Chapter 48
Amidst the swirling mist, Yu An let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes. The drowsiness that came after a full meal made him really want to go home and sleep right now. He wondered if Xingcheng gege had waited for him to come home.
“The Base has already sent people over, so I’m afraid you’re in a bit of trouble and cannot leave for now.”
Xu Yening’s words pulled Yu An’s attention back. Yu An widened his eyes slightly. Why did the Base send people here? Why can’t Zhou Xia gege leave?
Fu Yunshu grabbed Yu An’s arm. Meeting his puzzled gaze, he patiently explained, “The Base strictly forbids ability users from maliciously harming ordinary people. The Institute must already know about Zhou Xia’s incident.”
As for what kind of punishment the Base would mete out to Zhou Xia, no one knew for now.
Yu An asked worriedly, “Then will the uncles and aunties in the Institute beat Zhou Xia gege?”
He had followed Wen Xun to the Institute since he was little, practically growing up there. He knew many grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties at the Institute.
In Yu An’s eyes, they were all very good, because they would often feed him little snacks and secretly take him to play everywhere.
But even angry uncles and aunties would keep a straight face and scold people. Yu An thought the fiercest thing they could do was spank a child’s bottom.
Fu Yunshu was silent for a moment. He frowned, his lips pressed tight, looking at Yu An hesitantly. How could he tell this little guy that the people in the Institute killed people?
“Brother…?”
Yu An couldn’t help but feel anxious. He tugged at Fu Yunshu’s sleeve, hoping for an answer. Right then, Gu Ersheng sighed and pulled Yu An in front of him.
“First of all, don’t be afraid.” Gu Ersheng’s expression was serious. He held up his index finger, waiting for Yu An to nod before telling him, “According to convention, anyone who violates the Institute’s peace accord will be sentenced to death.”
Gu Ersheng glanced over at Zhou Xia, his tone sympathetic. “So, Zhou Xia is most likely dead for sure.”
Yu An’s mind buzzed, his eyes wide and round. Like a startled little hamster, he kept his small hands tucked in and didn’t react for a long time, immersed in the shock, unable to return to his senses.
A bunny secretly approaching pricked up its ears. After eavesdropping on the news, it bounded over to Tu Yao, jabbering to tattle on it. Tu Yao listened, its ears standing up in fright, bearing a striking resemblance to Yu An’s reaction.
Yu An frantically grabbed Gu Ersheng’s hand, on the verge of tears. “Can they not kill Zhou Xia gege?”
“The rules are there. It’s not like we have any solution, we’re just kids.” Gu Ersheng spread his hands. However, he suddenly thought of something and whispered in Yu An’s ear, “But you can go ask your papa for help. They will definitely have a way.”
With Wen Xun and Lin Huaichen’s status in the Institute, saving one person wasn’t difficult; it just depended on whether they were willing to intervene.
Yu An couldn’t wait. “Then I’ll go find Papa.”
Saying that, he ran out of the classroom on his short legs. Yu An’s heart was burning with urgency, practically rushing forward blindly. But after only a few steps, his feet suddenly dangled in the air.
A stern, elderly voice came from above his head. “Rushing around blindly, what does this look like? Is this how Wen Xun and Lin Huaichen taught you?”
Yu An looked up blankly. The middle-aged man holding him by the back of his collar had graying hair, a deeply furrowed brow, and every wrinkle on his face exuded an aura of authority. It was a fierce face that could easily scare a child into crying at first glance.
Yu An’s heart trembled. “Grandpa… Grandpa Zhuang.”
Zhuang Yexing, one of the senior A-rank ability users, a High-level Arbiter, and also the person Yu An feared the most in the Institute, bar none.
Unlike other amiable and approachable elders, Zhuang Yexing, with his un-angry-yet-majestic face and occasional scolding, firmly held the top spot as the person kids were most afraid of.
Even though Yu An was normally the most well-behaved child, he had been scolded by him quite a lot.
Zhuang Yexing held Yu An up like holding a little chick. His thick eyebrows knit together as he carefully checked Yu An’s body. Only after confirming there were no external injuries did he put him down.
Under his gaze, Yu An instinctively stood perfectly straight, his two hands obediently placed on the seams of his pants, his eyes determined, as if he were ready to march onto the battlefield and punch an enemy in the knee at any moment.
“Mhm, this is how a boy should be.” Zhuang Yexing was very satisfied. He reached out and squeezed Yu An’s arm. His newly smoothed eyebrows gathered together again. “Where are your muscles?”
Yu An lowered his head guiltily. “Papa said I should grow more meat, soft meat. Once I have lots of meat, I’ll naturally have muscles…”
Zhuang Yexing clearly highly disapproved of this logic, but looking at Yu An’s skinny, tiny frame, expecting him to build a muscular physique in a short time seemed unrealistic. He decided to let it go.
