Chapter 88

The opening scene of the next chapter shifted from the outskirts of Snow City back to the familiar school gates.

The night was pleasant, and the lights of the guardhouse were dim. Yuexia Cao had specifically drawn a radio by the window of the guardhouse, which was raspily playing a broadcast program favored by the elderly. Consequently, the atmosphere of the manga appeared relaxed and peaceful.

The readers were unable to adapt to the sudden switch from the tense and exciting snowfields to the familiar, relaxed school:

【Ah, what happened?】

【Old hack Yuexia, why did you switch scenes here? Ahhhhh!!!】

【Why are we back at the school again?】

【I want to see Ji Qing! Ahhhhh!】

However, the lights of the guardhouse suddenly flickered. Immediately afterward, a figure flashed into the shadows within the school like a ghost. The manga instantly showed a close-up of Li Yuan’s face. Li Yuan was staring at a long string of keys in his hand with a hint of distress.

The narration described his internal doubt: Is it this one?

In the next second, there was a shot of the moment Li Yuan’s fingertips touched the key. The bullet comments instantly erupted into a massive storm:

【Speak of the devil!】

【The central figure of the storm has finally made his appearance!】

【I want to see how many people still think Ji Qing and Li Yuan are the same person now! Don't trust the protagonist's intuition; it’s not the first or second time the protagonist has been wrong!!!】

【Why is Li Yuan at the school?】

【Is he finally going to steal the World Book?】

【He probably planned to take action during winter break from the start, right? It just so happens that the protagonist isn't at the school, which is a roundabout way of protecting him?】

【The time difference is less than an hour, and the distance is thousands of kilometers. Have those of you insisting on the 'One Person Theory' been slapped in the face yet? They are clearly not the same person.】

Lin Yan became more confused the more she read the comments.

How did the discussion suddenly jump to the "One Person Theory"? Since Lin Yan had not followed the manga in real-time, she had no way of knowing the direction of the forum's speculations that week. However, she could roughly guess: the manga protagonist’s intuition suggested they were the same person, so fellow fans had been researching the possibility of a single identity.

After all, the intuition of a shonen manga protagonist was usually quite accurate.

"My bestie also told me they might be the same person..." Lin Yan murmured to herself with her chin in her hands. "I’ll ask her after I finish the manga. Perhaps she remembers something."

The next scene switched to the Administrative Building.

Li Yuan’s goal for this trip was undoubtedly the World Book. The manga revealed the situation inside the school from multiple angles: the patrolling teachers were walking near the library, the staying teachers were resting in the Faculty Building, and the Principal was training in the training room.

In these segments exposing the school's status, the figure of a raven appeared without exception.

The raven spread its wings and flew, crossing the white panel borders, before finally landing on Li Yuan’s left hand. Li Yuan did not react to this. His crimson slit pupils locked onto the distant Administrative Building like a hunter, and his figure sank into the darkness along with the raven.

【So cool, so cool! Ahhhhh!】

【Is this Li Yuan’s ability? It seems really powerful.】

【It should be a talent, right?】

【While Xie Chang’an is still on his way back to the city, Li Yuan has already started his operation?】

【This is truly confusing.】

【Hilarious! Just a moment ago you were saying you couldn't live without Ji Qing, and now you've all defected in seconds?】

Inside the Administrative Building, a security guard was patrolling the first floor.

As he turned the doorknob of an office, a pale, clean finger gently used a key to turn the lock. The guard, sensing something was slightly amiss, immediately looked back, but the dark corridor was silent. The guard tried to ask his colleague in the monitoring room, but the colleague hadn't noticed anything.

The conversation between the two ended abruptly, and the guard continued his patrol.

【So thrilling!】

【This feeling of sneaking around to do big things is great.】

【Last time we came here with Xie Chang’an, and now we’re here with Li Yuan. Heehee.】

【Li Yuan’s talent should affect light; it’s already been emphasized twice that the lights dimmed for a moment.】

【So suitable for infiltration.】

【I feel like it's related to shadows, otherwise they wouldn't have used a close-up on the scene of him vanishing.】

Lin Yan suddenly became nervous as she watched.

