The sudden burst of fiery flames caught everyone off guard; those on the periphery of the crowd were swept away by the shockwave, while those in the center were engulfed in flames and thrown several meters.
Fortunately, Ren Suo and his friends were not too close, and although they were affected by the fire wave, their pants weren't even singed. However, they all ended up sitting on the ground, shockingly staring at the fiery figure at the entrance of the cafeteria.
Yes, a fiery figure!
All his clothing had been burned away, skin cracked like parched earth, wrapping around magma-like bright red flames, hair and eyebrows all turned to ash and dispersed, and deadly flames clung to him like armor!
Awakening!
Everyone immediately connected him with what Vice Director Yu Kuangtu had mentioned.
A student still in qi cyclone training had suddenly used such terrifying magic technique—other than awakening, there was no other possibility!
Up to now, although most students had gradually started to use qi cyclones, they still had doubts about it since qi cyclones didn't feel as powerful as the nuclear cores described in novels and comics; most people just felt like they had an extra organ that grew stronger during cultivation.
But they couldn't control it at all.
For instance, Xie Qiansi activated his qi cyclone on the third night, too excited to sleep, shouting, "I'm going to discover my ace technique..."
Then he fell asleep faster than anyone.
Imagining oneself controlling an imaginary source of energy seemed to be a highly effective self-hypnosis skill.
Yet, in front of Ren Suo and the others, there appeared a guy who was just an ordinary student a few days ago but could now unleash powerful magic!
Although his spells' damage didn't compare to hand grenades or mortars, he fired it himself and it held unlimited potential! Now he's a fiery figure; who's to say he couldn't become a Mars in the future!
"Running around naked under the broad daylight!"
Hearing the shocked cry of sister Qiao Muyi behind them, everybody lowered their gaze—he really was running naked, and just like his skin, he had cracks that seemed like a caterpillar breaking out of its cocoon...
"Ha, hiss..." The fiery figure covered his throat. Seeing people screaming and running away from him, his eyes inexplicably showed sadness. He tried to approach the crowd, but as he moved, flames began to dance wildly!
His feet scorched deep black marks on the floor, and the heat from his body grew more intense, making Ren Suo and the others feel the air temperature suddenly rise.
While everyone quickly backed away from the fiery figure, Ren Suo's conspicuous movement of stepping forward a few paces instead of retreating made him very noticeable.
"Brother Suo, what are you doing?" Yuan Dang quickly came over to pull him away: "Let's go, this guy has blown a fuse!"
Caught up in an inexplicable excitement, Ren Suo was suddenly jolted back to reality. He looked at the fiery figure, his face showing a hint of struggle—
He had found another key!
Compared to Qiao Muyi, this fiery figure was clearly a high-risk creature. Now if Ren Suo charged forward to knock down the fiery figure, no one would say anything; on the contrary, they might even give him a thumbs up and go, "Bro, you rock!"
However, the problem was, Ren Suo couldn't beat him!
Even though he already possessed "Physical Fitness Optimization" and "Combat Basics," he was still clearly within the realms of a normal human. However, the man of fire in front of him seemed to have leapt from the technological era to a magical era, and unless provided a gun, how could he possibly beat him.
At this time, several bald men—
No, wait, crew cuts.
A few sturdy, strong military Cultivators pushed through the crowd and walked fearlessly toward the man of fire.
"Stop!" one shouted, "Take a deep breath, don't let the spiritual energy erode your brain!"
"Err... ahhhh!" The man of fire straightened his waist and roared. As his voice boomed, a fire lotus blossomed at his feet, and sparks flew around the entire cafeteria!
"If only he was wearing clothes..." Qiao Muyi sighed, and everyone nodded in agreement.
It was then realized why superheroes always had at least one pair of custom-made underwear—otherwise, no matter how cool you are, you always end up in a very awkward situation...
The next second, instead of heeding the advice, the man of fire, like a god of war bathed in fire, had his skin turn from pitch black to searing hot iron as he charged at the three soldiers!
