Chapter 27

It was only a guess. Before things became clear, when their eyes met, Qin Su instinctively gave her a polite little nod.

After nodding back to Qin Su from across the room, Xuan Jingxi felt the anxiety she had carried since yesterday ease a little.

Judging by Qin Su's reaction, at least he didn't seem to have taken issue with the Xuan Family over that little lunatic He Wenyuan's crazed antics.

Raymond, who had thrown his shoulders back and puffed out his chest at the sight of Xuan Jingxi entering, wishing he could turn into a peacock and fan his tail right then and there, was speechless.

The good news: Xuan Jingxi had looked in his direction.

The bad news: she hadn't been looking at him, but at Qin Su, who was standing diagonally in front of him.

Qin Su...

Raymond looked at Qin Su, and the words "only natural" flashed through his mind.

He immediately clutched his heart with one hand, feeling even more stabbed in the heart.

"Students, this is your senior." After saying this to Class 6, Duan Lin turned her gaze to Xuan Jingxi.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Xuan Jingxi. It's an honor to serve as Teacher Duan's teaching assistant for this class and answer your questions," Xuan Jingxi said in a clear voice, standing beside the teacher. "Teacher Duan covered the basics in detail this morning. If you have any questions during this afternoon's hands-on session with weapons and mechas, you can ask Teacher Duan or me."

With that, Xuan Jingxi looked at Duan Lin.

Duan Lin used a command to unlock the various basic anti-Zerg weapons and low-end mechas arranged around the classroom. She raised a hand, pointed at them, and said, "Starting now, you have two hours to try them out. After that, at four in the afternoon, I'll take you into the Simulated Battlefield for a combat simulation."

"During that time, I'd like you to try every weapon and mecha in this classroom. All the energy in the weapons has been locked, so feel free to use them without fear. Ask if there's anything you don't understand. Don't be afraid. Your results in the combat simulation two hours from now will count toward your regular assessment grade."

"Begin."

When Duan Lin finished speaking, her gaze fell on Qin Su.

Qin Su hadn't attended the morning class, but based on the other teachers' prior experiences, he was presumably very familiar with the low-end weapons and mechas in the classroom.

After all, Qin Su was someone who could use even a gun so low-end that it could only remotely fire inhibitors with exceptional proficiency.

She was curious which weapon or mecha in the classroom Qin Su would choose to try for this class.

The classroom, which could accommodate five hundred students at once, was enormous. There were generally at least five sets of each type of weapon and mecha around its perimeter. As soon as Duan Lin finished speaking, the students scattered, choosing the weapons and mechas that interested them most based on the theoretical knowledge they had learned that morning.

Where too many gathered, they spontaneously formed lines to wait their turn.

Almost the instant Duan Lin finished speaking, Raymond ignored the looks from the people around him and dashed toward Xuan Jingxi.

[Raymond's thrown his dignity away just to fan his tail]

[Xuan Jingxi: Oh no, is he coming for me?]

[I wonder which one Qin Su will choose. He didn't even attend the morning class. Does he really know how to operate these weapons and mechas?]

Qin Su: "..."

Does knowing them on paper count?

Noticing that the teacher and Xuan Jingxi were both focused on him, Qin Su rose at a normal pace, maintaining a composed expression despite the pressure.

From the operating manuals and schematics he had read, none of the weapons or mechas in the classroom were particularly difficult.

When Qin Su had first learned about these mechas and weapons, he had the system sort them by difficulty, from easiest to hardest.

In particular, he had already taken advantage of the time spent entering the classroom and sitting down to quietly get a good look at every mecha and weapon. Now he knew that the weapon in this classroom that required a little more skill to operate was in the area behind the lectern where Teacher Duan and Xuan Jingxi stood.

It was a weapon called the AOM390.

It looked much like a sniper rifle from the real world, but was nearly five times the size.

According to the system's data, the AOM390 weighed thirty jin.

Given the physical constitution of people in the real world, it would be difficult to hold it up in combat for long. Its weight would put a strain on their arms.

Yet according to what he knew about how often weapons were used on the battlefield, it was one of the weapons commonly used in combat.