This kind of drama—sneaking into the school late at night—was actually appearing before her eyes. Familiar characters, familiar scenes, but an unfamiliar development... Lin Yan both hoped Li Yuan would escape successfully and hoped the school would discover him sooner.

In the manga, the underground passage that Xie Chang’an had once walked appeared before the readers' eyes.

Despite never having been there before, Li Yuan acted as if he were quite familiar with the route. The underground passage was dim and silent, with only the sound of Li Yuan’s steady footsteps moving forward. In the manga panels, only the environmental onomatopoeia appeared repeatedly.

But Li Yuan suddenly stopped.

He looked at an infrared monitor in a corner of the path he was about to pass and murmured with a hint of distress, "Oh, have I been discovered?"

【Ahhhhhhhh!】

【Explosively cool!】

【This sense of composure, this faint smile at the corners of his mouth—I have to say, I absolutely love it!】

【Slurp! I’m slurping countless times!】

【How could anyone not love the big Raven? How could anyone not love this incredibly poisonous-tongued big Raven!!!】

【The fans are having a total carnival now.】

The next panel of the manga was the scene of Li Yuan running through the underground passage.

Compared to his earlier focus on stealth, Li Yuan had now shifted his action strategy. Simultaneously, the manga depicted the alarms echoing through the school on the surface, along with scenes of the Principal and teachers being startled.

The Principal did not act first; instead, he calmly listened to the alarm.

After reaching the Collection Vault, Li Yuan headed straight for the deepest part. He first glanced briefly around his surroundings, then unhesitatingly took the World Book along with the glass showcase sealing it. The shadow swallowed the glass showcase in the first second, and Li Yuan walked away in the next.

He manipulated the shadows all over the floor to attack the layer of earth. Afterward, upon seeing the faint light breaking through the earth, he transformed into black smoke and drifted out of the hole. The raven he had sent out earlier flew toward the black smoke. The half-human, half-smoke Li Yuan caught the raven without hesitation.

Subsequently, the master of the night released the raven and turned his crimson pupils to gaze at the Principal not far away. "I did not wish to fight you, but clearly, you do not intend to let me leave. It is truly a pity; I actually quite respected you."

This chapter of the manga ended there.

【Crap!!!】

【So the Principal was just judging exactly which place was being intruded upon?】

【Ahhhhh, they’re going to fight!】

【I’m so anxious!】

【I can't wait; I want to see the next chapter right now!】

【It seems Li Yuan’s talent is shadows.】

【How can anyone be this cool? This ending is so cool it’s killing me.】

Lin Yan also became excited as she read this. She quickly clicked on the next chapter.

"Infected, why have you infiltrated the school?" The Principal of the Third Ability Academy asked with a frown. However, Li Yuan feigned a troubled expression upon hearing this. During their brief exchange, both sides were testing each other's bottom lines, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

After careful consideration, the Principal coldly rejected the other party's proposal.

The battle erupted instantly. Swift lightning and pitch-black shadows collided immediately. The manga delicately displayed the moment the two top-tier powerhouses clashed. The intensity of the battle was depicted so vividly that the readers who saw it couldn't help but exclaim in satisfaction:

【Awesome! This is so awesome!】

【Ugh, I love the battle scenes drawn by that old hack the most.】

【Now I feel like they aren't brothers; they probably have some sort of blood relationship? Li Yuan’s combat experience should be greater than Ji Qing’s.】

【So cool! (Star-eyes)】

【Not necessarily. So far, there hasn't been a battle that required the Valedictorian to go all out. Ji Qing’s strength might be more than what he has displayed, but Li Yuan probably hasn't shown everything either. Compared to ability users, the Infected need to worry about the deepening of their mutation during battle, so they cannot exert their full power.】

【Maybe they are from the same generation as an uncle?】

Half the comments were admiring the art, while the other half were analyzing the plot.

Lin Yan could tell that most readers were still pondering the ultimate mystery of the "relationship between Li Yuan and Ji Qing." Perhaps when she checked the forum later, her fellow fans would still be discussing the major possibilities for the two, but the possibility of them being the same person had definitely been excluded.

