3 in the afternoon, after waking up from a dream.
Moving my shoulder, I immediately felt a pain tingle in my body. The wound from the bullet had been split open by the Artificialâs claws, causing the wound to reopen. Medicine wasnât doing a good enough job in healing it either.
âHuu!â
I suddenly sat up and leaned against my bed. Looking outside my window, I saw a group of male students sweating it out on the basketball courts as they played a game, while another large group of female students were cheering them on.
I stretched my neck and sat against the wall comfortably and relaxed.
To my side, I heard Glasses speak to me, âHey, Xiao Yao, when you were asleep, I happened to see your arm and all of the wounds on it. Where in the world did you go yesterday night to get injured this muchâ¦?â
Turning to answer Glassesâ question, I stared for a second before saying, âGlasses, you shouldnât be asking these types of questions, itâll bring you no answersâ¦â
Tang Guâs body started to tremble, âXiao Yaoâ¦are youâ¦are you connected to the underworld?â
âPah, do I look like that type of person?â
âProbably not, you donât mix with the ** crowd and youâre also pretty handsome. If anything, youâd probably have a girl delinquent by your side, not Wan Er. Her father wouldnât have let you get near her in the first place if you were.â
I stood up and shook my arm. Besides the gunshot wound, the rest of the wounds were already all healing up. With another 3 or 5 days, I would once again be at my peak. Ever since the first encounter with the Artificials, my life became so much less secure; everyday was spent in complete anxiety as I prepared to be attacked.
â¦â¦
Going to the bathroom to wash my face, I then walked out of the dormitories to find some food to eat. Soon after, I found myself wandering around the sports field to try and stimulate my blood as well as my Qi flow. The sooner that my blood and Qi flow returned to normal, the better the benefits would be.
The cold refreshing breeze of Autumn blew past my face. I was wearing a new shirt and a nice black windbreaker on the outside, hiding all of my injuries from sight entirely. However, my face still had a single scratch that was visible to the naked eye; wounds from the Artificials were truly hard to recover from.
âYou can do it! Wang Ze Cheng is soooo hot!â
The screams of female students could be heard from the side of the basketball courts but the name that was mentioned was one I could never forget. Quickly making my way over, I saw that it was an unexpected match between the chinese and computer departments. And one of the representatives for the chinese department was Wang Ze Cheng!
Wearing light blue sportswear, Wang Ze Chengâs entire body was already sweating. His handsome face was calm but firm and his eyes were icy cold in determination. He was practically taking all of the opportunities given to him and within 10 seconds he had already scored twice. At one point, he had even scored three points from a half court shot, an astonishing achievement that caused everyone around to applaud at once. Even the many girls were all shouting, âWang Ze Cheng go!â
I calmly sat down onto the stone bench and watched the faraway basketball game with a tranquil expression.
â¦â¦
âPeng!â
Rushing to make a slam dunk, Wang Ze Cheng leapt extremely high, slamming the ball into the basket in a graceful manner. While he was in midair though, he had looked into my direction.
I looked at him as well without saying a word. By my side, many of the girls had shrieked loudly in approval.
âPaâ¦â
Gently falling to the ground, Wang Ze Cheng returned to his side of the court, though he had looked very cautious towards me now. The way he handled the ball was truly gorgeous but when the opposite team had the ball, he fouled them and, the ball flew at an angle towards me as if it was a bullet!
This! Was he purposely trying to hurt me?!
âWatch out!â A girl on the side shouted out as a warning, âLi Xiao Yao, watch out!â
I looked directly at the basketball and gathered Qi. A cyclone condensed in front of me, turning it away and with a âbanhâ the basketball flew backwards as if it had hit steel. I remained sitting, indifferently looking over at Wang Ze Cheng.
âHey man, are you ok?â A male about 2 meters tall laughed as he looked at me, âWang Ze Cheng didnât do it on purpose, donât take offense. It was just an accidentâ¦â
Wang Ze Cheng smiled, and with an apologetic face said, âStudent Li Xiao Yao, I apologize, it wasnât on purposeâ¦I didnât hurt you right? The basketballâs speed just now was a bit fast, so I couldnât control it. Sorryâ¦â
I stood up, looked at Wang Ze Cheng, and faintly smiled, âHow would it? With such little strength, it wasnât enough to even tickle. Student Wang Ze Chengâs slam dunk was very skilled, no wonder so many girls like you.â
Wang Ze Cheng rubbed his nose, and laughed in embarrassment, âThatâ¦I really only like playing basketball, thatâs all. I didnât really want to change anyoneâs opinion towards meâ¦â
I smiled, âYea, they were hired to act!â
A male on the side arched his brow, âLi Xiao Yao, what do those words mean? On what basis can you talk about Ah Cheng like that? Who are you to talk like that?â
Saying this, he walked in front of me holding the ball and extended a hand to push my shoulders.
I slid backwards a step, drawing support from my Qi to push onto the back of the male student, immediately sending the student smashing into the ground. In such a difficult position, the battered student couldnât say I pushed him, since everyone around us saw that I didnât touch him at all.