“Where were you going just now?”
Yu An lowered his head. “To find my Papa.”
Zhuang Yexing swept a glance over everyone present, focusing on Xu Yening. Xu Yening politely nodded at him.
Zhuang Yexing immediately rolled his eyes. Don’t think he didn’t know this kid was full of bad ideas. Having Yu An go find Wen Xun and Lin Huaichen was definitely this kid’s idea.
Zhuang Yexing: “You are not allowed to go. I will take you back later.”
Yu An looked up at him, weighed the difference between them, knew that resistance was futile, and dejectedly returned to his friends.
Following Zhuang Yexing’s arrival, the classroom plunged into a deathly silence. The Great-eared Rabbits sensed the threat emanating from him and timidly huddled around Zhou Xia’s feet, forming a blanket of snow-white fluff balls everywhere.
Tu Yao flicked its ear, hitting the rabbit next to it. The rabbit looked up blankly. Tu Yao hopped a couple of times, got close to its companion’s ear, and said a few words. The companion immediately moved closer to Tu Yao. At the same time, the other rabbits also moved towards Tu Yao.
The scattered snowballs merged into one solid mass.
Yu An took in all their movements but didn’t know what they were trying to do.
“Young Master Xu, it’s been a long time.” Zhuang Yexing looked at Xu Yening with a scrutinizing, mocking tone. “I thought you didn’t plan on coming back, intent on selling your life for those foreigners, living so freely out there. How could you bear to return to the country now?”
Xu Yening wore a hypocritical smile. “Naturally, I came back because I missed home. Why? Is the Institute now Uncle Zhuang’s dictatorship? Do I need to report to you when I return?”
Zhuang Yexing was furious. “Xu Yening, what nonsense are you spouting!”
Xu Yening spread his hands innocently. “Sorry, Uncle Zhuang. After all, I just returned and don’t know much about the situation inside the Institute. You won’t blame me, right?”
“Also, you’re getting on in years. Don’t always get so startled. A stroke or heart attack wouldn’t be good. Even if you don’t care about your own body, you should consider the little kids here.”
Xu Yening chuckled, pointing at Yu An and the others, his tone sincere. “What if you die right here and leave psychological trauma on the children? That truly would be a sin. Would you even be able to rest in peace?”
Zhuang Yexing: “…”
He couldn’t win an argument. Even arguing until his face was red and his neck was thick, he simply couldn’t out-argue that bastard Xu Yening.
Yu An stared dumbfounded at Xu Yening’s stable performance, gaining a new understanding of his combat power. So this is the art of speaking? It’s a bit scary.
But as he was talking, Zhuang Yexing suddenly turned his head and glared at the boy beside him. It was then that Yu An suddenly realized there was another person next to him.
It was a young boy with delicate features. Yu An had never seen him before. He stared at his face for a while, then looked at Fu Yunshu.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but this person looked a bit like Yunshu gege.
Fu Yunshu was watching the boy. “My younger brother, Fu Yu.”
“Fu Yu…” Yu An murmured. The name sounded very familiar, but he was very certain he had never met this person before.
Gu Yixing saw through his thoughts in a glance and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Forgot? That guy who bullied Zhou Xia in the cafeteria last time was Fu Yu’s lackey.”
Yu An suddenly remembered. “So it’s him.”
Judging purely by appearance, Fu Yu seemed like a well-behaved, sensible, good child, wearing a friendly smile on his face. When Yu An looked over, he even smiled at him.
Gu Yixing “tched” and warned Yu An, “Don’t look at how this kid acts like a decent human being. In reality, he’s even worse than his brother. Don’t be fooled by him.”
Fu Yunshu shot him a gloomy glance, already deciding that his next birthday present to him would be a complete human skeleton.
Gu Yixing suddenly felt an ominous premonition. He looked around to find the source and finally settled on Zhuang Yexing. It must be this old man cursing me in his heart!
Unfortunately, Zhuang Yexing couldn’t even spare him a fraction of a glance. Staring at Xu Yening and Zhou Xia beside him, he waved his hand grandly. “Alright, I don’t want to argue with you. Hand the child beside you over to me.”
Xu Yening: “That won’t do. I am the principal. Without parental consent, I definitely can’t let you take a student away privately.”
“Is it privately?!” Zhuang Yexing blew his beard and glared. “It’s because this ‘good student’ of yours violated the rules that the Institute sent me to execute him. You should be clear on this point!”
Xu Yening turned his head away. “I’m not clear.”
“You!”
Zhuang Yexing was practically dying of anger. He clenched his fists, bones cracking, wishing he could beat Xu Yening up. But he still retained a bit of rationality.
