Chapter 83

At 10:53 PM, on the outskirts of Snow City.

With the System's help, Ji Qing successfully returned to his own body.

He had just opened his eyes, feigning sleepiness, when he saw Xie Chang’an clutching a plastic bag and dry-heaving. "Ugh... Blech..."

From the driver's seat, Jiang Cuo reached out and patted Xie Chang’an on the shoulder, saying with a carefree attitude, "Man, don't be like that. You're making me feel like my driving skills are terrible. Look at the Valedictorian; isn't he sleeping soundly?"

"You... get lost," Xie Chang’an managed to say through his nausea.

Just as Ji Qing was about to speak, amused by the scene, the off-road vehicle suddenly hit a bump. Jiang Cuo skillfully controlled the steering wheel with one hand, while Xie Chang’an expertly held onto his plastic bag with both hands.

Seeing this, even the way Ji Qing looked at them changed.

He quickly used his hand to check his forehead and other exposed skin. There were no strange bruises or swellings from impacts, only an inexplicable ache throughout his body. This was likely the aftereffect of Jiang Cuo’s driving, but it was still acceptable.

Thank God for seatbelts, Ji Qing thought sincerely.

The two reckless problem children clearly hadn't noticed Ji Qing waking up in the back seat. Upon seeing the towering, sturdy walls of Snow City, Xie Chang’an lamented from the bottom of his heart, "We’re finally entering the city..."

Along this journey, he had been living a life worse than death.

Jiang Cuo’s pestering was one thing, but the motion sickness was another. Xie Chang’an felt like the guilt he had felt after hearing Jiang Cuo’s story earlier was about to vanish completely. If he didn't lack driving skills and knowledge of the road conditions, Xie Chang’an would have really tried to snatch the steering wheel from Jiang Cuo.

Valedictorian, save me... No, the Valedictorian is resting. Wait, how can the Valedictorian even sleep through this?

Xie Chang’an’s inner thoughts wavered like this, but now he finally saw the light of salvation. Even though it was late at night, the walls of Snow City were coated in a soft, dreamlike filter in his eyes.

Once they entered Snow City, he would be free.

At that moment, Jiang Cuo, while attending to the staff coming over for inspection, directed Xie Chang’an, "Go wake the Valedictorian. We still have to do the entry infection check."

"Why don't you do it?" Xie Chang’an countered.

Hearing this, Jiang Cuo immediately pointed at the inspector by his window and said righteously, "Don't you see I have to follow the inspector's orders? I can't afford to make the Valedictorian angry again. Good luck to you, buddy."

Xie Chang’an scoffed. "Hmph!"

Ji Qing, who was listening quietly in the back: "..."

How did their relationship become so close in such a short amount of time?

Although these two idiots hadn't realized that the person they were about to wake was already awake, they were truly birds of a feather. Thus, Ji Qing spoke expressionlessly, "I think... the Valedictorian isn't that terrifying, is he?"

"How could he not be? Earlier... Huh? Valedictorian, you're awake!"

Jiang Cuo, thinking Xie Chang’an had replied, turned around only to see Ji Qing sitting with his arms crossed, staring coldly at the two of them. Jiang Cuo jumped in fright and immediately rubbed his hands together fawningly. "Why didn't you say anything when you woke up, sir? I was just about to return this throne to you—"

"Stop," Ji Qing interrupted expressionlessly. "Keep driving. Go straight to the inspection hospital."

He really couldn't be bothered with their antics midway.

In the eyes of Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo, Ji Qing had just taken an uneasy nap in the vehicle. But in Ji Qing’s own awareness, he had been working hard from 5:00 AM until 11:00 PM. He was so tired he just wanted to rest quickly.

"Right away, right away!" The bootlicker Jiang Cuo responded immediately.

Xie Chang’an, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly fell silent. Although he had wanted to ask Ji Qing about his earlier confusion, he clearly noticed that Ji Qing’s spirit seemed even more exhausted. Xie Chang’an thought absently: Makes sense. With Jiang Cuo’s driving, even if someone wanted to rest, they wouldn't be able to do it well...

Perhaps he should wait.

Thus, Jiang Cuo continued driving the vehicle into the parking spot designated by the inspector.

The three of them got out of the car, followed the inspector to the hospital for the infection rate check, and then went to a vacant waiting room to wait for the results. They were quite familiar with this process, as it had to be done every time they returned to a city.

Speaking of which, it was still a bit crude.

