Openly wielding weapons (2-4)

"According to statistics, the collapse of the overpass in Lingtian District has so far resulted in 83 deaths and 204 injuries. The Public Security Bureau has dispatched a rescue team to the scene to actively conduct search and rescue operations..."

Shu Ningmiao leaned quietly against the hospital bed, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. She was thin, her black hair hanging down over her blue striped hospital gown, and her skin had a warm, smooth luster.

"According to preliminary investigation, the elevated section of Lingtian District is currently completely closed, and a large number of houses have been crushed, resulting in severe damage..."

Shi Yu sat beside her hospital bed, carefully peeling an apple for her. His face was flawless from the side, with a straight nose and perfect features. His platinum hair made him seem to be surrounded by a halo. It seemed that even peeling an apple was a pleasure to watch.

Shu Ningmiao remained unmoved by his portrayal of a devoted and devoted boyfriend: "Turn off the TV."

Shi Yu reached out and turned off the TV. His slender fingers gripped the fruit knife as he continued to meticulously shape the apple: "I thought you would want to hear it."

Shu Ningmiao forced a smile. The news reports repeated the severity of the accident but made no mention of the cause.

The number of victims she saw was far greater than the number reported in the news.

She still had no idea what the man with long red hair had done or why he had given her the superpowered item, so she looked listless.

She opened the terminal and was indeed momentarily excited because she had unlocked 'game chapters' and 'save/load', but after clicking in, the game prompted her—

Come back after you've unlocked the full character list!

To use these two features, you actually need to collect all the romanceable characters.

There are five blank relief frames in the character guide. She has unlocked four so far: Shi Yu, Weston, Su Ni, and You An. There is still one blank frame standing there all alone, and it is unknown when it will appear.

Her first suspicion fell on the man with long red hair; objectively speaking, he did meet the male lead's standards in appearance.

However, if the strategy guide doesn't respond, it means he is not a target for romance.

The alluring function was right in front of her, yet she was just one step away from achieving it. Shu Ningmiao leaned against the soft pillows on the hospital bed, feeling somewhat frustrated.

Shi Yu finally finished repairing his apple. He divided the apple into four pieces and carved them into the shapes of a rabbit, a tiger, a pig, and a cat.

"You're so free," Shu Ningmiao exclaimed in amazement.

He held a fruit plate in one hand and carefully brought apple slices to her lips with a porcelain fork. Shu Ningmiao opened her mouth. Half of her shoulder had been shattered by fragments carried by the shockwave of the explosion, resulting in a comminuted fracture. It was indeed quite painful. There was no reason for her to refuse someone serving her.

Shi Yu seemed to have found joy in feeding her; as soon as she finished a piece, he immediately handed her another.

"You know something, don't you?" Shu Ningmiao chewed on her apple, her cheeks puffed out, and swallowed before speaking: "Why did the overpass explode that day? And how did the pilots get involved?"

She heard it clearly: before the red-haired man completely blew up the overpass, he said, "Let the operatives be buried with me."

The dark figure wielding the giant sword should be the one who wields it; it's understandable that his strength is beyond human comprehension.

As for being buried alive with someone, Shu Ningmiao thought it was complete nonsense. If a man could easily catch a bird and turn it into a supernatural artifact, he must have other ways to escape.

Shi Yu lowered her eyes, crossed her legs, and slowly began peeling the orange again: "I only know one other thing."

"What?" Shu Ningmiao frowned.

"That night, a Pandora's Spring under that section of the overpass in Lingtian District was destroyed by an explosion." Shi Yu said indifferently, "The official reports didn't mention it, did they?"

This is what the news is really trying to cover up: Pandora is the lifeblood of this country, and the panic caused by its destruction is far greater than that caused by the collapse of an overpass.

So, the real target of these motorcyclists was Pandora's Spring; blowing up the overpass was just to cut off the path of the riders.

Why would these people bomb Pandora?

No matter what, as long as one lives in this world, there is absolutely no way to live without the energy provided by Pandora. Destroying Pandora's Well is a completely self-defeating act.

There are indeed many "anti-Pandora" organizations in this world, but such organizations are relatively rare in Pinne, which is based on Pandora and superhumans.

