CR CH52

Chapter 52: A Visit

Sunlight streamed into the dorm room, and faint voices could be heard from the hallway outside.

Ji Yandong woke up the earliest. On a rare day off, he didn’t have the habit of sleeping in, so he pulled up a chair on the balcony to read a book.

The other three woke up one after another, someone gently drawing back a curtain.

“Morning.”

With water droplets clinging to his hair, Jiang Tianji pulled down a training uniform drying on the balcony with a bare upper body and slipped it on. His firm, lean muscles looked even more alluring in the sunlight.

Click.

A subtle click caused his movements to pause briefly. His dark green eyes quietly shifted toward Ji Yandong.

“Sorry, forgot to turn off the shutter sound.”

Ji Yandong apologized calmly, then sent the photo to Jiang Yan right in front of him.

—Dong: Auntie Jiang, Tianji’s been doing great lately.

Perhaps because it coincided with break time, Jiang Yan actually replied instantly.

—Auntie Jiang: Nice muscles! Whoever ends up as his wife is gonna be lucky. [ThumbsUp.jpg]

Standing close by, Jiang Tianji caught their conversation word for word. It took him a long moment before he managed to squeeze out a line:

“…You’re closer with my mom than I thought.”

“It’s alright. When we were little, my mom really liked you. She used to hold me and go swap with Auntie Jiang to play with you.”

Ji Yandong closed his book, stood up, and walked toward his desk. “I’m older than you, so I remember a bit of it.”

Jiang Tianji let out a soft laugh. Shouts and bickering echoed from the bathroom, where Huang Qi and Feng Huo were passionately playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to use the toilet first.

Leaning against Ji Yandong’s desk, he suddenly asked in a low voice, “What are your plans? Are you staying in Z01?”

“Why bring that up all of a sudden?” Ji Yandong paused briefly, not answering right away. “What about you? Have you decided?”

“I awakened.”

Thump.

Ji Yandong was organizing his bookshelf when his hand slipped, causing a book to fall over.

“Awakened?” The news came far too abruptly. He was stunned for a moment, as if realizing something. “I did hear yesterday that someone awakened a lightning-type ability…”

“Oh, you mean that guy!”

Having lost the rock-paper-scissors match, Huang Qi slouched out dejectedly, but upon hearing this, his spirits instantly soared.

“Tianji, haven’t you heard? Ah, right, you’re not one for gossip. Come, come, come, let me fill you in! Word is an insanely powerful Awakened showed up yesterday.”

“Some speculate it’s S-rank, and honestly, it’s hard to tell. I was so far away, yet I could still see lightning blasting across the sea! I almost forgot there were mutant beasts out there and nearly jumped up shouting ‘holy shit’!”

He gestured wildly as he described the scene, bringing it vividly to life.

“They say no one dared to get near that patch of sea at the time, thinking some hidden boss variant mutant beast was about to spawn.”

“Just hearing them describe it sounded ridiculously cool! Picture the thunderous downpour, and then this eerie, echoing roar of a mutant beast coming from the sea. It was almost as big as a warship, wide enough to swallow half a cliff in one bite! Everyone saw that massive black shadow, and guess what happened?”

“A sudden burst of awakened energy connected with the lightning across the horizon, forming a giant energy storm that whipped the seawater dozens of feet into the air!”

Huang Qi darted forward and leaped onto a chair, spreading his arms wide to heighten the dramatic effect with his voice and actions.

“In a split second, the mutant beast was caught deep in the whirlpool and blasted until not even ashes remained! The sea was completely blanketed in lightning, sending up layer upon layer of exploding spray! That kind of explosive energy… it was mind-blowing!”

“…”

In the silence, the bathroom door opened. Feng Huo stepped out with a towel draped over his neck. Seeing Huang Qi in that ridiculous pose, his face filled with utter confusion.

“What’s wrong with you? Did your brain short-circuit?”

“You looking for a fight first thing in the morning?!” Huang Qi flipped him the middle finger. “I’m talking about yesterday’s legend! He probably hasn’t had time to test his energy levels yet, but we should be able to hear more news by tonight.”

“Definitely. The Ability Division blew up yesterday too,” Feng Huo curled his lip. “Their batch has plenty of dual A-rank Awakened, with lots of standout talents. Who knew a legendary lightning kid would suddenly pop out of nowhere from our general division? They’ve been digging around even more aggressively than us.”

As the two rambled on, they finally seemed to sense the subtle atmosphere and turned to look at the two silently standing beside them.

Feng Huo: “Why aren’t you two saying anything?”

