Chapter 26
Ye Xuan had insomnia.
After counting a thousand sheep and still being unusually awake, he chose to go to the balcony and let the wind hit him.
The result was that he went to the training field with dark circles under his eyes.
“Hello, good morning, Ye Xuan.”
“Good morning.”
Ye Xuan turned his head and greeted Nan Yunzhou, startling him.
Nan Yunzhou looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. After holding it in for a while, he sneakily asked Ye Xuan, “Did you do something bad last night?”
Ye Xuan’s brain reacted half a beat late before he gave an answer. “Insomnia. Don’t overthink it.”
Nan Yunzhou tilted his head. “Isn’t insomnia a bad thing?”
Ye Xuan had nothing to say. So he had been the one overthinking.
The topic ended there, and the two focused on training. There were only two days left, and Ye Xuan still had not become an ability user. Ye Xuan was not anxious, but Nan Yunzhou was anxious for him. To him, he only had one day left to train with Ye Xuan. Tomorrow, he would be going out on a mission. If he could not keep an eye on Ye Xuan on the final day, he would never feel at ease. The best outcome would be for Ye Xuan to awaken his ability in front of him today.
Nan Yunzhou planned to increase Ye Xuan’s training intensity. After discussing it with Ye Xuan, Ye Xuan gladly accepted. That was exactly what he had in mind.
“Then, training begins.”
A ball shot straight toward Ye Xuan’s feet. Ye Xuan reacted and stepped back to dodge it.
“What’s wrong with your aim today?” Yesterday, Nan Yunzhou’s aim had never missed once. Why had he thrown crookedly right from the start today?
“Tsk.” Nan Yunzhou smiled slyly. “My aim never misses.”
“?”
Ye Xuan immediately flash-ran to the side, but he was still a step too slow. The lightning ball that had just smashed into the ground split into two, dragging pale blue tails as they attacked Ye Xuan and tore through his pant leg.
“I didn’t expect you to have little schemes too.”
Nan Yunzhou was not happy and defended himself. “How can that be called scheming? This is called tactics, okay? In battle, you have to develop new tactics to catch the enemy off guard and defeat them. Ye Xuan, you don’t even understand this. Stupid.”
Ye Xuan temporarily accepted being called stupid. Compared with Nan Yunzhou, he knew absolutely nothing right now, so he was indeed stupid. He hoped this stupidity could be made up for with effort. He did not know if he had that chance.
“Then please don’t hold back. Use your tactics on me as much as you want.”
Ye Xuan stood where he was and made a gesture of invitation toward Nan Yunzhou.
When it was time to be serious, Nan Yunzhou was never vague. Otherwise, he would not be worthy of his identity as a Team One member.
He misleadingly condensed a lightning ball in front of Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan’s attention was almost entirely on the lightning ball in front of him, unaware that behind him, two unformed lightning balls had quietly appeared. Three balls attacked him from three sides.
Even though Ye Xuan immediately came up with a countermeasure, the balls were too fast. He was still hit on the arm, and a numb, stinging pain spread from the wound, as if electric currents were running through that arm.
“So fast.”
“You’re too slow. Also, don’t limit yourself to what your eyes can see. When you’re out on a mission, enemies won’t only come from one direction.”
It was rare for Nan Yunzhou to teach seriously. This strict, proper manner actually gave him a bit of the bearing of a team leader.
Ye Xuan was just about to praise him when Nan Yunzhou broke character.
“Our team leader used to train us like this. Did I imitate him well?”
“Out of ten, I’ll give you an 8.5. I’m a little speechless.”
Training continued. Ye Xuan became increasingly skilled at dodging lightning balls flying at him from all directions.
But he still felt something was missing. It was still not enough, even though his speed was already very fast.
“Nan Yunzhou, don’t go easy on me. Increase the training intensity.”
In Nan Yunzhou’s eyes, Ye Xuan was someone who especially liked asking for suffering. Who forced other people to beat them up?
Nan Yunzhou focused. A lightning net formed from all directions and closed in on Ye Xuan. The closer it got, the more Ye Xuan could hear the crackling sound of lightning tearing through the air—he had been trapped in the net, with no way to retreat.
In truth, Nan Yunzhou would never use this move against ordinary zombies. It required extreme concentration and consumed a lot of energy. Moreover, once the person inside the net was completely bound, each rope formed from lightning would explode, producing enormous energy. Using it against ordinary zombies was not worth it.
But since Ye Xuan had asked him to bring out his real skill, he would obediently listen to him.
The team leader, who had played dead for a long time, finally could not sit still. He got up and walked to Nan Yunzhou’s side, wanting to stop him. He knew very clearly that once this lightning net exploded, not only would Ye Xuan inside the net be blown to pieces, but the shockwave from the explosion would also affect everyone else on the training field.
This was a serious matter. He still wanted to keep his job.
“Nan Yunzhou, I order you to stop.”
“Get lost.” With one look, Nan Yunzhou forced back the team leader approaching him. At such a critical time, anyone who came near him would get no face, no matter how close they were, let alone a team leader who ignored what he should manage and loved meddling in what he should not.
The team leader was cowed. After a fierce internal struggle, he still planned to speak. He felt that keeping his job was more important.
“Nan Yunzhou, I order you to…”
Before he could finish, a lightning whip appeared behind Nan Yunzhou and lashed the team leader eight meters away.
The lightning whip tore through his flesh, leaving behind a deep, ugly scar.
The team leader immediately clutched his wound and wailed that his own team member was trying to kill him.
“I’ll count to three. Anyone who doesn’t leave bears the consequences.”
Nan Yunzhou’s voice was very cold, as cold as a biting wind blowing from the polar regions.
When that wind blew toward Ye Xuan, it became gentle. Ye Xuan understood that Nan Yunzhou had done too much for him.
The people on the training field scattered in all directions like startled birds and beasts. Who knew which kind-hearted people also dragged away the team leader, who was still wailing on the ground.
“Now, no one will disturb us.”
While Nan Yunzhou was clearing out the training field, the lightning net was still closing in on Ye Xuan. Now, the lightning net was only a fist’s distance away from him.
“If you want to end this, you can say so now. In a moment, I may not be able to stop it.”
Since the zombie outbreak until now, when had he not survived from a desperate situation? This time, he believed he could too.
Ye Xuan pressed his lips together and said nothing, only waiting for the lightning net to approach. He stood proudly at the center of the training field like a pine tree that would rather break than bend.
One centimeter.
Boom.
The lightning net exploded. Dust flew all over the entire training field. The reserve team members who had run outside the field also felt the ground shake from the explosion. If they had still been on the training field just now, they would have been dead or crippled.
The dust scattered, but the center was completely empty.
There was nothing there.
Not even a corpse.
“Ye Xuan.”
No response.
“Ye Xuan.” Nan Yunzhou shouted louder.
Still no response.
“Ye Xuan!” Nan Yunzhou was practically roaring. He did not believe it. He did not believe Ye Xuan had been blown away without even leaving a scrap behind.
Just now, he had seen it clearly. There had not been a trace of fear in Ye Xuan’s eyes, only confidence—the confidence of firmly believing he could escape. It was precisely because of Ye Xuan’s confidence that he had allowed the lightning net to bind him.
But now…
Nan Yunzhou knelt on the ground in regret and covered his face.
He regretted it. Regretted it more than anything.
Not everything Ye Xuan said should be listened to.
The wind brushed across Nan Yunzhou’s cheek, carrying a very soft voice.
“Nan Yunzhou.”
Nan Yunzhou turned back and saw Ye Xuan, pale-faced, walking out from behind a tree.