“Not everyone thinks Pandora has a reason to exist.” Shi Yu’s tone remained calm as he placed the peeled orange in her hand. “Even if they knew why, they still couldn’t understand each other.”

Shu Ningmiao looked down and saw that he had peeled away every single segment of orange flesh, leaving no trace of its veins: "..."

Shi Yu stood up to wash her hands, her eyes glancing unintentionally towards the door, and she paused.

Shu Ningmiao called out to him from behind, "Help me get the terminal."

He looked away and gently responded to the girl's instructions. Shu Ningmiao could only use one hand at the moment. She played with the terminal while Shi Yu fed her snacks, showing no sign of impatience.

Shu Ningmiao was curious why he hadn't left yet. She was staying in a private room at the best medical facility in all of Pinne, with a senior nurse, and she didn't need him to be her full-time caregiver.

"Is the terminal really that fun?" Shi Yu looked up.

Shu Ningmiao held up the terminal for him to see: "I'm selecting courses."

The accident on the overpass forced her to spend a week in the hospital, but fortunately, she was ahead of others in her studies and didn't fall behind too much.

"Didn't you already choose drama appreciation, fencing, and two foreign languages?" Shi Yu had a very good memory and remembered things clearly even from a casual glance: "Why the sudden change of classes?"

“I’m almost done with my credits for Pingyi and Mengdan languages. I’ve spoken with the teachers of those two courses, and I can graduate once I pass the individual exams after I’m discharged from the hospital.” Shu Ningmiao pondered for a moment before continuing, “As for drama appreciation, I don’t think it’s necessary to continue studying it.”

This is her biggest takeaway after experiencing this incident.

Before this, she had always followed the popular courses at the elite school when choosing her courses. No matter what kind of course it was, to her it was just a badge of honor that she could use in her interpersonal relationships after the course was over. She knew very well which badge was more valuable.

If she gets an "A+" in these courses, she can be considered an "excellent student" in the universal sense.

Because she was not favored by her family, she needed these outstanding achievements even more to affirm herself and prove her strength, showing that she didn't need to care about the opinions of others.

However, faced with the disaster that struck from the sky, she suddenly realized that she could do nothing, and was even unable to save herself.

A noblewoman's interest in cultivating her character is not true power; she cannot persuade others to lay down their arms by playing the violin or reciting sonnets.

The overpass accident may seem like just an accident to many people, and they will forget about it in a few days, but it has been a wake-up call for Shu Ningmiao.

Having witnessed Yelü Qi's strength, she only had some vague thoughts in her mind.

Seeing the red-haired man fight the mysterious wielder, she realized that the power of these superhumans far exceeded the limits of human imagination.

After the initial shock, she felt no fear; instead, a renewed sense of longing arose in her heart.

She also wanted to have that power.

What was originally a shallow, budding desire has become like a tainted flame, ambitious and growing ever stronger and brighter.

However, Su Ni also reminded her that with tens of thousands of different superpowers, she could not accurately estimate her own strength and had to be more cautious.

Shu Ningmiao canceled the original elective courses and replaced them with four physical fitness-related courses, namely Sanda, shooting, and track and field, which are rarely chosen by Cornunos.

These courses have long been met with a lukewarm reception in Kornunos, and sometimes they can't even attract enough students to attend.

For people of status, sweating profusely on the playground is considered a vulgar and crude act; they prefer elegant, aristocratic sports.

However, Shu Ningmiao's special ability state "Anger" is an enhanced ability that amplifies her overall abilities. The stronger her physical abilities are, the stronger she will become after being amplified.

The current curriculum at String Light Academy is still geared towards basic science. Weston's "Understanding and Introduction to Superpowers" is long and tedious, and doesn't get to the point at all. Yeluqi is still making them run repeatedly. If she wants to become stronger, she needs to make efforts beyond that, but she can't rush into it.

She needs these seemingly basic physical training sessions to expand and enhance her already unlocked superpowers.

Shi Yu looked over, her gray irises like a hazy rain: "Your shoulder isn't healed yet, it's too much of a rush to take these classes."

Shu Ningmiao shook her head: "The bones are almost fixed. We just need to find a healing-type ability user in a couple of days."

