Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After finishing the material sale, Wen Jing left the research institute alone and headed to find her dorm.

Opening the student handbook on her communicator and searching for "dormitory" immediately brought up a ton of stuff.

But it wasn't dorm rules or info—it was a flood of... ads.

"Lakeside Dormitory: Open your window to a man-made lake, beautiful surroundings."

"Sick of the noise and restrictions in the free zone? Only 99 credits a month for your own private space."

"Premium/Luxury Apartments: Adjacent to the villa district, helps you fit in with the high-achiever crowd."

...

Wen Jing's expression turned serious. She spent over ten seconds hunting for the tiny, practically invisible "Close Ads" button.

Finally, the useful info popped up, letting her figure out the dorm setup.

Zherang Academy was basically a huge city. The dorms weren't really dorms—they were more like different neighborhoods.

There were basically three types: free ones for anyone who applied, paid rentals, and exclusive villas for the top ten students of each grade level.

"It's all coming back, all of it."

Wen Jing felt that familiar vibe from her old school.

This place was massive—fewer than ten thousand Awakeners enrolled per quarter across the four seasons. They could easily have given every student a villa, but instead they split it into three tiers, just to create a pecking order.

No contest. The only dorm she could pick was obviously the first one.

The free dorm zone was ten klicks from the institute. Wen Jing headed for a nearby maglev car, planning to browse the student handbook on the way—specifically the "credits" Dean Bai had mentioned.

Just then, a voice came over the car's speakers.

"Welcome to campus transit. It appears you don't have free access. This vehicle charges 100 credits per minute."

"..." Wen Jing stepped back and pulled up the route to her dorm on her communicator.

Only ten klicks—no way she was taking a car.

...

Zherang Academy's main campus road was spotless, lined with rainforest plants that had no business growing in a desert. Here and there, a student would pass by.

Two guys were walking and chatting.

"Dude, Chengzi, that's insane! Less than ten people in our class cleared the first level of the trial tower! Spill your secret."

Lu Cheng couldn't keep from smirking and mimicked a basketball shot. "Piece of cake, right?"

"Pfft, acting so cocky." His buddy Wei He rolled his eyes at him.

Lu Cheng said, "Hey, did you hear? This year's winter exam incoming freshmen have already arrived."

"Duh, you didn't see that giant spaceship earlier?"

"I was in the tower, okay?"

"Tsk, hitting the tower on the first day of the month... damn try-hard." Wei He laughed and cussed him out, then got back on topic: "I also saw a huge medical team deployed. A junior of mine awakened and told me their class ran into an imperial raid on the ship."

The two seemed tight, but you could tell Lu Cheng was the alpha, and Wei He kind of depended on him.

That had to do with their abilities: Lu Cheng had E-rank potential, Wei He only had F-rank.

But Wei He was a people person with connections, and his info channels were what Lu Cheng needed.

As they talked, Wei He suddenly furrowed his brow. "Wait, given how this batch of freshmen is, are they even gonna have a 'welcoming party'?"

"Of course! It's a student council tradition!"

At that, Lu Cheng got fired up and clenched his teeth. "If we're the only class that got hazed by upperclassmen and can't pay it forward, forget about me—even the top students in our class won't let that slide."

Wei He nodded, remembering his own freshman hazing, and instinctively balled his fists.

As they talked, a figure appeared up ahead on the road.

Getting closer, it looked like they'd cross paths any second.

To a normal person, that speed was crazy fast. But this was an Awakener Academy, so it was no big deal. Wei He wasn't surprised—he and Lu Cheng had both come back from an ancient exploration alive.

But the next thing he knew, Lu Cheng grabbed him and yanked him hard to the side.

"Huh?"

Wei He was totally confused, turning his head to look at Lu Cheng.

Then he was shocked to see Lu Cheng standing rigid by the road, head bowed, his grip on Wei He's arm so tight his knuckles were white.

"Whoosh!"

The runner whooshed past—too fast to make out, just a black ponytail swinging behind.

That person clearly hadn't even seen them. Wei He thought Lu Cheng was acting weird for no reason. Frowning, he slapped Lu Cheng's hand away.

"The hell's wrong with you, man!"

Lu Cheng snapped out of it, staring at the retreating figure, muttering, "Wen Jing..."

"Wen Jing?"

Wei He raised an eyebrow and repeated, then suddenly realized, his eyes widening.

"Wen Jing?! You mean that person just now was Wen Jing?!"

He studied at No. 2 High School in the district, so he had never seen Wen Jing in person. Only Lu Cheng from No. 1 High School had seen her before.

But it could be said that every student in the district knew that name.

For their fellow third-year high school students, that name was a shadow forever hanging over their heads. Even though Wen Jing was the latest to enroll as a winter semester student, her strength completely crushed those spring semester students who had studied nine months longer, let alone the summer and fall semester students.

Wei He tried to analyze calmly: "Could you be mistaken? If Wen Jing awakened, why would she attend the same academy as us? She should have gone to Xuanhuang, or at worst, Qinglang, right?"

Lu Cheng said firmly, "It's absolutely her. My muscle memory was triggered! I can't be wrong!"

What muscle memory? Like the kind you get from bowing to the emperor?

Wei He thought of Lu Cheng's instinctive reaction just now, a complicated look on his face, but he dutifully opened his comm: "Hang on, let me ask the junior..."

While waiting for a reply, Lu Cheng remained silent, his eyes burning with fire.

He recalled his only encounter with Wen Jing.

When he first entered No.1 Middle School, he had picked a fight with a top student whose grades were 25 points higher than his. After class, that kid beat him up on the side of the road.

At that time, Wen Jing happened to pass by that stretch of road.

So, everyone on the road cleared the way without a word.

He was being held there by the top student, bruised and swollen, quietly waiting for her to pass.

Later, he forgot what that top student looked like, but that feeling of humiliation at that moment when he met Wen Jing—or rather, that exact mix of resentment and jealousy... even now, as an Awakener, he'd remember it in the middle of the night.

It really was Wen Jing...

Wei He got the reply and said dreamily: "Her potential... is F-level." Same as his.

F-level!

Hearing this, the fire in Lu Cheng's eyes turned to madness.

This time, he would definitely overcome this inner demon!

The news didn't reach only the two of them. News of Wen Jing's enrollment swept through Zherang Academy like a hurricane.

The groups of new students enrolling each term this year were all buzzing with tension...

How many people wanted to stomp on the genius they once could only look up to, just to blow off steam? It wasn't just Lu Cheng.