Chapter 28 : Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Ability Hunter Academy has been updated.
This time, without a special reminder from her roommate, Lin Yan was already sitting energetically in front of her computer. She always liked to let a few chapters of a manga pile up before reading them, as it made for a fantastic reading experience.
Summer break was also fast approaching.
Next month, she would need to prepare for her final exams, so she probably wouldn't be able to read any manga until they were over. Lin Yan felt a mix of regret and anticipation.
She really had no idea what kind of surprise the old scoundrel would have for her this time.
Li Yuan's cool debut had successfully broken through to a wider audience. Compared to Ji Qing's introduction, which required some understanding of the world-building, his was a pure display of the manga artist's skill.
Even those outside the fandom could recognize the quality of that scene.
The complex and intricate backgrounds, the gorgeous and flamboyant character designs, the vivid close-ups of expressions... all of these undoubtedly showcased old scoundrel Yuexia's profound artistic talent as a manga artist.
Many people flocked to the forums because of it.
The popularity of Ability Hunter Academy was on the rise, and the platform's promotion was also very effective. But when Lin Yan saw the close-up of Li Yuan on Kuman's homepage, a trace of worry welled up inside her.
Please don't let them neglect the protagonist.
Although Lin Yan had been frustrated with Xie Chang'an not long ago, he was still the protagonist of Ability Hunter Academy, and it was he who had led her into the world of Ability Hunter.
This couldn't help but remind Lin Yan of a manga she had followed in the past, where the situation was like:
"Are you talking about that super popular Ability Hunter Academy? I especially love the protagonist in it, he's super handsome!"
"Right, right, I think so too."
"His name is also super charming. I think it's Li Yuan!"
"..."
Just thinking about such a future made Lin Yan's vision go dark. From the bottom of her heart, she sympathized with the readers who were fans of that manga's protagonist. It was a dark road with no end in sight.
But then again, Lin Yan had faith in the old scoundrel Yuexia.
As long as Yuexia Cao could maintain a steady mindset, Ability Hunter Academy could definitely become a masterpiece. Lin Yan even wanted to urgently retract her earlier criticisms of Ability Hunter.
At the time, she was truly a fool who failed to recognize a great work.
Lin Yan calmed her emotions and finally clicked on the manga's main page. In the last chapter, she had read the part where "Li Yuan threatens Xie Chang'an into becoming a spy for the Dawn Society." She remembered the forums being in a state of wild celebration that night.
It was an unprecedented uproar.
As a small fry in the forums, she happily consumed the new content the big shots were dishing out. The plot theorists were analyzing, the shippers were creating content, the character fans were visiting each other's threads... The forums were livelier than they had been in a thousand years.
The new chapter of the manga began with Class F being informed about the ability assessment.
Xie Chang'an sat in his seat, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the terminal on his wrist.
Li Yuan had given it to him during their second meeting. Although the reason given was "for easier contact in the future," Xie Chang'an knew in his heart that it was a means for Li Yuan to control him.
But if he already had an informant in the school, why did he need him to be a spy?
Xie Chang'an was secretly troubled.
He felt that his role was very limited. Even the existence of ability items was something Li Yuan had told him about. How could someone like him possibly find the World Book?
Xie Chang'an found Li Yuan's actions strange.
But he still had to attend school.
Because this was the only chance he had to change his own destiny. Xie Chang'an would absolutely not give up, but as for the rest... he could only take it one step at a time.
"The ability assessment will begin next Saturday morning. Everyone must be present," the homeroom teacher of Class F said calmly. "However, we'll start with Class S and Class A, so you all can come two hours later."
"What's the deal..."
"Class S gets priority in this too?"
"Teacher, we have someone who can defeat a student from Class S," a student raised his hand defiantly. "Why do the higher-ranked classes get all the good things before it's our turn?"
"Even the dormitories."
"And the class seating during the freshman orientation speech..."
"We paid the same tuition, but the difference in treatment is too obvious, isn't it?"
When his name was mentioned, Xie Chang'an looked around nervously. But the students' topic quickly shifted in another direction.
Xie Chang'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But he knew that such questions would come up sooner or later. As the semester progressed, the students would become more clearly aware of the rigid class hierarchy at the Third Ability Academy.
