Chapter 317: The Smell of Cleanliness

The shrill Mutation alarm still seemed to echo in his ears, and the students in the cafeteria were murmuring about the recent incident; many had only come after watching the commotion, offering all sorts of speculation and rumors:

"I heard outsiders snuck in, bringing a dangerous Mutation Source!"

"No, that's not it! I heard a student had a problem and turned into an Aberrant Species on the spot—how terrifying!"

"I think it happened near the northern greenbelt? So many Supervision Bureau agents showed up."

"I don't know who was so unlucky; hope they're okay..."

"How could anyone be fine? The alarm was blaring like that; maybe it's already..."

Jiangdu felt his heart grow heavier as he listened; the northern greenbelt... that was precisely one of the sectors Yu Cai was patrolling today.

Could it be... no, it can't be.

Yu Cai is that capable, especially since she practices the rare Purification-type Aberrant Arts; ordinary Mutations are nothing to her.

But what if the opponent is numerous, or uses some underhanded tactics?

He could no longer wait.

Jiangdu took a deep breath, preparing to leave the cafeteria and find Yu Cai.

To him, Yu Cai was one of the few reliable "anchor points" he had in this blank world.

Just as he looked up, he noticed a figure silently seated opposite him.

Jiangdu's movement froze.

It was a girl, dressed in a tidy Mitra Academy uniform, her dark brown hair braided into two waist‑length plaits that hung in front, giving her a lively appearance; she was now staring at Jiangdu without blinking.

She appeared so suddenly, sitting across from Jiangdu.

Jiangdu's motion stalled, a nameless chill shooting up his spine.

He didn't know the girl, yet she exuded a... indescribable sense of déjà vu.

Regardless of good or evil, it was a thoroughly "inhuman" feeling, like a... creature draped in human skin.

"You..." Jiangdu opened his mouth, his voice a bit hoarse.

Did he know this girl? No, he had no recollection at all.

The Academy was crowded, and he often deliberately lowered his presence; aside from classmates and a few acquaintances, he could hardly remember anyone around him.

He wanted to ask directly, "Who are you?" or "What's the matter," but the words wouldn't come out for some inexplicable reason.

The other's gaze gave him an intangible pressure.

"Jiangdu." The girl called his name directly, her voice steady and even.

Jiangdu felt a jolt in his chest—she knew him?

"You are..." Jiangdu strained to search his memory, finding nothing.

"Hong Ling." The girl simply stated her name, still looking at him.

Her gaze lingered on Jiangdu's face for a few seconds, then drifted slightly downward, as if landing on the tray before him—or perhaps sniffing something.

"You have... a 'clean' scent on you."

"Clean?" Jiangdu was taken aback, not understanding what she meant.

He had just finished a physical training class this morning and was sweating—how could he be clean?

Hong Ling gave no explanation; her emerald eyes shifted slightly as she naturally reached out, pulling the now‑cooling tray that had belonged to Yu Cai onto her own spot.

Then she picked up the utensils beside her and began eating slowly and deliberately.

Jiangdu: "...?"

"You..." Jiangdu opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "that portion is... someone else's."

Hong Ling lifted her head, her emerald eyes meeting his; she paused her chewing, then swallowed the food.

"She won't be coming back."

Jiangdu's heart sank, "What are you saying? How do you know? Have you met Yu Cai?"

Hong Ling tilted her head, her plaited braids swaying.

"You've become much noisier; the old you wasn't so clean, but at least you were quiet."

Her use of "quiet" and "noisy" clearly didn't refer to physical sound.

"Do you know me?"

Jiangdu's scalp prickled from her incomprehensible words and actions; though he was curious about his own past, the situation with Yu Cai was now more important.

"Sorry, I have something else; my friend might be in trouble, I need to find her..." He quickened his speech, trying to slip around the table.

"Friend?" Hong Ling repeated the word, "the golden‑haired female?"

"Female"...

Jiangdu's mouth twitched; how was that supposed to be described?

But he still nodded; if it's the golden‑haired one, it must be Yu Cai.

"You've met her? How is she now?"

Hong Ling thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"I saw her; a few foul‑smelling males knocked her out and bound her, and later... something even stinkier happened, so I left."

Her words confirmed Jiangdu's worst suspicion—Yu Cai had indeed been attacked, knocked out, and bound...

Jiangdu's complexion turned extremely pale in an instant.

"Then... how is she now?" Jiangdu asked urgently.

"I don't know."

Hong Ling answered quite bluntly, then her gaze swept over Jiangdu's clenched fists from tension and his slightly trembling shoulders, "You worry about her?"

"Of course," Jiangdu blurted, "she's my friend."

"Friend..." Hong Ling repeated the word, her tone revealing neither doubt nor anything else.

Jiangdu didn't understand why, but now he was more concerned about Yu Cai.

"Then... can I go see her? Or is there a teacher on the Academy side..."

Hong Ling watched his restless posture and suddenly changed the subject.

"You rely on her a lot."

Dependence? Maybe.

In this world, which was completely unfamiliar to him, anyone who showed him kindness or offered guidance would inevitably make him feel dependent.

And Yu Cai was the most direct and dominant of them.

"She helped me a lot," Jiangdu said softly, essentially acknowledging Hong Ling's words.

Hong Ling nodded, set down her fork, leaned forward, and moved a little closer to Jiangdu.

Jiangdu instinctively tried to step back, but the table and wall blocked him.

Hong Ling examined Jiangdu's face up close; Jiangdu could smell a fresh scent emanating from her, not unpleasant, yet it gave him an inexplicable sense of pressure.

"Not a single trace?" she asked, confused, "I thought you were faking it, but you really forgot everything?"

So, he had known this girl before his amnesia?

"Do you know anything?" Jiangdu's voice trembled.

Hong Ling didn't answer his question; she sat back down at her place, picked up her utensils, and continued eating the cold rice, as if the unsettling words she had just spoken were merely an offhand remark.

"Eat your food," she said, "that girl is fine; later, come with me to meet someone."