Chapter 228 - 148: The Mysterious Yang Yuntong

Chapter 228: Chapter 148: The Mysterious Yang Yuntong

—[Dark Forbidden Scholar]

Gu Qing stared at the Extraordinary label, completely stunned.

The label consisted of three words—the longest one he had ever seen, bar none.

It was also the most unusual label he had ever seen.

In all his time with this label-reading ability, this was the first time he’d ever seen one with a prefix.

However, neither of those were the main reasons he’d frozen on the spot.

The real reason he was stunned was that the owner of this Extraordinary label was Yang Yuntong, the top student he knew who was always studying for her postgrad exams!

’What’s going on?’

’Shouldn’t the label floating above Yang Yuntong’s head be [Top Student]?’

’How did it turn into [Dark Forbidden Scholar]?’

’Has she Awakened?’

Gu Qing was completely taken aback.

As far as he was concerned, Yang Yuntong was just an ordinary college student. There was nothing special about her, aside from the fact that she loved studying a little more than everyone else.

He would never have imagined that such an ordinary girl could suddenly manifest such a mind-blowing Extraordinary label within the first few days of the Spiritual Energy Recovery.

That said.

’What kind of class is a [Forbidden Scholar] anyway?’

’Why does it have "Dark" as a prefix?’

’Is this some kind of supervillain label?’

Gu Qing was filled with curiosity and doubt.

By this point, he had completely lost the patience to explain the Extraordinary World to his three roommates. He gave them a dismissive "we’ll talk later" and headed straight for Yang Yuntong in the crowd.

Seeing him suddenly walking toward her, Yang Yuntong, who was in the crowd, quickly averted her gaze and turned her head to look elsewhere.

Yes, the quiet top student had, until that moment, been staring at the handsome guy from her class.

It wasn’t what you might think.

She was just like Gu Qing’s three roommates.

She had also seen the video of Gu Qing taking out the rats.

And because of it, she was incredibly curious about him.

She had been staring at him because she wanted to see if the handsome guy from her class was any different from how he used to be.

As for why she quickly looked away when he started walking over...

It wasn’t out of guilt; she was simply embarrassed at being caught red-handed while sizing someone up.

Soon.

Gu Qing stopped in front of Yang Yuntong and asked with a warm smile:

"Yuntong, can we talk for a minute?"

"Alright."

Yang Yuntong adjusted the glasses on her nose and replied tersely.

Gu Qing watched her face, taking in the way she adjusted her glasses. The gesture felt strangely familiar.

After a moment’s thought, he realized she reminded him of Jiang Wanqiao, the top student from Jing University at Night Court Headquarters.

They both wore black-rimmed glasses.

They both had a habit of adjusting their glasses when they spoke.

And they both had that whole top student vibe.

’Hm, I guess all these top students with glasses are cut from the same cloth.’

Gu Qing thought to himself.

While he was lost in these thoughts,

his roommates nearby were ruthlessly roasting him.

They accused him of ditching his friends for a pretty girl.

Of course, they were only joking and meant no real harm.

Gu Qing’s senses were exceptionally sharp; he could hear his roommates’ whispered roasting from dozens of meters away.

He turned and gave his roommates the middle finger—an internationally friendly gesture.

His roommates all returned the middle finger in a friendly exchange.

Seeing this, Yang Yuntong couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

As she laughed, she couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

’The way guys interact is so much better.’

’They can just roast each other freely.’

’And no one’s feelings get truly hurt.’

’Unlike my dorm, where four people have five separate WeChat groups, badmouthing each other behind their backs every day. It’s so exhausting.’

"Come on, let’s go talk in that academic building up ahead."

"Okay."

Leaving the crowd,

Gu Qing and Yang Yuntong walked into the academic building up ahead.

They found a deserted corner and stopped.

"Yuntong, do you know what the Spiritual Energy Recovery is?"

Gu Qing asked, looking at Yang Yuntong with a calm expression.

Yang Yuntong nodded. "A little. I’ve read novels and watched short videos about it before."

’Excellent, that saves me a lot of explaining...’

