Chapter 25: Take on a Few Missions, and the Points Exchange Will Be Plentiful

After class, it was already noon.

A five-minute walk away was a cafeteria. Di Qiu had scouted it out earlier that morning; the facility was only open during the holidays, specifically to serve the newly recruited superpowered individuals like herself.

All one had to do was swipe their student ID card to eat and drink for free.

It was truly all-inclusive.

After heading straight to the cafeteria for a hearty meal, Di Qiu stopped in a shaded area on her way back to rest for a moment. She began the ten thousand punches required to complete the system quest issued that morning.

During the process, Di Qiu experimented with channeling her Qi into her palms. As she threw a punch, she projected the energy outward, and a soft "boom" of displaced air rippled from her palm.

In the silent, windless midday air, a tree five hundred meters directly in front of her swayed slightly, its leaves rustling. Compared to the motionless greenery surrounding it, it stood out conspicuously.

Witnessing this, Di Qiu held her breath, her heart racing. She was terrified that a scene from a movie would play out—that a single strike might knock the tree over.

Never mind whether it was impressive or not; if this were classified as destruction of public property and she was made to pay for it, what would she do?

After waiting for a minute and seeing that nothing happened, Di Qiu let out a sigh of relief.

"I knew it. Even with a cheat code, it shouldn't be *that* powerful."

Just as she turned to leave, a crunching sound followed by a heavy "thud" echoed behind her.

"Hey! What's going on! Why did this tree suddenly fall over?" A shocked roar came from behind her.

Di Qiu spun around abruptly to see Fang Ming, wearing an electric scooter helmet, staring wide-eyed at the tree collapsed across the path. His expression was one of genuine surprise, completely different from the composed, effortless demeanor he had displayed in the classroom.

Di Qiu’s first reaction was to look down at her own hands in admiration. Was her cheat code finally starting to kick in?

Nice.

She felt one step closer to ascension.

The joy in Di Qiu’s eyes was about to overflow until a voice interrupted her budding fantasy.

"Di Qiu?"

Di Qiu immediately snapped back to reality. She trotted over, feigning concern. "Teacher, you aren't hurt, are you?"

"Did you do this?"

"Well, about that..."

Di Qiu rubbed the back of her head. Her gaze swept the area, landing on a hidden surveillance camera. After a moment of thought, she offered a sheepish grin and explained the sequence of events.

Only then did Fang Ming look at the freshman—no, perhaps he should call her his new colleague—with a serious expression.

***

She was, after all, a logistician of the same rank as him.

Initially, he had received news that two of the new recruits had successfully passed the assessment for the Micro-Bureau. It was also noted that one of them was a complete novice who had just awakened their powers and knew nothing about them.

At first, Fang Ming hadn’t believed it. During class, he had observed her closely. Di Qiu’s performance was standard and unremarkable, the kind of behavior that would go unnoticed in a crowd.

Seeing that, he knew she was not simple.

Zhu Yufang was ostentatiously drawing attention to herself, while Di Qiu hid within the crowd; both were adept at creating illusions.

Fang Ming chuckled. "I see. I didn't expect someone who passed the Micro-Bureau assessment to be so diligent with their training in private."

Di Qiu arched a brow. "Teacher, what are you saying? Isn't this just me earnestly completing the homework you assigned?"

"Fair point." Fang Ming had no rebuttal. He took out his phone and, while scrolling through his contacts, continued, "You can't just unleash this kind of destructive power on campus. The school provides designated training rooms for practice, though it is my fault for not warning you sooner."

"Since you've already joined the Micro-Bureau, if you want to train or strengthen your abilities, I think you should take on some field missions. That might be more suitable for you."

As he spoke, Fang Ming called the security office to report the obstruction. After hanging up, Di Qiu asked tentatively, "So, Teacher, do I need to pay for this?"

"Can it be deducted from my scholarship? Or can I pay in installments?" she added after a moment of thought.

"You don't have any money?"

"Teacher, I'm just a student from the countryside. How could I have any money on me?"

"Take a few missions. Once you exchange for points, you'll be well-off."

Di Qiu finally realized that Fang Ming had been beating around the bush just to get her to take on missions.

She accepted the fine with resignation, but regarding the missions, she dodged the issue. "How much is the fine for a situation like mine?"

"That depends on the damage assessment and the school's evaluation. However, since the school will see your Micro-Bureau status in your file, they will apply the Bureau's penalty system—which means deducting points. That’s why I told you to go take missions immediately. If your account balance stays negative, it doubles next year."

"..."

Di Qiu felt her soul leave her body. Now she understood the well-intentioned prodding behind Fang Ming's constant suggestions.

She laughed awkwardly. "Thank you for the reminder, Teacher. I'll look for a suitable mission in a bit."

Finally, she struggled a little more. "Will the penalty be lighter for a first offense?"

"There is no such rule, student Di Qiu. Take criminals, for example; the law does not go easy on them just because they were ignorant the first time," Fang Ming replied with a smile.

"Right, understood."

Having learned her lesson the hard way, Di Qiu decided to be more careful. Next time she finished her daily punches, she would not use Qi.

***

At least not here.

The school's security and logistics department arrived shortly. After Fang Ming explained the situation to the guards, Di Qiu also learned more about the school's training rooms from him.

When she left, she checked her mission panel. Her quota of punches for the day was not yet finished, so she headed toward the training room Fang Ming had mentioned.

...

Who would have thought that the entrance to the training room would be a mountain gate?

Di Qiu stood before a mountain, looking up from the base at the small peak. Finally, her gaze settled on an arrow next to a sign that read "Training Room."

"This is called a training room?"

Just as she was searching for a small building that might resemble a "room," a gentle voice appeared behind her. "Student, are you here to use the training room?"

Di Qiu jumped and took two steps back, turning to see a smiling girl with long black hair and a short-haired boy who looked sharp.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The girl covered her mouth with an apologetic expression.

Both were wearing the blue and white school uniforms she had seen; there was no doubt they were upperclassmen.

But that didn't stop Di Qiu from throwing out a question to start a conversation. "Who are you...?"

"We are students from the Xuanwu Academy. You're one of the new recruits from this year, right?"

Di Qiu nodded, and both sides exchanged a polite but ultimately empty greeting.

"So you are seniors. May I ask if this is the training room? Teacher Fang introduced me to this place earlier, but I can't find the entrance."

"I see, no wonder we ran into a freshman here. This is the main academy's training site. Usually, we take turns on duty here from the various training clubs of our respective academies."

"By the way, my name is Li Qiao'er." Li Qiao'er's eyes curved like crescent moons as she smiled.

"Di Qiu."

"I'm Zhang Li. I didn't expect you freshmen to find this place so quickly. According to the usual teaching pace, it basically takes a week before anyone shows up."

"Why?" Di Qiu asked. "The teacher who brought me to register said that we would be assigned to our academies in a few days. Why would it take a week for people to come? Is there no training room in the academies?"

Zhang Li explained, "That was reformed a long time ago. Based on the old style, freshmen were given those two months of summer vacation to gain some basic understanding of superpowers and anomalies so they could get into the swing of things quickly after school started. That's why the academy assignments only happened after that initial period."