Ji Qing sat on a bench and glanced at the soldiers standing outside the hospital, thinking nonchalantly: With this process, it's actually quite simple for an Infected to slip into a town. But perhaps this is the result of the Federation's high-ranking officials' careful deliberation...

After all, no one wanted a head-on confrontation with a group of lunatics who weren't afraid of death.

There was still an infection check when moving from the outer town to the inner city. They would likely filter people again there, perhaps even taking the chance to sell expensive inner-city housing. It was quite ironic.

[Infection Rate: 29%, Pass]

[Infection Rate: 32%, Pass]

[Infection Rate: 36%, Pass]

After a while, a nurse arrived with their test reports. Compared to the infection detection devices in Yancheng, the process used in Snow City was more complex and precise, but it also required some waiting time.

"29%..." Ji Qing murmured, staring thoughtfully at the report.

His infection rate had never exceeded 30%. He wasn't sure if this was due to his status as a Aberrant or his status as an S-rank ability user. For now, he could only hope it wouldn't lead to any unnecessary consequences in the future.

After leaving the hospital, the three immediately went to eat.

While outside the city, food, clothing, and shelter were kept simple. The three of them had only consumed one nutrient pack for lunch, and there was no need to describe the taste of those.

Bland and tasteless, they were a perfect tool for forced confessions.

"Braised Pork with Preserved Mustard Greens!"

"Braised Pork Belly!"

"Braised Eggplant, Stir-fried Greens, and Braised Chicken with Mushrooms," Ji Qing said, first scanning the Chinese restaurant's menu before closing it elegantly. "That will be all."

The waiter recorded the order with indifference and left quietly.

Because the restaurant was close to the inspection hospital, there were plenty of hunters returning from long stints in the wild who would order a massive amount of food as a form of "revenge consumption." Although Ji Qing and his companions looked quite young, the waiter's long years of experience taught him what to look at and what not to look at.

There was no guarantee that one of the guests wouldn't be someone who could crush him with the flick of a finger.

"Woohoo! I feel like I'm alive!" Jiang Cuo chewed on the Braised Pork with Mustard Greens, his eyes full of emotion. "This place’s pork is so good. I’m coming back tomorrow. I’m so moved right now..."

"Just eat and stop talking," Xie Chang’an said through a mouthful of food.

The two of them ate like wolves. In no time, a large bowl of white rice was finished. Although Ji Qing ate elegantly, his speed was no slower than theirs. After all, if he didn't eat quickly, everything would be snatched away.

The group ended up ordering three more dishes.

When they ordered more, the waiter truly couldn't help but steal a few more glances at the three of them. He really hadn't expected these three young men to be so capable of eating.

Once they had eaten their fill, Ji Qing was finally able to collapse onto his bed.

The day's business was finally finished for him.

As for delivering the Black Box, unsealing the World Book, contacting the Railway Bureau, watching out for Xie Chang’an’s sense of déjà vu, and informing Red Heart of the mission's success... all of that could be left for the Ji Qing of tomorrow. The Ji Qing of today just wanted a good night's sleep.

Lately, Ji Qing had been so busy he barely had time for anything.

However, before successfully falling asleep, Ji Qing still chose to set several alarms for himself to prevent his tomorrow-self from oversleeping.

At 12:57 AM, Ji Qing successfully drifted into a dream.

***

At 1:07 AM, in the Administrative Building of the Third Ability Academy.

Because of an unexpected visitor, the building was brightly lit. The Principal and all the teachers remaining at the school were gathered in the lobby, waiting for their colleagues in the Collection Vault to finish inventorying the list of ability items kept by the academy.

They chose to start counting from the innermost section, and the first thing at the top of the list was the missing World Book.

Li Xuehua stared down at the message sent by her colleague and said in a serious tone, "It has been confirmed that the World Book was stolen. As for the other collections... we may need to wait for Uncle Wu to return for further inventory."

the male teacher beside her added, "Uncle Wu is on his way back. He should arrive around 3:00 PM tomorrow."

As their voices faded, the lobby fell into a dead silence once more.

The Principal, who was seated, murmured, "The World Book..."

Unlike the teachers who were standing, the Principal was sitting in a chair. This wasn't because he had demanded they stand; rather, everyone had been standing at first, but one of the teachers had brought a chair over for him after seeing that the elderly Principal had lost his cane and had undergone such intense physical activity.

The Principal stroked his beard and asked, "What do you all think is the Dawn Society's purpose for specifically taking the World Book?"

