Chapter 12: What Are You Doing

The only upside of the confinement room was that no one disturbed your sleep. Shen Ning had slept from dawn all the way into the afternoon without waking up.

She had a long dream—or maybe two. The first took place in springtime, when flowers bloomed and girls wore cute little dresses, fluttering across campus. Especially one particular girl with an exceptionally adorable face… and an exceptionally large chest.

That girl seemed to say something to her. Shen Ning couldn’t hear the words but could feel the anger in her heart, her fists clenching. Judging by the experience, it had to be some provocation. But in the dream, unlike her usual self, Shen Ning didn’t hold back. Instead, she quietly followed her.

What she did after catching up, Shen Ning couldn’t recall. The dream blurred and transitioned into the next one.

In the second dream, spring had passed into a bright, sunny summer. The skirts were shorter, the tops thinner, outlining beautiful curves.

This time, when Xu Chuyao saw her, her expression instantly turned panicked. She covered her butt with both hands and cried out, “Wait wait wait—it’s all a misunderstanding, please don’t—I beg you!”

That arrogant and annoying gremlin actually had a moment of pleading?

Shen Ning didn’t know what she had done or how she did it. She just knew she felt extremely happy—and had no intention of letting that girl off.

Sadly, beautiful dreams are always short. Before she could witness her revenge in full, she woke up. Judging by the slanted sunlight outside the window, it was now afternoon—almost the end of the school day.

【When you acquire the full power of a future version of yourself, you will dream a memory fragment from that time period—only once, don’t be alarmed.】

The system’s screen explained what had happened. The first dream was set in spring because she had gained the powers from six months in the future. The second was summer—nine months from now.

“Only once, huh…”

Shen Ning felt a bit regretful. The pleasure from the dream still lingered, but time had returned to its original course. Like the song Xu Chuyao sang last night—”memories are like moonlight; once grasped, they turn into darkness.”

It had been so long since she had a good dream without nightmares. For the first time in three years, sleep had felt like a true pleasure.

Shen Ning looked closely at the system screen again. Apparently, if she gained future powers again, she’d have more dreams like that. So, future rewards might include individual skills or specific mastery areas. These last two rewards gave her full powers all at once, perhaps because there weren’t many distinct abilities before Tier 2.

Click. The sound of the door opening snapped her out of thought—it was that psychology teacher again.

“Shen Ning, your confinement is over. After a day of quiet reflection, did you come to any realizations?”

Shen Ning nodded perfunctorily.

Yes—I realized I’ve reached Tier 2.

“Tier 1 enhances physical fitness. Tier 2 allows external spirit energy output, typically manifested as impact force. At Tier 3, that output takes elemental form and becomes even stronger. As for Tier 4 and beyond… let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

In the classroom, the theory teacher was explaining the tiers of spirit users.

“Currently, most operatives are at Tier 2. Tier 3s are the elite of the elite. So those of you aspiring to join border defense or security forces, aim for at least late-stage Tier 1 before next semester ends. Talent and effort both matter. We have examples of both right in our class—for instance, the talented student Xu Chuyao—wait… where is she?”

Mr. Hu, the slightly balding teacher, looked around but didn’t see her.

“She had something to do,” said her seatmate Mi Xiaolu. “Went to see the homeroom teacher.”

Mr. Hu scratched his shiny scalp and turned to another seat. “Alright, then for effort, we have Shen Ning. She—oh, she’s not here either. Needs a few days to rest, due to some circu—”

Creak. The classroom door opened, and a white-haired girl stood at the entrance, speaking calmly:
“Reporting in. I’m back.”

“…”

Mr. Hu was speechless. The class buzzed slightly in reaction. Over the past couple of days, all kinds of rumors had circulated, turning Shen Ning into a bit of a boogeyman. Especially among the survivors of the incident—some had developed genuine psychological trauma.

Shen Ning ignored their fuss. She was used to it. She scanned the classroom for Xu Chuyao’s seat.

…Huh? She’s not here?

Knock knock knock. The homeroom teacher’s office door rattled.

“Come in.”

When the girl with lightning-like energy entered, Yu Jing was a little surprised. Of course, she recognized this student—one of her own. Xu Chuyao was hugely popular due to her adorable looks and ahem impressive figure. Though she didn’t try very hard in practical tasks, her strength had steadily grown, and her academic performance was excellent.

But coming to the office voluntarily? That was… a little too “motivated” for her.

“Homeroom teacher,” Xu Chuyao went straight to the point. “After yesterday’s big incident, why hasn’t the school done more?”

Yu Jing hadn’t expected this topic.

“The school has responded. A wanted notice was issued externally. On campus, we’ve suspended outings, food deliveries, and courier services.”

“I know. But that’s not enough.”

“Oh? Why not?”

Xu Chuyao stepped closer, her expression serious. “Their actions were organized, planned, and purposeful—not a spontaneous attack. Have you ever heard of a circus? It was a form of performance in the pre-spiritual era. When the circus came to town, clowns would appear in public, doing silly acts to draw people in.”

Yu Jing put down the gradebook and looked at her deeply, as if meeting her for the first time.

Seeing she had her attention, Xu Chuyao pressed on:
“The clowns were the eye-catchers, but inside the tent were magicians, lions, tanks of water, piranhas, all kinds of skilled performers. They were the real show.”

Yu Jing understood. “You’re saying—the masked clowns are just the surface. Behind them is a large organization?”

Xu Chuyao nodded. “That’s what I believe.”

She wanted to gently steer the plot back on track—before it derailed beyond recognition. And within Shengling Academy, the person most likely to believe her was Yu Jing.

The homeroom teacher did seem moved but sighed with helplessness. “All follow-up measures are decided by the leadership. They think this much is sufficient. But I’ll bring up your suggestions. For now, return to class.”

“…Okay.”

Xu Chuyao had done her best. Whether it worked or not was up to fate.

As for going back to class? Please. It was nearly the end of the school day. She’d rather head straight to the cafeteria to save a seat.