Chapter 69

When Ji Qing walked into the classroom, quite a few people had already gathered inside.

Xie Chang’an sat somewhat stiffly in a corner of the room, his right hand resting flat on the desk while his left hand, hidden beneath it, gripped his Tang Saber tightly in a ready stance that practically said, If anything feels wrong, I’m drawing my blade and running. Ji Qing was not surprised at all. So… he really does get nervous after all, Ji Qing thought.

Feng Youyou was seated beside Ling You’er.

They had always gotten along well, so it was only natural for them to end up sharing a desk. Because of the unfamiliar faces that had appeared in the room, the two of them did not choose to speak aloud. Instead, they sent messages back and forth through their Terminals. Still, judging from how often they were glancing around the classroom, Ji Qing suspected that their text conversation was lively enough.

They had probably already gossiped about every boy in the room.

Although Gu Lingxue was not sitting with the two girls, she was also glancing at her Terminal from time to time. Every now and then, she looked in Xie Chang’an’s direction with a hard-to-describe expression. She did want to comfort him, but doing that would draw far too much attention.

She had only just made it into the new class. She absolutely could not afford to be disliked.

Liu Mu, on the other hand, was sitting in the middle of the back row, typing on his laptop while drinking soy milk. Compared with the other three, Liu Mu’s reaction was remarkably calm. He already knew most of the people in Class S. At this point, the only way to describe it was that he had returned to a group of familiar faces.

Ji Qing laughed quietly to himself.

As for the original members of Class S, there was not much change in their expressions. They had simply stopped talking. With unfamiliar people suddenly appearing in the class, even the liveliest sort would have no real desire to keep chatting happily.

But when You Xingluo caught sight of Ji Qing, he still smiled and waved at him.

Ji Qing returned the gesture with a gentle nod.

He walked with practiced ease to the second-to-last row by the window and sat down. A familiar seat, a familiar angle, but unfamiliar classmates.

Ji Qing was filled with emotion.

This not only marked the manga’s smooth transition into a new arc, but also signaled a dramatic change in their high school lives. Very soon, they would be leaving the school behind and seeing the true face of wasteland society.

Ring-ring-ring—

The class bell rang suddenly.

Even now, after the final exams were over and most of the students had already gone home, the school bell was still performing its duty with full dedication.

Li Xuehua arrived in a hurry just as the bell rang.

She placed the attendance sheet and materials on the podium, then turned back with a smiling expression and gestured. “Student Jiang Cuo, just find a seat for now.”

Following Li Xuehua’s gaze, Ji Qing only then realized that there was an unfamiliar boy behind her. The boy had short silver-gray hair and gray eyes. He stood at the classroom door with both hands in the pockets of his camouflage jacket, dressed in a work jacket and cargo pants.

He looked around the classroom in surprise with those gray eyes and muttered softly, “There are quite a lot of people here.”

There really were quite a lot of people. Ji Qing silently agreed.

After all, if the manga had followed its original main plotline, there would only have been five people in the room right now. But now there were ten. The number had practically doubled.

Jiang Cuo did not hesitate for long. He simply pulled over a seat by the podium and sat down.

The keychain hanging at his waist, decorated with a cartoon charm, gave off a crisp little jingle, but clearly not many people found that strange. Compared with a new classmate’s hobbies, everyone was far more curious about why the new classmate had transferred here.

After all, Jiang Cuo was the only unfamiliar face in the room.

An eager smile appeared on Zhou Que’s face. Just as he was about to strike up a conversation, Shao Huayu expressionlessly pressed Zhou Que’s head flat onto the desk with one hand. The whole sequence of actions was smooth and fluid, as though he had rehearsed it countless times.

Thud—

The desk gave a faint little impact sound that was very easy to miss.

Naturally, the new classmate in the front row did not notice it, but Xie Chang’an, sitting all the way in the farthest corner of the classroom, did. For a moment, both he and Gu Lingxue turned their gazes toward the interaction between Shao Huayu and Zhou Que.

That was a little… hard to imagine, Xie Chang’an thought in astonishment.

Liu Mu, meanwhile, was already used to it. He did not even raise his eyes as he continued to sip through his straw. From the bottom of his heart, Liu Mu thought with relief, It has been so many years… classmates, you’ll get used to it sooner or later…

And even if they did not get used to it, they would at least get used to seeing it.

