By the time Luo Yang reached the location, the rolling shutter at the street entrance had already been partially cleared.
A few faint red bloodstains on the floor tiles hadn't fully dried yet, mixing with the sharp, acidic scent of disinfectant and blood. The dent in the wall where the plaster had collapsed hadn't been repaired yet, and the debris from the edges had been swept into a small pile.
The customers in the shop had long since dispersed. The balding owner was squatting by the door smoking; seeing Luo Yang approach, he gestured toward the interior and then lowered his head to continue puffing away.
Luo Yang circled the entrance but didn't see Yu Mingyang.
Just as he was about to pull out his phone to ask where the fatty was, a figure emerged from the shadows near the base of the wall.
“Luo-ge!”
Yu Mingyang leaned in incredibly close, his chubby face still wearing a lingering smile. His eyes darted around the surroundings before he managed to put on a semi-serious expression.
“Hey, let me tell you, about this whole thing...”
He kept his voice extremely low, as if sharing some monumental secret.
“It’s like this—one of my underlings just pinned a kid against the wall and gave him a beating. He went a bit overboard, though. The kid’s name is Chen Bu, and he’s already been sent to the hospital. He probably won’t be able to get out of bed for at least ten days or a fortnight.”
He rambled on, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.
“Don’t overthink it, I’ve already covered for him. The main thing is that the kid wasn’t acting like a decent person—he kept pestering Su Tian...”
“Alright, alright,” Luo Yang interrupted him, raising a hand. “What exactly did you call me here for?”
“Aiyoo, Luo-ge, come with me.”
Yu Mingyang grabbed his arm and pulled him around the corner.
After walking about twenty paces and turning a street corner, several figures appeared under the glow of a streetlight in the distance.
Long, ash-white hair was the first thing to catch Luo Yang’s eye. Nearby, Tang Xuan stood with her hands on her hips, talking, while Li Qiang and Chu Zimo stood on the other side.
Tang Yun was there as well, standing quite properly. The arrogance he’d shown earlier had vanished without a trace.
“See that?”
Yu Mingyang winked at him suggestively.
“Chief Qiu and the others are here. That’s why I called you. Brother, I’m really looking out for you.”
Luo Yang took one look at his face, which couldn’t hide his ulterior motives, and almost couldn’t keep a straight face.
“...What is the meaning of this?”
“Those who know, know.”
Yu Mingyang spread his hands.
“Who in our academy doesn't know about your relationship with Chief Qiu by now? But as your brother, I can tell—while you two aren't exactly strangers, you’re certainly not as close as the rumors suggest.”
“So, the reason I called you here today is to create an opportunity for you!”
“In a bit, I’ll be your wingman and make it so you can naturally walk her home. Isn't this a great chance to grow your relationship?”
Luo Yang delivered a slap to the back of his head. It wasn't heavy, but it still made a crisp sound.
“Hiss—”
Yu Mingyang clutched the back of his head and hunched his shoulders.
“What are you trying to pull?” Luo Yang said irritably. “Are you intentionally trying to cause trouble for me? If someone from our academy happens to be passing by and takes a photo of us, I won’t be able to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River.”
Yu Mingyang was stunned. “...The Yellow River? What kind of river is that?”
Luo Yang: ...
Right, he forgot that river didn't exist in this world.
“Anyway, you get the point,” he brushed it off with a casual remark and turned to walk toward the group. He mentally complained to himself—how could this kid possibly know how close he and Qiu Shubai actually lived to each other?
As for walking her home, there was no need for this ‘wingman’ to worry about it.
The people chatting also noticed his arrival.
Seeing him suddenly appear, a hint of confusion flickered in Tang Xuan’s eyes. Qiu Shubai stood under the streetlight, the glow hitting her shoulders as the ends of her hair swayed gently in the night wind.
Li Qiang and Chu Zimo nodded to him in unison, their expressions practically screaming, ‘Why are you here too?’
Luo Yang gave a dry laugh and patted Yu Mingyang on the back.
“This kid called me here,” he said. “I didn't realize everyone was here.”
His gaze swept over their faces and settled on the blonde youth next to Tang Xuan.
The boy was wearing a flashy, colorful little suit, looking very much like a delinquent boss. However, his posture was stiff and proper, and he didn't even dare let his gaze wander.
Tang Xuan reached out and smacked him on the head. The youth shrank his neck and quickly stood straight again.
“And this is?”
Tang Xuan smacked him again.
“My brother.”
Luo Yang was visibly taken aback.
In the past month, he’d had quite a few interactions with Tang Xuan—at the training grounds, the Mission Hall, or just bumping into her on the street—but this girl had never mentioned she had a brother.
And this brother...
He sized up the blonde youth and then looked at Tang Xuan.
The difference was indeed quite large.
“Hmm?” Luo Yang was about to ask something when the ground suddenly shook.
He looked around. It wasn't an illusion; everyone on the street felt it.
The swaying signs along the street suddenly rattled more violently. A screw was shaken loose and tumbled down from a sign, hitting the ground with a metallic clink.
Tang Xuan nearly spat out her bubblegum. Li Qiang’s hand instinctively gripped a nearby railing, and Bloodfall leaped into Qiu Shubai’s right hand in an instant.
“What’s going on?” Chu Zimo asked in a low voice.
“An earthquake?” Tang Xuan frowned.
The tremor lasted for a very short time, perhaps only two or three seconds, before the vibration in the ground ceased. The street fell silent for a moment as everyone maintained their defensive stances.
But nothing else happened.
Only that screw continued to roll along the floor tiles, finally coming to a stop beneath a curbstone.
Luo Yang spoke first, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
“A very short earthquake... I suppose those happen sometimes.”