Gu Lingxue's roommate also always told her not to contact him.
When Xie Chang'an gave his terminal number to Gu Lingxue, she let out a rare sigh of relief. From now on, they could contact each other through the terminal when they met, without having to ask someone else specifically.
A hint of loneliness welled up in Xie Chang'an's heart.
Since the start of the school year, the two of them hadn't had a proper chat in a long time. Xie Chang'an knew it was because Gu Lingxue was busy with her own class matters, but the distance from his friend made him feel a little sad...
THUMP THUMP—
The Class F teacher slammed his fist heavily on the blackboard, his tone cold. "I don't think you need to emphasize this point. The laws outside the school naturally apply within it as well."
"Do you really think the school is an ivory tower?"
The Class F teacher sneered, "If you think it's unfair, you might as well leave the Third Ability Academy early. You should know that this is the only ability academy willing to accept F-rank ability users."
[Such blunt words.]
[It hurts to hear that.]
[The teacher is right, though. Because F-rank abilities are pretty much useless, it's better to return to the world of ordinary people sooner rather than later.]
[I feel like this is suppressive education.]
[If the Class F students want to stay in the world of ability users, they will definitely face even crueler realities in the future. If they don't understand this early on, the future situation... tsk tsk tsk.]
[It is the wasteland, after all.]
[Don't expect the school to change anything, because the entire wasteland has this kind of mindset.]
"Sigh... here we go again..." Lin Yan sighed upon seeing this.
Every time it was Class F's turn, the manga's plot would become particularly depressing.
Although Lin Yan knew that this was the reality of the wasteland and that the protagonist was the sole exception, she couldn't help but feel that the plot was too realistic, so realistic that it was hard to comment on.
She was here to read a hot-blooded shonen manga.
In the manga, Class F fell silent.
The students of Class F were obviously aware of this, but their recent outburst was an expression of their dissatisfaction with the long-standing discrimination. It was rare for someone to have the ability to change all this.
Xie Chang'an watched all of this in silence.
Having grown up in an orphanage, he naturally understood the students' unwillingness to accept their situation. But strangely, he didn't find it odd, because he had been through even more difficult times.
[Relieved.]
[The incident with Zhou Que changed Chang'an's mentality (sigh).]
[He almost dropped out of school back then (lol).]
[Zhou Que, Li Yuan, and now the homeroom teacher... I feel like Chang'an's ability to handle pressure is accumulating bit by bit.]
[Compared to the first two, the homeroom teacher's words are a piece of cake.]
[Hahahaha.]
"That's right!" Lin Yan's eyes lit up.
Old scoundrel Yuexia was seriously depicting the protagonist's growth. Although his changes seemed unremarkable compared to the other characters with their spectacular entrances, over time—
It would definitely be a major transformation!
The worst-case scenario Lin Yan had imagined probably wouldn't happen.
The next scene in the manga shifted to the bustling athletic field.
Xie Chang'an followed his homeroom teacher to the gymnasium for the mental strength test. Along the way, he occasionally saw students from other classes. The atmosphere in all the other classes was much more relaxed than in Class F, even Class E.
Compared to Class F, which could be disbanded at any time, the other students were all enjoying their high school life.
Xie Chang'an felt a pang of envy.
But mental strength... when Xie Chang'an reached the entrance of the gymnasium, he looked at the clear crystal ball inside, and a sudden wave of anxiety washed over him.
Do the Infected even have mental strength?
Xie Chang'an subconsciously glanced at the terminal on his left hand and struggled internally. Is it appropriate to ask Li Yuan about this? Why do I feel like he's going to laugh his head off...
The manga even drew a little angel and a little demon fighting in a bubble above Xie Chang'an's head.
The angel-like figure and the demon-like figure were brawling, and in the end, they said in unison, "Don't give Li Yuan a chance to laugh at you!"
[So cute.]
[Chibi characters are the best!]
[Old scoundrel, please draw more of these cute chibis, they're super great.]
[My heart is fluttering.]
"Aww..." Lin Yan's heart melted at the cuteness.
I hope the old scoundrel draws more of these in the future, Lin Yan thought. She was getting tired of watching the depressing wasteland plot all the time.
In the manga, Xie Chang'an touched the crystal ball with trepidation.
