Chapter 25
Chapter 25
All of Mingjiang City descended into panic. Cold wind howled, and white frost blanketed the ground.
The streets were empty, with abandoned cars scattered everywhere. People had fled home on foot and searched desperately for anything that might keep them warm.
The once-bustling Mingjiang City had become a ghost town.
A striking woman and a young girl walked slowly toward Mingjiang No. 7 Special School. Four black-clad men carrying umbrellas followed behind them.
The four men stopped outside the school gate.
Qin Shiyu led Frost toward the entrance.
“Who are you looking for?”
The school security guard stepped forward to question them.
Qin Shiyu merely glanced at him.
“Continue your shift. You didn’t see anything.”
The guard froze. Then he actually returned to his seat and began filling out his duty log as though the two women had become invisible.
“Why waste your power? You could simply kill him,” Frost said, mockery in her eyes.
“Do you know the greatest difference between anomalies and humans?” Qin Shiyu asked.
“Humanity.”
Her words carried a warning.
“Only after years of nourishment from the Water God’s aura did you gain intelligence beyond an ordinary anomaly. If you learn to possess some humanity, perhaps you’ll be able to contain the Water God’s Scale more quickly.”
“I also want you to remember that the Hall of Anomalies supports your claim to the Water God’s Authority so you can help us face the terrible disaster to come. Your mission is to save, not destroy.”
Violence and impatience flashed through Frost’s eyes.
“If I remember correctly, your teacher went mad.”
“I prefer your Hall Master’s words: Humanity is born from weakness. Divinity is born from strength.”
“That’s why your Hall Master chose me instead of Rain. Isn’t it?”
Qin Shiyu fell silent, countless memories seeming to pass through her mind.
Frost was right. Qin Shiyu’s teacher had once advocated giving anomalies humanity, only to descend into madness himself.
As a result, no one in the Hall of Anomalies believed any of his teachings anymore. The Hall Master had even forbidden anyone from attempting them again.
But after seeing Rain in the shopping center, Qin Shiyu had felt a faint stirring of doubt.
Judging from what Li Que had told her, Rain seemed to be learning how to live as a human. She had even protected several ordinary classmates from the Haunted House Anomaly’s servants and brought them out alive.
Could Rain have already developed a trace of humanity?
The moment the thought arose, Qin Shiyu shook her head.
Even an anomaly wielder at her teacher’s level had failed. How could a mere schoolteacher like Li Que touch upon such a thing?
Besides, the Hall of Anomalies had already made its decision. Further doubts were pointless. She could only continue down this path.
An ancient, damaged seal appeared in her hand. She placed it on the security guard’s desk and spoke calmly.
“From this moment onward, no one is permitted to enter the school.”
The dazed guard picked up the seal.
Pale yellow light rapidly spread from it like rippling water, flowing out from the guardhouse and across the gates and surrounding walls.
“Completely unnecessary.”
The frost-lashed girl shook her head. In her view, Qin Shiyu was making needless work. If anyone dared approach, Frost could simply kill them.
…
The two women passed the guardhouse and formally entered the campus.
“Hm?”
Both stopped in surprise.
There wasn’t a single trace of white frost anywhere they could see.
“She’s here.”
Frost stared toward the nearby teaching building. A cruel smile reflected in her pupils beneath her frost-coated lashes.
“You were right. She’s a little stronger than before. She can even keep out my frost. But it doesn’t matter. She’s going to die.”
She started toward the building.
Doubt remained in Qin Shiyu’s eyes. She couldn’t sense the presence of Rain’s Damp Drizzle anywhere on campus.
Was Rain truly the reason Frost’s power had been blocked?
But Frost was already moving. Qin Shiyu suppressed her doubts and followed.
…
Inside an office at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School…
“Finished.”
Li Que smiled at the red knot in his hand.
In addition to occasional rewards, the Good Teacher System offered all kinds of minor items for exchange: lipstick, ties, red cord, even tires.
The selection was bizarre.
Li Que normally had no use for any of it, so he had never exchanged for anything before.
This time, he spent five Good Teacher Points on a length of red cord and used it to weave a knotted bracelet.
He was quite pleased with the result.
The System’s goods were well made.
Once he finished, he rose and headed to the classroom.
It was time for class.
“The weather in Mingjiang City really changes without warning.”
Walking down the corridor, he noticed that the sky had darkened at some point.
Fortunately, there was no rain or anything else unusual on campus.
He entered the classroom.
The students were already seated.
“Here, Xiaoyu. You did very well today, so this is your reward.”
Li Que smiled and handed Lin Xiaoyu the red knotted bracelet.
Her long eyelashes trembled. She was clearly excited and loved the gift.
“Thank you, Sir.”
She drew a deep breath and put the red cord around her wrist.
“Where is Nian Youyu?” Li Que asked.
“Sir, his digestion isn’t very good. He has diarrhea and is probably still in the restroom,” Meng Mo answered.
Li Que was surprised. Nian Youyu could have digestive problems?
In his experience, the boy was a food-processing machine. He never stopped eating and had never suffered any consequences.
“All right. Let’s continue class.”
Li Que planned to teach them a foreign language today.
But just as he finished writing on the board, he noticed that every student was looking toward the door.
Li Que turned around as well.
A beautiful, fashionably dressed woman stood outside the classroom with a girl.
