Chapter 42
Going on a mission for the first time, Luo Shizhen was a little nervous and a little expectant.
For him, this was like an exam that could test how well he had learned in school.
After quickly putting on the combat suit, although he was already thoroughly familiar with its functions from the past few days, Luo Shizhen still quickly silently recited them in his heart again.
The assembly point, however, wasn’t at the school gate, but in a room next to the principal’s office.
Chen He’an was waiting there. He saw Luo Shizhen wearing the combat suit, which outlined a few muscular curves, the trouser legs honestly tucked into the combat boots, forming a smooth arc.
He wore tactical glasses, and various weapons were snapped into each weapon slot at his waist according to regulations. Although combat hadn’t started yet, he already had one hand resting on his waist, maintaining an alert state.
When he walked over with large strides towards this side, those long legs tightened by the combat suit were also revealed, appearing extremely powerful.
Chen He’an looked at Luo Shizhen with almost appreciative eyes.
This child who, when he first entered the school, was still a bit shy and too mild-mannered, now looked completely like a Guardian.
However, when Luo Shizhen got close, his somewhat muffled voice due to being enclosed in the combat suit brought him “back to his original form.”
“Hello, Teacher.”
Chen He’an patted his shoulder: “Hello.”
“Are you all prepared? Are you nervous?”
Luo Shizhen nodded: “I’m prepared. I’m a little bit nervous.”
“Don’t be afraid, just treat it as an exercise. The lethality of a First-tier Anomaly is about the same as that Zombie you met before. If any unexpected situation arises, the teacher responsible for protection will step out.”
Luo Shizhen pressed his lips tightly together, seriously noting down what the teacher said.
He asked again, “Teacher, are you the teacher responsible for protecting me and Lu Qiujin?”
Chen He’an asked with a smile: “Do you hope it’s me?”
Luo Shizhen nodded vigorously.
Chen He’an’s hand resting on his shoulder gave it a gentle squeeze:
“Teacher also hopes the student I’m responsible for is you. But this time it’s drawing lots; whoever gets drawn gets drawn. Shizhen, you can pray in your heart that Teacher draws your team.”
Luo Shizhen immediately began to pray earnestly.
“Alright, head over to the spatial teleportation elevator.”
Luo Shizhen’s eyes widened slightly. He had learned about spatial teleportation elevators in books; they said it could be set up by a Spatial-type Awakener, and as long as it contained enough spatial energy, it could teleport to any location.
But he had only seen it in books. This was his first time knowing that the school actually had one.
Luo Shizhen was only nineteen after all, so of course he had curiosity. The nervousness of participating in a mission for the first time was instantly dispelled by more than half at this news, and he looked towards the back curiously.
“Is the spatial teleportation elevator inside that classroom?”
Chen He’an wasn’t surprised by his reaction and said with a smile:
“Yes. You will be randomly teleported to any location within Nanhua Fang. Your objective is to capture the First-tier Anomaly hiding inside.”
“All humans inside Nanhua Fang have already been safely evacuated, so there is no hostage rescue mission. After capturing the First-tier Anomaly, you can kill it on the spot or capture it alive. You can decide based on the situation.”
“As for what type this Anomaly is and what its name is, you’ll have to discover that yourselves. The only clue the school can give you is that it has killed seventeen people.”
From the moment Chen He’an started speaking, Luo Shizhen turned on the recording function, nodding as he listened.
After Chen He’an finished, he patted his shoulder again: “Hearing that this mission’s target has killed seventeen people, are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid.”
Luo Shizhen said seriously, “The teachers will be behind us protecting us.”
Chen He’an smiled: “Good. Go on.”
As he spoke, his gaze shifted from Luo Shizhen to Lu Qiujin, who had been standing to the side all along, silent and staring at the two of them.
“Qiujin, be careful and maintain proper limits. Don’t get hurt by the Anomaly.”
Lu Qiujin nodded silently.
He added a sentence himself: “I will protect Shizhen well.”
“Good, go. When you come back, I’ll tell you some good news.”
Luo Shizhen and Lu Qiujin stepped into the room holding the spatial teleportation elevator.
Chen He’an watched their figures disappear through the doorway and sighed.
Although he knew children all had to grow up, and these tender young Awakeners would sooner or later become Guardians and join the ranks of those fighting the Bizarre.
But in the past, it was at least after three years of schooling and graduation before they went “to the battlefield”. Now forced by circumstances, seeing them having to face combat so early, Chen He’an, as a teacher, truly felt terrible in his heart.
Lin Qi stood beside him and also sighed.
Chen He’an: “? What are you sighing for?”
Lin Qi: “Sighing that I can’t follow student Luo Shizhen. I still wanted to cultivate some feelings with him.”
Chen He’an: “You need to bear in mind your status. You are a teacher right now.”
Lin Qi: “I remember, but in a year, I won’t be.”
Chen He’an glanced at him: “Did your captain go along?”
“He did. Don’t worry, with the Captain there, they won’t have any problems.”
Yes, the teacher following Luo Shizhen and Lu Qiujin’s squad was none other than Sui An.
The lot-drawing was real, but their team was too special. After thinking it over, the principal directly assigned Sui An to follow the team.
Leaving aside how important Luo Shizhen’s Purification ability was—the principal would rather something happen to himself than anything happen to him.
