Luo Yang, who was lying on the sofa and drifting off to sleep, was awakened by the persistent ringing of his phone.
He groggily reached for it, seeing push notifications from both the Punisher app and KK.
Task change.
Depart tomorrow. Report to the Principal’s office today.
Luo Yang stared at the message Zhang Xian had sent him for a few seconds before letting out a pained groan.
“I just wanted to pass a simple re-examination in peace. Why is it so hard...?”
He tossed the phone aside and rolled over, trying to squeeze in a bit more sleep.
Three seconds later, he rolled back.
Five seconds after that, he sat up, resigned to his fate.
Forget it. There was no way he was getting back to sleep now.
Luo Yang rubbed his temples, opened his space ring, and checked his inventory.
Last night, he had consumed nine Grantee Longswords and one Armor-piercing Dagger. The hand crossbow was untouched, but he had used one handgun and fired a full nine-round magazine. He hadn't touched any of his throwables.
“It’s a bit lacking...” he muttered to himself.
Since it was a special Rift mission, this meager stash definitely wouldn't be enough to squander.
Time to spend more money.
Luo Yang let out a long, helpless sigh.
He opened the Punisher app, found the attachment in the task change notification, and began to carefully read all the data regarding the JX-031 Special Rift.
Half an hour later, he turned off the screen, climbed out of bed, and walked into his yard.
If he was going into a tough fight, he needed to prepare properly.
As for why the Principal wanted to see them and how Qiu Shubai would react, he would deal with that once he reached the academy.
Just as Luo Yang pushed open the courtyard gate, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
He pulled it out to see a call from Qiu Shubai.
“Hello?”
“Have you left yet?” Qiu Shubai’s voice came through the receiver, her cold tone carrying a faint, nearly imperceptible hint of urgency.
“Just stepped out. What’s up?”
Luo Yang glanced down at the time on his phone. 1:27 PM.
“It takes forty minutes at most to get to the academy from my place. I won't be late.”
“Where do you live?”
“The Third Ring.”
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
“...You live on the Third Ring, and you can get to the academy in forty minutes by bus and subway?”
“How do you know I take the bus and subway?” Luo Yang sharply caught the point.
Qiu Shubai went silent again.
She could hardly say that after they teamed up at the Mission Hall that day, she had specifically looked up Luo Yang’s commuting records at the Ability Bureau.
“...Just a guess.”
“Anyway, I’ll definitely make it. By the way, where are you now?”
“Near the academy.”
“...”
So she was already there?
A very soft sigh came from the other end of the line.
“Regardless, meet me at the school gate.”
The call disconnected.
Luo Yang tucked his phone back into his pocket and headed toward the subway station.
Along the way, he wondered why the Principal wanted to see them.
He had never met this Principal, only knowing his name was Zhang Xian.
Since enrollment, he had only seen Zhang Xian once from a distance during the opening ceremony, and there had been no interaction since.
Logically, the Principal shouldn't have noticed someone like him.
Perhaps it was because of what happened last night?
Luo Yang rubbed the bridge of his nose.
A Shadow rank Heterosequence being solo-killed in the city center was something the Ability Bureau would definitely report.
Though he hadn't interacted much with Qian Yao, he knew the man was the type to do everything by the book; there was no way he would hide it for him.
It was only a matter of time before the news reached the Principal’s ears.
A hassle.
He hated hassles.
But hassles always seemed to find him.
Forty minutes later, Luo Yang emerged from the subway station and saw that figure standing at the academy’s main entrance from a distance.
Her gray-white hair shimmered with a soft luster under the afternoon sun, and the hem of her black school skirt fluttered gently in the breeze.
Qiu Shubai stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a stone pillar at the side of the gate, her head slightly lowered as if she were resting with her eyes closed.
Several passing boys kept turning their heads to look, but not one dared to step forward and strike up a conversation.
Luo Yang walked over quickly.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Qiu Shubai opened her eyes and swept her gaze over him.
Today, Luo Yang wore a deep gray short-sleeved light jacket over a simple white T-shirt, paired with black casual pants and clean white sneakers.
Those black-and-gold patterned non-prescription glasses were still perched on his nose, making him look like an ordinary student.
He looked nothing like the freak who had live-harvested a Heterosequence.
“Let’s go.” Qiu Shubai withdrew her gaze and turned to walk into the campus.
Luo Yang followed her, and the two walked through the gates side-by-side.
“You didn't sleep well last night?” Luo Yang glanced at her from the side. There was a faint layer of fatigue in Qiu Shubai’s eyes; though subtle, it couldn't hide from him.
“I slept.”
“For how many hours?”
“...None of your business.”
“Time unknown means you didn't get enough,” Luo Yang said jokingly. “What? Did I scare you by paying you back so quickly?”
Qiu Shubai’s footsteps faltered almost imperceptibly.
“You’re overthinking it.”
“Really?” Luo Yang smiled. “I thought you’d be so moved you couldn't sleep. One hundred and eighty thousand, paid back just like that. There aren't many trustworthy guys like me these days.”
Qiu Shubai finally couldn't help but turn her head, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
“That hundred and eighty thousand came from the core of that Heterosequence last night, didn't it?”
“How did you know?”
“A Shadow rank core with ninety-eight percent integrity appeared in the Association’s recycling records this morning.”
Qiu Shubai looked away. “In all of Yuanxing City, you’re probably the only one who could extract a core of that quality. Add to that the way you looked like you’d just stepped out of a slaughterhouse last night, and it wasn't hard to guess.”
Luo Yang was speechless for a moment.
