Deus Ex Machina: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Yang Jin these days was a bit hesitant to face Shi Yixi directly. He felt a strange sense of guilt towards Shi Yixi. Although the reason for Shi Yixi’s potential degradation was not clear yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his unauthorized intervention had accelerated the process.

However, if the endpoint was elimination, then the speed of this process didn’t really matter.

Yang Jin taught combat courses to the freshmen, and Zhao Qinghe progressed the fastest. Of course, this was attributed to Zhao Qinghe’s A-level potential, and the combat course itself leaned more towards physical confrontation. It was most evident that Zhao Qinghe used to be unable to beat Ying Si, but with his potential gradually unlocking, he seemed to be able to gain some advantage under Ying Si’s hands.

But still couldn’t win? Yang Jin stood on the side silently observing the students’ movements. Ying Si tried to suppress Zhao Qinghe with his height and weight advantage, while Zhao Qinghe just dodged, seemingly satisfied with just protecting himself from being beaten up.

No, that’s not right!

“Stop!” Yang Jin shouted, but it was too late. Zhao Qinghe and Ying Si were entangled in a difficult-to-resolve struggle, and in the midst of this reprimand, Ying Si twisted Zhao Qinghe’s arm out of joint with a “crack”.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Zhao Qinghe screamed, rolling on the ground in pain.

The surrounding students stopped and watched what was happening.

“What’s going on?” Yang Jin frowned and asked. He squatted down to check Zhao Qinghe’s arm, quickly resetting the dislocated bones. With this move, Zhao Qinghe screamed even louder.

“I don’t know,” Ying Si said, “how could his arm break for no reason?”

“You…” Zhao Qinghe weakly said, “you’ve been planning this, haven’t you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ying Si angrily retorted, “Do you think I need a reason to beat you up? Who do you think you are?”

“Everyone, shut up!” Yang Jin lifted Zhao Qinghe, “I’ll take him to the infirmary. The rest of you, disperse!” He then said to Ying Si, “You wait for me in my office.”

“Why?” Ying Si wanted to jump up and curse, but Yang Jin completely ignored him and walked away with Zhao Qinghe without looking back. Other students knew that Ying Si was a hot-tempered person, so to avoid getting involved, they also dispersed.

Shi Yixi stood on the side and said, “I’ll accompany you.”

“I don’t need you!” Ying Si said, “I clearly didn’t do anything! Why does it seem like I wanted to kill that idiot? Shi Yixi, you saw what happened just now, right? Are others all blind?”

Shi Yixi really tried hard to recall the situation just now, his expression making Ying Si reluctant to shout loudly, “Shi Yixi! Seriously? You need to think about this too?”

“I believe you,” Shi Yixi finally said, “so I’ll accompany you.”

Ying Si’s anger diminished a bit, clenching his fists, he said, “Sooner or later, I’ll beat that idiot named Zhao to death!”

Yang Jin accompanied Zhao Qinghe to the infirmary, checked him, and found no major issues. Setting the dislocated arm back in place, Zhao Qinghe screamed even louder.

“Thank you, Teacher Yang,” Zhao Qinghe seemed fragile; being young, even a minor injury seemed life-threatening to him.

For this, he was afraid and needed to seek more powerful protection.

“Thank me for what?” Yang Jin asked.

“You saved me,” Zhao Qinghe said.

Yang Jin didn’t reply; his gaze lingered on Zhao Qinghe’s face for too long. Zhao Qinghe, feeling uncomfortable, shifted slightly, sensing that something was different.

The teacher in front of him was no longer his usual lazy self, but seemed to be staring at something intriguing. Zhao Qinghe cautiously raised his eyes to meet Yang Jin’s gaze, as if this glance used up all his courage.

“Nothing,” Yang Jin smiled. The tense and oppressive atmosphere disappeared in an instant, and the outside sunshine remained bright. He stood up, patted Zhao Qinghe’s shoulder, and said, “Rest well. The mid-term exams are coming; don’t overthink unnecessary things.”

“Okay,” Zhao Qinghe nodded, unconsciously sighing in relief. He stopped Yang Jin, who was about to leave, and asked, “Teacher, what if I don’t do well in the exams?”

“You’ll die,” Yang Jin replied with a smile.

Ying Si and Shi Yixi were waiting together in Yang Jin’s office when he returned.

Yang Jin felt unsure about what he was doing these days, and Ying Si felt like he was growing mushrooms from waiting. He glanced back irritably at Shi Yixi and saw him picking at his fingers.

“…Childish,” Ying Si muttered under his breath.

“What?” Shi Yixi looked up in confusion.

“I’m back,” Yang Jin pushed the door open, smiling, “Were you all good?”

“Why don’t you go die?” Ying Si jumped up, cursing loudly.

“Young man, I advise you to be human,” Yang Jin pushed Ying Si back with one hand and noticed Shi Yixi beside him, “Are you here too? Ready to help out?”

