Chapter 8
This time going to the school, the driver changed to someone else.
“I am the school driver, Old Zhang. Everyone calls me Old Zhang.”
Old Zhang had a square face, was about forty years old, wore a formal suit, and professionally wore a pair of white gloves.
He said to Luo Shizhen with a smile:
“Whenever you want to leave school to buy things, go on missions, or visit home, you can call me to pick you up.”
“In short, leaving school? Call me.”
Luo Shizhen hadn’t expected the school to have such a service. He felt flattered.
“Thank you, Uncle Zhang.”
Old Zhang: “Haha, you are the first student to call me Uncle Zhang. Those little cubs in the school wish they could turn the sky upside down. Making them bow their heads and call me Uncle is like asking for their lives.”
Luo Shizhen had been lectured by Chu Xiao about the domineering nature of Awakeners. Now hearing Old Zhang say this…
The image of the Awakener School in his mind had become a zoo of wild boars wearing grass skirts, swinging on vines, screaming “Awoo awoo,” and ramming into anyone they saw.
But the benefits were simply too good. Not only did they give money, but the school also provided accommodation supplies. He had even received a brand-new phone, computer, and tablet.
Moreover, the twenty thousand yuan monthly stipend for new students had already promptly arrived in his account.
The moment the money arrived, the poor student Luo Shizhen immediately accepted the fact that he was about to attend Awakener School and expressed with extreme excitement that he would bravely fight Anomalies and be a good student.
In his view, this wasn’t a school anymore; it was a workplace.
It didn’t matter if his classmates were wild boars. At worst, he would climb a tree to hide.
This was twenty thousand yuan!
His grandmother couldn’t save twenty thousand yuan even after a year of hard work!
Luo Shizhen’s only regret was that his grandmother had passed away. Otherwise, seeing him earn twenty thousand a month, she would have been happy for a long time.
Before she passed, she had always worried Luo Shizhen was too stupid to earn money. When he didn’t get into college, she insisted he repeat the year, afraid he would suffer in society without a degree.
And now, he could earn twenty thousand!
Twenty thousand a month. Food and lodging at school were free. He would spend at most five hundred on miscellaneous fees. Then in a year…
Luo Shizhen tried hard to calculate mentally. Being a high school senior, he could still do math: That was two hundred thirty-four thousand yuan!
Growing up, he had never seen so much money!
Forget classmates being wild boars; even if they were wild boars in heat, he could tolerate it!
Chen He’an smiled watching Luo Shizhen, who had written the word “HAPPINESS” all over his face since getting in the car, and showed him the test results.
“Congratulations, Shizhen. Currently, it looks like you are Sequence 03—Energy User.”
“The higher the Awakener Sequence rank, the more powerful. Your ability is a very high-ranking sequence.”
Hearing Mr. Chen praise him, Luo Shizhen became even happier instantly. “Will I be very powerful too?”
Chen He’an said gently, “We can only rank your Sequence ability based on the Qi content and the manifested form.”
“Normally, most Awakeners can sense their ability name and usage method in their minds after awakening and using their ability. You might have just awakened, so you still need some time.”
Luo Shizhen looked down at his hands, a bit excited.
“Energy User… sounds like a very powerful ability. I’m actually this amazing! Can I fight zombies too?”
He couldn’t wait to work.
With a monthly salary of twenty thousand, he had to fight at least a hundred zombies, right?
Luo Shizhen looked back at Chu Xiao cheerfully. “Chu Xiao, once I learn well, let’s fight zombies together!”
Sitting in the back, Chu Xiao’s expression softened. “Mn.”
Chen He’an paused.
Purification ability—it could be called the rarest ability. It was also the only one among Energy Users that could thoroughly clear pollution.
There were only thirteen Awakeners with Purification abilities in the whole country.
This was also the reason Luo Shizhen skipped all processes and enrolled directly as soon as he was detected.
Like Chu Xiao and Qin Yinian, they had been observed for a period before barely meeting the enrollment conditions.
Luo Shizhen enrolled so quickly because if they didn’t secure his student status soon, awakening centers in other cities would definitely come to snatch him if they knew a Purifier had appeared here.
But, while Purification was precious and important, it had to be said: it was a Support class, and a Support class that must follow a team into battle.
Most critically, all Energy Users had a trait: they were abnormally sensitive to Qi.
