Chapter 81: The Headmaster’s Invitation

e Chong exited the modification workshop, and immediately saw a middle-aged man standing beside Yang An. Ye Chong couldn’t help but wear a guarded expression. Little did he know that the outside world was already stirred up by his appearance! The entirety of Blue Ocean Academy’s students knew that, as was tradition, a talent like him would be invited to join the Academy! Everyone was interested in knowing whether their beloved headmaster was up to the task!

Ye Chong’s performance earlier exceeded even the average teacher’s. The students of Blue Ocean Academy were all of the arrogant and egotistical sort, but when faced with someone truly capable, they would have genuine respect for the person.

Ye Chong had impressed this cohort with his remarkable skills!

He knew right away that the unfamiliar middle-aged man before him had waited on him for quite some time. His big belly coupled with a formal outfit made him look like an extraordinary person. However, that was not Ye Chong’s first impression! The man’s hands were flabby and smooth, showing no signs of training. His body shape was thoroughly imbalanced, with deplorable physical abilities. Ye Chong was certain that he could defeat the man within two seconds. The man’s eyes were calm, seemingly without hostility.

Ye Chong completed his mental assessment of the man almost instantly.

It was after that that Ye Chong noticed other particulars, such as the lack of any facial hair and the man’s graceful demeanour. He kept a smile on his face, giving the impression of a gentle and amiable person. Ye Chong did not loosen up despite of those facts. Yang An seemed to be extra courteous before the middle-aged man.

Ye Chong looked at the other party coldly, unwilling to make first contact.

The middle-aged man laughed and offered his hand, “How do you do, I’m Blue Ocean Academy’s headmaster, Lan Youming, a pleasure to meet you!”

Ye Chong stared at the headmaster’s right hand guardedly. “What’s with the hand?” Ye Chong stared back at Headmaster Lan, fully alert!

Shang could not bear it any longer, and spoke inside Ye Chong’s mind. “Idiot, that’s etiquette! Don’t you know etiquette? Heavens, what has Mu been teaching you all this while? Does he intend for you to be a wild animal? Poor Ye!”

“Etiquette?” Ye Chong asked in his mind, thoroughly confused. “That’s way too dangerous, what if the enemy suddenly attacked?”

Shang spoke with great frustration, “Heavens, Ye, you have to change your mindset. They’re humans, not wild beasts! Humans wouldn’t attack each other for no reason! Hmm, quick, shake his hand, if you ignore someone who’s offered their hand, it’s an extremely rude behaviour.”

“Hmm, right, that’s it, just shake gently. If you want to express good will, just apply a little more force. Heavens! Ye, he’s not a wild animal! How can you be use so much force on him?” Shang was exasperated.

Headmaster Lan dreadfully howled as Ye Chong’s hand clamped tightly on his right hand like a pair of pincers. He could even hear bones softly cracking from his right hand, and felt that he could faint at any moment! Upon hearing Shang’s words, Ye Chong retracted his right hand, swift as lightning. Headmaster Lan could no longer stand the pain, as he cradled his right hand and panted heavily, and lost his initial composure.

Ye Chong defended himself, aggrieved at the encounter. “I wasn’t holding him too tight!”

Shang gave a helpless assessment of the situation, “You are inhuman!”

Yang An stared stupefied at the scene before him, his mind stalled completely!

Ye Chong and Yang An both watched as Headmaster Lan jumped around in pain. Ye Chong was surprised – while Headmaster Lan was plump, his current series of actions showed unusual agility.

“You should apologize now, since your mistake has led to another person’s being harmed. That’s right, you should apologize now!”

“Apologize? My mistake? But I didn’t do anything wrong!” Ye Chong was at a loss, and added, “He seemed to be too weak, and his retaliation skills are absurd!” Ye Chong provided his professional opinion.

Shang felt like jumping off a cliff. “No matter what, you should apologize first!”

Ye Chong was alright with that. “If you insist, then sure!” Ye Chong usually obeyed Mu’s requests; Shang’s, however, were only agreed to when he thought they were not too extraordinary. For Ye Chong, Shang was far worse than Mu’s reasoning!

However, an apology did not seem to cost him much!

Ye Chong apologized to Headmaster Lan without his heart into it. “I’m very sorry, I did not expect you to be so weak, my apologies!” Ye Chong’s ridiculous apology did not sound like one at all.

“You call that an apology?” Shang asked.

“Of course!” Ye Chong was certain of it.

“I think it sounds more like a victor’s speech!” Shang countered.

“Mm, what’s the difference?” Ye Chong said, after a moment’s thought.

Shang stopped speaking and raised his white flag!

From the side, Yang An saw a bruise forming on Headmaster Lan’s hand, and could not suppress the chill from within him. He decided then and there to never have any physical contact with Ye Chong.

Headmaster Lan seemed to finally feel better, and even managed to force a smile. “It’s no problem, no problem at all, who’d imagine Mr Ye here to be so strong! As expected, Mr Ye is blessed with great raw talent. To have such high achievements at such a young age, how impressive!”

Ye Chong stared at Headmaster Lan silently, making Headmaster Lan feel a little awkward.

Shang could not stand the situation and offered, “Ye, when someone is done speaking, it is best if you can return the courtesy, or the conversation will become very awkward!”

Ye Chong replied point-blank, “But his words all seemed meaningless!”

“Er … Just ignore me!” Shang returned to his space.

Headmaster Lan seemed to realise that Ye Chong was not suited for this kind of conversation, and immediately switched his tact. “Mr Ye, I’d like to invite you to become a teacher at our Blue Ocean Academy! What do you say?”

Standing at the side, Yang An stared with bulging eyes, gaping at the two! “Sir, are you sure? Blue Ocean Academy’s teacher?” Ye Chong may not understand, but Yang An, who had grown up in Blue Ocean, knew that all teachers of Blue Ocean Academy are prestigious in the eyes of Blue Ocean citizens, and that Blue Ocean Academy was a possible gateway for one to enter upper class society. As for the academy’s teachers, they were already members of the upper class society. The Blue Ocean Academy’s teachers have all made their name, and the only teacher in the academy below the age of thirty was Rui Su. At least Rui Su was twenty five, but Ye Chong was only twenty! For someone at his age, even if he was a student in the Blue Ocean Academy, he could only be one of the lower level students.

“Being a teacher? That’s ludicrous!” Yang An thought as he looked at Ye Chong oddly, “This guy’s a monster!”

Headmaster Lan explained his decision, “Mr Ye’s missile shaped mech has a body structure that improves aerodynamic flow, and expressed Mr Ye’s great understanding of the physics involved. All the teachers in our academy felt that you are capable enough to work as a teacher of the academy. Besides, I have asked for advice from the twelve judges, and they unanimously agreed that Mr.Ye is absolutely qualified for the job. Moreover, Mr Ye’s exceptional modification skills, comparable to the work of expert mod technicians, are something we greatly appreciate! Of course, before Mr Ye began working for us, we’d still like to conduct a necessary test for Mr Ye. However, this is only one of the standard procedures, I believe, with Mr Ye’s abilities, this test should not be a problem!”

Yang An stared in a daze at Ye Chong, desperately trying to understand the situation. He had been guarding outside ever since Ye Chong entered the workshop, and did not have time to watch the competition’s live broadcast. Hence, he was completely ignorant of Ye Chong’s stirring actions. He was already baffled when the headmaster had asked all sorts of things about Ye Chong! He did not imagine that the truth to be something like this!

“Of course, Mr Ye, please do not worry about your terms of employment. Compared to other first class academies in the five main galaxies, the terms of employment in our academy is definitely first class! Not only will we offer a high salary, we will also provide full support for Mr Ye’s research projects! Besides, our academy is home to many great instructors, if Mr Ye would join us, you’ll find that the academic atmosphere here is excellent, the teachers exchange ideas amongst themselves frequently. I believe this would be beneficial push for Mr Ye’s future advancement!

“Should Mr Ye have any requests, please let us know, we’ll do our best to sort things out for you! We, the Blue Ocean Academy, sincerely invite you to join us!”

Ye Chong was not really listening to Headmaster Lan’s words, since he was speaking to Shang.

Shang had popped out again when Headmaster Lan offered a job for Ye Chong. The mech was very excited. “Hey, Ye, just say yes! Blue Ocean Academy’s teachers are all treated well!” Shang clicked his tongue, “In comes the money when you join the Blue Ocean Academy! I can’t believe even someone of your standard would be scouted by the Blue Ocean Academy … That’s gold zuan for us!”

Ye Chong disagreed. “Nope, I’m leaving, who’s going to make the noodles for Grandpa Qian’s shop?”

Shang gave that a thought. “That’s true! But if you join the Blue Ocean Academy, your monthly salary is definitely way more than when working at Grandpa Qian’s shop! You can allocate a portion of the money for Grandpa Qian, so he can enjoy his later years and does not need to work anymore!”

Ye Chong felt otherwise. “While I may not understand it, but I know Grandpa Qian does not think of money as his highest priority! It’s not a problem about money!”

“Mm, a problem with the noodles then, right, doesn’t Grandpa Qian have an automatic noodle making machine?” Shang asked.

“He does! But the noodles coming out that machine are gross!” Ye Chong replied.

Shang grew excited as he spoke, “So, if we can improve the automatic noodle making machine, er, maybe with some modifications, and take into account the various factors involved when you make the noodles yourself, I’m sure the machine can churn out noodles that taste as good as the ones you make!”

Ye Chong pondered over it, thought it feasible, and grew excited too. “You’re right, Shang, that’s a wonderful idea! We have to try it out when we get back!” Ye Chong felt like leaving for home right then.

“But, Ye, we don’t have any equipment, or materials, all these costs zuan! Without these things, we’ll never be able to complete the task.” Shang spoke as if afflicted.

Ye Chong was also vexed. “Yeah! That’s a real problem, and I don’t think those things come cheap!”

“Hmm, that’s true, however, it’s not that there’s nothing we can do about it!” Shang replied in a queer tone.

Chapter 82: Triumphant

hen Ye Chong requested to use the Blue Ocean Academy’s modification workshop, Headmaster Lan agreed without any hesitation and even brought him to the academy’s most advanced workshop himself! As Ye Chong entered Blue Ocean Academy’s reputedly most advanced workshop, seeing rows and rows of dream-like top class machinery, he was mightily envious! Headmaster Lan generously declared that he was free to use the devices as he see fit, and that materials were provided too. Ye Chong felt like diving straight into his work!

Even Shang went into a frenzy, howling in excitement!

Headmaster Lan grinned as he saw Ye Chong’s bland expression turn into a rich array of emotions for the first time. He was secretly pleased at himself. “Young man, I don’t believe there’s no way to keep you here!” Headmaster Lan had seen all sorts of people in his life, and knew the ways of appealing to one’s interests!

Ye Chong began immediately, studying the many devices and mechanisms that he had never seen before, oblivious to Headmaster Lan, standing at the side!

Headmaster Lan smiled, taking no offense, and left quietly by himself. Before that, he ordered the person in charge of the workshop to fulfill Ye Chong’s requests, whatever they may be! Of course, he hinted a little at the person’s unfortunate and inevitable farewell to the academy should he fail to satisfy Ye Chong, and the employee felt fearful enough that he nodded profusely like a docile animal!

Ye Chong did not notice when Headmaster Lan left. If he knew that his vigilance had dropped to such a state, one wondered how he would take it. Shang was also uncharacteristically cooperative this time, accessing the virtual net and procuring the holographic schematics for an automatic noodle making machine without fuss. Ye Chong and Shang discussed amongst themselves, while the person in charge of the modification workshop assisted by his side with great care, fearing that Ye Chong’s dissatisfaction would leave him without a job!

The person in charge stared as Ye Chong went into a daze, quiet as a mouse, for fear of interrupting whatever strange thoughts Ye Chong was having at the moment.

As he thought of all the effort he had put into securing his job at Blue Ocean Academy, and all the sweat and tears, he felt extremely discontented!

While today’s modern society would not allow anyone to die of starvation, a person without a stable job would have to visit the relief center to receive government aid. One was guaranteed a basic living condition, but to achieve more, one would have to climb up the economic ladder!

Ye Chong was having a heated discussion with Shang! While Ye Chong was far worse in calculations than Shang, his occasional insight often impressed both Shang and Mu! As such, Ye Chong often proposed some unusual concepts, while Mu and Shang demonstrated, complemented and improved those concepts!

Suddenly, Ye Chong thought of a problem, and began to look around him.

The person in charge saw Ye Chong’s behaviour, and immediately knew that he was looking for something. He hastily approached Ye Chong and put a smile on his face. “What are you finding for? I’m the person in charge of this workshop, just let me know if you have questions. The headmaster had informed me that all the materials here are at your disposal!”