Hurriedly bending over and supporting his arm, I âpanicked in fearâ and asked, âFellow student, youâ¦are you ok? How could you be so careless?â
This guy was clearly one of Wang Ze Chengâs followers and Wang Ze Cheng was furious. He absolutely did not think that I was such a good actor, âFellow student Li Xiao Yao, are you up to play a game of basketball?â
I shook my head, âI canât, you guys continue playing, I still have other things to doâ¦â
The moment I turned around, the male that had fallen got back up in anger. He raised the basketball and heavily threw it towards my back, âF*ck, go die, you bastard!â
âSouâ¦â
The basketball flew towards me at a rapid speed but I merely held up a hand without turning around. The ball stopped within the palm of my hands, and I sent it flying back towards the hoops in a single perfect motion. With a swishing sound, the ball fell through the net and to the ground; all without me even looking as I made the shot. Cool people donât look back after all.
The basketball hoop was at least 15 meters away from me and I had made a swish shot without even looking.
Everyone on the court was stunned. No one would have thought that I would do such thing and no matter how much Wang Ze Cheng tried to do thing, he was still a fake gentleman. However, I learned my lesson that the cruel reality was that - you had to look good to have a future. If you were like Old K, your only hope would be to study all day.
â¦â¦
âDu duâ¦â
The phone rang; it was Wang Xinâs number-
âLeader Wang, whatâs wrong? Do you need me to return to the team?â
âThatâs not it.â Wang Xin laughed, saying, âWeâve recently been doing inspection work for the most part; thereâs virtually no danger involved. You should rest properly for a while and tend to your wounds first. Also, now that we have the Nanometer bullets in our hands, thereâs nothing to worry about. Even if we do somehow face those modified people again, we wonât really be inferior to them anymore. We would definitely blow off their heads before they even got near us!â
I laughed, âEh, then I reassured. Why exactly did you call me?â
âProtect Lin Wan Er properlyâ¦â
Wang Xin said sternly, âI only have one demand of you, which is to guarantee the safety of Miss Lin Wan Er. Youâve seen Tian Xin Corporationâs power. Their weapons will be able to let us turn around the current situation. Lin Tian Nan is some you canât push on, even when the army first started cooperating with him, we had to compromise many conditions. Youâve met Lieutenant General Sun Xiang right? He has lost quite a few times to Lin Tian Nan; towards Lin Tian Nan, the army hates and loves him. Haha, however, Lin Tian Nanâs only weakness is his daughter. You have to protect Lin Wan Er in case the power behind the Artificials gets wind of Lin Wan Erâs relationship to Lin Tian Nan and the Tian Xin Corporation. Once Lin Wan Er gets kidnapped then weâd be in real danger.
I nodded, âI understand. From beginning until end, I will use my life to protect her. Donât worry about that, Leader Wang!â
âYea.â Wang Xin continued, âDo you need any hired hands? To tell the truth, Lin Tian Nan hired 27 people to lie low around Liu Hua University. All of them are experts and will help you protect Lin Wan Er. If you ever need any more, you can tell me and the police can also hire similar personnel to provide assistance.â
I couldnât help but laugh, âDonât worry Leader Wang, this isnât a problem at all. Youâ¦can you help me investigate Booster Corporationâs CEO Wang Ze Chengâs origins, and everything about him thoroughly?
âBooster Corp?â
Wang Xin said with difficulty, âIâm afraid that this is a bit too difficult; I cannot investigate that company without permission!â
âWhy not?â
âBecause Booster Corpâs influence is too deep. Their profit from last year was 7% of Hang Zhouâs GDP. The old fellows above are all waiting for this GDP for promotions, so who would let you touch Booster? Once we start investigating Booster, Iâm afraid weâll be investigated ourselves. You should understand the conflict of interest better than me.â
I clenched my fist, âHa ha, I love this adorable worldâ¦â
â¦â¦
As I hung up the phone, I dialed Shen Bingâs number-
âHello?â Shen Bing chuckled, âYoung handsome, didnât we just see each other very early in the morning? What, have you missed me again that soon?â
I was speechless, âSister Shen Bing, is it possible that youâre still half asleep?â
Shen Bingâs voice sounded lethargic as she replied, âHoho, you figured it out. Iâm still on my bed. Whatâs up, did you need something? A conscienceless fellow like you would never call me unless youâve got a favor to ask.â
I smiled, âYea, Sister Shen Bing, you have pretty much all of Zhejiang policeâs files; help me investigate inside information about Booster Corporationâs Asia Divisionâs CEO Wang Ze Cheng, the more detailed, the better. Also, investigate Booster Corporation as well.â
Shen Bing said in astonishment, âYou brat, youâve gone crazy. You want to touch Booster Corporation? Thisâ¦this is too insane. Do you know how many people will try to silence you?â
I replied indifferently, âI know, but I need to do this. Sister Shen Bing, if itâs too difficult than donât investigate. I will find another way to fix an investigation on Wang Ze Cheng. If you are discovered, then I wonât have a peaceful conscience anyways.â
Shen Bing laughed, âI guess you do have some conscience! Donât worry though, Sister will find a way to use a trojan and bypass their investigations; just leave this matter to me! Sisterâs reputation for being Hangzhouâs number one hacker isnât for nothing!â
âYeaâ¦ok!â