Special 2: Undying pride.

It's just a meal, nothing to make a fuss about, Xiao Pei simply said, "Eat whatever you want, I'll reimburse you later."

He added, "You can think about what you want for today's treatment; we'll settle it later."

Ye Jiang went to a small restaurant outside the hospital alone, ordered her food, and sat down to wait for it to be served.

The people at the next table had almost finished eating, had a few drinks, and were talking a lot.

"The culprit in the missing persons case has been found. I heard that Xingyi Technology is preparing to revive the competition, but they won't continue it; they'll just give out awards directly."

"With only one day left, the outcome is already decided. Whether we compete or not is actually irrelevant. Xingyi Technology has suffered a huge setback this time by partnering with Yun Hua. The victims' families are causing a scene at Xingyi Technology's gate, blaming Xingyi Technology for bringing evil people to this city, causing them to lose their loved ones. Xingyi Technology is in dire straits. Who knew that the seemingly glamorous ' Child of Light of Light' was actually a beast in human form? The competition can't continue; they just want to give out the awards and end it as soon as possible."

"Just thinking about Yun Hua makes me furious. I even bought his merchandise. The thought of spending money on such a scumbag makes me want to vomit blood!"

"Don't be upset. This competition produced an amazing person. The first place winner is incredible! I've never heard of her before."

"She scored twice as many points as Xue Ping, who came in second! That's amazing! Everyone says she's A-Rank ability user!"

"And she's also a valuable Healer, and seems to have connections with the Ability Control Bureau!"

"Huh, she's Healer? I'm only finding out now. Tell me how that works? How come she's so powerful even though she's Healer?"

"I don't know. This is what they're saying: I heard that the Miao Family's heir was injured, and the Ability Control Bureau asked Contestant Ye to help treat him. Many people saw it; he is indeed Healer."

"Wow, you can do that?"

Ding!

A man slammed his bowl down with a loud thud, causing the other diners to look over and fall silent.

"He's a superhuman."

"It looks kind of familiar."

Diners are mouthing words to each other.

The man was a superhuman, as evidenced by the Blood Moon symbol on his hand. He seemed very unhappy, his face gloomy.

Ye Jiang held the cup in both hands and drank the complimentary tea provided by the restaurant, automatically activating a barrier to block out the noise of the public place. This state made her look a little dazed, until she saw out of the corner of her eye that the waiter was bringing her order towards her.

Her blank eyes slowly brightened, and she turned her head to greet her lunch with her gaze.

"Ah!"

The Waiter slipped and staggered a few steps, the plate in his hand flying out and heading straight for Ye Jiang.

Ye Jiang hadn't expected the food to be served this way, but she wasn't flustered. She easily caught it with her hand, and the food on the plate obediently returned to the plate thanks to her amazing skill.

"Be careful," Ye Jiang said, placing the plate on the table in front of her with a blank expression.

The restaurant was quiet for a few seconds, then a commotion broke out. The Waiter blushed crimson and apologized repeatedly to Ye Jiang. Ye Jiang accepted the apology, and as she picked up her chopsticks, her eyes fell on a spot on the floor where the Waiter had stepped—there seemed to be a small clump of sand there.

A man, his face grim, threw down his chopsticks, stood up, and headed straight for the restaurant exit. The Waiter hesitated for a moment, then stopped him. "Sir, you haven't paid your bill yet."

The man's face darkened further, and he went to pay the bill with a sullen expression.

He forgot.

Ye Jiang had just started eating when the man walked past her in the aisle, creating a gust of wind. Ye Jiang raised her eyes, her gaze unconsciously following his retreating figure for a moment. Just as the man reached the shop entrance and she was about to look away, she inadvertently noticed that the shadow beneath him, bathed in sunlight, shifted, a piece of it missing as it quickly disappeared.

"..."

She put down her chopsticks.

shadow...

They ran away?

Wu Jiangshui walked out of the restaurant, seething with anger. Ye Jiang, Ye the contestant, the Healer —why was that person's name everywhere? It was so annoying; he couldn't even have a peaceful meal!

At the time of the competition's suspension, Wu Jiangshui finished fourth in the competition, missing out on the prize money and failing to boost his performance.

The topic is that in this match, all he gained was a body full of injuries and a belly full of frustration.

So annoying!

Wu Jiangshui kicked over a trash can on the street.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Hearing the commotion, the patrol officers on the street shouted loudly. Wu Jiangshui rushed forward, but after only two steps, he staggered and knelt down. He braced himself with his hands on the ground, a look of confusion on his face.

The patrol officers caught up with him. "Who told you to kick the trash can? Come with me..."

Before the patrolman could finish speaking, he saw Wu Jiangshui's pale face and stopped talking. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

Ignoring the patrol personnel, Wu Jiangshui suddenly activated his Ability System despite the presence of outsiders, and his expression changed drastically the next second.

His ability level dropped, it dropped to D-Rank!

My mind was buzzing, and I couldn't hear anything Wu Jiangshui was saying.

