Chapter 256: A Streak of Green Falling from the Sky

A deep‑green Data Stream gathered and solidified before the game console screen in the corner of the room, and Ying Duo's figure reappeared.

The room was pitch black; Luo Jinyou's night lamp had long been tossed into a drawer and gathered dust, his bed was empty, and most of the people were probably in the infirmary.

Ying Duo didn't turn on the light and walked straight to his own bedside.

He lay on his back on the bed, hands flat at his sides, and closed his eyes.

Time slipped away silently.

The commotion outside the window gradually subsided; the Supervision Bureau and the Church must have finally brought the situation under control.

【Warning: In this mission you caused massive civilian casualties; your Church hostility as "Flame City Cannon" has risen to "Deadly Enemy", and Tianmian City reputation has dropped to "Fear".】

But what does this have to do with Ying Duo?

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Yang Yixie rubbed his slightly dry eyes, instinctively picked up the cup beside him, and found it contained no water.

In the living room the TV screen's light flickered, his mother Zhiruo and Xi Ren Sheng sat side by side on the sofa, and the program playing was surprisingly "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf".

What surprised him even more was that his mother seemed… quite absorbed in watching?

"……So the reason that Big Big Wolf never catches the goats each time—could it be because it doesn't really want to eat them?"

Zhiruo tilted her head slightly, stared at the screen, and her tone carried a rare curiosity.

In her memory, "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" still lingered on the scenes where Big Big Wolf chased goats daily, only to be sent flying back home in various ways.

Now Big Big Wolf is playing basketball with Pleasant Goat, storming through Cat Nation and Dog Nation?

Xi Ren Sheng sat cross‑legged on the sofa, clutching a cushion, and actually gave the comment some thought.

"Hmm, maybe after being opponents for so long it's developed feelings? And look, the technology it invented for all those sheep‑catching gadgets has made fortunes elsewhere, yet it insists on wrestling with a flock of goats—that's irrational."

Zhiruo was about to say something when she noticed Yang Yixie standing at the living‑room entrance, his smile unchanged.

"Xiao Xie? Have you finished the game?"

Yang Yixie shook the empty cup in his hand, "No, I just came out for a sip; the story only progressed a bit."

His gaze swept over the TV screen, then back to his mother's face, which was utterly relaxed from being engrossed in the cartoon.

Xi Ren Sheng, that guy… actually knows how to coax people well.

"Then go take care of your business, don't delay anything," Zhiruo reminded, "just don't play too late."

"Got it, Mom."

Yang Yixie nodded, glancing at Xi Ren Sheng.

The other blinked at him and formed a "don't worry" mouth shape.

Yang Yixie said no more, took the cup of warm water, turned and returned to his own room.

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Back at his computer, Yang Yixie sat down and refocused his attention on the game world.

The game hadn't reached the point where he needed to get up yet; by the time he fetched water, only a few hours had passed in the game.

However, a jagged‑edged line of dialogue suddenly popped out from the direction of the dormitory window.

Slept so many times, and finally the plot triggered?

Yang Yixie didn't hesitate, immediately controlled Ying Duo to perform a carp‑kick from the bed, sprinted a few steps to the window, and yanked open the lock.

Outside the window was a secluded alley behind the Academy Dormitory building, dimly lit.

Yet on the open space beneath the windowsill, an especially fierce fight was unfolding.

Two figures were already tangled together, their movements so fast they left after‑images, and the clash of fists and feet produced a dull "bang‑bang".

One of them was taller and sturdier, his techniques steady and ruthless, each strike accompanied by a fierce gust, and he wore the uniform of the Heresy Tribunal.

The other's movements were a bit frantic, yet his footwork was unusually agile, constantly dodging the opponent's heavy blows by the skin of his teeth, and his occasional counter‑attacks were especially sharp.

Hmm, the one currently at a disadvantage is one of his teammates.

"What? You still can't control your emotions and can't use your Aberrant Arts?"

Qi Junyi let out a low growl and threw a straight punch at Qi Hengyu's face.

"Look at how you are now? I'm really glad I drove you out of the house back then; otherwise with your flashy moves you'd have brought shame to our family!"

Qi Hengyu clenched his teeth, turned his head to dodge the punch, but the punch's wind made his cheek ache, and he gritted his teeth and retorted.

"You're the one with the flashy moves!"

Qi Junyi's assault quickened; a sweeping kick forced Qi Hengyu to stagger and retreat several steps.

"You're nothing but a waste, unable to even wield your own Aberrant Arts!"

His words precisely struck the scar Qi Hengyu had long concealed; Shen Zexi had also guessed what Qi Hengyu's ability might be, but since Qi Hengyu never used Aberrant Arts, Shen Zexi assumed it was an art that couldn't affect combat.

He never considered that Qi Hengyu simply couldn't use Aberrant Arts.

Pain flashed in Qi Hengyu's eyes, as if Qi Junyi's words had summoned unpleasant memories, and the abilities surrounding his body grew unstable.

Seeing this, Qi Junyi's gaze hardened; instead of stopping, he stepped forward and struck Qi Hengyu's chest with a heavier elbow blow.

"Show me what you can do now, let me see how much you've progressed."

Just as the blow was about to land, Qi Hengyu's emotional turbulence prevented his Aberrant Arts from activating, and a streak of blood welled from the corner of his mouth.

Qi Junyi gritted his teeth and ultimately didn't pull back.

However—

"Swish!"

A luminous green figure leapt down from the upper window, even adjusting its posture mid‑fall, landing solidly…

"Puff!"

It plopped its rear onto Qi Junyi's shoulder just as he was about to launch a full‑force attack.

Qi Junyi: ".......?!"

He only felt a force neither light nor heavy descending from the sky, and even his forward thrust suddenly stalled; the elbow strike naturally veered, grazing Qi Hengyu's hem and sliding past.

Qi Hengyu also froze, staring blankly at the suddenly descended, calmly‑faced Ying Duo.

Ying Duo's golden pupils blinked innocently, looked down at Qi Junyi, who was being used as a bench, then glanced at the nearby Qi Hengyu, whose mouth corner was bleeding and who was completely stunned.

Then he tilted his head and asked Qi Hengyu:

"Do you need help?"

For a moment, all that remained around them was the rustle of night wind brushing distant leaves.

Qi Junyi slowly raised his hand and lifted the Ying Guang Lu‑colored head that had been perched on his shoulder.

He remembered Ying Duo's dazzling Ying Guang Lu hair; at first he thought the kid truly refused to tell him where he had dyed it.

Later, hearing someone from the Supervision Bureau say, the kid had used a Mutation Source to dye his hair, producing that Ying Guang Lu hue and inadvertently gave himself a cognitive‑impairment debuff.

But in that respect, Qi Junyi still somewhat admired him.

In this world, there are few who possess such bizarre thought patterns, unlike Chi Jin An, who runs amok across the world.