Ye Chong froze. When he realized that he did not notice a person being so close to him, his expression turned sour. He relaxed after deducing that the person had no ill will against him, and warned himself against such carelessness!

However, since the person had offered, Ye Chong spoke, “I need flour and water!”

The person in charge was all ready for Ye Chong to ask for the most precious and expensive materials, thinking that he must procure materials for Ye Chong, even if he had to stake his life for it. What he did not expect, after all the mental preparation, was for Ye Chong to ask for flour and water.

Ye Chong took over the flour and water that the person in charge had procured for him, and, right before the person’s disbelieving eyes, he began to make noodles in Blue Ocean Academy’s most advanced modification workshop.

After five hours of hard work, Ye Chong looked satisfied at the massive machine before him, while the person in charge stared in stupefaction. Since the modification workshop had no automatic noodle making machine, he had used the tools and materials in the workshop to make a new one under Shang’s guidance.

Ye Chong carefully tasted the newly made noodles. The person in charge watched as Ye Chong used a mech’s hollow leg that was over thirty kilograms heavy in place for a bowl, and felt like jumping off a building!

“Hmm, the taste was not bad, almost identical to the one I make myself.” Of course, Ye Chong had no intention of inviting the person in charge for a taste. Instead, he swallowed all the noodles like a hungry tornado!

Ye Chong pointed to the automatic noodle making machine, and asked the person in charge, “Can I take this with me?”

The person in charge nodded mechanically.

He watched on as Ye Chong lifted the machine that weighed a few hundred kilograms and disappeared outside the door, and felt infinitely helpless. “Heavens, was the fellow crazy?” He felt like he had just seen a most sarcastic joke. “A person making noodles in Blue Ocean Academy’s most advanced modification workshop? Kneading the dough on an ultra-smooth benchtop, one of only a hundred in the entire Fal galaxy? Eating out of a hundred-thousand-zuan mech’s hollow leg? He did not even clean the hollow leg up after finishing his meal!”

“Could it be that world was truly changing?” The person in charge felt like he burned a fuse in his brain somewhere, as he stared blankly at Ye Chong’s gradually diminishing figure through the workshop’s entrance.

The next day, news of Ye Chong’s job offer acceptance as Blue Ocean Academy’s mech mechanics teacher spread fast throughout the academy grounds, as though the news had grown a pair of wings. Everyone’s attention was focused on the news, and the main event that was the MP Games had, for the first time in history, been largely ignored.

In the headmaster’s office, only Ye Chong and the headmaster were present.

Headmaster Lan smiled lightly and said, “Mr Ye, please let me know if you have any requests! I think we’ll make a great team!”

Ye Chong thought for a moment before speaking, “I’d like to take courses for alchemy!”

Shang leaped in excitement, having no indication of his decision beforehand. “Ye, hah, you’ve finally come around, that’s great! Ah, weren’t you reluctant to learn alchemy before this? What led to the change in mind?”

Ye Chong replied lightly, “It’s nothing, I just want to get more Do Kun stone!”

“Even the obtuse can be enlightened?” Shang was not convinced, but spoke again after a pause, “Ye, I know you chose alchemy because of me, right?”

Ye Chong spoke apathetically, “Nope!”

Shang spoke with dismay, “Ye, don’t answer so directly please, can you not just satisfy my tiny, tiny vanity?”

Ye Chong showed no signs of giving in. “No need for that!”

While the two were at an impasse with each other, a warm feeling was binding Ye Chong and Shang together!

“If only Mu can join us!” thought Ye Chong.

Headmaster Lan could not help but be surprised by Ye Chong’s odd request, but managed to gather himself and agreed to the request. “Oh, sure, no problem! I didn’t think Mr Ye was so interested in alchemy. I think the alchemy faculty’s Teacher Jiang would definitely welcome academic exchanges with you! Mm, any other problems for you?”

Ye Chong replied crisply, “None!”

Headmaster Lan nodded with satisfaction. “Then please come with me!” Headmaster Lan led Ye Chong into an adjacent classroom, where a total of fifteen specialists sat within. They would assess Ye Chong’s level and decide if he was the real deal, and if he was up to par to teach at Blue Ocean Academy!

The whole building was crowded. The faculty of mech mechanics’ students were all excited with the prospect of having Ye Chong as their teacher! Everyone was interested in the activities of this particular classroom!

Rui Su was also very enthusiastic!

Ye Chong’s strong impact was directly related to Rui Su. If Rui Su had not braved herself and switched all of Blue Ocean Academy’s channels to the one with Ye Chong, the effect would not be as strong! This was also the first time the MP Games had directed all its cameras to only one contestant! One should be aware that it was a great risk, and easily blamed upon!

However, she had triumphed this time! Her decisiveness and exceptional courage had brought her victory!

“Wang Xiaoer, you better point that holographic camera on target, if you do well this time, sister will reward you after! But don’t you forget yourself, when Ye Chong comes out, you point the holographic camera straight at him, got it? Let me repeat that, point it straight at him, hehe, sister will go the front lines by then. Take care of the lighting angles. Also, set the audio sync device right! Heh, if you mess up it this time, hehe …”

Rui Su would call herself “sister” when she was in a good mood, but when she was not, she would switch to the very crude “old lady”!

Rui Su stood handsomely before the entrance of the classroom. For today, she had specially dressed herself, her natural beauty now more charming than ever. The students at the side were all terrified of her, and none stood within ten meters of Rui Su!

The jam packed corridor offered the queer sight of a peerless beauty, with a circular perimeter around her devoid of any human being!

Rui Su smiled, pleased with herself. “Hehe, these youngsters have known suffering well enough through me!”

Rui Su was twenty five, a natural beauty. As she grew more mature these few years, her actions had the quality of a mature woman. This was not something naive little girls could compare themselves with.

Logically speaking, such a woman should have a whole line of suitors waiting on her!

However, Rui Su was very skilful. Back in her days of studying in Blue Ocean Academy, she was known as the infamous “Witch Su” of the Blue Ocean Academy, and all were terrified of her! She was not the kind of woman that most people would dare to meddle with! Even some of the courageous sort had yielded under her methods. Of the new students that arrive every year, the ones who suffered in her hands were often in the hundreds!

The door to the classroom suddenly opened, and Ye Chong stepped out calmly, followed by Headmaster Lan, all smiles.

The corridor was instantly in an uproar!

Headmaster Lan, with his worldly experiences, was not troubled, but instead stepped quickly in front of Ye Chong and pushed his hands downwards, signaling everyone to quiet down!

The headmaster was known for his practicality, and enjoyed a high reputation amongst the students. They immediately quieted down, and even “Witch Su” was silent like an obedient young lady!

As everyone quieted down, Headmaster Lan laughed pleasantly. “Good news to you all, Mr Ye Chong is officially recruited by Blue Ocean Academy as a teacher under the faculty of mech mechanics. Everyone is welcomed to join Teacher Ye’s classes!”

Once again, the entire block roared with excitement!

Chapter 83: Suspicion

eadmaster Lan looked to Ye Chong and nodded, signaling that he could leave!

Ye Chong headed outside, his expression was none other than his usual coldness and indifference. A path somehow opened up in the corridor packed with students, allowing him to pass through. Everyone watched Ye Chong respectfully, since those who were truly capable were often respected.

Rui Su had fought for this opportunity and would not miss it for the life of hers. She skipped to the front of Ye Chong, putting the most mesmerising smile on her face and smiled charmingly at Ye Chong, “How do you do? Welcome to Blue Ocean Academy! I’m the assistant dean for the faculty of broadcasting, Rui Su, we’ll be colleagues from now on!” Her usual crisp voice was now as seductive as melted chocolate, rich and sweet! Ye Chong could hear the heart beats of the corridor’s spectators throb more loudly in response!

Ye Chong, however, was shocked! As the lady had skipped to get in front of him, her control of movement and strength were impeccable, indicating that the other party was highly skilled in battle.

Ye Chong took a half step back, keeping a wider distance between himself and the opponent. He was now on full alert, even if his expression changed not at all! Ye Chong’s right hand was now positioned to strike when necessary, and his whole body was relaxed but focused, anticipating a battle!

Ye Chong understood from his days here that the outside world was no trash planet, and while both environments ultimately involve physical combat, the outside world required more tact and cunningness!

Ye Chong replied coldly, “How do you do?” All the students in the corridor heard Ye Chong’s voice for the first time. His baritone voice exuded a certain chill, but also brought a unique quality to it. This won the astonished gasp of a few female students.

Ye Chong observed with the intensity of a blade’s edge, scanning over Rui Su’s physique. Rui Su only felt a chill overcoming her, and could not help but hug herself a little. Her pitiful expression affected a round of gasps from the corridor, as the male students watched on with theirs mouths wide open.

Ye Chong was as still as a rock.

“Mm, her hands are overly fair, and skin too delicate, with almost no signs of training. Her fighting skills must be extremely poor.” Ye Chong believed that, with only one punch on whichever part of the lady’s figure, she would definitely be smashed into pieces! However, her demonstration of speed and control over her strength was impressive, and Ye Chong would not dare to underestimate her.

Of all his skills, mech piloting was definitely the one that Ye Chong was best at. It was also his specialty and the one skill he was most confident in. In second place was mech mechanics, which he had improved in leaps and bounds due his experience under the tutelage of the elderlies at Aurora and his constant discussions with Mu and Shang. Battling only came in at third place! Ye Chong’s battling skills were mainly the result of his experience fighting against wild animals and some low level training at Black Cove. He was not exactly skillful in combat. However, if he were to be engaged in a battle of life and death, Ye Chong would probably be the last man standing. Even without any battling techniques, his inhuman strength and speed would more than make up for his ability to harm the enemy.

However, Ye Chong understood that if his opponent was not much slower than him, with technique based battling skills, he would not stand a chance! In Black Cove, Ye Chong had seen Instructor Hak’s impressive battling techniques, and while Instructor Hak’s strength and speed were far inferior to his own, Ye Chong was not certain of his odds against someone with such unpredictable techniques!

Speed and strength were like the opposites of battle techniques, the two of them balancing a scale through a mysterious relationship!

Her arms and legs seemed too thin – without strength, any technique would only be as useless as decorations!

In reality, Ye Chong was not aware that he had a few misconceptions regarding some general knowledge. He did not realise that the person before him was a woman. More accurately speaking, he did not know the difference between men and women, and had often compared his enemy with himself, unaware of the fact that he was actually more like a monster amongst the commoners!

Rui Su was also not feeling as calm as her expression suggested. Ye Chong’s calculating stare had put a chill down her spine, as though he could see through all her thoughts and actions. Ye Chong’s minor retreat and his hands’ posture and position also surprised her. While the students would not understand them, how could she not? Her upbringing in a battle-centric family made her familiar with this kind of posture.

Suddenly, even being surrounded by so many people, Rui Su did not feel safe at all, as though she had plunged into an icy cave. “If only my younger sister were here!” Rui Su thought to herself.

Ye Chong studied Rui Su for a moment, before easily gliding past her like a breeze.

Rui Su, however, felt terror under the predatory scrutiny of Ye Chong. An insuppressible chill engulfed her from head to toe, freezing her stiff!

For the nearby students, it was an extremely odd sight to behold!

At first, the Witch had disguised as an angle and extended an olive branch for Ye Chong. Then, Ye Chong returned the favour with a cold greeting. After a prolonged staring contest between them, Ye Chong gave the Witch a purposeful look before moving past her without a word.

Something strange was going on between them!

This conclusion was shared by all the spectators, and even Headmaster Lan directed a strange look at Rui Su!

Wang Xiao Er did not move the camera away from the two since the very beginning, and the odd scene was broadcasted to the entire academy! Since there were many students interested in Ye Chong’s candidacy as Blue Ocean Academy’s teacher, they were all watching the live broadcast on their holographic screens. As such, the entire scene was presented to their very eyes!

“Could the two have known each other before? Were there any unresolved tension between them?” Rumours full of imagination began to spread throughout the Blue Ocean Academy.

In the academic column, there was “Conversation Between Geniuses and the Hidden Messages Behind Them”; in the academy’s entertainment news section, there was “Past Lovers, Present Adversaries”; in the opinion’s column, there was “May-December Relationships As I See It” …

In an instant, the academy grounds were in an uproar. Ye Chong and the Witch became wildly infamous. The female students were all deeply regretful that someone as steady and cool as Ye Chong was no longer available. Who would have thought that the Witch had made the first move? It was a depressing thought. The male students, however, thought it was hilarious. How could anyone dominate the Witch? Wasn’t that Heaven’s blessings? They hoped that Teacher Ye Chong would conquer the Witch, and prevent her from spreading any more suffering! Their days of hardship would finally be over! This was the primary concern for the male students under the faculty of broadcasting!

