Campus

Class monitor Wu Wen's hospital room remained sealed off, and no visitors were allowed. According to the doctor, she still needed to stay in the hospital for another half month.

However, the operation had been very successful, and there would be no side effects afterward.

Luo Di was discharged the following afternoon and received a brand-new wristband at the same time. His personal data was all stored in the cloud.

Residential Zone 13

There were six days left until National Foundation Day, and Luo Di spent them alone at home,

cleaning, cooking, watching discs, and exercising.

He also set aside time to search online for information on "hell," "symbols," and similar subjects. Before bed, he would read the exorcism novels Gao Yuxuan had given him.

Anna called during that time to invite him out, but Luo Di declined on the grounds of family matters. He did not want his hard-won return to "normal life" disrupted by pointless things.

Soon, the fifteen-day National Foundation Day holiday came to an end.

He did not need an alarm clock.

No matter what, Luo Di maintained the habit of getting up at six. The moment he got out of bed, he completed four sets of fifty push-ups in his bedroom.

After showering away his sweat, he changed into his summer uniform.

A bowl of freshly cooked noodles sat on the dining table, topped with greens, a fried egg, and minced meat sauce. It was a breakfast his mother had specially made for him.

As Luo Di ate his noodles, he did not forget to take a vitamin tablet given to him by the class monitor.

Before leaving, he also fed the Corner Parrot kept on the balcony.

Everything ready, Luo Di slung on his backpack and passed the kitchen doorway, looking at his mother's back as she prepared other ingredients.

"Mom, I'm leaving."

"Be careful on the way."

Jupiter City Fourth Middle School, also known as Jupiter Fourth Middle School.

It ranked fourth among the city's middle schools in overall strength. Although there was a considerable gap between it and the First Middle School Anna attended, it was already considered a very good school for ordinary students.

The school had a comprehensive gymnasium and Athletics Field that met senior high school standards, together known as the Sports Center.

The rest of its facilities—the Teaching Building, Laboratory Building, school hospital, office building, and cafeteria—had all been built around the Sports Center.

The most important subject for students was physical education.

In the entrance examination known in Huaxia Nation as the "Gaokao,"

physical education accounted for a terrifying 50% of the score. The remaining 50% was divided between comprehensive logical thinking at 30% and academic subjects at 20%.

Of course, this ratio was not absolute. It depended on students' advancement goals and the admission requirements, which changed every year.

In the early morning, as they entered the school,

students gathered on the Athletics Field by class for a half-hour morning run, with strict lap requirements.

"Luo Di!"

When the morning run ended, Gao Yuxuan came over to greet him, and the two walked back toward the classroom together.

"The class monitor hasn't returned yet, so I'm acting in her place for now. It happens to be your day for duty today. Go directly to the Security Room to assemble later. No need to return to the classroom."

"Okay."

After that brief exchange, Luo Di broke away from the crowd flowing into the Teaching Building.

Student duty officers had a very special job at school. They were not responsible for routine tasks such as the blackboard or the cleaning corner.

After the morning run, each class's duty officer had to report to the Security Room. Led by fully armed security guards, they patrolled every area of the school to eliminate potential "corner risks."

Their duties mainly included the following:

1. Checking the condition of all lighting fixtures.

2. Feeding every Corner Parrot hung at the ends of corridors, around turns, and in other places where corners could easily form.

3. Duty officers who had registered for medical assistance would also go to the school infirmary to assist with psychological screenings for all students.

The entire day of duty would be spent patrolling, with no need to attend class.

Since its founding, Jupiter Fourth Middle School had never experienced any problems.

The duty officers were mainly meant to cultivate students' awareness of corner safety, so that after advancing to higher education and formally entering society, they could keenly spot corner risks and deal with them promptly and correctly.

Luo Di's "habit" had not faded with time. During patrols, he would unconsciously click his tongue.

In the blink of an eye, a week of campus life passed.

10:30

Physical Education Class ended.

Most people lay exhausted across their desks, enjoying the hard-earned break between classes. Looking at the academic class that had finally come up on the schedule, their faces were full of pleasure and relief.

But Luo Di had no intention of resting.

Using the empty space at the back of the classroom, he began his between-class push-ups, as he did every day.

This kind of "competitive behavior" often made many people dislike him, and it was one reason most of the class did not want to deal with Luo Di.

Vice class monitor Gao Yuxuan had once been one of them. More or less irritated by Luo Di's obsessive competitiveness, he tried his best to focus his attention on his own books.

But things were different now.

Gao Yuxuan put down the textbook he needed to review in advance. He stood up, went to the back of the classroom, lowered himself to the floor, and actually began doing push-ups alongside Luo Di.

The two kept almost the same rhythm, but to maintain Luo Di's perfect form, Gao Yuxuan began to struggle once he passed forty.

Just as they were about to finish one hundred push-ups,

someone entered through the classroom's Back Gate. Clean white sneakers stepped directly in front of them.

Her toes pressed into the floor, her calves bent, and she squatted down.

"Hey! Can't you two stop competing so hard? You're putting so much pressure on someone who just got out of the hospital. What a loss for me!"

That familiar, gentle voice slipped into their ears and stirred amid their tense nerves. Even Luo Di froze for a moment.

He pushed hard with both hands and finished his last push-up.

As his gaze rose, it met the girl squatting in front of him.

"Class monitor!"

Gao Yuxuan shouted it outright.

Luo Di, beside him, remained silent. He quickly shifted his gaze to the class monitor's shoulder, but the uniform concealed its condition.

Soon after, the entire class gathered around.

Everyone was concerned about the class monitor. They did not know about the operation; they only knew she had taken leave because of an accidental injury.

Watching the class monitor gradually become surrounded by the crowd, Luo Di instinctively backed away and returned to his desk.

Ring ring~

As the class bell rang, everyone returned to their seats one after another.

As the highly conspicuous class monitor sat down in her own seat, she deliberately turned around and directed her gaze toward the window-side seat, toward Luo Di.

But he only stared at the blackboard, preparing to carefully note down the important knowledge the teacher would explain.

The day's classes ended quickly.

As usual, Luo Di packed his backpack relatively slowly, timing it perfectly with dismissal.

That black shadow spread across his desk again, just as it had on the eve of National Foundation Day. Only this time, it was not the class monitor alone standing before his desk. Gao Yuxuan stood beside her as well, his backpack on his shoulders.

"Luo Di, you don't have anything else planned tonight, right? It should be fine if you don't go home for dinner?"

"What is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it? Didn't we agree? We're having a meal together to celebrate the operation's success. Also, the Municipal Research Bureau contacted me and urged us to go over soon to discuss the 'compensation.'

I've decided that we'll take a car to the Municipal Research Bureau first, then go have dinner together. How about it?"

"Okay. I'll message home. Let's go."

After getting into the rideshare and looking at scenery outside the window unlike the route home, Luo Di did not feel irritated this time that his routine had been disrupted. Instead, a rare emotion arose within him.

Though that emotion was faint, it relaxed his whole body.

His tongue also began clicking unconsciously inside his mouth, frightening the class monitor and Gao Yuxuan in the car into breaking out in cold sweat. They hurriedly made him stop.

From now on, the two daily updates will be released at five in the afternoon and nine at night, an hour earlier so no one has to wait too late.