novelraw Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Ji Qing received his textbooks that very evening.
Zhou Que knocked on the door of his dormitory and handed him a bundle of books. With an awkward expression, Zhou Que explained, “Here. Brother Huayu asked me to bring these to you.”
“Ah… thank you,” Ji Qing said in surprise.
He had not expected things to unfold like this. But upon thinking about it, it made sense… Ji Qing pondered inwardly. After all, Shao Huayu looked like someone very skilled at social interaction.
Having Zhou Que deliver the books to him was probably an attempt to build goodwill.
It might also have something to do with You Xingluo.
After all, when the incident happened in the cafeteria, You Xingluo had been right beside him. Shao Huayu might not know what Ji Qing’s first impression of Zhou Que was, but he certainly knew it could not afford to be bad.
Zhou Que asked stiffly, “Do you have a terminal?”
Ji Qing asked in confusion, “A terminal?”
Now that the conversation had reached a topic he was familiar with, Zhou Que’s tone became more natural. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and showed it to Ji Qing. “This. A personal terminal.”
Ji Qing looked carefully and realized it was an object that resembled a sports wristband.
This was probably the “smartphone” of the wasteland world. However, he had never learned about the existence of terminals from the manga, which suggested it was likely a communication device circulated only among the upper class.
“I think I have one,” Ji Qing murmured.
He remembered that there was something similar to a sports wristband in his suitcase. But since Ji Qing himself had never used such a device—and there had been no manual included—he had simply set it aside.
So that had been a terminal?
“Hm? What did you say?” Zhou Que had not heard clearly.
“Wait a moment,” Ji Qing said as he turned to search for the wristband. While rummaging around, he spoke to Zhou Que standing at the door. “You can come in and sit for a bit. But I have not organized the room yet, so it is a little messy.”
“Oh.” Zhou Que blinked at that.
He walked in somewhat uneasily and quietly looked around. Ji Qing’s room was very simple, without many belongings, but that was how most commoners’ rooms were.
They did not have the funds to ship valuable items, so they usually brought only a backpack or a single suitcase.
How strange, Zhou Que thought with quiet confusion. Why would there be a commoner whose talent was even stronger than Brother Huayu’s? And that You Xingluo as well… Why would he deliberately approach this person?
Ji Qing handed him the wristband. “Is it this?”
“Yes.” Zhou Que nodded. “Give me your terminal ID. I will add you to the class group. It will be much more convenient to contact each other through the terminal in the future.”
Ji Qing immediately covered his face. “Then we have another problem. I do not know how to use the terminal…”
Zhou Que looked up in astonishment. “What? There was no manual?”
Ji Qing replied solemnly, “There was not.”
Zhou Que fell silent for a moment, but soon he could not help laughing. “Then I will give you my manual. I just bought a new terminal before school started. Although the model is different, it should still be usable.”
“You can find the terminal ID here.”
Zhou Que unconsciously moved closer to Ji Qing and demonstrated the operations. “Just switch to settings from here. And here… you can check your friends list and approve friend requests…”
Zhou Que ended up demonstrating the entire communication function of the terminal.
While listening attentively, Ji Qing secretly observed Zhou Que’s expression.
Zhou Que seemed to be in a good mood and did not look like someone who had been forced to deliver books. Ji Qing felt somewhat regretful about this realization. Fine, he admitted that Shao Huayu was quite skillful…
Zhou Que was not a bad person. He was simply not good at expressing himself.
After finishing the basic explanation of the terminal’s communication functions and successfully adding Ji Qing to the class group, Zhou Que’s mood visibly improved.
He waved at Ji Qing and said he would be back soon.
The next time they met, he would probably have brought the manual. Ji Qing waved back at him as well.
All members of Class S had single dormitories, and they were all located in the same building. Ji Qing had paid attention when he first moved in. Only the few of them lived in that building.
This was definitely arranged deliberately by the school.
Previously, Ji Qing had not thought much of it, but after today’s incident, he finally understood the reason.
It was due to the rigid class hierarchy of the wasteland world.
High-rank Ability users simply disdained interacting with ordinary people or low-level Ability users. Zhou Que appeared quite easygoing in front of him, perhaps because he regarded Ji Qing as one of his own.
That was likely the reason he had helped Song Xiaoran as well.
Ji Qing thought with some hesitation: Shao Huayu had personally admitted that “the school culture of the First Ability Academy is not very good,” but if even the Third Ability Academy was already like this, then what kind of place would the First Academy be…?
Ji Qing suddenly found himself conflicted.
But for now, the system’s whereabouts remained uncertain.
Ji Qing did not plan to interfere with the school’s storyline yet. This wasteland world was still largely unknown to him, and he also wanted to see how the manga’s plot would develop if he did not interfere.
He needed to understand that before he could guide the story later on.
Leaning against the desk, Ji Qing casually flipped through the theory textbooks they would use tomorrow. These books contained the history of the wasteland world, the basic theory of Abilities, and illustrated guides to common Aberrants.
