Chapter 110 (Part 2)
Luo Shizhen slept and resurrected with full health.
His Qi was very satisfied with the large amount of various-flavored pollution it had devoured yesterday and circled around Luo Shizhen.
Luo Shizhen patted his stomach, still vaguely feeling a bit full.
However, his mouth was still greedy.
He wondered what there was to eat in the cafeteria this morning.
Just as he was thinking, he heard the sound of cars outside. Luo Shizhen got up, opened the window, and saw everyone busy outside.
Some of the Guardian teams had already set off, and some were checking their equipment by their cars, clearly preparing to clear out the Anomalies within the pollution.
Because Luo Shizhen had cleared out the pollution once yesterday, almost all the Guardians were in very good spirits. It was just that from time to time, someone would cast their gaze towards the cafeteria in Luo Shizhen’s direction.
“Awake?”
Chen He’an came in holding a set of clothes. Seeing him awake, he smiled and set the clothes down.
“Perfect timing, your clothes are dry too. For your inner clothes today, just wear this set of mine first; they are clean and haven’t been unsealed yet.”
Luo Shizhen and his team had followed the Anomaly’s tracks to the East District on a whim after fighting it, so naturally, they hadn’t brought a change of clothes.
Fortunately, Eternal Day’s logistics had always been reliable. Every Guardian had a large quantity of clothing and equipment sets at their stationed bases. The number of casual and combat uniforms was enough to rotate through for over two months even without washing them.
Not to mention, the cafeteria was also equipped with washing machines and dryers, which was definitely enough.
Luo Shizhen took the clothes handed by Chen He’an, chuckling cheerfully: “Thank you, Teacher!”
“You’re welcome, hurry up and change, then come out to eat. We have your favorite braised fish for breakfast today.”
Hearing this, Luo Shizhen’s eyes predictably lit up, and he immediately unbuttoned his shirt to change clothes.
Chen He’an naturally turned around: “I’ll go out first.”
“Oh, okay!”
After Luo Shizhen changed his clothes and arrived at the dining hall, he indeed saw a table full of delicious food. Chef Wang had shown off his skills and prepared a buffet-style meal.
In ordinary households, breakfast was usually made as light as possible, but the Guardians didn’t have this rule.
After eating, they had to go risk their lives fighting Anomalies; how would they have any strength if they ate light meals?
This was Chef Wang’s understanding.
The Guardians were different. In the past, the Guardians were always indifferent to whatever meals the cafeteria made. They would just casually take a few bites, barely enough to fill their stomachs. Whether the food was good or bad, they had no reaction.
Since the people eating had no opinions on the food and reacted blandly regardless of his cooking, Chef Wang naturally just cooked casually.
Today was different. Someone who loved to eat had arrived, and yesterday he had worked so hard to purify a bunch of people. Chef Wang felt that, both publicly and privately, he had to properly reward Luo Shizhen.
Therefore, not only did he cook earnestly today, but he also made a large variety of dishes. The moment he saw Luo Shizhen arrive, his face immediately filled with joy.
“Shizhen is here, come quick, sit down and eat. These were all prepared for you. Your teacher said you like braised fish, so I specially picked the biggest one to cook. See if it suits your taste!”
Luo Shizhen was indeed very supportive, his eyes widening in pleasant surprise: “It looks delicious, thank you, Uncle Wang.”
Chef Wang smiled so widely his wrinkles were about to show.
The Purifier actually called him Uncle! He could definitely brag about this for a long time.
As Luo Shizhen ate, he didn’t forget his companions: “Where are Chu Xiao and the others?”
Chen He’an, sitting beside him, saw him eating like a hamster that had entered a barn, too busy to manage. He selected a piece of fish meat, picked out the bones, and placed it into his bowl.
“They followed a team out to combat.”
Right now, because the entire East District had been pulled into the Anomaly’s domain, the Anomalies that were originally here had instantly become arrogant.
The Guardians didn’t have the concept of passive defense. Today, once they had rested up and had spare time to make plans and choose a map, they immediately went out to actively strike.
Luo Shizhen was taken aback: “They all went?”
Chen He’an felt a bit of heartache for him.
Even though Luo Shizhen enrolled later and was from the support system, when it came to training, he had always been the one who worked the hardest and often did extra training on his own after class.
Chen He’an had never viewed Luo Shizhen as a support type who needed protection, but now that the rest of their team had gone out, he had to stay behind.
He was somewhat worried that Luo Shizhen would feel disappointed.
Chen He’an patted his student’s head.
“Do you feel it’s a pity? You could have gone out to fight together too, but because you need to preserve your strength to purify the polluted Guardians, you can only stay stationed in the cafeteria.”
Luo Shizhen chewed earnestly, and only after swallowing the food in his mouth did he shake his head:
“It’s fine, Teacher. I know staying behind is for the best. Right now, only I can purify the pollution in this Anomaly domain. If I went to fight, it would be too risky.”
He was just curious about one thing: “But did Lin Ke go too? Isn’t he still unable to use his abilities?”
