Chapter 22

Chenxian was chatting with Li Pu about aliens when a boy with a bright smile pushed his bicycle into their little world, forcing them to pause their conversation and politely smile at him.

Li Pu glanced at the boy and said with a forced smile, "Wang Shujun, waiting here again, huh?"

"We're on the same way, let's go home together," said Wang Shujun, a student from the class next to Li Pu and Chenxian. He came from a well-off family, was smart, and served as the Chinese class representative. He was handsome and often published original modern poetry on the school bulletin board, making him quite popular among the girls.

Since a physical education class earlier in the year when he saw Chenxian energetically playing soccer on the playground, Wang Shujun had been secretly paying attention to her. After some inquiries, he was surprised to find out that this girl, whom he thought was just a sports enthusiast, was actually a super genius with perfect scores in all subjects. After several days of deep thought, he, who had always been pursued by girls, decided to pursue this girl one year younger than him.

This was the second day of his pursuit. However, for junior high school boys, the method of pursuing a girl was always the same—offering to go home together. From yesterday's interaction, it seemed that Chenxian wasn't very interested in him, the school's top talent—but today, Wang Shujun was prepared.

"Chenxian, I heard you like reading a lot?" Wang Shujun asked, having inquired about her hobbies. "Which article in this year's 'Mengya' did you like the most?"

"Mengya?" Chenxian shook her head. "I haven't read it."

"Really? That's a shame. I'll bring a few copies next time for you to borrow," Wang Shujun smiled. "I particularly like Han Shao's 'Silent Together'..."

Then, the literary youth began to talk about literature, citing various sources to try to win Chenxian's favor. He concluded, "Han Shao is very talented, but I won't be outdone. I've prepared a manuscript for 'Mengya' this year, and I'll definitely ask you and your brother to critique it after it's published."

"What is it about?" Li Pu suddenly asked.

"In the bustling world, using a calm and pure heart and eyes to record some people and events in our noisy city," Wang Shujun answered in a literary tone.

"Does it have superpowers, monsters, or aliens?" Li Pu asked, out of place.

"Uh..." Wang Shujun's expression faltered. "Not really."

"Then, does it have dark forces or murder and crime?" Li Pu pressed.

"..." Wang Shujun's face turned a bit unpleasant. "Those are for thrilling detective or mystery novels. I prefer essays."

"Then don't show it to me," Li Pu sighed. "I don't think Xiao Xian will like it either."

This was too blunt and disrespectful. Wang Shujun almost couldn't hold his temper and said coldly, "It's fine if you don't like it, but how can you be sure she won't?"

"Because I've known Xiao Xian for so long. She reads all kinds of strange books, no, she loves those strange things the most," Li Pu chuckled. "But I've never seen her read essays or private novels outside of the Chinese textbook."

This wasn't just Li Pu's exaggeration. In the school library, Chenxian never touched works like Xu Zhimo's or Dazai Osamu's. She could read the entire "Faust" with great interest and say that the nihilistic Mephistopheles was fun, but she had little interest in the sentimental "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by the same author.

According to Chenxian herself, "There are so many wonderful things in the world, why waste time on works full of sentiment and personal emotions? If I want to read those, I might as well watch 'Focus Talk.' But I prefer 'Zhengda Variety Show.'"

Wang Shujun immediately looked at Chenxian, but to his disappointment, the girl he liked said straightforwardly, "Yeah, I don't really like this kind of writing."

"Such a pity..." Wang Shujun smiled bitterly, not giving up. "What kind do you like?"

Chenxian blinked. "Right now, I like things about aliens."

"Aliens?" Wang Shujun nodded. He had bought a few issues of "Science Fiction World" and even flipped through some "UFO Exploration" and "Mysteries" magazines, but compared to "Mengya," they were considered lowbrow and not worth mentioning.

He was racking his brain to recall some topics when he suddenly saw several young men squatting on the street corner, holding long objects wrapped in newspapers, all with a "look at me and you're dead" expression, glancing at them.

This street used to be quite peaceful, why are there so many thugs today? Wang Shujun quickly averted his gaze.

But what annoyed him was that Li Pu actually looked over! This look not only met their eyes, but one of the thugs, a man with a sunken half-face, spat on the ground, said a few words to the others, and they all surrounded them.

As they approached, a tall, muscular man with a crew cut, who was almost six feet tall, asked the man with the sunken half-face, "Little Tiger, is this the junior high school kid who put three of you in the hospital? He doesn't look like it."

"Be careful, this kid is more ruthless than he looks. When we attack, use weapons and beat him until he's crippled, just leave him a breath," the man with the sunken half-face, formerly known as Tiger, extinguished his cigarette with his finger and said viciously, "If I don't completely cripple this kid and ruin his sister, I won't be called Tiger anymore!"

