Chapter 118: New World, New Mission

The girl was extremely shy and hardly spoke at all. It was easy to tell that she was inexperienced in worldly matters and had been born into wealth; society had never really knocked her around.

Gao Ning felt no ill will toward girls like her, but neither did he have the pointless urge to protect her like some overexcited male dog.

From Liang Bing’s gestures, it was obvious that the two of them had gotten along well during their conversation, so he had no intention of butting in.

After sitting down, they exchanged a few words. Liang Bing and Gao Ning mainly discussed how to contact each other quickly if they became separated, what to do if they could not get in touch or if a situation like the previous one occurred again, and how to send out a warning.

Once they had settled on several codes, the familiar whistle of a train sounded once more. A flash of white light passed, and the three of them vanished in an instant.

…

Xihong City No. 7 Middle School, 11:00 a.m. The dismissal bell rang right on time. Thirty seconds later, a crowd of wild youngsters surged out of the school gates, scattering in all directions like prisoners set free.

Gao Ning wore glasses and carried a shoulder bag, looking rather careless and undisciplined.

A female teacher walked beside him, still scolding him without pause.

“I’m telling you, just look at your midterm results! You’ve actually fallen to the bottom of the entire grade. Where did that student who ranked second in the class when you started high school go? Did you become depressed just because your deskmate transferred away?

“You’re far too fragile. It’s embarrassing. I’m telling you, you’re already in your final year of high school. If you don’t start working hard now, it’ll be too late. The college entrance examination is a major event that affects your entire life. If you can’t get into a good school, your whole future will be ruined!

“Did you hear a word I said? Don’t think you can throw a tantrum just because your parents are divorced. Your mother remarried and went abroad, while your father ran off to Japan and never came back, but that’s no excuse for behaving like this. I’m still your aunt. Go ahead and act up if you’ve got the nerve!

“Listen to me, Gao Ning. I wasn’t in Xihong City during the past two years, so I didn’t have time to look after you. This year I transferred to your school and became your homeroom teacher. If your grades don’t improve, just wait and see whether I kick you or not!”

Gao Ning kept his head lowered the entire way, his face full of impatience. He looked as though every word went in one ear and out the other, which only filled the female teacher with even more fury.

Her frustration at seeing talent wasted was enough to make her grind her teeth.

“All right, all right. You’re the boss, Auntie. I’ll listen to you, okay? Just let me take the afternoon off so I can get my head straight…”

“To hell with getting your head straight! Do you think I don’t know you? You’ll definitely spend the entire afternoon hanging around the arcade! Forget it. Since your sincerity probably won’t improve anytime soon, we might as well put you to some use. Your second uncle is sick and in the hospital. Go visit him. If you don’t even show your face, people will gossip behind our backs!”

Gao Ning clicked his tongue disdainfully.

“If people laugh at us, it won’t all be my disgrace. A father who fails to educate his child is at fault. If my parents didn’t raise me properly, how can you blame me?”

The female teacher’s eyes immediately widened. She raised her hand threateningly.

“Say that again.”

Gao Ning instinctively ducked away, his face full of helplessness.

“All right, all right. I’ll go keep Second Uncle company, okay? He’s already over twenty years old, yet he still climbs across rooftops for no reason and ends up breaking his leg. Isn’t that his own fault? Now he’s dragged Grandma and Grandpa into staying at the hospital with him. I think Second Uncle is even less sensible than I am!”

“Stop comparing yourself to your second uncle. Here, take twenty yuan. Get yourself some lunch, then buy some fruit and take it to him.

“And don’t drag your second uncle off to play games. He’s no good either!”

Amid her endless stream of instructions, time suddenly came to a halt.

Her voice stretched into an eerie, endless drone. A bird froze in midair, while droplets sprayed from the automatic sprinkler in the flower bed hung suspended, neither falling nor dispersing.

Gao Ning abruptly came to his senses. His memories raced through his mind like the frames of a film, replaying everything from beginning to end.

“So this time I’ve become a high school senior?”

While he was still startled, a cold mechanical voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

“Passenger ZSNR has arrived at the modern station.”

“Mission: I’m Really a Superstar.”

“Reward: Fifty Hours.”

“Notice: The passenger has completed the first set of beginner missions. The second official mission will now begin.”

“This mission plane has been sealed. All supernatural powers will be searched for and suppressed. The passenger must rely on his own abilities to become a major star within three years.”

“This mission plane is a multilayered space formed by overlapping dimensions. Team members are not located in the same space. Each team member has only one opponent.”

“Note: In times of danger, time currency may be used for self-protection.”

“Special rule: Attacks between opponents cause no damage.”

“The result will be determined after the mission ends. The victor will receive time currency, while the time currency carried by the loser will be reset to zero.”

Gao Ning’s thoughts spun rapidly.

His parents and family: divorced parents. A sixteen-year-old boy who was not short of money. The only relatives around him were his grandparents and his aunt. His eldest uncle’s family worked elsewhere. His second uncle had dropped out of high school and become a wayward drifter who was rarely home.

Whenever he came back, he dressed like a flashy playboy. In reality, his wallet was cleaner than if a dog had licked it empty. He had nothing worth mentioning except his social skills. He was naturally outgoing and could strike up a conversation with anyone.

According to his memories, there had once been a trip on a green-painted train when he was around twenty-five or twenty-six. He had chatted enthusiastically with a woman in her forties or fifties for the entire journey.

Their laughter, ringing out from time to time, had deeply shocked the young Gao Ning and remained vivid in his memory.

“…Gao Ning, are you listening to me? Do you understand what I’m saying? Are you pretending to be stupid again?”

Gao Ning was reviewing his memories and pondering the current mission, so he was inevitably somewhat distracted. His aunt assumed he was protesting again, and her anger flared. She reached out and seized him by the ear.

“Ow! I heard you, I heard you!”

Gao Ning froze for a moment before finally feeling the tearing pain at the root of his ear. He cried out hurriedly.

Only then did he realize what it meant for his abilities to be sealed. After consuming the Castle Fruit, his skin had become as thick as a city wall, but now it had returned to normal.

Looking at his reflection in the glass door of a barbershop across the street, Gao Ning suddenly discovered that he was thin in this world. The sight felt strangely fresh.

After all, Gao Ning had been one of the fat kids for as long as he could remember. He had never seen what he looked like when slim.

This world’s Gao Ning was not short. At sixteen or seventeen, he already stood a little over 1.7 meters tall and seemed likely to grow a bit more.

He had a tall, slender build. Since he was not short of money, he appeared to care rather more about his clothes as well. Although everyone wore school uniforms during school hours, the garments underneath and the occasional accessories revealed that Gao Ning usually took some care with his appearance.

Who would have thought I’m actually a little handsome?

He turned around and begged his aunt for mercy, changing the subject with a few words and promising that he would not cause trouble again. Under his aunt’s somewhat astonished gaze, he quickly fled the danger zone and disappeared down the street in a flash.

After searching through his memories, he discovered that he had obtained an identity card during his first year of high school. Since he had recently been pursuing a girl in his class, he had kept it in his schoolbag.

Without money, it was impossible to take even a single step in the real world. Gao Ning hurriedly pulled out his identity card and glanced at the photograph. Then he raised his hand, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the nearest bank.