I Don't Know Him

When the two saw the SUV skidding toward them, their expressions changed, and each stepped back.

Tian Long was about to blow his top, but the moment he noticed the license plate, he shut his mouth, shock spreading across his face.

Military plates! His heart tightened.

Then the door opened, and a dashing figure in military uniform stepped out.

She first glanced at Tian Long, then looked at Qin Chen. "What are you doing here?"

"Instructor Yang." Qin Chen suddenly smiled when he saw who it was. "Nothing much. I ran into an acquaintance and was about to give him a hug and say hello. Too bad you ruined it!"

Yang Xue wore a noncommittal expression and couldn't be bothered to pry. "Then say hello next time. For now, come with me to where you're supposed to go!"

With that, she turned and got back into the SUV.

Qin Chen looked at Tian Long and spread his hands, then obediently followed her.

Just as he got in, he suddenly remembered something. He looked at the other three who had been seized and said to Yang Xue, "I have two friends. Could you give them a ride too?"

Yang Xue frowned, but still nodded.

Qin Chen beckoned to Zhou Hui. Seeing this, Zhou Hui began to struggle, and when the martial arts school members saw Yang Xue looking over as well, they didn't dare keep hold of her and let her go.

Once Zhou Hui was released, she pulled the freckled girl out too, then ran toward the SUV.

As soon as the two got in, Yang Xue hit the accelerator and shot off.

"I... what about me?"

"I don't know him!" Qin Chen's voice came from the SUV.

The young man watched the SUV drive away, his face full of terror.

"Get him in the car!"

Tian Long shouted.

"No, I don't know him! I don't know him!" the young man yelled.

"You don't know him? If you don't know him, why were you sitting with him on the train? You even got off together and came all the way here!" Tian Hu slapped him across the face.

From the SUV, Qin Chen saw in the rearview mirror that the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts School members had grabbed the young man and dragged him into a Jinbei van before driving away.

Zhou Hui and the freckled girl sat in the back, their faces deathly pale. Fortunately, they hadn't been taken away, or they would have been seriously injured and hospitalized.

After driving two kilometers, the SUV pulled over to the side of the road.

Qin Chen looked at Zhou Hui and the other girl. "We'll drop you off here."

Zhou Hui nodded. She looked at Qin Chen, wanting to speak but holding back. After she got out, just as the SUV started moving, she finally summoned her courage. "Can I have your contact information?"

She knew the gap between her and Qin Chen was enormous. If she didn't ask, she feared it would be hard to see him again, and she didn't want to regret backing down.

Qin Chen looked at him. "Maybe if fate brings us together, we'll meet again!"

With that, the SUV drove away.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Zhou Hui still standing where she was, staring after the SUV with a disappointed expression. He merely shook his head and smiled.

"You were pretty decisive," Yang Xue suddenly said.

Qin Chen smiled. "I have to be. Someone as outstanding as me is bound to run into this kind of thing often in the future. When it's time to cut things off, you have to make a clean cut!"

Hearing that, Yang Xue said nothing and merely gave him a look of disdain.

"By the way, where are we going?" Qin Chen asked, puzzled.

"The Yang City Sports Center. Everyone taking part in the General Star Selection is gathering there."

"Is the selection about to start?"

Yang Xue nodded. "Originally, it wasn't going to start for another two days, but there have been some unusual developments on the front lines recently, so it's been moved up."

"As soon as this selection is over, you'll take part in the final contest for the General Star title."

Qin Chen's heart jolted. Nothing that happened on the front lines was a small matter.

"Is it serious?" he asked.

Yang Xue shook her head. "It's not a big problem. There may be a level-four exotic beast uprising before long."

"Although it's only level four, we still need to make preparations to ensure nothing goes wrong. That's why we had to move the selection up."

Hearing that it was a level-four uprising, Qin Chen nodded.

He had learned in his academic classes that demonic beast uprisings were divided into ten levels, with level ten being the highest. Level four was in the lower-middle range and didn't qualify as a disaster.

Even so, they had to go all out for every uprising, whatever its level. That was why the war zone had decided to move the selection up; otherwise, it would have had to wait until after the college entrance exam.

However, after the college entrance exam, every student's results would be plain to see, and the war zone probably wouldn't be the only one trying to snatch people up.

In Dragon Country, there was a rule forbidding any faction from snatching up students before the college entrance exam, but the military was an exception.

For one thing, the military sent people to serve as instructors at the Genius Training Camp every year.

For another, the military protected the country's security and sacrificed a great deal, which was why it had been given this advantage.

Even so, although the military had the right to recruit geniuses first, it could only recruit them in a general sense. The students still had to go on to university, so even if they were recruited, they wouldn't necessarily join the military after graduation.

It had an advantage, but not an absolute one!

About half an hour later, the two arrived at the sports center. By then, more than ten students taking part in the selection had gathered on the field, both boys and girls.

"They're here so early!" Qin Chen looked at them. As it turned out, he was actually the last to arrive.

"Do you think everyone's like you? These people all take this selection seriously. They came to Yang City a day early." Yang Xue shot Qin Chen an annoyed glance.

She had told Qin Chen the selection would be held in three days, and had assumed he would come early too. Instead, he had waited until the fourth day, forcing her to pick him up at the train station.

"Taking it seriously? Does that help?" Qin Chen smiled.

"You're very confident?"

"Against this bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates, I can knock each kid out with one punch!" Qin Chen looked at the group.

It wasn't that Qin Chen was conceited. After training at the Genius Training Camp, some of them might have become martial artists, but there definitely weren't many. Most were only at Peak Body Tempering.

Being assessed alongside them really felt a little like bullying them.

"Don't let your guard down. This assessment is a little different!" Yang Xue warned.

"What's different about it?" Qin Chen was taken aback.

"You'll find out soon enough. Just don't capsize in the gutter." Yang Xue didn't explain any further.

She knew Qin Chen's strength: he had nearly beaten Zhao Liang to death with one punch.

But she had carefully analyzed that video afterward. Zhao Liang's strength had been built up with drugs, and Qin Chen could reach the three-star threshold by relying on martial arts. Without using martial arts, however, he should be just above one thousand.

Under normal circumstances, Qin Chen would have had no trouble with this assessment, knocking each kid out with one punch. But this time, the assessment method had been changed at the last minute.

Qin Chen glanced at Yang Xue and caught a whiff of a plot.

Soon, Qin Chen reached the field. The moment he arrived, he drew everyone's attention.

Looking at their expressions, Qin Chen was certain that there was definitely a plot behind this assessment, and that it was aimed at him.

Before long, more than ten people in military uniforms walked over and stood in front of the group.

They were all instructors from the various Genius Training Camps, and Yang Xue was among them.

Qin Chen glanced at their ranks. Yang Xue's was still the highest, while everyone else had the same rank as Luo Bin.

"Everyone!" Yang Xue was the first to step forward and address them. "Originally, we planned to spend a week conducting assessments in a variety of forms."

"But because of the situation on the front lines, we've moved it up, and there will be only one format... a free-for-all!"

As soon as she said it, Qin Chen understood why Yang Xue had told him not to be too careless.

He glanced at the dozen or so people around him and found that they weren't the least bit surprised. Clearly, they had known the assessment format for some time.

Just then, he noticed that the others were all looking at him, some deliberately and others seemingly by chance.

Are they getting ready to gang up on me? The corners of his mouth couldn't help curling up slightly.