"Has his brain fried?" one of them grabbed a nearby diner table with one hand and hurled it toward the man of fire, "Subdue him first!"
In an instant, the three soldiers, undeterred by the fiery flames, rushed forward. As the man of fire raised his hands to block, the table, struck with a loud crack, shattered into pieces, and the soldiers used the opportunity to close in on him.
Facing the wildly dancing flames, the soldiers seemed as if they were wearing invisible armor. As the flames met them, they automatically veered away, and the soldiers even dared to touch the man's skin, which was as hot as an iron!
"Ahhhh—"
The man of fire roared furiously, his body bursting with boundless fiery flames, but then the three soldiers pressed him firmly to the ground without so much as a hitch.
Before long, the flames dispersed, and the man of fire's skin, which was cracked, recovered to normal human skin, and he no longer struggled but lay limply on the ground.
"Yikes, three big men in broad daylight pinning down a naked man like this..."
An ethereal voice commented from all around, provoking embarrassed looks from the crowd and the three soldiers: Had someone from the UC Shock Department infiltrated the civil servant group from Weiguangzheng?
"What happened?"
Ren Suo was shocked. Just then, Li Dan, who was wearing a black body armor and seemed to have just finished eating, walked over with rice still stuck at the corner of his mouth. He looked at the scene of three men overpowering one naked man and was also shocked, but he quickly snapped back to reality, "He awakened? Take him to logistics for processing."
Li Dan looked around, "Can someone explain what happened... I remember you; do you know what just happened? Gosh, didn't you eat, that's disgusting."
While everyone else was retreating, Ren Suo, who had stood still and watched, naturally stood out. Hearing Li Dan's comment, he wiped the edge of his mouth, "Just finished eating... Oh, that person seemed to be fighting with someone and suddenly burst into flames."
"Fighting someone?" Li Dan looked around and saw the cadet thrown outside burning, "Oh dear, things have escalated quite a bit... You guys, help carry the injured and follow us to logistics."
Ren Suo and the others, directed by Li Dan, looked at each other, Ren Suo said, "Don't we need a stretcher? We haven't learned first aid..."
"Those guys look like they are about to die, it's practical to get them to logistics for treatment right now," Li Dan said. "Those medical officers in logistics are still eating, if we call them over here, these people will kick the bucket."
Ren Suo and the others didn't seem to mind either, as they organized a group of about a dozen people to help the six who were most severely burned follow the soldiers and Li Dan, along with five students who were a bit farther away but also burned.
Along the way, they carried six pieces of charcoal and one naked man, naturally attracting countless stares. Li Dan led the way, playing with her phone as she walked, looking just like those phone addicts in the city.
The logistics department was just inside the courtyard, where two in black body armor were watching American TV series and eating. Upon seeing the injured, they nonchalantly said, "Put them on the beds."
Li Dan said, "There's one who just awakened."
"The one without clothes? Oh..." One in black body armor stood up, food still in his mouth, and slapped the belly of the naked man lying on the bed hard.
An astonishing sight burst before everyone's eyes—the supposedly normal white hospital bedsheet suddenly sprouted strange runes! Chains shot out from the four posts of the bed, securely binding the naked man!
He then patted the other injured people, but unlike with the naked man, their beds emitted a warm light and soon formed cocoons of light that completely enveloped the patients.
"Let's go, keep watching." Li Dan reminded the group of students, "It's been several days already, and you're still startled by such a small spectacle?"
The students couldn't help but smile wryly; most of them still hadn't quite transitioned from the era of technology to the era of cultivation.
Ren Suo glanced at Qiao Muyi, then approached Li Dan and asked, "Uh...do you still remember me?"
"Remember." Li Dan responded, "You always ghost around in front of me..."
Ren Suo felt a headache coming on, thinking this guy must have skipped idiomatic expressions in his nine years of compulsory education. But, looking at Muyi in his bowl and Li Dan in his pot, Ren naturally tried to strike up a conversation for no reason, to build rapport, "By the way, is Mo Zhaolong also an Awakener?"