There was also Lu Qiujin.
Lu Qiujin had self-destructive tendencies. This self-destruction didn’t mean he wanted to die, but rather that he didn’t reject the idea of himself being alienated into an Anomaly, and was even looking forward to it.
Letting an Awakener who was willing to be alienated into an Anomaly out was a very dangerous thing.
Because he had likely long accepted the possibility of his own alienation, and also clearly knew that an alienated Awakener would be killed on the spot.
He might find a chance to escape, or deliberately become tainted with the pollution of Anomalies outside to alienate.
Don’t be fooled by Lu Qiujin only being Tier 2 right now. Because his talent sequence was strong, once alienated, he would turn into at least a Sixth-tier Anomaly.
The lethality of a Sixth-tier Anomaly could destroy a small city.
Normally speaking, Lu Qiujin should be under house arrest in a hospital ward right now. Until the pollution in his body was pacified, he wasn’t allowed to come out and move around.
As a result, right now, he was not only moving freely, but was also able to go out with a team to do a mission.
This was all obtained by the principal putting his position on the line to vouch for him.
Lin Qi naturally also knew the inside story:
“I heard your principal made a military pledge. If Lu Qiujin alienates and escapes, he will voluntarily go to the trial court and bear all the consequences on Lu Qiujin’s behalf.”
Chen He’an: “Correct. Didn’t you notice the principal hasn’t appeared? Until Lu Qiujin returns safely, he cannot leave the principal’s office for even half a step.”
Lin Qi shook his head: “He believes in Lu Qiujin that much?”
No matter what Lu Qiujin pretended to be on the surface, the detected self-destructive tendencies wouldn’t lie.
Deep in his heart, he was craving alienation, craving to become an Anomaly.
There had never been a single successful case of saving an Awakener with self-destructive tendencies.
Deep down, they rejected being saved. Even if an Energy User was willing to make contact, when using their ability, they would be blocked.
Chen He’an shook his head: “If it were in the past, the principal wouldn’t bet, but Shizhen has let him see too much hope.”
“Xiao Shan, Chu Xiao, Ying Liu. He’s only been in school for a few days, and he has already been able to purify three students. This kind of situation has never occurred before. Now that Shizhen has volunteered to team up with Lu Qiujin, hoping to purify him, the principal also wants to know if he can do it.”
Lin Qi: “But if he loses the bet, a military court is waiting for him.”
Chen He’an lowered his eyes: “He has been a principal for twenty years. Excluding this current batch, he has taught a total of 359 students. The number of those finally remaining alive today is only 96.”
“To him, not a single student can be given up on. As long as there’s a way, he has to try.”
Lin Qi fell silent for a moment.
The mortality rate of Guardians had always been very high, especially in the first ten years. Due to a lack of experience, the mortality rate had reached almost 65%.
In the first ten years, there was no such thing as an Awakener school, nor was there time to let the Awakeners grow. Regardless of their talent level, they could only bury their heads and charge forward, using blunt methods: fighting head-on.
The first batch of Awakeners used this life-risking fighting style to buy the next twenty years of peace for Xia Country.
Now, as Xia Country accumulated more and more experience and purposefully researched many auxiliary combat technologies, the mortality rate slowly dropped.
Now, the majority of causes of death for Awakeners was not due to fighting Anomalies, but choosing suicide or letting the Inspector kill them before their bodies alienated after being polluted.
Most of the students in this school were suffering from pollution. For their teachers and the principal, it was a cycle of bringing out batch after batch of students, only to receive news of their deaths one by one.
“It truly is torture.”
Lin Qi thought about it and felt he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“Captain Sui must have agreed to the principal because of this too, right?”
The two of them were instructors sent from above. In terms of military rank, Sui An was even higher than the principal.
Normally speaking, the principal shouldn’t be able to assign him.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort came from the principal’s office next door.
Caught off guard, Lin Qi jumped in fright. He turned to look and realized the principal had probably moved a stool to forcibly raise himself up, his head squeezing with difficulty through the small window on the door.
“Principal?? What are you doing?!”
The principal squeezed his head: “My students are going on a mission. If you won’t let me leave the office, can’t I at least watch from here?”
Lin Qi: “You just snorted at me, didn’t you?”
The principal snorted repeatedly: “I snorted at you because you fail to recognize greatness. Your captain participated in combat at twelve years old; who do you think taught him?”
Lin Qi reacted, his eyes wide: “Our boss is also your student?”
“Of course. He’s Number 001, my very first student. If I couldn’t assign him, I wouldn’t have reported to the higher-ups to request you two.”
The principal huffed: “I am his teacher after all. If I assign him, does he dare to disobey me?”
Lin Qi felt like he had just stumbled upon huge gossip. He had never heard his boss talk about the past. Not to mention teachers, he hadn’t even mentioned his parents or siblings. Normally, even on holidays, he would stay in the training room and never go anywhere else.
Sometimes, he even suspected his boss had popped out of a crack in a rock.
The principal continued to huff and groan.
Lin Qi: “Principal, what are you groaning about now?”
The principal: “My head is stuck in the window.”
Lin Qi: “…”
Chen He’an facepalmed.
“What are you two staring blankly for? No situational awareness at all! Hurry up and come save me!”
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