Xu Yening’s status was special; he was both the heir to the Xu family and an S-rank ability user. On status alone, Zhuang Yexing couldn’t compare to him, and naturally couldn’t use his rank to suppress him.
Zhuang Yexing’s gaze darkened. “So, you are openly defying the Institute?”
“Don’t put such a big hat on me.” Xu Yening sighed. “First, tell me, how does the Institute plan to handle Zhou Xia?”
“Naturally, kill without mercy. He attacked ordinary people. This is already an unforgivable crime.”
Zhou Xia’s body trembled, and the look in his eyes towards Zhuang Yexing uncontrollably took on a hint of terror.
Xu Yening frowned. “But those ordinary people weren’t hurt. Killing Zhou Xia… isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill?”
Actually, what he wanted to say more was that it was unreasonable.
Zhuang Yexing: “I am only responsible for doing it. If you have any objections, go raise them with the higher-ups.”
During the standoff between Xu Yening and Zhuang Yexing, the rabbits huddled together secretly bit through the space beneath their feet, creating a large hole big enough for an adult to crawl through.
Yu An was truly curious about what these rabbits were up to. He tiptoed over to them, but they were all working with their heads down. Their overly fluffy fur was squished together, making it impossible for Yu An to see anything.
[Ying ying~ Done!] Tu Yao cheered with a full sense of accomplishment, and the other rabbits also happily cried “ying ying”.
Yu An asked curiously, [Finished what?]
[Our rabbit hole…] Tu Yao answered naturally, only realizing after recovering its senses. It jumped up in shock, looking at Yu An as if seeing a ghost.
Right, there’s a little Xenogenic traitor here!
But it was too late. Yu An had already seen the black hole on the ground, a pitch-black expanse filled with chaotic spatial turbulence, where the crackling sound of electricity could faintly be heard.
In the next second, a skeletal claw reached out from inside, pressing against the ground. A massive bird head with an owl-like face poked out, except its face was half covered in feathers and half exposed white bone.
The rabbits around it scattered in all directions.
[Ying ying, this bad thing found us again!]
[It actually used our rabbit hole, bah bah bah!]
[Ying ying ying, going to be eaten.]
[In the next life I’m never digging holes again ying ying ying…]
[…]
Yu An also cried out in alarm and backed away repeatedly, but there wasn’t much fear in his heart. At most, he just felt this Xenogenic was severely lacking in aesthetics.
Monday stood in front of him, emitting a low growl from its throat, attempting to intimidate the bird-type Xenogenic. Little White also flew out to scan the entire Xenogenic, telling Yu An, “There is no record of this Xenogenic in the database.”
Claude leisurely popped His head out, giving His evaluation: [This ugly thing tastes pretty bad, and doesn’t have much meat either.]
In short, it wasn’t on the Ushatos menu.
Aside from Yu An, the first to notice the bird-type Xenogenic was the restless Gu Yixing. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, confirming it wasn’t a hallucination, and then let out a piercing shriek.
“Ahhhhhhh——!”
Yu An, who was closest to him, was nearly deafened. Gu Yixing’s scream drew the adults’ attention. Xu Yening’s breath hitched, and he snatched Yu An and Gu Yixing over in one swift move.
Xu Yening’s breathing was erratic. “Don’t you two know how to run?! Standing so close, are you trying to serve yourselves up as dessert?!”
Yu An looked at Xu Yening’s worried gaze. “I’m sorry… it won’t happen next time.”
Zhuang Yexing also pulled the other children to his side, staring solemnly at this Xenogenic. “What breed is this? It’s actually A-rank. Why didn’t you report its existence to the Institute earlier?”
Xu Yening took a deep breath. “If I had known earlier, would I still be standing here? Do I need you to tell me? Are you fking senile?”
Zhuang Yexing’s expression was awkward, knowing he had spoken nonsense. “It’s fine, it’s just an A-rank Xenogenic…”
Before he finished speaking, the bird-type Xenogenic threw its head back and shrieked. Before anyone could react, a massive whale swallowed the bird-type Xenogenic in two bites. Its enormous body got stuck in the rabbit hole, forcefully stretching the hole to half the size of the classroom.
A powerful mental magnetic field descended, and those with lower ranks were the first to go weak in the knees and collapse to the ground.
Zhuang Yexing’s voice wavered. “This one is at least S-rank…”
But immediately after, the whale’s clumsy body rapidly plummeted and quickly disappeared. Just as everyone let out a sigh of relief, a massive humanoid head appeared. Its mouth still exposed the continuously twitching tail of the whale.
Zhuang Yexing’s hands were also shaking. “This one… this one…”
Xu Yening slapped a hand over his mouth, breaking down. “I beg you, stop talking. You’re going to summon the entire food chain with your mouth.”
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