The room remained silent.

The Principal turned his gaze toward his two prize pupils.

Seeing this, Li Xuehua took a deep breath and stepped forward helplessly. "The primary function of the World Book is to interpret destiny. In the past, the Federation used it to decipher prophecies and other obscure, difficult-to-understand texts. Similarly, its past users were almost all Seers. Because the cost of using the World Book became increasingly severe, it was sealed by specific Federation personnel and placed in our school’s Collection Vault."

"Yes, exactly so," the Principal nodded with satisfaction.

A timid teacher took the chance to speak up. "If that's the case, does it mean the Dawn Society has control over a Seer?"

Another tall teacher disagreed. "Perhaps one of them has an Seer-type talent?"

"But the cost of using the World Book... it..." the timid teacher hesitated. "It sacrifices the user's life first, then randomly selects others present... That's why it was abandoned..."

If it hadn't been for the fact that the World Book sacrificed the user's life first, the book—which had originally been highly valued in Central City—would never have been dumped at the Third Ability Academy in a remote small town.

The unspoken words lingered in everyone's ears, though everyone present understood.

The Principal's gaze immediately turned toward his other pupil who had yet to speak.

Thus, Liu Weiye, the homeroom teacher of Class A, suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and said in a gentle tone, "Perhaps they have an Infected capable of taking another's place in death. As long as they can transfer death to someone else, the World Book, as an ability item for interpreting destiny, can still serve its purpose."

"But... but is that reasonable?" the timid teacher asked fearfully.

"The World Book's power is interpretation, not prediction," the teacher who had spoken earlier said with a frown. "It must be used on existing prophecies to work. In fact, I can't even imagine many other uses for it."

"But there actually are," Li Xuehua’s voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone present turned to look at her, including the Principal.

Li Xuehua showed no fear and said in a serious tone, "When I was in university, I participated in a research project with my mentor on how the uses of ability items evolve. My mentor pointed out at the time—"

"The cost of the World Book does not match its currently displayed uses. However, considering it is the only ability item related to text, she hypothesized that if an ability user were to die and grant the World Book their Ability Particles, it might very well evolve to be able to decipher existing text."

"From only being able to decipher prophecies to being able to decipher any existing text."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present began whispering among themselves. If they previously hadn't understood why the Dawn Society would steal the World Book, now everyone could sense a looming crisis.

The Principal’s brow furrowed deeply.

It wasn't that he didn't believe his pupil, but the thought of such a potential disaster slipping through his fingers filled him with heartfelt guilt. The Principal thought: I’m old, truly old... I’ve failed the Federation's trust in me...

Liu Weiye stepped to the Principal's side, leaning down to ask, "Teacher, should this also be reported to the Federation?"

He wasn't referring to anything else but the words Li Xuehua had just spoken.

"Report it," the Principal said with a calm gaze. "The people in Central City surely don't understand the significance of the Dawn Society stealing the World Book either, just like us. In that case, let's report these words as a possible future to the Federation and let them investigate. As for me..."

"It’s time for an old man like me to welcome retirement."

The timid teacher said seriously, "Principal, please don't say that. All of us teachers share the responsibility. Our reaction wasn't fast enough."

Another male teacher also said earnestly, "Actually, I feel Central City is also at fault. If the World Book was truly that important, it shouldn't have been left for us to guard. They underestimated the World Book too..."

The remaining teachers also shared their thoughts.

Principal He Yun listened quietly, then saw Li Xuehua say seriously, "Regardless, the impact of this incident must be kept to a minimum. The Third Ability Academy still can't do without you, Teacher."

"We just managed to get the upper hand against the First Ability Academy," Liu Weiye chimed in. "If you're held accountable for this and forced to step down, it will only make Central City look heartless. The grand ambitions you spoke of when you took office would never be realized."

The Principal was so annoyed his mustache almost twitched. "..."

Truly, raising daughters is more relaxing than raising boys.

But having reached this point, He Yun also understood the school's current predicament. The Third Ability Academy was in competition with several other ability high schools. If he retired now as Principal, there would be no way to guarantee the school's future safety.

But this incident was indeed his fault...

"Fine, fine, no need for everyone to say more." He Yun waved his hand, his expression serious. "For now, we wait for the Federation's subsequent decision. As for you all, notify those who need to be notified—colleagues and students—and file the reports that need to be filed."

"This old man hasn't reached the age where he absolutely must retire yet."

"Understood!"

The hall instantly echoed with a unified response.