Chapter 273
Hearing the slight sound of the hatch closing, He Muzhi saw Qin Su appear before him. He wore a dark gray suit with a pure black overcoat, making his aura even more somber and cold. On the index finger of his right hand, which was gripping two leather gloves, was a scarlet gemstone ring, giving the impression that he had just finished meeting someone.
'So, they didn't come specifically to pick them up; they were most likely just passing by?'
He Muzhi: "..."
Fortunately, the group below didn't know, otherwise there would have been concrete evidence of their (Class 6) narcissism.
"Long time no see." Knowing everyone was looking him over, Qin Su didn't pause. He strode forward, pretending to have taken a break from his busy schedule to come. He held the black leather glove he had just taken off in his right hand, stopped at a suitable distance from the students of Class 6), glanced at them as usual, and casually asked, "How do you think it is?"
The students of Class 6, who were trying to control their eyes from glancing too obviously below Qin Su's eyes, were suddenly startled and immediately put aside their chaotic thoughts.
They had something to hide; what they were thinking about were the things they'd seen their classmates subtly hinting at in the 999 Group, things they hadn't said a single word about.
That's certainly too cold-hearted.
But they are not Qin Su, and cannot be responsible for anyone's future. To put it bluntly, if Qin Su stops caring about their fate, the longer they are separated, the more likely they will eventually become just ordinary classmates.
For a moment, no one knew whether Qin Su meant that matter. Feeling guilty, no one spoke. Some people habitually looked at He Muzhi, while others looked awkwardly at the sky and the ground.
They remembered that He Muzhi hadn't said a word, and if they made a mistake, He Muzhi wouldn't be able to escape either.
He Muzhi noticed the gazes of his classmates, but he didn't know what Qin Su was referring to. However, he understood what his classmates meant. He hesitated for a moment, and no one spoke.
Although he didn't say it, Qin Su always treated them with a cold attitude, both in his actions and expressions. He rarely acted so casually, as if he were treating long-lost friends. This sudden question might be about their opinion on how they viewed the behavior of their classmates who were subtly probing their interests, and they didn't know how to answer without making a mistake.
"Um?"
He'd clearly practiced his tone, so why did he kill the conversation right from the start? Had he not practiced enough?
Receiving no response whatsoever, Qin Su simply fixed his gaze precisely on He Muzhi, who had been looked at the most.
He Muzhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Each student has their own difficulties. I'm not in their shoes, so I shouldn't interfere..."
"It's not about that." Qin Su was a little confused at first after hearing the beginning, but as he continued listening, combining everyone's awkward expressions with He Muzhi's use of "students" to mean "them," and based on the information he had seen in the Real World, he quickly identified what He Muzhi was referring to. He immediately interrupted, looking at everyone except He Muzhi, and reminded them in his usual tone, "I'm referring to this meeting."
Before reaching the next destination, he really just wanted to chat casually, nothing more.
He can't even guarantee that his own stance and intentions will remain consistent forever, so how can he be qualified to demand that his classmates not have any ulterior motives? These things are inappropriate, and even if they were brought up in the open, they would be impossible to clarify, and would instead smack of moral blackmail.
Everyone was about to relax when they suddenly realized that Qin Su had denied He Muzhi's words with a definite tone. So... Qin Su knew about the students' probing behavior in the group chat, and he was also aware of their subconscious actions of 'drawing a line to avoid jeopardizing their future'.
"..."
Thinking of this, many people felt a mix of emotions and dared not look Qin Su in the eye, remaining silent.
Seeing the awkward expressions on his classmates' faces, Qin Su sighed inwardly.
After a quick glance, it became clear that his classmates weren't as shameless as him, nor did they have as strong a sense of morality. They simply couldn't enjoy the same immoral life of treating anyone they could exploit as a tool.
He Muzhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly regaining his composure. "After this..."
"Never mind." Seeing that his classmates were troubled by their high academic scores and had no interest in chatting with him, Qin Su simply interrupted He Muzhi again and looked at Sophia, the 'Deputy Class Monitor' on duty for Class 6): "Send me the compiled meeting minutes."
He was curious whether everything his classmates had personally observed, investigated, and recorded matched what he had seen in comics in the Real World.
"Good!"
Sophia turned on her Optical Brain, thankful that she didn't have a procrastination problem and had started organizing the documents from the moment she received them from her classmates, so she could send them to Qin Su immediately.
Qin Su turned his gaze to the other students. "Everyone must be tired these past few days. Go into the cabin and rest for now. We'll meet back here in sixteen hours, and then we'll be dismissed."
After giving his brief reply, Qin Su turned and quickly left.