Unfortunately, Ye Chong was not aware of his role in the grand scheme of things. While the academy had provided him comfortable accommodation, Ye Chong would still make time every day to visit Grandpa Qian’s shop, and also inspect if Ye’s automatic noodle making machine was in good condition!

As for Rui Su, she was furious and exasperated at home, but there was nothing she could do!

At the Ji family’s place.

Elder Ji’s profile had touch of saintliness and godhood, and now it held a terrifying sombre expression!

No one below dared to make a sound.

Only Ji Shangyan was calmly reporting, “Based on our last inventory check after the incident, the Harmony of the Winter Aria was stolen. There are 26 casualties in total. The base had suffered unprecedented damages, and during our last inventory check, we found that an unknown ore was missing!”

“Unknown ore?” Elder Ji asked in his low voice.

“Yes. This unknown ore was obtained by accident, and sent to the base for research. Until the day of the incident, our research was still inconclusive. During the research of the unknown ore, we were able to establish that the ore could significantly increase a variety of physical properties of alloy materials. We had mixed in a very small amount of the unknown ore into the tip of the lance belonging to the Harmony of the Winter Aria! After examination, as expected, the tip of the lance had astounding properties. We were ready for further research when the mech was stolen!”

Elder Ji muttered, “Do you think the intruder was coming after the ore?”

Ji Shangyan replied respectfully, “Yes, your grandson believes so!” Ji family’s eldest young master was still in shock, and currently undergoing treatment. Thus, it was up to Ji Shangyan to manage affairs.

Ji Shangyan threw a quick glance at Elder Ji’s expression, and continued, “Fortunately, the red-silver mech was untouched!” Elder Ji’s expression smoothened at that.

“While we were cleaning up the base, we also found a mech’s wreckage. Even though the mech underwent a strong explosion, and its main structures were damaged, we still found that the mech’s armour workmanship was a lot better than our family’s red-silver mech and the Harmony of the Winter Aria!” Ji Shangyan obtained a palm-sized fragment of the mech from an employee behind him.

When Elder Ji saw the polished black fragment, his expression twisted, and he asked anxiously, “Is the mech’s pilot still here? Dead or alive?”

Ji Shangyan shook his head. “He is dead. We found nothing of value on this person, only a broken mask of sorts, and that mask was already partly melted!”

Elder Ji gave a wave with his hand and urged, “Bring that mask to me now!”

Ji Shangyan noted his grandfather’s expression uncertainly, but still ordered someone to retrieve what was left of the mask, which was just a small part of the whole.

Elder Ji held the distorted mask tightly in his grip, his expression changing curiously. After a moment, he settled down but did not speak further.

Could it be that the old man knew where the thing came from?

Ji Shangyan gave another quick glance at Elder Ji’s face, thought for a moment, before bracing himself and continuing carefully, “Grandfather, there’s one more thing!”

Elder Ji frowned. “What is it?”

Chapter 84: First Day in Class

i Shangyan deliberated for a moment before continuing, “What surprised us the most was that our alarm system was completely compromised by the intruder. There is no chance of restoring it, and we have to reinstall the entire system! The alarm system was not effective at all against the intruder, and up till now we have no idea of their methods. We have no clue at all. The intruder’s photon processor must be far ahead of ours.”<br/>Ji Shangyan finished his report nervously, anticipating the old man’s outrage. However, the moment did not come, as the old man observed the black fragment with a complicated expression. He sighed softly, “Hmmm, you’re still young, ignorant of the world outside your own. There are many things out there you can’t even imagine!”<br/>Ji Shangyan was startled, staring at the old man with disbelief.<br/>The old man looked desolate, his usual edge gone without a trace, leaving only signs of living through decades of his life, with a slightly hunched back. The man before Ji Shangyan now looked just like an ordinary old man!<br/>Ji Shangyan felt overwhelmed by the sight, his tears fighting to escape his eyes.<br/>Elder Ji waved his hand and spoke, “Alright, leave me!”<br/>____<br/>

At the Luo family, Luo Heng had finished listening to Luo Ren’s report, his face grave. He asked lowly, “Are you sure?”<br/>After the incident from last time, the Luo family had suffered greatly, but the aristocratic family’s history extended centuries, if not, millennias into the past. So long as the family had not fallen, a little catalyst would be sufficient to reinvigorate the family’s situation. The Luo family had recovered under Luo Heng’s leadership, resuming their swift progression. Luo Heng had recognised Luo Ren’s outstanding capabilities, and so Luo Ren had become one of his competent underlings.<br/>Luo Ren responded respectfully, “This servant has confirmed that the information is entirely accurate!”<br/>Luo Heng’s long and slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. He lifted his head abruptly towards Luo Ren. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”<br/>Luo Ren spoke without hesitation, “The Ji family have always been famous for their photon processors. To be stripped of their reputation so horrifyingly, I believe the effects are not insignificant! We had never been able to infiltrate that base of theirs, only placing a few of our own around the base. However, the extent of the damage this time was unexpectedly massive! We were able to send a few in amidst the chaos to gather some important intel! To be humiliated to this extent, the Ji family will probably make their move soon!”<br/>Luo Heng nodded, agreeing to his assessment. “That’s right. With a temperament like Ji family’s old man, they will probably retaliate! However, who were the intruders? How could they have best the Ji family’s photon processors?”<br/>The two thought over the matter intently, and suddenly, as though they had figured something out, both looked towards each other, their eyes filled with astonishment! Could it be …<br/>____<br/>

Blue Ocean Academy’s MP Games finally came to an end, and life in the academy resumed its usual routines. The new batch of students this year included quite a few outstanding freshmen, and possibly even geniuses amongst them, as was typical for the academy. However, the attention they received were incomparable to that of the past few batches. This was all due to Ye Chong’s presence.<br/>Ye Chong had garnered the attention of everyone around!<br/>His outstanding performance at the MP games earlier had dimmed the significance of all his opponents. After his stunt, rumours of some complicated relationship between Ye Chong and Rui Su had permeated to all corners of the academy’s grounds, inviting everyone’s attention. Ye Chong had become Blue Ocean Academy’s center of attention!<br/>This was Ye Chong’s first time teaching in class. Of course, he had rehearsed with Shang a few times beforehand, and did not expect any issues!<br/>Blue Ocean Academy had constructed its school grounds in the virtual world. Teaching here was convenient, especially for accessing various information databases. Geographical barriers were also no longer relevant!<br/>Ever since Ye Chong was granted permission by Headmaster Lan to use the academy’s most advanced modification workshop, he had been spending most of his time there, enjoying the facilities with Shang. While Shang’s calculations were not as impressive as Mu’s, they were still very powerful calculations, and even someone with Ye Chong’s calibre of mediocre calculations could appreciate them. Materials were freely provided as Ye Chong requested, since Headmaster Lan had explicitly allowed him so.<br/>Shang reminded Ye Chong, “Ye, it’s time for your class! Almost time now!”<br/>Ye Chong lifted his head, noticed the clock’s reading and agreed. He picked up the virtual world hyperlink helmet prepared earlier and hyperlinked to the virtual world.<br/>Shang could not stop blabbering, “Ye, hehe, the gossip about you and that Rui Su is really taking a life of its own, but, Ye, this Rui Su is definitely a first class beauty, perhaps, you would consider?”<br/>Ye Chong replied lightly, “Shang, this is the twenty fourth time you’ve brought this up in the last 3 days, do you really want me to repeat my answer?”<br/>”Ye, hehe, I have all the information on Rui Su, if you want them, don’t be shy to ask!” Shang let out a long, weird laugh.<br/>Ye Chong felt helpless. Shang seemed to grow more and more active, and Ye Chong was often at a loss to deal with him. What a troubling companion!<br/>”I wonder how Mu is doing?” Ye Chong was beginning to miss the reserved and calm Mu!<br/>After a few rounds of identity authentication, Ye Chong was quickly on his way into the classroom. The security was to prevent unauthorised substitution of the teacher and as a timestamp for the teacher’s teaching hours. Of course, the level of identity authentication did not escape Shang’s litany of condescending remarks!<br/>All students had to go through similar identity authentication measures. When class began, the system would automatically deny further access to anyone else. This was especially painful for the serial latecomers! Attendance was also an important part of the academy’s official assessment for students.<br/>Blue Ocean Academy’s learning style was flexible, and every student could choose their courses freely, if they could pass their final year overall assessment.<br/>The virtual world’s classroom was spacious, but the ordinary rules of space did not apply here. Every student had their own individual space, and Ye Chong would appear before every one of them. As for Ye Chong, his view was quite different. Ye Chong could only see many dots of light before him, not a single person in sight. He could, however, communicate with the students via controls.<br/>Ye Chong steadily walked to the teacher’s podium.<br/>Since students were free to choose their courses, there were close to ten thousand students who were now attending this class, making up a fiftieth of the academy’s total student population. However, Ye Chong was unfazed.<br/>After all, he could only see dots of light before him. Who would be afraid of dots of lights?<br/>Class began.<br/>Ye Chong’s low and slightly cold voice rang clearly in the ears of the students. Ye Chong spoke concisely and confidently, without much intonation, and the students who had grown used to lively teachers in class felt that it was a very different experience.<br/>However, Ye Chong’s deep knowledge and strong theoretical foundation won the hearts of the students. At Aurora, the elderlies had often began with simple problems as a beginning to illustrate deeper insights, slowly approaching the core of the knowledge involved. This process of deepening knowledge was often the most effective!<br/>Ye Chong used this method as well. As he unravelled deeper and deeper insights, the students became more and more impressed. However, Ye Chong could not see them. With Shang’s help, Ye Chong made full use of the advantages offered by the virtual classroom. Multitudes of holographic images, statistics and graphs often appeared with little effort on his part.<br/>The entire classroom was amazed by the massive amount of information!<br/>Information, charts and other material used in class must be prepared beforehand. Teacher Ye would be so diligent in his job, it was not expected – how can any student not develop a favourable impression of him? The students, ignorant of Ye Chong’s background, began to look at him in a better light!<br/>However, despite his favourable impression, the content of the class was still technical and deep. Those who could not keep up would only feel bored and began to doze off.<br/>Of all the students present, only a select few of them were under the faculty of mech mechanics. Most of them were here for Ye Chong, and not for his teaching session, but for the twenty-minute exchange session with the teacher that was part of each class.<br/>Ye Chong kept his cool expression throughout the class, an eye candy to the female students.<br/>Soon, it was time for the exchange session!<br/>Ye Chong began, “Anyone has any questions?”<br/>Almost all the light dots before him began to flash. Despite his bravery, Ye Chong still felt a little queasy.<br/>After he calmed himself down, Ye Chong pressed on a random light dot. The dot immediately expanded, and Ye Chong could see the student clearly, a female student.<br/>The female student must not have expected herself to be so luckily chosen, and froze on the spot, uttering a few false starts but not knowing what to say!<br/>Ye Chong decisively terminated the student’s channel without a word!<br/>Ye Chong slowly scanned across the light dots, and spoke coldly, “Don’t ask questions if you don’t have them prepared!” While this was the virtual world, Ye Chong’s icy, cutting gaze and chilling words made all the students felt chilled to the bone. Everyone paused with their hands on the controls. The ten-thousand strong classroom was put into a mental freeze by Ye Chong for a few seconds, none of the dots flashing.<br/>Shang spoke in Ye Chong’s mind, unimpressed, “Ye, you’ll scare away the pretty girls!”<br/>Ye Chong, “All for the better!”<br/>After a moment of awkward silence, almost all the lights began flashing again!<br/>Ye Chong ignored Shang and pressed on another light dot.<br/>It was a male student this time, and he was obviously calmer than the female student earlier. He asked enthusiastically, “How do you do, Teacher Ye, I am a student of the mech pilot’s faculty. I’d like to ask Teacher Ye, how can the speed of hand movement be significantly increased? And did you, Teacher Ye, train yourself?”<br/>Ye Chong replied flatly, “Training, continuous training. As for my training methods, not sharing!” His method was taught by Mu, and without Mu’s permission, he would not teach it to anyone else. As for whatever he learnt in Black Cove, Ye Chong did not dare teach them, as it would greatly increase the chances of Black Cove discovering him! Even though the chances of being discovered now was already quite high!<br/>The male student who asked the question could not help but express his disdain. “I didn’t think Teacher Ye is the kind of person who would keep their knowledge to themselves! Hmph, I guess I misjudged you!”<br/>Ye Chong replied with indifference, “You definitely misjudged me!” and switched off his channel without waiting for a reply. What did his misjudgment have anything to do with himself? Ye Chong could not care less.<br/>”I am only a teacher for the faculty of mech mechanics, and responsible for answering only questions related to mech mechanics!” Ye Chong blankly declared his rule.<br/>This triggered another round of awkward silence!