It's not uncommon in Pines to seek healing from superhumans after an injury; in fact, there's a fairly complete industry for it. However, superhumans are expensive, and not everyone can afford them. Moreover, if shattered or displaced bones aren't surgically fixed, even if they are healed by superhumans, the bones will still be misaligned.

She can only undergo fixation surgery at the medical center first, and then hire another person with superpowers to treat her so that she can recover quickly.

After reviewing her elective courses, she remembered there was still someone in the ward and waved them away without any politeness: "Go back, I need to rest."

Shi Yu smiled slightly, somewhat helplessly, and carefully poured the water for her before leaving the ward.

As soon as he closed the door to the ward, the expression on his face suddenly turned cold.

Shi Yu turned her head to look at the tall figure leaning against the outside of the ward. She didn't know how long he had been waiting outside the door. The man stood in the shadows, half of his body floating with crisscrossing light spots.

Shi Yu pondered for a moment before gently asking, "Big brother?"

The man raised his head, his face hidden in the darkness. Beneath his dark, wispy hair, long eyelashes framing his forehead, a pair of eyes bluer than lake water coldly scrutinized him.

The neat black uniform with gold-trimmed sashes subtly and solemnly outlined his tall and upright figure; this was the standard uniform only worn by military personnel.

Although Shi Yu had never met Shu Ningmiao's brother, he quickly guessed the identity of the person in front of him.

In the dimly lit corridor of the medical facility, the closed doors blocked out all sounds from the room and the outside world.

Shu Changyan's expression was amiable, but not overly affectionate: "You don't need to call me brother."

It's just dating, it hasn't gotten to that point yet.

Shi Yu's lips curled slightly, forming a soft line, as if she were saying casually, "Why don't you go in and see Miaomiao?"

"Let her rest for a while." Shu Changyan clearly didn't want to talk to him anymore. "I'll leave in a bit."

Shi Yu smiled impeccably: "Shall I take you?"

"No need." Shu Changyan's eyelids drooped slightly, as if shrouded in an invisible shadow: "You can go."

His soft, clear blue eyes were hidden in the interplay of light and shadow, like a still, lifeless lake.

Separated by a wall, Shu Ningmiao put down her terminal. Since that night, Shu Changyan's terminal had been unanswered. He only sent her a message this morning, telling her to take good care of her injuries and not to worry. His words were hurried.

She wanted to ask Shu Changyan about what happened that day. Shu Changyan had warned her before not to go out alone, and since someone was directly involved in the incident, Shu Changyan must know the relevant information.

However, the security measures implemented by the user are very strict. It is already difficult enough for him to communicate with her via the terminal, and she does not want to cause trouble for Shu Changyan.

After much deliberation, Shu Ningmiao ultimately decided not to ask any further questions.

She lay on the hospital bed, holding up the pendant in one hand. The gray-white cross pendant swayed in her hand, and she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

Superpowered items can only be made by individuals with special abilities. They are rare, expensive, and never appear in large quantities.

This pendant is exactly the same as the one worn by the red-haired man around his neck; it's probably not a coincidence.

This red-haired man blew up Pandora's Well and the overpass and is being hunted down by the officials and operatives of Pinne. If Su Ni is related to them, could it be because of this pendant that this man gave her the superpowered item?

After she is discharged from the hospital, she will "properly" ask Su Ni about it.

After confirming that she was not infected, the nurse suggested that she walk around outside the ward more often and get more sun, which would be good for her bones.

Even the best single room in the medical center only had one TV and three white walls, making it cramped and boring.

After finishing her lessons in the ward each day, Shu Ningmiao would take a walk in the small garden below the ward. The garden was full of lush green plants that swayed gently in the sunlight.

The well-maintained garden is well worth the expensive treatment fees charged by the clinic. Many patients come down for a walk, and some religious priests preach and chant scriptures here.

This is common in every medical clinic. Faced with incurable and painful diseases, faith acts as a placebo, becoming a final refuge for some.

Even though Pandora propelled the rapid development of Pinnechs technology, there are still many incurable diseases in the world, such as Su Ni's genetic disease.

Therefore, even in a highly developed country like Pines, religion was very prevalent, and the most popular religions, with their large number of followers, could even subtly influence the decisions of the central parliament.

The further down the mountain the region, the more numerous the religions become, with perhaps hundreds of different beliefs in total. Even if they recited their own classics in front of Shu Ningmiao, she couldn't name them.