The intense conflict ended with the sound of a cane breaking.

The refusal to yield in the confrontation ultimately failed due to the choice of weapon. The Principal used a blast of lightning to force an end to this exchange, and the manga bubbles revealed his internal wavering. The Principal did not know Li Yuan, but he also knew the other party was no ordinary person.

The Principal stated with certainty, "You are from the Dawn Society."

【Crap! He only now realized he’s from the Dawn Society!】

【It seems there really is only one organization for the Infected. (Dazed expression) For those of you guessing the relationship between Li Yuan and the Valedictorian... you’ve got a lot of guessing to do...】

【Ahhhhhhhh!】

【He revealed his true identity the first time he met Chang’an. Admit it, you do have some love for Chang’an! Sob.】

【I pity Chang’an more and more; he’s being played like a fiddle by Li Yuan.】

In the manga, the two were still testing each other. The Principal frowned as he moved and said, "I heard long ago that the Dawn Society developed a serum to suppress mutation. Is that why you are so reckless?"

Li Yuan said with distress, "Is that so? I'm not really sure about that. After all, I'm still in the early stages of mutation; I have no use for such a thing."

Li Yuan, not wanting to talk to him, deliberately steered the conversation toward the Principal’s sore point. A new round of conflict soon began; however, this time the Principal couldn't help but think about the other party's identity, and information regarding the Dawn Society flashed by.

【A serum to suppress mutation????】

【I just heard something incredible. Holy crap, I suddenly feel like the Federation must be the bad guys. If there is a serum to suppress mutation, it clearly shows that the Infected can be saved, yet they chose to hide this fact...】

【So a terrorist organization actually developed a serum to save the Infected?】

【That’s a bit ironic.】

【Isn't this normal? The Infected are inherently unstable factors, and now that it’s the Wasteland, they naturally prioritize stability.】

【Even Li Yuan doesn't know as a cadre, so it’s still doubtful for now. But I think what he said is reasonable; he really doesn't need it right now...】

【Red Heart and White Night? Are they other cadres of the Dawn Society?】

【I’m a bit curious about the internal operational logic of the Dawn Society.】

The battle ended with the intervention of a third party.

The Principal, worried for the teacher’s safety, and Li Yuan, desperate to leave, both ran toward their respective goals. Li Yuan performed a feint, forcing the Principal to give up the pursuit. Accompanied by the Principal’s exhausted sigh, the battle between the two top powerhouses officially ended.

But it wasn't over yet—

The guardhouse at the school gate appeared again, only this time Li Yuan’s purpose was to return the keys.

An inexplicable feeling of being watched made him feel strange. After thinking for a moment, he realized who the voyeur was. He turned gracefully like a gentleman and bowed toward the distant voyeur. "All for the dawn of the new world. Please bid your Principal farewell for me."

The chapter ended with this scene.

The elegant and haughty intruder expressed a rival’s respect to the opponent who had tried to block him.

【So cool!】

【So cool it’s killing me.】

【Thinking that it might be a long time before we see Li Yuan again, I’m suddenly unwilling to let it go. Sob.】

【Don't let him leave the stage so quickly right after I’ve been won over!】

【Now I finally understand the Li Yuan fans. TAT.】

"It was practically like watching a top-tier visual feast," Lin Yan suddenly praised.

The old hack Yuexia was truly not stingy with giving the characters under his pen their moments of glory. She felt that every character who had appeared so far was well-sculpted, and they did not overshadow the manga protagonist's own glory. Lin Yan truly felt that the world of Ability Hunter was a real world, one that was deeply loved by the mangaka.

The very next chapter was the emergency meeting at the Administrative Building at 1:07 AM.

All the teachers remaining at the Third Ability Academy and the Principal jointly discussed the impact of the theft. Along with the teachers' statements, the impact of the incident was gradually grasped by the readers. Compared to the students' previous conversations, the teachers' talk seemed more objective and restrained.