Chapter 85: Rui Bing

e Chong’s first day of class made him a controversial teacher. He was a point of contention, inviting feelings of disdain, admiration, disgust, respect … All held different views against him. However, everyone had agreed on one thing, and that was Ye Chong’s coldness! His was not the kind put up for show, but an authentic coldness that brought chills to the bone! Almost everyone believed that, should Ye Chong be angry, the consequences would be very serious!

As for Ye Chong’s knowledge, none doubted his authenticity! Ye Chong may speak concisely, but his flow was natural, and the teaching material was rich, almost enough to make the diligent teachers be embarrassed of themselves!

For the moment, aside from his punctual visit to Grandpa Qian every day, Ye Chong would spend the rest of his time in the modification workshop. As for sleep, the workshop was more comfortable than his home on the trash planet!

Ye Chong looked at the Harmony of the Winter Aria, modified beyond recognition, impossible to be associated with its former majestic blue and ivory white appearance! The greenish grey hull made the Harmony of the Winter Aria look insignificant. Ye Chong added a little more changes to the double-folded wings, and the Harmony was completely different from its former self. Even Ye Chong, as the Harmony’s user, could not tell that they were one and the same. Ye Chong believed that the mech would be recognizable in its current form. He examined the photon circuits again in great detail, and did not find anything amiss.

Shang had continuously mumbled that the colours were too ugly, but Ye Chong completely ignored the Shang.

Rui Su stayed in her house, full of anger. “That d*mn Ye Chong, how could he make a fool of this old lady?” The thought of Ye Chong made her even more furious. Rui Su hugged her pillow tightly, indignant of the matter, but was helpless against Ye Chong. The thought of Ye Chong’s eyes, icy cold and lifeless, spread a chill within her. She had a hunch that, should she insist on meddling with him, there was a distinct possibility that Ye Chong could kill her. The thought was frightening, and kept her against any further actions.

Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen. “Su Su, go get your younger sister from the training grounds for dinner. That little b*tch, she is just like her father, can’t remember anything during her practice! Su Su, go get her now!”

Rui Su’s eyes brightened at that. “Okay!” she replied before rushing out of the house.

The training ground for Rui Su’s family was more than ten kilometers away from their house. The Rui family’s training ground enjoyed a small reputation in Jesha. While wrestling was no longer widely practiced, it was still far from retiring into history. The rising popularity of mechs had slowly undermined the status of wrestlers, but there was still a minority persistent in keeping the legacy alive. Wrestling was also a necessary skill for jobs in security, such as bodyguards and escorts.

Rui Su’s father lost in a wrestling match 3 years ago, and had shortly passed away due to prolonged depression and accompanying illness. The training ground was then passed on to Rui Su’s younger sister, Rui Bing. True to her name, Rui Bing was as beautiful as she was cold [1]. Moreover, her lifelong wrestling practice due to her upbringing had developed a strong killer’s aura around her. No one dared to step within two meters around her, except for Rui Su and their mother.

After Rui Bing defeated the opponent who bested her father 3 years ago, none were brave enough to challenge her again. Rui Bing’s reputation grew more prominent in Jesha, directly increasing the number of students of their family dojo. Hence, Rui Bing had to spend more time at the dojo every day.

In reality, with the Rui family’s financial state, Rui Bing did not have to run any dojo at all. The passing of Rui Su’s father had left a dark shadow in the hearts of Rui Su and her mother, and both had hoped that Rui Bing would give up the dojo. However, Rui Bing was very insistent, unmoved by their pleading, and so Rui Su and her mother had let her be.

A ten-kilometer journey was only a short trip with a mech. Rui Su slipped out of the mech easily, her graceful landing gathering the attention of the students at the dojo. However, none dared to approach her, for she was in many ways more terrifying than the master of the dojo.

Rui Su withdrew her mech and rushed into the dojo, greeting the students as she passed by, “Give it your all in training guys, and Sister will get you sweets later!” Her honeyed smile would have stolen the breaths of the ignorant, but these dojo students avoided her like the plague. Rui Su’s laughter rang like windchimes, trailing her as she rushed into the dojo’s inner grounds.

Rui Bing’s tall and slender physique was currently in a cross-legged sitting position, her long, black hair flowing down to her lower back like a waterfall. With her eyes closed, her exquisite profile was similar to Rui Su’s. She had sharp, thin eyebrows, and her pinkish lips were now closed into a line. Her white training garb added a handsome quality to Rui Bing. Jade white hands with long, slender fingers half extended beyond the loose garb, perched naturally on her knees.

Rui Su gave a jubilant cheer before throwing herself onto her younger sister. Rui Bing had already noticed her presence since Rui Su entered the room. She opened her eyes, watching her elder sister on her, and gave a helpless smile. The room instantly brightened up, as though a winter flower had blossomed into a spectacular wonder!

“Now who’s the elder sister, and who’s the younger one?” Rui Bing must have thought so to herself.

Rui Su grinned widely as she hugged Rui Bing by the neck, and spoke warmly, “Sis, mum’s asking us to get back for dinner! She even called you a crazy b*tch, hee …”

If Blue Ocean Academy’s students were to witness this scene, they might have all dropped their jaw and fainted!

Rui Bing answered, “Oh,” before standing up in a smooth motion, oblivious to Rui Su’s weight.

As for Rui Su, she hung on tightly to Rui Bing like a koala. Rui Bing was obviously used to that, and did not feel uncomfortable.

Before they left the room, Rui Su hopped down and stuck out her tongue, speaking mischievously, “Heehee, can’t let them see this, if not, your elder sister’s going to lose face!”

Rui Bing affected an expression that meant she knew that as well!

Rui Su knew that her younger sister, obsessed with the martial arts, was a very traditional person. She had obeyed all the traditions strictly, and resisted modernisation. She even avoided mechs and walked home every day.

In the dining room, Rui Bing sat straight, in full solemnity, while Rui Su was lazily half stretched across the table, with no grace to speak of. As their mother went to get the dishes, Rui Su slid closer to Rui Bing’s side and spoke charmingly, “Bing Bing, I’m bullied at the academy! Bing Bing, you got to help me!”

Rui Bing replied lightly, “No!” She understood her elder sister very well, including her nickname as the Witch of the academy. “Heh, it’s fine if the Witch doesn’t go around messing people, who’d invite trouble upon themselves and mess with the Witch?” thought Rui Bing.

Rui Si explained with a furious undertone “It’s that Ye Chong, that horrible guy!” Rui Su shook Rui Bing’s shoulders, tears almost escaping her eyes. “That guy’s new to the academy, and the first thing he did is bully me, and I can’t win against him, sob, dearest Bing Bing, you can’t let me be bullied like this!”

Rui Bing watched her elder sister skeptically.

Rui Su cried as she explained further, “That guy’s amazing! He’s so fast I can’t even see him move!” Rui Bing grew attentive at that, her fighting instincts instantly awoken. In the past 2 years, Rui Bing did not meet any worthy challenger, and one with her level of skills would not be able to improve without real combat experience! As for her elder sister’s insights, Rui Bing still trusted them. Rui Su was more talented than her in martial arts when they were young, but her sister had stopped practicing later on due to a lack of interest. Their father had been unhappy with her decision for a long time. Even so, her elder sister’s skills were better than an average person’s, and if she could not win against someone, then the other party must be on par with a martial arts practitioner!

Seeing her elder sister’s fighting instincts invigorated, Rui Su was secretly pleased, and continued, “Dearest Bing Bing, he bullied me right in front of everyone else, you must make him pay for this! Dearest Bing Bing, please!” Rui Su implored endearingly.

Rui Bing hesitated, but in the end yielded to her elder sister and nodded in assent!

“Yay!” Rui Su cheered, her arms raised, the tears that once clouded her eyes vanished in an instant. Her glorious smiling face was now without a trace of her previous pitifulness!

Rui Bing could not help but roll her eyes, knowing exactly that this would happen!

Rui Su grinned to herself. She knew that once her younger sister promised something to her, she would definitely keep it!

Rui Su and Rui Bing walked side by side in the Blue Ocean Academy grounds. The duo of beautiful ladies, one flirtatious, another as cold as ice, together as a contrasting existence, turned heads wherever it went.

Rui Bing’s thoroughly white training garb was eye-catching in particular.

The two ladies were not affected in the least by the attention they gathered. For Rui Su, Blue Ocean Academy was her territory, why would she be intimidated? As for Rui Bing, she would probably not even cower before a crumbling mountain, much less in an insignificant situation like this! Their ease with the situation made them look extra confident with themselves.

At Blue Ocean Academy’s modification workshop 1, so-called Blue Ocean Academy’s most advanced modification workshop. The person in charge of the workshop looked at the Witch, instantly terrified. The Witch was still an influential person, the most intimidating person to most, but the headmaster had placed great trust in her. Now that she had asked to enter the workshop, how could he refuse? Besides, Ye Chong was still inside. The rumours running in the academy about the two were numerous, and perhaps the Witch was here on a date. If he interrupted them, he might just be in for some horrible consequences!

The person in charge could see that something was amiss, and immediately left the workshop!

Rui Su and Rui Bing moved into the modification workshop with overbearing confidence!

Chapter 86: Ow That Hurt

e Chong sensed their intrusion the moment they stepped into his workshop.<br/>He did not seem to have the habit of being reckless even in his own proximity. He sprung from his seat, his eyes fixed on the intruders. His sight detected 2 females in his place – one whom he had met before while the other was a total stranger. “A total stranger” sounded alarming to his senses. <br/>He carried on observing, which later he identified that the stranger was exceptionally calm in her pace, as every step she treaded had the exact same distance between each other. It looked like even her footsteps were carefully schemed. “Now, Ye,” Shang withdrew his usual joking self. “That’s an adept you’ve just encountered!” his words fell grimly.<br/>Rui Bing’s upper body stood still like a stone, while her steps laid like the flow of the wind, fluid and seamless like a unique rhythm of beauty.<br/>Ye Chong squinted his eyes and took a cautious look as his feet adjusting themselves subconsciously, adapting to the opponent’s moves, becoming the phantom that shrouded within.<br/>He knew he would be in hot water anytime soon. He could sense the danger for real this time! His instinct wielded him like a beast, sensible and sensitive. A trustworthy ability he had that never failed him before. His body reformed its stance accordingly, all by his intuition. He turned to his side slightly, with his left hand raised to his chest and the right hand lowered.<br/>There was nothing strange going on with that girl… other than the marks she probably got from harsh training on her hands. She looked like an ordinary girl at first glance. However, in that ordinariness Ye Chong could smell the hazard within. And she was a danger indeed!<br/>The eagle eyes of Ye Chong seemed to have frightened Rui Su peeking at the side, as she staggered. Rui Bing’s stare sparkled. It was undeniable that she had caught Ye Chong’s attention successfully, especially when Ye Chong began shifting stance like a phantom. She almost shuddered but fortunately her strong mentality kept her expression from changing. Her cheeks quivered a little over the endurance yet she morphed her stance along, as if it was synched with Ye Chong’s thoughts. Each of her lift was raised in huge curves, vicious like the storm!<br/>They stared at each other, standing still.<br/>Rui Su was feeling a little regretful of her immature decision. She hid at the corner, wondering if she was doing too much this time. “Well, just wait till Bing Bing gets you. It’s just a tiny punishment for your misconduct. Mhm, yes,” she comforted herself by pulling off some cheap rationale.<br/>There was barely a hush between them.<br/>Rui Bing knew her action was considered a taunt. It was the typical trouble-making move to begin with and that did not require any excuse to reason its motive.<br/>On the other hand, Ye Chong preferred saving his words. If you want to fight, just carry on fighting. Fighting did not require any reason either, just like how he hunted those Engulfers back on his planet. Also, he would be more likely to win a silent war.<br/>Stared on, his sight grew colder, like a tempest on the tip of an iceberg it raided the entire workshop. He froze his position, like a statue of ice breathing menacing frigidity. Rui Bing’s long hair waved along with her training robe. The ice in her eyes melted and instead they burned brightly, like a searing chariot awaiting to be launched.<br/>A picture of killing spree flashed in Ye Chong’s squinted eyes. The opponent had shown blatant hostility, which initiated Ye Chong’s self-defense mechanism. The strong sense of danger had awakened his defense. Every faint bit of the norms he learned in this reality was scrapped in his mind. <br/>The miniature expression did not go unnoticed among the girls. Rui Su, the smart one already knew what would happen next. Her face drained. “He would not be letting it go this easily,” she thought and panicked.<br/>Rui Bing was more sensible than her sister. She had felt the homicidal desire a moment earlier. But she reacted fearlessly as the confidence in herself found her bravery towards the enemy. The faith boiling in a well-trained fighter like her was unbeatable! <br/>”Hmph!” At the tip of his toes, countless afterimages traced his movements as he jumped at Rui Bing. Always be the first one to launch the attack – that was the belief imprinted deep in his marrows and it would not be changed merely because the opponent happened to be a female!<br/>The speed was totally uncalled for to Rui Bing, while Rui Su almost burst into shrieks upon his attack.<br/>There was no letup from Ye Chong. All force applied! His inhuman movement speed was demonstrated for the first time in front of the girls. Their heats skipped a beat, as they realized it was not only Ye Chong’s hands held an immense speed, but also his entire body.<br/>Rui Bing nearly failed to react in time as she backed off only when Ye Chong’s hand was barely a few centimeters away from her throat. It was way beyond her prediction of his speed, which eventually shut off her activity. <br/>Ye Chong pulled away his right hand while his left hand landed like a meteor mash right onto Rui Bing’s chest. Without a doubt, if that fist were to land, it would even break a metallic alloy gate of 20 centimeters breadth.<br/>Rui Bing responded with dexterity as her right arm went wide and bent, her fingers spread, holding Ye Chong’s heavy blow with her palm. Wham! Ye Chong was expecting bones-shattering, flesh-bursting yet none of those happened. Ye Chong flinched. <br/>That was a mighty blow from Ye Chong. Rui Bing managed to prepare herself in time for the punch but she was still pushed way back behind. She was not an amateur after all as she backed away sliding, instead of falling down and rolling.<br/>What a mighty power! Rui Bing’s heart turned cold. She could no longer feel her right arm. She did not see that strength coming. She could not believe that her arm was crippled in one fist. That thing… That thing is a monster! She thought.<br/>Ye Chong halted a moment then curved his body, he leapt forward and started dashing towards Rui Bing.<br/>As Ye Chong grew closer in Rui Bing’s eyes, though her arm was temporarily disabled, there was no fright in her expression.