The moment Li Xuehua raised her eyes on the platform, she noticed the little movements among the students in the back rows. She smiled inwardly, caught between amusement and helplessness, but outwardly, she remained perfectly composed and clapped her hands. “All right, everyone, you can put down whatever you’re doing for the moment.”

She cleared her throat and said seriously, “First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on successfully making it through your first semester.”

“I imagine that over the course of this semester, each of you has already thought many times about the path you want to take in the future.” Then, before she knew it, Li Xuehua could not help smiling again. “And now that I can see all of you here, you should already have your answers in your hearts.”

“Without any more unnecessary talk, I’ll go straight to the point.”

Li Xuehua straightened her expression. “During winter break, the students of Class S at the Third Ability Academy will have one Winter Break Practicum opportunity. Based on your performance during the practicum, the school will issue you your Hunter Guild accounts, which will make it easier for you to accept commissions through the Guild and complete off-campus practical work. That is also why all of you were required to gather here during winter break.”

“The expenses during the practicum will be reimbursed by the school, but only this once. From now on, when you are training and gaining experience outside, remember to keep an eye on balancing your finances.”

“Once the second semester begins, your activities will be arranged by yourselves, but do not neglect your regular contact with the school because of that. The school may assign tasks to you, and there will also be certain assessments connected to your graduation evaluation that you will need to complete.”

“In addition, staying in regular contact allows the school to understand your situation and provide helpful support. …”

Inside the classroom, Li Xuehua’s voice was gentle and steady.

Ji Qing had always liked how clearly Li Xuehua handled things. At the beginning of the school year, it allowed him to understand his own situation very quickly. Now, it was letting him know exactly what he would need to do in the future. Ji Qing quietly glanced around at the others in the classroom.

Their expressions had all grown serious.

Feng Youyou and the others sitting nearby stopped their little movements and began taking notes in earnest. Liu Mu’s laptop, meanwhile, was even using advanced technology directly—speech recognition was recording the contents of Li Xuehua’s words, while he himself marked down all the key points and questions.

That really is impressive, Ji Qing thought.

After finishing her explanation of the matters they would need to pay attention to over the next two years, Li Xuehua calmly swept her gaze across everyone in the classroom.

There was no sign of confusion on any of the students’ faces. Presumably, they had all understood.

So Li Xuehua cleared her throat again and said with a smile, “That said, it is still a little early to be talking about all this, because we haven’t even gone through the Winter Break Practicum yet. So next, let’s talk about the practicum itself.”

“This Winter Break Practicum will be divided into several squads, with multiple teams cooperating together. The location will be near Snow City in the north.”

Li Xuehua operated the projector and displayed a map of the Federation.

On the screen, Snow City, Yancheng, and several other major Federation cities were marked out. Li Xuehua even specifically showed them photos of the terrain near Snow City. With a serious expression, she said, “The current temperature in Snow City is around minus ten degrees Celsius. Because of Snow City’s unique terrain, there is also a risk that the temperature may drop further. Be sure to bring warm clothing. You do not need to wear your school uniforms.”

“The purpose of this trip is to investigate the cause of a train derailment.” Li Xuehua looked at the projected scenery of Snow City and continued sternly, “The latest railway accident report issued by the Federal Railway Bureau states that, on the route segment between Snow City and Ding’an City, the probability of train accidents is 23% higher than on other route segments. This year alone, three trains have already met with accidents there.”

“That probability is extremely high, which is why the Hunter Guild needs to arrange for personnel to assist in the investigation. Your task will be to enter the Danger Zone where the train accidents occurred, retrieve the black boxes carried by the three trains, and bring them back to the Research Institute for examination.”

“That is the origin and objective of this assignment. Do all of you understand?”

But the room fell completely silent.

Li Xuehua looked around in surprise and asked in puzzlement, “Was I speaking too quickly?”

“No… it’s just a little surprising,” Shao Huayu answered first. He raised his head to look at the wreckage scene shown on the screen, his tone somewhat hesitant. “I had assumed that this sort of accident survey would be handed over to the Hunter Guild or the military.”

“Under normal circumstances, it would indeed be handled by the military and the Guild.” Li Xuehua sounded gratified after hearing that, but she quickly changed course. “However, all of you will soon become part of the Hunter Guild yourselves, so this should also be considered treating you according to a Hunter’s standard.”

That really is true, Ji Qing thought.

But when his gaze returned to the photographs of the accident, he felt as though he had overlooked something. Seeing that, You Xingluo immediately raised his hand and asked, “Teacher, I have a question.”

“Student You, go ahead.”

