Chapter 80 Missing
The temperature in the Federation was about ten degrees cooler than in Auslan, but Carl, sitting in the wind, felt his body burning up. He quietly finished another cigarette, but the pain from his wound was still unrelieved, so he stood up, surrounded by cigarette butts on the ground.
"Looks pretty decent..." he muttered to himself as he looked at the lit room.
Unlike the doll in his nightly dreams, the person who had just walked out was a delicate-looking young man, but Carl, seeing those bright eyes and the little expressions when angry, knew at first glance that it was her.
He looked up at the night sky once more; he was more than familiar with the nights in the Federation, but none felt like tonight, compelling him to keep gazing.
He took out a piece of chewing gum and popped it into his mouth, tiredly closed his eyes, and a second later, disappeared from the spot.
Two-story building.
Upon returning to his room, Carl could no longer support himself and knelt on the floor, spitting out a mouthful of blood the second after he appeared out of nowhere.
He licked his blood-stained molar and gave a wicked smile, carelessly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Good thing it didn't splatter on the carpet, or she'd have gotten angry again."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
Carl couldn't get up and simply lay on the blood-stained floor, turning over.
He gazed at the ceiling light as his vision began to blur.
In fact, Zong Fang's blow had been full-force; he was certain that madman had intended to kill him. But his professional instincts had once again saved him; the moment he was struck, Carl had shifted his body angle to avoid a fatal hit. He then spent three days shifting back from Beast Form to human form, but concerned about Qiao Suisui at school, he stubbornly used his Talent to teleport to the base of her building. Using Talent on an unhealed wound was extremely harmful to the body.
But it was worth it tonight.
He had gone there prepared not to see her, especially since he had said such hurtful things and even dared not to contact her using his ID for fear she wouldn't answer. But thinking about her utterly indifferent attitude, Carl felt twisted inside.
Carl wanted her to remember him, wanted her to see him.
As this thought crossed his mind, he finally understood all those moments of self-deception. His teasing her, his offensive words, his provocations— it had all been to get her attention.
A deep laugh emerged from his chest as he placed his wrist over his eyes, the laugh tinged with bitterness, regret, and helplessness.
He was wrong; Qiao Suisui was never a weak person. Just by looking at her relationships with those men, it was clear who held the upper hand, who was constantly panicking and grasping to hold on, and who was plotting to leave and gain freedom. He thought she relied on those men, but it turned out that including himself, the men couldn't stay away from her.
Thus, Carl lay there, becoming more lucid as he lost consciousness, until he could no longer hold on and finally allowed himself to sleep.
-
A few days later, Qiao Suisui had gotten used to living at school.
These days, they were also waiting for the new students awaiting supplemental admission to be fully confirmed before officially starting classes.
The teaching model at AOIS was highly flexible, to say it was customized for each individual. Firstly, every new student entering the school had to undergo tests of spiritual power and various physical dimensions, followed by a deep one-on-one conversation with a mentor, primarily to set individual goals for the following year. During this process, the mentor would help the student break down these goals into short-term and phase goals, and track their progress in real time. Moreover, to ensure that each new student's development was fully attended to, each mentor could only take on up to six students, ensuring high responsibility.
Next, after a year of beginners' protection period, students must partake in the practical assessment. At this point, you are still an AOIS student, but many courses are integrated with various Federation departments, focusing more on applying what is learned rather than merely clinging to textbooks.
Finally, if you successfully pass the practical segment of the exam, you can begin to establish your own life direction. During this phase, many Beastmen choose to stay in the department where they practiced to seek a stable career. Others opt to strive for an opportunity to remain at the school because of their attachment to AOIS, preferring to contribute what they have learned back to the institution. Therefore, in the third year, there is hardly any pressure from coursework and credits; instead, it's a time to fully utilize one's talents and organize one's own time and activities.
Qiao Suisui was surprised that only a very few would choose to continue their studies further. She had thought that in a top school like AOIS, many would eagerly advance to the next level, as once outside the school, there would no longer be such access to industry leaders and opportunities.
"That's because we do not encourage students to study merely for the sake of studying," Ah Jin explained.
Today was the day of the test. She had previously seen Dr. Li, who asked her to arrange a knowledgeable and trustworthy mentor for herself, and this person was Ah Jin, so she did not have to worry about being exposed.
"Qiao, the time at AOIS might seem long or short, but you will gradually come to understand what we truly advocate."
Qiao Suisui nodded without further questions, focusing her attention on the magnetic stone in front of her.
The magnetic stone was embedded in a large dashboard where all the pointers were initially at a standstill, and above the dashboard was an electronic screen as thin as a cicada's wing.
"Once you're ready, place your hand here, and your data will be displayed on the screen."
"Okay."
Although they arrived very early to avoid others, the testing room was still only occupied by her and Ah Jin, yet she could not help feeling nervous.
What if Ah Jin saw that she was very weak and did not want to mentor her anymore? After all, mentors rely on advancing students who show significant improvement to get promoted.
Qiao Suisui took a deep breath and gently placed her hand on the magnetic stone. The stone emitted a burst of purple light, the dashboard's pointers swung back and forth, and the screen displayed a female virtual human body imaging with values on the right side rapidly changing, yet unable to stabilize.
Ah Jin appeared somewhat surprised, "What's going on? Could it be a malfunction?"
Qiao Suisui removed her hand, and Ah Jin put his hand on it. In no more than three seconds, the screen immediately provided the data, and the pointer almost instantaneously stabilized at a specific mark as soon as Ah Jin rested his hand on it.
"Qiao, try one more time."
"Okay."
Her palms slightly sweaty, she once again touched the cold magnetic stone.
This time, the dashboard didn't swing back and forth. Instead, it spun around rapidly like a clock, again and again. Qiao Suisui looked up to the screen, seeing only her spiritual power and Talent immediately showing up, while other values such as endurance, Speed, visual communication ability, Physical Ability, and Bounce Power were constantly rolling numbers.
Ah Jin pushed up his glasses and said, "We've never seen this kind of situation since the establishment of the school, strange. Qiao, go back first, and I'll consult Dr. Li's opinion before discussing it further with you."
Qiao Suisui had no choice but to nod in agreement. She and Ah Jin parted ways in the hallway, and Qiao Suisui stood there for a while before returning to the testing room.
One last time, she would try it just one more time.
Thinking this, she placed her hand on the magnetic stone again, and this time, the purple light burst forth, filling the entire room with a bright white glow. Qiao Suisui squinted and slowly opened her eyes to see the data displayed on the screen starkly different from before!