Her eyes blinked with caution as she straightened her hand into a blade. She raised it up.<br/>Ye Chong was shocked by this unexpected change.<br/>Rui Bing raised her right palm solemnly.<br/>Ye Chong, body and soul, was attracted to this raising palm of hers for some reason. It was as if the palm was the center of the universe and the universe revolved around it as it raised.<br/>It was like a blazing sun.<br/>The surrounding turned slow. It was an ominous feeling right into Ye Chong’s abdomen, a major discomfort into his soul, that he almost felt like spurting his internal body. He tried speeding up but he could not. It was like he got thrown into a pool of sticky liquid, his chain of action turned extremely sluggish yet he knew extremely clear that he was mesmerized by that glaring palm of holiness, somewhat and somehow! He lost control over his body gradually that even the slightest gesture he wanted to make was more lethargic than usual. He slowly flew towards that palm, like a moth into the fire.<br/>Nevertheless, that overwhelming sense of danger lingered in his mind. He wanted to struggle but he failed miserably. Like a fish in the net stranding between the threads, it only grew tighter and his muscles were no longer in his control. Approaching the palm, he could not do a thing.<br/>I could not just die here.<br/>Not just yet!<br/>The tenacity to live on, the strong desire for survival, Ye Chong endeavored with the last bit of senses he had. <br/>In the midst of his endeavor he bit his tongue. The intense pain woke him from the illusions. The sharp taste of his blood rekindled his will to battle. He screamed on top of his lungs. His wave collided with the restriction enveloping him.<br/>That’s it! He squirmed vigorously and he regained his control over his body little by little. <br/>And that was the moment he realized in his horror, that he was very much close to the range of her attack. The palm slammed downwards after being raised to the highest. Her beautiful hand actually created screeches of a blade shredding the air. <br/>There was no time to figure out the hows and whys. Ye Chong held the slashing palm with his right fist!<br/>Klink!

Crack!<br/>It felt like punching an actual blade on his fist. His fingers were utterly painful like they had been ground. There was a stark mark of dent on his fist. Ye Chong hissed in torment. He thought he might have already broken his fingers.<br/>Rui Bing was not feeling well either. It was an iron blade colliding with an iron fist. She suffered more damage than Ye Chong at this strike in reality. Her face became pale as blood drained abruptly. Her heart beat in a squeeze. Her face then reddened dramatically as if she was drunk. The blood surged through the veins in her face hurriedly. The vermilion streaks over her fair skin, an unidentifiable beauty it had, unexplainably charming it was for some reason! <br/>But any charm could not infatuate Ye Chong by then. <br/>Ye Chong raised his brows as he knew he got the upper hand in this. Certainly he would deliver the last hit and end this fight once and for all. He spread fingers of his left hand and propelled immediately like lightning right towards Rui Bing’s chest. With his strength, one last pierce, then Rui Bing would stay here for life with the 5 pores on the chest of hers! If that counted that is. <br/>”Stop!” Rui Su’s voice went wild as she witnessed the scene. Remorse pulled her into the bottomless pit of guilt. Her tears overflowed the corner of her eyes, as they fell like pearls off the string, right onto the ground.<br/>No use! I am so going to kill this girl! <br/>Ye Chong turned a deaf ear to her plea. He made up his mind – he must kill the girl before him today for she almost murdered him in the first place! There would be no way for him to let her go, especially after that odd skill she used on him! He could not swear if he could make it this way the next time he met her. If he did not bite his tongue back then, he would have been dead.<br/>Frankly speaking, it was all a big misunderstanding between them. Rui Bing sought fights, not murders. She and her sister were more bounded by the rules and regulations of this world than Ye Chong himself. It was preposterous for her to commit homicide at such a whim. And it was wrong for Ye Chong to judge people his way. Literally wrong!<br/>The logic behind Rui Bing’s hindering reaction was because of the killing will inside Ye Chong that she sensed. The palm was raised out of her desperation for survival. The force exerted was a result of the outburst on her capability.<br/>The senses on her right hand finally recovered. At this dead-or-alive moment she backed off fast. She had to do it! While biting her teeth she forced her right arm up, wanting to catch Ye Chong’s incoming left hand. But all she caught was the arm of his, not the hand.<br/>She could not be bothered as she grabbed his arm forcefully. She was not letting go and was tossed to his back by the inertia.<br/>Ye Chong had already hit the bottom of his vitality. The struggle moments ago consumed most of his stamina and was exhausting his mind as well. Thanks to the blade to the fist strike with Rui Bing before, his right hand was still flabbily crippled.<br/>His fingers were buried in her breasts. He noticed he could not penetrate further as Rui Bing held his arm frantically.<br/>As he ran out of strength, he decided to grab her breasts instead of penetrating.<br/>Incredible! His fingers felt tender as he touched. Such a great fighter yet the pectoral muscle was so soft. Impossible! The statement filled his mind as he pinched twice purposely to justify that he was not having a delusion.<br/>Strange… If she could take my attack before this, her body should be more than just “well-built”.<br/>Rui Bing’s body hardened from the touch.

Ye Chong gripped her breasts; disregarding the moans she made, he made a turn and flung her out.

Chapter 87: Trial and Tribulation

e Chong discovered that his seemingly infinite stamina was not truly infinite after all. His endurance might not be boundless but at least it should not decrease this fast! Ye Chong was thoroughly exhausted for the first time in his adventure. That weird technique used by the enemy depleted every ounce of his vitality. He was drained not only on the outside, but also the inside. His brain felt emptied, as if he was about to get brainwashed or something. Twinge reverberated waves by waves inside his head.

Oww… Is that what Mu defined as a psychic attack?

All words from Mu were precious lectures. They were not as trivial as Shang’s. They were very much applicable in his combats. So he would remember them to heart every time. He was not seeing a psychic attack from a girl. It altered Ye Chong’s concept of combats downright.

“Oh Ye. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Rui Bing was thrown away like a bag of trash. Shang showed up in his mind upon discerning the turnabout in the situation, “You never learn how to take lasses the gentle way. Mhm, so how did they feel in your hands? Man, Ye, you are despicable. But, being handsy is the right way to start off dealing with lasses. Kekeke!” Shang let off a round of distorted giggle.

Ye Chong’s eyes were locating where Rui Bing fell. He did not listen to Shang at all. He was trying to catch a breather while recovering his health as much as possible. Ye Chong was beyond under the weather at this point – it was under the drain! Tides of fatigue and soreness gushing at him one after another. Ye Chong’s fortress of inner peace was crumpling! Ye Chong held still.

One more… Just one more blow… One last blow, then I could… I could finish her.

Ye Chong was mumbling as he tried hypnotizing himself. His vision began turning indistinct. The sleeves of Rui Bing’s training robe were fluttering white like the clouds in the sky, which he could not reach as they flew farther.

He forced his eyes open, yet the lids were so heavy that he could not hold. His consciousness felt as if it was ripped away from his body. His remaining senses could not control his body effectively. His stance shook and he almost fell. Ye Chong had never felt this weak before! His body was inhumanly overpowered yet it could not sustain a little longer when he gravely needed it. The emptied brain of Ye Chong felt like shutting down on its own. He could sleep the moment he closed his eyes.

I… I must not.

Ye Chong’s conviction was howling at him not to sleep, as the enemy was still right there, right in front of him. He would be dead, if he slept; or he would sleep only if he was dead!

“Ye! Please!” Shang sensed the casualty in Ye Chong as he shouted in his mind fretfully, “Lie down already! The lasses won’t kill you! Stop holding it! You have overused your mentality! Your brainwaves are fluctuating! Just have a nap! Come on! Quick! Stop manning up! It will hurt you!”

Rui Su at one corner tipped her toes on a mech passing by. She soared to Rui Su like an eagle. Grounded clumsily, she regained her balance. She lifted Rui Su and scurried out of the workshop after that.

Ye Chong’s blurry vision could slightly spot a cloud hovering out of his workshop.

Ugh…

Thup! Being unable to stand the tiredness anymore, he fell onto the ground and went into deep slumber after.

After exiting the workshop with her sister by her side, Rui Bing’s frail body collapsed. Fortunately, Rui Su reacted in time to grab her sister’s body. By then her younger sister no longer appeared to be that tough Wonder Woman she used to see in her daily life. She was merely a poor little girl in injury. It was heart-wrenching for her to see her sister in such a devastated state.

On the way to the hospital, she looked at her sister in dismay. Her fingers helplessly caressed that pretty face of hers in faint warmth. Impatiently she rooted on one of the seats in the ambulance, tearing up remorsefully. It was all her fault. All because she was just a bit pissed. All because she wanted to give someone a little lesson. And it turned out like this! It was the first painful realization in her entire life that she regretted of what she had done.

The students at the academy witnessed how Rui Su was carrying someone in her embrace, crying as she dashed out of Mr. Ye Chong’s workshop. “What happened in there?” speculations started brewing among the students and teachers.

Rui Bing was at a much worse state than Ye Chong. He only suffered a moment of mentality drain and minor scratches on his body. On the other hand, Rui Bing not only was drained from that massive skill she had used accidentally, but also was damaged by Ye Chong as he forced himself out of her reach. Her body might be built over the years of training but it was still nothing compared to Ye Chong’s inhumane, beast-like physique. That two blows Ye Chong delivered to her by the fists were absolutely critical.

To top them all, Ye Chong’s final grip at her breasts was the most fatal of them all!

It was amazing that she did not pass out on spot. That was because she was thinking what could happen to her sister if she just passed out so easily. If it was not her sister, she would have passed out or died on the spot.

That grip on her breasts was more than just mind-shocking.

To a decent and traditional female in vows of chastity, what else could be more nerve-wrecking than this?

It could have been a major scoop of seeing the devil of the studio, Witch Su running out of Mr.Ye Chong’s workshop crying. Despite that arousing curiosity in every student, no one was brave enough to step close to the workshop within the range of 10 meters! Even the staff from Workshop No.1 was running for his life.

Horrifying stories about Mr. Ye Chong’s cold pair of eyes and his heart of ice started to reach everybody in the academy! It was not as horrifying as the urban tales actually. But at least, people had been warned and no one was foolishly bold enough to provoke this beast in the campus.

So the workshop was unvisited. No one could even muster the courage to knock at Mr. Ye Chong’s door. And Ye Chong remained on the floor undisturbed for the whole day. The next day arrived with Ye Chong moaning in ache, his head felt like exploding and his body was weak.

“So you finally woke up?” the voice rang flatly in his mind.

“Ye..ah…” He rubbed his head, breathing cold as he spoke on in a coarse voice, “But my head hurts.” His head was cracking, unfortunately there was no way of stopping it.

“According to my report, this is one of the aftereffects when you over-consumed your mentality. There are several methods to relief such pain. One of them being the brainwave treatment, or simply, an adequate rest.”

“Brainwave treatment? Sounds like something done in the hospital, not here!” He continued rubbing his head and said, “Hey! Wait a minute!” He realized something as he asked, “You are Mu?”

“Certainly,” Mu replied.