The soft chanting mingled with the gentle breeze, lulling one into a drowsy state. Shu Ningmiao sat calmly on a bench in the garden, sunlight shimmering on her face.

A person dressed in a white robe sat down beside her and handed her the book.

Shu Ningmiao didn't even raise her eyes. She could tell from his attire that he was a missionary priest. She didn't accept the offer, silently refusing.

Undeterred, he spoke some sacred words with great enthusiasm, his accent thick.

Shu Ningmiao couldn't understand his preaching language at all, nor could she comprehend his passionate emotions. She felt even more uncomfortable with the fanatical believers and was already preparing to get up and find another place to sit.

“Listen to me.” The man clasped his hands together, his lips glistening with tired droplets of water, and earnestly said to her, “Do you know why people die?… Death is caused by mistakes, and we need to correct those mistakes in order to be saved.”

If that's the case, nine out of ten churches are saying that the next step should be to donate money for atonement. If that's true, the cost of Shu Ningmiao's hospital stay would be enough to buy all the indulgences of these churches and live to the next century.

She stood up and turned to leave. The man chased after her. Just as Shu Ningmiao was about to call for a nurse, a book landed right in front of the man, startling both of them.

Shu Ningmiao looked up and saw a thin, small figure above the ward, with long, sandy-gold hair hanging down, looking down with fear and unease.

"I'm sorry... I forgot to close the window, and the wind blew out accidentally." The girl's careful voice drifted down on the wind, clear and delicate: "Could you please help me carry this to room 309? It's a little inconvenient for me to come down."

This is a medical facility, and not everyone is in good health enough to go outside. Shu Ningmiao's ward was on the third floor, and she had already lost her interest in taking a walk. Upon hearing this, she picked up the book on the ground and quickly shook off the cultists behind her.

She glanced at the title on the book cover, "EFA-DFS Gene Vector Research," which sounded quite profound; she couldn't understand it.

When we arrived at the ward the girl had mentioned, the door was open. The girl who had peeked out earlier was sitting in a wheelchair by the window. Hearing the sound, she looked over happily and said, "Thank you!"

Perhaps because of her illness, the girl looked very thin, with a pointed face, and appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old at most. Her golden hair shone brightly, and her emerald green eyes were full of laughter.

The nameplate at the end of the hospital bed read her name and treatment plan. She suffered from a congenital genetic disease. Shu Ningmiao originally thought Su Ni was rare enough, but she never expected to meet a second one.

She looked more like an angel than Su Ni, wearing a white lace dress, her fluffy blonde hair falling to her sides, her face crinkling when she smiled, revealing two small dimples, innocent and adorable.

She quickly drove her wheelchair to Shu Ningmiao, took the book from her hand, and said with clear, bright eyes, "Hello, my name is Arcia."

Shu Ningmiao responded politely, nodded slightly, and turned to leave.

The girl's eyes were fixed on her retreating figure as she cautiously asked, "Are you also a superhuman?"

Shu Ningmiao stopped and turned to look at her: "Why did you say that?"

Arsia tilted her head, her fair skin revealing light downy hairs under the sunlight, making her look like a small animal: "I don't know, it's just a feeling, maybe it's because my supernatural senses are more acute."

"Are you a superhuman?" Shu Ningmiao looked at her with some surprise. The "seed" for awakening superhuman abilities is between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, so this girl in front of her must be at least fifteen years old, but she actually looks younger.

“Yes! My brother is also a superhuman.” The girl was completely innocent. Before Shu Ningmiao could even ask, she said naively, “You just had surgery to fix your shoulder, right? My brother’s superhuman ability is healing. He can give you free treatments to promote healing. He’s very powerful.”

The girl seemed to lack common sense. The superpowers of those with special abilities are a private matter that should not be discussed in public, yet Arsia revealed them all in one go without reservation, not even afraid that the girl might have ulterior motives.

Shu Ningmiao felt a rare tenderness when faced with a girl as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

She leaned down to look the girl in the eye and said, "Thank you, but it's okay."

She doesn't lack the money to find a cure for those with superpowers, so there's no need for her to go through all that trouble and incur favors.

Arcia winked at her seriously: "But you helped me retrieve the book, and I wanted to thank you."

