Chapter 134 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Leona disappear into the distance.

He could tell that Leona was using this method to educate Nan.

She was playing the bad cop.

And the good cop... was naturally left to him.

Zhang Ye calmed the restless mana within his body, came back to his senses, and looked at Nan. “A-Nan, are you okay?”

Nan didn’t speak. He kept his head down, his gaze vacant.

Do I need comrades...?

Do I need companions...?

Or rather... do I want them?

His gaze gradually dimmed.

I want them... but a person like me... how could I be worthy of the word “companion”...?

Someone destined to die soon shouldn't ask for so much, right...?

Don’t bring trouble to others, don’t drag others down with me. I’m enough on my own...

Before his thoughts could end, a pair of large hands suddenly slapped onto his shoulders, making his entire body tremble involuntarily.

He slowly raised his head and met Zhang Ye’s gaze.

“If you don’t know what to do, then pull yourself together first.”

“Just focus on getting stronger for now.”

“Besides, Big Nana did it for our own good.”

“And I don’t think you’re the type of person who would abandon a companion,” Zhang Ye said with a smile.

Nan was slightly stunned for a moment, then slapped his hand away. “Do you think you know me that well?”

“Are you willing to let me get to know you?” Zhang Ye asked back with a grin.

Sunlight filtered down, and his warm smile shone brilliantly in that moment.

Nan found it difficult to look directly at him and turned his head away. “What... whatever you want!”

Hearing this, Zhang Ye burst into a hearty laugh and couldn't help but reach out to ruffle Nan’s hair.

Nan’s heart skipped a beat, and his hand gripped his blade tightly, yet he never drew it.

“Don’t touch my head!” Nan glared at Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye grinned. “That’s more like it. Whether you’re laughing or angry, it looks much better than your usual expressionless face. Tsk tsk... why are you so handsome? I’m starting to get jealous.”

Nan’s face flushed red upon hearing this. “You... you’re crazy!”

With that, he batted away Zhang Ye’s hand and walked straight toward the dormitory.

Zhang Ye waved to Lina and the others, then quickly caught up to Nan’s side.

“What do you want for lunch?”

“...”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Whatever.”

“That won’t do. Eating is one of life’s major events; you can’t just say ‘whatever.’”

“Thunderbolt Chicken Soup.”

“What the heck is that?” Zhang Ye was utterly bewildered.

Nan looked at Zhang Ye. “Thunderbolt Chicken Soup. Can you make it?”

Looking into Nan’s eyes, Zhang Ye smiled. “Tell me what it’s like. How do you make it?”

“I don’t know.” Nan turned his head back. “I only know it’s made from Thunderbolt Chicken. It’s very delicious and tingles your mouth.”

Zhang Ye thought about it for a moment. “I see. I’ll give it a try!”

“Mm...” Nan hummed softly, a hint of anticipation actually flickering in his eyes.

Following behind them, everyone looked at each other and smiled.

Clearly, even Nan had sincerely felt the warmth radiating from Zhang Ye.

Ye is truly a very warm person.

Back at the dormitory, Zhang Ye frowned as he looked at the ingredients in the refrigerator.

There was no such thing as Thunderbolt Chicken.

Zhang Ye thought for a moment and opened his badge to check the point exchange list, wanting to see if there was any Thunderbolt Chicken available for exchange.

His Permission Level had already been upgraded from Three-star to Five-star, and his status as an Intermediate Researcher would be approved in a few days. Therefore, he could now make exchanges directly through the badge and have them delivered to his door, without needing to specifically go to the exchange office.

After searching around, he found no option to exchange for Thunderbolt Chicken, but there were magic cores from Thunderbolt Chickens.

Upon seeing them, Zhang Ye gulped.

With such an unremarkable name like Thunderbolt Chicken, Zhang Ye had thought it was some ordinary magical beast. But looking at the details, they were at least Tier Eight existences, and a single magic core cost over ten thousand points!

Nevertheless, Zhang Ye directly ordered three magic cores to be sent to Villa 233.

So, where was he supposed to find the Thunderbolt Chicken itself?

Zhang Ye thought about it and finally fixed his gaze on the canteen.

The canteen was where Treasure Meals were prepared, so there were bound to be many ingredients there. He might be able to find one if he tried his luck.

“You guys chat for a bit. I’m heading out. Someone will be coming to deliver magic cores later, so help me receive them,” Zhang Ye said.

“Okay,” Lina nodded.

Nan suddenly asked, “Where are you going?”

“To find the ingredients for the Thunderbolt Chicken Soup,” Zhang Ye said with a smile as he walked out of the dormitory.

Watching his departing figure, Nan suddenly felt a warmth in his heart.

He shook his head and returned to his room.

Arriving at the canteen, Zhang Ye went straight upstairs. With his current permission, the highest he could go was the fifth floor. The higher the floor, the more expensive the Treasure Meals and ingredients would be. He might be able to find the Thunderbolt Chicken there.

He asked on the first and second floors, but there was no Thunderbolt Chicken. Zhang Ye could only keep heading up.

However, just as he was about to go to the third floor, he was stopped by three people.