As Qin Su's footsteps gradually faded into the distance until they disappeared, the group of students from Class 6, their bodies tense, looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before someone finally spoke.
"Did we... upset the Class Monitor?"
"It's my fault," He Muzhi said apologetically. "I didn't understand what the Class Monitor was talking about before I brought up something that upset Class Monitor."
"Don't take all the blame on yourself. To be honest, when the Class Monitor asked about it, I couldn't get over it, and that was my first thought."
"I... no matter what the future holds, we're in Class 6 now. Before graduation, there was just a little incident, and we... well, it felt really weird."
"To be honest, I was really happy that our Class Monitor came to pick us up, but the thought that Class Monitor classmates watching the live stream would see us makes me nervous. I'm even a little afraid to open that group chat now."
"Don't overthink it. I saw it, and everyone's chatting normally. Although there are fewer messages in the group than before, those previous messages have all been deleted. They don't seem to be hiding anything at all."
"What if it's an act..."
"Ahem, be careful."
After listening for a while, He Muzhi became increasingly flustered and finally raised his voice. "Do you know where our Class Monitor is taking us?"
The chattering noises vanished instantly.
"Oh right, the Class Monitor didn't say."
"Sixteen hours of rest proves that the destination requires that much time for Hyperspace Jump. Starting from here, the target planet has..."
Seeing that everyone was about to continue talking, He Muzhi glanced at the message he received from Samuel on his personal Optical Brain, concealing his surprise, and said calmly, "I think we should listen to the Class Monitor, sleep when we should, and we'll know when we get there."
Samuel said he received a notification from Qin Su.
He Muzhi turned around, waved to his classmates, and headed to the Rest Pod first.
The others exchanged glances and followed one after another.
Although no one spoke, everyone was silently searching for planets within the range and making their own guesses based on the information Qin Su had provided.
--
Atopulai Palace.
Patrick felt a chill on his head. He raised his hand and touched it, the familiar, smooth touch making him curse inwardly. He glanced around and, before everyone's attention was on him, quickly had the guards block his way and leave.
Everyone looked up and watched Qin Su's Spaceship disappear from sight before turning their attention away. Discussions arose all over the huge square, with countless voices mixed together: some picking a fight, some venting their anger, some expressing doubt, and some showing envy.
"Qin Su comes and goes as he pleases, what about the defenses? Are they just for show? How can we guarantee the safety of the President... Where is the President?"
"It was locked down. It was only restarted when Qin Su left. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, so why are you making such a fuss?"
"Is it really necessary for them to come and pick us up in person? Do you think we'd eat them? The way they looked at us, like we were hot potatoes, we're lucky they didn't just put us in sacks, knock us out, and carry us away."
"Calm down, calm down. If I told you that Qin Su wasn't just to pick them up, would you feel any better?"
What does that mean?
"According to the latest information I received, the other members of Class 6) who are not here have also taken leave and left their posts one after another. So is it possible that Qin Su did not come to pick them up on purpose to make them stand out, but to take them away and have them do something?"
"... What a load of rubbish! Qin Su can do anything, yet he insists on having Class 6 do it. Isn't this clearly paving the way for them again? What's the difference between this and telling me how much Qin Su values them?"
"... Damn, it really is!"
--
Samuel told his three friends the news, said goodbye to Halton, and left the Ninth Military District alone for the location on the notice.
Upon arrival at their destination, although everyone was disguised, Samuel still recognized several familiar classmates by their build, hair, eyes, and other features. He felt a pang of embarrassment at his narcissistic thought that Qin Su had entrusted him with an important task.
Seeing a familiar figure in the distance, Anthony waved to Samuel: "Here, we're here, come quick!"
"... Okay." Samuel patted his face, which was covered by a mask, and jogged over.
He hadn't expected that he would be the only one to receive the notification. He thought that other people in Class 6 should have received it as well. But to his surprise, all the classmates he knew in the same area had received it. He hadn't been entrusted with any important task at all. Qin Su Suping had notified everyone in their area.
Anthony's voice drew the attention of the dozen or so people who had arrived earlier. When they saw Samuel, they immediately thought of Samuel's relationship with He Muzhi. Some of them frowned, turned their heads away, and were then nudged twice by the elbows of those around them in disapproval, signaling them not to go too far.
Perhaps because they had spent so much time together, and because they were dealing with Samuel, who was usually mild-mannered, everyone made no attempt to hide their actions. As a result, even Samuel, who was slow to notice, sensed the unusual behavior of his classmates.
The atmosphere was strange. Samuel didn't dare to confront them directly, so he walked over to Anthony, who had greeted him first. Taking advantage of the students moving a little further away, and clearly avoiding their conversation, he whispered, "Everyone seems to be in a bad mood. Is something wrong?"