“The most recent train accident happened seventeen days ago. If I remember correctly, there were several missing passengers from that accident whose bodies were never recovered.” You Xingluo clearly restated the situation, then pointed out coldly, “May I ask whether the school is aware that this trip carries a risk of encountering Infected?”

The moment those words came out, the other students all looked at You Xingluo in surprise.

Ji Qing suddenly froze.

That was right… it really was. Ji Qing considered it inwardly. After a train accident, the surviving passengers only had two choices. One was to stay on the train and wait for Federation rescue. The other was to leave the train and head alone for the nearest city.

Both options carried the risk of infection, but the latter was far riskier than the former.

If passengers had chosen to leave the train after the accident, and were then infected by the Aberrants roaming the wasteland, they certainly would not have been able to enter a Safe Zone. Seventeen days was not a very long time. The Infected could not possibly have gone very far. Which meant—

There was a very high chance they would encounter Infected.

“We’re starting off at this level of difficulty right away?” the newly transferred student said with a wry smile. “I haven’t even learned everyone’s faces yet.”

“I haven’t even learned your face yet,” Zhou Que chimed in resentfully.

Zhou Que was still dying of curiosity about the transfer student, but Shao Huayu had shut him down directly. Before he had figured out what kind of person the new classmate was, Shao Huayu absolutely refused to let Zhou Que have any sort of meaningful contact with him.

“Wow~” The transfer student grinned. “Then you can try talking to me.”

“Sure~” Zhou Que replied, practically itching to get started.

A blazing fire almost seemed to ignite in his eyes, as though he were determined not to give up until he got what he wanted. Ji Qing’s gaze moved back and forth between the two of them, and in the end, he cast a sympathetic glance at Shao Huayu, whose eyes were growing ever more lifeless.

No matter how things turned out, the one who would have to step in at the end would still be Shao Huayu.

Ji Qing also quietly glanced toward Xie Chang’an’s seat. Xie Chang’an had not spoken from the very beginning, and after hearing the mention of the Infected, he had become even quieter. His expression was extremely grim, clearly because he had thought of something unpleasant.

But that had nothing to do with the Valedictorian.

Just as Ji Qing withdrew his gaze, Li Xuehua spoke to interrupt the discussion in the classroom. “All right, everyone—the school is aware.”

Li Xuehua stated sternly, “It is precisely because of that that the school chose this commission as your Winter Break Practicum. Let me ask you something. How many of you here have seen the Infected before? And do you really think you can avoid ever encountering them in the future?”

That was definitely impossible. Ji Qing felt helpless inwardly.

Now, he could understand the school’s way of thinking. Rather than waiting until the students encountered the Infected in the future and had no idea what to do, it was better to let them take on a task related to the Infected now. Still… Ji Qing’s eyes darkened slightly.

Those with a high degree of infection were one thing. By that point, the Infected were already little more than corpses being controlled by the Aberrants inside them.

But if they encountered those with only a low degree of infection… would they really not hesitate?

“Teacher—” Xie Chang’an raised his hand and asked in a hoarse voice, “Our mission objective is to retrieve the black boxes. During the mission, we can make our own decisions, correct?”

Ji Qing calmly glanced at Xie Chang’an when he heard that.

As expected, he thought, Xie Chang’an wants to avoid things developing in that direction. But surely the school would not be that heartless…

“You can,” Li Xuehua said, warning him, “but please make sure to prioritize your own safety and that of your teammates.”

Xie Chang’an said quietly, “Understood.”

With those words, silence once again settled over the room. Seeing that, Li Xuehua hurriedly pressed on. “Does anyone still think there is a problem now?”

“I don’t have any problem with it,” You Xingluo said with a smile.

He had never actually thought there was a problem. He had simply taken on the role of pointing out the issue clearly. Once he spoke, the other students also voiced their agreement one after another. After all, they were people living in the wasteland. These were things they would have to face sooner or later.

Li Xuehua let out a long breath of relief.

At last, the most troublesome part had been resolved, but things were still far from over. Li Xuehua once more put on a gentle smile and said, “Since that’s settled, let’s do a round of self-introductions now.”

“I believe that after a semester of training, all of you will definitely do a better job introducing yourselves than you did before.”

But this time, Li Xuehua did not open the attendance sheet. Instead, she looked directly toward Ji Qing by the window.

“Student Ji Qing, you first again.”

“All right.”

Ji Qing gave a cool nod.

He had been prepared for that long ago.

After all, he was their Valedictorian.