Shen Yuan opened his eyes to be greeted by a lively classroom. The sun hung high outside, clouds drifted at a leisurely pace, and the temperature was just enough to lull anyone to have a nice nap. Seeing that the sky was still blue without the contamination of the vultures' fuel exhaust, he guessed this was the world before the invasion.
He had expected it would be similar to a simulation, but he didn't expect it to be this…bright.
The students around him played and chatted without a care in the world, one of the many things that had gone extinct. Materials like wood and plastic were still abundant enough to be used to make mass-produced furniture and traditional books. One thing he was familiar with was the communicator watch around their wrists which he also had one.
From the textbooks on his desk, he found he was a third-year high school student. His uniform was a set of white blazer and dress pants with a light blue collared shirt and a pair of sleek leather shoes. There was a golden pin on his lapel carved into Roman number 3, indicating his grade.
He had read several records about the era before the invasion and knew this wasn't a common uniform. Most likely, this was some sort of an elite school.
First, he should find out who or what the vulture was.
As soon as he thought that, a pulse reverberated through the air. He stepped out of the classroom and followed it downstairs. The closer he got, the stronger the air vibrated.
Near the teachers' office, stood a tall young man surrounded by his peers. He had soft, chestnut hair, a pair of almond eyes with a gentle gaze, and a charming smile even in his silence. The girls fought for his attention, asking many mindless questions and throwing perpetual praises, while the guys tried to 'book' him for different things; some asked for his participation in blind dates, some requested his assistance in school work or club activities, and many more.
That was the vulture? Saying it was living a good life was an understatement.
The young man eventually had to leave and excused himself first. Shen Yuan stood aside and trailed his eyes on him as he passed by—noticing the third-year badge on his lapel—until he turned a corner and went out of sight. He didn't spare a glance at him earlier, so it was safe to say he integrated perfectly into the world.
Once the pulse stopped moving, he traced it back once again until he stopped in front of the room it resonated from. The student council office.
He patted his uniform and found a handkerchief in his breast pocket. He knocked on the door.
"Yes?" A student council member answered the door.
"I think your president dropped this earlier." Shen Yuan showed the handkerchief.
The student called for the president, and the young man from earlier soon appeared at the door. Shen Yuan read his nameplate.
Mu Chen.
As he thought, he was the student council president. Why stop at only being popular when he could position himself above everyone else?
"A handkerchief? I have mine with me."
"Is that so? I'll put it back where I found it, then."
"We have the lost and found box with us. We'll hold on to it for you." Mu Chen smiled. "Thank you for picking it up."
"Sure." Shen Yuan handed his handkerchief to Mu Chen and thanked him before leaving.
Next was finding Zhou Yi.
Since this was his own mental space, he should look like himself and use his own name. The problem was, he most likely looked like his younger self in this setting, except if he was a teacher. But with the vulture being the student council president, he had a feeling Zhou Yi's situation wasn't that good.
If Zhou Yi truly was a student, his hair should still be black. He could only rely on himself to recognize the resemblance on his face.
He stopped by a passing boy, his pin indicating he was a second-year student. "Do you know what class Zhou Yi is in?"
"Zhou Yi?" The boy thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know any Zhou Yi."
"I see. Sorry for the sudden question."
The boy told him it was alright and left. Shen Yuan went down another floor and stopped another passing student, this time a first year.
"Do you know what class Zhou Yi is in?"
"He's on 1-B," the girl answered without much thought. Remembering something, she added, "Ah, but he's not in class right now."
"Do you know where he is?"
The girl hesitated. "He should be behind the old storage shed, but I don't recommend Senior going there now."
Shen Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Why is that?"
"He was called out by the delinquents." The girl lowered her voice. "Um…if Senior wants to go there, please don't let them know I'm the one who told you."
"Of course. I won't get you in trouble. Thank you for telling me."
The girl nodded and excused herself.
Shen Yuan considered for a second and decided to find the shed. He went outside and strolled around the school grounds until he caught a whiff of cigarette smoke near the far end of the baseball field. He turned his head to the rusty shed 10 steps away from him. That must be it.
Following the smell, he soon heard the voices of 2 or more people, throwing insults left and right. A loud bang ensued as if something was thrown to the metal wall, followed by a faint groan and a bout of mocking laughter.
"Get up! You're going to make me lose, you dumb fuck!"
"Just pay up. He's not recovering from my super punch this time."
"Shut up. If I do this, it'll count as standing, right?"
Shen Yuan walked out of the corner, shifting the three bullies' attention to him. One of them, a boy with bleached hair and a face resembling a frog, clutched another boy by his neck, forcing him to his feet.
The boy didn't have any bruises on his face, but his white uniform was full of dirt, burn marks, and shoeprints. His dirty, tangled hair covered half of his face, and several, incongruous pierce marks scattered across his ears.
On the bullies' lapels was the second-year badge while the victim was a first-year. Shen Yuan threw them a smile. "Why are you stopping? Let me in on the fun."
Seeing his third-year badge, the one sporting a crewcut and a piercing on his right eyebrow clicked his tongue and flicked his smoke to the wall. "Let's go."
Frog Face promptly dropped the first-year boy and threw his still burning cigarette butt to him, followed by his lanky friend. The two followed their leader to leave through the opposite corner of the shed.
Shen Yuan fanned away the unpleasant smell and stomped off the butts. He extinguished the last one right by the boy's hand, not flinching the slightest bit with his sole almost grazing his fingers. He glanced down at his nameplate.
Zhou Yi.
If that Gao Lang was here, he would've already killed those bullies from how pathetic his general looked. Being bullied in his own world. How ironic.
No doubt it had something to do with the vulture. The question was whether it was operating on a conscious or subconscious level. If it was aware of where it was, then why didn't it directly kill Zhou Yi?
Shen Yuan put aside his thoughts for now and knelt down. "Are you alright? Can you stand?"
The boy raised his face slightly, revealing the pair of golden suns behind his thin fringes. Shen Yuan was now 100% convinced that this was indeed General Zhou Yi. Even if his hair regressed to its previous color, his eyes still carried the testament of his strength.
Despite their current lackluster, resilience stubbornly hid within, waiting to be freed.
"I like that look." Shen Yuan stood up and offered his hand. "It doesn't belong to the ground."
"…" Zhou Yi stared at the clean, fair hand.
He grabbed hold of it and got up to his feet. He glanced at Shen Yuan's nameplate and badge.
Shen Yuan eyed Zhou Yi up and down. Although he wasn't as built as his real self, his physique was already more developed than most of the students he passed by until now. Rather, he looked like he could easily knock out the two lackeys earlier.
Then, there must be another reason why he wasn't fighting back.
"I don't know what their problem is with you, but I can guess it's nothing simple." Shen Yuan patted the dirt off Zhou Yi's uniform with the back of his hand. He tidied his hair, setting aside his fringe to look into his hooded eyes and smile. "Hang in there."
Zhou Yi's pupils silently dilated.
"I'm from class 3-C. Find me anytime." Shen Yuan waved in farewell and walked away, feigning ignorance to the gaze burning his back.
There was no need to rush. He only needed to leave an impression on first contact, enough to be remembered, but not too much that it would leave a prejudice instead.
Next, was to observe.