Chapter 22

Unfortunately, according to the information Big Zhou had provided, Qi Yue was highly likely to possess two Esper Abilities...

It was indeed full of unknown dangers in every sense.

Seeing Lu Zhaobei's pale face, Zhou Zifu told him something Dean Li had yet to announce. "After the seven academies drew lots, the YR Research Institute was chosen as the location for the Seventh Hunter Academy's weekly assessment."

Before the incident with Number 8792 broke out, the YR Research Institute had been a secret. Afterward, the news had been swiftly suppressed, and the institute remained a secret. But it was no secret to Lu Zhaobei, who had personally experienced the incident, or to Zhou Zifu, whose sources were exceptionally well informed.

Zhou Zifu suspected this might be retaliation from the First Hunter Academy. After all, the First Hunter Academy had always organized the drawing of lots for the academies' weekly assessment locations. Or... perhaps its target was Qi Yue. Because Qi Yue was here, they had to go to the YR Research Institute.

Surely it couldn't be because Old Man Li was just that unlucky?

"Old Man Li brought you close to Qi Yue at a time like this. I can't help thinking there's more to it. I don't want to assume the worst of Old Man Li, but, Zhaobei, please don't forget... Zong Qizheng was Old Man Li's student."

Lu Zhaobei said, "...Thank you. I understand. I won't go near Qi Yue again."

The weight lifted from Zhou Zifu's heart, though he didn't forget to reassure him. "No matter what happens, we'll be by your side."

On the day before the weekly assessment, Liao Yuanliang announced in a grave tone, "The location of this week's assessment is the YR Research Institute."

"These are the materials on the YR Research Institute. Make sure you commit them to memory." Liao Yuanliang's Esper Ability allowed him to control anything made of paper. Using it, he swiftly distributed the materials on the YR Research Institute to every student.

"Whoa... the YR Research Institute? Never heard of it. Let me see what mutated monsters they've got in there..."

"Ew, aren't they just a few corpses? What's the big deal?"

"We're Class F. The assessment area assigned to us will definitely be full of small fry, like little mutated animals and stuff. Even if we run into corpses, their mutations shouldn't be too severe, so they'll be easy to deal with. We're F-class trash, after all, hahaha..."

"True."

Clearly, the students weren't afraid of corpses. They were even in the mood to joke.

Qi Yue: "..."

No way, no way. Was he the only one in class who was scared?! Qi Yue lowered his gaze, his fingers stiff, but forced himself to flip through the booklet at a steady pace.

He was completely numb.

He had seen plenty of corpses, sure, but... he had never seen corpses like these!

Zombies

combined with the eerie terror of ghosts made his scalp tingle.

Heaven knew how shocked he had been when he opened the booklet without warning and all sorts of chilling, sinister "ghosts" greeted him... How much self-control had it taken to suppress the urge to fling the booklet away?

Why was it that the humans here all had mosaic faces in his eyes, but when it came to... the ones in the booklet, they were high-definition and uncensored, with the details magnified to boot?

The more Qi Yue looked, the more he wanted to pinch his philtrum. But for some reason, ever since the booklets were handed out, the homeroom teacher had been staring straight at him.

Qi Yue: "..."

Keep acting strong, then. What else could he do, quit the act?

Compared with the other students, Qi Yue's expression was far too calm and composed. Besides, Qi Yue didn't have to do anything. His mere presence was hard to ignore. It was hard for Liao Yuanliang not to notice him.

At this level, Qi Yue, who had weathered so many storms, must be bored.

Then he would add a little interest to Qi Yue's otherwise boring time.

"Student Qi Yue." Liao Yuanliang raised his voice to call on him.

Chapter 22

"?" What was the homeroom teacher up to now?

Qi Yue closed the booklet at its last page, quickly got his expression under control, and calmly raised his eyes to the homeroom teacher's mosaic face at the front of the classroom.

With a natural expression, he asked, "Mr. Liao, is there something you need?"

As the focus of everyone's attention, the moment Qi Yue spoke, the previously noisy Class F fell silent, as if someone had pressed pause. Their gazes landed on Qi Yue in unison.

They also wanted to know why the homeroom teacher had suddenly called on Qi Yue.

Beixing, who now sat only one seat away from Qi Yue, was being watched by so many people for the first time. Although he knew they were looking at Qi Yue beside him, his body tensed involuntarily, and he sat ramrod straight. At Qi Yue's side, he had to pay more attention to his appearance. He couldn't embarrass Qi Yue.

Still, Qi Yue really was something, always so effortlessly attracting his classmates' attention and affection. Beixing understood all too well those gazes they couldn't help but cast longingly at another person. He had looked at many, many people that way before.

"..."

Qi Yue kept his eyelids raised at the same angle, making himself look languid and bored. He also kept his body loose, appearing relaxed and at ease. With so many eyes on him, he had to be even more careful with his every move.

