"Beep, beep, beep..." Although they were meeting at the school gates at nine today, Zhang Chen still did not forget to train himself. The alarm rang punctually at six in the morning.
An invisible force gently switched off the alarm. Then the blanket on his body folded itself neatly, while a black fitted tank top and white athletic shorts flew from the wardrobe into Zhang Chen's hands.
As he continued using Telekinesis, both the number of times he could use it and its strength had improved greatly. More importantly, Zhang Chen had begun to control this Telekinesis with minute precision: first, to strike targets more accurately; second, to control compressed air more steadily.
Zhang Chen had watched plenty of fantasy films, such as the Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series. A few days ago, he had suddenly had an idea. He switched on the lighter at home and tried to separate the flame itself, but every time he peeled off even a tiny bit of flame, it went out. Compressing it into a fireball was even more impossible.
Zhang Chen had also tried applying what he had learned from his chemistry textbook. While separating the flame, he attempted to draw oxygen from the air into it as well. Although he still failed, the reason was that oxygen was too difficult to isolate.
After all, oxygen molecules moved through the air in complete disorder, mixed in with many other gas molecules. They were extremely difficult to control, like asking a child who had just learned to use chopsticks to edit all kinds of programs on a computer. Thus, Zhang Chen's Telekinesis training now placed even greater emphasis on fine control.
Sweating profusely in the woods, Zhang Chen sat on a tree branch and checked the time. It was nearly eight, so he moved and headed home.
After showering, eating the soy milk and fried dough sticks his father had bought, changing into comfortable sportswear, and picking up his small suitcase, he left home for school amid his parents' reminders.
Since they were taking the bus from school today, Zhang Chen had not gone with Wang Yizhi.
"Come to think of it, ever since I started picking up and dropping off Wang Yizhi last year, I haven't gone to school alone even once." Sitting on the bus, Zhang Chen smiled to himself. "Sometimes, being apart for a while feels pretty good too."
When he arrived at the school gates, although it was only 8:40, everyone was already waiting for Zhang Chen alone.
"Brother Chen, what the hell were you doing at home? We were all waiting for you!" Tan Fei shouted from far away.
Zhang Chen did not respond. With the streets packed with people, he did not want everyone looking at him strangely.
Once Zhang Chen approached, he found Wang Yizhi chatting animatedly with her best friend. Her friend was also in Zhang Chen's class, named Dai Xu. She was about the same height as Wang Yizhi and was the big-mouth type of girl in class. Tan Fei apparently had a thing for her too. Zhang Chen immediately guessed that Tan Fei and Er Wa had most likely learned about his trip with Wang Yizhi from Dai Xu.
"Er Wa, what is this?" Zhang Chen was startled by Er Wa's gear. Er Wa wore a camouflage short-sleeved shirt, camouflage pants, and military boots. He carried an enormous hiking backpack, with a large military canteen and a Swiss Army knife hanging from his waist.
"Er Wa said there are a lot of wild beasts in the mountains, so we need to be careful," Tan Fei said from the side. "And he's even got professional diving equipment in that backpack."
Zhang Chen was speechless. His brother, whom he had known for so long, actually had a side he had never known about. Looking at Er Wa's serious expression, Zhang Chen even felt like laughing.
"Zhang Chen, you're here." Hearing his voice, Wang Yizhi turned around and smiled at him. "By the way, did you bring swimming trunks? Dai Xu said she brought a swimsuit. There's a huge lake at the back of that place in the picture."
At that, Zhang Chen realized he truly had not thought that far ahead. Swimming had never crossed his mind. When Tan Fei pulled out his own swimming trunks and waved them around in front of him, Zhang Chen was utterly speechless.
"They should sell them in Lvyuan County. We can buy some when we get there," Zhang Chen said.
"Honk, honk, honk~~" An enormous luxury tour bus pulled up in front of them.
"No way! Is that here to pick us up?" Even the usually quiet Er Wa was stunned.
After the doors opened, Zhang Chen got on. The driver was a middle-aged man with a bald crown.
"Sir, is this bus taking tourists to Lvyuan County?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Mm. Get on. We still have to pick people up from No. 1 High School," the driver replied pleasantly.
Zhang Chen knew there was no way the five of them had chartered such a bus by themselves. He gestured to the others, and everyone happily climbed aboard. It was their first time riding such a luxury coach. After the initial excitement, Wang Yizhi sat with Dai Xu, while Er Wa sat with Tan Fei, leaving Zhang Chen alone in a double seat.
"Brother Chen, are there only five of us on this bus?" Tan Fei suddenly asked.
"No. The driver said we still have to pick people up from No. 1 High School. There should be a few more people, but there definitely won't be more than twelve."
"Damn, I thought the five of us had chartered the bus. I heard those No. 1 High School students all look down on people from second-rate schools like ours."
"You aren't paying for it, yet you want to charter a bus? Whether they look down on us is their business. Why do you care so much? It's already good enough that there aren't dozens of people going. Be content. If they look down on you, just have Er Wa chop them up."
Before long, the bus stopped outside No. 1 High School. Three boys and three girls climbed aboard excitedly. Just as Tan Fei had said, they seemed to treat Zhang Chen's group of five as if they did not exist.
The six of them headed straight to the back of the bus, sitting far away from Zhang Chen's group.
"See? I told you, No. 1 High School students are arrogant. Damn it, just looking at them makes me want to beat them up," Tan Fei said indignantly.