“What happened to Shang?”

“According to deed between us, he has to stay muted for the next 11 days.”

“Oh…”

…

“Mu!” He remembered that technique struck on him. In full of excitement he started asking Mu, as if the pain in him was no longer there, “Was the technique used by that female the psychic attack you told me before? Didn’t you mention something like how your attack lacked the psychic aspect or the mentality somehow?”

Mu was silent for a while.

“Insufficient data. Unable to deduce.”

“Unable to deduce?” Ye Chong was disappointed, “Mhm. But I think that’s what it is. It was an awful experience. It somehow would give you an impression that it is useless for you to put up resistance. But if we were to pilot a mech, wouldn’t that be a little hard to include a psychic attack?” Ye Chong was too busy figuring out this problem that he forgot about the pain in his head. The rubbing hand on his head shifted to his chin as he pondered.

“Ye.”

“Yes?” Ye Chong’s focus went back to Mu.

“Isn’t your head still in pain?” a trickery from the devil as he wagged his tail.

Ye Chong realized his head still hurt. The pain surged throughout his spines, flooding his senses again. “Ahhh!!” His hand shifted back to his head, “I almost forgot about it!” He hissed and puffed as he replied angrily, “Damn you Mu! I never knew you could be this shameless!”

“Shameless is indeed my middle name. Thank you for your kindest compliments!” he showed his appreciation in grace. “So, based on the information I had gotten, apparently that adjective you had mentioned about me contains highly discriminative and emotional connotation. Thus I suggest it should not be included in any form of judgment you made towards a particular item. Ye, enjoy this pain.”

“Is there no way to reduce the pain?” Ye Chong was putting up his white flag.

“Mhm. There is,” he answered calmly.

A gleam of hope shone upon Ye Chong, “What? How?”

“Such method does not require medication or any form of injection. It is safe and effective. You can feel it on spot…”

That line was familiar. The “yes” was going to slur out of Ye Chong’s lips but he recalled what happened after the “yes”.

He breathed in fright, “Is that your signature pain-relieving methodology of manually putting people in a fainted state?” It was back on Trash Planet-12 when Ye Chong overused his senses during one of the NRS Trainings which led a severe pain to his hands as he exceeded the threshold of his nervous system. And Mu used this so-called treatment to relieve his pain. It felt like yesterday when Ye Chong thought back of his experience with this treatment.

“You are correct!” Mu replied. One could hear the cheery bell ringing in a quiz game behind him.

Ye Chong wanted to tell Mu to forget it but the aches came crashing his head waves by waves. His brain was howling at his ears, rampaging in the sea of torment. His senses stood lonely at the corals surfacing on the sea, within the storm as he was engulfed by agony, spat out and then playfully swallowed in again. The coral he stood upon was shaking by the waves of pain. It seemed endless.

Such a torment! Ye Chong believed he would be going mad anytime soon. It would be better to at least minimize the pain! Ye Chong manned up and spoke to Mu, “Then… Mu… Well, do it! But make sure the hit counts!”

“The method was not recommended,” Mu replied in his serene grace.

“Why?” Ye Chong was bewildered.

“The current phenomena in your head is considered as an extremely advantageous training towards your mentality. Of course, only if you were there the whole time to feel it.”

Ye Chong shrieked, “Then why the heck did you mention it in the first place? Are you saying it for the sake of saying it?”

Mu was showing immense approval towards his statement, “Correct. I’m saying it for the sake of saying it.”

Ye Chong could no longer stay polite, “You little piece of metallic junk!” He scolded, “You… You… How could you…” Ye Chong felt like passing out.

“To strengthen the effectiveness of your training, it is undeniably essential to give you an increased amount of stimulation,” stated Mu.

Ye Chong spoke on lethargically, “Hiss… Mu… You are… You are cunning!”

“I do not understand what you meant by ‘cunning’. According to the information I had received, I have been telling what is considered to be the truth the whole time,” Mu replied.

Ye Chong was too tried to rebut Mu. Chances were he might not even stand the chance to win against him. Obviously he learned that Mu and Shang were both nasty characters to fiddle with.

“So how long… How long had I slept?” he tried holding his senses in the utter pain as he asked.

“28 hours and 36 minutes,” Mu answered in accuracy.

“28 hours?” he muttered.

…

He jumped up high as he recalled something, “Ah! Does that mean I have missed my classes?” Ye Chong did not feel anything particularly exciting about classes, still he was the one in the deal, he had to accomplish the tasks he promised at his best!

“Not true. I have done it for you,” replied Mu in suave.

“You have done it for me?”

“Uh huh.”

“That works too. In the Virtual World both you and Shang are the sky-walking hackers. So I think that verification system in the academy is nothing compared to your skills. So, how do you feel about the first day in class?”

“My information shows that the word ‘feel’ is inappropriate in the application on non-living objects, for instance, me.”

“You are still not sentimental. Or maybe… not sensible.”

“Maybe. Oh yeah, we forgot something,” Mu responded.

“What?”

“The pain in your head.”

“Darn it I forgo- Ahh!! How to end this! Hiss… Ugh… Mu… You know…

You are good!”

Chapter 88: The Troubled Chemist

Mu, are you sure we are going there?” Ye Chong asked in his head along the way.

“Yes. What Shang had proposed was correct. As stated in the information, Do-Kun stones are indeed able to grow in numbers as stimulated through presets by an alchemist.”

“Gosh! You mean the chemist?” Ye Chong reminisced the torture he had been through these past few days in his head. It was melancholic, depressing or literally mind-blowing. The headache lasted for the entire 3 days and he almost broke his teeth from grinding them in pain. He made it through as the aches were slowly lifted. He did not feel anything particularly improved, despite the fact that his mentality was much stronger than before, as stated by Mu judging by the stable brainwaves in his head.

That sounded quite rewarding for the suffering he had undergone. He did not suffer for nothing at the very least. Nonetheless, before he could rejoice on the end of his agony, Mu had commenced the following torment for him – the Chemist Classes. The two big Cs struck on Ye Chong’s head the moment he saw them hanging on the classy golden plate right outside the classroom. Luckily Mu was merciful enough to conduct mini classes on marksmanship in between, just to ‘relax’ his mind a little. Mu recommended a set of marksmanship based on his calculations, which were the usual Mu style – concise yet effective. They were not fancy enough to be called grandly as the “marksmanship” since the set contained only 8 movements. Yeah, movements. They were not even combos to begin with. They were just 8 basic movements of action as the final result of Mu’s numerous intensive calculations and improvements after countless simulations in his processor. Considering how the ancient marksmanship was long gone, it would be a technological error 404 to find any applicable references. These movements were constructed on a variety of physic theories with the aspect of minimizing the force input while maximizing the force output for instance. In short, these movements were a kind of production from Mu’s simulating calculation.

Fortunately the workshop was spacious for his training. It was truly a huge storage. Ye Chong cleaned up one corner and hopped onto his Harmony, starting his training.

Ye Chong mastered combative skills on mech way faster than learning those gibberish in chemist theories. He had finished his marksmanship training, however, “I still have no idea what a chemist actually does.” he mumbled as he got off his mech.

The chemist class today was on experiments. Well, experiments were the bread and butter of the chemist syllables. One did more experiments than theoretical lectures, unless the teacher was Shang, then it would be a parade of theoretical knowledge dancing through your left ear pinna all the way exiting from your right.

“Mu, don’t you know what one needs to know about being a chemist? What am I here for?” Ye Chong asked blankly.

“What you need to know about being a chemist is that it is all about hands-on experience. The current theories in books are not perfectly constructed. They could lead to fallacies and consist major flaws. I would define chemist as an occupation that have not found their ideologies on logics. That is why Shang and I do not have much of an advantage in this. Unlike humans, they seemed to be able to conduct this perfectly fine despite the lack of logic.”

The dean of the alchemy faculty in Blue Ocean Academy was Ms. Jiang Xiao’wei, who reacted with confusion the moment she saw Ye Chong’s name as mentioned by Headmaster Lan beforehand. She did not understand how a boy would be interested in the alchemy, especially when he excelled in mechanics. Normally she would assume that the boy did not come for the classes, but rather, he came for the girls. The boys in alchemy classes were almost non-existent. Yes, they were all girls, and very pretty ones too. The overflowing pheromone in the classroom usually netted a number of boys on their puberty. So if she were to see a boy in her class, the boy would normally be sitting fairly close to one of the girls and his eyes would be more onto the girl than the texts in front. However such label did not appear to be workable on a person like Ye Chong. She had seen him before. He was rather a cold person in her eyes and such cold person would not be interested in flirting an opposite gender using such a gimmicky trick.

More importantly, he seemed to have something going on with Rui Su. While she did have a few good-looking girls in her class, they were not of the same level as Rui Su. Yeah, it was just like comparing a bunch of sodium with a mere piece of rubidium. If he did have something with Rui Su, Ye Chong should not even be interested in her girls. Ms. Jiang was puzzled. It was as if she was presented with astronomical chemical equations bounded embodied with the truth of life.

…

“Here you are,” stated Mu as they arrived.

The alchemy faculty was rather feminine for its imagery. Precisely speaking, it was flooded with girls and Ye Chong was like the ugly duckling among the swans as he walked in the corridor. These girls had first seen Ye Chong, only on a live channel that is. It was their first time seeing him in person.

He walked on expressionlessly, as his entity somehow set off an aura of isolation. No one was daring enough to initiate a conversation with him, though Ye Chong would not reply even if one did. It was an isolation that one would feel like hanging a sign over him, with the words written in red, “No Entry – Recognized Personnel Only”. Ye Chong was too engaged in the conversation with Mu in his head that he simply did not have the time to take notice of those girls around.

“Oh? Really?” Ye Chong sounded surprised as he spoke.

“Correct. Data shows that quite a few types of special ores could multiply by simulations in certain presets, even though most of the data were lost while some of the remaining ones were already damaged. Shang is currently at a vigorous attempt to repair the existing data,” Mu replied.

“Shang actually knows how to do that?” a shocking fact it was to Ye Chong. Apparently Shang was no other than the joker of mischief in his impression. Other than potentially being a mascot of the Fal Galaxy, he did not think of anything else befitting to this expressive intelligence.

“Yes. Shang has a much more mature mood matrix in comparison to me. So undeniably he has a better sense in alchemy too. In addition he expresses high interests in his past, while I agreed on the fact that these information could be very much useful in finding out the mech. Shang treated this repair as an excavation to his life, although I did not understand what he meant. At least I understand that it would be absolutely helpful for you if we were able to find out where this mech came from,” Mu explained flatly.

“You have a point. You and Shang are so great, I believe the creator of both of you would be much greater,” Ye Chong replied with expectation.

“Unknown. I have yet to receive sufficient information to justify that. But I could justify that your statement contains one flaw. I was not created, or ‘produced’ by them in your terms. Perhaps Shang was created under their hands, however my emergence was of an accident,” corrected Mu.

“True.”

Ye Chong’s focus went back to the reality as he held his steps and looked around. At some point in the campus, the sense of direction was also considered as a fundamental skill for students. It was so compact that one could be lost forever if one did not take the effort to remember the routes. Thankfully, Ye Chong’s sense was not that bad and he had Mu. It would be much more challenging for one to lose the way than not to.

The girls at the surrounding were looking foreignly at Ye Chong. Some started chattering as they giggled, while the others sometimes pointed their fingers and whispered on. A male in the alchemy faculty was like a lamb falling into a pack of wolves. “And that happens to be the popular Mr. Ye Chong!” mumbled one of the girls excitingly.

Ye Chong did not seem to care. However, he could not show total ignorance as his ears were good. He could discern even the softest mumble from the girls. Well, the name “Ye Chong” consists of quite a number of sounded vowels and consonants, which made it outstanding in a whisper. Those whispers sounded like a flock of flies buzzing around his ears. It was not fatal, but it was annoying!

While the girls in love were flourishing the pumping heart of spring, Ye Chong stopped by and fired his stare. An ice beam round the corridors turned the living corridor of endearment into an arctic walkway of consternation. His sight launched a shower of arrows upon the girls.

The girls shuddered while some were hiding behind the lockers with their faces drained.

That settled it.

Leaving the girls, Ye Chong stepped into the lab building.

Unlike the spaciousness of his workshop, the lab for chemists was separated into countless tiny independent rooms. This was for safety ppurposes because of a certain risk a chemist had to bear whenever an experiment was conducted since living things possessed a chance of transmutation in a preset while the chemist’s setting would accelerate and enhance the process. Spreading of these mutations were strictly forbidden without permission and certification of an official organization. This was reasonable because the mutations could cause negative impacts to the ecosystem. They could kill the ecosystem too. Thus, it would be necessary to have cubicles instead of a spacious lab, for both the safety of the chemists and the environment.

