29: ask

The early morning sunlight dispelled the night's gloom, spilling over the campus of Donghuang Academy. Most traces of last night's fierce battle had been cleared, leaving only the damaged Energy Barrier in the Practical Combat Zone silently recounting everything that had happened.

The students of Combat Class One appeared in the cafeteria on time, immediately becoming the center of attention. Whispers and strange looks surged from all directions.

"Look! It's Combat Class One!"

"Is that Wang Pang? He got so big last night that only his underwear was left, and yet the underwear didn't tear!"

"Senior Zhai Yingying is so cool, she can actually fly!"

"Headshot Bro looks so ordinary, he doesn't seem that scary at all..."

"He's not called Headshot Bro anymore, he's called Defense-Breaker Bro!"

Facing these gazes, the members of Class One reacted differently. The Little Sprite on Lu Guangming's shoulder seemed unaccustomed to being watched by so many people; it shrank nervously into his collar, only showing a pair of big eyes to warily observe the surroundings.

Wang Pang puffed out his chest, trying his best to look composed, but the corners of his mouth were almost grinning from ear to ear. He sat down with a tray piled high like a mountain and said in an excited, low voice, "Did you hear that? They're all talking about us!" He tried to secretly slip a small cookie to the Little Sprite, but the little fellow disdainfully pushed it away with its wings.

"Is that all you've got going for you?" Zhai Yingying sipped her porridge elegantly, but her slightly raised eyebrows also revealed her good mood. "Still, it is quite nice." Noticing the Little Sprite's nervousness, she condensed a trace of gentle spirit waves at her fingertips to soothe it, and the Little Sprite blinked at her gratefully.

"Nice?" Shi Lie snorted, the temperature in his palm rising unconsciously, nearly melting his spoon. "Two pieces of trash went down before even warming up." The heat he emitted made the Little Sprite move uncomfortably to Lu Guangming's other shoulder. Lin Yuqing took a small bite of her bun and added softly, "It's just that cleaning up the field was a bit of a hassle... They actually made us clean up; aren't there any support classes?"

"Too tired." Lu Guangming lay listlessly on the table, his dark circles prominent. "I didn't sleep well last night. I kept feeling an itch on my back. It's terrifying to think about being sniped from behind; it's all because of that Blood Eye guy..." The Little Sprite gently patted the back of his neck with its wings, as if helping him check for that non-existent "mosquito bite."

Just then, a discordant voice came from nearby: "Yo, aren't these our 'heroes'? I heard there was quite a commotion last night."

Everyone turned their heads to see a troublemaker from Class Two approaching with a few lackeys, his face twisted. "So you drove off a few petty thieves, look how exhausted you are. I heard the whole class was beaten black and blue, huh? If you ask me, it must have been an exhibition match deliberately arranged by the academy to give Class One a back door. I'm so jealous; why didn't Class Two get such preferential treatment?"

His lackeys immediately chimed in, "Exactly, what are you looking so proud for? What's the big deal about bullying a few kittens here?"

The atmosphere of Class One instantly turned cold. The spoon in Shi Lie's hand began to turn red and soften, and Wang Pang stood up abruptly, his frame seeming to expand by a size. The Little Sprite on Lu Guangming's shoulder was startled by the sudden hostility and zipped into Lu Guangming's jacket pocket with a "shoo," leaving only a glowing crack to peek through.

Just as the conflict was about to break out, a cool female voice rang out: "Zhang Yunyun, shut up."

"Hahaha, Zhang Yunyun, I'm so scared!" Wang Pang clutched his chest with both hands, putting on a terrified act.

The troublemaker Zhang Yunyun's face turned black, and his Soul seemed to drift out. He instantly slumped to the ground.

Class Two's monitor, Su Wan, walked over quickly, dragged Zhang Yunyun away, and nodded apologetically to Chen Long and the others. "Sorry, he took the wrong medicine this morning." Her gaze inadvertently swept over Lu Guangming's slightly glowing, moving pocket, and the corner of her mouth twitched imperceptibly.

The troublemaker seemed very afraid of Su Wan, muttering, "Monitor, I told you not to call me by my old name..."

Su Wan turned to Chen Long, her tone serious. "About last night, you guys were amazing. Our reaction was too slow."

Chen Long responded calmly, "It was only right."

After Su Wan left, Wang Pang wiped away a tear, laughing until he was out of breath. Sensing the danger had passed, the Little Sprite cautiously flew out of the pocket and landed on Lu Guangming's shoulder, patting its little chest with lingering fear.

"That guy might have a mental illness, how pitiful." Zhai Yingying elegantly wiped her mouth. "Su Wan, on the other hand, is quite sensible."

Just then, Chen Long's phone vibrated. It was a message from Dean Li, asking him and Lu Guangming to go to the conference room after breakfast.

"Someone from GARRAP is here," Chen Long said succinctly, putting down his phone.

