Blackwater District Clinic.
The pale lights made eyes blurry. The sound of nurses’ choked gasps reached his ears.
“Is the Clown really dead?”
“How could she survive? Firepower that intense would strip a layer of skin off even a Grade A mutant creature.”
“What a shame. The Clown is Lin Xiaohe, right? We met last time she came to our clinic.”
“Yeah, a thin, petite girl, incredibly sensible. I even heard her say she wanted to take her big brother and mom to the Second Ring for treatment.”
“Sigh, the rope always snaps at its thinnest part, and fate always bullies the downtrodden. When her brother and mom wake up and learn about this, how heartbroken they’ll be.”
Lin Chiyang squinted, blocking out the harsh white light.
He thought he just heard his little sister’s name… what’s going on? Did something happen to Xiaohe?
He blinked. His field of vision was a blur, only clearing up after two or three seconds.
What greeted his eyes was a massive screen showing a scene of raging flames.
In the lower right corner of the screen, a small window was replaying events from a few minutes ago.
The people standing on that stage… weren’t they his second sister and little sister?!
In that instant, Lin Chiyang understood everything!
A red haze instantly clouded his vision. Something seemed to awaken in his mind, and his rationality vanished in that moment, turning to ash along with the flames on the screen.
The surrounding noise faded away, leaving only one voice whispering.
“Kill them! Kill those butchers! Make them pay with their lives for my sisters!”
…
Meanwhile, at a celebration banquet for a successful student, Teacher Li stared blankly at the live stream.
Today was the celebration banquet for his student, Qian Sanyi, who had just barely made it into Mars Institute of Technology.
Almost all the teachers and students from the class were there. Qian Sanyi had even sent an invitation to Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe said she had something to do and couldn’t come.
Earlier, everyone had been discussing what could possibly be keeping Lin Xiaohe.
Especially after everyone received Lin Xiaohe’s [Save the child!] message, their curiosity grew even more.
They never imagined that Lin Xiaohe’s “something” was this big of a deal!
“Lin Xiaohe is actually the Clown?! When did she become so amazing?”
“So the expert was right beside me all along. No wonder she applied to the Federal Central Military Academy.”
Qian Sanyi’s eyes were red as he slammed the table heavily. “Darn it! If her second sister hadn’t been captured by the Grand Theater… even if she didn’t get into the Federal Central Military Academy this year, if she retook the exam next year, she definitely could have gotten into a good school! Not like this now…”
Students with strong empathy silently shed tears.
Getting off Wasteland Star through the college entrance exam was incredibly difficult.
Lin Xiaohe had talent and worked hard. She was so close to changing her destiny, only to be crushed like an ant by the Grand Theater just as she was about to set sail.
Through her, they seemed to see their own possible futures.
Elsewhere, Director Chen from the Sixth Ring Admissions Office had arrived on Wasteland Star with his team.
To contact this specially admitted student as soon as possible, they had splurged, taking a interstellar jump channel to get here in such a short time.
Before the spacecraft had even fully landed, Director Chen started fretting again.
“Later, everyone, be extra friendly. Don’t look down on her just because her family are farmers.”
Director Chen was a bit nervous. Since becoming the director of the Sixth Ring’s Admissions Office, he had never encountered a student specially admitted to the Federal Central Military Academy!
He had to admit, right now, his mood was a mix of anxiety and excitement.
As the group prepared to head to Hengshan Village, a staff member lagging at the back of the team, who had been secretly watching a live stream, stammered out.
“D-Director Chen. Come look at this. Is the girl in this video the one we’re looking for, Lin Xiaohe?”
Director Chen turned impatiently. “How could it be her? According to her student records, her family is dirt poor, can’t afford…”
In the video, the Clown took off her mask, revealing a youthful face.
Ahhh!
It was Lin Xiaohe!
Director Chen’s pupils contracted, his heart leaping into his throat.
Who?!
What did those bastard mechas think they were doing to his specially admitted student?!
Director Chen’s hands trembled as he tried to call the Bureau Chief.
His mind was screaming, Chief! Something terrible has happened! Pick up the phone!
The moment the call connected, the scene that made Director Chen’s liver and gall split unfolded before his eyes.
His specially admitted student, his treasure, his political achievement, was focused-fired by sixteen mechas. Towering flames filled the entire screen.
Director Chen’s heart felt like it was being blasted apart by cannons too: “Your grandmother’s black hole! Shameless! Using a high-energy particle beam gun on my specially admitted student! I’ll fight you to the death!”
While some worried for Lin Xiaohe, others clapped and cheered at this outcome.
The Grand Theater manager slumped weakly to the floor. It was finally over.
The culprit, the Clown, under the watch of millions of eyes, had paid a terrible price for her transgressive behavior.
The man in the mask raised the corner of his mouth in a slight curve. Lowborn scum will always be lowborn scum. Even with talent, they’re still just little insects.
He was about to close the live stream when his expression suddenly tightened. His pupils dilated sharply, shock and disbelief flashing in his eyes.
On the stage…
What was that?!
A yellow plant over a meter tall stood side-by-side with the green turret.
Centered on it, a hemispherical, pale yellow barrier had formed.
Inside the barrier, the Clown, having cowardly put her mask back on, stood with hands on her hips and started dancing with utterly arrogant steps.
The smart camera gave a close-up shot.
With the mask on, the Clown’s expression was unclear, but her dance moves were exaggerated and bold. Her singing voice cut through the surrounding explosions, weirdly catchy and pleasing to the ear.
“Today is a good day, everything you wish for comes true. Today is a good day, the mechas outside are wasting their effort…”
The damage inflicted was minimal, but the insult was maximum.
Lin Jingqiu’s mouth hung open in astonishment as she looked at the pale yellow barrier.
Inside the barrier, she could even smell a faint, somewhat sweet fragrance.
She touched her stomach. At this life-or-death moment, she was actually getting hungry from the scent.
Without a word, the Guard Captain raised his gun and fired again.
The muzzle of the high-energy particle beam gun lit up with the icy blue glow of Cherenkov radiation. The surrounding air ionized, forming purple electric arc balls.
Then a matt black column shot towards the Clown at extreme speed.
The moment it hit the pale yellow protective shield, it burst with geometric fission flashes, turning into amber-colored embers that drifted away after 0.01 seconds.
That single shot carried energy equivalent to 1.3 times the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
Yet, the protective shield only rippled once, then firmly continued protecting the Clown inside.
The Guard Captain questioned his reality. Did he really just fire? Why is the shield completely unchanged?
Wait, there was a slight change.
The yellow grains covering the yellow plant all popped open after the attack.
The popped white substance flooded the protected area like a torrent, rising up to Lin Xiaohe’s waist.
Lin Xiaohe sniffed. Ah, this familiar smell!
She grabbed a handful of the popcorn beside her, stuffed it in her mouth, and shook her head happily. “So tasty!”
Now, if only she had a cup of cola, it would be perfect!
Corn + Heat = Popcorn
Hahaha
Procrastination is really deadly. The new cover art has been ready, but I just haven’t gotten around to changing it.
If I change the cover, will you all still be able to find me?