That meant the more powerful the Awakener, the easier it was for Purifiers to feel the oppressive aura from them, generating instinctive fear.
Fear affected ability usage. There had been incidents where Purifiers followed teams to fight Anomalies, but were too terrified by the Qi pressure to use their abilities.
And for the young Awakeners—who were strong themselves, instinctively admired strength, and acted like they owned the world—asking them to suppress their nature and coax a Purifier to like them was impossible.
If you told them, “A Purifier can lower your pollution and stop you from dying of pollution,” they would only reply, “If I die, I die. Who doesn’t die?”
At an age of adolescent delusions, receiving delusional abilities, ending up super delusional was logical and reasonable.
Another important point: young Awakeners were too immature. They lacked combat experience and strength, unable to protect Purifiers well.
Only older, powerful Awakeners who had experienced true life and death understood how important Purifiers were.
But when Purifiers first awakened, their perception was usually more sensitive, unable to withstand the Qi of powerful older Awakeners or fight alongside them.
Therefore, all previous Purifiers completed their studies at the Awakener School with peers. After graduation, they would choose a mature Guardian team where all members could control themselves to join, becoming the core of the team.
Meaning, barring accidents, Luo Shizhen couldn’t be on the same team as Chu Xiao after graduation.
Unless Chu Xiao could show stronger talent and power to leapfrog into the team Luo Shizhen joined.
Chen He’an didn’t say this news directly. As the three enrolled, they would slowly learn.
He only encouraged Luo Shizhen:
“Then you have to train hard. Awakeners fighting Anomalies don’t rely only on abilities; stamina is very important too.”
Stamina?! He knew this!
Luo Shizhen instantly felt confident. He patted his chest confidently:
“Teacher, don’t worry. I’m very strong!”
Chen He’an looked at the happy Luo Shizhen, thinking, With such a good personality, he should integrate quickly no matter which team he enters, right?
He thought for a moment, checked the time on his watch, and said gently, “You still aren’t clear about the specific situation of Anomalies and Awakeners, right?”
“Okay, Mr. Chen, I will listen carefully.”
Luo Shizhen sat obediently, assuming the posture of listening seriously in class.
Under his gaze thirsting for knowledge, Chen He’an took out… a tablet, tapped a few times, and handed it to Luo Shizhen.
Luo Shizhen looked down. It was the TV News Channel.
He was too familiar with this news page. When his grandmother was alive, she watched it every night.
In the video, the familiar anchor still had a dignified, steady image, broadcasting with concise, serious words and perfect enunciation.
“Recently, a series of unnatural phenomena have appeared in many places around the world. These phenomena involve multiple fields and have aroused widespread concern…”
Luo Shizhen was instantly attracted. He instinctively sat up straighter, as if he were still at home watching news with his grandmother.
The news content mainly defined these unnatural phenomena as “Anomalies.” Anomalies were varied—supernatural, difficult to explain, things beyond common sense and science.
Most of them held malice toward humans, a small portion did not. But for safety’s sake, it was recommended that no matter which Anomaly was encountered, one should not approach and should immediately call XXXX. The relevant departments would arrive immediately to handle it.
This news had obviously been prepared for more than a day or two. The footage was diverse. after the anchor simply explained, they began to play some video clips containing Anomalies to help everyone recognize what situations were Anomalies.
The first video showed a human-looking man whose body was elongated, looking at least three meters tall, thin as a stick, walking unsteadily in the dim night of early morning.
The person filming asked in a trembling whisper if the other was playing a prank. The swaying figure stopped. In the next second, it began to sprint wildly toward the camera. Accompanied by a scream, the screen went black.
The anchor appeared with a serious face, warning everyone that if they encountered Anomaly phenomena, do not approach to ask. First, pretend not to see it, then immediately call the relevant department.
The second video was in the Fusang language. The camera shook similarly, focused on a pale-faced girl.
The news thoughtfully provided subtitles, so not knowing the language didn’t affect viewing.
Someone asked in Fusang, “What are you doing here? This is the men’s restroom.”
The girl only asked, “Do you want red toilet paper, or blue toilet paper?”
The person filming might have gotten scared. He stood up hesitantly and turned to leave. Just as he turned, he recoiled in shock. The girl who was just behind him had appeared in front of him again.
“Do you want red toilet paper, or blue toilet paper?”
