Things went smoother afterward. Bai Cha even felt confident enough to leave halfway through the questioning, leaving the rest to Gong Yuechen. After reviewing the international news, which all reported favorably for country Z, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Who was truly suffering? Having to be capable in both academics and combat, in diplomacy and negotiation, and to manage everything. They were the pure definition of scapegoats, always dissatisfied with something. What else could these people possibly want?
Bai Cha walked down the corridor, arms crossed, feeling a bit annoyed.
Astoria definitely couldn't be interrogated excessively. Detaining him was merely intended to humiliate him. It wasn't yet time for an open confrontation, even if Bai Cha wished for it, the higher-ups were against it.
Bai Cha had long been prepared for this. She knew that "Shadows" could never have personal grudges.
Even if they did, national interests always came first. It didn't matter if it was someone who killed their father or annihilated their clan.
Thus, several more days passed until the Winter Olympics concluded. Representatives from various countries came to collect their people, issuing apologies and guarantees in multiple rounds before Bai Cha finally released them.
The troublemakers, seeing their representatives teary-eyed, and the national representatives, startled by the significantly thinner appearance of their own people, could only grit their teeth in silence as they looked at Bai Cha standing coldly to the side.
Bai Cha had no desire to dwell on these unstimulating matters. She had tasks at hand and needed to get back to work.
"Lucifer, where to next?" Bai Cha asked, looking at Lucifer beside her as she walked down the corridor.
Since Lucifer insisted on taking on the role of "butler" and wanted to learn to arrange Bai Cha's schedule, Bai Cha, after much consideration, agreed and synced her task information with Lucifer.
"Originally, the next destination was an amusement park to investigate child disappearances. Before that, I may need to ask you to return to the academy," Lucifer followed behind Bai Cha, half a step behind, at an unhurried pace. "It seems a strange phenomenon has occurred at the academy."
"Strange phenomenon?" Bai Cha inquired.
She hadn't expected that in such an advanced mechanical society, coupled with a future era of rampant superpower usage, there would still be terms described as "strange."
As it turned out, it wasn't until Bai Cha reached the entrance of Junyao that she realized the gravity of the situation.
Even Bai Cha hesitated for a moment before speaking.
What exactly was that?
A kaleidoscopic vortex, predominantly seafoam green, with a faint azure glow surrounding its exterior. The vortex gave Bai Cha a peculiar feeling; despite being her first time seeing it, it felt both alien and familiar, utterly devoid of hostility.
It could even be described as… familiar.
Bai Cha narrowed her eyes, meticulously observing the colossal vortex. It was positioned in front of the main teaching building, yet it was so immense that it was clearly visible even from the school gate.
It resembled a colossal beast from another dimension, opening its maw to swallow the heavens.
"Lucifer, you…" Bai Cha was about to say something to Lucifer when a figure suddenly plummeted towards her, accompanied by a string of curses.
"Soft-bones, how dare you even try to approach this gate?"
"Pah, bad luck. Don't bring misfortune upon us, alright? If anything happens, it's all your fault."
Bai Cha instinctively caught the person who was about to fall. Even so, due to inertia, the person sprawled onto the ground.
Bai Cha felt a pang of confusion.
The force of the push from those people didn't seem to be very strong; the thrust didn't even present any resistance to her. Yet, how could this student of Junyao, whose arm she had just caught, be pushed down like this?
Despite her bewilderment, Bai Cha helped him up and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
"I… I'm fine."
The voice was somewhat weak. When the person looked up, Bai Cha blinked in surprise.
This person wasn't particularly handsome or striking. Bai Cha recognized him. He was rather ordinary yet presentable, clearly very young, with slightly long hair framing a very harmless, somewhat dishevelled face.
"Gu Mingze?" Bai Cha asked, puzzled. She remembered him. He was the last in rank at Junyao, last in everything. He was the younger brother of Principal Gu Zitan.
While Gu Zitan was a heaven-sent prodigy, ranking among the world's top fifty at a young age, people spoke of his brother as if he were mere mud underfoot, incapable of anything.
Only during final exams would teachers remember the principal's brother and grudgingly pass him to prevent him from failing.
"Uh, you remember me?" Gu Mingze was somewhat surprised. Others usually called him by derogatory nicknames. He hadn't heard anyone call him by his name in a long time. Before Gu Mingze could say more, the people who had been cursing had already arrived.
"Hey, Miss Bai, aren't you unlucky to be holding onto this kid's shoulder?" a short, rather plump boy said arrogantly. "Chicken, hurry up and come here!"
"Yeah…" another person chimed in, but their eyes landed on Bai Cha's cold gaze, and their heart clenched.
They had heard of Bai Cha's notorious reputation. What if this esteemed person became displeased? It could be fatal.
With that thought, the remaining people forced themselves to swallow the words on their tongues.
Bai Cha turned around and found that a large crowd had already gathered around her.
Among them, the woman who had previously set the sky ablaze, Zhi Yue, dressed in a red gown, looked at Bai Cha with animosity. She subtly glanced at Bai Cha's height, then compared it to her own.
Bai Cha's own height was just over 1.7 meters. With shoes on, she was still slightly taller than Zhi Yue. Upon seeing this, Zhi Yue couldn't help but glare at Bai Cha, her tone becoming unfriendly.
"Whose uncivilized person is this, clinging to a stranger's shoulder?" Zhi Yue's waist was slender, her figure fiery, and her red attire accentuated her fair skin. As the daughter of a prominent figure from the Guangming faction, her looks and physique were impeccable.
