Chapter 168: Online Romance

“A City doesn’t even, exist.” As expected, Ronnie pointed out the crux of the matter.

“I don’t think that’s an accurate way to put it.” Xiran adjusted his glasses with a serious expression. “We only know for certain that at this moment, we cannot go to the city from the known parts of the Mist World. However, that doesn’t mean the city doesn’t exist. No one knows what’s inside the mist.”

“There may be nothing at, all.”

“Ughhhhh enough already!” Can pulled at her hair as she yelled. “Would you two stop talking about this? I’m getting fed up! Let’s talk about your online romance! Isn’t that much more exciting?”

Then she puffed out her cheeks in anger, “Ugh, I can’t believe my roommates! Even the one other single one ends up getting a boyfriend! She’s going on a date with him tonight without telling me!”

Gao Yang smiled faintly. “I’m more interested in the online romance too.”

He wasn’t actually interested, but it was better to disperse the tension before going on a mission, and talks about the truth of the world were too serious.

Xiran paused and looked at Gao Yang. He seemed to be wondering if he should tell him.

“Go on,” Gao Yang said in encouragement.

“Then I will.” Xiran smiled shyly.

“That’s the spirit!” Can slapped him on the shoulder. “Speak your mind! We’ll lend an ear to all your questions!”

“Back in elementary school, I wrote an essay titled,

My Mom

.” Xiran licked his lips and looked down at his clasped hands. “Growing up, we only had each other, and things weren’t easy. Ah, I digress. Sorry...”

“Anyway, that essay won a prize and ended up published in a monthly magazine for elementary school students.”

He glanced at the others and continued, “Not long after that, I got a letter from the A City. Her name was Lin Mengjuan. We were the same age. She said that she was moved by my essay, and that she grew up with a single mother as well. My school address was given at the bottom of the page, so she wrote to the address to contact me.”

The car moved at a stable pace, the interior quiet. They were all engrossed by the story.

“We became pen pals just like that. I hadn’t awakened then and didn’t know that A City didn’t exist.”

A smile tugged at Xiran’s lips as he recalled the time of simple happiness. “We wrote to each other every month to talk about our lives, and we even sent each other pictures of ourselves. When the Internet became more commonplace, we chatted online instead. She never videochatted with me, but we sometimes called each other.”

“Things went on like that until my third year in highschool. I planned to visit Lin Mengjuan in the A City came summer. She was happy and said that she looked forward to it.”

Xiran fell silent.

“But then you awakened.” Gao Yang could guess what happened then.

“I did. My math teacher was an awakener, and after learning of my plan, he subtly confirmed that I was human before telling me the truth of the world. Soon, I awakened with a Talent.”

“In a way, my math teacher saved my life.” Xiran’s eyes flickered with a trace of sorrow. “But not long after that, he died. Perhaps his identity was exposed. I don’t know the details. Then I was scouted by the Qilin Guild and joined.”

“Have you been chatting with the girl still, Xiran?” Gao Yang asked.

Xiran nodded. “Yes. Although I’ve given up on visiting her, I still talk about my life with her like friends. Nothing about awakeners, of course.”

“Have you ever wondered what she is?”

“Of course I do. Maybe she’s a program or a code. Maybe she’s an AI. Maybe she’s an unknown, mysterious existence.”

Ronnie said decisively, “But never a, human.”

“I may never know what Lin Mengjuan is in my lifetime.” Xiran smiled sadly. “But sometimes, I feel like maybe it’s for the better. When my mom died in my first year of highschool, I thought about taking my own life. It was her consistent support that got me through the rough patch. I’m grateful to her no matter what she is.”

Gao Yang fell silent. He wasn’t the best at comforting and consoling people.

But then he remembered the philosophy Officer Huang lived by.

“Someone once told me,” he repeated the man’s words calmly, “That while the world is fake, love is real.”

Xiran paused, his eyes flickering with complicated emotions.

Then his lips curved into a grateful smile. “Thank you, Captain. I’ve gotten my answer.”

“Whoa, that’s deep. I think I get it, but at the same time I’m still confused.” Can chewed on the words with her brows knitted. Then she sighed. “Ugh, whatever. I should just play my game.”

“Your friend knows what it’s about, Captain,” Gray Bear said approvingly.

Ronnie was bemused as well.

Lithe Snake, on the other hand, couldn’t be less interested. He gazed out of the window coldly while playing with his throwing knives.

...

One o’clock in the morning, the fourth and fifth teams arrived at the gates of the Eleventh High School.

The fourth team arrived a little earlier, and they went straight into the school without waiting for the fifth team like they didn’t exist.

The fifth team got out of the car. Gray Bear extended a hand. “Come on!”

Gao Yang paused.

Shoot, I almost forgot. Why are you more eager about this than I am, Gray Bear?

They made a circle and put their hands together. Since the investigation shouldn’t require any of their Talents, Gao Yang decided not to replicate any for the moment.

“May the odds be in our favor,” Gao Yang declared.

“May the odds be in our favor,” the others repeated before pulling their hands back.

The team made it to the school gate, and Gao Yang gave the instructions, “Watch the gates to make sure no one gets through, Xiran, Ronnie. If anything happens, contact me immediately. Do not make any move on your own. The rest of you, come with me.”

“Got it.”

“I, understand.”

Gao Yang, Gray Bear, Lithe Snake, and Can vaulted into the guardhouse through the window. Then they entered the campus. Walking along the shaded path, they soon spotted the fourth team.

Their confidence was evident in the way they split up to search the campus. Black Sparrow was walking around the running track with a flashlight, and she headed toward the flagpole platform. Yellow Butterfly, on the other hand, was in the hallway on the third floor of the teaching building, her flashlight signifying her location.

The other three teammates each went to the cafeteria, the dorm, and the staff building.

All the while, Nine Frost, the captain of the fourth team, stayed seated on the concrete bleachers of the open basketball court, his expression serious. He held himself like a general overseeing things from the command tent in a military camp.

After all the unforeseen dangers Gao Yang had been through, he was more cautious and didn’t tell his team to split up. Instead, they all searched the campus together.

They first went to the teaching building and searched each of the classrooms.

The classrooms differed little. There were the same abandoned desks and broken windows, all covered in a thick layer of dust and spiderwebs.

Can had an art glass bracelet on her wrist. It was a level 3 empowering item she got from the Guild. With Black Gold as one of the materials and imbued with a Talent for detection, the bracelet glowed when it was close to a powerful being; the more powerful the being, the more intense the light. It served as a sensor of sorts.

Can kept checking the bracelet nervously, making dramatic reactions at everything.

“Oh boy! Look, the bracelet seems a little brighter!”

“No, it’s in your head.”

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy! It’s really brighter this time! Look!”

“It’s the moonlight from the window.”

...

They soon went through all the classrooms.

Gao Yang thought for a moment. There was one place they hadn’t checked: the rooftop.

According to all the fictional stories he had consumed, rooftops were where many unfortunate incidents happened. It was the one place they must investigate.

The four of them headed to the rooftop with their flashlights. The lock was broken, and the rusty metal door was slightly ajar.

As the tank of the group, Gray Bear naturally took point and opened the door. Only once he made sure that there was no danger did he wave the others over. They followed him out.

And immediately, Gao Yang caught a figure at the corner of his eye.