The more he read, the more he felt that this world was far more complex than what he had seen.
The theory class on the following day adopted a format where all students of the same grade attended together. The course was called 《Basic Theory of Abilities》, and the instructor was their homeroom teacher, Li Xuehua.
When Ji Qing learned this, he was not surprised. Li Xuehua’s speaking style was clear and organized, and she possessed a high level of emotional intelligence. It was perfectly reasonable for her to teach theory.
It was currently the first semester of the first year. The school’s specialized training would only begin next semester. For now, synchronized classes made it easier for students from different classes to interact, preparing them for future team competitions.
Ji Qing arrived at the classroom exactly on time.
He glanced around the room and noticed that the seats around Zhou Que were completely empty. It seemed that Zhou Que’s speech in the cafeteria yesterday had indeed affected how the other students viewed him.
But Ji Qing did not care much.
Wherever there was a seat, he would sit. It might even allow him to sleep a little longer in the future. So Ji Qing carried his textbooks and walked toward Zhou Que. Zhou Que merely glanced at him, still looking somewhat bored.
“Where are the others?” Ji Qing suddenly asked. Along the way, he had not seen You Xingluo or Shao Huayu, but logically speaking, freshmen should all be attending class.
Zhou Que replied, “You Xingluo had something to deal with. Brother Huayu went with him. This place is quite close to Yancheng’s city center. You will see the two of them tomorrow.”
Ji Qing nodded. “I understand.”
It seemed to be related to You Xingluo’s hidden identity.
Although You Xingluo had not revealed his identity to him, Shao Huayu certainly knew about it. Ji Qing wondered what kind of matter required them to go to the city center to handle.
Ji Qing chose to sit down and listen to the lecture.
Thinking too much about these things was useless. It was better to attend class first.
“At present, the Federation classifies Ability ranks from F to S. Abilities are innate and cannot be changed,” Li Xuehua explained carefully from the podium. “However, we should neither overestimate nor belittle ourselves because of this.”
“Because mental power is also an important measure of one’s strength.”
“And mental power is also called the mental threshold. It can be trained through effort. Students must not neglect the training of their mental power simply because of the strength or weakness of their innate talent.”
Li Xuehua continued with a smile, “Ability types are mainly divided into the following categories: attack type, support type, control type, healing type, and special type.”
“But this classification is not very precise,” Li Xuehua emphasized seriously. “Because high-rank Abilities often display diverse external manifestations. For example, the possible healing abilities of the Light type and Wood type, or wind blades and wind fields created by the Wind type…”
Ji Qing listened very attentively.
He increasingly felt that this world was fascinating. Song Xiaoran’s Wood-type Ability had healing capabilities, but Shao Huayu’s Light-type Ability did not…
Either he had not mentioned it, or his Ability had specialized in another direction.
Just as Ji Qing was focused on taking notes, Zhou Que beside him had already fallen asleep from boredom. For someone who had grown up in the wasteland world, this class was simply dull and tedious.
Come to think of it, I forgot to ask where Song Xiaoran went, Ji Qing thought.
Song Xiaoran’s bright green hair was quite conspicuous. Yet Ji Qing had not seen him anywhere in the classroom. Ling You’er was absent as well…
So the only Class S students attending class were him and Zhou Que?
Ji Qing smiled silently.
After finishing this session of 《Basic Theory of Abilities》, Ji Qing also skipped the next class.
Although Li Xuehua’s teaching level was excellent, the material was simply too detailed.
Ji Qing did not want to sit there for an entire day.
He believed Zhou Que would understand what he meant. A theory class attended by only one Class S student would be rather pitiful.
It would be better if everyone skipped together.
Ji Qing comfortably settled into the library. He stayed there until nightfall, cramming a large amount of knowledge about the wasteland world.
Only when his stomach began to growl did Ji Qing—whose brain felt completely overloaded from studying—walk toward the cafeteria in a daze. Passing by the school pond, he glanced at the goldfish swimming in the water and felt an inexplicable envy for their carefree lives.
He also wanted to be a useless creature with only seven seconds of memory.
As a result, dinner tasted completely bland.
While mechanically chewing his food, Ji Qing considered his next course of action. The system still had not made any move, but the manga must have updated.
It was time to see how far the story had progressed.
Just then, the conversation of two male students at the neighboring table caught Ji Qing’s attention.
“Have you heard? A guy from Class F challenged Zhou Que from Class S to a duel! You know Zhou Que, right? The arrogant bastard from yesterday!”
“No way… Wouldn’t that mean expulsion? The Zhou family is not easy to mess with. Back in Central City, Zhou Que was already—”
“He won! That guy from Class F beat Zhou Que!”
“What?”
Ji Qing at the neighboring table was equally stunned. “What?”
He had only been gone for such a short time. How had the manga’s plot suddenly advanced at rocket speed?
There was no way he could skip reading this manga.