsters from the spacetime rift near London under the alias "Clark Kent."
The powerful support sent by the authorities was for a woman in her thirties.
The opponent's Cyclops Bloodline ability, "laser eyes," was indeed very powerful.
At that time, killing Matthew would definitely not have been a problem for her.
As for now...
...
Not long after hanging up the phone, the old man then sent a message.
The message contains only one number and one surname. The other party's surname was "Powell".
Without much thought, Matthew made the call, and it connected quickly.
"Hello, Miss Powell, I'm Matthew Atkinson."
There was a pause at the other end of the phone before the voice said, "I know why you called me. My father has already spoken to me... However, there's something you should be prepared for."
Looked like Miss Powell was a woman of few words, so she got straight to the point.
And before Matthew could say anything, she continued, "My team is having a bit of a problem at the moment. I'm currently all alone. So, if we're forming teams for this Global Layer event, you'll be in charge of building the team."
Upon hearing this, Matthew was stunned for a moment. He felt that the problem within her team might be his fault.
The general process wasn't hard to guess. It was simply that Miss Powell wanted to bring him into the team, but the teammates objected, ultimately leading to a disagreement with the team.
Otherwise, how could a seventh-rank expert not be included in the team?
It seemed that Miss Powell was very loyal. To repay the debt her father owed, she was actually willing to suffer such a "loss".
Thinking of this, Matthew said, "Don't worry, Miss Powell, I will assemble a good team."
"That's settled then. I'll come to the University of Oxford to find you on the 1st of next month."
After Miss Powell finished speaking, she hung up the phone immediately.
Right now, Miss Powell probably thought she was suffering because of her father's debt, but Matthew was eager to see her face after they entered the Global Layer and competed for the top places.
A moment later, Matthew's phone rang again.
This time, it was Natalie who called, asking him to meet at a coffee shop.
Matthew arrived as promised and met Natalie.
They both ordered a cup of coffee, sat by the window, and chatted.
"Natalie, you suddenly asked me out because of the matter of the Global Layer, right?"
"Right." Natalie nodded and recounted how Professor Grant wanted them to join the university's faculty team.
Upon hearing this, Matthew was taken aback at first, then fell into thought.
The faculty team from the University of Oxford was not weak.
For example, Natalie's Professor: Professor Isabel Grant. She was a seasoned fifth-rank expert, and it was said that she had already reached the edge of the sixth rank, possessing considerable strength.
Professor Holland was also a fifth-rank expert, but he wasn't as strong as Professor Isabel Grant.
"I can agree with that… But I need three spots, including you." Matthew said.
"Hmm? Three? Who is the third person?" Natalie asked.
"Just now, my grandfather used his connections to introduce a seventh-rank expert to help us. I also needed someone to help cover for me. Otherwise, it wouldn't be right to get high results, so I agreed."
Hearing this, Natalie Russell wholeheartedly agreed.
"That's right. You do need a publicly known seventh-rank expert as a shield… I understand, I'll tell the professor right away."
After his words, Natalie immediately dialed Professor Isabel Grant's number right in front of Matthew.
Professor Isabel Grant: "Natalie? Have you discussed it with Matthew?"
Natalie: "Yes. Professor, but there are a total of four people on my side."
'???... Aren't there three of us? Who is the fourth person?' Matthew thought.
"This…"
Professor Isabel Grant, on the other end of the phone, seemed a little hesitant.
Natalie then took the initiative to explain the situation, "Professor, besides Matthew and me, the other two are my father and a seventh-rank expert."
Upon hearing this, Matthew suddenly realized and then smiled.
It turned out the girl wanted to bring her father, Grand Magister Russell, along.
Professor Isabel Grant, on the other end of the phone, was overjoyed to hear that there was a seventh-rank expert among them.
That was wonderful news.
Professor Grant quickly asked, "Natalie, where did you find this big shot?"
"It wasn't me," Natalie said. "It was Matthew's grandfather who used his connections to invite her to come."
After that, an agreement was reached on the team's spot sharing.
Natalie would take four spots for herself, Matthew, her father, and the seventh-rank expert. Meanwhile, Professor Isabel Grant would fill the remaining six spots.
Originally, Matthew also wanted his older cousin to join in. However, his older cousin politely declined.
He said he wanted to team up with his comrades and the battalion commander. And Matthew respected that.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.170: New Innate Skills of Kryptonian Bloodline
Ch.171: Entering the Global Layer
Ch.172: An Unfavorable Competition Format