“Hey, kid, you’ve taken the wrong path. This isn't a place for freshmen like you,” said the leader, a green-haired youth, looking at Zhang Ye with a somewhat rogueish expression.

The freshman uniforms were different from those of the seniors, making it very easy to identify Zhang Ye as a freshman.

Zhang Ye replied, “I didn’t take the wrong path. I’m going upstairs.”

Hearing this, the three seniors laughed as if they had heard a joke.

“Stop playing around. You need permission to go up. How many stars of permission can a freshman like you have?” The green-haired youth chuckled. He didn't show any disdain; his style was just a bit like a ruffian.

It was likely just his personal style.

He patted Zhang Ye’s shoulder and whispered, “Coming up here to see the sights is enough. Don’t go any further. They’re clearing the floor up there, and those guys have some serious tempers right now.”

“If you really want to eat the Treasure Meals from upstairs, wait until you’ve saved up enough points and ask a senior to help you bring some down. Going up now is just asking for trouble.”

“Be a good kid and go back down.”

Zhang Ye couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

He had thought this would be the typical cliché from novels where someone comes looking for a fight, but it turned out to be a somewhat rogueish but warm-hearted senior.

Indeed, he could also feel the slight fluctuations of mana from the top of the building. He had wondered about it, and it turned out someone was having a disagreement upstairs.

Analyze.

【Frank Singer: Tier Nine peak, possesses powerful fire mana fluctuations within his body.】

Frank was at the Tier Nine peak, while the two seniors behind him were at the Tier Nine late stage, the same as Nan. However, Nan was only twenty years old, while these three were all over twenty-six. Their talent couldn't compare to Nan and the others.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Thanks for the warning, but I’m just going up to find some ingredients. I won’t provoke them. Besides, my permission is sufficient.”

With that, he flashed his badge. The badge immediately projected a mana screen that displayed only a few words.

【Permission Level: Five-star.】

“Five... Five-star?!” Frank and the others were dumbfounded.

They were seniors who had been doing missions for several years, yet they had only raised their permission to two or three stars. Four stars were basically reserved for genius students or mentors. Five-star... even among the geniuses of major factions, there weren't many who had Five-star permission!

Instantly, the way Frank and the others looked at Zhang Ye changed.

“You... you aren't a relative of one of the Deans, are you?” Frank asked with his mouth agape.

Zhang Ye chuckled. “No.”

He then waved his hand. “Anyway, thanks for the warning. My name is Zhang Ye.”

“Frank,” Frank said. “These two are Mandy and Malute.”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Nice to meet you. I have things to do, so I won’t stay. See you later.”

With that, he headed upstairs.

Frank and the others looked at each other and shook their heads. “This year’s freshmen are really monstrous. Five-star permission right off the bat... Forget it, let’s go. It’s none of our business.”

They had originally stopped Zhang Ye out of good intentions, but seeing that he had such permission, they assumed his background wasn't bad and that he likely wouldn't be afraid of the people upstairs, so they just let it be.

When he reached the third floor, Zhang Ye immediately felt that the atmosphere was different.

He looked and saw two groups of people sitting on opposite sides.

The two sides were seated but were glaring at each other, looking as if they might flip the tables and start fighting at any moment. They had the side aisles completely blocked off, leaving only a single central corridor where the air itself seemed distorted.

Only a man and a woman had pulled up chairs and were sitting on opposite sides of the corridor, staring each other down without giving an inch.

These two were likely the leaders of the two factions.

He tossed out an Analyze. Every student was a senior, and all were above Tier Nine. The two leaders were both at the Tier Ten mid stage.

The man was named Albert, and the woman was Talia.

Zhang Ye knew of Talia; she was the Earth Guardian among the senior Ten Kings, as Copico had mentioned.

Since he could stand his ground against her, this Albert’s strength likely wasn't bad either.

Zhang Ye was a bit curious. Were they going to fight?

However, there were clear regulations that fighting was forbidden within the canteen, and violators would be punished.

“Talia, I’ll say it one more time. Three thousand high-grade magic crystals! Hand over the training area!” The red-haired Albert looked at the woman opposite him, his face cold. “You’ve occupied Training Area 12 for half a year already. It’s high time you handed it over!”

Talia had short brown hair and wheat-colored skin. She was handsome and had a sharp, heroic air about her.

Moreover, she was over 190 centimeters tall and looked every bit the tomboy. Her sitting posture was very masculine, with one hand resting on her knee while the other pointed at Albert as she shouted.

“I’m not handing it over! What are you going to do about it?”

“When the academy originally assigned Training Area 12 to us, weren't you full of disdain? Now you want it back?”

“Let me tell you, it’s too late!”

Albert gritted his teeth. “You’ve occupied the training area for half a year already, and you still won’t let it go?”

Talia waved her hand dismissively. “Save it. Isn't it just because a Spirit Spring appeared in the training area? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning!”

“That Training Area 12 was originally ours, so the Spirit Spring counts as ours too!” Albert said.

Talia laughed in anger. “Even if it was originally yours, the academy assigned it to us, so it’s ours now. Either you go apply for it and see if the academy gives it to you, or you pay thirty thousand high-grade magic crystals!”