Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Before getting up to visit Zhou Que, Ji Qing asked the system for a list of items from the Popularity Value Shop.
Looking at the flashy product names on the list, Ji Qing felt a faint sense of boredom. He certainly had no use for them at the moment, and he suspected he would not have much use for them in the future either.
Except…
Ji Qing’s gaze suddenly paused.
He lowered his head and carefully examined the item information before him. The corner of his lips slowly curved upward. Ji Qing thought in surprise: Isn’t this the perfect tool for running an alternate identity?
[Item: Substitute Puppet, 2000 Popularity Value/day]
[Item Description: Using the host’s original body as a template, it creates a shell that can be remotely controlled by the host. The Substitute Puppet inherits the original body’s Ability and physical attributes.]
“There are still some decent items,” Ji Qing commented.
He glanced at the time. It was now 7:23.
It was time to visit Zhou Que. If he was lucky, he might even run into You Xingluo and the others who had returned from Yancheng’s downtown district.
After making up his mind, Ji Qing got up and went to the washroom to freshen up.
At this moment, the system had entered standby mode. It gave one final reminder:
[If you require my assistance in the future, Host, simply call for me in your mind.]
[From now on, I will respond instantly to your summons. If we need to go to the Bureau again later, I will notify you before departure.]
Ji Qing felt slightly moved after hearing this.
Although the system’s replies sounded extremely mechanical, it was remarkably reliable. Ji Qing immediately felt that the burden on his shoulders had lightened considerably. At least from now on, there would be someone he could discuss things with.
But before that…
Ji Qing gently reminded it:
[You do not need to keep calling me “you.” Just call me “Ji Qing.”]
[Received.]
With that final response, Ji Qing felt his head become a little lighter, as if “the ghost possessing his body had finally left.” It was a subtle but distinct sensation.
After finishing his wash, Ji Qing headed straight to the School Infirmary.
Along the way, he saw groups of students walking toward the teaching building. However, none of the others in Class S were attending class, so there was even less reason for Ji Qing to go.
Thinking back to Li Xuehua’s earnest reminder, Ji Qing could only find it amusing.
At the time, he had failed to grasp the hidden meaning in her words. But looking back now, it was rather thought-provoking. Perhaps every previous Class S cohort had skipped class without exception, which was why the teacher had deliberately given that reminder on the first day of school.
When Ji Qing arrived outside the School Infirmary, he happened to hear a troubled male voice coming from inside:
“The situation is more serious than I imagined. It might be because your reputation is too terrible.”
“Stop talking!” Zhou Que said with a pained expression. “I only lost once! I will definitely win it back!”
“Well, you could win it back…” The unfamiliar boy sitting beside Zhou Que’s bed pushed up his glasses and coldly remarked, “But you will still carry the joke of ‘losing to an F-rank Ability user if you are not serious.’”
Zhou Que: “Aaaah—”
That sentence struck a heavy blow to Zhou Que’s fighting spirit.
Lying on the hospital bed, the light in Zhou Que’s eyes gradually faded. He stared at the ceiling and muttered hollowly, “Maybe I should just drop out. If I leave Yancheng, maybe there will not be so many problems…”
“If you drop out, I will not go with you,” the boy said calmly.
“I know you would not come with me,” Zhou Que immediately sat up and placed his hands on his hips with confidence. “But I could persuade Brother Huayu to leave with me. Then you would have no choice but to follow.”
The boy silently pushed his glasses again.
After a long pause, he decisively nodded in agreement.
“That works too. You can try it. I do not really want to stay in Class A anyway. I might as well transfer to another school.”
Now it was Ji Qing’s turn to fall silent.
He looked at Zhou Que, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and felt both amused and exasperated.
…So you were the first one thinking about dropping out?
“Ji Qing?”
While Ji Qing was lost in thought, Zhou Que noticed him standing at the doorway. The boy sitting beside Zhou Que hurriedly closed the notebook resting on his knees and politely nodded at Ji Qing.
The boy had black hair and black eyes, wearing black-rimmed glasses. His expression was somewhat gloomy, and there were obvious dark circles beneath his eyes. He resembled the kind of shut-in tech nerd Ji Qing had seen before—someone who never left the house.
From the conversation between him and Zhou Que, Ji Qing guessed that this person was probably Shao Huayu’s follower.
Why did Shao Huayu bring a follower to school?
Compared with Zhou Que, he truly was the archetypal young master of a prestigious family. He must have brought quite a lot of baggage when he came to school.
“Hello, I am Ji Qing,” Ji Qing said in a friendly tone.
The boy froze for a moment.
He instinctively looked around before finally confirming that Ji Qing was speaking to him. His reply carried a hint of awkwardness.
“Hello. I am Liu Mu.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the School Infirmary suddenly fell silent.
Liu Mu clearly was not good at talking to people. He lowered his head in a posture that made it seem as if he wished he could bury himself underground. Meanwhile, Zhou Que naturally began complaining to Ji Qing.
“Ji Qing, why did you run off without telling me? When I realized I was the only person from Class S left in the classroom, do you know how shocked I was?”
“I thought you would notice,” Ji Qing said with a helpless laugh. “I only realized this morning that the two of us were the only ones in Class S who showed up for class. Everyone else seemed to have skipped.”
“It is normal for Ling You’er to skip,” Zhou Que said while recalling it. “With her personality, she would rather fail the course than come to a crowded place. But Song Xiaoran…”
“He probably did not want to cause more trouble.”