"Just a kid, is he that strong? I think one punch will knock him down. Why bring seven or eight people with steel pipes..." the muscular man with a crew cut was skeptical.

Eight thugs quickly surrounded the three junior high school students. The man with the sunken half-face glared at Li Pu with a malicious grin, revealing his teeth.

"Kid, you're pretty tough, putting me in the hospital for over a month," Little Tiger patted his face, eyes filled with malice. "Damn, it still hurts. What do you think we should do... pfft!"

Before he could finish his dramatic pose or his lines, Little Tiger's nose and mouth spurted blood, and he spun in the air, collapsing like a dead frog. The other half of his face, which was previously intact, was also flattened.

"I heard what you said just now," Li Pu raised an eyebrow. "So, how about this—go back to the hospital for a while."

He acted first and then told the other what he planned to do, reminiscent of the villain Prosciutto from the manga "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," who said, "When you think of killing someone, you've already killed them." The immature teenager secretly enjoyed this.

What was he thinking? Was he a single-celled organism who acted before thinking?!!! He just acted so decisively and with one hit, knocked him out? Wang Shujun's mind went blank. The thugs, led by the muscular man with a crew cut, were first stunned, then fear and anger rose, and they instinctively drew their steel pipes to attack the teenager.

"I didn't quite believe Little Tiger when he said he lost to you, but I see I was wrong," the muscular man with a crew cut, the only one without a weapon, narrowed his eyes and nodded at Li Pu. "You're good, a kid with real guts."

The muscular man's facial muscles twitched, and he said proudly, "But, do you think beating Little Tiger is something to brag about? I can take ten like him... ugh!"

The teenager, who acted even more decisively, retracted his right leg, which had kicked out like a whip, and shook his head in disappointment at the 200-pound man who was now curled up on the ground, holding his stomach.

"...Not much different."

The thugs with steel pipes, seeing Little Tiger knocked out, didn't retreat. But when the muscular man with a crew cut also fell, they all showed clear fear and hesitation.

This muscular man was a well-known thug in the Dongmen area. Although he exaggerated a bit by saying he could take ten Little Tigers, he could handle five or six.

But he was taken down by a single blow from this junior high school student? Even if it was a surprise attack, the muscular man was a seasoned fighter, and he was already in a fighting stance.

This junior high school student must have trained! And he was ruthless, not just a show-off. If they, who mainly relied on numbers and intimidation, charged in, even with steel pipes, they would just be sent to the hospital.

"This won't be that simple," one of the thugs gritted his teeth, trying to sound tough.

Then he also fell.

Super violent! And... super strong! Wang Shujun watched as Li Pu effortlessly took down all the thugs with steel pipes. The literary youth couldn't help but think of a famous quote by Lu Xun: "I will not let any of them off!"

"Critical weapons are indeed inferior to the criticism of weapons..." Seeing Li Pu finish his work, Wang Shujun swallowed nervously, hesitating whether to continue following Li Pu and Chenxian.

Li Pu completely ignored Wang Shujun's reaction. Only Chenxian turned slightly, giving him a polite smile as a farewell.

I... probably can't fit in between them. Wang Shujun smiled bitterly, dejectedly pushing his bicycle and turning away.

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Setting Terms Adjustment:

Due to the need, the previous "Extraordinary" prefixes have been uniformly revised to "Star Hunter."

That is, Extraordinary Apprentice — Star Hunter Apprentice (a low-level beginner, Li Pu's current position).

Extraordinary Cultivator — Star Hunter Cultivator (the basic unit of a space hunter, capable of taking on jobs independently or joining a space hunter team).

Extraordinary Master — Star Hunter Master (a space hunter with significant achievements and reputation, usually a leader or strong member of a small or medium-sized space hunter team).

Extraordinary Saint — Hunter Corps Saint (a core figure in a top-tier large space hunter corps, each a legendary figure in the cosmos).

The promotion and hunting chapters will be released in the later part of the Earth chapter and the space chapter.

Star Hunter Covenant: A semi-official, semi-civilian cosmic organization registered under the Supreme Heaven Council. The honorary chairman is the friend of the super-rich Shar-Sago, the "Time Traveler." It is a loose coalition of various space forces of different sizes, each with its own traditions or goals. The "Asta Temple," to which Gegeguluo, who was expelled by the "God Warrior Armament," belongs, is one of them.

PS: So, goodbye to the "Extraordinary Master" reference from Magic: The Gathering! And—new book, please follow, collect, and vote! Spread the word!

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