The Crowd Divided

The onlookers were clearly split into two groups, leaving a wide gap between them that allowed me to see what was happening inside without any obstruction.

The first thing that caught my eye was a young man with an impatient scowl on his face. Judging by his clothes, he was the kind of rich kid who could buy a property within the Third Ring Road with cash. Behind him stood two other students, around the same age, and based on their expressions—following the natural law of "actions speak louder than words"—I deduced this was a spoiled rich brat leading his two lackeys.

Standing in front of this trio was a boy who kept avoiding eye contact. I faintly recognized him as a second-year student from our school.

I couldn’t help but turn my head away. What a clichéd scene of bullying backed by power. And here I was, stumbling right into it.

Though Canglan High and No. 2 High were so close, incidents like this were actually quite rare. Despite the fact that our neighbor was a famously elite academy, its school motto was notoriously strict. Moreover, these rich kids weren’t as arrogant as people imagined—good manners were an essential part of their upbringing. In other words, most genuine elites wouldn’t act like uncivilized thugs, bullying others just because they could. In fact, they might even be more polite and kind than you’d expect.

But there was one group we had to single out from the rich kids—the nouveau riche and the brainless.

It was hard to tell whether the guy in front of me was one or the other, but either way, this was the first time I’d witnessed such a melodramatic bullying scene. Whether he’d face punishment from his school later was beside the point—right now, the boy standing in front of him was screwed. After all, he was outnumbered.

The crowd murmured among themselves, but no one stepped forward.

Most of our school’s students didn’t dare provoke them, and though some from Canglan High looked disgusted by the rich kid’s behavior, they didn’t seem inclined to intervene either.

Great. First thing in the morning, and I run into this crap.

"Jun," Qianqian tugged at my sleeve softly, whispering, "Let’s go. Don’t get involved."

I gritted my teeth and looked down, searching for a brick—only for Qianqian to yank me back again. I knew a brick wouldn’t help, so I sighed and turned to leave.

The outcome was predictable. With no real reason, a three-against-one beating—or humiliation—was about to unfold. The impatient young man would probably get some twisted pleasure out of it, while our poor schoolmate would just have to take it. I didn’t know what their conflict was about, but one thing was certain: it would end badly for him.

To be honest, I wasn’t heartless, nor did I lack a sense of justice. But as an ordinary student, there was nothing I could do. Maybe if I grabbed a brick and surprised them, I could fight back—but the consequences would be disastrous. And it might even drag my sister into it. Life was hard enough for us common folks...

Still, that suffocating sense of frustration lingered. Maybe if I found a secluded spot and threw a brick at him when no one was looking... would that be less obvious?

Before leaving, I glanced back one last time at the rich kid.

"Tch," I muttered under my breath, "I really want to punch him."

It was just a thought, but the moment the words left my mouth, something in the depths of my mind clicked.

I shook my head in confusion, certain I hadn’t heard an actual sound—but that click had indeed echoed in my consciousness, sharp and clear.

Then, dizziness washed over me.

The gray, lifeless metal world from my nightly dreams suddenly flashed through my mind, followed by a voice deep in my thoughts:

"Accepting external command set... Permission confirmed... Analyzing vague directive... Executing... Target locked. Initiating Zenith Long-Range Spatial Strike System. Preparing test firing... FIRE!"

As the voice faded, the corner of my eye caught a thick, translucent pillar of water-like light descending from the sky—silent as it vanished beneath the feet of the suspected nouveau riche brat.

No one else seemed to notice the beam. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the group in the center, rendering the nearly invisible "pillar" unseen. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it either, but for some reason, I clearly saw its trajectory.

Then, where the "water" had disappeared, a small, dark-red hole appeared in the decorative pebble ground. Around it, molten earth slowly dripped into the cavity left by vaporization.

What the hell was this? A supernatural phenomenon? A ghostly event? First contact with aliens? Did a passing extraterrestrial spill fuel? Did the Jade Emperor take a leak?

A flood of absurd explanations surged through my mind. My lifelong habit of overthinking made me dismiss them all as ridiculous. Surely this was just a hallucination.

But then, what happened next confirmed that what I saw was very real.

The arrogant young man suddenly took a step forward, as if to join the beating himself—but his foot landed right on the small patch of molten ground.

A few seconds later, a blood-curdling scream erupted:

"AAAAAAAGH!!!"

Fabric was highly flammable, and the ground, melted by mysterious energy, was far hotter than any cloth’s ignition point. Within moments, the guy’s pants caught fire, the flames quickly spreading up his legs. Chaos erupted. Nearby people rushed to help, while students farther away whipped out their phones and started snapping photos, posting on WeChat: "I’m at the school gate. Just saw spontaneous human combustion!"

But I couldn’t care less about the commotion.

The voice in my mind spoke again, panic surging through me:

"Test firing complete... Recalculating parameters... Calculation finished. Switching to full strike mode... Main weapon array charging... Secondary weapon array charging... All combat units, prepare for free-fire in ten seconds... Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

No matter what the hell was happening, one thing was certain:

Oh shit, this is bad!!!

A test shot had already burned a hole in the ground. If the full barrage hit, the most optimistic outcome was that our school would make national news—as the site of a fire or explosion.

"Damn it, stop this!" I screamed internally, but no matter how hard I tried, that strange state didn’t return. The countdown continued mercilessly, cold sweat pouring down my face. "Where the hell is the shutdown button?!"

"Jun, what’s wrong? You look awful!" Qianqian noticed my condition and asked anxiously—but I had no time to answer.

Damn it, damn it, what the hell is this thing?! Why won’t it listen to me now?!

"Six, five..."

Sweat dripped down my cheeks.

"Four, three..."

"Jun!" I shouted, grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the edge of the crowd—though I doubted our running speed would be enough to escape whatever was coming.

But no way was I letting Qianqian get hurt because of me.

"Jun, wha—?" Qianqian yelped in shock at my sudden movement.

"Two, one..."

A wave of dizziness hit me, and my vision went black.

Qianqian’s panicked screams faded into the distance.

"Critical system error. External command set corrupted. Highest clearance revoked... Zenith Long-Range Spatial Strike System shutting down..."

Damn it, what the hell was that—OW!!!

That was my final thought before I passed out completely.