Once again, Qin Su felt the reality that the natives of the Comic World had far better physical constitutions than ordinary people in the real world.

Reading about them in a book and actually trying them were completely different experiences. If he could, Qin Su naturally wanted to get his hands on every one of them.

But he couldn't.

If he took the initiative to try those simple weapons, it would give the "audience" the impression that he was just like the other students who had never handled these weapons and mechas before.

That ran counter to the illusion he wanted to create: that he was so familiar with all of them that he wasn't particularly interested.

A "well-informed" big shot couldn't show interest in anything in front of others, nor could he take the initiative to play with every simple weapon in quick succession.

With no better choice, he could only pick the relatively difficult AOM390 and "reluctantly give it a try."

As for Xuan Jingxi, who seemed to have come for him...

I'll play it by ear.

Under Teacher Duan's and Xuan Jingxi's undisguised gazes, Qin Su got up and headed toward the place where the AOM309 was displayed. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a familiar figure rushing onto the platform.

The figure blocked Xuan Jingxi just as she was about to walk toward him.

Qin Su: "..."

The surprise came out of nowhere. Just like that, Xuan Jingxi, whose purpose he couldn't yet figure out, had been held up by Raymond.

Running away was shameful, but effective.

Qin Su silently thanked Raymond, then walked behind the lectern, looking as though he had no interest in anything around him. Inwardly, he prayed that Raymond would fan his tail for all he was worth and keep Xuan Jingxi too occupied to pay him any attention.

From where He Muzhi was standing, the comic's camera could only capture Qin Su from the front and couldn't see what he was doing with his hands at all.

That way, all he had to do was look "confident" and keep his hand movements at a steady pace, and he could easily pretend to be casual and proficient.

Even if he hesitated on handling the real thing for the first time, no one would notice anything amiss in the time he was deliberately stretching out under the guise of moving at a "steady pace."

As the teacher's final words faded, Xuan Jingxi, who had been about to approach Qin Su, was forced to deal with Raymond suddenly cutting in. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Qin Su walk unhurriedly behind her.

"..."

Wait, where did this... Xuan Jingxi silently looked Raymond up and down, fighting hard to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching.

A peacock?

"Jing... ahem, hello, Senior."

Raymond held out his hand to Xuan Jingxi with a smile he had practiced several times in the mirror. "You might not know me. My name is..."

Xuan Jingxi had no interest in Raymond's purpose. She gave his hand a cursory shake and quickly let go. "Raymond, I know who you are."

The big lunatic had long been planning a marriage alliance for her. Information on countless people from various families who were around her age had been sent to her. All her achievements, dazzling in the eyes of the world, were nothing more than bargaining chips for a marriage alliance in the big lunatic's eyes. It was sickening.

But she had to act, so she had carefully read the information on every potential marriage partner, pretending to give each one serious consideration.

Raymond's eyes lit up. "Really..."

"Do you have a question?" Xuan Jingxi only wanted to answer Raymond's question quickly so she could go find Qin Su.

"A question, uh..."

He had only wanted to fan his... no, standing before Xuan Jingxi, whose many outstanding achievements he had heard about before entering the academy, Raymond grew nervous. He pointed at whatever caught his eye, subconsciously gesturing ahead. "That... yes, that one."

Raymond pointed at the weapon Qin Su had laid his hand on. "Senior Xuan, could you teach me?"

Watching Qin Su decisively choose the weapon in the classroom that required a little more skill to operate, Duan Lin had just thought, Just as I expected. Qin Su really does know these weapons, when she saw Raymond point at it too.

Under the comic's camera, Qin Su, whose fingers had been busy striking a pose as he elegantly rested his hand on the weapon, and who had not yet had the chance to exploit his distance from the camera to "act" proficient before the "audience," was speechless. "...?"

Raymond, you...

Qin Su, who had "thanked him too soon," was so taken aback by Raymond's move that he nearly choked.

Xuan Jingxi turned in the direction Raymond was pointing, saw the weapon Qin Su stood in front of, and smiled. She started walking as she said, "No problem. Let's go."

"Thank you!"

