On June 7th, Ye Feng was finally discharged from the hospital.
His injuries had been mostly superficial, but Qin Yuxin had insisted he rest for a few extra days. Seeing her earnest concern and constant persuasion, Ye Feng chose not to be overly stubborn. To be honest, these five days in the hospital had been quite boring.
Qin Yuxin visited almost every day. Although Ye Feng told her it wasn't necessary, she shut him down with a blunt, "You don't really have any family to look after you," which left Ye Feng in a state of self-imposed silence. While he didn't dwell much on being an orphan, having it pointed out so directly still stung a little.
However, in a way, it was for the best. Thanks to Qin Yuxin's presence, he had managed to temporarily push aside the trauma of the recent battle. Having a beauty like Qin Yuxin by his side to chat with from time to time was actually quite pleasant. The only downside was her brother; every time Qin Tianyi visited, he looked at Ye Feng with an expression that suggested he wanted to devour him whole.
Ye Feng understood the reason—it was because Qin Yuxin spent so much time looking after him. But he and Qin Yuxin truly didn't have "that" kind of relationship. Even though she was a stunning beauty, he "temporarily" had no such intentions... right?
Fortunately, it was now the 7th: the Global Awakening Day. Ye Feng and Qin Yuxin had promised Principal Hu they would return to their old school; after all, they had already accepted the appearance fee. Regarding this, Qin Yuxin no longer raised any objections.
After putting on the clothes that Qin Yuxin had washed for him, Ye Feng noticed the Cosmos Stone sitting on the bedside table. He hesitated for a long moment before picking it up and taking it with him. He didn't know why he felt compelled to take the Cosmos Stone again, but a feeling deep in his heart told him that he... needed it.
Upon arriving at the gates of Hangzhou No. 1 Middle School, they found Principal Hu waiting for them early in the morning; he had clearly been tracking their arrival. It was currently 8:00 AM, and the Awakening Ceremony wouldn't start until 9:00 AM, yet the school gates were already swarming with parents.
This was the nature of the "Gaokao" (College Entrance Exam). The reason there hadn't been so many people when Ye Feng took it last year was that the assessment lasted an entire day. Most parents usually rushed off to work or visited West Lake, only returning after the exams ended. However, last year's group had been unlucky—a monster had appeared, leaving all the parents stranded outside Gakuma's barrier.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ye Feng and Qin Yuxin stepped back onto the campus. Principal Hu mentioned that besides the two of them, several other former students had returned from the South China TPC Training Center to observe.
There were four TPC academies in China, divided by North, South, East, and West. Ye Feng and Qin Yuxin belonged to the North China TPC Academy, which boasted the best teaching equipment. Being backed by the Imperial Capital meant they were usually the first to receive the most advanced gear.
"Ye Feng!"
As they reached the edge of the athletic field and looked at the juniors standing in the center, a familiar voice called out before Ye Feng could even begin to feel nostalgic. He turned around to see Li Zheng. This guy had also successfully awakened; his monster was a bit awkward, though—it was Gakuma, the barrier monster that had attacked their school. Because he had awakened that specific monster card, Li Zheng had been teased by many during the exam period. Of all the monsters and aliens to awaken as, why did it have to be Gakuma? Who could he even complain to?
"You've certainly bulked up, kid. Been training hard, I see." Ye Feng walked over and patted Li Zheng's muscular arm, offering a generous compliment.
"Heh, this is all hard work. I'm not like you, Brother Feng; your physique hasn't changed much at all. Look at me—my body changed so much that my old clothes feel tight and uncomfortable. I'm still not used to it."
Li Zheng wasn't lying. While TPC training wasn't as grueling as the Defense Force, physical conditioning was mandatory to help students control monster powers. Between that and the structured nutritional meals, it was hard not to gain muscle. It wasn't fat, but solid muscle from a year of training—a true "macho man" with an eight-pack. However, becoming a powerhouse came with the price of a much wider frame; very few people could maintain their original slim build. Ye Feng, of course, was the exception.
Li Zheng glanced at Qin Yuxin, noticed she was talking to other female classmates, and hooked his arm around Ye Feng's neck, whispering, "By the way, Brother Feng, I remember you and Goddess Qin weren't that close. How did you get so tight with her?"
"Tch, Li Zheng, you're undervaluing Ye Feng. Clearly, our Brother Feng conquered her while they were at the Imperial Academy." Standing beside them was Zhou Fei, another student who had awakened successfully last year. As he spoke, his tone and expression were filled with pure envy.
Even if Qin Yuxin's personality was a bit... well, she was a bona fide beauty! Any normal male would be interested!
"Alright, stop teasing me. There's nothing going on yet, and besides, I'm not thinking about that kind of stuff right now." Ye Feng shook his head, indicating he wasn't interested. However, his eyes instinctively drifted toward Qin Yuxin. Seeing her chatting and laughing with her friends... well, she really was beautiful.
Over the East China Sea.
A total of twelve GUTS Eagles were pursuing the fleeing Queen Tortoise at Mach 3. These twelve jets represented the twelve Southern TPC branches. Qin Tianyi, from the Imperial Capital, served as the Commander-in-Chief of this encirclement operation.
"Captain Qin, based on Queen Tortoise's flight path, she is following the coastline and heading straight for the Asian mainland."
In one of the GUTS Eagles, Qin Tianyi listened to the report and said, "Analyze the cities along the route and issue Level 2 Evacuation Orders for them."
"Understood. Queen Tortoise's flight path will take her over Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiang city..."
In the comms channel, hearing Hangzhou mentioned made a mysterious suspicion arise in Qin Tianyi's heart. 'Hangzhou? Could her target be...'
"Captain Qin, it's bad! A mysterious spatial vortex has appeared twenty kilometers ahead of us. Queen Tortoise is flying right into it!"
Qin Tianyi didn't speak. He stared at the distorted energy point on his radar, took a deep breath, and made a difficult decision.
"Half of you stay back. The rest of you, upload your logs and charge in with me!"
It was a bold command. No one knew what lay beyond the spatial vortex, but to avoid being blind to the threat, Qin Tianyi gave the order anyway. Knowing the probability of returning was slim, the GUTS members responded without hesitation: "Understood!"
Thus, six GUTS Eagles peeled off to maintain a watch near the vortex, while the other six, led by Qin Tianyi, plunged into the spatial rift.
But as soon as they entered, a sudden anomaly occurred.
Above the East China Sea, masses of pitch-black clouds formed, and a vortex spiraled in their center. Spherical, zebra-patterned balls of light began to emerge from the rift. There were many of them, and as soon as they appeared, they launched an attack on the remaining six GUTS Eagles.
"Not good! All units, separate! Form B-Pattern dispersion!"
Following the command, the six GUTS Eagles decoupled. Splitting into teams of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma units, they began to battle the swarm of flying spheres.
Imperial Headquarters.
Shajura sat in his seat, watching the encirclement operation on the monitors. When the spheres appeared, he stood up instantly. "Sphere?! What are they doing here?!"
As Shajura questioned the screen, the ancient voice echoed in his mind.
"Great power only attracts even greater enemies..."
At those words, a realization struck Shajura like a lightning bolt. "It was that surge of power from last time... they were attracted by the Teacher's power. Sphere."