Chapter 24 (continued)

Even if he had deliberately made that strong statement, he had said there was "no need," not that he "didn't need" anything. His reason for saying there was "no need" was that, in previous classes, he had already made what he wanted using the consumables provided in the classroom during class time, or by taking apart and repurposing works he had made under the teachers' guidance.

There were the "magic" items with maxed-out defensive capabilities that he had made under Teacher Bai's guidance, the offensive "potions" targeting the body parts of various Aberrants that Teacher Yan liked to research, and the detection devices Teacher Tang had developed based on natural landscapes, weather, plants, animals, and so on.

He had even made some curious contraptions by combining the teachers' lessons, though he had yet to use them.

All those items were currently hidden in his dorm. That was why he had "no need." In that context, his statement had nothing to do with lying, and Qi Yue, who was adept at exploiting loopholes and bugs in the Panel, wasn't worried in the least that it would judge him to be lying.

Even though he had privately stayed up through countless days and nights just for that brief strong moment.

He had truly sacrificed too much to maintain his persona and build hype.

Although Qi Yue still hadn't seen the specific contents of the updated comic, he was certain from the forum posts he had read before that scenes of him alone in private or summoning the Panel were not shown in the comic at all. So, when he was alone in his dorm, Qi Yue could do as he pleased without worry.

Under everyone's envious gazes, Beixing walked over to the counter where the items were displayed and looked up at Qi Yue, his nose stinging with emotion. His points were ones Qi Yue had let him have, and now Qi Yue was even giving him his own points to use.

Looking at the items on the counter that all belonged to him, Beixing solemnly said to Qi Yue, "I'll be very serious and work hard during the Weekly Assessment. You can count on me!"

Qi Yue had everything and was always such a gentle, flawless gentleman. This was the promise Beixing could think of to avoid letting Qi Yue's arrangements go to waste.

"Mm."

Qi Yue nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth reflexively curving into their familiar smile. "I believe in you."

Qi Yue felt like an NPC triggered to recite a line, but sometimes being "perfect" required just that, didn't it?

Beneath the appearance of a meticulous, considerate, perfect gentleman lay a sense of cold detachment that remained ever polite. It made people feel they had drawn close, that he was clearly only a step away, yet as distant as the ends of the earth.

Of course... Qi Yue also knew very well that these were the thoughts his behavior would prompt in people other than Beixing. The smarter a person was, the more prone they were to overthinking, and he made good use of that human instinct. He was the same way himself: whenever he thought about something, he always considered every possible "ramification," yet even then, he couldn't stop his thoughts from spreading.

Someone like Beixing, who was simple to the extreme in every respect, would only sincerely believe that Qi Yue was genuinely looking out for him.

And that was precisely why, the more time Qi Yue spent with Beixing, the more he worried about him and couldn't help thinking everything through for his sake.

"Mm!" Beixing answered emphatically and began stuffing the items into the bag he had brought, like a hamster.

No one had many points to begin with, and for ease of carrying, the academy had made the vast majority of the items very portable. The only exception was the sniper rifle, which was a little large.

Having completed the strong moment he had planned long ago, Qi Yue moved on to the next step of his plan, directing his gaze precisely toward Wu Anyi, whose position he had already noted. Her purple hair made her easy to recognize.

As he had expected, after exchanging her points for item 397, Wu Anyi had stayed in the Item Depot, curious about why he had told her to buy it.

From the moment she saw him and Beixing enter the Item Depot, though he couldn't see her expression through her mosaic-covered face, he could tell from the direction of her toes and her movements that she had repeatedly hesitated over whether to approach him. She seemed held back by Beixing's presence and had lingered where she was without moving.

Qi Yue had finished exchanging his points for items, and Wu Anyi hesitated over whether to gather her courage and go ask him how to use item 397.

Although it came with instructions saying to simply scatter it when faced with danger, she still felt she had to ask Qi Yue to put her mind at ease. After all, he was the one who had recommended that she exchange her points for it.

Just as Wu Anyi was wavering, her eyes unexpectedly met Qi Yue's. When those crimson eyes turned toward her, they were cold and sharp.

"!"

Wu Anyi froze for a moment, then nervously lowered her head to look at item 397 in her hand.

Did I stare at him for too long? Is Qi Yue unhappy?

When people felt guilty and nervous, they tended to look busy. Wu Anyi raised a hand to touch her nose, all sorts of thoughts running through her mind.

Qi Yue fixed his gaze on Wu Anyi and strode decisively toward her without hesitation. At the same time, he watched the shadows reflected on the wall opposite him. When Beixing's mosaic-covered face turned toward his back, he spoke with an inscrutable air, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"Wait for me here."

He had previously verified that the Esper Ability he had copied from Beixing didn't work on the teachers or the Class A students with high Esper Ability levels. Now that the Weekly Assessment was about to begin and the device he had made for Beixing was ready, he could no longer put off testing whether his Esper Ability affected the Class F students, whose Esper Abilities were at a lower level.