【Hiss... it feels very serious...】

【I knew that an item called the World Book wouldn't be that simple!】

【Actually, I’m more curious about how the Dawn Society plans to handle things afterward.】

【I’m more curious if we can still see Li Yuan! QAQ】

【We can, we definitely can!】

The next scene switched to Xie Chang’an’s daily life in Snow City. The overall melody of the manga returned once again to the previous relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Xie Chang’an followed his two teammates, wandering here and there.

Just before the team was about to disband and the three were about to part ways, Xie Chang’an called out to Ji Qing.

Xie Chang’an asked, "Can I ask... do you really not have a brother who looks exactly like you? Even a distant relative would do."

Ji Qing: "But there really isn't one."

During their conversation, Jiang Cuo also gradually guessed the truth. However, the topic was finally stopped by the announcement Li Xuehua posted in the class group. Xie Chang’an finally realized that Ji Qing and Li Yuan were not the same person.

He thus lost his reason for preventing Ji Qing from leaving.

As he gazed at Ji Qing’s receding figure, a hint of bewilderment flashed across Xie Chang’an’s face. Volume 4 of the manga also ended here.

【See? They aren't the same person.】

【The protagonist is still thinking things through. This time the question changed to having a relative who looks just like him, though Ji Qing denied it again. Hahaha.】

【Denied it for the third time.】

【I feel like the relationship between these two might really not be as relatives or anything. Since Ji Qing has denied it three times, as the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times. Denying it thrice means he really might not have such a family...】

【Could it be a clone, or were they separated from a young age? Or is it really just a stranger who looks similar?】

【The problem is that Ji Qing understands the Infected. Since Ji Qing could say that paragraph, it proves he indeed knows an Infected related to the Dawn Society (the only Infected organization), but it shouldn't be Li Yuan.】

【Hilarious! You guys are analyzing while I’m shipping. Chang’an feels his relationship with Li Yuan is good. Hahaha.】

【I saw that too! Chang’an now has a friend (his own default version) and a parental (his own admitted version). As his mother, I am very relieved.】

【Ahhhhhh! Fellow fans, let’s head to the forum! I still want to know what the relationship is between Li Yuan and Ji Qing!!!!】

【Let’s go. (Giving up)】

【I feel like that old hack is going to keep this as a suspense for a long, long time. (Lying down) But I admit he made the right bet. This soapy plot really gives me the motivation to keep reading; it’s much better than the tropes he wrote in Volume 2.】

The manga ended there.

Lin Yan slumped back into her chair, exhausted, and took a deep breath. The plot content she had consumed all at once was so much that her brain was struggling to process it, but she still stubbornly dialed her best friend Liu Kena’s voice call.

The moment the call connected, Lin Yan couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Kena. I still don't see how those two are the same person. Didn't the manga clearly draw a scene showing they aren't the same person?"

"I never said they were definitely the same person," Liu Kena grumbled in dissatisfaction. "I only said it was a 'possibility,' plus the pseudo-self-cest. After watching the manga, don't you feel that the essence of the two is very similar?"

Lin Yan, whose mind was a mess, said hesitantly, "I can only say it’s a little bit."

"Moreover, if you analyze the things the Valedictorian has said, he really has a lot of similarities with my favorite. Both are related to the Infected, both have spent time in the lower levels of the Federation, both are familiar with Infected organizations, and even their attitudes toward Xie Chang’an are similar..." Liu Kena lamented. "If it hadn't been for the clear plot scenes, it would obviously be the same person."

Lin Yan fell silent.

It seemed her best friend was a supporter of the "One Person Theory."

Before Lin Yan could speak again, Liu Kena added, "Do you think it's possible for an ability item to create a clone? If so, I think it still holds weight. The main puzzle is right there in front of us. I don't think they can be brothers or twins; I really don't know what the final outcome will be..."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't project your favorite’s actions onto mine," Lin Yan frowned and interrupted. "I don't think that’s true."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Liu Kena murmured, "But I really think the expert's analysis is right."

To avoid making her friend angry, she cautiously avoided the topic and instead asked, "Then are you still going to look at the content I produced? An IF-line version of the brother conspiracy?"

Lin Yan was silent.

After a long time, she gritted her teeth and said, "...Yes."