Today was Monday.
After chatting with Li Tianming, the morning classes were already halfway through.
Since he had nothing else to do, Qin Siyang decided to go to the classroom and listen to the lecture.
The atmosphere in the classroom was completely different now.
Whether it was the teacher on the podium or the students sitting below, everyone was on edge when they saw Qin Siyang.
A wolf among sheep.
Everyone knew that Li Jingwen and Zhou Yang didn't get along with Qin Siyang.
They had also heard about Li Jingwen's entire family being wiped out, her own disappearance, and Zhou Yang's entire family being killed.
The culprit had yet to be caught.
In their eyes, someone capable of committing such a shocking crime and getting away unscathed must be a Sequence Ability user.
And the only Sequence Ability user they knew was Qin Siyang.
Adding to that, Qin Siyang always had two guns holstered at his waist, which made people even more terrified.
So even though there was no evidence, they still connected these events to Qin Siyang.
The homeroom teacher, who had once been hit by Qin Siyang with a lunchbox, was even more afraid. He worried that Qin Siyang might unleash three years of accumulated resentment and wipe out his entire family, so he directly took long-term sick leave.
It was likely that before Qin Siyang graduated, he wouldn't see his homeroom teacher again.
However, while teachers could take leave, students still had to attend school.
If they skipped class without reason, it would be recorded as a demerit. If that happened too often, they wouldn't be able to get their high school diploma. Finding a job in the already opportunity-scarce outer edges of the Safe Zone would become even harder.
They just hoped Qin Siyang would stay away from the class as much as possible.
Whenever anyone saw Qin Siyang, it was as if they were staring at Death itself, their whole body trembling in fear.
Even the teacher giving the lecture stuttered over his words.
Qin Siyang sat in the classroom for half the morning, zoning out and resting his mind.
At noon, he went to the cafeteria. The staff at the food counter had changed—it was no longer Aunt Zhang.
He noticed that Aunt Zhang was now wearing a schoolteacher's uniform and sitting in the cafeteria, eating.
After getting his food, he wanted to go over and chat with Aunt Zhang for a bit, but in her smile, he faintly detected a trace of fear.
He saw it clearly and felt slightly helpless.
It seemed he no longer fit in with this school.
This feeling was hard to put into words.
Qin Siyang didn't disturb Aunt Zhang any further. He took his food and went to the library to chat with Wen Shu.
In the entire school, only Li Tianming and Wen Shu still talked to him normally.
Li Tianming was currently caught up in a mess of emotions, and Qin Siyang didn't want to bother him too much.
So that left Wen Shu.
As usual, Wen Shu was in the library doing practice problems. When she saw Qin Siyang carrying his food over, she looked a bit displeased, "Others are studying while you're eating. That kind of behavior makes people think poorly of you."
"Oh, it's fine. I have low standards."
Wen Shu rolled her eyes at him and continued working on her problems.
Qin Siyang took big bites of his food.
Even though they weren't talking much, just knowing that she was there made his mood naturally better.
After finishing his meal and tidying up the scattered books, Qin Siyang asked, "How's your studying going?"
"Not sure."
"What do you mean 'not sure'?"
"Just not sure. Our school's test papers don't provide any reference points, so I have no idea where I stand."
It took Qin Siyang a moment to understand.
No reference points probably meant her scores were so high that the school simply had no one to compare them against, so she had no clue where she ranked in the entire Safe Zone.
"A lonely master without an opponent?"
"Far from it. I'll probably have a rough idea after the Eight State Joint Exam next month."
"You'll be fine for sure."
Wen Shu shook her head.
"I've heard too many comforting words like that."
After a while, she added, "By the way, about finding me a place to stay—you don't have to take it too seriously. We both come from the outer edges of the Safe Zone. As long as we make steady progress, every effort counts. You don't have to try and fix everything at once."
"What made you suddenly bring this up?"
"You don't look too well, so I figured you must be troubled. I don't want my issues to be weighing on your mind."
"Oh. Alright."
Qin Siyang didn't have the heart to tell her that his bad mood had nothing to do with her.
He had been caught up in so many things lately that he had even forgotten he had promised to help her find a place to stay.
But her thoughtfulness still made him smile a little.
"Don't worry. I'll do what I can."
"Mm."
In the afternoon, he went back to the classroom.
But the classroom was nearly empty—half the students had taken sick leave and gone home.
'Am I really that scary?', Qin Siyang smirked and continued sitting in his corner, zoning out.
As school was about to end, he received a call from Florence.
["Hello, Mr. Qin, our car has arrived at your school entrance."]
"You came all the way from the 7th District that fast?"
["No, to save time, we had a vehicle sent from the 10th State to pick you up."]
"Why not send one from our 14th State? Wouldn't that be faster?"
["The 14th State's cars are too shabby—not suitable for hosting a distinguished guest like you."]
"…Alright then."
After letting Li Tianming know and sending a message to Qian Wenzhao, Qin Siyang left the school.
The moment he stepped out, he saw a large city SUV.
A man got out from the passenger seat, smiling brightly.
Qin Siyang recognized him immediately. It was one of the people who had attended the state government meeting and accused him of cheating.
Back then, this guy had been arrogant. Now, he was all friendly.
"Mr. Qin, hello. I'm Laudenor. The professor sent me to pick you up."
"Your professor?"
"Professor Florence."
"Alright. Thanks."
Laudenor opened the car door. Qin Siyang got into the back seat and noticed the seat next to him was piled with food.
Instant noodles, biscuits, marinated meat jerky—various neatly packaged instant foods.
Qin Siyang picked up a pack and examined it. He had never seen any of these brands in the outer edges of the Safe Zone, meaning they were probably expensive.
Laudenor chuckled, "Sorry for the wait, Mr. Qin. The journey is long, so after getting the car, we stopped to buy some food, which took some time."
"No worries, thanks. By the way, has Florence arrived at the 7th District yet?"
"No. The professor just left the 14th State's government office not long ago. He's still on the way."
"He just left the government office?"
"Yes. He went to the state's Sequence Ability Management Bureau to handle some paperwork. He borrowed the Doom Fate Octopus armor plate you turned in, using research as a reason. The whole process took almost half a day."
"No wonder."
"If you're tired, you can rest. I'll wake you when we're close."
"Alright."
Qin Siyang ate a biscuit and closed his eyes to sleep.
The journey was long.
He woke up several times, but the car was still moving.
However, the scenery outside the window gradually changed.
The rundown landscapes of the Safe Zone's outer edges disappeared.
The roads became wider and brighter.
The buildings became cleaner and more upscale.
When they stopped to refuel, Qin Siyang noticed thick anti-air glass walls separating different areas. He wasn't sure what they were for.
To save time, they barely stopped—only washing up at motels or resting briefly by the roadside before continuing.
The journey took over three days. The two drivers took turns, each driving ten hours a day.
If the roads weren't so empty, Qin Siyang would have worried about them crashing from exhaustion.
He had no idea how Florence had gotten to the 14th State's government office in half a day. Probably had business nearby?
'Sitting in a car for this long… isn't he exhausted?'
Qin Siyang was annoyed.
This whole trip had been pure suffering.
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