"Here you go!" Zhi Yong proclaimed proudly on Monday morning as he handed me not one, but two rifles. "New improved Cryotech M64 plasma rifles! They even come with a remote option so that you can control them from a distance. Here, put your evolution energy into them."
"Okay."
At his prodding, I infused both rifles with my evolution energy. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that my brother was right. I could levitate both of the rifles and aim them however I wanted. They linked to the targeting reticules on my glasses, the crosshairs flashing blue.
By the way, my glasses were also designed by my brother. Zhi Yong could really build anything. He was a genius of the highest order. If people made fun of him because he wasn't an evolver, I would crush them. Painfully.
Just because you weren't an evolver didn't mean you were trash. In fact, evolvers wouldn't be able to fight if they didn't have the right support…if they didn't have engineers like Zhi Yong designing their weapons. Lou Qian's scythe, Lei Shu's staff and sword (which I returned to him), and more. Qi Ren's gauntlets. All of these were constructed by non-evolvers. I hadn't even mentioned the shield generators or the homes that construction workers like those my dad was in charge of. Without them, where would we live? What safe places would there be?
We couldn't survive without them, that's for sure.
"Nice."
"They should be a lot more powerful, but yeah…you'll need to test them out in a range. Let me know if there are any problems, and bring them back to me. If you need to tune them, or improve the firepower, or if they're not working…"
"Sure! Thanks!" I saluted. With more firepower, I should be able to rack up the kills a lot more efficiently than before. The pistols were life-saving, but they weren't really known for clearing hordes. "I really appreciate it!"
"Good luck, and make sure you blow the mutants up with these babies!"
"I will! I'll let you know!"
And so I went back to school shortly after that, the plasma rifles folded up and stored in some extradimensional space that Zhi Yong's gadget produced. Apparently I could summon them from nowhere whenever I could, without having to conspicuously lug them around. This sure was convenient.
I hadn't taken more than a few steps toward the direction of my classroom when I heard a commotion. Qi Ren was approaching Lou Qian, who was looking colder than usual.
"How can I help you, classmate Qi Ren?"
"No, nothing. I just want to ask you if you're available…"
"I'm not."
"I haven't even finished my sentence yet! Or mentioned the day!"
"I have no time for the likes of you."
"Please…" Qi Ren was trembling. Lou Qian sighed and was about to say something, but someone stepped in to shove the poor burly guy aside. Qi Ren flared up and spun around with a snarl, but he froze when he caught sight of the newcomer.
It was some guy with spiky blond hair. Even though he wasn't as big and heavyset as Qi Ren, he was still well built. He was also considered to be handsome, with many of the female students in the corridor gazing at him in admiration.
He was ranked like third in Fourth Evolver Academy on the power rankings, if I wasn't mistaken. I could sense the imposing aura radiating from him, saturating the corridor and causing the male students to tense.
Qi Ren was downright intimidated. He lowered his head and backed off, stammering.
"F…Fan Kai…sorry, I didn't know it was you."
So this was Fan Kai. I had heard about him just last week, but this was the first time I saw him in the flesh.
"Get lost." Fan Kai turned his blue eyes on a trembling Qi Ren. "If I see you approaching my woman again…"
"I'm not your woman, Fan Kai," Lou Qian said icily. Fan Kai turned his sharp gaze at her, but she met his eyes evenly, not at all afraid. She was ranked maybe fourteenth or fifteenth in school. Quite some distance from Fan Kai, but not so much that she had to bow to his whims
"Who else in this school will be a match for you?" Fan Kai asked stonily. Then his lip curled and he glanced in my direction. "Or are the rumors true? Did you accept Feng Zhi Ming's confession? Really? That trash with the lowest white dusk talent? A purple soul talent genius like you? I'm a better match for you than he is."
"What the hell are you even talking about now?" Lou Qian demanded. "What white dusk or purple soul talent? Where did that come from?"
"He's been reading too much Extraordinary Evolution," I muttered under my breath. "And now he is confusing reality with fiction."
"Anyway, you're mistaken about something." Lou Qian shook her head in annoyance. "Classmate Feng Zhi Ming has never confessed to me before. There's nothing between us. I admire and respect him as a fellow evolver, but he was never my target for romance. He's just a classmate and a comrade in arms who I fought alongside with, and can entrust my back to."
The "unlike some people" came unspoken, but Fan Kai clearly picked up on it, for he bristled in rage.
"Then why don't you join my party next time? Your talents are better suited to my team."
"No thanks. I prefer to work with people I can trust and already formed a good rapport with. I've familiarized myself with the abilities of my classmates, and we have already developed a good sense of teamwork and coordination. Why would I throw all that away and start from scratch?"
Fan Kai clenched his fists and turned to glare at me. Before Lou Qian could stop him, he stomped over.
"You better stay away from my woman, trash," he sneered. "You're just a toad trying to dine on swan's meat. Keep your distance if you know what's good for you, or I'll put you in your place."
