Chapter 21: The fucking hypocrisy of mankind

Chapter XXI

By the time Lin Yanming returned, Shi Rui had already cleaned up his facial expression.

He smiled at Lin Yanming, "Excuse me, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Shi Rui placed the condolences she was holding at the bedside, "I hope you can convey my greetings to my brother for me."

"Go slowly." Lin Yanming still had that same loving look and replied with a cold attitude.

Shi Rui walked to the door, seemed to suddenly think of something, turned his head to look at Lin Yanming:

"By the way, just now while you were out to dinner, I got a phone call saying I hope brother he'll call back."

"Who is it?" Lin Yanming frowned.

"It seems to be the Administration over there." Shi Rui said lightly.

With that, he turned to leave.

The door to the hospital room closed behind Shi Rui, and his expression instantly turned somber.

--He didn't want to give Shi An the message.

However, Shi Rui is not stupid, he has just clearly reported his name and identity, if the information is not conveyed, then it is easy to be linked to his own body, so he can only choose a relative compromise.

Shi Rui's expression twisted slightly.

He wondered what kind of magic Shi An had been able to climb into that big shot's relationship.

And ...... listening to Mu Hang s tone, Shi An should have already had the other party s number.

Why is that.

What went wrong?

Shi Rui closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

It doesn't matter, it might just be a simple greeting to the person you saved.

But in any case, until he knew how close the relationship between Shi An and Mu Hang was, he had to put all his thoughts to rest, and even if he wanted to make this obstacle disappear, he couldn't risk being found out by anyone, especially the officer.

Shi Rui clenched his cold hands and gritted his teeth.

He knew that their father had pinned high hopes on Shi An, and had even donated a building to the Ability Academy in order to enroll him in the program, which was definitely not something that could be done casually, and it was only after realizing that Shi An was a mess that Shi Zechun had sent someone to find him.

Shi Rui couldn't believe that his father hadn't heard half the news in the decade or so that he had been growing up.

It's just that the other side gave up on Shi An, so they had to find an heir.

Shi Rui knows very well that everything he has gotten now is based on the premise that Shi An is a waste.

So, he has to maintain that status quo.

*

"What's going on at ......?"

Wang Li gazed dazedly at the spectacular and cruel spectacle before him.

His face was blood-red from the roiling fire, the strong smell of burning was permeating the air, and the flock of crows were reduced to flying ash by the crackling sound of burning, bits of sparks drifting down beside them.

As the flock of gray crows disappeared, the blazing fire in the air died out before it fell, and the light of the distant sunrise then spilled down.

"Good, so strong." Wang Li muttered.

--How terrifyingly destructive, how precisely controlled does it take to accomplish such a feat?

How many people in the academy can do something like that?

Who actually saved them?

Far away.

Shi An lowered her head and looked at her palms in amazement.

He was able to feel that the strength of his Dragon Flame had almost multiplied compared to earlier!

And, more importantly ......

Shi An's mind moved slightly, only to see a cluster of crimson flames sprouting from his fingertips.

Under the light of the fire, it could be faintly seen that from the root of the palm to the fingertips were covered by a film.

The film shimmered with a metallic glow, the lines of scales faintly visible.

Shi An hadn't managed to bring the scales back out since that earlier simulation where the golems were burned to death.

That day, the layer of scales that surfaced on his own fingertips was as if it was a hallucination of his, and it never appeared again.

Until now.

Shi An tightened her fingers and her palm reverted back to its previous white, soft human skin.

He opened his hand again and the layer of scales reappeared.

Surprised ...... didn't fail!

Shi An's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

The color wasn't quite dark enough, and it didn't quite show the full shape of the scales, but Shi An was very familiar with the texture - it was the scales that had covered his body when he was still a hatchling.

It took several molting periods before his scales became dark and sharp.

It seems that even though he had spat out that Abyssal Eye at that time, he had already absorbed a lot of the magic power released from it already before that.

It was still far from his heyday, but it was a very good sign!

The corner of his mouth twitched as the Demon Worm looked expressionlessly at the teenager in front of him:

"How long are you going to wait for that ......?"

In its eyes, the other had been staring out at its palm for at least five minutes, open and clenched for a moment, with a happy, silly grin on its face.

-Looks like there's a bit of a problem with the designation somewhere.

"Oh yeah oh!"

Shi An pulls himself out of his thoughts with a dazed look, "The Gray Crow's Nest!"

Magic Worm: ......

You've finally remembered!

Shi An reaches down and scoops up the magical worm, then struggles up the rock, working his way forward.

Without the gray crows in the way, the path to their nest is clear.

Soon Shi An climbed in.

Just as she stabilized herself, Shi An was dazzled by what she saw before her.

The distant sunrise shone in, reflecting dazzling light on countless smooth surfaces, and looking at those familiar, long-lost shiny crystals made Shi An almost cry with joy.

That's great!

There was hope for his new bed at last!

