High School Student with Immortal Race System

Dead... they’re all dead.

The Black Doctor and the Black Nurse died on the run.

Ye Qingyao was dead too, inside the safe room. Her death had been exceptionally gruesome... with over 20 puncture wounds.

Xu Bamboo didn’t know what was in the box her mother had been trying to grab before she died, but she took it and put it away.

Jin Wu was also dead.

When the police found him, he was hiding in a closet, dead from blood loss.

Right up until his death, he had been worried about more enemies surrounding the house. He’d rather hide and wait for the police than risk trying to break out.

It just goes to show... sometimes, a decline in strength isn’t what’s truly terrifying.

Losing your animal instinct—that’s what’s terrifying.

All five members of the Rebel Species were dead as well. Xu Bamboo had killed two with her own hands, and the rest were killed by an "unidentified person wearing a strange helmet."

As the sole witness, Xu Bamboo stated that she didn’t know who it was. The person seemed to be at odds with her attackers, so he had briefly worked with her.

A high-ranking police officer quickly recalled hearing recent rumors about someone hunting members of the Rebel Species. ’This feels very close,’ he thought.

Furthermore, the hunter of the Rebel Species was suspected to be the Exotic Strange Guest from the pharmacy incident, which also matched the black, peculiar helmet mentioned in Xu Bamboo’s testimony.

Of course, it would likely be a long time before any concrete conclusions could be drawn. After all, the villa was a total mess today, making it difficult to analyze the intelligence from the scene.

There were a few other bodies, burned as crisp as cookies.

Thankfully, Jinshui Villa was a very low-density area. If this had happened in a normal residential building, the commotion would have probably thrown an entire street into chaos. But as it was... everything was contained within this one villa.

Yang Shen took the opportunity of keeping her company to coordinate their stories, then accompanied Xu Bamboo to the police station.

As a "regular classmate," he didn’t need to go in to give a statement, but he waited outside for her nonetheless.

’Was he worried about his cover being blown? ...Not really.’

He was hiding his identity because he was worried about the Rebel Species, not the police.

Although he had killed four people tonight, it was all... legal.

But since he wanted to remain hidden, he couldn’t be on high alert against the Rebel Species only to turn around and spill everything to the police. He wasn’t about to just go up to them and say, "Officer, I’m Yang Shen. I live at XXX, I have four kids and an aunt at home, and I’m the one who did all this."

With an organization like the Rebel Species—a malignant tumor that could never be fully eradicated and had spread across Cyan Blue—who could guarantee that a low-level police officer wouldn’t become a source of leaked information?

By the time Xu Bamboo walked out again, it was early morning.

Xu Bamboo emerged from the police station. The long, wide staircase at the main entrance reminded everyone that this was a place of authority.

They might be late, but they were invincible.

Xu Bamboo walked out slowly, feeling how wide the path before her was, as if it led to countless possibilities.

For the first time... she had the right to decide where to go... yet she didn’t know which direction to take.

Until she saw a tall figure across the street, waving at her.

Xu Bamboo immediately quickened her pace, jogging toward him, but then she felt that she shouldn’t be so lighthearted.

The police had comforted her all night. Everyone thought she should be grief-stricken, that she should be weeping, but she hadn’t...

Feeling too relieved made her feel a sense of guilt.

But seeing Yang Shen’s distant figure...

Her steps became fast and light once more.

Yang Shen stood in front of a small food stall, watching the owner spread the batter evenly and then smooth out every wrinkle with a scraper.

The police station was a place with frequent night shifts, so plenty of breakfast vendors were already set up across the street early in the morning.

"Could you add some extra chopped pickled mustard greens, please? And a sausage in both."

"You got it!"

Xu Bamboo quietly came to Yang Shen’s side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. They were silent for a moment, both staring intently at the griddle.

"Did everything go smoothly?"

"It was fine. They took my statement, but I didn’t know much, so I couldn’t answer most of their questions."

The vendor finished making one, put it in a bag, and handed it to Yang Shen. He held it up to Xu Bamboo’s mouth. "Go on, eat. You must be starving."

Xu Bamboo opened her mouth and took a large bite like a little stray cat, feeling the warmth and comfort melt in her mouth.

Yang Shen said, "It seems your mother was preparing some kind of small surgery for you, and the things she needed were targeted by that group. I think that’s the logical explanation. Otherwise, there’s no reason why a Black Doctor and a Black Nurse would show up at your house."

’He had actually figured it out from Long Jiu’s answers.’

"By the way, did you find that thing?"

"Yes, I put it away at home. I don’t know if the police will need it, but I don’t want to hand it over."

"Why not?"

Xu Bamboo took another bite. "Because I want to keep it to remind me of how my mother died."

Yang Shen smiled and nudged Xu Bamboo with his shoulder. "Whatever you want. If the police ask for it, give it to them. If not, you keep it."

He took the other pancake, but he didn’t eat it himself, just held onto it.

This one was for Zhuzi, too. He had already eaten four earlier.

’Surely no one thinks a single pancake can fill up a Martial Artist, right?’

The two of them started walking off to the side. Xu Bamboo used her slender fingers to brush a crumb from the corner of her mouth into her lips. "Shenzi."

"Hm?"

"Am I supposed to be in pain?"

Yang Shen was silent for a moment.

"I don’t know either. Just like I don’t know if I’m supposed to be this calm."

"Logically, I should be holding your hand and spouting nonsense like ’my condolences.’"

Yang Shen took Xu Bamboo’s hand. "But when I hold your hand, all I feel is relief."

"Zhuzi... we don’t have to pretend with each other. You don’t have to fake being in pain, and I don’t have to fake wanting to comfort you."

"Let’s just... be natural."

Xu Bamboo stopped walking, her perfectly straight legs pressed together without a gap, and looked up at a tree above them.

On the tree hung an empty, shriveled chrysalis—gray, grimy, and vacant.

At this time of year, such a sight wasn’t uncommon.

Xu Bamboo stared blankly upwards and took another big bite of her pancake.

"Shenzi, I’ve figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"How I’m going to live my life from now on!"

Yang Shen chuckled. "That’s a pretty big topic. You figured it out that casually?!"

Xu Bamboo shook her head, her short hair fanning out like a mushroom around her ears. "No... I’ve actually been thinking about it for many years..."

Xu Bamboo started walking forward again.

The voices of the young man and woman gradually faded into the distance, yet they seemed as if they would never end.

"I’m going to live the life I want."

"Like what?"

"I’m going to take the college entrance exams to prove all my years of hard work."

"Sounds good."

"I’m going to go to Jiangti. It’s the best university."

"That’s good too."

"I also want to learn how to cook. I want to make delicious, fragrant meals."

"That’s even better. I promise to eat it all with a straight face."

"And I’m going to reach a higher Martial Arts Realm and see a wider world."

"Together."

The steam from the pancake stall still drifted in the air, shrouding their retreating figures until they grew blurry.

An unknown amount of time passed before a magnificent, ethereal butterfly, woven from shades of deep blue and emerald green, fluttered over and landed on a branch.

Its antennae swayed gently, or perhaps it was the branch that was swaying.

Below, the empty, grimy chrysalis finally fell, shattering into dust as it hit the ground.

Startled, the butterfly took flight once more.

Beautiful, graceful, and free.

——————

"Life Chart: Breaking the Cocoon and Rebirth"

"With a light heart and clear purpose, all shackles are broken. Your talent is peerless, your future as bright as the moon."