Having not been rejected, Raymond sounded pleased and clearly relieved.

"Huh? Muzhi, where are you going?"

He Muzhi, who had been cautiously touching a mecha at the side of the classroom based on that morning's theoretical lesson, caught sight of this and went over as well.

Raymond and Senior Xuan were both heading over. At Qin Su's... one more or one fewer wouldn't make a difference, so it wouldn't look too abrupt or deliberate if he went over.

"I want to see Senior Xuan teach too," He Muzhi said, making an excuse.

The place where Qin Su had been alone suddenly had four people, and even Teacher Duan was walking over. Qin Su: "..."

Great. A world where I'm the only one who gets hurt has been perfectly achieved.

Popping the champagne halfway through really is asking for trouble!

With roughly seven seconds left before the other four reached him, Qin Su swiftly swept his lowered gaze over the entire AOM390.

He wouldn't have known if he hadn't looked, and what he saw startled him.

The weapon had been used so often as a "teaching aid" that many of its buttons were worn down to the point where the letters on them were illegible.

The AOM390 had the greatest destructive power of all the weapons present, and its terrifying, permanent corrosive damage could kill a person almost instantly.

To prevent anyone from pressing the wrong button because it was too simple to operate and "hitting their teammates and themselves," the AOM390 didn't have many controls, but its buttons were scattered all over the place.

They had to be operated in precisely the right order to successfully fire its ammunition, which was highly lethal to more than fifty percent of Zerg.

Although the weapon used solely for "teaching" contained no real ammunition at the moment, he still couldn't afford to be careless.

Qin Su was glad he had studied it in detail beforehand. Otherwise, having missed the morning class, he would surely be completely at a loss now and fail to maintain his persona.

After matching his memories to the worn buttons on the AOM390 as quickly as he could, rehearsing the operating sequence in his head, and assigning a task to each finger, Qin Su heard Teacher Duan, He Muzhi, Xuan Jingxi, and Raymond arrive at different positions around him.

They were watching him from different directions.

Leaving aside the protagonist He Muzhi and Raymond, who was busy fanning his tail, Qin Su knew that the professional studies teacher Duan Lin and Xuan Jingxi, who had already made achievements in weapons and mecha development, were doing far more than the casual observation they appeared to be. As they watched, they would subconsciously use their knowledge to judge how well he had mastered the weapon.

That was precisely why he couldn't make the slightest mistake.

Under the four pairs of burning eyes, Qin Su looked utterly unconcerned, though his mind was taut.

Although it was his first time handling the real thing, he disguised his movements as casual because he was "so familiar with it," taking the AOM390 from the display stand and raising it.

Qin Su lifted all thirty jin of it "easily and elegantly."

His arms had followed him into this life, and it had been "worth it."

Whatever the weapon, different people would handle it differently.

Qin Su copied what he had learned, raising the AOM390 in a posture even more standard than the "textbook" one, then tilted his head slightly as he would when using a sniper rifle in the real world.

The instant he lowered his eyes to the scope, Qin Su didn't dare hesitate at all if he wanted to demonstrate how "experienced" he was with the AOM390. His thumb, middle finger, and ring finger rapidly pressed the buttons on the bottom and side of the weapon in the sequence he had rehearsed, with barely an instant between each press.

Finally, his index finger pulled the button that resembled a "trigger."

Bang—

The next second, Qin Su heard a sound like a blank round firing.

What skilled fingerwork.

Seeing this, Duan Lin and Xuan Jingxi exchanged a glance, each seeing the same thought in the other's eyes: Just as expected.

Qin Su's long fingers landed on each button with swift, unhesitating movements. Throughout the entire process, he hadn't even glanced down once to check.

His fingerwork was practiced. Even with the lettering worn off the buttons, he moved so quickly that they could barely see what he was doing. It was clearly not his first time using it.

[Called it!!! 1 big shot really has mastered every weapon! Otherwise he wouldn't have picked the hardest weapon in the whole classroom without a moment's hesitation, just because the others, where you only have to "pull the trigger," are too easy to operate]

[Does anyone else appreciate the sheer power of Big Shot Su tilting his head slightly, his sharp dark eyes narrowing as he looked through the scope, his whole body radiating an aura of having everything under control?! He's still so cool even without actually firing anything. I can't imagine how cool Big Shot Su would be using a weapon on the battlefield!]

