pdf-ebookys 040 The Disappearance of the S-Class
040 The Disappearance of the S-Class
"Beep beep, beep beep"
Fingel rolled over on the top bunk, turned off his phone alarm, sat up, and shouted to the rising sun outside the window, "Good morning, Kassel!"
After saying that, he wiggled his buttocks a few more times, making the bed creak and groan.
"Today is the official exercise day for Operation Rock Solid. The 64 combat personnel jointly organized by the Student Council and the Lionheart Society completed all pre-battle deployments last night. The biggest highlight of this exercise is that the S-class, who has never appeared in a formal confrontation since entering the university, will play the role of the Dragon King alone, fighting against all 64. The Night Watchers Forum opened at midnight, and as of press time, when I am checking my phone now, the odds of betting on the S-class to defeat the entire field within 20 minutes have dropped to 1 to 1.3. The total turnover of forum coins has exceeded 8,000, breaking the historical record of the duel between Caesar of Freedom and Chu Zihang in one day!"
The dormitory was quiet; no one applauded the brilliant opening report. Fingel lay back down on the bed, did a few somersaults, and slammed the bed frame loudly.
"Professor Schneider personally served as the referee, the equipment department worked overnight to adjust the alchemical gravity field, and Professor Guderian declared that he would conduct real-time sampling of the power fluctuations on site. Do you know what this means? It means that all the professors and students in the school will be crowding onto the east playground this morning, and everyone's eyes will be focused on one person."
"Bang," "Bang," "Bang." Fingel's fist hardened, and he slammed it against the bed board a few more times.
"And at the heart of all this is the man who made 8,000 forum coins circulate aimlessly, who got 64 people up early to prepare for battle, and who made two university student leaders join forces for the first time ever, just to challenge him—"
"Still fast asleep!" Fingel, leaning against the railing and hanging upside down from the upper bunk, half his body dangling over the edge, exclaimed. "He has absolutely no regard for the entire school and all the faculty and staff—"
"Huh? Not here?"
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Kassel College training ground, 8:45 a.m.
Sixty-four students, fully armed, stood in formation in the center of the playground. Caesar and Chu Zihang stood at the front of the formation, making final adjustments to a drill plan.
"Your assault team will enter from the northwest, while my pincer movement will compress from the southeast and due south flanks, leaving an opening for him to observe his reaction." Caesar gestured on the map, "In the previous sand table simulation, the third round that came closest to success occurred when the window appeared during the gap in the Dragon King team's repositioning."
"That's because there were twelve people playing the Dragon King, and their teamwork wasn't good enough," Chu Zihang said. "Lu Mingfei's portrayal of the Dragon King didn't have this weakness."
"I've considered that, I plan to..."
On the exercise field, sixty-four people, their protective gear strapped on, adjusted their communication headsets, their expressions a mixture of tension and eagerness. Last week, these two teams were still clashing against each other; now, dressed in identical combat uniforms, they stood on the same front line, waiting for the same person.
Everything is ready now, except for the Dragon King himself.
At nine o'clock sharp, Lu Mingfei did not appear.
Several students craned their necks to look towards the entrance to the playground in the queue, but were silenced by their respective squad leaders' glances.
"He's late." Chu Zihang glanced at his watch.
"He's waging psychological warfare," Caesar said. "We're simulating the awakening of the Dragon King, but when the Dragon King awakens isn't up to humans."
He scanned the ranks and said to everyone, "The exercise has now begun. Lu Mingfei wants to make us anxious and wear down our morale. We can't fall into his trap. Everyone warm up and be ready to face the Dragon King's attack!"
"Schneider! Did you see that? S-level tactical awareness!" Guderian exclaimed from the stands. "The actual competition hasn't even started yet, and he's already wearing down his opponents' psychological resources! Being late is a form of suppression in itself. He made sixty-four people accumulate anxiety while waiting, so by the time he finally appeared, everyone's mental state had already passed its peak! From a psychological perspective, this is called—"
"Exactly," Schneider interrupted him, "classic pre-game pressure."
Guderian had prepared a complete chain of arguments from Pavlov to the psychology of verbal tactics, but unexpectedly, Schneider agreed with his views this time.
Hearing positive feedback about Lu Mingfei from Schneider was even more exciting for him than Guderian being awarded a tenured professorship. He had already drafted an academic paper in his mind, titled "A Brief Analysis of Tactical Innovation and Psychological Game in Operation Rock".
At 9:25, Lu Mingfei still hadn't arrived, and low murmurs began to ripple through the exercise area.
"Why hasn't the S-rank arrived yet?"
"Could it be that they're too scared to come?"
"Are you kidding me? Even the equipment department can't measure his defense limit, what is he afraid of?"
"Is he afraid of society?"
Caesar's gaze swept across the queue and finally found Fingel hiding at the back, trying to make himself inconspicuous.
"Finger".
Fingel flinched. "Here!"
"Where is Lu Ming, who is not human?"
Fingel's expression shifted from grief and indignation to deep regret, and finally, he slapped his thigh in exasperation, saying:
"Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman!"
"Last night—no," Fingel exclaimed, "at 1:30 this morning, that Russian woman knocked on the door and called our poor S-class out. She's gone forever. I woke up this morning to find his bed empty and the blankets cold! Ladies and gentlemen, S-class, he stood us up!"
A commotion broke out in the queue. After all the speculation that everyone had, it turned out that Lu Mingfei really wasn't coming!
The boys exchanged knowing glances, while one girl muttered under her breath, "I knew it," her tone ambiguous, whether it was sour or annoyed.
Guderian glanced awkwardly at Schneider. He had just been explaining S-class tactical psychology to Schneider, and even had the paper title ready. Turns out, his S-class wasn't about psychological warfare; it was about running off with his girlfriend.
Schneider's expression remained calm, without any sarcasm. It was probably the kind of "I knew it" reaction that comes from someone who has seen too many absurd things and then witnesses another absurdity.
"Alright." Caesar raised his hand, silencing the whispers in the ranks.
"Refusing a lady's late-night invitation is unforgivable, and Lu Mingfei made the right choice."
Several people almost burst out laughing.
"Since S-rank is absent, today's exercise will revert to the original plan." Caesar turned to face everyone. "Red Plan, Percy, you lead a group to impersonate the Dragon King. The pincer movement will remain unchanged from last time, and the medical team will be supplemented with one person."
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Nono stood on the referee's stand, finished recording the last piece of data from the exercise, and closed the writing board.
She didn't say much today.
Caesar asked her if she wanted the referee rules adjusted, but she said no. Susie handed her water and casually remarked, "S-class is really quite the ladies' man," but she didn't reply.
After the exercise, Caesar and Chu Zihang reviewed the proceedings with Professor Schneider, and the students dispersed in twos and threes.
Nono sat in the referee's chair and took out her phone.
Lu Mingfei's chat window was still stuck the day before yesterday afternoon. He asked her for the referee rules document for the exercise, she sent a link, and he replied "Received".
But now, at 1:30 a.m., there was no knocking on the door, and he went out and didn't come back.
There's no need to profile this; hundreds of people in the entire school could give the same answer.
Someone was laughing, and the wind carried the laughter over. Nono looked up and saw several combat enthusiasts wielding shields and greatswords, sparring with each other and laughing. The sound of carbon fiber shields clashing against each other echoed across the playground.
She told him on the playground that day, "You have a special attraction for me."
Lu Mingfei is gone, but Nuonuo still misses him.