Chapter 8: Fu Ling

After several consecutive days of physical training, the class finally had an indoor lesson.

Rumor had it that today's instructor was a beautiful Omega, and the students were visibly excited.

Song Qiu sat at his desk, secretly massaging his sore legs under the table.

The training had definitely been effective.

He could now run sixty laps without stopping.

The downside was his constantly increasing appetite.

No matter how much he ate, he never felt full.

The cafeteria worker had even joked that his stomach was a bottomless pit.

But eating from the paid food counters every meal was expensive, and his part-time wages hadn't been paid yet.

He couldn't afford it.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

The sound of high heels approached from the hallway and stopped at the podium.

Song Qiu looked up and immediately froze.

The person standing at the front of the classroom was someone he recognized.

It was Fu Ling, the owner of the milk tea shop where he worked.

Fu Ling noticed him too.

She quickly winked and made a shh gesture.

“Quiet.”

She tapped the desk lightly with her finger, producing a crisp knocking sound.

Once the classroom had fallen silent, she wrote her name on the board.

“Hello, everyone. I'm Fu Ling, your instructor for this course.”

“I hope we'll get along well.”

“If you have any questions during class, feel free to ask me directly and I'll answer them on the spot.”

A student immediately raised his hand.

“Why do we have to ask during class? Can't we talk to you after class?”

“Is our relationship really that shameful?”

Laughter instantly erupted from the back row.

Several Alpha students whistled.

Others shouted crude and suggestive remarks.

These students were wealthy young masters from District One.

They were notorious for being arrogant and unruly.

They often wandered around Dormitory D, which housed Omega students.

The First Military Academy's Post-War Department accepted only Omegas, and Dormitory D belonged to them.

Blue Star had extensive laws protecting Omegas.

If an Alpha or Beta physically harmed an Omega, they could be convicted and sent into contamination zones for resource extraction.

The punishment sounded severe.

But in reality, as long as no physical injury occurred, Alphas could engage in all kinds of verbal harassment without consequence.

A wave of disgust rose in Song Qiu's chest.

As expected, no matter the era, those with social advantages often abused them.

The comments became increasingly vulgar.

Finally, Song Qiu frowned.

“Can you stop talking?”

“Don't you realize your mouths stink?”

He covered his nose with one hand and fanned the air dramatically with the other.

A red-haired Alpha with a spiky hairstyle immediately exploded.

“The hell did you just say?”

“Nothing much.”

“I just think dying from your bad breath is a real possibility.”

The Alpha's face twisted with anger.

He kicked his desk aside.

“A Beta from the slums dares talk back?”

“Looks like Grandpa needs to teach you some manners today!”

Song Qiu sighed.

If we're fighting, then we're fighting.

He wasn't someone who bullied the weak or feared the strong.

Besides, whether it was Fu Ling or anyone else being insulted, he would have stepped in.

Maybe it was because of some ridiculous sense of justice buried deep inside him.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!"

“Go get him, Zhiao-ge!”

“Teach him a lesson!”

The Alpha's followers banged on desks and cheered.

Many students had already begun recording with their terminals.

The classroom descended into chaos.

The spiky-haired Alpha, Fang Zihao, felt his competitive instincts ignite.

He licked his lips.

The academy prohibited students from attacking each other with mental power.

But his family was influential.

This ignorant Beta clearly didn't know how to control mental power.

Fang Zihao planned to use him as a practice target.

If something went wrong, his family could smooth things over.

As for the Omega teacher...

He glanced at Fu Ling.

Young.

Beautiful.

Unfamiliar.

There weren't any influential families with the surname Fu among the academy's leadership.

Clearly just an ordinary civilian.

Nothing to fear.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Meanwhile, Fu Ling watched the scene with amusement.

A righteous Beta versus an arrogant Alpha.

How cliché.

The troublemaker's intentions were obvious.

And her employee still believed this would be nothing more than an ordinary fistfight.

Though she knew he could probably defeat the Alpha easily, she wasn't interested in letting him expose himself yet.

A mysterious look flashed through her eyes.

She gazed at Song Qiu for a moment before raising a single finger.

“I said...”

“Stop making noise.”

Nobody even saw her move.

Suddenly—

“AAAAAHHHHH!!”

Fang Zihao screamed.

He clutched his head and collapsed onto the nearest desk.

It felt as though someone was ripping the marrow from his brain.

The pain was unbearable.

He couldn't even speak.

Fu Ling lowered her hand.

“You can't even withstand such a tiny mental attack?”

“Is your strength really that embarrassing?”

She smiled coldly.

“Disrespecting a teacher.”

“Provoking a classmate.”

“Disrupting classroom discipline.”

“I'll report all of this to your homeroom teacher, Wan Zhongchang.”

She seemed to remember something and covered her mouth with a laugh.

Then she quickly regained her composure.

“All right.”

“Class is starting.”

“I don't like being interrupted.”

Fang Zihao's followers hurriedly carried him back to his seat.

The previously noisy students shrank into silence like frightened quails.

No one dared make another sound.

Song Qiu knew Fu Ling was helping him.

But he hadn't expected mental-power attacks to be this terrifying.

They could practically kill without leaving a trace.

A strange excitement stirred in his chest.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Fu Ling's voice was pleasant and captivating, almost like a storyteller's.

“As everyone knows, before the Great Disaster, Blue Star was prosperous and beautiful.”

“Precious resources were everywhere.”

“It was a highly advanced technological civilization.”

“But after the catastrophe erupted, contamination zones spread across the planet and mutant species invaded.”

“The once-thriving world gradually declined.”

“Large portions of civilization were lost.”

“Our living space shrank dramatically.”

“And danger became a constant companion.”

“To survive, humanity evolved into the five sexes we know today.”

“We also developed powerful mental abilities.”

“Mental power is the spark that remains when all hope seems lost.”

“It has given humanity endless possibilities.”

“And it continues to push us beyond our limits as we explore the unknown.”

“That concludes today's lesson.”

“Class dismissed.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Fu Ling gathered her teaching materials.

Before leaving, she glanced at Song Qiu.

“You. Come with me.”

Without thinking much about it, Song Qiu followed.

Fu Ling walked quickly, and he hurried after her.

“Boss—I mean, Professor Fu.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I just wanted to know what you think about what happened today.”

Her voice sounded strangely hollow.

“I don't really have any thoughts about it.”

Song Qiu was puzzled by the question.

After that, silence settled between them.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The sky above Blue Star was perpetually gloomy.

Dust-filled yellow-gray clouds blanketed the land.

Today's weather was worse than usual.

Powerful winds blew so hard they made it difficult to keep one's eyes open.

Even the air tasted bitter.

Suddenly, Fu Ling spoke.

“Do you want to know how I control mental power?”

Song Qiu couldn't see her expression.

He had no way of knowing what answer she wanted.

After thinking for a moment, he answered honestly.

“Yes.”

“I do.”