The woman looked surprised by the scene inside. The girl’s eyes, however, shone with savage excitement.
…
At the same time, outside one of the walls of Mingjiang No. 7 Special School…
“So cold. It’s so damn cold…”
Sun Cheng shivered and pulled his battered felt hat lower, but the chill remained.
“What the hell is going on? We can’t reach Hidden Dragon either. What class of anomaly could do something like this?”
Liu Ying wrapped his gray clothes tighter around himself and gritted his teeth.
“They sent us to investigate this miserable public restroom. What could possibly be here?”
Still shivering, the two men reached the part of the cesspit that extended beyond the school wall.
“Wait… Is it warm here?”
The moment they stepped onto the concrete slabs covering the cesspit, they felt the cold weaken considerably.
“Is the warmth coming from inside?”
Sun Cheng was astonished. He immediately dropped to the ground. Sure enough, the closer he moved to the cesspit, the weaker the chill became.
“There’s something strange about this place. It can resist that anomalous frost. If we jump in, we might survive this disaster!”
The two exchanged a glance and reached a decision almost instantly.
A faint stench rose from below, but that was still better than freezing to death outside.
Just as they prepared to jump, dizziness suddenly swept over them.
“No… There’s an anomaly in there!”
Liu Ying bit the tip of his tongue. His expression changed, and he hurriedly dragged Sun Cheng back.
Sun Cheng stared at the cesspit, pale with lingering fear.
At last, they understood why it could resist the supernatural frost. Another formidable anomaly was hiding inside.
“What do we do?” Liu Ying asked.
They looked at each other grimly.
“We can’t leave. That frost is everywhere. We’ll die,” Sun Cheng said through gritted teeth. “Let’s take a chance. As long as we don’t enter the cesspit, whatever is inside probably won’t come out.”
“We’ll stay at the edge and borrow a little protection.”
They cautiously shifted closer. The white frost was much thinner here, enough to keep them from dying of hypothermia, while the distance would hopefully keep the presence below from becoming angry.
At that moment, inside the septic tank…
“This is good stuff. Incredibly nourishing!”
Flames nearly sprayed from Qin Zhenye’s mouth.
“Thank goodness someone digested the fire ash once already. Otherwise, I might have burned to death. But now no one is taking it from me!”
He guarded his meal ferociously.
At the same time, he stared longingly toward the serving hatch above. Why had the chef up there stopped working for so long?
“Finally…”
Inside the public restroom, Nian Youyu rose through gritted teeth and looked toward the teaching building.
“They actually dared to come back. Good. Very good!”
The pupil of some monstrous beast flashed in his eyes as his fury erupted.
…
“Faster!”
“We need to hurry!”
Elsewhere, Zuo Qingting and Wang Zhong raced toward Mingjiang No. 7 Special School with their team.
But the frost on the ground grew thicker by the moment. Their vehicles could no longer move, and even traveling on foot had become difficult.
Before long, the school gate came into view.
The instant they tried to approach, a thin yellow mist appeared. The school vanished before their eyes, and an eerie, sonorous chant echoed from within the haze.
“Mighty and august!”
It was the cry ancient bailiffs used to intimidate everyone when a magistrate opened court.
“Something’s wrong!”
Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting both paled and hurriedly stepped back.
“What is that?”
Wang Zhong peered into the guardhouse, his gaze landing on the ancient seal in the guard’s hand.
Zuo Qingting recognized it at once and lost all color.
“The Sovereign Seal!”
“It’s one of the Hall of Anomalies’ S-class anomalous entities. There are three seals in total, excavated from the coffin of an immensely powerful ancient dignitary. Together, the three are close to S-plus-class.”
“Only one has been placed here, but it still reaches S-minus-class.”
“The Sovereign Seal represents authority. The security guard is responsible for protecting this school. As long as he holds the seal and forbids entry, no one can enter.”
The people behind them stared in shock.
“The Hall of Anomalies is already here?”
“They even brought something like the Sovereign Seal. Doesn’t that mean there’s another S-class anomaly wielder here besides Frost?”
Both men’s expressions turned grim.
“We need to report this to Deputy Director Shi immediately,” Wang Zhong said.
One S-plus-class Frost was already enough to crush everyone beneath the pressure and might kill millions across the city.
Now an S-class anomaly wielder from the Hall of Anomalies had joined her.
What could Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting, two A-class wielders, possibly do?
The only S-class anomaly wielder on the government’s side in the entire city was Shi Xuan, and an injury years ago had long since weakened him.
Even his arrival might not help.
“Not yet,” Zuo Qingting said after a moment’s thought. “Deputy Director Shi and Director Xu are evacuating the population. They won’t arrive anytime soon. I have an S-class anomalous entity that might prove useful.”
“Brother Wang, lend me your strength.”
Wang Zhong was surprised, then realized the S-class anomalous entity had probably come from the Zuo family.
“All right!”
At this point, they had no other choice.
…
Hidden inside an apartment building opposite Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, Shi Xuan watched the gate through a window.
He softly spoke three words.
“Qin Shiyu.”
“She is part of the Hall of Anomalies’ true inner circle. Xu, there are already three visible S-class powers here: Rain, Frost, and Qin Shiyu. What is hidden inside this school that gives you such confidence?”
He looked at Xu Changjiang.
…