Yu Xinglan shook his head noncommittally.
"Boss! Boss, I got the cloak too!"
[GonnaGetRich]'s excited voice rang by his ear. He'd already put on the same cloak, blue curls spilling out from under the hood, eyes sparkling, grin impossible to contain—clearly still riding the high of the first clear.
He scooted close and seized Yu Xinglan's hand, shaking it up and down, voice climbing an octave. "Boss, we got first clear!"
"We're on the server announcement!"
"I've never been on an announcement before, hahaha!"
Yu Xinglan wasn't used to physical contact with strangers. He slid his hand free without a word and straightened his cloak.
Oblivious, [GonnaGetRich] happily scrolled through his own panel, chattering away.
"So much experience! Grinding that out myself would've taken forever."
"And it's all thanks to you, Boss—I'd have been kicked out in the first stage, hahaha!"
"Boss, add me on my light-brain. We should play together sometime!"
Faced with that expectant look, Yu Xinglan pressed his lips together—but couldn't quite bring himself to refuse.
"You add me."
He sent over his light-brain ID, waved a hand in farewell, and logged off.
Night had fallen. His bedroom was swallowed in darkness, the desk lamp glowing a soft yellow—Xiaoyun had left it on for him.
Yu Xinglan sat up in bed. A buzzing pulled him back to reality: a friend request from [GonnaGetRich] on his light-brain.
The moment he accepted, a new message arrived.
[Hello.]
[(rose)(rose)]
[Just call me Litchi. :) ]
Litchi? Because lichee sounds like the li in GonnaGetRich—Li-zhi?
Yu Xinglan tapped at the screen, snickering to himself, and set the contact name to Litchi.
Then he paused, thinking of his own game handle—the randomly generated "System user knsjo." What were you supposed to do with a name that sounded like background NPC number three?
Little K?
Or little Jo?
He turned it over and over, sighed, and just sent his real name.
[Xinglan.]
[ok~]
He tossed the light-brain aside and flopped back onto the bed.
......
Yu Xinglan put on his uniform, buttoned it up one by one, checked that everything was neat and unwrinkled, and headed out.
It was his first day back at the academy since his return.
After the upheaval in his family—and the illness that followed—he had been on leave for two full years. He hadn't been able to attend classes, but he'd sat the rating exams every year all the same, and studying at home, his scores had somehow come out excellent. That was how he'd advanced into third year.
Third year differed from the first two in one respect: a new rated subject, Team Coordination.
It required live team simulations. There was no self-study option for that one.
And with his condition finally stable enough not to interfere with daily life, he'd simply come back.
Morning was theory class. Yu Xinglan picked a corner seat by the window and watched the instructor point at the light screen with a pointer wand, feeling oddly like he'd stepped into another lifetime.
"Yu Xinglan. Answer the question."
His thoughts had drifted somewhere far away; only when the instructor called his name did he snap back, blinking, with no idea what the question even was.
"Sorry, I..."
Someone tugged his sleeve twice. His deskmate nudged his light-brain over—it showed the question, and the answer.
Yu Xinglan read through the answer on the screen, and the instructor let him sit.
He stole a careful glance at the person beside him: black uniform immaculate, buttons done neatly to the throat, soft hair, regular features, a friendly smile that never seemed to leave.
Noticing Yu Xinglan looking, the boy smiled and nodded back.
Soon came the lunch break. Yu Xinglan took a tube of nutrient solution—strawberry flavor today—from the most out-of-the-way counter in the cafeteria.
Shen Qingyuan set his tray down beside him, peeled off his white gloves, and unhurriedly speared a piece of broccoli.
"Only you would voluntarily eat nutrient solution."
"It's convenient."
Yu Xinglan tipped the rest of the tube into his mouth, tongue curling to catch a stray drop at the corner of his lip.
"Want a bite of my drumstick?" Shen Qingyuan leaned in, smile curving, bringing the chicken right up to Yu Xinglan's mouth.
Yu Xinglan turned his head away and pushed Shen Qingyuan's face back a palm's width.
"Don't start..."
A burst of commotion swept the cafeteria. They both looked over: a crowd was forming a ring by the entrance, and out of the gap strolled a group of students, led by the very deskmate who'd passed him the answer that morning. He said something to the people around him, and they all laughed together.
Shen Qingyuan put the drumstick down, drew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth, eyes sliding toward the crowd as he leaned closer to Yu Xinglan.
He propped himself on Yu Xinglan's shoulder and lowered his voice by his ear, conspiratorial:
"Curious?" He gave Yu Xinglan a meaningful look.
"You wouldn't know—two years on leave—but that's one of the academy's resident celebrities."
"Ji Yunzhou. Eldest young master of the Ji family."
"The only person in the entire school to rate S two years running."
The academy issued ratings every half semester. Even Shen Qingyuan's own scores had occasionally slipped to an A—but across eight straight ratings in two years, Ji Yunzhou had never once left S.
"And he's just formed a team. Not one member rated below A."
Shen Qingyuan straightened up, then pinched his thumb and forefinger a hair's width apart.
"But still just a little bit below me."
Yu Xinglan crossed his arms and snorted a laugh, and Shen Qingyuan laughed with him.
......
Afternoon was practical military PE: a 400-meter obstacle course, to standard.
The instructor led them into the training hall to run the course in turn. When Yu Xinglan's turn came, though he was nowhere near the tallest of his classmates, he was quick, supple, and precise.
He cleared the obstacles with ease and reached the final station, and with a flick of his fingers spun his pistol into his palm.
Ten ring. Ten ring. Ten ring.
Three consecutive bullseyes on the moving targets, no faults anywhere on the course before it.
An S rating, as good as owed to him.
Whispers broke out below. S ratings in this class belonged to Ji Yunzhou and his archrival and no one else—and now some unknown had walked off with one too. It genuinely startled people.
"Quiet. Back in line."
Yu Xinglan returned to the line, everyone sneaking glances at him.
"Next: team coordination."
The students split off to their own squads. Only Yu Xinglan stood alone in place.
He'd never attended classes here before, so naturally he had no squad.
The instructor gave him a look—he clearly already knew the situation.
"Yu Xinglan, join Ji Yunzhou's team for today."
"Instructor, he's only a B..."
"Yours is the only squad short a man."
Wen Li shut his mouth, pouting. He'd only been worried the newcomer was rated too low to keep up and would get hurt; since the instructor saw no problem, he raised no further objection.
"Our pace is fast. Say so if you can't keep up." Fresh from the obstacle course, Ji Yunzhou was sweating slightly; he undid his top button, baring the collar of the shirt beneath, adding an edge of frost to his soft features.
Yu Xinglan nodded, fell into line without fuss, and entered the simulator with the squad.
"Don't be nervous. Just follow my commands." Ji Yunzhou's voice was reassuring.
This exercise was a kill simulation: clear every insectoid while keeping all squad members alive.
They formed up quickly and hit start.
The scene changed in an instant to open ground—dune after dune of sand, endless to the horizon.
Suddenly, the dune in front of them began swirling downward like a whirlpool. A cold glint—a black-shelled claw shot out from the vortex's center.