Shu Ningmiao shook her head: "It was just something I did on the spur of the moment. I was going back to my ward anyway."

"Without you, my books would be trampled to pieces by those children." Arcia frowned slightly, looking towards the window with distress. Several young patients were playing in the garden, and the sound of stones being thrown could be heard from time to time.

Shu Ningmiao touched her hair.

"Wait for me!" Arcia touched her hands together, turned her wheelchair around, and moved to the table by the window. If it were an ordinary person, Shu Ningmiao would have turned around and left by now, but she couldn't be so indifferent to a disabled child.

Arsia's desk was piled high with books and manuscripts. Shu Ningmiao glanced at them and saw that they were mostly similar to the book she had picked up, "EFA-DFS Gene Vector Research," and were quite advanced.

She tore off a small strip of paper, quickly dipped a quill pen in ink, wrote a string of numbers on it, and handed it to Shu Ningmiao: "This is my brother's contact number. His healing ability is really amazing; it won't leave any aftereffects."

Arsya pleaded repeatedly, and those beautiful eyes looked at her with dazzling light, blinking pitifully.

Shu Ningmiao had no choice but to accept the note, but she didn't actually intend to call it.

She pulled Shu Ningmiao along, her radiant face flushed a faint pink, and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry, am I getting a little too excited? I rarely see anyone else here."

Arsia's legs made it difficult for her to leave the ward, and the nurses were not her age. She spent her days in the ward, only able to pass the time by reading.

The girl's round eyes were clear and straightforward, making no attempt to hide her desire to talk to her.

Shu Ningmiao had a certain degree of tolerance for pure and beautiful things. Arsia pulled her aside and asked her many questions about Cornunos and the String Light Academy, which she answered patiently one by one.

"You can go when you turn eighteen." Shu Ningmiao comforted her gently, seeing how interested she was in String Light Academy: "As long as you awaken your special ability, you can get an admission notice."

“No…” Arcia smiled and winked at her, “Given my physical condition, I probably won’t be able to go to school, but what you’re saying sounds very interesting!”

Shu Ningmiao opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't say anything weak or unhelpful. Arcia's physical condition was obviously much more serious than Su Ni's; even her legs had atrophied.

At the most beautiful and vibrant age, they are forced to stay in a snow-white hospital room and endure the pain of illness.

The oppressive white atmosphere in the ward made Shu Ningmiao feel uncomfortable even after a while, let alone facing it year after year.

When Shu Ningmiao left the clinic, she specially picked out a bunch of yellow roses to give to Arsia. The soft, tender yellow petals resembled her hair, and placing them on her bedside table would brighten things up.

There's no need to worry about Kornunos's courses; she just has a lot to do after taking over Pandora's Well.

Back on campus, the atmosphere was noticeably more somber than when the semester had just started, and conversations always revolved around the recent major incidents.

Many students from Cornunos commute to school, and Shu Ningmiao was not the only one who witnessed the explosion, but the other survivors were mostly far from the section of road where the explosion actually occurred.

Shu Ningmiao had the housekeeper find a random healer to treat her shoulder. Just as she was about to take the pendant to cause trouble for Su Ni, she saw a familiar pattern on the way.

Not far away, under the Cornunos teaching building, there was a black poster about half a person's height, with a round-handled T-shaped cross painted in white in the middle, which was the shape of the pendant on her hand.

A number of students had already gathered around the poster, discussing it animatedly.

Shu Ningmiao approached the poster and discovered that it was covered with slogans written in red paint of unknown composition, such as "Abandon Pandora Mining," "Oppose Superpowers," and "Return to Nature." Below these were smaller words, densely packed together, which were difficult to read from a distance.

But Shu Ningmiao already had a general idea of ​​what it was.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind; it was Chris Ovie, who was also there for the elective course.

Shu Ningmiao glanced at her, then her gaze returned to the poster: "Was it put up by someone from within the school?"

“Probably. I’ve heard that quite a few students in Cornunos have secretly joined this organization.” Chris stretched. “After all, they’re very supportive of ‘opposing superpowers.’”

“I’ve never heard of it.” Shu Ningmiao had indeed never seen such a poster in Cornunos.