[Enough said, my heart is a durian, snipe me!]

The smooth, flowing sequence came to an end without a single mistake.

Catching sight of the bullet comments, Qin Su relaxed a little.

He had successfully "acted" his way through it.

Then Qin Su naturally turned sideways and looked calmly at Raymond. "Your turn."

He appeared to be "kindly" handing the AOM309 to Raymond, who had pointed at it and said he wanted to ask Xuan Jingxi for guidance, but he was actually trying to keep Raymond occupied with her.

"...Okay."

With Qin Su's "excellent performance setting the standard," Raymond felt the pressure mount as he took the AOM390 from him.

But wasn't this also a good opportunity?

Having studied the operating theory, Raymond raised the AOM390 and said to Xuan Jingxi, "I remember you press this first..."

Having witnessed how well Qin Su handled the weapon, Xuan Jingxi clearly realized that he had no need of her guidance.

Seeing Raymond, who clearly hadn't undergone long-term training, easily lift the thirty-jin weight, Qin Su once again felt envious of a true Alpha's physical constitution. He nodded to the others, preparing to go over to a mecha that also required a little skill to operate.

Hearing was less convincing than seeing. Duan Lin had experienced firsthand that what the other teachers said was true.

Attending the morning class really made no difference to Qin Su. At least so far, his knowledge of the material she taught went beyond mere familiarity. Judging by his quick, practiced movements, he was highly proficient.

"Student Qin Su." Duan Lin called out to Qin Su as he turned to leave after nodding to her.

"?"

Puzzled, Qin Su turned around with a natural expression and heard Duan Lin speak.

"Could you teach some of the other students in our class?" Duan Lin asked.

There were nearly five hundred students. Although half of them were figuring things out on their own, many still had questions. She and Xuan Jingxi alone couldn't possibly keep up with answering questions and providing guidance.

Qin Su: "..."

That's wonderful!

Wouldn't that give me a perfectly legitimate chance to try out every weapon and mecha I've only read about but never actually touched?

The surprise came out of nowhere. Qin Su suppressed his delight, kept his expression unchanged, and answered with restraint, "Okay."

Qin Su looked cold, but he had agreed. Duan Lin smiled. "Then thank you, Student Qin."

"You're welcome." Qin Su was sincere. "Teacher Duan, it's my honor."

Duan Lin said, "Good boy."

Though she knew Qin Su was being polite, everyone liked someone who was clearly powerful yet exceptionally modest and gentlemanly.

The bullet comments were on the same wavelength as Duan Lin.

[Qin Su's obviously just being polite, and the teacher actually took him seriously]

[So what? Judge actions, not intentions. He helped, and that's what matters!]

[Today he's a gentleman 1! (leaves satisfied)]

[He clearly isn't interested in those toy-like weapons, but he agreed to help because the teacher asked. He's strong and reliable. How can anyone say this 1 big shot doesn't care about Class 6!]

Qin Su: "..."

The truth was, he had meant what he said, and he was very interested in them.

In this world, he wasn't qualified to treat them as toys at all. Quite the opposite: the things he played with in the real world, which couldn't pierce a Zerg's body, were toys to the natives of the Comic World.

Duan Lin faced the students. "Everyone, if there's anything you don't understand, you can also ask Student Qin Su for guidance."

As soon as she said that, the noisy room fell silent for a moment.

Ask Qin Su for help? At the thought of Qin Su's icy, keep-your-distance demeanor, the students sucked in a breath.

They were all students, so why was the gap between them so huge? Qin Su hadn't even attended the morning class, yet he could teach them.

The students: "..."

That hurt.

Being around Qin Su really was scary, but... had to be said, a chance to get close to a big shot was hard to come by!

After a brief silence, the students exchanged glances. An Alpha not far from Qin Su spoke up tentatively. "Um... Qin Su."