"Mo Zhaolong? Oh, that supernatural criminal." Li Dan glanced at Ren Suo, "Although this should be confidential, it's not meant for ordinary people. You'll come across it eventually, so I'll tell you..."
"This supernatural criminal's awakening technique is the slumber mist. It can affect people nearby with an odorless, colorless smoke mutated by spiritual energy, putting ordinary people into a deep sleep within five seconds. He had previously used his ability to assault several women returning home at night."
Ren Suo was somewhat surprised, "Then how does he dare continue to be a civil servant..."
"Who would hire a supernatural criminal? The government. Who might research supernatural powers? The government. He thought by infiltrating the government and becoming a civil servant, not only could he conceal himself, he could also gain more intelligence through the government, and even ally with them for power and status if necessary," Li Dan explained.
Li Dan chuckled, "His thinking was correct. If a supernatural being voluntarily joins us and they have not committed crimes using their superpowers before, we would still treat these Awakeners well."
"Now, huh... just as the deputy director said, those who use their awakening abilities for crimes are all sent to the research institutes." Li Dan looked at Ren Suo, "By the way... you're from Lianjiang, right? We might be colleagues soon. I'm Li Dan, 'Li' as in dawn, 'Dan' as in 'Danqing'. "
Ren Suo said, "I'm Ren Suo, 'Ren' as in willful, 'Suo' as in claim."
Li Dan laughed upon hearing this. Seeing Ren Suo extend his hand, she shook it and then turned to leave.
Ren Suo followed the other students back to the dormitory, where one asked, "Ren Suo, did you know that Black Cat before?"
"Yeah." Ren Suo shared the conversation he just had and the matter with Mo Zhaolong, prompting a lively discussion among the students:
"There's such an awakening technique?"
"That awakening technique would be great for treating insomnia."
"Right, how could it be used to attack women!"
Qiao Muyi commented dryly, "Yet why do you all look so excited about it?"
Xie Qiansi said righteously, "How could we possibly? We are party members, we wouldn't entertain such reprehensible thoughts..."
Ren Suo remained silent all the way, but just before returning to the dormitory, he suddenly patted Qiao Muyi on the back of her neck, and with a smile meeting her puzzled gaze, said, "There was a mosquito on your back, I swatted it away."
Qiao Muyi uttered a cute "oh," but then the noise from the others discussing suddenly decreased, only to return to normal after a second.
Ren Suo didn't notice these details; he went straight to his dormitory and lay on his bed, quietly mulling over what he had heard:
"Key detected."
"Key is in an unfamiliar state, beginning retrieval."
"Key formation detected, retrieval will require 10999 seconds, maintain contact throughout. 10998, 10997, 10996..."
This was what he heard when he touched Li Dan.
"Key detected."
"Key is in a friendly state, beginning retrieval."
"Key formation detected, retrieval will require 4600 seconds, maintain contact throughout. 4699, 4698, 4697..."
This was what he heard when he touched Qiao Muyi.
Previously, when Ren Suo had contact with Li Dan, he heard 'Key is in a cautious state, unable to retrieve'.
Now changing to an unfamiliar state indicated that Li Dan's perception of Ren Suo could alter the difficulty of retrieving the key. In other words, the better their relationship, the lower the difficulty of retrieval!
As for raw power, Ren Suo surely couldn't beat Li Dan, a seasoned agent in black body armor, but her change proved that he had a very feasible way to obtain the key without using force—
Put them to sleep!
Yes, as long as they comfortably slept in Ren Suo's presence, he could easily get their key.
As for the voices in his mind indicating the key states and retrieval time, he could treat them like progress bars in a Galgame!
To validate his theory, Ren Suo purposely made contact with Qiao Muyi on his way back.
Previously, when he and Qiao Muyi were in an unfamiliar state, it took over 9000 seconds to retrieve the key, but now it only needed 3000 seconds, and the state had progressed from 'unfamiliar' to 'friendly', confirming that improving relations could indeed shorten the key retrieval time.
"Improve relationships, get them into bed!"
Ren Suo, now with a clear goal in mind!