The cafeteria fell silent for a moment.

"So soon?" Wang Pang blinked.

"It's just an inquiry, just tell the truth." Chen Long stood up. "The rest of you, train as usual this morning. Don't slack off."

An hour later, Chen Long and Lu Guangming arrived at the designated conference room. A middle-aged man codenamed "Iron Curtain" and his deputy were already waiting there. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Inside the interrogation room, Iron Curtain looked at the calm Chen Long and tapped his fingers on the report on the desk. "'Domain Armament'? According to our records, your Aura Control belongs to the Willpower System, leaning towards perception and fine manipulation. This kind of group-strengthening ability exceeds conventional understanding."

Chen Long sat upright, his tone neither humble nor arrogant. "Reporting, sir, Superpowers themselves are constantly evolving and developing. 'Domain Armament' is an application based on my understanding of the essence of Aura, where I briefly resonate my own Willpower with my companions' Aura to stimulate their potential. It is not something Created from Nothing, but a deep excavation of existing abilities."

Iron Curtain stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly judging the truth of these words, before finally nodding and recording something in the file. "Your performance has already caught the attention of the higher-ups. But the Guixu Cult is like a cancer; their madness is beyond imagination. Recently, all personnel must increase their vigilance."

The inquiry of Lu Guangming, however, seemed... a bit off-track. The Little Sprite seemed somewhat afraid of the serious Iron Curtain, hiding behind Lu Guangming's hair the whole time, only showing half a head and a pair of big eyes.

"Classmate Lu Guangming, according to the records, you took a full-force strike from the cultist codenamed 'Blood Eye' and remained completely unharmed?" Iron Curtain's question went straight to the core.

Lu Guangming scratched his head with an innocent look. This movement nearly made the Little Sprite fall; it quickly grabbed a lock of his hair. "Uh, sorry, maybe it's because I didn't notice his attack. Otherwise, I could have been injured. Actually, I'm not entirely unhurt; it's still a bit itchy. Could you please check if a bump has formed?" He even tried to lift his shirt to show Iron Curtain the "mosquito bite." The Little Sprite also curiously poked its head out, staring at the spot he was pointing to.

Iron Curtain: "...Be serious." He noticed the Little Sprite, his gaze lingering on it for a moment.

The deputy standing behind Iron Curtain couldn't help but look away, his shoulders twitching slightly.

"Alright, actually I did notice his attack. I used all my strength to counter that bullet, so I wasn't hurt." Lu Guangming looked serious. The Little Sprite on top of his head also nodded, as if testifying for him.

"Hey, you didn't notice it at all, okay? You didn't even know what was attacking you." Iron Curtain looked at the Little Sprite and pointed at it. "This thing has been following you for so long, do you know what it is?"

"Oh," Lu Guangming pointed at Iron Curtain and asked the Little Sprite, "He's asking what your name is." The Little Sprite looked at him, then at Iron Curtain, and then also pointed its little finger at Iron Curtain, mimicking him perfectly.

"Ugh... Birds of a feather really do flock together."

"Yeah, she can glow, and so can I." Lu Guangming shifted his sitting position, and the Little Sprite adjusted its position accordingly.

"Do you know?" Iron Curtain nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Little Sprite again. "They are natives of the Otherworld. The Otherworld must have been invaded by some force to become so violent. But there are some special existences that have learned to calm the violent energy; they are very effective at suppressing violent beasts." Hearing this, the Little Sprite seemed somewhat uneasy; it flew down to land in Lu Guangming's palm, emitting a faint glow.

"So that's how it is. Has the Otherworld been completely overrun by some force? Is it continuing to attack us now?" Lu Guangming was rarely worried.

"We are still exploring and researching these things. Creatures like this little squirt are very rare; this might be the key to our counterattack on the Otherworld. The reason we are comfortable letting it follow you is because you are strong enough."

Finally, Iron Curtain ended the inquiry and let them leave. He watched Lu Guangming's swaying back as he walked out of the conference room, as well as the Little Sprite that had become active again on his shoulder, curiously looking around. He silently wrote in the evaluation report: "Extremely high potential, abilities questionable, personality... to be observed. Special light-based life form from the Otherworld, timid with low intelligence, requires continuous monitoring."

Outside, Lu Guangming stretched. Sunlight spilled over him. "Finally over. Monitor, head back for a nap?" The Little Sprite mimicked him, stretching its wings and limbs, letting out a faint "ding-ling" that sounded like a yawn.

Chen Long looked at him and shook his head helplessly, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes. He knew better than anyone that this classmate of his was hiding secrets, and he chose to respect and protect them. The existence of that Little Sprite was perhaps part of the secret.

"Let's go." Chen Long nodded. "But don't even think about skipping this afternoon's training."

"I know—" Lu Guangming drawled lazily as he followed.