Chapter 23: Fighting for a Bust That Won't Cave In

"Ring, ring, ring—"

The final bell of the school day rang. As evening arrived, the sunset slowly dipped below the horizon, draping the sky in a dim, velvet curtain.

"So boring. I thought something special would happen today, but it was just more of the same classes," He Cheng complained, stretching in his seat and voicing the thoughts of the entire class.

Campus life was too mundane, and everyone hoped for some ripples in their daily routine; the minor commotion of changing teachers had sparked endless fantasies. Su Yi had once been like his classmates, lamenting the boredom of life, but after experiencing the earth-shattering upheavals of his own journey, he now considered his former self a fool.

Only when one has the capability is the desire for change useful; otherwise, at the first sign of upheaval, one is simply obliterated by uncertainty. The decade in the wasteland was not a pleasant memory, especially those early days after he had first crossed over. He adjusted his shoulder bag, ready to head to the electrical substation to meet Loricci.

Hearing Su Yi leave his seat, Mu Xiaowei, who had been quiet all day, briskly packed her stationery and textbooks. She tucked a few workbooks she would need that evening into her brown bear-shaped backpack and stood up as well.

He Cheng, sitting diagonally behind them, saw the girl rise. Holding up a workbook, he greeted her enthusiastically, "Mu, I'm having trouble with this problem. Could you teach me?"

"No time!" Mu Xiaowei replied coldly. Without even looking back, she brushed past him and jogged toward the back of the classroom, leaving He Cheng awkwardly frozen in place.

Seeing this, Lu Guoguo wore a triumphant smile, twirling her finger as she mocked him, "Oh, look at you, trying to get close! Xiaowei never gets too near to boys, you know. Aren't you just asking for humiliation?"

"Tch. Mind your own business. I wasn't asking you, and with your bottom-of-the-class grades, you wouldn't know how to solve it anyway. Why else would you be sitting at the back next to me?" He Cheng curled his lip in disdain.

"Hmph! Xiaowei likes sitting in the back too; I’m just following suit." Lu Guoguo crumpled her scrap paper into a ball and threw it at He Cheng.

That remark really hit a sore spot. Lu Guoguo was the type of girl who worked diligently, but her grades simply refused to improve. Her notebooks were filled to the brim, and she had completed countless practice tests, yet the results never showed. Every time seats were rearranged based on performance, she was relegated to the back.

"Come to think of it, Mu Xiaowei seems to choose seats around Su Yi every time. Could it be..." He Cheng muttered, rubbing his chin.

"Just a coincidence," Lu Guoguo dismissed the idea immediately. "How many times have they rearranged the seating? Even when they sit close, they almost never speak."

Although they were classmates, she did secretly "ship" couples. Mu Xiaowei was the quintessential "good girl"—pretty, top of her class, and, aside from being as flat-chested as an airport runway, she was virtually flawless. She was every boy's dream girl, and even the girls admired and liked her. Lu Guoguo had heard plenty of gossip about suitors, but there had never been any rumors. It didn't seem to match at all with someone like Su Yi, who was always ready to pull out a knife.

Still, his grades had improved by leaps and bounds recently, even though he never seemed to pay attention in class, always burying his nose in extracurricular books.

"Damn it, that’s the one thing that makes me angry just thinking about it..." Lu Guoguo gritted her teeth, the thought fueling her frustration.

...

In the hallway.

"Su Yi!"

Mu Xiaowei jogged up to him, bowing her head and speaking in a low voice.

Su Yi glanced at her, noticing her eyes flickering beneath her fluffy bangs as if she had something on her mind.

"What’s wrong? Are you looking for study tips again?"

Regardless of what she was like in private, Mu Xiaowei was the envy of everyone at high school—a "good girl" whose life revolved entirely around studying. She rarely spoke to him on campus, so speaking to him three times in one day was well beyond the norm. Let alone after he had teased her earlier.

"It's not that..." The girl shook her head, her high ponytail swaying in the air.

"Then what is it?"

"You used to study liberal arts, so why did you switch to science? I thought I was the only one who wanted to study science."

With people bustling to and fro, the school hallway grew increasingly crowded. Their personal space was compressed, and they were forced to stand closer and closer.

"Science suits me better now," Su Yi replied indifferently.

Many people thought a good memory was the key to liberal arts, but that was completely wrong. The unpredictability of liberal arts was too great, and there were too many subjective questions; it was far less efficient than memorizing patterns through sheer volume of practice.

"You aren't going to ask me why my grades improved so much just a few months after switching to science, are you?" Su Yi smiled, pointing at her cheek. "It’s talent. Even if you ask, I don't have a study method to give you."

Mu Xiaowei lifted her head, huffed, and shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "I'm not interested. I just thought you had another reason..."