“None of your business!” Ying Si retorted.

“Alright, alright, none of my business,” Yang Jin unexpectedly didn’t reprimand Ying Si for his lack of manners. He sat down behind the desk, leaned back, crossed his long legs on the table, and said, “You’re quite a waste, aren’t you?”

“You!” Ying Si was furious, wanting to rush over. But Yang Jin said to Shi Yixi, “Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Hmm?” Shi Yixi asked, “Need me to stop him?” Then, symbolically, he grabbed Ying Si’s wrist and said seriously, “I stopped him.”

This time, not only Yang Jin, but even Ying Si didn’t know how to face Shi Yixi.

“Well…” Yang Jin said helplessly, “Little trash, do you really want to harm Zhao Qinghe?”

“Don’t call me a little trash! You’re the trash!” Ying Si said, “Not only do I want to harm him, I want to harm you now too!”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” Yang Jin said expressionlessly, “Do you also want to dislocate my arm?”

“I didn’t do it!” Ying Si yelled, “That idiot did it to himself!”

Yang Jin smirked, “Does that matter?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?” Ying Si said, “Why should I admit to something I didn’t do?”

“It seems like the education from the Academy isn’t effective,” Yang Jin stood up, leisurely walked to Ying Si, slightly bent down, and smirked, “I don’t like people shouting and reasoning in front of me. Everyone understands reason, so what? The incident happened, do you have a solution?”

“If killing wasn’t illegal,” Ying Si only said half of his sentence.

“Young man, that’s a very dangerous thought,” Yang Jin said.

“Teacher,” Shi Yixi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, “Ying Si can’t harm Zhao Qinghe.”

Yang Jin showed no surprise, but still asked, “Why not?”

Shi Yixi said, “Zhao Qinghe is very strong; he can easily shatter a glass with a flick of his hand. He… has always been an excellent person, whether in academics or potential… Ying Si’s potential doesn’t lie in strength.”

“Hey! Can you even speak?” Ying Si started to growl at Shi Yixi again, “What’s with you? After belittling me, you praise him? What’s going on? Are you so admiring of him because he’s so amazing? If you can’t speak, just shut up! I’m really going to be driven crazy by you! Are you in cahoots with Zhao Qinghe?”

“No,” Shi Yixi shook his head, “Sorry.” Despite being two years older than Ying Si, his attitude of bowing his head in apology was like that of a pitiful child.

“Never mind!” Ying Si said irritably, “I can’t be bothered with you.”

Yang Jin temporarily blocked out Ying Si’s noise, and when Ying Si stopped talking, he asked Shi Yixi, “How did you know he can shatter a glass?”

“He told me,” Shi Yixi said, “Teacher, didn’t you teach him?”

“Yes,” Yang Jin pondered for a moment, glanced at the time, and said, “Alright, don’t you have class later? Disperse.”

Ying Si was stunned. This surname Yang didn’t even pick on him for trouble?

“Why are you still standing there stupidly?” Yang Jin asked.

Ying Si glared at Yang Jin, then grabbed Shi Yixi and left. Behind them, Yang Jin suddenly spoke up, “That was just a simple strength training. As long as the potential fits, anyone can learn.”

“Can I learn too?” Shi Yixi asked.

Yang Jin said, “When you confirm your potential.”

“Okay,” Shi Yixi nodded gently.

Yang Jin had no classes in the afternoon. After lunch, he planned to go back to his dorm to take a nap. As he was coming out of the cafeteria, someone called out to him.

“Teacher Ming?” Yang Jin’s smile was very polite, “Do you need something?”

“I want to discuss something with you,” Ming Peng said, “Are you heading back to the dorm? I’m going back too. Let’s talk on the way.”

“Sure.”

The two walked side by side on the road. Ming Peng said, “Teacher Yang, you know we’re having the mid-term exams soon, right?”

“Of course I know,” Yang Jin said.

“Before each mid-term exam, each class will have some small tests on their own,” Ming Peng said, “Teacher Yang, do you think our two classes should compete?”

“Don’t joke around,” Yang Jin said, “You know the situation in my class, problems galore. If it’s a competition, we’ll probably get completely thrashed.”

“No, no, no, that’s not it,” Ming Peng said, “Don’t you know? The rules for this year’s exams have been updated. Each class teacher can participate in the exam with the team.”

Yang Jin stopped and asked, “Teacher Ming, what do you mean?”

Ming Peng’s smile had always been gentle, but his words were not so gentle, “Looks like I’m the first one to come to you. Teacher Yang, think about it, if teachers can participate with the team, who will everyone come to? Perhaps soon, you’ll receive challenges from other classes.”

“I can refuse, right?” Yang Jin said.

“You can,” Ming Peng said, “But it’s not necessary. The students will organize their own simulation training. If they do it on their own, it’s beyond our control.”