Zhang Chen did not care about such narrow-minded people, but one short-haired young man caught his attention. The first five had boarded while laughing and talking, but this man only came up slowly afterward.
He had a short crew cut and stood just over 1.7 meters tall. His face had the typical features of a handsome Korean idol, with neither large nor small eyes and a slightly high nose bridge. He appeared lax when he walked, but was actually strong and steady, each step planting his lower body firmly. Though he looked slender, Zhang Chen sensed unusual strength hidden within him.
After the man boarded, an awe-inspiring righteous aura emanated from him, entirely opposite to what Zhang Chen sensed from ghosts. When the man passed by Zhang Chen, he suddenly glanced at him instinctively. That aura instantly grew several times stronger, before he looked away again.
"Master Pu Hu said yesterday that, besides us, there are many people in this world who subdue demons and exorcise evil. This guy should be one of them, and he doesn't seem weak at all. Good. If anything minor happens, I won't need to step in." Zhang Chen was not worried about what the man might do. Instead, he was quite pleased to have another shield in front of him.
"Yi Zhi, that guy from No. 1 High School was so handsome," Dai Xu said to Wang Yizhi.
Wang Yizhi did not pay much attention to it, but Tan Fei overheard. Immediately, he shot the handsome young man a venomous glare and muttered, "So what if he's handsome? So what if he goes to No. 1 High School? He's so skinny. I'll send Er Wa after him, and he'll be coughing blood in two or three minutes. Right, Er Wa?"
As he spoke, he patted Er Wa on the shoulder. When Er Wa flashed his Swiss Army knife, Tan Fei immediately felt much better, as though he had gained some advantage.
"Sir, why didn't anyone from the travel agency get on the bus?" the handsome young man's voice came from the back.
"I'm only responsible for taking your money and bringing you there. They only told me to take you to the destination, so I don't know about anything else," the driver answered patiently.
"Thank you, sir," the young man said.
"He seems quite polite, but this is still strange. Could it be that no one from the travel agency is coming with us? Are they driving there themselves? This is the first time I've heard of such a thing." Zhang Chen could not help thinking after hearing their conversation.
"What's he putting on an act for? Damn it, he's just pretending," Tan Fei muttered, as if he already hated the man to the bone.
The bus slowly started moving. Zhang Chen's group was also excited, chatting and laughing along the way as they discussed what they would do on the first day, the second day, and so on after arriving.
However, a sturdy young man about the same height as Zhang Chen came over from the back and spoke to Wang Yizhi.
"Beautiful, interested in coming to the back and chatting with us? The ride will take four hours, and it'll be boring. But if we chat, the time will pass quickly."
"Huh? Me? Then what about my classmates?" Wang Yizhi asked in surprise.
"Only you need to come to the back. I guess you're the only one here who got into a key high school, right? We can exchange experiences." The young man showed Zhang Chen and the others no respect at all.
Not only Tan Fei, but even Er Wa became angry. Zhang Chen looked at him and smiled faintly.
"Classmate, you should probably go back. There are five of us here, and that's enough for a conversation," Zhang Chen said politely.
"I'm talking to her, not to..." Relying on his strong build, the young man turned toward Zhang Chen and snapped angrily. Before he could finish, however, he toppled over with a thud, his head even smashing into the metal trash bin carried on the bus.
"Hahaha..." Er Wa and the others burst out laughing, while Zhang Chen smiled slightly.
The sturdy young man seemed quite tough. The impact did not seem to affect him much, and after getting up, he actually wanted to attack Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen simply looked at him quietly and smiled faintly. If the man really made a move, Zhang Chen would not mind taking the trouble to teach him a lesson.
"Enough." A slender, fair arm suddenly grabbed the sturdy young man's shoulder.
"Sorry, everyone. My friend is just like this—he's very impulsive. Go on and keep chatting. This is for you as an apology. My name is Jia Xin—Xin as in heart. Please take care of me." It was the handsome young man speaking. As he spoke, he casually tossed a pack of chewing gum to Zhang Chen.
"It's fine. We'll have to look after each other during the next week. My name is Zhang Chen—both characters are surnames," Zhang Chen replied politely.
Though the sturdy young man was unwilling after being pulled away, he still returned to his seat. He seemed to be asking why Jia Xin had stopped him, but the handsome young man directly slapped him across the face and whispered a few words. The man immediately covered his face and fell silent, only glaring resentfully at Zhang Chen.
"Jia Xin. This guy is interesting." Looking at the pack of chewing gum in his hand, Zhang Chen smiled and passed it to Tan Fei and the others.
"They're too arrogant. If I get the chance, I'll definitely have Second Brother chop them to death," Tan Fei said angrily.
"Zhang Chen, are you okay?" Wang Yizhi cared more about Zhang Chen and did not pay attention to what had happened behind them.
"I'm fine. By the way, I wonder if the villa over there will include meals?" Zhang Chen immediately changed the topic back to the trip.
Everyone gradually forgot what had just happened and began chatting happily again.
Only Zhang Chen, while chatting cheerfully, occasionally glanced toward the group from No. 1 High School in the back, who were also talking animatedly. Yet every time he turned around, Jia Xin would turn to look at him as well, and the two would exchange knowing smiles.
"Man, we came out for a nice trip. Didn't run into any ghosts, but we did run into someone even more annoying than ghosts." Zhang Chen turned back helplessly and resumed chatting happily with the others.
Before they knew it, three and a half hours had passed. A roadside sign flashed by, and they could vaguely make out several words on it: "Jiaoping Village, Lvyuan County"...
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