"I..."
Jiang Mian habitually tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her tone tinged with helplessness.
"I'm still getting used to my abilities these past few days. It's just that ever since I awakened, I've been getting hungry so easily. My expenses are a little high, and even affording meals is becoming a problem."
That was the truth.
Although most of what she spent still went toward Suppressors,
in her everyday life, she not only had to hunt Calamities to feed her core, but also had the normal physical needs of a human being.
Especially after entering the Second-tier, her stomach had become a bottomless pit. No matter how much she ate, she never felt full, and her wallet had rapidly grown thin.
The authorities offered generous benefits to Awakened, but they weren't something one could get by simply lying around.
No matter what kind of subsidy it was, one had to take part in work or various assignments to receive it.
As for the severance pay and compensation that had been tampered with earlier, Jiang Mian's leaders had tacitly avoided the subject. They only said they would apply for another subsidy for her later.
She knew perfectly well what was going on. They simply refused to admit it. If they made up the money, it would amount to admitting their negligence—and they'd also risk offending her, a "genius" with a bright future.
Jiang Mian found it laughable.
Never mind whether they were afraid of offending her. They'd been so blatant about what they did, and now they were keeping quiet. Did they think she was an idiot who was easy to fool?
Huh? No... Maybe that was exactly what they thought.
Jiang Mian's eyes "inadvertently" swept over the badge on Wang Chen's chest, as though it had reminded her of something.
"Come to think of it... I remember City Defense offers the best benefits, right?"
"City Defense?"
In the eyes of ordinary people and even low-tier Awakened inside the Wall, it was the most dangerous job, bar none.
Behind the generous benefits was a sky-high casualty rate, plain for all to see.
It was a stage for the strong, and a graveyard for the weak. For an Awakened like Wang Chen, whose Sequence ranked near the bottom and whose combat strength wasn't particularly impressive, it was a cruel place indeed.
The moment Wang Chen heard that Jiang Mian was considering it, he tensed up and blurted out,
"It's far too dangerous over there! Not only might you face real Calamities at any moment, but..."
He suddenly realized he was speaking too urgently. His voice softened as he continued,
"You haven't been awakened for long. There's no need to rush into it."
"But I want to get stronger quickly, and I'm short on money..."
Jiang Mian's tone softened. Her words carried an unspoken meaning.
"I don't want to go through what happened with Li Hao again."
At that, Wang Chen silently shut his mouth.
Li Hao had taken her to the warehouse before. If she hadn't "awakened," that beast would probably have had his way with her.
That... might well have been the biggest reason she wanted to get stronger so quickly.
Advancing through the first three tiers of an Awakened's development depended on how proficiently they could use their abilities.
That is, an Awakened would cycle through "use—recover—use" with their ability, gradually expending their mental strength while building up progress toward leveling up.
The speed of their progress was also tied to their Sequence ranking. A genius like Jiang Mian might need only a few months, or even a few weeks, to catch up with what others had accumulated over several years.
Now that she wanted to get stronger quickly, there was no reason for someone like him, a mere Sequence 335 [Listener], to stop her—and he wasn't in any position to do so.
Ye Chenyang had taken it all in.
It seemed that although Jiang Mian hadn't shown it on the surface, what happened last time had left her with quite a bit of psychological trauma.
"Combat... is indeed a way to improve quickly."
Ye Chenyang didn't directly oppose Jiang Mian's "reckless" idea.
In his view, Calamities were opponents that all Awakened would sooner or later have to face, and the Calamities near the Base City weren't especially high-level.
Besides, Jiang Mian's ability was suited to a long-range role, which was relatively safe.
After all, the city wall could give them at least a little time to react. If she joined a Mist Exploration Team...
Unless they had the blessing of a [Radiance] Awakened, they would be having "intimate, face-to-face conversations" with the Calamities in the Mist. That was the sort of danger that was truly impossible to predict.
"You're improving quickly at controlling your ability, which is great. But you still need training in weapon use and combat techniques."
"How about this? I'll put together a training plan for you over the next few days and help you get familiar with it. There's no harm in giving it a try once you're fully prepared."
Did that mean... he supported her?
Jiang Mian looked at Ye Chenyang in surprise.
She'd only meant to give them both a heads-up, so it wouldn't come out of nowhere when she went to join City Defense later.
She hadn't expected him to support her, much less help put together a training plan.
Come to think of it, aside from the time at the warehouse, when she hadn't had quite enough fun before he interrupted her, things had gone unusually smoothly today. He hadn't even pressed her about how she'd managed it...
Maybe, as he'd said, he'd simply put her down as exceptionally talented?
Dealing with smart people was such a relief. As long as she didn't show any obvious holes in her story, they wouldn't ask questions. They'd fill in the gaps on their own, making excuses for the parts of her that seemed out of the ordinary.
"Okay, thank you! I'll make sure to learn everything properly!"
Wang Chen watched them from the side. His lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
He'd already formed a few suspicions. He'd heard that the Awakened in Base City No. 144 who'd awakened high-tier Sequences this year included Shen Qiuyu from their school and the newly awakened Jiang Mian—and only one other person... a boy surnamed Ye from the neighboring No. 1 High School.
It had to be the person standing before him.
Looking at him now, Ye Chenyang really did have the bearing of a genius. He was not only handsome, but also composed and kind to others.
By comparison, a low-ranked, weak Awakened like himself, who hadn't even been able to do anything when Jiang Mian was in danger, seemed utterly insignificant.
Were geniuses drawn to other geniuses...?
A strange feeling rose in Wang Chen's heart, clogging his chest until he could barely breathe.
"It's getting late. Let's head back and get some rest."
Ye Chenyang looked at Jiang Mian, whose eyes were full of gratitude and excitement, and couldn't help laughing.
At first, he'd approached Jiang Mian simply because he was curious that someone so talented had made no impression on him at all.
If she'd been someone he already knew, he might have chosen to watch from the sidelines, as he had with Wang Chen, and avoid meddling in the course of her life...
But after spending time with her, Ye Chenyang had to admit that Jiang Mian did have a unique kind of appeal to him.
"Okay, goodbye!"
Jiang Mian waved politely to them. She watched the two of them head off in opposite directions, then went upstairs.
As soon as she got home, she tossed her glasses aside and threw herself onto the bed.
After acting all day, the mental exhaustion far outweighed the physical.
She buried her face in the bedding for quite a while before lifting her head, looking still somewhat tired.
Thinking it over, Ye Chenyang was the holder of an Apex Sequence. Never mind the fact that he was hiding his strength—just the amount of time he'd spent keeping her company, a "rookie," and how considerate he'd been...
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
If she were a normal girl, after all that, she might not fall for him, but her feelings for him would definitely be growing by leaps and bounds, wouldn't they?
Jiang Mian had always been suspicious by nature. She replayed every detail of her interactions with him today at lightning speed, confirming she hadn't let anything slip and that he hadn't grown suspicious either.
So... what exactly was he after?
Before you continue