Immediately, the image of Ying Si’s irritable demeanor flashed through Yang Jin’s mind. If it was that little troublemaker, he definitely wouldn’t be able to resist provocation.

He really didn’t want to deal with primary school students anymore!

“Alright,” Yang Jin said casually, “Next Monday? Let’s find a place for simulation training.”

Ming Peng said, “Agreed.”

Yang Jin informed three students of the news, but only Zhao Qinghe replied, promising not to let the teacher down despite being injured and striving to bring glory to the teacher.

On Monday, Yang Jin and Ming Peng selected a simulated venue, a small-scale ruins simulation field behind the academy. Although it was called small-scale, it still covered an area of ​​one square kilometer, with densely packed broken high-rise buildings inside, dividing the area into several large and small roads.

“This place is really suitable for you,” Ming Peng said to Yang Jin, “There are high points and cover everywhere, perfect for hiding.”

“It doesn’t make much of a difference to me,” Yang Jin said.

Ming Peng glanced behind him and asked, “Your gun…” He noticed that Yang Jin was carrying a regular sniper rifle behind him, not his usual one.

“No need,” Yang Jin said casually.

So arrogant. That’s what Ming Peng thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. He turned and led his three classmates aside, saying, “Let’s go to our respective entry points now. The match will start in three minutes. Our plan is…”

Zhao Qinghe stood on tiptoe and watched the four people whispering over there. He asked Yang Jin, “Teacher Yang, what’s our plan?”

“What plan?” Yang Jin asked.

“The plan for how we’re going to fight later,” Zhao Qinghe said.

Yang Jin thought for a moment and only left four words: “Adapt to the situation.”

“What does ‘adapt to the situation’ mean?” Ying Si said, “Can’t you be more serious?”

“I am serious. Alright, I don’t want to waste time with you guys. Grab your weapons and get into the arena.”

Street fighting is the cruelest type of combat.

Moving through the streets and alleys of the city, every quiet corner may hide enormous danger. Due to the limitations of the terrain, heavy weapons are rare here, and there’s hardly any overwhelming advantage. Enemies, teammates…they are all waiting for an opportunity. More terrifying than close combat is psychological warfare because everything is unpredictable.

Shi Yixi’s entry point was at the edge of the urban ruins, equipped with standard training gear – two handguns and a rifle – because he didn’t have any abilities.

He cautiously moved forward in the alley, vigilantly observing his surroundings. Being alone was very disadvantageous for someone like him. What he needed to do now was to find his teammates while ensuring his own safety.

“Anyone there?” Shi Yixi asked quietly over the channel. “I’m in B11 area. Where are you guys?”

There was no response on the channel.

He didn’t know that during the first three minutes after the start of the battle, the channel was in a blocked state. Yang Jin hadn’t mentioned this. Every second felt so long. Shi Yixi reached the end of the alley and was about to turn around the dilapidated wall ahead.

“Hello there! I’m Ling.” A girl with brown hair suddenly hung upside down from the flagpole on the wall. Her hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and she aimed her gun at Shi Yixi, smiling. “You’re really unlucky. Game over.”

Shi Yixi bolted.

“Don’t run,” Ling flipped down and, holding her gun, walked leisurely in Shi Yixi’s direction. “I can smell you. I’ll find you soon.”

Shi Yixi completely ignored her words and kept trying to find a place to hide. They had studied relevant things in class before, and Shi Yixi had memorized many points on his own, but now he had forgotten them all.

Ling’s nose twitched as she carefully sniffed the air, then smiled.

Shi Yixi bumped into an object in front of him, and he staggered back two steps, falling to the ground.

“Why so clumsy?” Ming Peng stood in front of him. “You can even trip while running. Didn’t the teacher teach you survival skills?”

“M-Ming… Ming teacher…” Shi Yixi quickly reached for the gun on the ground, but his movements were slower than Ming Peng’s.

“There are no teachers on the battlefield,” Ming Peng said. He didn’t use weapons. He just needed to get close to Shi Yixi and trigger the sensors on his body with high temperature. The system would automatically judge the outcome, and Shi Yixi would be automatically eliminated.

In a panic, Shi Yixi found his handgun that he always carried with him, but no matter how he manipulated it, he couldn’t shoot to stop Ming Peng.

The scorching hot palm was getting closer.

Was the game over from the beginning?

He couldn’t just sit and wait for death. If he couldn’t shoot…

Shi Yixi threw the handgun at Ming Peng, and at the same time, there was a “whoosh” sound. A sharp and powerful airflow flew past Shi Yixi’s ear, and an air bullet shot onto Ming Peng’s wrist, causing him to retreat.

The sudden attack froze time in this moment, even Shi Yixi’s heartbeat.

“Don’t be afraid,” Yang Jin’s voice appeared on the channel. “I’m here.”

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