Chapter 133 : Chapter 133
Chapter 133
The next chapter opened with the dinner Father Miao had invited them to.
Without realizing it, Jiang Cuo and Father Miao got talking and began criticizing each other’s fathers. Miao Miaonian was left staring in utter astonishment at the sight, while Zhou Que and Xie Chang’an simply buried their heads in eating. Ji Qing, meanwhile, stayed quietly in the corner.
After noticing that Zhou Que had no intention of joining the conversation, Ji Qing took the initiative to speak with Miao Miaonian.
The evening gathering ended amid that indescribably strange atmosphere. The next few panels briefly skipped through everyone’s preparations before the commission, then quickly transitioned to the day the commission officially began.
Several cars drove out of Huangtie City in a grand procession.
【Woohoo, it’s starting!】
【The interaction between Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo is so interesting. The two of them are practically a Partners-in-Crime Duo.】
【Zhou Que was busy eating the whole time. （laughing through tears）】
【Even though all three of them feel kind of unreliable, and the future looks pretty shaky, I still feel my blood boiling somehow. （uncertain?）】
【I’m worried the Valedictorian is going to die of anger.】
【If the Valedictorian gets too angry, will he never team up with Chang’an again in the future?】
【Don’t think that way.
Didn’t they work together really well during the bird flock rescue before?
If anyone gets blacklisted first, it’ll be Jiang Cuo and Zhou Que. Mainly Jiang Cuo. （serious tone）】
【Hahahahaha.】
“Strictly speaking, it would be under the special circumstance where all three of them are present,” Ji Qing said with a bitter smile, leaning back against his chair.
Because at most, he could only handle one of them. He could not handle all three at the same time.
In the manga, the wasteland wilderness spread across the page.
Xie Chang’an saw a silver-white train speeding from the southwest toward the northeast along the elevated tracks. His thoughts were immediately drawn to it, and from the bottom of his heart, he felt utterly awed.
“Ji Qing, did you see that?” Xie Chang’an asked.
“See what?” Ji Qing glanced in the direction Xie Chang’an was staring toward, but all he saw was a stretch of sand and stone, a section of track, and several mutated animal carcasses. His gaze lingered on those carcasses for a moment before he said, “There aren’t any Aberrants there.”
【I’m dying of laughter. Ji Qing directly roasted him for being a child.】
【This isn’t even the first person who’s thought Chang’an was a child. The last one was Li Yuan, hahaha.】
【When is Yuexia going to let these two meet? （rolling around on the ground）】
【I feel like Ji Qing has seen a lot. He knows about the situation of the Infected, and he’s also completely unmoved by scenery like this that people rarely get to see. His past experiences must have been pretty rich. But every time I think about how he’s only around sixteen, it feels oddly off somehow.
Ji Qing isn’t from a Noble House, so where did he get such broad experience?】
【Maybe he’s like Jiang Cuo? Not from a Noble House, but connected to one?】
【Ah… I don’t think that’s possible…】
【Ji Qing’s talent is way too outstanding. As long as he himself wasn’t resisting, he could return to his family at any time. Jiang Cuo at least had the excuse that his Ability wasn’t what his parents wanted, but what reason would Ji Qing have for not being favored?
And the fact that Xie Chang’an thinks Ji Qing is very used to giving orders is strange too…】
At that moment, the barrage suddenly broke into discussion.
Ji Qing quietly examined the flood of words appearing before him. Back when he had answered Xie Chang’an, he had already thought the readers would have similar doubts. Now, that premonition had come true yet again.
He gave up and said, “Fine then… I can more or less accept my Aberrant identity being exposed now…”
When he had first learned that his true body was an Aberrant, Ji Qing had been extremely resistant to the idea of that identity being exposed. He had even thought up a whole series of possibilities to cover it up. But now that time had reached the present… now that he had met countless members of his own kind in the identity of an Aberrant, that resistance had also faded away.
Becoming an Aberrant did not seem like such a big deal after all, Ji Qing thought.
After all, nearby there was Emerald, and farther away there were many of his kin living on another continent. Among so many intelligent species capable of conversation, there should be quite a few who could become his friends and tolerate his bad sense of humor.
Ji Qing felt that Aberrants were far simpler than humans.
“Ah—” Ji Qing let out an amused sigh and muttered to himself, “In that case, let me see exactly who enrolled alongside Xie Chang’an. A Young Master of a Noble Family, a Federal Council Member, eh, eh, eh… why is there even an Aberrant too?”
“Holy shit, how did this suddenly become so terrifying?”
Ji Qing could not help laughing a few times. “The more I say it, the more it feels like everyone had a very hard time in high school. Please, just do not give me a few more hidden identities…”
The next chapter of the manga then showed how the convoy responded after encountering mutated ostriches.
The protagonist of that chapter was almost entirely Ji Qing. Through the nervous unease of the people around him and the team members’ tense vigilance, the artist depicted how imminent the danger was. Then, through Ji Qing’s expression, he showed Ji Qing’s calm restraint.