"That ......," the Demon Worm's hesitant voice rang out.

Shi An was in a trance, "Huh?"

"No, nothing."

Magic Worm's attitude is a little weird.

Shi An winked.

The sunlight that had shone in for a moment earlier then faded, revealing the true nature of the nest before them.

Shi An: "........................ ............"

He looked around the room in a stupefied manner, and fell into the midst of a long silence.

Piled up inside the nest in front of me were broken glass, can pulls, glass beads, and fountain pen nibs, as well as all sorts of oddly coated pieces of metal.

In short, it's, basically, a remnant of modern craftsmanship.

Devil Worm was as quiet as a chicken on the sidelines, not daring to make a sound.

Although the Gray Crow was capable of being amphibious between the Abyss and the continent, it was after all also an Abyssal species, and had basically never come into contact with humans.

Again, they themselves are a species governed by instinct alone and have no independent individual intelligence, so naturally in the past they have been mesmerized by the damned hypocrisy of mankind ......

Picked up a bunch of trash like it was a baby.

The Demon Worm peeked toward Shi An.

The opponent looked as if he had not yet recovered from such a great blow, and stood still with a gray face, as if his soul had been instantly emptied, staring stonily and despairingly at the Gray Crow's Nest in front of him.

Misery.

It's too bad.

Wraithworm sighed and wordlessly rested her thin leg on Shi An's shoulder as a comfort, "How about a pick?"

Shi An: "......"

Pick a fart!!!

Shi An is saddened to the core.

The sleepiness of staying up for days, the exhaustion of trekking most of the night, the ups and downs of great joys and great sorrows, all of it came rushing back at the moment.

He sniffled, "Why-"

*

Far away.

Several of Wang Li's companions are counting their belongings and checking for injuries.

Wang Li, on the other hand, stands alone, looking around himself.

The valley was silent and peaceful, and if it weren't for the charred ashes still strewn around their feet, they would almost find it hard to believe that they were just being surrounded by a group of terrifying demons.

But ...... one thing they can be sure of.

They had definitely been saved, but for some reason, that powerful well-wisher had somehow failed to show up until now.

As the head of the second grade, Wang Li knows very well that it is no ordinary person who can do such a feat.

He searched his mind for a circle of powerful people in the academy by name, but none of them matched the way the magic was released just now.

Is it a teacher?

"Hello--!" Wang Li raised his voice and shouted:

"I don't know if you're still around, but thank you so much for the ride just now!"

But the response to him was silence.

Suddenly, one of his companions said, "Eh, did you hear anything?"

"Eh?" Wang Li froze.

He listened carefully, and sure enough, there was something coming from not too far away, so thin and low that he couldn't really hear it, but it was there.

Wang Li turned his head in the direction from which the voice came.

--Only to see that not far from the valley, there is a very old-looking giant tree, and between the branches of the tree, there is a huge nest, which should be the place where those creatures that attacked them just now live.

Inside the lair.

The teenager crouched in the corner, sobbing sadly.

It looked aggravating.

Magic Worm: "......"

If it hadn't just seen the other party setting fire, it really wouldn't have believed that this was the legendary Abyssal Dragon.

He sighed and hopped off Shi An's shoulder, struggling to rummage through the gray crow's nest, his entire upper body buried deep in glass and metal junk, his two legs kicking and clanking behind him.

Shi An: "You, what are you doing?"

The magic worm struggled to rummage around for a few more minutes before it finally burrowed out.

It was seen cradling a modest ruby in its front paw, "Look."

"Gray crows usually migrate their entire nests, although they have saved a lot of human garbage, there should still be a lot of previous stock, so there should still be some when they go through it!"

Shi An eyes bright, immediately spirited up.

He used to loot gray crows basically to eliminate the whole nest, other than knowing that this race liked to collect treasures just like himself, he was basically not clear about the rest, after all, a mouthful of Dragon Flame sprayed over them and they were gone, there was no need to understand their habits at all.

"Yeah!" Shi An cheered, rolled up her sleeves, and began to rummage around the nest with vigor as well.

"......"

Wang Li's group stood under a large tree, looking up at the nest overhead.

There was a clanking sound as countless strange things smashed down indiscriminately, landing on the grass at their feet.

Wang Li looks down.

Garbage.

What's the deal with ......?

The corners of his mouth twitched as he raised his voice and called out, "How do you do?"

The clanking overhead came to an abrupt halt.

"Hello?" Wang Li called out again.

Still no reply.

But it rather confirmed their suspicions - their savior was indeed up there.

"Anyway, thanks for coming to your rescue just now." Wang Li shouted.

"We actually just took a B-ranked mission this time, we didn't expect to encounter these demons, if it wasn't for you, we might have actually planted ourselves here, if you're willing, we can have a good chat?"

A muffled voice came from overhead:

"No."

Wang Li said good-naturedly:

"Alright then, but let us at least give you the payment for the mission, after all, you also indirectly helped us accomplish the mission, this payment should be yours!"

