Chapter 22

Chapter 22

After spending a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, Qinchi resumed his commute to the military academy.

With the help of two S-level principals, Qinchi fabricated a C-level ability user identity at the Mercenary Association. Upon arriving at the academy, he didn't deliberately conceal some of the new teacher's employment documents. Gradually, the A-level and B-level students he taught figured out the strength of this new teacher who could pull out high-level beast corpses at any time.

What was there to fear from a mere C-level teacher?

Accustomed to the thrill of high-level beast corpses, some troublemakers started dozing off on their desks again.

Qinchi did not interfere but made subtle changes to the teaching content. For the first three minutes and the last three minutes of each class, he would play short videos of encounters between ability users and mutated creatures.

Before class, the video showed ability users being harmed by mutated creatures; at the end of class, it showed ability users successfully killing the mutated creatures.

The bloody scenes dispelled the students' drowsiness, while the final victory pulled them back from despair.

"Teacher, where do you get all these live-action videos? I can't even find them on the mercenary forums."

Qinchi smiled: "I have many friends. These were specially prepared for you before I joined."

"...You're really considerate, but aren't you worried about being reported? Some of these scenes are quite challenging for our mental health."

Qinchi scanned the freshmen, mostly sixteen or seventeen years old, and said slowly: "In the New Era, the environment is like this. Ability users encounter mutated creatures when they go out on missions. Even if some people manage to stay in the base, they still face the danger of beast waves attacking the base. In other words, no one today can escape the shadow of mutated creatures."

"Therefore, I hope you truly understand the dangers of mutated creatures. Understanding the danger gives you the motivation to become stronger. Familiarizing yourselves with the body structures and attack methods of mutated creatures will allow you to counterattack."

"Laziness and sleeping are your rights, but teaching you this knowledge is my duty. If my efforts can help you avoid a danger in the future, I will be very pleased."

The students who were already listening attentively were deeply moved, and the troublemakers who liked to sleep looked at each other, feeling a change within themselves.

Class ended, and the students quickly left the classroom for their next class.

Qinchi stood at the podium, tidying up his lesson plan and deducting points for the two sleeping students' usual performance.

Someone entered the classroom, and as Qinchi looked up, the person closed the door behind them.

Qinchi smiled: "Back?"

Wei Jian, the principal of the Second Military Academy, an S-level admiral in his early forties affiliated with the Southeast Base.

Unlike the burly and bearish Dong Mingliang, the principal of the Third School, Wei Jian had a slim build and elegant features, fitting the image of a military academy principal more closely.

At that moment, Wei Jian had taken off his uniform and wore black pants and a light blue short-sleeved shirt, looking like an ordinary teacher walking around the campus.

His spiritual entity was a snowflake, giving Wei Jian a somewhat cool demeanor, yet overall, he remained calm.

He nodded at Qinchi.

Among the four existing bases, both the Northeast Base and the Southeast Base were close to the ocean, which teemed with numerous mutated beasts. Occasionally, one or two S-level beasts would attempt to land and wreak havoc.

To address this, both bases built three small coastal bases nearby and dispatched S-level admirals to rotate through them, leading the garrison troops to repel the invading sea beasts.

For over a hundred years, humans had held their ground in the four bases, building armies of ability users and developing various new weapons. Although they hadn't expanded much territory, the mutated beasts also failed to further breach human defenses, and the stalemate continued.

Wei Jian glanced at the student list in Qinchi's hand and smiled: "You seem to be doing quite well as a teacher."

Qinchi: "After all, I'm getting paid. I can't ruin the academic atmosphere of The Second School."

Wei Jian: "How's the recovery going?"

Qinchi: "So far, everything is stable."

Wei Jian: "Stability is good. Speaking of which, another batch of seniors will be going on graduation practice next month. Are you interested in accompanying them to the A-level danger zone?"

Qinchi: "Don't you have your own instructors?"

Wei Jian sighed: "We do, but it's an A-level danger zone. Students either lack experience or have bad luck; none have ever returned unscathed. I didn't want to force it before, but with you here this year, I'd like to try. Of course, they'll still need to endure hardships. You don't need to protect them too much; just step in when necessary."

Apart from the central area sending S-level instructors with the elite students of the First School for practical training, the other eight military schools, except for their principals, had no second S-level instructors. The principals, busy with military duties, had to let graduates venture out and take their first steps into becoming soldiers or mercenaries.

Qinchi: "Sure."

Wei Jian breathed a sigh of relief and invited: "Dinner together tonight?"

Qinchi: "Since you're back, spend more time with your family."

At 4:30 PM, Qinchi drove into Ping'an Community, turned onto a familiar street, and noticed a military green SUV parked by the roadside in front of Building Five.

Qinchi slowed down, parked, and as he unbuckled his seatbelt, he glanced at the driver's seat of the SUV.

Through two layers of tinted glass, Qinchi recognized a somewhat familiar rugged face, that of Jiang Rui, the junior lieutenant of the guard.

The fire dragon began to feel restless again.

Qinchi was used to it, got out of the car, and even nodded slightly at the guard soldier watching him before heading home.