The moment the crisis was resolved, enthusiastic cheers erupted over the convoy channel.
【Waaah, Ji Qing is amazing!!!】
【Valedictorian, Valedictorian, we super love you~ （making hearts）】
【The atmosphere in this chapter is so strong. I almost couldn’t breathe just now.】
【So amazing.】
【If only Xie Chang’an could be this strong… then I wouldn’t have to keep watching people slap him in the face every day, QAQ…】
【Isn’t it perfectly normal that Chang’an can’t compare to the Valedictorian?
If the Valedictorian were that easy to surpass, then he wouldn’t be the Valedictorian.】
【As someone who admires strength, I’m in love, I’m in love.】
What followed was the praise from inside the convoy that bordered on poaching, along with Zhou Que’s own unwilling remarks. The manga focused on Xie Chang’an’s relaxed expression after hearing those words. After actually spending time with Zhou Que, he felt that Zhou Que was very much like a childish little kid.
So Xie Chang’an quietly shot Ji Qing a glance, then withdrew it as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water.
【I’m dying of laughter, hahaha.】
【Xie Chang’an is a kid himself, and now he thinks Zhou Que is a kid. You two… you’re about the same, aren’t you?】
【Zhou Que weighs half a liang more! （emphasis）】
【Hahahahahahaha.】
【The Valedictorian and Chang’an are seriously so shippable. Even at a time like this, Chang’an still doesn’t forget to look at the Valedictorian’s reaction. I feel like he probably wanted to strike up a conversation, but was afraid the Valedictorian would mock him for being boring. Tsk… that kind of green, innocent young boy’s feelings…】
“Hm?” Ji Qing tilted his head thoughtfully.
To him, this was not really a problem. Because Ji Qing himself had also been secretly observing the reactions of the people traveling with him so that he could judge how the manga plot would develop afterward and adjust his own position within the manga or the team.
Was that behavior strange? Ji Qing certainly did not think so.
In the next panel, the sky had been dyed with the colors of dusk, and time swiftly transitioned to evening. Multiple cars drove separately, each searching on its own for a reliable hidden spot near the Safe Point.
When the car Xie Chang’an was in finally stopped, Ji Qing was the first to push open the door and step out.
The lingering light of dusk shone over Ji Qing’s body. As always, his expression was restrained and focused, carrying that sense of distance that never quite matched the people around him. The manga always liked to show Ji Qing’s aloofness through subtle details, but by now the readers were no longer surprised by it.
Xie Chang’an staggered out behind him.
His stomach churned, and with a deathly pale face, he braced himself against a rock and retched dryly. Naturally, Ji Qing noticed that. He first froze for a moment, then, after speaking with the driver, asked, “Uncle, if this guy passes out later, could you help carry him for me?”
【Our Ji Qing is beautiful and kind-hearted.】
【To be fair, Xie Chang’an did really well to hold out until now. Motion sickness isn’t the sort of thing you can overcome instantly. Once he rides more often, it should probably get better.】
【Come to think of it…
Wasn’t Chang’an talking very little in the car because of the motion sickness?】
【Seems like it, yeah.】
【Maybe it was also because he didn’t know how to start a conversation with the Valedictorian?】
【Ji Qing really is hard to approach.】
【Is he really that hard to approach, though?
So far, the only two reasons the Valedictorian has rejected Chang’an are these: first, it involved his privacy; second, he needed to handle something and it wasn’t convenient to have someone following him. Under those circumstances, even the closest of friends would have to think twice, let alone two people who aren’t best friends.】
【You’re right. I was being greedy, QAQ.】
In the manga, Xie Chang’an froze at that. He weakly voiced his protest, but unfortunately Ji Qing had already walked far away.
Xie Chang’an fell silent on the spot, and the driver took the opportunity to ask, “Do you need me to carry you now?”
He forced out a difficult smile. “…Not for the moment.”
【Hahahahaha.】
【Such green, innocent young boy feelings. So is it because he doesn’t want to lose face in front of the person he likes? （snickering）】
【Ji Qing didn’t pay any attention to it at all.】
【What are you talking about? Ji Qing noticed Chang’an’s weakness and even specifically asked someone to take care of his teammate. He’s an incredibly qualified team leader. Of course, he didn’t notice the little twists and turns in Xie Chang’an’s heart. （spreads hands）
But honestly—would a normal person think that much? Does a team leader need to pay attention to all those winding little feelings?】
【No—they don’t— （very loudly）】
【This kind of push-and-pull, tsk tsk… this kind of unconscious one-sided crush, tsk tsk… why is the manga Yuexia draws so shippable?】
After that, the barrage turned entirely toward CP-oriented discussion.
Seeing that, Ji Qing directly flipped to the next chapter.
In the top-left corner of the next chapter, the artist marked the current time. Instead of drawing the full three days and two nights of the escort mission in detail, the artist chose to jump directly to the final day of the escort.