"I am not your woman," Lou Qian snapped. "And you misunderstand our relationship. He's not my type."
"Oh, of course he's not your type. I know you have better taste than that. But this trash still doesn't realize he's out of your league and harbors illusions about you." Fan Kai continued to glower at me. "No guy in the academy is not in love with you. He's planning to confess to you, I just know it."
"Actually, I'm not in love with Lou Qian. Also, there are like a few hundred male students who want to confess to her, so why are you picking on me specifically?" this was making no sense whatsoever.
Fan Kai paused for a moment, looking confused. I had a point. What made me any different from the others? He had already intimidated and drove away the others, such as Qi Ren. The only difference was that I had never confessed to Lou Qian at all, so there was no reason for him to lynch me specifically. Unless I was the protagonist of some badly written story where the whole world revolved around me, and all the antagonists bullied me just so I was justified in beating them up later.
"No, that's…" He blinked, still puzzled. Then realization lit up in his eyes and he looked away. I raised an eyebrow, also understanding why he was so unsettled.
He believed that if I were to confess to Lou Qian, she would accept it. That was why he was so determined to single me out. His intuition told him that I was the biggest threat to his romantic pursuits. That somehow I was the only one Lou Qian wouldn't reject.
…was he deluded? I wasn't close to Lou Qian. She had no reason to choose me over the countless other guys who confessed to her. And she literally said that I wasn't her type, so why was he so hung up over me?
Of course he didn't say all that out loud. Not in front of everybody. He was worried that Lou Qian's reaction would confirm that gut instinct.
"Look, dude, if you like her, just pursue her fair and square. Don't drag me into this." I placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to sound encouraging. I didn't mention that he had already been rejected, and that he should just give up and move on. "Good luck."
Fan Kai just stood there, unable to stop trembling from anger and embarrassment. But he didn't move and attack me, which was something of a relief.
"I'm really sorry about this," Lou Qian told me, but I shook my head and raised a hand.
"Not your fault. Misunderstandings happen."
Lou Qian looked as if she was about to ask me something, but she was unable to force the question out of her throat. So I left them behind and continued my way toward the classroom. Pang Fei hurried to my side.
"What the hell was all that about?"
"Drama for the sake of it," I muttered darkly. Pang Fei snorted.
"Yeah, well…how the hell did you get caught up in it? You weren't even involved!"
"I don't know…maybe the world revolves around me because I'm the protagonist of a wish fulfilment power fantasy story?"
"Dude, you really should stop reading so many web novels."
Pang Fei had just offered the same advice as my brother. When more than one person told me the same thing, it was time to sit up and pay attention to them. This might really be a problem.
I hadn't got the time to consider it, though. Just as I was a few steps away from class 4, I saw yet another incident taking place in front of class 3.
Poor Lisa was being cornered by another guy, but unlike Lou Qian, she was unable to reject him. He was pressing her with a bouquet of flowers, his blond hair slicked back with gel. He was more handsome than Fan Kai, and had some air of dignity to him. One of those second generation rich kids, if I wasn't mistaken.
And he was surrounded by a bunch of tough-looking guys. That explained why the other students of class 3 weren't coming to Lisa's defense.
"Please, don't…I don't want to…" Lisa was stammering. One of the rich kid's cronies stepped forward menacingly.
"How dare you reject our young master? Don't you know he's from the Mu Rong family? It's your honor to be chosen by him!"
"Yeah! Just spend the night with him! You won't regret it!"
"I'll compensate you for your time," the Mu Rong dude said, his voice silky. He reached up with a hand to stroke Lisa's face, and she flinched. "How much do you want?"
"It's not about money!" Lisa replied, stepping back. "Please have more respect."
"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" One of the Mu Rong lackeys growled and stepped forward. "You'll have to go out with young master Mu Rong tonight!"
"Don't you guys feel ashamed ganging up on a single girl?" I asked, stepping in and seizing the crony's hand before he could grab hold of Lisa. He tried to yank it back and shove me away, but I tripped him and sent him sprawling on the floor. The rest of the subordinates moved forward immediately, trying to surround me and Lisa.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you know who Young Master Mu Rong Shao is? How dare you get in his way?"
"Lisa," Mu Rong Shao said, extending a hand to grab her. She shrank away, but before he could reach her, I caught his wrist.
"She said no. Or are you deaf?"
"If you know what's good for you, you should stay out of this," Mu Rong Shao said calmly, putting on a fake polite smile as he withdrew his hand. He wiped his wrist with his handkerchief and tossed it away. "This is none of your business."
"Yes, it is!" Lisa responded, clinging to my arm tightly as she partially hid behind me. A vein twitched at Mu Rong Shao's temple, but somehow he maintained that insincere polite smile.
"What do you mean? And shouldn't you keep your distance from this gentleman?"
"Why should I?" Lisa retorted, her fingers tightening on my arm. "Feng Zhi Ming is the person I like! So please, classmate Mu Rong Shao, stop bothering me!"