Chapter 68

Chapter 69: This tea is great, can I have a bag?

After watching Dungeons for a while, Qian Qi’s eyes started to ache. She rubbed them, turned back, and poured herself a cup of hot tea.

While sipping, she stared at Su Ang, thinking about something.

Her gaze was direct. Even though Su Ang was used to attention, he couldn’t take such close staring for long. He turned to her and said coldly: “Do you have something to say?”

“What color do you like?” asked Qian Qi.

His brow barely creased. He had been asked this question many times, usually by people with an agenda. A small, hard to name disappointment flashed through him as he said coolly: “There is a thread on the campus forum listing all my likes. If you’re curious, go look it up.”

Propping her chin on one hand, Qian Qi leaned on the tea table and gave him a roguish smile: “I’m not interested in those answers. I asked only because I wanted to hear your voice.”

Su Ang froze for a second.

Only then did he realize he had been teased.

The Driver up front couldn’t help letting out a laugh.

Annoyance pricked at Su Ang. He turned his eyes away and answered in a clean, stiff voice: “White.”

“What fruit do you like to eat?” Qian Qi asked next.

“I don’t have a favorite.”

“Do you wear long johns in autumn?” Qian Qi asked with interest.

Su Ang blinked: “???”

[Why do you care whether he wears long johns in autumn!] the System blurted. Even a high level intelligence like it found the question bizarre.

“You don’t understand,” said Qian Qi, tapping the table with a meaningful smile.

Stunned by the odd question, the handsome young man steadied his breath thanks to years of battlefield training. In a cool, distant tone he said: “This is the last question. I don’t wear them.”

Qian Qi clicked her tongue in her heart.

As expected, Su Ang matched what she had guessed.

People who kill on the battlefield usually don’t like white, since blood shows up at once. If Su Ang liked white, there was an eight in ten chance he had a special reason.

For someone his age, most would pick several colors. He chose only white, which raised that chance even more.

And color can give you a first peek at someone’s nature and temper.

She had stayed up late last night checking news and videos on Su Ang and drew three conclusions.

He was a double S level Awakener. His S level mental Awakener class gave him very strong Commander abilities, and his other S level Awakener Skill, not yet publicly named, made his combat power close to the top.

He stood behind the Su Clan, one of the Seven Ruling Clans. His father was the Supreme Commander, in charge of many A level Combat Zone decisions. His mother’s information was unknown, and nothing about her could be found.

And he stood at the very top of the public eye, under everyone’s gaze.

Just the official news reports about him numbered 7,372. He was 21 years old. Even if reports started the day he was born, that was close to one report a day. And that didn’t include the endless live streams and edited videos.

Qian Qi pulled her gaze off Su Ang and looked out at the sky, which was turning gray.

Su Ang was like a “god” made on purpose to calm countless restless hearts and hide the danger bit by bit.

But this fake “god” was starting to fall apart.

Reality would force humans to pull their eyes off the “god,” look at their ruined surroundings, and see the world’s true, bleak face.

They would stop believing in a “god.”

Because a “god” could not save them.

They might even pour their helpless anger on that “god.”

Qian Qi sipped her hot tea and asked: “This tea is great. Can I have a bag?”

Su Ang blinked: “???”

Then he said: “Go ahead.”

Near dusk, the hovercar reached their destination. Getting out, Qian Qi smelled a faint stink of blood in the air and lifted an eyebrow.

“Something came up. We came here first,” said Su Ang when he saw her look for an explanation. He paused and added: “That’s the official reason.”

He said: “Last night, you heard it, didn’t you?”

Even though Qian Qi had walked lightly, he still noticed her return to eavesdrop. He had said there were no entertainment places in Song City on purpose, to test Qian Qi.

To test what kind of person she really was.

Qian Qi laughed and shrugged: “Let’s go. I want to see what you plan to tell me.”

For the sake of the bag of good tea and a fancy lunch he had given her, she could forgive his lie.

[Sigh, I really am too kind,] she thought.

The System muttered: [You ate a lunch that cost twenty thousand. What part of that is kind?]

Su Ang looked at Qian Qi’s smiling face, then turned and led her forward as he explained: “This area is a B level Combat Zone. But don’t worry. There’s only one B level Dungeon here, and it stays stable year round. The chance of Magibeasts leaving the nest is very low.”

“If it’s stable, why is it still called a Combat Zone?” asked Qian Qi. She remembered that only Dungeons with a high out of nest rate got marked as Combat Zones. Dungeons with very low frequency were usually called temporary Combat Zones. Only when unstable waves were detected would troops be sent ahead of time to keep Magibeasts from attacking the civilian area.

“Even though the B level Dungeon is stable, there are many C and D level Dungeons here. Magibeast incidents happen a lot, so a permanent army is stationed,” he said.

“Then why not clear these Dungeons?” Qian Qi looked at him and asked: “Are C level powerhouses rare?”

She hadn’t found exact Awakener numbers on the Light-Brain, like something was being hidden, so she had to learn more from him.

“Rare. And…” The silver haired youth stopped and his tone grew slightly heavy: “This world has more than one B level Combat Zone. Not every Combat Zone is as lucky as Song City, far from civilians.”

Qian Qi stopped with him and looked up at a big mountain.

Because of Magibeast raids and war, many dense trees had been snapped in half. The mountain looked messy and bald. At its foot, many Awakener warriors were busy shoring up a damaged city wall, using very simple methods to set cement and stones into place bit by bit.

After watching for a while, Qian Qi asked: “You’re only going to show me this?”

She had thought he would take her to the front line and let her see how cruel the battlefield was.

Su Ang shook his head. In the mountain wind, his fine silver hair looked calm and gentle as he said: “You’re not ready for a bloody battlefield.”

He had lived through it. He knew what kind of shadow it left when a child raised in peace walked onto ground full of blood and broken bodies. He would not let Qian Qi see something that cruel.

Qian Qi was just about to feel moved when he added coolly: “Come on, to the medical area.”

Bandaged amputee soldiers should be enough to stir her tiny bit of sympathy.

Qian Qi went quiet.

[As expected, he’s a very cunning man.]