Shi An crouches inside the lair and blinks, "Mission? Payoff?"

Wang Li : "Yes, in order to cultivate the practical combat ability of the students, the Ableist Academy will regularly release different missions, both on and off campus, and after receiving the mission and completing it, they will receive a considerable amount of payment."

Shi An: "!" Payoff?

Money!

Treasure!

Bright and shiny!

Demon Worm glared at him from the sidelines.

Shi An only relented, "No, no need, I'm just along for the ride this time ......"

"Well then, I respect your decision, and I hope we'll see each other again sometime!"

Surprisingly, Wang Li didn't pester him, but politely greeted Shi An and left with his companions.

With the human scent far away, Shi An twisted her head and looked at the Demon Worm with an expectant face, "Payment eh!"

The corner of the Devil Worm's mouth twitched, "At least until you are healed."

It thought for a moment and continued to instruct uneasily, "However, if you're going to take on quests, try to take on ones that are as far away from the school as possible and not at a high level, so it's best not to attract other people's attention ......"

Shi An : "Of course!"

*

The large tree was already far away, fading out of sight.

One of Wang Li's companions didn't hold his tongue:

"So, we're just going to leave? Well, the candidate for that thing ......"

"There's no rush." Wang Li cut off the other party's words.

He held up his glasses and said nonchalantly, "Only after going through the enrollment process is a student allowed to receive a mission, and he hasn't even heard of the academy's missions right now, so this can only mean that he's still a new student and hasn't had the time to go through a whole set of processes."

My companion froze, "Freshman?"

Wang Li nodded, "I didn't expect that there would be someone so strong amongst this year's freshmen either."

"But if it's a freshman, would it be less suitable for such a high-risk operation?" A look of hesitation appeared on his companion's face.

"On the contrary."

Wang Li's eyes glistened behind the lenses, "To have such an amazing amount of magical power and to be able to unleash such a terrifying jutsu before even receiving any systematic training, just imagine how powerful this one will become if he receives further training from the academy! I can't imagine a better candidate!"

The companion fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he sighed, "Indeed."

"This kind of strong man will not be buried, we will definitely be able to see him again!"

Wang Li affirmed.

*

After the humans left, Shi An turned the entire lair upside down.

Finally, in a pile of man-made junk, barely half a book bag's worth of treasures.

-Making a bed is out of the question, the most you can fit is a pillow like this.

Shi An sighed, and with a fire burned all traces of his visit before turning away.

As soon as he returned to the ward, he was stopped by Lin Yanming:

"Eh, you're finally back, it's already afternoon, where have you been for so long?"

Shi An scratches her head, "Just, look around."

He said as he placed his new pillow at the foot of the bed with a thud, the pillowcase clinking,

"Oops never mind, let's put this aside for now,"

Lin Yanming didn't seem to notice the other party's movements, but continued with a serious face:

"This morning, that nominal brother of yours came to see you, and put a bunch of things in, but I'm telling you, I have very poor senses of him, I don't know why, but it just feels as if this person doesn't quite harbor good intentions for you, in short, if he comes back to see you again after that, you must be more attentive, don't lose your guard, but don't be screwed over again like last time ......"

Shi An responded with a distracted "hmmmm" as she took off her shoes and climbed into bed.

"By the way, during your absence, it seems that someone came by and said they were from the Administration over there and wanted you to return a call-"

Lin Yanming heard no movement from the other side.

"Shi An?

The sound of even breathing came from the bed beside him.

Shi An's eyes were closed, his long eyelashes hanging down on his pale face, his soft hair scattered on his new pillow, his posture extraordinarily peaceful and serene.

"Call back, you hear me?" Lin Yanming repeated uneasily.

Shi An let out an 'uh-huh' and grunted as she rolled over and went back to sleep.

Lin Yanming stared at the teenager not far away, his eyes falling on the pillows that clanked as the other rolled over, "......"

What the hell?

Why does this pillow have a sound?

*

A few days later.

Zhuo Fu came to Mu Hang's office again.

He poked his head in and opened the door to ask, "How's it going? Back at you?"

This time, Mu Hang's face visibly darkened.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, "No."

Zhuo Fu could not help but suck in a breath of cool air.

He had known Mu Hang for so many years, but this was the first time he had seen someone actually not selling his face - and not only not selling his face, but simply ignoring it!

He was also obviously a little guilty, "So, what then?"

Only Mu Hang looked up, his silver-blue eyes seemed like the cold and high pale sky, with little extra emotion, and he said with a short hook of his lips:

"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the Ableist Academy."

Crap.

Siren laughed.

Zhuo Fu was taken aback by his opponent.

Though he knew it had nothing to do with him, he couldn't help his brain going blank as he subconsciously asked, "Ran, then what?"

Mu Hang : "I was handed an invitation from the college side."

He put on his gloves slowly, "I'll be there this time."