49 Apocalypse Rules

Things had to be done by the book. Guan Tong immediately put the bear head into a bag and went to find the dean, Zhou Qinfeng.

Zhou Qinfeng jumped in shock when he saw the bear head. After Guan Tong produced the note and explained the situation, the dean’s face instantly darkened.

"The academy will not tolerate this kind of personal threat against an instructor. Mr. Guan, rest assured, we will do everything to ensure your safety. I’ll go notify the security department right now and have them post guards at the faculty dormitory building."

Since the authorities placed such importance on the academy, they had assigned it significant security forces. The academy’s security department housed a fully staffed and equipped armed unit, ready to respond to any sudden crisis at a moment’s notice.

"Dean, there’s no need to go to the security department just yet. I wanted to ask—when you heard about this, did something come to mind?"

Guan Tong keenly observed that, aside from anger, Zhou Qinfeng’s expression held a hint of ’I knew this would happen’ apprehension, as if he already knew something.

At this question, Zhou Qinfeng sighed after a moment’s hesitation. "Mr. Guan, I told you before not to give that Yelena Stasia private lessons, but you just wouldn’t listen."

Hearing this, Guan Tong was certain that Zhou Qinfeng knew something.

He immediately pressed, "Dean, this concerns my personal safety. Please tell me what you know."

Dean Zhou nodded, his expression tinged with resignation. "This Yelena Stasia... do you know who she is?"

"A noble from Sisiya, I’d imagine."

He wasn’t the only one who thought so; every student in the academy who knew of her thought the same. Judging from her speech, mannerisms, and attire, she clearly didn’t come from an ordinary family.

"She’s a noble, yes, but not an ordinary one," Zhou Qinfeng said. "Her enrollment was specially arranged by the higher-ups. Her being allowed to live off-campus, in violation of school rules, was also approved by them. Do you think an ordinary noble would receive such preferential treatment?"

"No, they wouldn’t..."

Guan Tong thought to himself, ’After the Human Federation was established, nations opened their borders. Many powerful foreigners have entered North Star.’

’Among them were wealthy merchants and even high-ranking cabinet officials from other countries. But after entering North Star, they were treated no differently than ordinary people—they went to the shelters and received no special treatment.’

’Among the students enrolled this year, some foreign students had astonishing backgrounds. It had already come out that the student body included a prince from a small nation and the children of high-ranking foreign officials. But even they had to live in the dorms and eat canned food, just like everyone else.’

’In comparison, Yelena’s ability to live off-campus made her stand out significantly.’

Zhou Qinfeng said, "I’m guessing, and this is only a guess, but she’s likely from the clan that represents the nation of Siska."

"The Konia Clan?" Guan Tong asked in a low voice.

He had studied history; he knew the Konia Clan had founded the nation of Sisiya. The first emperor of Sisiya was the eldest son of House Konia.

Although Sisiya’s system of government had changed over the past few hundred years, rumor had it that the country was still ruled by the Konia Clan—they had simply shifted from ruling openly to controlling things from the shadows.

"This is just my guess. After all, this Yelena’s surname is Stasia, not Konia. But if she really is from that clan, it would involve many people and complicated affairs. Getting close to her would inevitably be risky."

Despite Zhou Qinfeng’s words, both he and Guan Tong knew that a name was easily changed if one needed to hide their identity.

"That’s all I know. Mr. Guan, I know you can be headstrong, but it’s best to let the academy handle this. You should also stop your lessons with her for the time being. It’ll be safer for you."

Guan Tong shook his head slightly. "This is a personal death threat against me. I need to know who did it."

"...Fine. Regardless, I still have to make a trip to the security department. We have to post guards at the faculty dormitory; it’s just too dangerous otherwise."

Zhou Qinfeng left, feeling a wave of retroactive fear. And he had good reason to be afraid. If an instructor were murdered on academy grounds, the fallout would be catastrophic.

After Zhou Qinfeng left for the security department, soldiers quickly arrived at Guan Tong’s dormitory. They collected the bear head and bedsheet as evidence and posted a guard in the lobby on the first floor.

Other instructors coming and going were bewildered, not understanding why soldiers were standing guard in the faculty dormitory. However, since neither Zhou Qinfeng nor Guan Tong had said a word, no one else knew what had happened.

「The next day.」

After her classes ended, Yelena went to the gymnasium as usual.

Guan Tong was already there when she arrived, but she noticed that his expression today was different from usual.

"Stasia, there’s something I need to tell you."

Without any preamble, Guan Tong told her directly about the death threat.

When Yelena heard about the note and the bloody bear head on his bed, her purple pupils contracted slightly, revealing a mix of gravity and anger.

After finishing his explanation, Guan Tong asked, "I imagine you might have some idea who did this."

"..."

"If you know who it is and won’t tell me, then there’s no reason for our lessons to continue."

Guan Tong wanted to be a good teacher, but that didn’t mean he was a pushover.

If Yelena knew who sent the death threat but wouldn’t say, then continuing to train her would just be making a fool of himself.

"I’m sorry," Yelena said after a moment of silence. "I will take care of this."

"There’s no need. Just tell me who it is. I’m the one who was threatened. I’ll rest easier if I handle it myself."

"..."

"You’re not going to tell me?"

Seeing Yelena remain silent, Guan Tong didn’t press the issue. He simply turned and walked toward the door.

Just as he reached the doorway, Yelena’s voice came from behind him.

"It was my brother."

Guan Tong stopped in his tracks.

"He’s the only one who would do something like this."

"Your brother?" He turned around. "Your real brother?"

Yelena nodded.

"Sister complex?"

"..."

After a brief, speechless moment, Yelena said, "...He doesn’t want me to gain the power to compete with him. That’s why he sees you, my instructor, as a threat."

’Competition...’

Guan Tong didn’t know what the siblings were competing for, but it explained why Yelena was so desperate to master Psychic Power Flow and become stronger.

"Where is your brother?" he asked.

"He’s in Sisiya," Yelena said. "He must have ordered this, but he wouldn’t have done it himself."

"So he used subordinates or hired someone." Guan Tong nodded. "I don’t know or care what you two are competing over; that’s your family’s business. But your brother sending people to threaten me, an outsider, crosses a line."

"I know. I’ll make him stop."

"Will he stop just because you tell him to? Why don’t you send one of your own subordinates to kill someone close to him? Can you do that?"

Yelena froze, clearly not expecting a teacher like Guan Tong to say such a thing.

"If you can’t do that, then why would he fear you?" Guan Tong continued. "So, let me handle this. My arm isn’t long enough to reach your brother in Sisiya for now, but as long as the people he sent are still in Pinglu, I can certainly deal with them."

Hearing this, Yelena gave Guan Tong a strange look.

Without a doubt, the impression Guan Tong gave her at that moment was not that of a "teacher" at all. It was more like the modus operandi of the ruthless mercenaries she knew, the kind who thrived in the grey areas of the world.