The final day was also the day Xie Chang’an finally got to play his part.
A trace of amazement passed through Ji Qing’s eyes.
That really was the best way to handle it. After all, if every single crisis they encountered during the escort were drawn out one by one in full detail, it would take far too much time. After all, the protagonist of Ability Hunter Academy was Xie Chang’an.
But the point of view in this chapter began with Ji Qing. Inside the armed vehicle, Zhou Que asked Ji Qing how he judged the motives of Aberrants, and Ji Qing seemed rather troubled by the question. He answered frankly, “By instinct.”
Naturally, Zhou Que was not satisfied with that answer.
So Ji Qing smiled and said, “All right, all right. I’ll try to organize my thoughts.”
The moment those words landed, the manga narration also used Ji Qing’s own recollection to briefly explain the crises the convoy had encountered over the past three days, as well as how they had dealt with them.
After seeing that, the barrage was full of regret:
【Aaaaah, damn that old thief, he skipped it just like that!!!】
【That old thief, you… （angry, cold, trembling）】
【It sounds so interesting. Why didn’t you draw all of it? Even if this volume ends up running long, just let it, please, TAT.】
【Did something later in the plot steal that old thief’s attention?】
【Aren’t there a lot of things like that?】
At that moment, the manga readers turned their complaints toward that old thief, grumbling for a while, but they were quickly drawn back in by the events of the current chapter and immediately switched back to that old thief’s side:
【Honestly—If it had really gone on that long, it probably would’ve been pretty boring.】
【Ji Qing is really incredible.】
【It’s so good that everyone managed to finish the commission safely. Though I still feel that, judging from the current chapter count of Volume 8, it’s nowhere near the point where it absolutely needed to be abbreviated yet. （quiet muttering）】
【Could something happen later?】
Just as the readers were secretly speculating, a sudden change erupted. A sharp sound rang out beside the ears of the two people who had been chatting casually.
Before the ringing in their ears had faded, the tire of the armed vehicle suddenly slipped, and the car immediately began lurching violently.
Ji Qing sprang to his feet at once and seized control of the armed vehicle’s steering wheel. He quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and said calmly, “Everyone still on the channel, report the situation in your car. Does anyone know which vehicle had the problem?”
【What… what happened?】
【Speak of the devil.】
【Did a vehicle overturn? Why did it overturn? Which one was it?】
【My heart is pounding so hard.】
Ji Qing quickly clicked to the next page, and as expected, the next page was still focused on him and Zhou Que.
In the manga, Ji Qing’s expression gradually turned grim.
Once the driver recovered, he hurriedly took back the steering wheel. Zhou Que, meanwhile, cursed under his breath. Seeing that both of them had recovered from the ringing in their ears, Ji Qing repeated, “Everyone still on the channel, report the situation in your car. Does anyone know which vehicle had the problem?”
Just as Ji Qing was preparing to turn the vehicle around, voices from the other cars came through over the convoy channel.
At this point, the barrage let out a sigh of relief:
【Thank God, it looks like Uncle and Auntie are all right.】
【Which vehicle had the accident, then?】
【Chang’an and Jiang Cuo aren’t there, so the only ones left are…】
In the manga, the driver of Vehicle 8 gave a clear answer: “Vehicle 8 is currently safe. Just now I saw Vehicle 7’s tire get punctured by Ground Spikes that suddenly appeared, and it looks like Vehicle 9 went to support them.”
Ji Qing’s brows immediately knitted together.
The manga showed his inner struggle between the two choices of “turn back and rescue them” and “continue forward,” fully laying bare the convoy’s predicament.
After thinking with difficulty for a while, Ji Qing said in a deep voice, “The last three vehicles will continue moving forward… Ding’an City is right ahead. We must enter the city before 19:00. I trust my teammates to handle what comes next.”
【Cool! Ji Qing, cool!】
【That last sentence is so charismatic. The instant I heard it, I felt calm.】
【He handled this point very well. （thumbs up）In the face of danger, the leader is the one who absolutely cannot show hesitation, because once the leader wavers, the members’ hearts will waver too, and then things may become irretrievable.】
【I’m completely dazzled by him. （starry eyes）】
【I feel like Ji Qing’s crisis response ability is insanely strong. Most people would never think as carefully as he does. He even took the mission’s losses into account.】
【Exactly.】
【Before, when Chang’an thought Ji Qing was very suited to being a leader, I didn’t really agree. Wasn’t he just being a team captain? But now I really am starting to sense something unusual. The Valedictorian isn’t like Shao Huayu and the others. He’s a commoner, so where did he learn this leadership ability from?】
【Could it be… that he’s a born leader?】
【But that would make him too absurdly talented, wouldn’t it? It’s not even that his future looks promising anymore. You can already glimpse just how outrageous his future achievements will be.】
【And why shouldn’t that be possible? （smile）】