"Nobody paid much attention before, but this organization made a big splash a few days ago, so they're getting a bit agitated? Anyway, let's not talk about that. The teachers will be here to deal with them soon. Look at my new manicure, the Tu Feng Big Diamond, isn't it sparkly?"

The students at Cornunos School are all from wealthy and noble families, yet none of them have awakened any superpowers during the years of the "Spark." Faced with the huge gap between ordinary people and those with superpowers, many people have begun to oppose the privileges of those with superpowers and demand that their abilities be more strictly controlled.

Shu Ningmiao knew very little about this. Even if the people she usually interacted with did not awaken any special abilities, they would not feel any sense of superiority or disparity because of it.

Having awakened her superpower in the last few days of the Fire Seed, she had long been prepared for the possibility that she might never awaken it again.

Chris loves to throw parties and is well-liked by all sorts of people, so she's quite familiar with these things. Shu Ningmiao thought for a moment, opened her terminal, sent Chris a photo of the pendant she had taken, and asked, "What does this pendant have to do with the organization you mentioned?"

Chris glanced at the photo and chuckled, "I've seen it several times. It seems like everyone who joins this organization wears this pendant; it's probably some kind of organizational symbol."

Shu Ning suddenly understood. Su Ni was wearing this pendant, so she must have joined this organization?

But Su Ni is a superhuman, and judging from his appearance, it's even less likely that he would oppose superpowers. I wonder what he wants to do by joining this organization.

Just then, the sounds of the crowd a few steps away suddenly stopped, and all the students froze on their faces. A tall, thin figure walked out of the teaching building, his expression gloomy, and his pale green eyes swept over everything, sending a chilling aura up wherever they went.

The man walked straight over, and the people surrounding the poster spontaneously made way for him, clearing a large area for him.

Weston stood in front of the poster without saying a word, then pointed at it. The entire poster began to burn from the edges, and the flickering flames reflected on his unusually pale face, making him look sinister and terrifying.

In just a few seconds, the poster was burned to ashes, which fell softly beside Weston's robe.

Chris gasped.

"It seems you're not in the mood to study today." Weston withdrew his hand, a faint smile on his face, yet still giving off a chilling feeling: "You don't need to attend my class either, go back and rest."

Shu Ningmiao almost forgot that he also taught ancient Pinhín from Cornunus part-time, and he should be having class in this building today.

He deducted all the credits from everyone present for the day, indicating that they should fend for themselves.

Weston's classes were already very demanding, and it wouldn't be easy to make up for the lost credits. Suddenly, no one cared about the burned posters anymore, and there were cries of despair everywhere.

After dealing with them, Weston suddenly turned his gaze over and landed on Shu Ningmiao.

He called out to Shu Ningmiao, "Miss Shu, come with me."

Chris gave Shu Ningmiao a sympathetic look, then slipped away with small steps. Except in the classroom at String Light Academy, she really didn't want to see Weston's vicious face for even a second.

Shu Ningmiao glanced at the terminal; there was still more than an hour before her next elective class. She then quickly followed him to the office.

She remembered that Weston seemed to have something to discuss with her, but something unexpected happened the night she returned home, a week ago.

Weston strode ahead, his robes billowing, and asked coldly, "Have you had your abilities tested at the center?"

Shu Ningmiao sat down in the chair opposite him. Based on her experience of doing voluntary work for Weston many times, she knew that he didn't care much about etiquette. His harshness was largely due to his arrogance and poor emotional intelligence.

She didn't know why Weston would suddenly bring up the follow-up to this matter, so she just made up a story: "It was tested, and it's a strength-enhancing type."

Anyway, Weston couldn't go to the research center to ask her if she had been tested. She had to hide the details of her superpowers because she didn't trust Weston, and she also wanted to conceal part of her true superpowers.

Upon hearing this, Weston did not gloss over the matter as Shu Ningmiao had expected. Instead, he frowned his handsome brows and asked, "Just a strength-enhancing type?"

Now it was Shu Ningmiao's turn to frown inwardly: "Yes, what else?"

“Your enrollment records show that the amount of Pandora in your body far exceeds that of the average person.” Weston adjusted his monocle, his voice devoid of emotion: “It shouldn’t just be a strength-enhancing type.”

Shu Ningmiao was surprised that he could be found out in this way, and became more wary. Moreover, why would Weston look at her enrollment records for no reason? And why was he so concerned about her superpower for no apparent reason?