And that was the time Ye Chong bumped into Ms. Jiang Xiao’wei. He had been in her class a few times so they were sort of acquainted by then. Nevertheless, Ms. Jiang had not gotten used to his existence in the alchemy faculty as she flinched when seeing Ye Chong, “Oh.” She snapped out from her shock and gave a sweet smile, “Good day, Mr. Ye.”

“Dean Jiang, what a pleasure. I hope to receive more of your teaching.”

Ms. Jiang’s smile was quite warm and natural. It was comforting to Ye Chong’s eyes as his expression grew gentler.

“Well, it was not really a teaching. Just a few heads up sometimes. Mr. Ye, you can always come and drop by my office if you have any question regarding alchemy in your mind,” she kindly replied.

“Thank you very much. Certainly I will,” Ye Chong responded with courtesy.

They bade farewell to each other. “Well, Mr. Ye Chong isn’t as unfriendly as I had heard…” muttered Ms. Jiang.

Ye Chong entered the class of the day. It was not Ms. Jiang who conducted the lesson. It was someone else, a female teacher he had never seen before.

Looking at the varies flasks scattered on the table, along with tubes and tubes of reagents, Ye Chong was dumbfounded. He looked at the teacher who was being truly helpful as she did not seem to feel like talking, shutting her mouth tight at her desk. His eyes scanned through the items in blank dismay, he laid his hands over the flask and he withdrew them. As being still less competent than a greenhorn in the lab, he simply had no idea where to begin.

Frowned, Ye Chong noticed how the girls around him were eyeing him the whole time.

“Ye.” Just when Ye Chong was lost on the lesson, a voice came weakly by his ears, “C-Can I… you know… Can I group… Can I group with you?” Only then he realized there was someone by his side, as the intonation caught Ye Chong’s attention. It was familiar.

He raised his head, “Is that you?” He saw someone standing right in front of him with her head lowered. Her fingers twiddling the skirt of her faculty uniform. It was Xiu. Her head was so low that Ye Chong could not see her face. But he could tell that she seemed pretty nervous as her shoulders were shaking.

The lab lost its usual hustling and muffling as everyone paused their works. Someone nearly dropped the thermometer in her trembling hands. They looked at two of them with their mouths wide open unconvincingly. Mr. Ye Chong was the celeb in the academy and the shrinking violet Xiu was outrageously fearless today to have a talk with the celeb himself. It was an earth-shattering sight. The whispers were gone too by then. The classroom was dead silent.

Xiu who seemed to have noticed everybody’s incoming sights were lowering her head much more, as her cheeks reddened. Ye Chong was wondering if her neck would be broken as she lowered her head further. He lifted his head and glared at the girls around.

His cold sight caused everyone to retreat their stares right away as the hustling continued. The girls started acting they were busy carrying out their experiments all of a sudden. A dramatic acting it was too as one could hear the exaggerated clinking and clanking in the lab.

Xiu’s appearance was like an angel coming from the sky to Ye Chong in rescue of his terrible day. Still he inhibited his emotion as expressionlessly he replied, “Yes, you can.”

“So they knew each other!”

“Oh my gosh!”

“This is one more story to our tea session later.”

“Stop thinking about tea, we should do some research.”

“On them?”

“No stupid. Only him.”

Sharp gossips of exclamations rushed through the group of girls who were all ears to the conversation between Mr. Ye Chong and shy girl Xiu the whole time. Such a Columbus discovery! “I never knew Xiu was such a chaser!” Their impression towards Xiu grew complicated.

“Rea-” Xiu swiftly lifted her head, “Really?” she asked in disbelief. The polished face of hers dinted with a hint of scarlet, a beautiful moment of embarrassment to be perceived.

“Of course,” he nodded his head. Ye Chong hurrahed in his mind as there was finally an assistant to guide his way out of this glassware jungle.

And so Assistant Xiu started a brief tutorial for Ye Chong. It went well.

Maybe.

…

… …

“So… Th-this is the Ga…ga…Gallo-blue culture medium. It is one of the 15 types of basic mediums you would use. And… And…what it does is… it helps speeding up the… g-g-growth of plants… by…by producing… I mean, providing the necessary nutrients for the process… Umm…”

“Also… the heater is very easy to use. You just… you just… set the temp…temp…temporal? W-what… oh, the temperature at the processor, b-b-but you have to be careful… that… umm… what was it again… umm… uhh…”

…

Could I ever exit the jungle in one piece?

Especially under the aid of this troubled chemist?

Chapter 89: What Happened

sprout of crimson plant stood still in a transparent culturing tube. Its leaves were ovate and in dark red, veins densely crept over its thick leaves. The stem was supple as it twirled over the tube with its sharp lilac red body. At the top there laid a few berries with the shape like lanterns in red-yellow stripes. The fruits were seemingly well-grown as it looked succulent and fleshy, rather mouth-watering if one may ask Xiu.

“Okay, this is one of the common spices one would see – the Maroon Bay.” Xiu became relatively calmer than before after getting used to interacting with Ye Chong slowly, “If you would take a look at this, these lanterns have one particular thing we need inside them.” Xiu carefully plucked one of the so-called “lanterns” from the Maroon Bay using something like a pair of forceps but they looked more refined. “We are going to extract it.” She laid it on a clean petri dish and poked a hole on it. Bright reddish liquid oozed out of the pore and filled the petri dish. Out of a sudden, a fairly dense scent wafted throughout the classroom. “Since it is extracted from the Maroon Bay, we call it the ‘Maroon Extract’.” She put the tool down and carried on elaborating.

“Such extract is mainly used in production of premium aromatic flavoring. Mhm, like a perfume for example. Since one could not culture it in mass productions, its price is naturally much higher. Haha, a lot of girls in our faculty would use it sometimes, though I prefer the scent of Fading Azure. Too bad Xuelin never appreciated these lovely smells!” Xiu giggled as she spoke, one could tell that she was somewhat confident in this. The usual shrinking violet would bloom anytime when any question was asked regarding her profession. She would become serious and her timid nature would disappear.

And more surprisingly, throughout the class, only Xiu was able to complete the extraction. Yes, none of the other gossiping girls around her completed the task of the day.

Ye Chong had his eyes fixed on this very sprout in the tube throughout the rapid growth process. Within the past few hours, the seed was directly raised to its mature state while the former growth duration of this sprout would have taken 15 years in its habitat. The ground-shattering fact shocked Ye Chong! The first time it was he felt the depth, the amazing perks of being a chemist.

And this was an utterly living organism!

“So Ye, why were you interested in the alchemy in the first place? We don’t usually see boys here you know…” Xiu looked at Ye Chong with her eyes opened wide in innocent curiosity.

“Just interested,” he reasoned it as he just so happened to be very interested.

“But aren’t you a technician? The expertise in the alchemy does not seem to be helpful to you anyhow? The main fields involved in this are botany and microbiology, which I think they aren’t useful for your work… somehow…”

“Botany and microbiology?” asked Ye Chong.

“Yes, our botany primarily consists of studies on spices, ingredients, herbs… and a little bit of others on botanical aspect. Mostly the studies focus on how to encourage the growth of the plants to reduce the time taken of the growing process and also on how to enhance certain effects of the plant’s extract. We often carry out researches with such aim on plants that are either scarce by nature or take too long to grow while having high demands in a larger market. So yeah, botanical chemists are very common nowadays. I’m one of them too!” Xiu pointed at her tiny nose as she spoke in a swing.

“But microbiological applications are also frequently used in the faculty too. Many of them use microorganism to produce a particular kind of enzyme or polypeptides. That sounds cool too!” Xiu expressed admiration on her face.

“So!” Ye Chong was intrigued, “Is there any kind that does ores?”

“Ores?” Xiu shook her head and she affirmed, “Duh, of course not! Ores do not show any attribute of a living thing. How do we even culture it when it does not even reproduce by itself. Well, some do animals. But it has been strictly forbidden by the 5 major galaxies in black and white, though there are still some people who do it in the dark. How could the people be so evil and heartless!” Xiu’s face inflated in agitation.

As expected, what was kept in Mu’s databank was not anything ordinary. Nevertheless, Ye Chong had always trusted the statements inside the record. He never doubted its validity!

Xiu mentioned about culturing animals, which piqued his interest, “Animals? Why do they ban chemists from doing animals?”

Xiu’s face looked extremely disgusted, “Well, if you do it on animals, a lot of weird stuffs would come out! These are no longer animals, they are monsters! And these monsters are much more dangerous than whole lab of mutated plants. They are brutal by nature. It was not only that but also such act questions the ethnicity of our profession. It is cruel! Too cruel! So any government on any galaxy bans this inhumane act!”

Ye Chong seemed to get it at first… but somehow he lost it later.

But then, what has that to do with me? Ye Chong discarded the complicating thoughts.

He looked upon the bay inside the rube as he complimented the amazing capability of this expertise in mind. Gradually he grew fond of the alchemy. He reflected on what Xiu had demonstrated, the reagent she had used and the way she executed the tasks, comparing them to what he had drilled into his head back then as he learned about the mechs.

The alchemy wasn’t that bad!

Thought Ye Chong.

…

!

Uggghghhhhhh!!

Out of the blue, a piercing pain struck on his heart. Whimpered, he covered his left chest with his right hand as he curved his back subconsciously.

Ahhh! It hurts!

Ye Chong could feel his heart bursting like a balloon on this needle-piercing pain. His face turned dead pale immediately as sweats streamed over his shivering forehead.

The stabbing pain surged through his body before he could do anything. It felt like every bit of his inner flesh was shredded and ground. A distorting ache bounced inside his organs one after another. His eyes went dazed as dizzy he had became. ZZzzt! His muscles felt like they were being torn apart into a million pieces. Ye Chong tried to hold the incoming aches but he failed miserably. He moaned slightly as he lost control.

His heart, his chests, arms and legs; it felt like he was no longer in command of them. The torture seized into his veins as it engulfed Ye Chong’s sanity like an army of ants. The minuscule pricking on every part flooded his body.

Wham! Ye Chong could stand straight no more. He fell onto the ground, bowing like a grilled shrimp. His face was utterly drained by then, the muscles distorted helplessly. What a fearsome sight!

“Ah!” Xiu dropped the flask in her hand. She covered her mouth as shrieks escaped in the sharpest hiss through the gaps of her fingers. The classroom was distressed!

“Ye! Ye! What happened to you? Speak to me! Please… No… Teacher! Teacher!!”

Such a heart-skewing pain. Ironically Ye Chong had to stay awake to experience every bit of it. He was more conscious than ever for some reason. He could clearly feel the thumps falling onto his body. His nerves had never felt so discerning before!

It might be extraordinarily useful anytime but not now. It had become a torment to Ye Chong obviously!

There was no expression on his face anymore. Even the muscles on his face were no longer of his control! Technically, there was not a piece of muscle in his control. It felt like he had fainted but he had not. In fact, his mind was clearer than ever!

“Ye… Ye… What has happened?” Mu’s calm voice sounded a little fret.

He tried to reply yet his brain waves felt blocked out completely. He could hear Mu and he could call out to him, again and again. However, Mu never heard him, not even once.

“Ye. It is not mature for you to do this.”

“Ye.”

“Ye!”

Mu’s voice grew panicked as he did not receive any form of response from Ye Chong. There was no brainwave from him too, as if he was dead.

3 minutes! For three minutes! A never-before-felt pain tossed him into the underworld, sinking him into a barren agony. Boundlessly, endlessly, lawlessly it inched towards Ye Chong. There was fright in him despite being a strong man he always was! The taste of death, it was so close, the very first time to him.

He endured the pain. By then the continuous headaches he suffered days back after overloading his head was nothing compared to this tsunami of torment. The headache was because of mentality while this was a pure body sear. Moreover, this sudden pain was much more absurd compared to the headache he had.

Nevertheless, thanks to the experience before, Ye Chong did not break down that quickly. He tried shifting his focus as he converged his thoughts at the strides on the floor. The tempestuous ache caused his mind to diverge a little, unfortunately that did not help Ye Chong out as the pain continued without weakening.

He mustered the remaining bit of his consciousness, little by little, all concentrated, he could not mess this up! He could not believe the fact that he would lose his mind someday.

Strangely, as how without forewarning the pain came, right when Ye Chong was going mad, it vanished!

Yes, it vanished without forewarning too!

He regained control of his body. It felt like his body was the mech while his mind was the pilot. During that few minutes of chaos, the pilot lost control of his mech, then right before the crash, he retrieved the access to the control panel out of sudden.

So it was a dream?

He climbed up from the ground as his mind twiddled on everything. His body might have recovered yet his head was still messed up!

As Mu sensed reconnection to Ye Chong’s brain, he asked in panic, “What had just happened Ye?!”

