Chapter 149: Dining Table

Charvis, at the moment of losing consciousness, was swiftly taken away by Aiji, the manager from the sidelines, who instructed the Gentleman Hall staff to rush him to the hospital with the utmost speed. The captain’s defeat also almost declared the tournament’s end. On the other side, Jin had been remarkably well-behaved in this match and had not unleashed the Red Lotus Explosion. Instead, using a pure Body Technique—”Cross Lock”—he disarmed the Burning Destroyer Livovich’s arm and gained the upper hand, reveling in the raw close-quarters combat. From beneath the multicolored mask, bursts of eerie laughter could often be heard. Only Yi Chen seemed relatively normal; he and the Heavy Knight Barry fought back and forth, both holding back and not using their true trump cards. When he saw the severely injured Charvis being carried away, Barry serenely accepted the outcome, he stopped fighting, and, removing his bucket-like steel helmet, revealed an honest, rugged face shaded by a beard and nodded respectfully to the much younger Yi Chen before him. “It seems, our duel has come to an end. Your teammates are like monsters, but from the look of things before the match, you seem to be the real ‘captain.’ Is it because I am not a Patient that you were restraining yourself? I can tell your body is unique, much like the Special Record Combat Power imprisoned deep in the academy.” Yi Chen responded with a gentlemanly gesture, “You are referring to Teacher Zede, right? My body is far from comparable. With weapons forbidden, the physical fight just now was my limit, and I couldn’t break through your defense at all.” Clang! With his armored heavy palm, Barry firmly patted Yi Chen’s shoulder twice, “Good luck to you all!” As the match concluded, Barry helped the armless Livovich, whose arm was quickly regenerating under the effect of ashes, as they prepared to visit the hospital to check on Charvis’s condition. With only Yi Chen and his company remaining in the arena, the surrounding spectators began to murmur quietly among themselves. About Ludwig Reagan’s terrifying performance, which did not seem human… They also secretly felt relieved that they had not drawn this team, or they would likely have ended up in the same predicament. The victorious three teams gathered in the center, and the manager with the stone mask briefly explained the situation regarding the Relic incident: “Since the incident site is more than a three-day carriage ride from Zion, we will commence the journey tonight at six o’clock. Once you board the coach, the coachman will provide you with the dossier containing information about the incident. The coach is equipped with all the necessary food for the journey and provides comfortable rest areas, so you need only prepare yourselves for the incident itself. Ｒ????N∅ΒƐṡ Lastly, congratulations on qualifying for the incident, and I hope you cherish this opportunity to bring back the ‘Relic’ from the other end.” “Yes!” All were dismissed. As Yi Chen turned his gaze to the sidelines, Professor Qian Bosen and others had already left. … In the lower district’s streets, a deeply hidden restaurant without a sign, as Coach Beili had recently been giving Yi Chen some special attention, including allowing him to engage in real combat and slaughter training in Cesimani and planning this Relic incident, Professor Qian Bosen, as the lead Tutor, was very thankful and generously treated her to dinner. The manager Aiji, with a mindset of sharing in the benefits, also followed to the restaurant. Coach Beili, tasting a type of seafood usually unavailable, her eyes lit up as she gave a high appraisal, “I never expected the professor to know about such an ‘irregular’ restaurant, but the taste is indeed good… This faux seafood must be made from some kind of fungus, then transformed through special meat-magic, right?” Professor Qian Bosen, maintaining an elegant dining posture, slowly spoke after chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth: “Occasionally, an old friend and I venture into the lower district to discover some intriguing amusements, and we always dine at this restaurant.” After the meal over tea, they touched upon the main topic, and Beili brought up the question that most intrigued her: “Just who is that gentleman? At merely the human stage, he can employ such advanced mental attacks, seemingly with the ability to manipulate fundamental matter, especially ‘electricity.’ Moreover, he bears a dangerous presence similar to that of a Patient.” “The Principal’s disciple.” Upon hearing this, Beili’s eyes narrowed nearly to slits, and manager Aiji, who was wiping his mouth, accidentally let his towel slip. Coach Beili then showed a look of realization, “So Desline has time to take on students. That does explain it. A monster leading a monster, quite fitting. “With that said, the value of such a three-person team is really high, their ‘Comprehensive Potential’ is probably the highest in the last fifty years.” “But what about stability? Has Professor Qian Bosen seriously considered that?” “Indeed, their potential is ‘second to none’ in any era. As for the issue of team stability, since it’s Principal’s intention to guide the formation of the team, we needn’t dwell too much on it. Moreover, William will make every effort to maintain the whole team, he has such leadership ability.” “I don’t agree with the first part, no one knows what Desline is thinking. However, I do agree with the latter part; William has a kind of ‘special charm’ that’s quite likable even to me… It’s no wonder Jin is willing to stay with him. The difficulty of this Relic event is relatively low anyway, we’ll know the results when they return. If they don’t achieve the expected results or if significant team contradictions appear, I will take the initiative to split them up.” “Hmm.” After a brief casual conversation, Qian Bosen rode the wind away, his figure barely visible, and Instructor Beili also disappeared with a movement technique unnoticed. Only leaving Aiji, the manager, stunned in his seat until the waiter brought him an exorbitantly expensive bill. A similar dinner event also took place in the Upper District. Yi Chen and Jin had rushed straight to the contest without even having time for breakfast or lunch. Following Reagan’s suggestion, they came to his favorite takeaway corner restaurant. As soon as the lavish food was served, Reagan could not hide his gluttony as a heavy eater, lifting his hood and digging in. Yi Chen also caught a glimpse of a metallic device at Reagan’s cervical spine, something that wasn’t there when they had met before. Just as Reagan tried to stuff the seventh piece of steak into his mouth in one go. Crack! The knife and fork slipped from his hand along with the steak, veins on his forehead bulging intensely, and his eyes quickly filling with blood, one hand gripping his cervical spine and the other holding a protruding broken spine, his body stiffened, in immense pain. Yi Chen reacted quickly, flipping over the table with one hand to the opposite side, taking the initiative to check Reagan’s body. Ignoring the electric arcs dancing on the body’s surface, he forcibly removed Reagan’s shirt. An exoskeleton spine, perfectly embedded in the middle of the back and frantically wriggling, came into view. “What is this!” Although shocked by the high-tech product before him, Yi Chen didn’t hesitate and swiftly placed his palms on both sides of the spine. Creak creak~ Rows of plant roots penetrated the body, tethering and stabilizing the wildly shaking metallic appendages through the roots. Simultaneously injecting a strand of life essence from the ‘Black Umbilical Cord’ into Reagan through the plants, in the form of juice. With Yi Chen’s series of precise internal maneuvers, Reagan finally eased from the pain. Jin, sitting opposite, maintained a spectator’s demeanor, smiling throughout the ordeal. Pfft! A large mouthful of blood was expelled from Reagan’s mouth with the help of the plants, making him instantly feel much better. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “Thanks, William~ I didn’t expect such a strong rejection reaction; everything seemed fine last night. It seems related to the use of abilities, and the device is still not very stable when encountering high-intensity battles. I might need more time to adapt.” On Yi Chen’s end, the thanks he heard were not singular; some electromagnetic female voice mixed in Reagan’s words also expressed gratitude. “Reagan, just what is this thing on your back…” “Nerve coordination, capacitance storage, and exoskeleton armour. It’s the first piece of equipment in Zion City that takes over the spine, effectively controlling and amplifying my abilities. It also provides a stable ‘home’ for Faye where she can live comfortably inside the spine, unaffected by the Grey Zone while we are on a mission.” Being interested in such a trans-era high-tech product, Yi Chen asked, “Can you take me to the Power Station afterwards? I’m quite interested and knowledgeable in this area, I might be able to help.” “No problem.” This unexpected physical exchange deepened the camaraderie among the team members. With everything ready, the three selected teams arrived at Gentleman Hall at the designated time, boarded a special carriage unlike before, and officially set off for their destination.