Hearing someone call his name, Qin Su suppressed his excitement at the prospect of gaining "new experience." He looked over with an indifferent gaze, maintaining his "bearing" as he waited for the other student to continue.

Under Qin Su's oppressive scrutiny, Miller steeled himself and went on, "Could you help us figure out why GU-281's arm won't move?"

GU-281 was a mech a full five meters tall. Its combat capabilities were weak, and it was an ordinary mech used to familiarize students with the basics of operating one.

"Sure," Qin Su replied evenly. He strode toward Miller and started recording with his Optical Brain.

To maintain his persona as someone who "couldn't get interested in ordinary weapons," he couldn't repeatedly use weapons and mechs himself. He could only settle for repeatedly watching recordings, combining them with the sensations he'd experienced using them to simulate their use in his mind and achieve true proficiency.

For the next hour or so, beneath Qin Su's aloof exterior, his mind was full of: Experience, experience, experience, chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp...

Using teaching his classmates as an excuse, he even got to touch countless weapons he couldn't openly touch. He was so happy that, afraid he might laugh out loud, he tried to think of every saddest thing that had ever happened to him.

To stop the corners of his mouth from shooting upward, he even frowned slightly a few times.

What one learned from books always felt shallow. Qin Su's favorite thing was to personally "demonstrate it once" for his classmates.

People's joys and sorrows were not shared. As the students asked him for help, they were thinking:

Why is Qin Su frowning? Is it because I made a mistake?

Help, Qin Su looks like he wants to say something but is holding back. He's angry, right? He has to be angry!

He's cold, but so patient, and he even demonstrates things himself! People would die of envy if they heard about this!

I'm this stupid, and Qin Su still didn't give me a nasty look. He even taught me step by step. He's really such a decent person!

After Xuan Jingxi sent Raymond away, she kept trying to find a chance to speak with Qin Su, but...

She couldn't find one at all.

No matter what thoughts the students had when they asked for help, Qin Su's expression remained cold, but because he had agreed to the teacher's request for help, he turned no one away.

Although those weapons and mechs were toys that Qin Su couldn't even be bothered to try himself and found "boring beyond measure," he helped his classmates with utmost patience, displaying his excellent upbringing to the fullest.

Finally, two hours passed, and the time allotted to familiarizing themselves with weapons and mechs at this stage was up. Following the plan arranged beforehand, Duan Lin led the students to the combat simulation room.

"Qin Su, wait a moment." Just as Qin Su was about to leave, Xuan Jingxi's voice came from behind him.

"..." Qin Su stopped.

Avoidance really couldn't solve the problem.

Xuan Jingxi quickly approached to within a step of Qin Su. He forced himself to turn and face her, but said nothing, unsure what she wanted.

Under Qin Su's cold gaze, Xuan Jingxi glanced at the departing crowd. Once she was certain no one would hear them, she smiled and said, "I have a video I'd like to show you. Would that be all right?"

Xuan Jingxi quickly added, "I know this takes up a lot of your time, and I don't want to do this either, but it's what my dad wants. I have to obey."

Every grievance had its source, every debt its debtor. If this soured his mood, he could direct it straight at the big lunatic responsible.

A video?

Her dad's... wishes?

The more Qin Su heard, the more confused he became. Driven by curiosity, he said expressionlessly, "...Sure."

No one could resist the allure of gossip, not even him! Besides... with the "indifferent" look he was putting on, no one could tell he actually wanted to eat melon.

"Thank you."

Xuan Jingxi breathed a sigh of relief and said thank you with a smile. Only then did she bring up the video she had recorded in the hospital room on her Optical Brain.

In the video, Xuan Jingxi slapped He Wenyuan every time he said a sentence. Both his cheeks were red and swollen from the slaps, and the corners of his mouth had split.

A short distance away in the video, a man who looked somewhat older silently watched it all.

After being slapped, He Wenyuan even said "thank you" to the two of them.

Qin Su: "..."

How bizarre.

Mystery solved. Xuan Jingxi kept looking at him not because she wanted to make trouble for him over the way he had stared at her during the entrance ceremony to appear inscrutable, but because she wanted to show him a video of He Wenyuan getting slapped.

But... why did she want to show him?