Originally, Lin Ke could have gone to Eternal Day to slowly familiarize himself with his abilities, but who knew they would run into an Anomaly domain.
It directly pulled him into the domain, and he couldn’t get out even if he wanted to.
Chen He’an: “Don’t worry, he’s a Tier 4 after all. He can use this opportunity to practice his abilities. Even if he went to Eternal Day, the process would be roughly the same.”
The only difference was that Eternal Day involved drills in the training ground, while now it was outdoor combat practice against Anomalies.
“With teams accompanying him, he won’t be in danger.”
Luo Shizhen nodded. Thinking about how cowardly Lin Ke always was, he was still a bit worried:
“Which team took him out?”
“【Wave】. Their captain, Wen Shu, is my former classmate. I can’t speak for other things, but he has a knack for training people.”
Hearing that it was his teacher’s classmate, Luo Shizhen was completely relieved.
In his eyes, his teacher was very good at guiding students, gentle, and knowledgeable. His teacher’s classmate must also be very good at guiding students, right?
Chen He’an placed another piece of deboned fish meat into his bowl, observing Luo Shizhen’s expression:
“You seem to care a lot about this Lin Ke?”
He had heard Luo Shizhen mention on the phone before that the team had recruited a new member, and they had even done missions together in the past.
However, Luo Shizhen had always been on good terms with everyone, so Chen He’an hadn’t paid much attention to it.
Looking at it now, Luo Shizhen wasn’t worried about Chu Xiao, who grew up with him, nor was he worried about Xiao Shan, whom he regarded as a big brother. Why was he only concerned about Lin Ke, who joined halfway?
Furthermore, this Lin Ke was older than all these students, had run a company, and had worked in society for a few years. In terms of experience and maturity, he far surpassed Luo Shizhen.
Chen He’an didn’t show anything on his face, but deep down, he firmly memorized Lin Ke’s name, worried that he might be deceiving his naive student, and planned to investigate his background immediately.
Luo Shizhen didn’t notice the slight change in his teacher’s tone; his eyes were solely fixed on the table full of food:
“Lin Ke is timid, and he doesn’t know how to use his abilities. I’m afraid something might happen to him.”
Luo Shizhen wasn’t worried about Chu Xiao and Big Brother. They had fought side-by-side for so long, and everyone had some understanding of each other’s strength.
Lin Ke was different. He was too weak, and he was afraid of this and that, even scared to watch horror movies. Along the way, Luo Shizhen had been the one looking out for him. Now suddenly letting go, he really wasn’t used to it.
Chen He’an’s expression remained unchanged: “Is that so? Seeing that he’s a grown man but still so timid, could it be influenced by his family situation? I’ve heard that a person’s personality is mostly related to their family’s upbringing.”
Luo Shizhen had no suspicions and shook his head:
“I don’t think so. Lin Ke’s mom and dad are quite bold. After Lin Ke found out there were Anomalies inside horror movies, he even specifically informed his family to absolutely not watch horror movies.”
Chen He’an smiled and continued picking out fish bones.
“He sounds like a very interesting person.”
He understood Luo Shizhen’s personality very well. This child was friendly to everyone, but after interacting for a long time, one would find that he was actually quite aloof and rarely took the initiative to understand others.
Even with Chu Xiao, who grew up with him, he had previously been perfectly fine with the two of them separating to join different Guardian teams after graduation.
Yet, this child had only known Lin Ke for a short few months, and he even knew what kind of personalities his parents had.
Chen He’an was also responsible for guarding the cafeteria today. Along with him were three other teams.
What everyone said was that the cafeteria was the base camp and definitely needed people to guard it.
But everyone knew clearly that leaving a third of their combat power at the cafeteria was primarily to protect Luo Shizhen.
It wasn’t just because Luo Shizhen was the key to breaking this Anomaly domain.
Purifiers were the most precious.
Losing a Guardian meant they were just lost.
But the cost of losing a Purifier was too heavy.
If it came down to a battle where someone had to be sacrificed at the end of this Anomaly domain, everyone would shield Luo Shizhen in front.
Even if they all died, they had to protect Luo Shizhen. This was the tacit agreement among all the Guardians.
The Guardian teams stationed at the cafeteria weren’t idle either. Estimating that this would be a protracted war, they directly dismantled some useless structures to clean up and build some makeshift houses.
Luo Shizhen very diligently stepped forward to help.
Back in his hometown, he had also helped out when others built houses. Who asked him to grow up strong and sturdy? When he was a teenager, he was already stronger than an adult. He could single-handedly carry building materials that others had to transport multiple times.
Chen He’an was also helping. He usually didn’t look like the robust type, but when he rolled up his sleeves, there were obvious muscle curves on his arms.
A group of strong Guardians, each with their own abilities, practically managed to build the houses by seventy to eighty percent in just one morning.
These three teams were very quiet. It was unknown if they were naturally this quiet, or if they became silent upon seeing a Purifier mixing among them and hauling bricks together.
