Class C

"So, what do you want?"

"Simple. I need you to stay neutral."

Liu Feiyu's eyes carried a seriousness Chen Guan had never seen before.

"I know my older brother will come to you soon. He'll try to win you over with all kinds of terms, to get you to hand over the Azure Dragon Token."

"My only request is this: refuse him. Don't give him the token. Don't help him."

He paused, then added, "In exchange, I'll tell you everything I know—about Nameless Island, about all the secrets the Liu family keeps in the dark."

Chen Guan looked at him, unmoved. "How do I know you're not just using me as a pawn?"

"Maybe your brother has no intention of coming after you at all. Maybe all of this is just your story."

Chen Guan continued, "Your goal might be to make me wary of him, even hostile toward him, while you sit back and reap the rewards."

Liu Feiyu hadn't expected Chen Guan to so directly call out that possibility.

Blunt, indeed. But fair enough.

He gave a bitter smile, one that couldn't hide the sadness underneath.

"You're right. That possibility does exist."

He pulled a paper document from his storage ring and handed it to Chen Guan.

"This is a record of my brother hiring a hitman a few years back. The target was my second brother. It's got his personal seal and the fund trail. Can't be faked."

"And this is a contract. I've already purchased partial mining rights to the Endless Sand Sea. Consider it a sign of good faith. Once I have my company set up, I'll buy the rest."

Baal lazily spoke up in Chen Guan's mind, "This kid's more interesting than his brother."

"Still, he's telling the truth. That aura about him—the urge to kill someone while being ready to die himself—it's pure."

Chen Guan agreed with Baal's judgment.

The black mark he'd gotten from the demon in his palm could sense people's deepest emotions. It worked as a lie detector.

And right now, coming off Liu Feiyu, was undisguised killing intent, and the desperation of a man backed into a corner.

The two brothers probably couldn't coexist.

He took the documents but didn't rush to look at them. Instead, he met Liu Feiyu's eyes and said, "I want the information."

Joy flickered in Liu Feiyu's eyes. Accepting the contract meant Chen Guan agreed.

Chen Guan wasn't like him. He was trustworthy. He probably wouldn't stab him in the back.

"But neutrality isn't something you get to demand."

Those words from Chen Guan froze the joy on Liu Feiyu's face.

"It depends on what your brother does. And how much value the information you're offering actually holds."

Liu Feiyu hesitated for a moment. Then, he made up his mind.

He played his final card—the heaviest one he had.

"As far as I know, a hundred years ago, a special shipment left Nameless Island."

"One of the items was an iron-black coffin. When it passed through the Northern Territory, it got lost due to an accident."

Liu Feiyu locked his gaze on Chen Guan's eyes and spoke slowly, word by word, "I think you'd be very interested in the origin of that new coffin that appeared in the North."

The wind howled past their ears.

The information hit Chen Guan right where it mattered.

He looked at the man in front of him—someone who had staked everything on this gamble.

"Deal."

Chen Guan didn't push for more. The earlier intel was already an unexpected gain, and with the iron coffin as an added bargaining chip, he had no reason to refuse.

…

Chen Guan pushed open the classroom door.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him at once.

An Changqing, Long Ao, and Hong Yuan were sitting inside, each on their own chair, with different expressions—like a tribunal ready to interrogate him.

Long Ao was the first to speak, his tone direct: "All done talking?"

Chen Guan closed the door behind him. "Yeah."

Hong Yuan straightened the massive battle axe resting against the wall, its blade gleaming cold under the light. She asked cautiously, "He didn't try anything on you, did he?"

Over the past few days, Hong Yuan had heard the full story about Liu Feiyu from An Changqing and Long Ao.

"No."

Chen Guan walked to the table and poured himself a glass of water.

An Changqing kept his gaze on him, asking mildly, "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much."

Chen Guan took a sip of water, his tone flat. "Just a normal chat between classmates."

Long Ao let out a disdainful snort. He didn't believe a single word.

Chen Guan's mouth was the devil's workshop.

Hong Yuan, ever blunt, shot back, "Normal classmates chat on the rooftop in the freezing wind?"

Chen Guan set the glass down and didn't answer.

Baal's voice appeared in his mind, full of gleeful mischief: "Look at them. So worried about you."

Chen Guan's expression didn't change. He stayed silent.

For the next week, Chen Guan experienced what "round-the-clock attention" truly meant.

Wherever he went—whether to lectures at the third teaching building, to the cafeteria, or simply staying in his dorm—he could always feel the presence of those three.

Long Ao and An Changqing had become his personal guards. One with a scowl perpetually on his face, the other with a calm demeanor—but both stuck to him like glue.

Hong Yuan, meanwhile, acted like a vigilant sentry. She'd always appear at the corner of his vision, in one pose or another, the axe taller than her slung over her shoulder—having completely forgotten which school she actually belonged to.

Some guy even tried to confess to her, and she scared him off with a single swing of the axe.

Baal's daily pastime was providing live commentary.

"The one on your left—don't let the grumpy face fool you. He just blocked a younger student who wanted your autograph."

"The one on your right is using his Student Union president privileges to check your class schedule, making sure you didn't sneak in an application for practical coursework."

"Oh, and that axe-wielder downstairs just scared off some shady guy trying to take sneaky photos of you. Nicely done."

Chen Guan felt a headache coming on, his temples throbbing. His campus life was turning into a live nature documentary.

It wasn't until that afternoon that the four of them happened to gather again in Chen Guan's dorm room.

An Changqing looked at him and suddenly spoke: "The Student Union just issued a new mission."

Long Ao, leaning against the wall, asked without much interest, "What mission?"

"C-rank."

An Changqing said. "Security work. A week long. Seems things have settled down a bit—even C-rank missions are being released again."

Hong Yuan, mid-bite into an apple, mumbled, "C-rank? Protecting who? And why would the Student Union president come to personally inform us?"

An Changqing replied, "The client is Liu Group."

Chen Guan paused in grabbing a book.

An Changqing continued, "The target is Liu Group's board chairman, Liu Tiancheng."

The air in the room went quiet for a few seconds.

Long Ao frowned, quick to catch on: "Liu Feiyu's old man?"

"Correct."

An Changqing nodded. "The mission location is in Magic City, at the Liu family estate."

Chen Guan looked at An Changqing, a questioning glint in his eyes.

Too much of a coincidence.

He'd just made a deal with Liu Feiyu. And now, a mission to protect his father lands right in front of him.