Seeing how calm and aloof Qi Yue looked, as though everything was under his control and he was accustomed to being the center of attention, Liao Yuanliang gave him an appreciative look and lightly tapped the desk in front of him.

Bang, bang...

At the sound, the students looked at Liao Yuanliang, speechless.

Liao Yuanliang's voice rang throughout the classroom.

"Everyone, quiet down."

"Now, let's invite our classmate Qi Yue to analyze and explain the YR Research Institute for everyone." Liao Yuanliang gestured straight at Qi Yue, who was casually propping up his chin with one hand and resting the other on the back cover of the booklet. His eyes were full of anticipation. Qi Yue's indifference after receiving the booklet, his apparent lack of interest in looking closely at its pages, and the speed with which he had flipped through it had made Liao Yuanliang intensely curious. He couldn't wait to confirm his suspicion.

Qi Yue: ...?

Mr. Liao, no one would think you were mute if you kept your mouth shut. Qi Yue questioned his life choices. The heart that had been hanging in suspense was now thoroughly dead.

With so many pairs of eyes fixed on him, Qi Yue understood that he had no reason to refuse.

In short, he was committed to acting strong.

"It's my honor."

My ass!

Smiling, Qi Yue suppressed the urge to thank the homeroom teacher's entire family. He unhurriedly lowered his hand, stood, and glanced around at his classmates.

As he got up and walked toward the front, Qi Yue scooped up the booklet he had finished reading from his desk.

His honor? Well, well, Qi Yue really was happy to accept his invitation and pass the time. And the students might gain something from Qi Yue's explanation. The best of both worlds. The smile on Liao Yuanliang's face grew brighter.

Seeing Qi Yue approach, Liao Yuanliang, who believed he had done a good deed, happily went straight to the chair beside the lectern and sat down, giving up his place. Surely Qi Yue was very grateful to him.

Before Qi Yue had even reached the front, the homeroom teacher had already eagerly stepped aside to slack off. The sight made Qi Yue's teeth itch.

Why not just let him be the homeroom teacher instead?!

Of course, those words could never leave his mouth. Not only that, when Qi Yue reached the center of the front, he had to control his expression and give Liao Yuanliang, the homeroom teacher, a polite little smile before walking to the center of the front.

"Everyone..." Qi Yue habitually glanced around.

Wherever Qi Yue's gaze passed, the students stiffened and instinctively looked up at the front. They were as well-behaved as elementary schoolchildren studying normally in a classroom before the mutations began.

They could still brush off their homeroom teacher, but Qi Yue, who could be smiling like a gentle, good-tempered gentleman one moment and change his face and explode the next...

Thinking of what had happened to Atas and the Esper Detection Crystal Ball, the Class F students grew even stiffer and became more serious and cautious.

They didn't dare be perfunctory at all!

"..."

For a moment, Qi Yue couldn't tell which was more frightening: the densely packed mosaic faces below him, all looking at him from the same angle, or the horror-movie-like photos in the booklet.

No, now wasn't the time to worry about which was scarier. The point was that his upcoming speech had to "overawe" everyone, including the homeroom teacher. He had to accurately state the facts in the booklet they had been given, but also say things that weren't written in it.

Only then would the image he presented to the outside world remain intact.

At the Esper Hunter Academy, Esper Abilities were the most important thing to the students. There was no doubt they would use their abilities in the upcoming weekly assessment. Right now, "Esper Abilities" were the best "tool" he could use as a topic to shut everyone up.

Then... after finishing his opening act, he'd start with Beixing. After all, Beixing was recognized by Class F as the "second strongest." If Qi Yue could appear to know everything about Beixing's Esper Ability, the other Class F students would be more convinced by what he said afterward.

Of course, after he had built up his image by "borrowing the tiger's might," the person the Class F students now considered the strongest was him.

Having quickly worked out a response, Qi Yue feigned confidence, slapped the booklet onto the desk, braced both hands on the lectern, and spoke in a calm voice.

"As everyone knows, the YR Research Institute is located on Katebis Island, and the entire island belongs to the institute. For the upcoming weekly assessment, the academy has divided the institute into six assessment zones, A through F. Area F, where Class F will be assessed, is on the north side of Katebis Island and covers 4,396 square meters. A total of twenty-seven types of Aberrants have appeared within Area F over the years. They are divided into five levels according to their degree of danger. Among the twenty-seven types of Aberrants found in Area F, the highest danger level is level three, with an appearance rate of three percent. The danger level with the highest appearance rate is..."

Qi Yue's voice was steady, his account concise and clear... Most importantly, he spent a full five minutes discussing the key points about the YR Research Institute's zones without once looking at the booklet they had been given.

Although no one doubted Qi Yue's words, as he spoke calmly, the students couldn't help lowering their heads to leaf through the booklets they had never intended to examine seriously in the first place.

As they looked through them and whispered exclamations to one another, the students saw shock in each other's eyes.