“...Slaughterhouse. That’s a vivid description.”
“Is it not accurate?”
“I call that precision surgery.”
“You call live-extracting a Heterosequence core in a way that borders on torture ‘surgery’?”
“What else? It’s not like I chopped the thing into pieces.”
Qiu Shubai was left without a retort.
The two crossed the academy’s central plaza. The afternoon sun spilled over the bluestone pavement, and the ginkgo trees on either side cast dappled shadows.
In the distance, students were engaged in combat practice on the training grounds; the sounds of clashing weapons and the flashes of blood energy eruptions rose and fell one after another.
There were quite a few people in the plaza, and they were soon noticed.
“Hey, is that Miss Chief back again? Isn't she supposed to be busy? Why has she been coming to the academy so often lately?”
“The guy next to her is... Luo Yang again?”
“Damn, why is it that bottom-feeder again? What exactly is my goddess’s relationship with him?”
Whispers swirled in from all directions.
Luo Yang acted as if he hadn't heard, and Qiu Shubai remained unresponsive. Neither was the type to be easily affected by idle gossip.
But the people around them clearly didn't intend to let it go.
“Relationship? Look at how close they’re walking. Can their relationship be ordinary?”
“Keep your voice down!”
“I’m just stating facts! Look at them, they’re barely half a step apart!”
“Could they be dating?”
“Impossible! How could Miss Chief ever fall for that bottom-feeder?”
“You never know. Even if Luo God’s grades are bad and his rank is low, he’s handsome! Haven't you seen the academy forums? Plenty of girls are posting his photos asking for his contact info.”
“What’s the use of being handsome? Strength is the only thing that matters.”
“How do you know his strength is bad? The rumors about him manipulating his scores aren't just baseless talk.”
The discussions grew more frequent.
Luo Yang tilted his head slightly and lowered his voice. “Miss Chief, it seems we’re being watched.”
“It doesn't matter.”
“I don't care, but isn't your persona that of an untouchable flower? Isn't walking with someone like me beneath you?”
Qiu Shubai glanced at him.
“Do you care a lot about how others see you?”
“I don't. But I care a bit about how others see you.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Luo Yang himself froze.
While the sentiment was right, those words...
They really did sound a bit ambiguous.
Qiu Shubai’s expression flickered for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal, her tone as calm as ever.
“There is no need. My affairs are not for others to comment on.”
“...Fair enough.”
They continued forward, crossing the plaza, bypassing the training grounds, and heading toward the administration building.
The whispers behind them faded, but it was clear that the news of “the suspected frequent outings of Miss Chief and Luo God” had already spread through the academy.
Luo Yang didn't even need to look to know the academy forums would be exploding.
But as he said, he truly didn't care.
Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.
Why did the Principal want to see them?
The administration building wasn't tall—a five-story gray-white building with ivy-covered walls that looked quite aged.
Qiu Shubai pushed open the glass doors with practiced ease and led Luo Yang to the third floor.
The Principal’s office was at the very end.
The door was made of deep brown solid wood with a brass nameplate that read “Principal’s Office.” There was a doorbell next to it.
Qiu Shubai rang the bell.
A voice that was aged but still full of vigor came from inside: “Enter.”
She pushed the door open and gestured for Luo Yang to go in first.
Luo Yang stepped inside, followed by Qiu Shubai, who closed the door behind her.
The office was large, about forty square meters. An entire wall was covered by a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf packed with books and documents.
The desk by the window was piled high with reports, and an old-fashioned monitor was still on, displaying an open mission report.
Zhang Xian sat behind the desk, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit that was clearly custom-made. His salt-and-pepper hair was combed meticulously.
Luo Yang couldn't help but look at the suit a few extra times.
This world didn't originally have the Zhongshan suit. When he was eight or nine and bored at home, he had used his memories to create a set of design drawings and samples, tossing them to his father to wear for fun.
Supposedly, after he left home, this style gradually became popular among the high-ranking officials of Shenzhou...
As for how he made it?
Don't ask; just call it talent.
As a fellow peer, I didn't mean to subject you to a dimensional strike.
As a transmigrator, even without a cheat like a system or a grandpa in a ring, Luo Yang’s talent was far beyond ordinary people.
Photographic memory, incredible comprehension, a fast learner, and a ridiculously broad range of knowledge.
These were the comments his elementary school teachers most frequently gave him.
It was just that these talents didn't seem to apply to Science at all.
Zhang Xian took off his reading glasses, swept his gaze over the two of them, and finally rested it on Luo Yang’s face.
“Little Qiu, wait outside for a moment. I want to speak with Luo Yang alone.”
Qiu Shubai was slightly startled but quickly nodded.
“Yes, Principal.”
She turned and walked out of the office, gently closing the door.
Zhang Xian leaned back in his chair, looking Luo Yang up and down. Those cloudy old eyes held a meaning Luo Yang couldn't quite decipher.
After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Xian suddenly spoke.
“You look just like him.”
Luo Yang blinked.
“What?”
“I mean, you look a lot like your grandfather,” Zhang Xian said with a hint of nostalgia in his tone. “Especially those eyes. When that old bastard Luo Xingbang was young, the way he looked at people was exactly like yours.”
Luo Yang’s expression finally changed.
His grandfather’s name hadn't been heard from anyone else’s mouth in a long time.
“You knew my grandfather?”
“More than just knew him.” Zhang Xian stood up and walked to the window. With his back to Luo Yang, he spoke with endless reminiscence.
“Back when we were roommates, I brought that grandfather of yours fried rice hundreds of times.”
Luo Yang: “...?”
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