The girl suddenly appearing—this scene, just like a ghost movie, startled Luo Shizhen.
He was so scared that instinctively, he punched the tablet.
—Bang! A hole was punched through the tablet, and the screen went black immediately.
Luo Shizhen froze for a second before realizing he had forgotten to reduce his strength again.
Disaster!
He looked as if the sky had fallen, looking timidly at Chen He’an for a reaction.
“Teacher, Teacher, I’ll pay for it…”
Luo Shizhen was afraid Mr. Chen would be angry, and also felt incredible heartache.
Boohoo, the twenty thousand just issued. This tablet looked very expensive.
At this moment, he completely forgot about the red and blue toilet paper. The instinct of fearing ghosts was completely suppressed by the identity of being poor.
Chen He’an, however, didn’t look surprised at all. As a teacher for a bunch of Awakeners, small things like smashing a tablet didn’t cause any emotional fluctuation in him anymore.
Like magic, he pulled out another tablet and handed it to the panic-stricken Luo Shizhen, soothing him gently:
“It’s okay, no need to compensate. These are normal wear and tear; the school will reimburse it. Do you still want to watch?”
Luo Shizhen was still uneasy and wanted to pay. Only after confirming repeatedly that he really didn’t need to pay did he succumb to the temptation of the TV news and took the tablet to watch.
The red and blue toilet paper scene had passed. The anchor was introducing that some local ghost and deity cultures would also facilitate certain Anomalies, but basically, what appeared were evil ghosts and evil gods…
The following videos were also varied. There wasn’t much bloody content; even if there was, it was pixelated. But being broadcast by the most authoritative TV channel, the impact was still huge.
After each video ended, the anchor would introduce the category of this Anomaly and how to respond or avoid it.
Luo Shizhen’s eyes widened slightly, his expression becoming more serious the more he watched.
Chu Xiao was a bit resigned. Luo Shizhen was just like this.
Before, he told Luo Shizhen the world had changed. Chen He’an even took him for testing, he saw Spirit Essences and Wood Spirits, and even fought a zombie. But he bet Luo Shizhen hadn’t realized the importance of this matter at all.
It had to be like this—broadcast by an authoritative news channel like TV News in his eyes—for Luo Shizhen to understand that things were truly this serious.
Qin Yinian clicked his tongue in the back, seemingly talking to himself:
“They announced it after all. I thought they’d drag it out for a while. But in this news, a lot of information is hidden.”
“True, if they really said everything, it would definitely cause panic.”
After speaking, he glanced at Luo Shizhen seemingly carelessly, waiting for Luo Shizhen to ask him for “insider information.”
As a result, Luo Shizhen didn’t notice him speaking at all. He was still watching the news with rapt attention, all his focus attracted by the news on the tablet.
Qin Yinian waited a long time but Luo Shizhen didn’t ask him. After all, he had just been rejected for “friendship” not long ago.
He couldn’t lower his pride to initiate conversation again, so he could only shut his mouth unwillingly.
Qin Yinian was a bit resentful. This kid Luo Shizhen looked dull and easy to trick, like a cream puff—looking soft and easy to bite.
But once you really bit down, you found he lived up to his name—hard as a stone, with nowhere to sink your teeth.
Thinking about it, Qin Yinian paused. Why did he have to gnaw on this hard stone Luo Shizhen?
He, Young Master Qin, had been pursued by people wherever he went since childhood. Did he lack this one friend, Luo Shizhen?
Qin Yinian couldn’t think of a reason, but he soon found one for himself.
Because Luo Shizhen was a Purification Ability User!
Weren’t Purifiers very rare? An ability that could save Awakeners’ lives.
For this Purification ability, bowing his head slightly wasn’t a loss.
Besides, Chu Xiao cared so much about Luo Shizhen. If he snatched Luo Shizhen away, Chu Xiao would have a massive breakdown, right?
Moreover, they would all be teammates in the future, seeing each other constantly. Since they had to fight Anomalies together, naturally, it was best to cultivate feelings.
At this moment, Qin Yinian completely glossed over his past history of declaiming to Chen He’an, “I don’t need teammates, I am a team by myself,” and completely ignored the fact that Chu Xiao would likely be his teammate too.
Anyway, he convinced himself very quickly.
Qin Yinian switched to thinking again.
What should he do to coax Luo Shizhen into believing that he truly wanted to be friends with him?
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