Chapter 31 : Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Comparing Me to Myself? Never Probe Void Creatures!
“A Level 15 Elite Fiend, killed in a single blow?”
At those words, the other three people in the compartment were instantly stunned.
To them, Fiends were already distant, terrifying things. Elite Fiends were even more like creatures from horror tales.
The girl in the compartment named Lin Ke, a Priest, immediately said in displeasure, “Liu Qi, I am talking about among high school students!”
“Anybody who can kill a Level 15 Elite Fiend in a single blow could not possibly be a high school student. He would have to be one of the Demon Suppression Army’s elites!”
At that, the Level 4 Assassin boy called Liu Qi remained full of confidence. “I am talking about a high school student!”
“My uncle joined today’s initial clearing operation in the Contaminated Land. He said that powerhouse is only Level 7 and about our age!”
“But his summoned beast can kill a Blood-Skeleton Fiend with one punch!”
“My uncle and the others all call him the Scout Camp’s ‘Rookie King’!”
He went on and on, his tone growing more excited by the second.
Sitting beside Lin Ke, a slightly plump girl could not help asking, “Which one is stronger, a Blood-Skeleton Fiend or the boss of a Hell-Difficulty Dungeon?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Liu Qi answered immediately, before anyone else could speak. “Fiends are way stronger than magical beasts!”
Lin Ke pursed her lips but did not argue. That really was a universally acknowledged fact.
“So? I told you long ago, that ‘Rookie King’ is much stronger than Ye Ze!”
As he spoke, Liu Qi unconsciously revealed a faint trace of pride, as though that powerhouse were himself.
Ever since seeing Ye Ze enter Xia Qing’s compartment, he had grown even more eager to surpass him.
“From now on, that is the standard I will aim for!”
Lin Ke retorted mercilessly, “You? Hah.”
“Besides, Ye Ze already cleared a Hell-Difficulty Dungeon yesterday. There is no telling how strong he is today!”
“Maybe Ye Ze can kill Blood-Skeleton Fiends now too. He might not be much worse than that ‘Rookie King’!”
Liu Qi waved a hand. “Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”
Hearing the argument, several students from the neighboring compartment leaned over as well.
One after another, they started sharing their own “firsthand intelligence.”
“Ye Ze? He is nowhere close to the Scout Camp’s ‘Rookie King’!”
“I heard that Rookie King has already been decorated! He got decorated while he is still a high school senior!”
The bespectacled boy in the next compartment lowered his voice mysteriously when he said that last line.
But the shock it stirred up only became greater.
Students in both compartments who had not heard about it immediately cried out, “Decorated? Seriously?”
“My older sister works as a clerk in the Scout Camp. She saw it with her own eyes!”
The boy with glasses spoke with certainty. “He got a Bronze Medal while still in his senior year of high school. The Scout Camp commander awarded it to him personally!”
“I heard the Rookie King can already kill a Level 25 Elite Fiend!”
“If it had not been for him, a lot more people would have died in the initial clearing operation in No. 19 Contaminated Land...”
After hearing the detailed explanation, the students could not help exclaiming in admiration. A few girls even wore looks of open worship.
Even Lin Ke felt at that moment that much of Ye Ze’s brilliance had been overshadowed.
Liu Qi was immediately smugly satisfied.
“See? Ye Ze is nowhere near a real powerhouse!”
“The Rookie King is the idol I, Liu Qi, want to follow!”
...
The clamor from the two compartments grew louder and louder.
It even carried into Xia Qing’s compartment.
With a helpless expression, she sat up and shut the compartment’s door and windows. The frosted-glass partition improved the soundproofing quite a bit.
At the very least, she thought, it would keep other people’s words from affecting Ye Ze’s state of mind.
Only she and Ye Ze were in the compartment.
But as soon as Ye Ze had come in, he had leaned back in his seat, pulled his baseball cap down over his face, and stayed utterly quiet.
Xia Qing’s bright almond eyes could not help lingering on him a few extra times.
“Ye Ze’s emotions are that steady?”
“His classmates are comparing him to someone else, and he is not angry at all?”
That alone already made him far calmer than many students she had seen.
Ye Ze naturally heard the commotion outside. In an environment like this, he never had the habit of falling into a deep sleep.
But for a moment, his feelings were a little complicated.
They were comparing him to himself...
He really did not know what to say.
It felt like they were belittling him, yet somehow they were also praising him...
So he simply kept his eyes closed and rested, recovering his stamina and mental energy. After spending the entire day in the Contaminated Land, the continuous strain had not been light.
Just then, the compartment door was suddenly knocked on.
Knock knock...
Xia Qing stood up. Outside the door were a man and a woman in Guard Unit uniforms, both third-rank Class Users!
“Hello, Teacher Xia Qing. I am Qin Cheng, captain of Qingfeng City’s Guard Unit.”
“My name is Zhou Huahua. You can think of me as the vice-captain!”
Xia Qing was rather surprised by the classes and levels of the two people before her... a Level 30 Lancer, and a Level 30 Mentalist!
Every year, when the students set out for the group dungeon, Qingfeng City would send people to escort them.
But never before had even Level 30 Class Users been assigned like they were this year.
Perhaps noticing Xia Qing’s surprise, Captain Qin Cheng explained, “The beasts on the Blood-Red Plains have been unusually restless this year. There have been frequent attacks on humans and city facilities.”
“But do not worry. Qingfeng City has already sent people to clear them out...”
“We will escort all of you today and make sure nothing unexpected happens!”
After hearing the explanation, Xia Qing immediately felt far more reassured.
Her class had never been one suited for combat to begin with. Now that two third-rank Class Users were here, the pressure on her throughout the journey would be much lighter.
“Then I will have to trouble you both,” Xia Qing said gladly.
Seeing that there were still two empty seats in the compartment, Qin Cheng simply brought Zhou Huahua inside, intending to sit down.
When he noticed Ye Ze reclining there with his eyes closed, he asked curiously, “And this is...?”
But before he could finish— Zhou Huahua, who was usually lively and animated, suddenly shuddered all over. Her face went deathly pale as she clutched Qin Cheng tightly.
Her class was Mentalist, allowing her to perceive others on a spiritual level.
But the instant she instinctively reached out to sense Ye Ze...
It was as though her whole being had been dragged into an endless Void.
Darkness, desolation, and terror closed in around her, like a lone boat that had strayed into a boundless sea.
Then a pair of crimson compound eyes appeared in the Void and gazed at her.
In the span of a single breath, her consciousness instantly collapsed.
“Danger...”
Qin Cheng frowned, yet found nothing unusual at all. “What is it?”
Zhou Huahua looked around at the peaceful surroundings, then glanced at Ye Ze, who seemed to have dozed off, utterly harmless on the surface.
She could not help sinking into confusion...
Years later, when Zhou Huahua looked back on this memory, she would realize one thing.
In all of human history, other than Ye Ze, she had been the first human to sense the existence of a Void Creature.
And she had also discovered a priceless lesson: never casually probe Void Creatures!
In the future, that lesson would carry significance for an entire age.
Unfortunately, she knew none of that yet...