Huang Qi: “Yeah, why do you two look so weird? What happened?”

Ji Yandong ignored the two of them, his gaze sweeping toward the calm person beside him: “Did you get a notification? When are you going for testing?”

Jiang Tianji opened his communication device; the latest message had arrived around 11:00 PM last night.

—Ling: Come to the Research Institute around 11:30 AM tomorrow for your ability rank testing.

Last night… Recalling the sight of Ling Kongmiao’s retreating back as he boarded the ship, Jiang Tianji lowered his eyes, concealing a passing flicker of thought.

“I’m heading over soon. I won’t be joining you guys for lunch today.”

Pulling his thoughts back, Jiang Tianji casually grabbed a bottle of nutrient pack from his drawer, picked up his jacket, and walked out.

Looking at the drawer stocked like a wholesale warehouse of nutrient packs, Huang Qi gaped while Feng Huo looked visibly uncomfortable. It took both of them a second to realize what the two had been talking about, by which time Jiang Tianji had already stepped out of the dorm.

“Wait a second, what is he testing for?” Huang Qi looked at Ji Yandong in confusion.

Noticing the hesitation in their eyes, Ji Yandong nodded in confirmation: “It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

“…”

Before Huang Qi could unleash a screech, Feng Huo yanked him up by the collar first.

“Fuck! I fucking said he was off! Not a single one of you fucking believed me!!”

“How the fuck were we supposed to know?! You were being such a prick at the time, who would listen to you?!”

“I brought it up again later, and you guys still didn’t listen!”

“Didn’t you have a rap sheet for lying?! Who else can you blame?!”

“You fucking—!”

“Me fucking what?!”

As the two shoved each other around, someone quietly grabbed another book from the shelf.

A solitary figure slipped silently out of the dorm room, closing the door behind him.

With still some time left before the agreed hour, Jiang Tianji wandered around near the Research Institute, soaking up the sun.

He was used to walking slowly along the roadside. In the past, he could always run into cute little animals, but this was Z01—there were no such surprises here.

After wandering for ten minutes and coming up empty-handed, he sighed softly. Just as he was about to sit down for a moment, he heard a soft laugh.

“You’re here early.”

Irene seemed somewhat surprised to see him. Turning away from the direction of the Research Institute, she walked toward him.

“Hello, Xiao Jiang.”

Jiang Tianji paused mid-crouch, stood up, and saluted: “Officer.”

“Just be relaxed normally, no need to be formal.”

Irene’s eyes sparkled as she asked with subtle intent, “Xiao Jiang, are you busy right now?”

“Not at all. Seeing that there’s still some time left, I was just walking around nearby.”

“Oh.” Irene’s voice trailed upward in a pleasant hum. After offering a smile, she feigned confusion: “Didn’t the Captain send you a message?”

Jiang Tianji paused, checked his device, and raised his eyes: “No.”

“That’s strange then. When I went to his door this morning to ask, he said he’d eat his meals on time, yet he didn’t ask anyone to run errands for him either.”

Frowning with worry, Irene flipped through her device and muttered: “He had a severe fever yesterday, and he hasn’t replied to any messages. I wonder what’s going on…”

Connecting this to yesterday’s strange occurrences, Jiang Tianji asked calmly, “Is Captain Ling feeling unwell?”

“Oh, yes.” Irene set aside her worried expression and let out a sigh.

“He’s rarely like this; usually, he can adjust on his own. Maybe he’s been overworking himself lately.

“His readings had been very stable over the past few days, but for some reason, it suddenly spiked yesterday.”

Yesterday… Jiang Tianji raised a hand to touch his nose, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his eyes.

“I wanted to head back and check on him, but I really can’t spare the time right now.”

Irene thought for a moment, looking at him with a hesitant expression: “Xiao Jiang, if you’re free, would it be convenient for you to go check on him for me?”

Without waiting for Jiang Tianji’s reply, she opened her device and shared the access permissions to the Commander’s quarters with him.

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“…Alright.”

As if remembering something, Irene added, “By the way, that officer is a bit of a picky eater. He doesn’t seem to eat…”

She paused, either unable to remember clearly or overwhelmed by the list of items.

Seeing the atmosphere growing slightly awkward, Jiang Tianji offered tentatively, “Um, like eggplants and duck meat?”

“Yes, exactly! Look at my terrible memory.”

Irene raised her hand, pressing her palm against her forehead to hide the smile curling at the corner of her lips.

“Our Xiao Jiang is quite observant. Remember to come back for your test after visiting him, okay?”