Apart from Beixing, Wu Anyi had the longest green health bar above her head among the Class F students. That meant her strength in Class F was second only to Beixing's.

She was the ceiling among his test subjects for verifying his Esper Ability's "influence" in Class F. Since there was a ceiling, there was naturally also Zhou Wei, whose strength was at the floor level in Class F. Testing them in order from strongest to weakest would be more rigorous.

That was also one of the reasons he hadn't said what was in Item Slot 397 at the time. Once he had piqued Wu Anyi's curiosity, she wouldn't leave easily. He could then use telling her how to use it as an excuse to conduct his test without drawing attention.

"Ah... okay." Beixing had only just raised his head to look at Qi Yue when he heard him speak. He thought that Qi Yue really was amazing: even with his back turned, he knew Beixing's every move.

Zhao Yu was a good friend of Wu Anyi's and stood right beside her. Unsure of the strength of the Esper Ability he had copied, Qi Yue glanced at Zhao Yu as he stepped toward Wu Anyi.

In class, Zhao Yu usually said the right thing on the right occasion and reacted quickly. Without a doubt, Zhao Yu was good at reading people. Qi Yue thought Zhao Yu would understand from his look that he wanted her to leave him and Wu Anyi some privacy.

"Good luck," Zhao Yu murmured to Wu Anyi after receiving the icy, warning glance from beneath Qi Yue's lowered eyelids. She quickly moved away from her.

She was so fast that Wu Anyi didn't even have time to stop her.

Wu Anyi: "..."

With Zhao Yu gone, Qi Yue walked toward Wu Anyi without worry. Just as he had thought, Zhao Yu was excellent at reading people.

"Q-Qi Yue, hello..." Qi Yue's destination was so obvious that anyone could tell he was coming toward her. Under his sharp gaze, Wu Anyi greeted him awkwardly and stiffly.

Qi Yue's steps appeared unhurried, but he was actually calculating the distance carefully as he approached Wu Anyi. When he heard her voice, he made sure to stop about fifty centimeters away from her.

The test was over. Nothing had happened.

"...Hello."

Although he had already anticipated a "bad" outcome when he tested it using Lu Zhaobei, Qi Yue couldn't help feeling a stir of emotion now that the moment had truly arrived. He controlled it well, fixed his gaze on item 397 in Wu Anyi's hand, and delivered the words he had prepared long ago.

"Just dilute it with water before use."

The potion that was item 397 had been made by Teacher Bai Yening herself. Qi Yue had specifically studied all of Teacher Bai Yening's works that combined "chemical methods" with Esper Abilities, which Teacher Bai jokingly called her "enchanted" works. Naturally, he had read the instructions for item 397 long ago and knew its "formula" inside out.

Although Teacher Bai Yening's items were mostly known for their maxed-out defense and paralysis effects, by studying the ingredients in the formula and consulting Teacher Yan Feichen's private dissection and analysis records of the YR Research Institute's Fifth Level Aberrants, he had discovered that the potion contained an ingredient lethal to Fifth Level Aberrants, the lowest danger level at the YR Research Institute.

When the undiluted 397 potion hit other Aberrants, it only paralyzed them briefly, giving the user time to escape. But even at a low concentration, it would cause intense corrosion and lethal damage when it hit a Fifth Level Aberrant from the YR Research Institute.

Wu Anyi's Esper Ability was also related to water control. Combined with her Esper Ability, item 397 would produce remarkable effects in both defense and attack.

"Goodbye."

Qi Yue didn't linger. With a faint glimmer of hope, he walked toward Zhou Wei, whose Esper Ability strength was at the floor of Class F.

Heaven... surely you can't be so cruel to me.

"Goodbye..." After replying instinctively, Wu Anyi saw Qi Yue's retreating figure heading toward Zhou Wei. Belatedly remembering what he had come over to tell her, she lowered her head to look at the item 397 potion in her hand.

According to the instructions, 397 was an ordinary potion no matter how she looked at it. Even pouring out the entire bottle would only paralyze an Aberrant for three minutes. It was pretty useless.

Yet Qi Yue had told her to spend all her points on this very product and even to dilute it with water before using it. Wasn't he afraid that would weaken its paralyzing effect?

But... Qi Yue came to explain it to me personally, so it should... No, if I listen to Qi Yue, I definitely can't go wrong! That's right.

Thinking of how much Qi Yue knew about the YR Research Institute, Wu Anyi became resolute.

Zhou Wei could understand Qi Yue approaching Wu Anyi; after all, she had stood up for Beixing. But he hadn't expected Qi Yue to come looking for him alone.

Seeing Qi Yue walking toward him, a cold, sharp aura radiating from his whole body, Zhou Wei felt nervous and embarrassed. He instinctively swallowed, his throat dry.

The green health bar above Zhou Wei's head proved that he was the weakest in the class, so Qi Yue had no need to make the students around him leave.

Anyone could see Zhou Wei's desire for money. For Qi Yue, that was a pretext for a topic that could arise naturally during the test.