As soon as he entered the hallway, the fire dragon flew out, its head pressed against the gap in the closed curtains, golden vertical pupils staring menacingly at the SUV by the roadside: "Why is he here!"

Qinchi stood by the water dispenser, filling a cup with water: "Romance?"

It had been more than two weeks since the curly-haired lady came to "inspect" Xu Qiao. The guard soldier starting his pursuit now was quite restrained.

He went to the kitchen to prepare ingredients, leaving the fire dragon to glare at the unsuspecting guard soldier.

While he was busy, a line of blazing letters floated in front of Qinchi: "He's getting out of the car!"

Qinchi checked his watch; it was exactly 5 PM, Xu Qiao's official quitting time. However, based on his observations, Xu Qiao usually returned home around 5:30 PM.

At 5:15 PM, Qinchi washed his hands and approached the fire dragon. Through the gap in the curtains, he saw the guard soldier standing stiffly beside the SUV, facing the direction Xu Qiao would return from, motionless, as if standing at attention or waiting for a superior officer's arrival.

Qinchi could feel the seriousness of this person's pursuit of Xu Qiao.

Qinchi had seen many soldiers but had never observed how a guard pursued a girl he liked. More accurately, Qinchi, who was sent to the military at sixteen by his father, had never seen anyone's courting methods and didn't even have the leisure to watch movies or TV dramas.

To him, it was novel and interesting.

Getting off work always brought joy; at least Xu Qiao felt cheerful riding her bicycle home. Even the glaring sunlight from behind only made her feel more relaxed.

This ease abruptly halted when she recognized the tall figure beside the SUV parked in front of her house.

The SUV was stationary, while the bicycle slowly approached. As the distance narrowed, Xu Qiao saw Jiang Rui's slightly sunburnt, resolute face and met his gaze that followed her every move.

He stood so straight that if not for his moving head and eyes, he would have looked like a lifelike bronze statue.

Xu Qiao dismounted in front of her courtyard and, facing Jiang Rui's eager yet restrained gaze, asked, "Did you come here to see me?"

After over half an hour of silence, Jiang Rui swallowed hard before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Not to find you, just to see you."

Since making appointments and escorting her home put pressure on her, he decided to wait here once a week, just to catch a glimpse of her.

"I like you. I won't give up. I'm willing to wait."

"Goodbye."

After a deep, lingering look, Jiang Rui turned, opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, fastened his seatbelt, glanced at the stunned girl outside one last time, and drove away.

The faint exhaust fumes were quickly dispersed by the breeze. Only then did Xu Qiao snap out of her daze.

Due to her appearance, Xu Qiao had experienced several pursuits before—men like Zhao Feng, who were domineering and passionate, those who claimed to be charming and witty, those who were oily and repulsive, and those who were cautious and gentle. Jiang Rui's straightforward yet restrained approach was a first.

May 28th, another Tuesday.

Considering that Jiang Rui had appeared on Tuesdays twice before, Xu Qiao somewhat prepared herself mentally to see him again today when she got off work.

And indeed, Jiang Rui appeared, still in his black guard uniform, standing as straight and resolute as ever.

Last time, he left too quickly, leaving Xu Qiao no chance to ask questions. This time, she stopped the man who was about to open the car door after a few seconds of eye contact and asked with a smile, "You don't really know my personality. Is it worth running all the way here?"

Jiang Rui looked into her clear, bright eyes and replied without hesitation, "Worth it. No matter what, I like you."

It was the first time he couldn't take his eyes off a girl, and the first time he couldn't stop thinking about her late into the night.

The joy of seeing her was genuine. Jiang Rui felt that even if Xu Qiao whipped him every day, he would still be happy.

Xu Qiao: "..."

His eyes were very dark and bright, his sincerity burning like fire, surprising her, but not evoking any disgust.

Noticing Aunt Liu from Apartment 202 stepping onto her balcony, Jiang Rui whispered goodbye to Xu Qiao, "I'll go now. See you next week."

Xu Qiao: "Wait, I need to make things clear. Even if you keep coming here, I might not choose you. So I suggest you give up. Aunt Liu said your family lives in the East District, and it's quite a hassle to come here."

Jiang Rui: "Not a hassle. Because I get to see you, every Tuesday is the happiest day of my week."

Xu Qiao: "..."

Jiang Rui got into the car and drove away.

Xu Qiao watched the SUV drive off, shook her head, and pushed her bicycle toward the entrance of the building.

In Apartment 102, the curtains were drawn. On the balcony of Apartment 202, Aunt Liu smiled and teased Xu Qiao, "I was wondering why Jiang Rui came at four-thirty and wouldn't come upstairs when I called him. Turns out he was waiting for you. That boy is persistent, true to his ox spirit."

Xu Qiao laughed, "Aunt, since you know him, please try to persuade him. Gas prices are high, and it's not worth wasting it like this."

Aunt Liu: "..."

Behind the pale golden curtains, the fire dragon turned to the man beside her, "What do you mean?"

Qinchi stroked the dragon's head, "He doesn't want others to joke about her suitors."

Fire Dragon: "Does she like him?"

She actually talked to him for so long without the lotus flower shooting water arrows at him!

This time, Teacher Qin from The Second School had no definitive answer.