When Ye Jiang walked out of the restaurant, she saw that the street not far away was cordoned off. Uniformed personnel from the Ability Control Bureau were searching for something inside the cordon. Xiao Pei Ye Jiang walked over.

"Boss."

Ye Jiang called out.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Pei instantly dropped her gloomy demeanor and lazily looked at Ye Jiang: "Have you finished eating?"

"Um."

"Where's the bill?"

Ye Jiang handed her the bill, Xiao Pei chuckled, "You only ate this little bit?"

Ye Jiang didn't reply, looking inside the cordon. Seeing this, Xiao Pei's smile faded, and she said in a low voice, "Another ability user's ability level has been downgraded. It's Wu Jiangshui, B-Rank ability user, who has been downgraded to D-Rank."

Ye Jiang had no recollection of the name Wu Jiangshui, but her eyes flickered when she heard that her superpower had been downgraded, and she felt a little displeased, as if... as if she had been offended by something.

This unpleasant feeling came out of nowhere and left no trace.

"Waiter, please be extra careful until this matter is resolved," Xiao Pei said seriously. "Miao Qiao and Wu Jiangshui are both top-tier ability users. To suddenly and inexplicably experience a downgrade in their abilities, especially Wu Jiangshui had an accident right there on the street, is no small matter."

Ye Jiang's eyes were deep and dark, her two black eyes so dark they seemed to swallow up the light. Xiao Pei glanced at her unintentionally, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Waiter?"

"Um?"

Ye Jiang blinked, her gaze returning to normal.

Xiao Pei: "... It's nothing."

It must be an illusion. Just a moment ago, she actually felt a sense of suppression from the Waiter. Even though she was the only S-Rank ability user, the Waiter was special, but he should only be A-Rank.

Xiao Pei patted her shoulder. "Stay home if you have nothing to do these days, don't go out and wander around."

Ye Jiang said "Oh".

Bang!

A fireball exploded in the air, like a firework bursting open.

Xiao Pei looked over and saw that it was the hedgehog-haired officer from the branch office using fireballs to blast the Polluted. The Polluted was killed on the spot, but the scattered sparks also caused a commotion in the street. A vein throbbed on Xiao Pei's forehead. That idiot!

I'll go over there!

Xiao Pei left after saying that.

Ye Jiang paid no attention, staring intently at the sparks in the sky for a long time.

Chapter 73 Special 2: Unyielding Pride.

Ye Jiang was unusually unable to sleep. She felt a lump in her throat, making her feel uneasy. So she pulled out some low-quality movies and TV shows that she rarely watches these days.

When Ye Jiang heard a noise coming from the living room, she turned off the video and opened the bedroom door. The living room lights were off. Her roommate, Yu Qingyi, had bumped into a table leg in the dark and was silently clutching her knee in pain. When the light shone on her, she turned around and the light fell on her face. She put her knee down, smoothed the pain on her face, and put on a composed expression.

"Jiangjiang, did I disturb you?"

Ye Jiang's gaze swept over her knees. "I'm not asleep yet."

"Why aren't you asleep yet, it's so late?"

"No."

Don't stay up too late, or you won't be able to get up tomorrow.

"..."

Ye Jiang looked at her clothes. "Are you going out?"

Yu Qingyi, dressed for going out, smiled and said, "Yes, I was called up for a mission. The Polluted in the city have been a bit restless these past few days, so I've been quite busy."

She glanced at the time. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you in detail later."

The living room lights were off, only the bedroom light illuminated the area; as soon as she moved, she was plunged into shadow.

Ye Jiang followed her a couple of steps and said, "I'll see you off."

Yu Qingyi was hurriedly searching for her keys, looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

She was a little surprised because she always went out alone.

After the initial surprise, she instinctively refused, "No need, no need, I can manage on my own."

Ye Jiang followed her. "The people from the Ability Control Bureau said things haven't been peaceful lately."

"Oh, you mean the news about the downgrade of superpowered individuals in the city?" Yu Qingyi smiled. She had heard about it too, but didn't take it to heart. "But I'm not a superpowered individual. On the contrary, Jiangjiang, you are a superpowered individual, so it might be more dangerous for you to go out. Just stay at home and don't run around. I'll worry about you."

That's true, but who can say for sure? What if it doesn't just affect people with superpowers?

Ye Jiang was stubborn. "I'll give it to you."

After saying that, she turned around and turned off the bedroom light, as if she was determined to leave.

The room suddenly went dark. Yu Qingyi was silent for a while, then sighed and turned on the living room light, "Jiangjiang, did you even hear what I said? I told you, it's more dangerous for you, an ability user, to go out than for me."

Ye Jiang, who had turned off the lights and stepped out, said, "I'm not an ordinary superhuman; I'm the winner of this ' Pollution-Hunting Competition."

She was slightly smug, her face not showing much expression, but the words "I'm awesome" were clearly etched on her forehead.

Yu Qingyi: "..."