I walked out of the ceremony hall in a daze.
Standing there in the main hall of this awakener center waiting for me was Yue Ling.
When she saw me come out, she excitedly came over and asked, "Big brother Fan, what rank are you?"
She didn't even ask if I had awakened or not, she just directly asked me for my rank. If I hadn't been so depressed, I would have been moved by the confidence that she had in me…but I really couldn't be.
Seeing that I didn't say anything in response, Yue Ling revealed a worried look as she asked, "Big brother Fan, what's wrong?"
I looked at her with those eyes filled with despair and then handed the piece of paper in my hand over to her.
"F Rank, Suggestion?" Yue Ling said in a slow and confused voice.
But then her expression fell as she turned to look at me with a complicated look. There were many changes to her expression, but in the end, her expression became serious.
There was a silence that followed since everyone had been watching because it was Yue Ling, the A Ranker.
But then there was a laugh that rang out through the hall.
Since it was silent due to Yue Ling being there, it rang out even more clearly than it would normally.
When everyone turned in the direction that the laugh came from, they saw that it came from Wang Bing.
Wang Bing couldn't control himself when he heard that Lin Fan had only awakened a F Rank skill, so he burst into laughter. But seeing everyone looking at him, including Yue Ling, he quickly covered his mouth.
After all, there was no knowing what Yue Lan would do…
She had defended Lin Fan before, so it was unknown what she would do to him now that he had laughed at him.
But to his surprise, Yue Ling didn't do a single thing.
She just turned back to look at the piece of paper in her hand with a strange and complicated look on her face.
Finally, after a long time, she looked up and handed the piece of paper back to me before saying, "Mister Lin Fan, I have to excuse myself. There's something else I have to take care of now."
When I heard this, I couldn't help feeling that something was strange…it was like she was much colder than before…
After all, she was no longer calling me big brother Fan.
So I couldn't help reaching my hand out and saying, "Ling Ling…"
Before I could even say anything else, Yue Ling suddenly said, "Mister Lin Fan, please do not speak to me in such a familiar manner. We are not that close."
Then without giving me a chance to say anything, she suddenly turned to leave.
I was stunned on the spot after hearing this.
After all, Yue Ling was the last person that I was close to in this life and now…she was also abandoning me.
I wanted to chase after her and ask her what this was all about, but before I could…I was suddenly surrounded by Wang Bing and his group. Wang Bing himself quickly wrapped his arm around my shoulder and stopped me from moving, as he looked at me with a wide smile.
The rest of his group also looked at me with wide smiles.
However, I didn't feel any kind intentions coming from those smiles.
There were only bad intentions coming from them…
Yue Ling hadn't gone that far yet and she could see everything, but she didn't turn back once as she walked away.
It was as if I didn't exist at all…
Seeing this, the smiles on the faces of Wang Bing's group became even wider.
They grabbed me as I tried to run after Yue Ling and Wang Bing said to me with that wide smile, "Friend, let's go and hang out."
When I saw this, I felt a chill run down my spine.
I tried to resist in the end, but Wang Bing and the rest of his group dragged me out of the awakener center. Even though there were plenty of people around, not a single person stepped forward to help me.
Seeing this, there was a small part of me that died.
This was a small part of me that had believed that there was still good in people…
They dragged me all the way down to the river, to the place that was under the bridge that no one went.
This was their secret hideout and the place that I had been brought to many times before back when we were in school together. Back in those days, they had brought me here to beat me up and take my money.
But now…
The moment that we arrived, the first thing that Wang Bing did was punch me in the gut.
This was a powerful punch that knocked the wind out of me and brought me to my knees.
Wang Bing was a C Ranker and he had a physical type of power, so it buffed his strength. That allowed him to punch much stronger than a normal person would be able to.
It took me a while to catch my breath again.
By that time, I found that I was completely surrounded by their group.
All of them had looks on their faces like they were about to do many things to me.
But it was normal since…they had been suppressed many times by Yue Ling because of me.
Every time that they had tried to bully me before, Yue Ling was there to stop them.
So that resentment had piled up inside of them until it erupted like today…
But I had also become empty today.
After what had happened with Yue Ling and my awakening, it felt like my entire world had collapsed.
It felt like there really wasn't anything that was worth living for in this world…
A life of being suppressed by others because of this weak power…perhaps it was better to take charge now and end my life in my own way.
So all of a sudden, I looked up at Wang Bing.
Wang Bing had been looking down at me, so our eyes met the moment that I looked up.
Wang Bing wanted to say something, but he couldn't help being taken aback by the look in my eyes.
After a pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "What are you looking…"
Before Wang Bing could finish what he said, I suddenly charged at him.
With what little strength I had in my body, I landed a punch right to Wang Bing's face.
He had been caught off guard, so he was pushed back by this punch even though it was weak.
When he reacted, his face twisted with rage as he looked at me.
My heart filled with fear when I saw this, but it was already too late to back down. So I gathered up all the courage that I had left and swung my fist again.
It was just too bad that I was completely outclassed…
So Wang Bing's fist landed before my fist could even come close to him.
Wang Bing punched me right in the stomach and knocked the wind out of me again.
After that, he grabbed me and lifted me up.
As he held me, he said through gritted teeth, "You piece of shit. This is the last time I have to deal with you."
Then without any warning, he suddenly threw me into the river.
This was a deep river, so I immediately sank down under the surface of the water.
With the wind knocked out of me by that punch, I wasn't able to swim up at all and I could only let my body sink deeper into the river.
I knew that this was it for my life…
If reincarnation was real, I hoped that I would be able to live a happy life next time…
"Strong desires have been detected. A suitable host had been found."
"Huh? Where is that voice coming from?"
That was my only thought in response to this voice.