Faced with Shu Ningmiao's suspicious gaze, which seemed to be filled with paranoia, Weston raised his eyes and his thin lips curled up slightly: "Miss Shu, I am the tutor of Class A. I have seen the enrollment records of everyone in your class."

People like Weston, no matter how much they laugh, always have a cold and indifferent feel to them, as if they are mocking others.

Shu Ningmiao was not dispelled by his words at all. She simply calmed down a bit, gave a social smile, and casually brushed off the matter of her supernatural ability: "What did you want to see me about, Teacher?"

Weston leaned back in his chair, his deep green eyes fixed on her for a moment before saying, "Starting next week, the Practical Abilities Class will be open to all of you."

This was good news. After so many tedious classes, she could finally systematically learn and practice her superpowers. Shu Ningmiao breathed a sigh of relief.

“The Practical Abilities Class is a large class that all six classes of AF take together,” Weston told her. “You form teams of three, and the score is the team’s total score.”

Shu Ningmiao responded, thinking to herself that if he had revealed the details to her in advance, what awaited her was definitely not something good.

Weston tapped the table lightly: "I hope you can team up with someone."

really.

Shu Ningmiao gave a beautiful smile but did not answer: "Why?"

Weston had already guessed that she wouldn't agree. The grade for the superpower practice class was the team's total score, and for someone like Shu Ningmiao who pursued perfect results, it was absolutely impossible to bring along a teammate who would drag the team down.

He clasped his hands together and looked at her calmly: "Because this person is the next Holy Son of the Church of Praise, the Church hopes that Cornunos can guarantee his safety to a certain extent. The principal thinks this makes sense, so he asked me to find him a teammate who can help him get good results while lying down."

He read the passage quickly and expressionlessly, seemingly quite dissatisfied with his superior's orders.

Of all this information, the only thing that Shu Ningmiao found acceptable was that "Weston thought she was the strongest student."

“If he wants to ensure his safety, he doesn’t have to study at Xian Guang.” Shu Ningmiao found it hard to understand: “Anyway, he will inherit the church after graduation, so he won’t need his superpowers.”

Weston did not give an answer: "What is your answer?"

"What benefits would I get from teaming up with him?" Shu Ningmiao paused, then asked, "What would happen if I refused?"

“Nothing will happen.” Weston lowered his head and wrote something on a piece of paper: “I’ll ask the others.”

"Then I refuse." Even a second's hesitation from Shu Ningmiao would be disrespectful to herself.

Weston raised his hand, gesturing for a moment: "If you agree to this, the Church of Praise should be happy to save you some trouble with the complicated procedures of taking over Pandora's Well."

Shu Ningmiao was stunned for a moment.

The Church of Praise can almost be called the state religion of Pines, with a large number of believers in both the upper-class Listening District and the poor New Land. This is indeed something that can be done.

"Although I don't like people who make decisions with their guts instead of their brains, in fact, this is a rare opportunity for you—Ms. Shu, or any student."

Opportunities to establish a connection with the Church of Praise are rare, and if the word were to be spread, many people would rush to take on the job.

Not everyone in Pinhás had a religious faith, but people's belief in power was always universal.

Weston concluded with, "His ability is support-type, which suits you well."

Pure offensive abilities rely heavily on support abilities to sustain and recover their condition, especially for power-enhancing offensive abilities with a single attack method.

However… Shu Ningmiao sighed. Shi Yu was also a support type, and not a very practical one at that. She had to team up with Shi Yu, otherwise he would very likely fail this course.

If she agrees, she'll have to drag two assistants along to participate in the superpower practice, which is too unreasonable. She can hardly guarantee that her enhanced state can make up for this part of her combat power.

Another option is to only agree to this Holy Son's request and kick Shi Yu out and replace him with someone else. Putting aside the fact that Shi Yu is still her nominal boyfriend, as a business partner, her current relationship with Shi Yu is very stable, and she cannot do something like crossing the river and burning the bridge.

She didn't refuse immediately, and a slightly conflicted look appeared on her face.

“We’ll discuss the reply in my office tomorrow morning before class.” Weston raised his hand, gesturing for her to leave. “You may leave now, Miss Shu.”