He suddenly noticed the two knights watching him, waiting for his response, so he immediately shifted his mood and declared fervently:
"Thank you very much, Your Highness. I will work hard and strive to serve the country in the future!"
The two knights nodded in satisfaction.
"You can travel with the troops returning to the Imperial Capital, or make your own way back. In any case, take this letter to the Imperial Military Academy and report in. Understood?"
"Understood!" Shen Ye said.
"And here, take this."
A small pouch was pressed into Shen Ye's hand.
"Work hard, lad!"
Their task completed, the knights swung onto their horses and hurried back toward the military camp.
Shen Ye weighed the small pouch in his hand.
The pleasant clinking of coins came from inside.
Thank you for your kindness, Prince.
With these coins, I'll have enough to cover my living expenses in this world.
I can take all the gold I just got from the Shadow Hand back to help with the household expenses.
"Let's go. It's time we set off too."
Shen Ye murmured to himself.
He simply decided not to enter the camp again, turning instead toward the depths of the forest.
Several dozen minutes later.
"There shouldn't be anyone else around," Big Skeleton said.
"Good."
Shen Ye opened the Gate and stepped through, returning to his dorm room in the real world.
So tired!
Shen Ye took a shower, thoroughly washing the blood and mud off his body, then opened the fridge and took out drinks and snacks. As he ate, he glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was already past noon.
Time really flies!
After eating and drinking for a while, Shen Ye took out his phone and turned it on.
If he left it on and people discovered they couldn't reach him, it might lead to some unnecessary speculation.
-Having it switched off meant he was busy.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding-
A string of notification chimes sounded as soon as the phone turned on.
Of course, he had to reply to his parents' messages immediately.
Shen Ye called straight away and lied without batting an eyelid:
"Mom? I had extra lessons at the group this morning and didn't bring my phone. I've only just finished class and come back to my room."
"Oh, that explains it. That's what I thought," Zhao Xiaoshang said, breathing a sigh of relief on the other end. "Will you be coming home for dinner in the next few days?"
"No. Oh, right, Mom, listen. As soon as I joined the group, they gave me an allowance."
Shen Ye named a figure.
He did have an allowance, but it wasn't that high.
"That much? A big group really is different! That's wonderful. Your dad and I were just discussing giving you some money for living expenses."
Surprised, Zhao Xiaoshang breathed another sigh of relief.
"There's absolutely no need-the group gives me such a big allowance that I can't even use it all. Why don't you take it for now and cover the hole left by buying the Marrow-Replenishing Pill?" Shen Ye said.
"It's your money. Keep it and use it yourself," Zhao Xiaoshang said.
"Mom, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist buying games and comic books. I might waste it on other things too, but the exams are almost here..." Shen Ye said.
"Transfer the money to me in a bit. Just keep enough for meals," Zhao Xiaoshang said immediately.
"Okay, I have to go. I'm heading to the company cafeteria."
"Remember to keep in touch."
"Mm."
The call ended.
The corners of Shen Ye's mouth lifted slightly.
In the past, he had been an orphan, drifting through the world alone. The hardships needed no elaboration.
In this life, he thoroughly enjoyed having people who cared about him, people he cared about in return.
He changed clothes and continued checking his messages.
Quite a few classmates had sent their congratulations.
Looks like the school has already started publicizing it.
Even Zhao Yibing had sent a message with a photo:
"Boo-hoo, it was all my fault. Shen Ye, please forgive me. How about I go to the movies with you tonight?"
The photo was a glamour portrait of her.
She really was beautiful.
Shen Ye admired it for a while, then slowly typed his reply:
"Face reality, Bingbing. I'm the swan you'll never get a bite of."
After sending the message, he stretched, feeling that everything was wonderful.
-Time to exchange the money first!
Knowing his way around, Shen Ye went to the group's in-house financial services office and exchanged the gold for digital currency.
It came to around sixty or seventy thousand.
Shen Ye kept only a few thousand and transferred the rest to Zhao Xiaoshang.
-The Marrow-Replenishing Pill had cost about sixteen thousand back then, so this money covered the shortfall nicely.
Now his family wouldn't have to scrimp and scrape.
Next, food!
In an excellent mood, Shen Ye continued scrolling through his phone as he walked.
"Strange."
He went through his messages twice and suddenly noticed something.
The original owner's friend, his best buddy who had grown up with him, Chen Haoyu, hadn't sent a single message since last night.
What happened to him?
Ding!
His phone suddenly chimed.
"Brother Ye, congratulations on signing with the Human Martial Arts Group! Want to celebrate tonight?"
Chen Haoyu had sent a message.
Shen Ye lowered his phone and thought.
Celebrate...
It does call for a celebration.
But I'm facing assassination by the Assassin Alliance right now. Leaving the group rashly and going out wouldn't be safe.
But Chen Haoyu means well, wanting to celebrate with me-
In junior high school, classmates didn't keep too much score with one another.
Their friendship was pure.
He wanted to maintain that friendship too.
After considering it for a moment, Shen Ye typed a reply:
"We should celebrate, but your second exam is coming up too. Let's have a meal together after you finish it."
He sent the message.
A few seconds later, another message arrived:
"Brother Ye, give me a tour of the Human Martial Arts Group today. It's my dream place. Just let me have a look."
Shen Ye quickly replied, "Come over. You can eat with me."
It should be safe inside the group. Since he wants to come, I might as well show him around.
