“Settle this one-on-one? Do you really think you stand a chance against me?”
Hearing Feng Wu’s challenge, Zhao Jing—a peak One-Star super who didn’t consider ordinary supers a threat—asked him this dismissively.
“Oh? Do I not look like I can handle you?” Feng Wu retorted, looking down at Zhao Jing from his imposing, bulky stature. With his fierce eyes and menacing aura, he looked every bit the villain.
Zhao Jing gave the man a careful once-over, but didn’t detect any strong aura of supernatural power around him. “Frankly, no, you don’t look like you can.”
Catching the blatant scorn in Zhao Jing’s tone, Feng Wu let out a soft, derisive laugh. He then stopped concealing his energy, allowing the full pressure of his Two-Star super status to flood the private room. “How about now? Am I worthy enough to be your opponent now?”
The moment he felt the energy radiating from Feng Wu, Zhao Jing’s previously relaxed and dismissive expression shattered. His face instantly paled, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
It took him a long moment to regain control over his shaking limbs. Finally, he looked up at Feng Wu, a mix of shock and disbelief in his eyes. “You… you’re stronger than me? How is that possible?”
“What’s so impossible about it? Now, answer my question. Quickly,” Feng Wu pressed, his gaze fixed on Zhao Jing.
A cold sweat broke out on Zhao Jing’s brow. He knew he’d met his match. If it were possible, he would have turned and fled right then, even if it meant looking utterly pathetic.
But then he thought of his classmates. He realized that if he ran away, this gang leader would surely take his anger out on them. Not wanting to implicate them, he forced out a reply, “I admit it. You… are a worthy opponent now.”
“Since I’m ‘worthy’ now, then please, come outside with me. Let’s exchange a few pointers,” Feng Wu said, stepping aside and gesturing towards the door, indicating Zhao Jing should lead the way.
Seeing this, Zhao Jing was acutely aware that in a one-on-one fight, he stood no chance against this gang leader. But he also knew he absolutely could not let his classmates suffer for his actions. He slowly rose from his seat, straightened his clothes slightly, and began walking towards the exit.
Watching Zhao Jing comply so readily and head for the door, Feng Wu was mildly surprised. He’d expected someone like him to dig in his heels and refuse to leave, no matter what. His impression of Zhao Jing improved a tiny bit—but just a tiny bit.
Seeing his best friend walking away, step by step, surrounded by these intruders, Liu Sheng felt a surge of panic. He was still reeling from the overwhelming pressure of Feng Wu’s Two-Star aura and didn’t fully grasp the situation, but he knew deep down that if Zhao Jing left with these men, something very bad would happen.
Just as Zhao Jing was about to disappear from view, Liu Sheng mustered all his courage and called out, “Jing! You can’t go with them!”
Hearing his best friend’s voice filled with concern, Zhao Jing’s lips twitched into a faint, bittersweet smile. But not wanting to drag Liu Sheng into this, he didn’t stop. He continued walking steadily towards the door.
Seeing their classmate about to be taken away by these thugs, and only knowing from Zhao Jing’s earlier words that he’d beaten up one of their lackeys—without knowing the reason why—Hu Mengqing was spurred into action by Liu Sheng’s plea. Fighting down her own fear, she also stepped forward and addressed the clearly dangerous gang members, focusing on their leader.
“Wait! You can’t take Zhao Jing away. I don’t know what issue you have with him, but I could never rest easy letting you just take him like this.”
Hearing their class monitor, Hu Mengqing, and Liu Sheng bravely speak up to stop the thugs from taking their classmate, the other students in the room were initially stunned. But it didn’t take long for them to snap out of it.
Following Hu Mengqing and Liu Sheng’s lead, they one by one rose to their feet, adding their voices to the protest.
“Yeah, if there’s some problem, we can call the police to mediate!”
“An’an is right, we can get the police to help sort this out!”
“We can’t just let you take Zhao Jing away, it’s not right!”
“As his classmates, we won’t just abandon Zhao Jing!”
“Zhao Jing, don’t go with them! They’re obviously bad news, you’ll only get hurt!”
“Let Zhao Jing stay!”
“Let Zhao Jing stay!”
Hearing the room grow increasingly noisy after Liu Sheng and Hu Mengqing spoke up, Feng Wu, who was following behind Zhao Jin, scowled deeply.
He immediately released an even more intense and oppressive aura than before, directing its full force at the students in the room.
Under the suffocating weight of this powerful energy, the students who had moments before been trying to protect Zhao Jing instantly fell silent. The fight drained out of them as they slumped back into their seats, gasping for air.
Only when the room was completely quiet again did Feng Wu withdraw his oppressive aura. He then continued walking towards the door.
‘Why did you all have to do that…’
As the person at the center of this, Zhao Jing was deeply moved by his classmates’ attempt to help him. But knowing it was utterly futile, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
“Monitor, are you okay?”
Seeing Hu Mengqing swaying on her feet, looking like she was about to collapse from the effects of Feng Wu’s aura, Yan Qi—who hadn’t been affected by the pressure—hurried over to support her. “I’m fine,” Hu Mengqing replied, her voice a bit weak. “Just a little dizzy.” She watched Feng Wu’s retreating back as he left the room, a dawning realization in her eyes. “That guy… is he what they call a ‘super’?” she murmured under her breath.