Bai Feifei halted her relentless, freight-train-like charge. The longsword in her hand was still buzzing as she frowned at the uninvited guest who had suddenly materialized before her.
Even though he was covered in a dusty grey cloak, she could still see his body was covered in tattoos—even his face was completely inked!
Staring at the bizarre, multicolored tattoos covering his skin, she muttered as if to herself,
“Is it possible for a humanoid aberration to speak and maintain its own cognitive faculties?”
Xu Mo’s voice chimed in right on cue in her mind:
“It’s not entirely impossible~.”
...
Back in the temporary camp, Xie Xuan of Turing City was staring intently at the monitoring screen.
Just as the tense standoff had occurred earlier, everyone's eyes had been glued to Bai Feifei's perspective, and they had all witnessed the sudden appearance of this uninvited guest.
“Who is this guy...?”
“Is he an instructor from one of the academies? How did she run into him?”
Everyone exchanged looks, utterly bewildered, but none of the academies stepped forward to claim him.
Bang!
Suddenly, Xie Xuan slammed his hand on the table, his voice trembling with fury. “Of course! I knew it!”
“Those tattoos! He's one of theirs!”
The nearby technician jumped in fright. Before anyone could react, Xie Xuan had already shot to his feet, sending his chair scraping far back across the floor.
Xie Xuan gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with a fiery rage. “Turing City has been hunting them for so many years, and we actually ran into them here!”
With that, he lifted his leg, preparing to charge out toward the red soil region.
Liu Yun frowned. With a flash of her figure, she blocked his path.
“Mr. Xie, please calm down,” she advised gently. “The North District is dangerous, and the situation inside is highly unpredictable.”
“If your high-tech weapons malfunction in there, it could end in disaster.”
After all, Xie Xuan's personal combat strength wasn't very high.
“We also need you here. The equipment still requires your maintenance and monitoring.”
“Furthermore,” she glanced at the grey-cloaked figure on the screen, “it's a long distance. By the time you get there, it will likely be too late.”
Xie Xuan's chest heaved violently. He abruptly looked up and stared at Liu Yun with dead seriousness.
“Prophet Liu, could you do me a favor?”
“You can name any terms. I can agree to them on behalf of Dawn City—just help us take them down!”
“Dead or alive, Turing City will remember this favor and reward you handsomely.”
Liu Yun's eyes flickered, a clear look of hesitation crossing her face.
She had to oversee the entire Graduation Show and couldn't leave her post at will, let alone enter the restricted zone.
And...
Seeing her silence, Xie Xuan grew anxious.
“Prophet Liu, those people are extremely vicious by nature. They often act without any reason and are incredibly ruthless.”
“You saw it yourself—he just attacked Teacher Bai. With him in there, your students will also be in danger!”
Hearing Xie Xuan's words, Liu Yun found it hard to keep a straight face.
There was no trace of worry in her eyes; instead, a faint, inexplicable smile flickered across them.
“Vicious by nature?” She shook her head slightly. “If that's really the case, then you don't need to worry. You can just wait and see how things unfold.”
“Speaking of bad tempers... hehe, someone will probably teach them a lesson.”
Liu Yun spoke calmly, her gaze returning to the monitoring screen.
Xie Xuan: ?
What did she mean by that?
...
Out on the red wasteland.
Hearing Bai Feifei treat him like an aberration, the tattooed man's lips twitched before he let out a grin.
“Little girl, what nonsense are you spouting?” He twirled his dagger between his fingers. “Running around all by yourself in this restricted zone, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?”
Bai Feifei frowned slightly, then spoke as if suddenly realizing something, “Oh, so you're actually a human.”
The grey-cloaked man: ...
He choked on her words, the smile freezing on his face.
She was definitely provoking him... right?
“Is there something you want?” Bai Feifei asked. Her tone was calm, but her hand remained resting on her hilt as she stared at the guy who had appeared out of nowhere.
Through the vibrations of the Heart of the World, she could sense that this man's heartbeat was bizarrely slow, almost nonexistent.
The grey-cloaked man chuckled, taking two steps forward to close the distance between them.
“Who sent you to kill aberrations?” He tilted his head, a dark gleam flashing in his eyes.
“How did you know where so many aberrations were? Hunting them down one by one with such precision.”
Bai Feifei: ...
Naturally, she couldn't answer that. She chose to remain silent, feeling instinctively uncomfortable around this man.
“You've been going non-stop for so long, you must be exhausted.” The tattooed man offered a fake smile and continued, “Why don't you take a break?”
Bai Feifei still had no idea who this man was, and her mind raced with possibilities.
Maybe he was an instructor from another academy? She hadn't really paid attention to them, so it was entirely possible.
Did he find her movements suspicious and come to feel her out? She couldn't tell if he harbored malicious intent.
Thinking of Qingping Academy's current standing among the other institutions, Bai Feifei shook her head and tried to sound as polite as possible.
“I'm sorry.”
“I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving now.”
With that, she turned to leave.
But the grey-cloaked man's figure blurred again, blocking her path once more.
“Whoa, whoa, don't be in such a hurry to leave.” The man laughed in an incredibly sleazy manner, acting like a creepy old man trying to harass a young girl, persistently hovering close to her like a pest.
“Your skills don't look like those of a student. Which academy's instructor are you?”
“I heard... there's an academy in Dawn City with an instructor who doesn't allow her students to use potions this year. Bai Feifei—that wouldn't happen to be you, would it?”
The more he spoke, the more animated he became, his mouth running non-stop as he circled around her.
Bai Feifei's frown deepened.
She stopped speaking altogether, turning to walk away.
Yet again, the grey-cloaked man flashed in front of her.
But this time, just as he was about to say something more, Bai Feifei stopped in her tracks.
Then, the girl who had seemed relatively pleasant just moments ago suddenly underwent a drastic change in expression.
Her body shuddered violently, her gaze instantly turning sinister, even somewhat savage.
—Xu Mo had logged in!
Before the tattooed man could even react, Xu Mo was already in motion.
Black energy surged with the beating of the heart, granting him extreme speed as he delivered a fierce kick!
A combat-booted foot rapidly expanded in the tattooed man's vision.
He gasped in shock. His own formidable strength allowed him to retreat quickly, but he was only able to cushion some of the impact; he couldn't dodge it completely.
Bang!
“What the hell are you barking about! Why are you so damn annoying!” Xu Mo's foot slammed squarely into his face, sending the man stumbling back several steps.
The tattooed man's cloak was kicked right off. On his heavily tattooed face, a bloody footprint was now perfectly imprinted!
He looked up, staring in utter shock at the suddenly transformed “Bai Feifei.” He had clearly been kicked into a daze.
Was there... seriously no warning at all?
“What's the matter? Can you keep up with my face-change?” Xu Mo said with a grin.
Rate on N.U.
