Chapter 103 - 102: Your Son Said I’m Ugly
The voice startled the two of them, and they instinctively whipped their heads around.
"In... Instructor."
"Hello, Instructor!"
"I don’t have a forklift, so I can’t just pick you up and carry you along. How about I set a fire behind you two instead? Let you experience what it feels like to have your asses roasted?"
"No need for that, hehe... Instructor, your new mask is gorgeous," Theodore Zane quickly tried to suck up to her.
"I agree. Even though we can only see half your face, Instructor, it’s obvious you’re a total knockout," Ryan Ford chimed in.
Yvonne Lowell shot them a sidelong glance but said nothing, continuing to drive forward.
’She hadn’t forgotten that this punk Ryan Ford had said she wasn’t up to snuff. No need to rush, though. She’d just file that away for later.’
A quick scan showed that the others were doing fine. After all, they were the elite, handpicked from hundreds of thousands through a grueling selection process.
They were no strangers to training with double the weight and double the distance.
Even after a few kilometers, their breathing remained steady.
Theodore Zane and Ryan Ford also quickly got back into form and settled into a steady pace.
But Yvonne Lowell glanced at her stopwatch and frowned, clearly unsatisfied with their speed.
’I didn’t demand top speed, but I didn’t tell them to jog, either!’
Yvonne Lowell returned to the starting line and grabbed a megaphone. "Pick it up! Accelerate! The last person to finish gets the whole group extra training!"
"At this pace, you couldn’t even beat a bunch of grandmas and grandpas to the discount eggs at the supermarket."
"Move it! This track is paved with asphalt. It won’t prick your feet, and you’re not going to hurt it by stepping too hard!"
"How long has it been? Not a single one of you has finished! You could have crawled here by now!"
Jasper Hayes, who had just finished his punishment of writing lines 1,000 times, miserably shuffled over to Yvonne Lowell with a thick stack of paper. "Instructor, I’m done."
Yvonne Lowell took the stack and glanced at it. "Your handwriting is a little ugly. You should practice more in your free time."
"Yes, Instructor," Jasper Hayes said through gritted teeth.
’My hand is about to fall off, and she’s talking to me about calligraphy?!’
Yvonne Lowell turned back to him, feigning surprise. "Why are you still here? Go run. The gear is over there."
For a moment, Jasper Hayes’s expression contorted. "Yes!"
He could only turn, put on the gear, and get on the track.
A triumphant smirk touched Yvonne Lowell’s lips as she pulled out her phone and sent a text:
Your son said I’m ugly.
’No need to message the other two,’ she thought. ’They’re old men. It wouldn’t be right to bully the younger generation on their behalf.’
This led to Jasper Hayes’s next vacation home, where his own father, Director Hawthorne, made him "relive his entire childhood," and the poor guy never even knew why.
It was no wonder he was clueless. By then, more than half a year had passed. Who would have guessed it was all because of the devil instructor who had tormented him for a month?
Besides, he never would have guessed that the devil instructor was actually that terrifying matriarch—a girl several years his junior.
Director Hawthorne received the text and immediately jotted it down in his little black book.
He held onto that note for over half a year, just waiting for the right moment.
...
The first to finish was Harvey Lawson, a Speed System superpower user.
Yvonne Lowell had noticed him earlier. He’d been leading the pack the entire time, making it look easy.
He wasn’t using his superpower constantly, either; his spiritual power wasn’t high enough to be that wasteful. He was simply playing to his strengths, and doing it well.
"Reporting, Instructor! I’ve finished the run!"
Yvonne Lowell nodded and pointed to a corner. "There’s water over there."
"Yes, ma’am. Thank you, Instructor." Harvey Lawson walked over and squatted down to remove his sandbags.
The moment he squatted, Yvonne Lowell casually glanced toward the track, then raised her hand. A Fire Dragon shot straight for his face.
Harvey Lawson’s pupils contracted. With no time to think, he subconsciously used his superpower to teleport sideways.
The attack still singed the edge of his clothes, and he frantically patted out the small flame.
Yvonne Lowell’s fire hit nothing but air, yet she smirked in satisfaction. "Not bad at all."
’None of my own people are Speed System superpower users.’
’I’ve never encountered one before, so I never gave it much thought. But now... I kind of want one. What to do?’
Harvey Lawson was horrified. ’This fire... it’s on a completely different level from our vice-captain’s.’
’This can only mean the instructor’s Fire Ability is above S-Class—it might even be higher than 2S-Class. And that’s not even counting her Spiritual Ability.’
The other trainees who had finished and were watching from the sidelines were left gaping at the scene. They wanted a power like that, too!
Yvonne Lowell looked at the "audience." "What are you gawking at? If you’re done running, go eat."
The crowd immediately scrambled toward the cafeteria. Not only would they be stuck with cold leftovers if they were late, but they were also afraid of getting their own asses roasted if they stuck around.
Yvonne Lowell: ’You’re overthinking it... At least, not today.’
Seeing that everyone had finished running and only Jasper Hayes remained on the track, Yvonne Lowell glanced at Finn Knight before turning to leave as well.
When she saw three figures standing not far off, Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow. "Why are you three still here?"
"Instructor, we were waiting for you," Theodore Zane said, sucking up.
"Tch. Waiting for me, or waiting to leech a meal off me?"
"How could you say that? We just wanted to wait for you. It’s been so long, we really missed you," Theodore Zane said with an awkward grin.
Theodore Zane: ’You guessed it, but I’m not admitting it. I just want to see the difference between our food and yours.’
Yvonne Lowell shot him a sidelong glance and said coolly, "Too bad. I didn’t miss you at all."
Theodore Zane clutched his chest dramatically. "You’ll make us truly heartbroken. Tomorrow, you might see news that the city moat has flooded. That’ll be all our tears."
The three of them simultaneously took a few steps away from him, as if his foolishness were contagious.
Blake Paxton looked at Yvonne Lowell with concern. "Instructor, is your injury any better?"
"It’s been fully healed for ages." Yvonne Lowell shrugged her previously injured shoulder nonchalantly.
Stanley Sutton remained silent the entire time. He couldn’t shake the feeling that ever since No. 1 had changed her mask, she gave off an indescribable aura.
...
Walking into the cafeteria, they saw everyone stuffing their faces, clearly savoring every bite.
Yvonne Lowell had ordered catering from outside today. It was a well-balanced meal with meat and vegetable dishes, including several impressive main courses.
Moreover, she had ordered enough food for sixty grown men. The main goal was to ensure there was more than enough for everyone.
Theodore Zane’s eyes lit up when he saw the food on their plates, and he hurried to grab a portion for himself.
"Oh my god, they even have chicken legs and pork knuckles! Instructor, you’re my hero!"
But just as he was about to dig in, he froze and looked at Yvonne Lowell warily.
"Instructor, this is so out of character, there must be a catch. This isn’t our last meal, is it?"
’Heh, I wonder who it was that said they were going to stop making ominous predictions.’
Yvonne Lowell let out a fake laugh. "That’s right. It’s poisoned. Eat up so you can be on your way."
Since she’d said it so bluntly, he knew she was joking.
"Whatever. Even if I die, Old Man Dawson here is going to die on a full stomach."
With that, he dug in.
Seeing that they were all eating, Yvonne Lowell grabbed a meal for herself and sat at an empty table in the corner.
Just as she opened her food container, a gruff male voice boomed from the doorway.
"Well now, look at you all, eating pretty good, huh?"