Chapter 11

He......

Qi Hengyu's voice carried a rare hesitation; Shen Zexi took up his train of thought and spoke the words he had hesitated to say.

Shen Zexi raised his hand and pointed at his own temple, the meaning laid bare before the three of them.

"Did something go wrong here when he was awakening his Aberrant Arts?"

Li Ya didn't directly affirm it, merely sighed again, her gaze at Ying Duo filled with pity.

"When he registered, I felt something was off about that kid; he seemed unable to communicate normally, and afterward we would contact the Church to send specialists for a detailed examination."

Qi Hengyu fell completely silent.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the words stuck in his throat; not a single syllable could escape.

He lowered his head again to look at the wound he had just bandaged, still faintly aching.

Such a minor injury was already routine for him, insignificant compared to the life‑or‑death tension just moments before.

The problem was that he now had a belly full of frustration stuck inside, unable to rise or fall, unable to vent or swallow, and his expression shifted unpredictably for a moment.

What the hell?

So he was just exerting himself against a nutcase?

It felt like gathering all his learning into a punch, only to hit a soft, chaotic cotton ball that gave no feedback.

Not only did it cause no harm, it made him look especially stupid and pointlessly provocative, like bullying someone utterly unable to resist… a patient.

Qi Hengyu scratched his already somewhat messy hair, his expression twisted for a while, then turned into an extremely sullen curse.

"... Damn it!"

If Ying Duo had done it on purpose, even if he truly couldn't beat Qi Hengyu, he'd accept it and look for a chance to fight back fair and square.

But if he really does have a problem with his brain...

Who could he take this anger out on then? Go after a venom spider? That thing's probably been blown to nothing by the Academy's teachers.

The teacher who just made a move, his Aberrant Arts most likely involve the law of annihilation.

Shen Zexi also fell silent; he stared at Ying Duo from afar, his dissatisfaction and inquiry gradually replaced by an ineffable emotion.

That blinding, disaster‑level Ying Guang Lu hair—could it also be some kind of… aftereffect of a failed awakening?

Thinking this way, every irrational detail now had a strange but barely plausible explanation.

And once this premise is accepted...

Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu unconsciously glanced at each other, seeing in the other's eyes almost the same feeling of suffocation and absurdity.

What the hell kind of situation is this!

After Li Ya treated their wounds, she also wiped clean the weapons they had used with a special soft cloth, then gathered them into a bag for recycling.

"I'll hand in your weapons for you; just wait here for the final score tally. Although the evaluation was halted early, enough had been done that the final grades will be based on your current performance."

Having explained that gently, she turned and walked toward the recycling point.

Qi Hengyu and Shen Zexi sat side by side on a box that had been temporarily moved there, momentarily speechless.

The post‑survival sense of relief intertwined with their complex feelings toward that strange youth.

Perhaps because they had just gone through a death match together, they no longer looked at each other with disdain as before, and could even sit shoulder‑to‑shoulder peacefully, the atmosphere falling into a subtle silence.

Young people are always like that—grudges come fast and go fast.

And that patch of incredibly dazzling Ying Guang Lu in the corner was so eye‑catching that both of them would occasionally have their gaze drawn to it.

Especially when Ying Duo ended his "standby" state and began moving with a slow but purposeful stride, that feeling of being out of place and eerie became impossible to shake.

Both silently watched him, wanting to see what Ying Duo was about to do.

Ying Duo first walked to a mottled wall, faced it for about ten‑odd seconds, then turned to the nearby long‑damaged lamppost, tilted his head up and observed it for a moment.

Finding nothing to do for the moment, Ying Duo silently began exploring this small area, but so far he hadn't discovered even a glint.

Qi Hengyu crossed his arms, brows knotted, and lowered his voice to speak to Shen Zexi sitting beside him.

"Hey, Dome folks, have you... studied this kind of... uh, performance art?"

He really couldn't find a more fitting word to describe the situation.

"Don't call me with that disgusting prefix; I have nothing to do with the Dome..."

Shen Zexi's gaze likewise never left Ying Duo; he simply cleared his name of any Dome association before answering the question.

"Not really; it's more like some kind of cognitive dysfunction or perceptual detachment—his actions have logic, just a logic different from ours."

"Do you know the Judgment Court's 'Blood Lotus'? They might be the same kind of case; the Church are the experts on this."

"'Blood Lotus...?' You mean that notorious madman?"

Obviously, Qi Hengyu had also heard that name before.

As the two were about to launch into a deeper discussion, Ying Duo's movement path suddenly shifted; both fell silent at once, intently watching him.

Ying Duo's gaze locked onto a rust‑streaked metal trash can at the edge of the square, still emitting some foul odor.

Under the widening eyes of Qi Hengyu and Shen Zexi, he strode forward resolutely toward the trash can.

One step, two steps, the distance to the trash can grew ever smaller.

"What... what is he trying to do?" Qi Hengyu felt an ominous premonition.

The next second, his premonition came true.

Ying Duo stood before the trash can, without a hint of hesitation, and placed his deathly pale hand on the lid stained with grime.

With a soft "click," he lifted the trash can's lid.

Immediately after, he tossed the lid aside and was about to reach into the pile of unknown refuse inside!

"!!!" Shen Zexi's expression shattered, losing all control.

Stemming from good upbringing and basic hygiene, at that moment his instinct even overrode everything.

He didn't even have time to think about "what exactly is wrong with his brain"; his body acted before his mind could catch up.

A bolt of lightning flashed briefly, and Shen Zexi's figure instantly appeared beside Ying Duo, grabbing the wrist that was about to plunge into the trash can.

"Wait!" Shen Zexi's voice sounded incredulous. "You can't touch this!"