"Okay, I'll be right there. Ten minutes at most."
Chen Haoyu replied.
He had answered all his messages.
Shen Ye put away his phone and took the elevator down to the lobby on the first floor of the group's building.
He sat on a spacious, comfortable sofa in the lobby, crossed his legs, and waited idly.
This was the Human Martial Arts Group's central office for the Southeast Five Provinces, with a constant stream of people coming and going.
After watching for a while, Shen Ye spotted some extremely powerful professionals in the crowd.
His observation naturally drew those professionals' attention too.
But once they saw he was a teenage boy, they all gave him friendly looks.
"You're this year's newcomer?"
A fat man over two meters tall asked.
"Ah, yes. Sorry, should I not have been staring at you?" Shen Ye said.
"It's fine." A nostalgic look appeared on the fat man's face. "When I was selected to join, I used to sit here watching the group's professionals as a newcomer, just like you."
"Were you dreaming about your future?" Shen Ye asked.
"No, I thought they were all arrogant. I wanted to beat every arrogant bastard to death," the fat man answered seriously.
Shen Ye froze.
Are people in this world this outspoken? Don't they know about our traditional virtues...
Then realization dawned on Shen Ye.
Oh, this isn't our world.
His expression made the fat man laugh.
"Keep at it, rookie!"
The fat man burst out laughing, waved at Shen Ye, and turned to leave.
A little while later.
A young woman with long hair, wearing skinny jeans and two revolvers at her waist, walked over from the entrance and said softly:
"Shen Ye, a boy named Chen Haoyu is here to see you. His identity has been verified. Should we let him in?"
"He's my classmate. Please let him in," Shen Ye said, standing up.
"All right, stay right here. I'll bring him over," the young woman said.
"No need!"
Shen Ye didn't want to be treated like a son, so he quickly waved his hands. "I'll go bring him in myself."
"No, little brother. Supervisor Qian left instructions. You seem to be in a little trouble right now, so we have to keep you safe."
The young woman smiled gently at him, then strode toward the lobby entrance on her long legs.
Shen Ye felt a little dejected.
He hadn't ended up a son, but he had become a little brother.
He would rather have been a son.
The fat man happened to be on his way out. Seeing the young woman approach, he hurried to greet her:
"Wenna, you're on duty today? Free for dinner tonight?"
"Get lost." The young woman glared at him.
"If you don't want dinner, fine. Why so fierce?" the fat man muttered coyly.
"Keep talking nonsense and I'll skin you, just like that Pervert I killed a few days ago," Wenna said.
The fat man seemed to remember something. His expression changed, and he lowered his head without another word, hurried away, and soon disappeared from sight.
Wenna went to the entrance and led a tall, thin boy into the lobby.
"Thank you, big sister." Shen Ye expressed his thanks to Wenna.
"You're welcome. Just call if you need anything." Wenna smiled, then turned and left.
Only Chen Haoyu remained standing before Shen Ye.
Dressed in his school uniform, he kept looking around.
"Wow, this place is so magnificent. I can't take it all in."
Chen Haoyu marveled.
Shen Ye smiled and said, "Whenever you want to visit, you can come find me here."
"Brother Ye, you're amazing, signing straight on with the Human Martial Arts Group. You have no idea what a stir it caused at school." Chen Haoyu gave him a thumbs-up.
"Enough about that. Come on, I'll take you to the group cafeteria," Shen Ye said.
"I'm not hungry yet. I want to see where you live," Chen Haoyu said.
"Sure," Shen Ye said.
The two walked over to the elevator just as it arrived. The doors opened, and several other professionals filed inside. Shen Ye and Chen Haoyu got in too.
There were too many people.
The two were squeezed apart, each standing in a different corner.
The professionals were talking noisily. They seemed to have just completed a mission and were discussing it excitedly.
Chen Haoyu listened to their accounts with interest.
Shen Ye stood in the other corner, silently waiting for the elevator to arrive.
Suddenly.
The phone in his trouser pocket vibrated.
He took it out and looked. It was a message from Xiao Mengyu:
"The nurse who witnessed it has disappeared, but I found a body disfigured beyond recognition. Judging by the build, though, it isn't that female nurse. It's very puzzling."
"A specialized agency is currently identifying the body."
"I suspect this body has some connection to you, someone who was silenced, so I investigated everyone around you again."
"Did you find anything?" Shen Ye typed out a line and sent it back.
A new message soon came from the other end:
"There's nothing wrong with anyone else, but take a look at this."
A surveillance video.
Shen Ye tapped it open. It was footage from the school corridors yesterday.
The timestamp read 9:37 a.m. yesterday.
Someone appeared in the corridor of the classroom building, looking around as he walked.
The video played in fast-forward.
The man first checked the restrooms on each floor, then went all the way up to the top floor of the classroom building and checked the empty classrooms too.
In the video, he found nothing and left the classroom building in disappointment.
After watching the video, Shen Ye silently put his phone to sleep.
Yesterday morning-
What was I doing?
Right, I asked Chen Haoyu to stand in line for me, then went to an empty classroom on the top floor and entered the Nightmare World through the Gate.
So in this surveillance footage, Chen Haoyu searched the entire classroom building without finding me.
Why was he looking for me?
(Thank you to Half-Curtain Dust Dream for the alliance leader donation. Once I have enough written, I'll post an extra update for you. Thank you all for keeping up with the story and supporting it. Please keep reading and voting. Yanhuo thanks you all!)