It was just that her temper was a bit too fiery, and her words were quite unreasonable.
What she said was unpleasant, but it was like a drop of sand falling into the ocean, creating not even a ripple. Everyone remained silent, and no one responded to her.
"Why is everyone here?" Bai Cha asked, puzzled.
"We heard you were back, so we came," Meng Qinghuan said, gesturing to the crowd behind her. "Seeing that we were coming, they all joined us. You repelled the world's number one on the day of the Winter Olympics, didn't you? You don't actually think you're still as unknown as before, do you?"
Bai Cha: "..."
Oh, she had forgotten. She had used herself to suppress the trending topic.
"Well, defeating the top three makes one a big shot, speaking like..." Zhi Yue intended to continue her sarcastic remarks. As a powerful individual from the Guangming faction, she abhorred evil and had long disliked Bai Cha, who she perceived as a snake crawling in the dark.
Before Zhi Yue could finish her sentence, a blue sword light accompanied by piercing cold air lunged at her.
Zhi Yue, caught off guard by the sudden attack, could only raise her hand to block hastily.
Scorching flames erupted and collided with the intensely condensed, bone-chilling cold. The sharp sword light actually pierced through the fiery inferno, unhesitatingly slashing towards Zhi Yue's eyes.
"Clang!"
A clear ringing sound echoed as golden sword light and blue sword light clashed, causing a small-scale explosion. Zhi Yue's long hair was blown about wildly, leaving her somewhat dishevelled. If Gu Zitan hadn't been nearby, Zhi Yue would have been in considerable trouble.
With that thought, Zhi Yue's expression grew even more grim. The last time she fought the Evil Dragon, she had believed she could defeat all of them alone, but she had made a fool of herself and was then rescued by a rival.
This time, she was almost killed by a first-year student. The humiliation was immense.
Gu Zitan showed no particular reaction. He was from the neutral faction, and Zhi Yue had indeed been provoking the incident. In this regard, Gu Zitan had no intention of protecting this woman, but after all, she was one of Junyao's ten resident powerhouses, and it wouldn't be appropriate not to offer some protection.
However, speaking of which, Cang Liu truly surprised Gu Zitan. He knew this first-year student, like Mo Ziye, was a top student.
As a merman, Cang Liu's physical strength was naturally superior to humans. He hadn't expected Cang Liu to reach this level in his first year.
The attack just now wasn't particularly powerful; it merely compressed the sword energy and cold air to their limit. For someone like Zhi Yue, whose attacks were broad and unrefined, only radiating heat and flames without focus, it was a perfect counter.
"Cang Liu! How dare you attack a teacher!" Feeling the threat of death, Zhi Yue finally abandoned all pretense of composure and yelled at Cang Liu, "You are a student, and you intended to kill your teacher?"
"Ziye, manage your people," Bai Cha said calmly, looking at Mo Ziye, who was being shielded by Gu Zitan in the crowd. She then turned to Gu Mingze, "Do you want to go back to your brother?"
"Uh, no, it's okay. I'm not going to tarnish anything," Gu Mingze chuckled, with a hint of self-deprecation and awkwardness. He was even somewhat flattered to be spoken to patiently by Bai Cha.
"Then stay here," Bai Cha nodded, and as she spoke, she took out a device and began measuring data with a few others.
Bai Cha had only spoken casually, but Gu Mingze seemed a bit taken aback. As someone used to being bossed around and looked down upon, receiving such considerate treatment made him very uncomfortable.
In front of him was the busy Bai Cha and a group of staff. Behind him, a crowd of familiar yet strange faces stared. Gu Mingze scratched his cheek, feeling a bit awkward, especially with the attention from the people behind him, his cheeks inexplicably burning.
"Take this."
Following a cold voice, a small device was placed into Gu Mingze's arms. Gu Mingze fumbled to hold onto it. A string of numbers had just appeared on it, red and flashing, leaving Gu Mingze momentarily flustered.
"ESP1320," Cang Liu's voice was cold, still concise as he reported the value and looked at Gu Mingze, "Report the number."
"Ah? Me? Oh, okay." Gu Mingze quickly focused intently on the device's screen, feeling overwhelmed.
The burning sensation on his face gradually subsided. Gu Mingze stared at the screen, his heart filled with mixed emotions. When he looked up, he saw Bai Cha looking in his direction, holding a different device than the one she had handed him when she passed by.
So, did she ask Cang Liu to give him the device specifically to ease his awkwardness?
Gu Mingze knew that Bai Cha most likely kept him because she saw him being bullied and wanted to help him.
Originally, he would have remained clueless and befuddled, and even if he avoided being harassed now, he would still be ridiculed by the group later. But with Bai Cha and Cang Liu intervening, he felt more at ease. At least for this moment, he could be of assistance and wasn't a complete failure.
"ESP2056."
"ESP1421."
"ESP..."
The numbers flashed faster and faster, but Gu Mingze gradually got into the work, reporting the numbers more rapidly and accurately. While not entirely professional, his speed was sufficient, and his enunciation was clear, keeping pace with Bai Cha and the others' calculations.
"You, uh, Gu Mingze, did you report that correctly?" A work assistant from the school looked up at Gu Mingze, their eyes filled with dissatisfaction and doubt. "Why is the fluctuation in your reported numbers so large? Could it be that you..."
"Shut up."