Natural disasters weren't common in Jiangnan Province, but they weren't unheard of either.
The group looked at each other. Tang Xuan took the bubblegum she’d been chewing for ages out of her mouth and tossed it into a roadside trash can.
“Fine,” she sighed. “I guess this meal is a bust.”
She glanced at Yu Mingyang and then shot an unfriendly look at Tang Yun, raising an eyebrow.
“You two go back on your own. I’m heading back with my teammates.”
Yu Mingyang secretly shot a look toward Luo Yang, the meaning couldn't be clearer—hurry up and suggest walking her back!
Luo Yang ignored him. He pulled out his phone, opened a ride-hailing app, and after entering the address, he looked up to see Qiu Shubai also looking down at her phone.
She was likely calling a car as well.
“Want to head back together?” Luo Yang asked.
Qiu Shubai looked up at him.
“No need—”
Those two words were almost a reflex, but she stopped halfway through.
She remembered something.
They lived in the same residential complex now.
The rejection in her eyes shifted slowly. Finally, she pursed her lips and nodded.
“...Alright.”
Tang Xuan stood nearby, stifling a laugh. Li Qiang had already walked off to the side, pretending not to see anything. Chu Zimo shot a strange look at Luo Yang before turning back to his own business.
The car arrived quickly.
Luo Yang pulled open the back door to let her in first, then followed and sat down.
The driver was a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses. He glanced in the rearview mirror, said nothing, and started the car.
During the twenty-minute drive, neither of them said a word.
The car stopped at the entrance of the complex. Luo Yang took out his phone to pay, but halfway through entering his password, a call suddenly came in.
The contact name was: “Old Director”.
“Hello?”
The voice on the other end was steady, yet it carried a trace of desolation.
“Luo Yang, something’s happened in the northern suburbs of Yuanxing City.”
Luo Yang frowned.
“A few minutes ago, a powerful mutant beast that has never been recorded appeared there without warning. Based solely on the energy reaction, it’s at least Level 7.”
“...Level 7?”
Luo Yang’s footsteps slowed.
Li Jinqi continued on the other end.
“The Ability Bureau has already requested support from the provincial bureau, but that mutant beast is currently advancing toward the city center. The people we sent are completely unable to stop it!”
“Director—”
“I know, this is a battle that even you might not be able to resolve.”
There was a pause on the other end, followed by Li Jinqi’s short, sharp breath.
“But you are the last fresh force I can call upon.”
The Old Director usually spoke in a strictly professional tone; this was the first time Luo Yang had heard this almost pleading quality in his voice.
“Please, stall it.”
Silence followed for a few seconds as the Old Director seemed to wait for his answer.
Luo Yang took the phone away from his ear, looked at the screen, and then at Qiu Shubai, who hadn't left yet.
She was watching him.
“...Tonight is truly a hassle.”
He put the phone back to his ear.
“I’m on my way.”
The moment he hung up, Qiu Shubai spoke.
“I’m going with you.”
Luo Yang turned his head to look at her. A few strands of her ash-white hair were pulled by the night wind. Standing under the complex’s streetlight, the habitual coldness in her eyes had receded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
“You still have a tournament to compete in. It wouldn't be good if you got yourself injured.”
“...”
“The preliminary rounds have only just begun, and the main tournament is still ahead. With my current strength, facing a Level 7 mutant beast is a fantasy. If you come along, it’ll likely be for nothing.”
“I can...”
“Listen to me.”
Luo Yang, not knowing where he got the nerve, extended a finger and held it about a centimeter from her lips, signaling her to be silent.
He himself was stunned for a moment after making the gesture.
They were quite close, and he could feel the warmth of her breath, but he didn't pull his hand back.
Qiu Shubai didn't dodge either. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the usual calm in her eyes seemed to be gently disturbed by something.
Luo Yang’s voice was very low.
“You still have to solve the mystery your father left behind, you still have to enter the Kindle Temple, and you have a long road ahead of you.”
“A Level 7 rating is just the baseline; no one knows what that thing’s actual strength is. If you really die there... I’ll be sad.”
He pressed his tongue against his back molars, flattening the latter half of his sentence a bit.
Qiu Shubai’s pupils trembled. She stared at Luo Yang for several seconds. The finger suspended before her lips didn't move, and neither did he.
Finally, she spoke, asking him in return.
“And what about yourself?”
“You might die there too, right?”
Luo Yang smiled. It was a strange smile, like self-deprecation mixed with a certain resolve that refused to turn back even at the end of the road.
“Me?”
He withdrew his finger and put it back in his pocket.
“I have my own personal motives.”
He looked up at her.
“It has nothing to do with honor, wealth, or responsibility. This is just my own greatest, absolute selfishness.”
The light from a roadside lamp slid across his plain glass spectacles, illuminating something in the depths of his eyes for a moment before it sank back down.
“Didn't I say I wanted to be a hero? If someone who sees others in need of help doesn't step up, then that person has no right to be called a hero.”
He turned and started running toward the direction of the Ability Bureau. As he ran, he pulled out his phone to dial for a requisitioned vehicle.
“Hello, No. 3 Fleet? Yes, dispatch a vehicle immediately. The address is...”
His voice was slowly scattered by the night wind. Qiu Shubai stood under the streetlight, unmoving.
She watched his silhouette grow more distant. The casual, lazy air that usually hung around him was completely gone.
The night wind blew from across the street, making the stray hair on her forehead dance. She suddenly raised a hand and pressed it against her chest.
Her heart was beating a bit fast there, unlike how it usually was.
She didn't know why she remained standing there, nor did she know how long she watched that departing figure.
It wasn't until the silhouette completely turned the corner and the streetlight illuminated the empty sidewalk that she finally snapped out of it.
Rate on N.U.