He was both worried that he had no mental strength and curious about what kind of scene he would see. The first half of Xie Chang'an's life had been rather dull and uneventful. The most profound memory was the rainy night he had faced the mutated spider.
Could it be that?
Xie Chang'an closed his eyes and focused, sinking his consciousness into the depths of his mind.
[Mental Threshold: 289]
The machine quickly reported his mental strength.
Xie Chang'an opened his eyes with a blank expression and quickly fled the scene. He thought embarrassedly, So there's an option to see nothing at all...
[LMAO hahaha.]
[The protagonist's inner thoughts are getting cuter and cuter.]
[Cute, want to bang.]
[I feel like Chang'an has become more cheerful, I don't know why.]
[The incident with Zhou Que is over, and he met Li Yuan. Although Li Yuan threatens him all the time, at least he's the protagonist's own kind.]
[I get it.]
[So he sees Li Yuan as a parent? A parent who threatens him all the time?]
"Damn." Lin Yan's eyes widened.
She hadn't even thought of that, but her fellow fans had already made the connection. But why did it sound so good? No... Lin Yan quickly slapped her own cheeks.
Must not let fan creations get to my head.
In the manga, after everyone in Class F had their mental strength tested, the homeroom teacher made a point of saying, "Ordinary people also have mental strength, it's just that they don't have an Ability to mobilize it."
"You guys are probably at about that level," the Class F teacher sighed.
Xie Chang'an raised an eyebrow. "...Teacher, why didn't you say so earlier?"
He had thought that today's test could restore some of the students' confidence, but he didn't expect it to be even more discouraging. But it was time for them to think about their future paths.
Xie Chang'an recalled the information a classmate had told him: the dropout rate for Class F in the first semester was 39%, meaning one-third of the class would leave this semester.
Perhaps he should face this matter head-on, Xie Chang'an sighed.
[The information his classmate provided was super useful!]
[Yeah.]
[The protagonist is mentally prepared now. Class F is not a place to stay for long.]
[It's a pity the old scoundrel didn't even give him a name.]
[I think that classmates will definitely be able to stay, even if not in Class S, then definitely in another class. In a corner we don't know, his life is still wonderful.]
[Why didn't Chang'an think of making friends with him?]
[Making friends in Chang'an's situation? The other person kindly reminded him, only to be dragged into the mud pit? ]
[The protagonist really wasn't suited for that before.]
"That's true," Lin Yan said with a tone of regret.
But the old scoundrel had even censored his face, so he obviously had no intention of developing that character further. Lin Yan muttered to herself, "Why does the old scoundrel censor things all the time... I really hate this habit of his..."
In the manga, the Class F teacher was explaining the rules of the individual competition.
When the teacher mentioned that "the prize for the top three in the individual competition has been changed to an ability item," Xie Chang'an was suddenly stunned. This was the first time he had heard of ability items from someone other than Li Yuan.
While Xie Chang'an was lost in thought, the students around him asked what ability items were.
The Class F teacher patiently explained, though he couldn't help but complain at the end, "To be honest, it's impossible for our class to get it, but a person has to have dreams."
That hits home, Teacher, Xie Chang'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
[Believe in the protagonist!]
[Believe in Chang'an!]
[We are the sole exception! We will become the top three! (Hands on hips confidently)]
[Lol, you didn't expect a shonen manga protagonist, did you?]
"Indeed..." a smile involuntarily lifted the corners of Lin Yan's mouth.
In the manga, the small interlude quickly passed.
Xie Chang'an then went to the cafeteria and slowly made his way back to his dorm. But just as he was about to reach his dorm room, he received a communication request from Gu Lingxue.
"Chang'an, do you know what I saw this morning?"
"I saw the top freshman's ability assessment!"
On the other end of the line, Gu Lingxue's words were incoherent. "Wow, I now understand why my roommate kept telling me to respect Class S. They really deserve it!"
Xie Chang'an blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
"No, where are you now?" Gu Lingxue's tone was excited. "I need to see you right now! I must make you understand how amazing they are!"
Xie Chang'an hesitated. "At... the entrance of the male dormitory..."
"Okay, I'll be right there!" With that, Gu Lingxue hastily ended the communication.
Xie Chang'an was completely bewildered.
...What just happened?