Chapter 24

Chapter 024: Sister Qiao, You Are Guilty of a Heinous Crime!

Yan Cang looked at the messages in the class group, unable to suppress the curve of his lips.

Someone's mental state had collapsed!

But considering they were classmates, he decided to be merciful and not expose them publicly in the group.

Well, it definitely wasn't because he had already sparked "public outrage" and feared being ganged up on if he said a word.

Just as Yan Cang's lips curled upward.

The next second, a prompt abruptly popped up on the group interface:

[Group Notice: You have been muted for 1 minute by group owner "Qiao Yue"]

Who? Who got muted?

Me?

Yan Cang didn't even react at first.

As the creator of the Fate Net and the "Net Master" who controlled all permissions, how could he have imagined that on his own turf, he would be muted by a group owner?

It was a complete reversal of the natural order!

But on second thought, he really hadn't granted himself any special permissions.

At least on the surface, in terms of user rules, Yan Cang was no different from anyone else.

If others could add him to a group, they could naturally mute him too.

Of course, that was only "on the surface."

Even if he didn't join the group, he could still speak in any channel, let alone be muted.

Any restrictions were as good as nonexistent, so he hadn't bothered to set up any special privileges.

After realizing this, Yan Cang still had one question: Why did Sister Qiao mute me?

Before he could figure it out, Teacher Qiao Yue had already explained in the group:

"@Yan Cang, my finger slipped, but Teacher suspects you're spreading fake images, so consider this a punishment."

"Well muted! Teacher Qiao, you're brilliant!"

"Teacher Qiao, well done!"

"Supporting justice in action!"

The group immediately erupted in cheers.

"Oh no, it seems I accidentally caught Sister Qiao in the crossfire too!"

After understanding the situation, Yan Cang's smile faded slightly.

He quickly opened a private chat with Qiao Yue and sent a message: "Sister Qiao! Sister Qiao! Sister Qiao!"

"What's wrong?"

"Sister Qiao, don't you love me anymore? /crying"

Qiao Yue replied quickly, succinctly: "Student Yan Cang, no being cheeky!"

Yan Cang: "Then let me ask another question. What did you have for dinner tonight, Sister Qiao?"

Qiao Yue: "?"

Yan Cang: "Sigh, someone's defenses are broken, but I won't say who."

Qiao Yue: "Student Yan Cang, Teacher reminds you that although the college entrance exam is over, your graduation certificate hasn't been handed to you yet. /smile"

Yan Cang: "So what? /hands on hips"

Qiao Yue: "It means, if you keep being cheeky, Teacher might have to consider assigning you some homework."

Yan Cang: "/shocked"

In reality, the smile on Yan Cang's face hadn't faded.

After this exchange, he had genuinely become curious about Teacher Qiao Yue's dinner.

What could it be that was so bad it made her this anxious?

"Sister Qiao won't say, so I'll just take a look myself."

Yan Cang turned his gaze to the bright Fate Star belonging to Qiao Yue in the Fate Star Sea, and his mind stirred slightly.

The relevant images and information then surfaced:

It turned out to be just a simple bowl of wild vegetable soup, clear and thin, with barely a trace of oil visible.

His first reaction was one of confusion.

With the existence of the Fate Net guides and the Trading House, it shouldn't have been this bleak.

It wasn't until the image clearly showed the environment around Qiao Yue's cabin—surrounded by a barren Gobi Desert, with nothing but sand and rocks as far as the eye could see, not even a decent tree—that Yan Cang suddenly understood.

With no resources nearby, being able to scrounge up a bowl of wild vegetable soup was probably the limit.

But when he dug deeper, he learned that even that bowl of soup was barely bought from the Trading House after Qiao Yue had painstakingly topped up Fate Points bit by bit.

"Sister Qiao is this unlucky..."

Yan Cang hadn't expected this at all.

Although he knew some people had landed in resource-scarce danger zones, he never imagined Qiao Yue would be one of them. After all, in the class group, she hadn't shown a single hint of frustration or helplessness.

Even at noon today, she had patiently taught everyone the techniques and precautions for topping up Fate Points.

Now it seemed that all of this was experience Qiao Yue had personally figured out through trial and error.

"She really... I'm crying!"

Yan Cang sighed inwardly.

Teacher Qiao had always been good to him.

Maybe it was because she knew he was an orphan and, by high school, had no one left to look after him. So Qiao Yue was stricter with him than with other students and worried about him more.

If not for her, Yan Cang felt he might have long since abandoned his studies, addicted to gaming.

He might even have dropped out entirely.

Then he wouldn't have endured three years of hard study to smoothly finish the college entrance exam, even confident enough to score well enough for a top university.

Although now, the exam scores were out of reach, and university was a distant dream.

But...

His train of thought stalled here, and Yan Cang couldn't think of a silver lining.

If he was going to get transported anyway, wouldn't it have been a huge win to just goof off for three years?

"Ah! Right..."

He suddenly realized: "Sister Qiao, you're a menace!"

Of course, that was just a joke.

After all, no one could have known about the Trial Ground three years in advance.

Those three years of hard study had become a precious part of Yan Cang's life.

They had shaped who he was now.

If he had really wasted those three years on gaming, he would have become a completely different person.

Whether that would be good or bad was obvious.

Though with his youthful mindset, he couldn't fully grasp these thoughts yet, he wasn't ungrateful.

Otherwise, he wouldn't keep calling her "Sister Qiao."

Knowing Qiao Yue's situation, Yan Cang naturally wanted to help.

But helping required finesse.

Since Qiao Yue hadn't said anything, he couldn't just shove Fate Points at her.

After thinking it over, Yan Cang quietly drew a tiny bit of energy from the Energy Pool, turning it into Fate Power, and anchored a stroke of good fortune for Qiao Yue that was right around the corner.

And since he had done a good deed, he had to show off.

So he opened the private chat again and sent a cryptic message with an air of mystery:

"Sister Qiao, do you know—those who chant my name shall witness miracles in treasure chests!"

Qiao Yue: "?"

Yan Cang: "/sunglasses"

After sending that smug little emoji, he said no more, leaving Qiao Yue to figure it out on her own.

Anyway, she'd understand by noon tomorrow at the latest.

Yan Cang's attention returned to the table full of delicious food before him.

If he didn't eat soon, it would get cold.

He quickly picked up his chopsticks, and his first bite went straight for the most expensive dish—the Black Pepper Tiger Rib Noodles.

Tiger meat—just the sound of it was wild and untamed.

Yan Cang had been craving it for a while.

Now, he picked up a thick rib coated in rich, sticky sauce and unhesitatingly put it into his mouth.

The slight sweetness of honey, the pungent aroma of black pepper, the mellow depth of the sauce, and the firm, chewy texture of the meat all exploded on his tongue.

The meat was juicy, the flavor growing richer with every chew, as the essence of a top-tier predator unfolded layer by layer in his mouth.

"Delicious!" That was the only word that came to Yan Cang's mind.

After wolfing down several pieces in a row, he finally mixed the ramen noodles with the sauce and meat.

The noodles, coated in the dark brown sauce, looked tantalizing and steamed with heat.

He scooped up a full mouthful and slurped it in.

The rich sauce aroma, the springy texture of the noodles, the lingering bits of meat—all the flavors melded together in his mouth.

Words couldn't describe how satisfying it was.