It was just that every time they passed by Luo Shizhen, they subconsciously reached out, wanting to help him carry things, but Luo Shizhen obliviously dodged them all.
Luo Shizhen wasn’t silent at all.
He noticed that his teacher seemed to have a good impression of Lin Ke, so while working, he babbled on and on about what Lin Ke was like and what he and Lin Ke had done.
“Lin Ke is really smart. No one can recognize the makeup he does… No, wait, Teacher Hua recognized it.”
Chen He’an raised an eyebrow: “Hua Yi?”
“Yes, when we were doing the Zou Tangzheng mission before, Teacher Hua happened to be there too, and then we…”
Chen He’an worked with his hands, smiling as he listened to Luo Shizhen’s recounting.
From what he knew, Hua Yi wasn’t the type to take the initiative to approach someone.
“Lin Ke knows a lot of things. He shared a bunch of interesting videos with me. There was one video that went like this…”
“Lin Ke is especially amazing. He opened his own store, works as a manager, and is his own boss…”
In the afternoon, Lin Ke returned with 【Wave】.
His entire person looked like a dead dog.
Bent over, hunched back, eyes lifeless, and coupled with his Anomaly appearance, he looked more like a female ghost than an actual female ghost.
Ah…
A low, agonizing moan escaped Lin Ke’s throat, as if he was about to float away as a resentful ghost the very next second.
No wonder the Guardians’ salary was so high. How was this training? This was simply risking one’s life!
No wonder, no wonder Team One was always training whether they had anything to do or not. Those heavy and exhausting training sessions in his eyes were actually just casual warm-ups for Team One.
Real training could actually train someone to death.
“Lin Ke, you’re back?!”
Seeing Lin Ke, Luo Shizhen hurriedly trotted over to meet him, supporting him, wiping his sweat, and fanning him.
“You’re sweating so much, are you hurt?”
Lin Ke was so moved he was about to cry: “Shizhen, you’re the best. You have no idea, I was practically dead tired today. I’ve never been this exhausted even when I was working part-time. I…”
As he was talking, he suddenly shut his mouth, held his breath, and watched Wen Shu walk past him with his team members.
Wen Shu still carried the lingering aura of battle. He condescendingly swept a glance over Lin Ke.
This guy was so weak it made people’s hair stand on end. Just a little bit of training, and he immediately started tearing up. He didn’t look like an Awakener at all.
Being weak was one thing, but he was also a coward.
Lin Ke was practically writing the words “I’m afraid of him” on his face.
Luo Shizhen was still supporting Lin Ke.
At the time, he hadn’t seen it; if he had, he probably would have been disgusted by Lin Ke too.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Luo Shizhen’s anxious and comforting voice:
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, it’s okay. I used to be like this too. You’ll get used to it after practicing. Once you practice more in the future, all this will just be a piece of cake.”
Wen Shu: ?
He wasn’t disgusted by this?
He was practically pulling Lin Ke into his embrace.
Luo Shizhen, of course, wouldn’t despise Lin Ke.
Lin Ke was suffering so much right now; this was exactly when he needed comforting.
Lin Ke wasn’t like Chu Xiao and Big Brother.
They were very strong and never needed people to worry about them.
But Lin Ke was different. He was timid and physically weak. He was always hiding behind Luo Shizhen, getting startled easily, and even crying from fear. Luo Shizhen felt obligated to take responsibility for him.
Lin Ke sobbed and wailed for a while before finally recovering his breath. He already had an Anomaly appearance, which looked exceptionally wretched. Today, having sweat all over and his clothes torn to shreds, he looked as miserable as if he had just crawled out of a dumpster.
The path to becoming stronger was truly too arduous!
Lin Ke really wanted to give up. Wouldn’t it be nice to just peacefully be a makeup artist?
But hearing Luo Shizhen’s comfort, he felt he couldn’t give up.
Luo Shizhen had accepted him into the team because he believed in him. If he gave up, wouldn’t that be a slap to Luo Shizhen’s face?
Lin Ke gritted his teeth and struggled to stand up from the ground. Luo Shizhen supported him and walked towards the rooms.
“Shizhen, you’re still the best… Hiss, it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts!”
Luo Shizhen was very experienced: “Slow down, slow down. You did a lot of intense exercise today. I’ll give you a massage later and you’ll be fine. Tonight I’ll sleep with you, so you don’t dream about training and fall out of bed.”
“Wuwuwu, okay.”
More than half of Lin Ke’s body weight leaned on Luo Shizhen. This scene was incredibly familiar.
Wen Shu’s eyelids twitched, and he looked at Chen He’an.
Chen He’an was also watching this scene.
When Lin Ke passed by, he even greeted Chen He’an.
He considered himself and Luo Shizhen’s group to be one team, so naturally, his address had to match his teammates.
With his hair a mess—half tied up, half falling down—his face a mix of tears and sweat, his clothes torn, and even a large hole in the back of his shirt, Lin Ke greeted him very naturally and politely:
“Hello, Teacher Chen.”
Chen He’an closed his eyes.
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