"What reason?" Su Yi craned his neck, asking curiously.

Hearing this, Mu Xiaowei’s cheeks flushed slightly. She pouted and muttered, "I'm not telling you."

"Always keeping people in suspense..." Su Yi rolled his eyes, giving her a look of disdain, though he didn't dwell on the topic.

"Oh, right! Don't add me to the class group chat anymore. It’s always awkward when it gets disbanded."

"I won't. I didn't even join the new group they started." A complex emotion flickered across Mu Xiaowei’s face. She turned away and whispered, "Because you disbanding it was just too much..."

Su Yi gave his former desk mate a rare thumbs-up.

However, he quickened his pace. Loricci was still at the substation, and he couldn't have outsiders following him. He decided that once he left the teaching building, he would part ways with Mu Xiaowei.

Yet, just as they reached the entrance of the building, before they could step out, a massive commotion erupted on the stairs outside.

"Someone’s gone crazy! Run!"

Many students who had just stepped out seemed terrified, scrambling backward for their lives.

Baffled, Su Yi reached out and grabbed a fleeing student. "What happened?"

"Some short guy was being bullied and pushed around by a group, and suddenly he went berserk! He bent a thick iron railing with a single slap! He's already injured several people."

The student he had intercepted looked terrified and, after a hurried explanation, bolted away.

"Damn, someone awakened an ability this quickly? That’s definitely dangerous..."

A bullied student suddenly gaining supernatural powers and beating up their tormentors—it was the kind of plot that felt satisfying in a novel, a classic "Dragon Overlord" trope. Su Yi didn't want any trouble. He gently tapped Mu Xiaowei on the shoulder. "Don't just stand there, let's hide too."

He turned and retreated to the higher steps, creating some distance, and then poked his head out to observe. Based on his observations, the school's new teachers all had military backgrounds; he expected someone would come to resolve this soon. It would be a perfect chance to gauge their strength.

"Oh, he's inside. Looks pretty vicious."

Su Yi watched as the student, crazed by his ability, entered the teaching building. The boy's eyes were completely consumed by a radioactive green glow, his entire body flushed with blood, and white mist drifted from his head. He estimated the boy's body temperature was at least 200 degrees.

The boy had clearly lost his mind, muttering incessantly, "Kill you, kill you all! Don't think you can bully me again..."

He kicked out, shattering the leg of the nearest student, who immediately collapsed, howling in agony.

Abilities magnified the darkest desires in a person's heart. It was hard for a new awakener to control themselves, and it was clear that the repressed, violent tendencies in this student had been unleashed.

Su Yi was no hero, nor did he want to be. He had no intention of saving strangers. The only reason he had taken in Loricci was that she belonged to the Sword-Bearer lineage—his own kin.

However, the next second, his view shifted, and his desire to just watch the spectacle vanished.

He realized that although he had warned Mu Xiaowei, the girl was too frail and had been blocked by the crowd; she hadn't been able to make it up the stairs and was still near the door.

"Damn it! I told you to eat more and bulk up," Su Yi muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

The berserk student’s gaze had shifted toward Mu Xiaowei. The girl looked at the boy screaming on the ground with a broken leg, her eyes filled with terror. She trembled as she tried to retreat, but with everyone else rushing to escape, the small staircase was packed, nearly causing a stampede.

"20 seconds. 20 seconds is all it takes. Just hide, and help will be here soon." Su Yi gripped his chin, estimating the time it would take for the nearest teacher to reach her.

There were too many people around—students, teachers, and security cameras. Stepping in now would surely expose him.

But the crazed boy didn't give the teachers a chance to approach. He lunged toward Mu Xiaowei, roaring, "Die, all of you!" He swung his shoulder, putting his weight behind a fist aimed at the girl's chest.

Seeing the attack, Su Yi instinctively clenched his fists. In that instant, countless reasons flooded his mind, urging him not to intervene.

There were too many witnesses, and he didn't know if the new teachers were friends or foes. According to the "Dark Forest" theory, revealing his presence in such a dangerous situation would invite endless trouble, disrupting the peaceful life he had envisioned for Loricci.

Based on the trajectory of the punch, Su Yi could see the boy wasn't aiming for a vital spot. He still had medical stimulants; it wouldn't be a big deal if Mu Xiaowei took a hit. He could secretly inject her later, and such external injuries would heal quickly.

Doing nothing was the best choice...

Su Yi gritted his teeth and looked away.

But the next second, a crucial thought struck him. His expression turned solemn. He leaped down from the stairs and, in full view of everyone, blocked the incoming fist for the girl.

"Damn it, Mu Xiaowei is already as flat as a runway; if she takes a hit like that, she’ll be completely concave..."