His mind had yet settled down. His eyes weaved through the frightened girls around him. He shook his head violently, attempting to snap out of confusion.

It took about half a minute for Ye Chong to recover fully from the havoc just now.

The girls looked exceedingly afraid, including Xiu who backed off with the girls upon seeing Ye Chong waking up.

Ye Chong certainly had no idea how terrifying he appeared at that moment.

His paper-white face was the kind from the classic horror movies, the haunting ghost role of course; while droplets of sweat smudged his features along with some occasional twitches on his face. Creepy… No, disturbing!

“We will talk about this later, Mu.” muttered in his thought, Ye Chong responded to Mu.

He inhaled deeply, waved his limbs slightly, only to make sure he had truly restored control over his body. All he thought by then was to leave straightaway. The crowd had worsened his fear, the people would do him no good. The man who crawled out of the hell’s gate would like some moments, alone! He had to conduct a discussion with Mu regarding the hows and whys of this.

He got up and was ready to move, “Who?!” Two oddly-dressed men at their middle-age stormed in with cases in their hands, “Who was unwell?” The pale green suit was absolutely a weird choice of uniform…

And everyone backed out for a way. The two men approached Ye Chong.

“That’s Mr. Ye!” Ye Chong’s face that had gone colorless, that overwhelming amount of sweat over his body, a fool could tell something must had happened to him. One of the men recognized him as he shouted and went upon Ye Chong waddling, “Are you sick? We received an emergency call from here and we thought some students were unwell out of the blue. Never knew it was you the teacher who got sick. Come, we will do a check-up for you. Yeah, it’s a little crowded here, we will get you shifted to the other classroom.”

“It’s o-” Right when Ye Chong who strived for a moment of isolation was going to reject the offer, Mu whispered, “It would be recommended to have a check-up, Ye.”

5 minutes later… he was at the other classroom.

“Mr. Ye, we are pitifully sorry that we can’t find anything wrong on your body.” The doctor who performed the diagnosis was stern as he spoke, “Perhaps our facilities are too limited. We suggest you to transfer to the advanced medical center at the academy instead, just for a safer and detailed check-up. Alright, there’s nothing else we could do here, if you would excuse us.” He kept his tools and turned away, “Also, Mr. Ye, please, do, make sure you have your check-up at the advanced medical center. Very well, good bye, have a nice day!”

Chapter 90: Deduction

Thank you, we hope to see you in good shape soon!”

Ye Chong exited from the medical center he was told to go to. The doctor’s words echoed, “Mr. Ye, your body is in the pink of health, well, pinker than most of the people I had seen. So no problem! What you have mentioned about today was probably a form of illusion I supposed, due to excessive fatigue or tension in your mind. It is a conventional symptom for workaholics. So don’t work too hard. Mr. Ye, I know you might be demanding of yourself and you have a good body, but you are still a human, you need to rest. I would advise you to rest adequately.”

In that chain of explanation from the doctor, Ye Chong only discerned that one striking word – illusion.

Illusion? Impossible!

That horrible sensation remained imprinted in Ye Chong’s mind. It was endless, a no-return, a no-escape kind of pain… Scary! Ye Chong shuddered. He absolutely wanted to know what exactly had happened! It stayed like a hanging sword upon his head, a threat coming anytime soon to Ye Chong, making him restless and spineless.

Could it be some strange diseases people had been talking about? Those incurable kinds… But I had never gotten it before! The doctor said the same too – there was nothing, while Mu said the Blue Ocean Academy’s own medical center was as advanced as it was called… then there should be nothing wrong. The doctor should be right!

That awful experience, there would be no way Ye Chong would want the second time!

If there would be another anyway, he doubted he could survive that.

“Do you have any deduction for this, Mu?” Ye Chong asked impatiently, almost in a begging tone. He did not care if it was a baseless inference, he just wanted an answer! He could feel the insanity growing in himself, along with the agitation, the edginess. The former calm and still self of his had long gone by then.

“Ye, calm down.” Mu spoke flatly as he sensed something wrong with Ye Chong, “Take a deep breath. Like your combat routine. The negative emotion would only be hindering you. They are unhelpful and will only lead you to even more terror. Ye, breathe in, then breathe out. Breathe your soul!”

In almost at a split second, a rampaging feeling scorched his nerves. The heat flowed in his body like burning lava. It was so hot that Ye Chong could feel his eyes glowing raging red, while the skin of his hands were colored in a spooky vermilion, like a flaming piece of metal. It was annoying! Infuriating! Maddening! His body was hot, piping hot! A thought jammed his thinking and overwrote everything else – Destruction! Unleash the inside!

“Breathe your soul.”

If it was not Mu who said this line, he might had given an ultimate corkscrew punch right onto the person’s face, no matter who the person was.

He huffed and puffed. The fierce breath of his was boiling the nasal cavity. It was not the air he was breathing, it was more like the inferno, blazing inferno!

He tried to inhibit the brewing heat storm in him. His instinct sensed the danger behind this berserk as soon as it emerged. An emotionless, nonchalant person he had been was alarmed by this uprising in his body.

Breathe in! Breathe out! Deep breath!

Gasp.

Ye Chong was facing utter difficulty to carry out this daily practice which was a piece of cake for him before.

“Just breathe… Breathe in… Yes, breathe out… In…Out… Take the rhythm, ride on it… Yes, you are a good boy,” Mu’s voice was hypnotizing as Ye Chong followed his order obediently.

As his breathing grew calmer, his head cooled down. The heat disintegrated gradually and Mu got his old Ye Chong back.

Such a breach at his security had exhausted quite a portion of his stamina. Rivers of sweat connected to each other on his forehead while wetting his entire clothes. Achoo! Ye Chong sneezed abruptly as a wind blew by.

“I think…Haha…” Ye Chong laughed bitterly, “Mu, I’m in trouble again, am I not?”

“Yes,” Mu replied approvingly. “Ye, you do not seem right with that look. However there has yet to be a proper solution from me.”

“What exactly had happened?” Ye Chong was vexed with himself. And that vex fell into a ripple in his mind, causing another storm again as his blood boiled. Breathe! Ye Chong out of his horror took a few rounds of deep breathing again and finally stabilized the rumble before the storm.

“Ye, stay calm.” Mu explained, “As what the data showed, assuming if this neither was an inborn disease due to family inheritance nor was due to a kind of virus infection back at Trash Planet-12, I have a deduction now.”

“What deduction?” Ye Chong asked.

“The silver liquid you dipped in back at the Black Cove.” Added Ye Chong, “Possibility – 67%. Only that would be the suspect to this.”

Ye Chong figured it out the moment Mu mentioned about the Black Cove, “No wonder they don’t seem to really care about the security. They actually have this to capture runaways in their hands.”

“And that is why…” Ye Chong eventually made sense of what he had encountered, “That is why, Johansson did not appear to be in desire of killing me. That was not a murder, but an escort. And he just had the way to make sure he could escort me back to the Black Cove.”

“Wow!” Mu’s exclaimed voice was flat. “It seems like you really have became smarter.”

“Uh huh, if this is true, then that thing…” Ye Chong flinched. “That thing would not only happen once!” As soon as the conclusion flashed in his mind, his brain jammed.

Imagined the number of times he had to suffer all those, Ye Chong’s face was grim.

“Poor Ye,” and all Mu could do was to show sympathy.

Apparently there were not many options for him. If he were to return to Black Cove to become a pawn by some mastermind, he would rather die! That tenacity and fighting will he got from living on Trash Planet-12 would be what he needed! He still had hope! And he had Mu and Shang!

Ye Chong spent the next few days in worry, anticipating that horrendous storm to come striking him again from time to time. Yet strangely, it did not happen. That surprised Ye Chong.

Well, thinking again, Ye Chong assumed his anticipation would not be helpful at all. Generally he would have lost full access control of his body by then. He could not even speak to Mu through telepathy. If that would be the case… Ye Chong decided to live on without fear. For safety, he planned to reduce the time outside and he did not intend to go back to Grandpa Qian anymore. He could not predict when this dreadful symptom would occur again but he could predict that surely if it happened and anything else dreadful happened along, he could just be the dead meat on the chopping board with no place to run.

So Ye Chong spent the whole day rooting himself at his workshop while Mu booted his mech self to hide within the countless mechs Ye Chong had in his place, striving to protect Ye Chong at any casualty.

He thought he would be in peace at least. Unfortunately, his fame did not decrease.

“Ye Chong!” Rui Su came slamming the door open, “You! Go to my place! Now! My sister wants to see you!” she came in with a brief command and introduction. Her expression was unhappy.

“Your sister?” frowned Ye Chong as he asked.

“The lady you fought that day? Who came with me?” her eyes slightly reddened as she reminisced the incident.

“Oh!” Rui Su was finally speaking his language – the lady he fought that day. He remembered everything. Normally Ye Chong would jump from his seat, nodding his head as he marched to the place, if it was an invitation from a challenger, especially if the challenger had some fancy tricks that could hold him back. However, he refused.

Without hesitation and further inquiry, “No,” he gave a direct decline in Rui Su’s face.

“You… You…” Rui Su was so irritated that her face turned pale as she bit her teeth.

What a weird girl. Ye Chong could not understand the girl before him, he decided to deal with ignorance.

Rui Su wanted to be nice at first, nevertheless Ye Chong seemed to be uninterested in the kind self of hers. That was when she transformed back into the notorious Witch Su, “Ye! Chong! Are you a man? Let me ask you, Are! You! Still! A! Man?! I can’t believe my ears of hearing such puny words from a puny person like you! I had never seen such a useless piece of dirt in my entire life! You don’t even have the balls to go to my place! You coward! You spineless squid!”

Ye Chong spectated the amazing talk show from Rui Su nonchalantly. His ears had grown numb towards personal attacks and offensive languages.

“So Mu, shouldn’t humans be afraid of death?” Ye Chong asked in his mind.

“They should,” said Mu.

“Then isn’t it normal for one to be a coward in this?” he asked on.

“Well, in the society, fearing death is considered as a cowardly act, even if they all fear the death like no one ever did.” Explained Mu.

“B-o-r-i-n-g!” exclaimed Ye Chong.

“Right,” Mu agreed too.

“Are you listening to me? My sister is calling you, no, ordering you to move that broken bottom of yours to my place! You heard it? Move! Why aren’t you moving? Oh my Fal Galaxy if there’s a quantum singularity I swear I’ll catapult you into it…”

The bickering went on for a moment.

And Rui Su realized it was pointless to scold her signature lines at Ye Chong. She became parched and tired. Nothing had happened other than most of her inner blaze had extinguished.

“Please…” Going the hard way did not work it seemed, so Rui Su decided to plead instead, “I beg you. Please, Ye Chong, please. It’s just a trip to my house. My sister wants to see you… Just come… Could you kindly do my poor, poor sister a favor?” her watery eyes overflowed with pity. Anyone else would have accepted her plea right away seeing those eyes.

Well it was “anyone else” after all.

Not Ye Chong.

Ye Chong did not have concept on how this “begging” worked.

“The heck she’s doing, Mu?” Ye Chong inquired bewilderedly.

“Technically, she was trying to initiate your urge to protect her by acting as a weakling in the situation.” Concisely he replied, “Most of the women use such method to gain a man’s sympathy,” added Mu.

“She’s acting weak, hoping that the enemy would come and pity her?” Ye Chong was not convinced, the logic did not work in his head it seemed.

“Uh… well…” Mu halted for a noticeable length, “The relationship between men and women are not malignant to begin with.”

“Well then, what is it?” Ye Chong asked.

“Regarding that, I suggest you to have your session with Shang, he is more of an expert in this,” and Mu quickly shut his mouth.

Rui Su tried to rephrase her plight and redid her acting repetitively. Still, it did not work on the man with a heart of iron. Rui Su never expected Ye Chong to be this hard to penetrate. She could not believe that her ways neither hard nor soft worked. The feeling did not even seep into his skin! She became desperate as her signature tricks with a 100% success rate on other men did not work on him.

She recalled what her sister told her back at their home and tears wetted her beautiful face.

It shocked Ye Chong a little. Yeah, only a little.

“Sniff… Sniff…” Rui Su held her tears and looked at Ye Chong wholeheartedly, “In what way you would agree to see my sister?”

“Umm…”

Ye Chong thought for a moment, “Get her here, if she wanted to see me that badly.”

With Mu lurking in the queue of mechs, he believed he would be in good hands even if that disastrous syndrome happened again.

“Okay! Fine!” Rui Su rushed out of the workshop in tears. “You better remember this! Ye Chong!!!” The students on the way were impressed by Ye Chong. They almost wanted to drop by the workshop to give a salutation as he managed to make the witch of the campus to cry twice in a row! Spectacular!

What Ye Chong did not expect was, Rui Bing actually came!

And she was alone!