Gu Qing thought to himself before speaking aloud:

"After what happened today, you must realize that the world is different now."

"The world we live in has become an Extraordinary World, one that contains all sorts of superhumans, man-eating monsters, and unknown creatures."

"And all of this was brought about by the Spiritual Energy Recovery."

Strictly speaking, that wasn’t entirely accurate.

Extraordinary phenomena had existed in the world long before the Spiritual Energy Recovery.

Or, to be more precise, various Extraordinary phenomena already existed before the widespread Spiritual Energy Recovery was even noticed.

So no one really knew if the Extraordinary phenomena caused the Spiritual Energy Recovery, or if it was the other way around.

But none of that was important.

At least, not at this moment.

If he were to get bogged down in splitting hairs, Gu Qing wouldn’t be able to explain anything to Yang Yuntong at all.

"So... are you a superhuman?"

Yang Yuntong then added, "The video of you getting rid of the rats on the athletic field has spread all over campus. I saw it on my WeChat Friends Circle."

"Yes, I’m a superhuman."

Gu Qing nodded, then continued, "But we have an official term for superhumans: Extraordinary Beings."

"And where there are Extraordinary Beings, there are bound to be corresponding Extraordinary Organizations."

"Hai City has one such official Extraordinary Organization, called the Night Court."

"The Extraordinary Beings you saw on campus today are all members of the Night Court."

"Yes, myself included."

Gu Qing paused for a moment before continuing, "Recently, Hai City has been experiencing a full-blown Spiritual Energy Recovery. Almost everyone has felt a noticeable improvement in their physical health."

"Among them, a very small number of lucky people will become Extraordinary Beings—truly one in a million—and gain power far beyond that of ordinary people."

"As Hai City’s most legitimate and largest Extraordinary Organization, the Night Court places great importance on these newly emerged Extraordinary Beings."

"We held a special meeting a few days ago, and all members were instructed to actively recruit any new Extraordinary Beings they discover."

Having laid the groundwork, Gu Qing finally got to the point. He looked into Yang Yuntong’s eyes and asked, "The reason I brought you here to tell you all this is because I want to ask: have you gained any powers far beyond those of an ordinary person in the last few days? Or, to put it another way, have you awakened any special Superpowers?"

"I haven’t."

Yang Yuntong denied it, shaking her head.

’Hm?’

’Not a shred of hesitation?’

’Such a quick denial?’

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow, not expecting such a reaction from her.

He glanced at the [Dark Forbidden Scholar] label above her head, then carefully studied her expression, and finally came to a conclusion:

This studious top student was definitely not telling the truth!

"Are you sure?"

Gu Qing looked into her eyes, his voice seeming to pierce right through her. "Why don’t you think about it again? Maybe the Superpower you awakened was subtle, and you just didn’t notice it."

Yang Yuntong denied it again. "Really, I haven’t."

"I see..."

Gu Qing pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Well, if you discover you have any Superpowers later on, or if you run into anything related to the Extraordinary, feel free to message me on WeChat. I’ll answer any questions you have."

"Okay, I will."

Yang Yuntong said, nodding as she adjusted her glasses.

After that,

the two of them didn’t chat much longer.

They soon left the academic building,

and went their separate ways.

Gu Qing casually found a spot under a tree and took out his phone to message Jiang Wanqiao on the YeShuo app.

He told her he’d found a female classmate who he suspected was a newly Extraordinary Awakened, but she was unwilling to admit it for some reason. He asked Jiang Wanqiao to register her for now.

Meanwhile,

Yang Yuntong returned to the crowd and, with a mere thought, summoned a book radiating a black aura in the depths of her mind.

She focused her mind, gazing at the mysterious, forbidden-looking tome, her own thoughts filled with confusion.

’Ever since I Awakened three days ago, I haven’t summoned this book in front of anyone, nor have I used any of the secret arts recorded inside it. How did Gu Qing know I’ve awakened Superpowers?’

’Could it be that the Night Court has some special method of detection?’

’Hm, I’ll have to learn more about this Extraordinary Organization in the future.’

Yang Yuntong thought to herself.

...

PS: Holding out my bowl and begging for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!