At this point, Zhou Que let out a long sigh of frustration. He had originally intended to help Song Xiaoran resolve the issue, but he had ended up dragging himself into it instead.
“You seem fine, though,” Ji Qing said.
“Of course I am fine,” Zhou Que replied immediately. “But there is nowhere to go after leaving the School Infirmary, and I do not want to attend class. So I might as well lie here.”
That meant the situation could still settle down peacefully. Ji Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He could not allow the face-slapping plotline to drag on for too long.
After all, he still needed to accumulate Popularity Value.
The Substitute Puppet ability was truly useful.
While the two were chatting, another voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.
Shao Huayu knocked lightly on the door with one hand and smiled faintly.
“It seems this door does not provide much soundproofing.”
“I am glad to see that you are fine.”
Shao Huayu walked in gracefully. As he passed by Ji Qing, Ji Qing caught the faint scent of sea-salt perfume on him.
He truly was a refined young master from a prestigious family, Ji Qing thought.
Shao Huayu walked straight to Zhou Que and looked at him with a complicated gaze.
“Liu Mu already told me what happened at school. I thought leaving it alone for a day would be fine. I did not expect it to turn into such a miserable situation.”
Zhou Que: “Waaah QAQ.”
Zhou Que hurriedly defended himself.
“But… Brother Huayu, his strength clearly is not what an F-rank Ability user should have!”
“Oh?” Shao Huayu said.
“Zhou Que is right.” Liu Mu pushed his glasses up and explained seriously. “Xie Chang’an’s situation is indeed unusual for a normal F-rank Ability user. I hacked into the school’s internal network last night and found something strange.”
He reopened his portable laptop and synchronized the data he had collected with Shao Huayu’s terminal.
Shao Huayu lowered his head and began reading.
Blue-white arcs of light flickered within Shao Huayu’s golden eyes. Suddenly, he chuckled softly.
“This is quite interesting. The school actually held a discussion about which class to assign him to.”
Ji Qing casually sat on an empty bed nearby.
Although Liu Mu sounded impressive and the three of them were chatting smoothly in a way that made others feel somewhat out of place, Ji Qing had already learned the truth about Xie Chang’an from the system yesterday.
Naturally, he felt no particular reaction.
However, the terminal on his wrist suddenly chimed several times.
Just as Ji Qing was wondering who had sent him a message, Shao Huayu politely raised his hand.
“I sent you his file. It might be useful in future matches.”
Ji Qing smiled lightly.
“All right. I will take a look.”
Shao Huayu truly was skilled at social interactions, Ji Qing thought.
He lowered his head and began reading.
Inside the file was a meeting record from the school regarding Xie Chang’an’s case.
Because he had shown no clear Ability manifestation, it was difficult to determine whether he was an Ability user. However, because Xie Chang’an had repeatedly faced Aberrants without preparation and had never been infected, he must also be an Ability user.
Although the Third Ability Academy advocated teaching according to a student’s aptitude, if someone was not even an Ability user, then they naturally could not be admitted. A school for Ability users only accepted Ability users.
“So he could basically count as someone from Class A?” Zhou Que raised an eyebrow. “Being defeated by someone from Class A does not sound that embarrassing anymore.”
Liu Mu said resentfully, “I actually envy him for not being assigned to Class A. There are too many internal conflicts in Class A. At the end of the semester, I want to transfer to Class B. Class B is quieter…”
“Just come to Class S. Brother Huayu and I will bring you into Class S,” Zhou Que said frankly. “I refuse to believe two S-rank Ability users cannot carry you.”
Liu Mu fell silent upon hearing this.
He glanced at Shao Huayu, who was still deep in thought, and decisively shook his head.
“Forget it. I will go to Class B.”
“No. Try to come to Class S instead. The teaching content between Class B and Class S is far too different.”
Shao Huayu reached out and closed his terminal. His tone was gentle but firm.
“If you come to Class S, it will also make it easier for me to build connections for you later.”
Liu Mu fell silent again.
He clearly did not want to talk about this topic, but he still nodded quickly.
Seeing this, Ji Qing silently pondered.
“So Liu Mu and Shao Huayu had some kind of relationship based on shared interests?”
When Liu Mu spoke with Zhou Que, his tone seemed much more natural. Was it because Ji Qing—a stranger—was present? Judging from Liu Mu’s reaction, he probably did not want outsiders to know.
Ji Qing changed the topic.
“Where is You Xingluo?”
“He went to the cafeteria to eat,” Shao Huayu replied while browsing the files. “He had a poor appetite yesterday, but he feels better now. He should be here soon.”
…Being a Federal Council member was not easy either.
Ji Qing felt somewhat helpless after hearing this, but he quickly realized something.
Shao Huayu had no intention of hiding it from him. Only You Xingluo wanted to keep it from him.
It probably had something to do with the difference in their approaches to dealing with people.
Compared with You Xingluo, Shao Huayu was more accustomed to weighing interests and benefits.
“The root of the issue lies with Song Xiaoran.”
Shao Huayu turned to Zhou Que, his tone calm.
“I will talk to Song Xiaoran and have him clarify the matter publicly.”
“You will not need to appear again afterward. I will let public opinion pressure him into dropping out.”
Shao Huayu suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Ji Qing was momentarily speechless.
…
This was bad. The situation had truly turned into a battle of schemes.
Someone please save the manga plot.
No, wait— It seemed the only person who could save this manga… was him.