Chapter 23:Man down on the left field

Homeroom started like a sluggish beast finally roused. The teacher took roll call, name by name, until she reached mine.

"Fan Yumei?"

A pause.

The teacher looked up from her roster. "You're new. Introduce yourself to the class."

I stood without hesitation. Lufei shifted slightly in my lap, and Maxius peeked one eye open from where he rested on my shoulder, still playing lazily with a strand of my hair.

"I'm Fan Yumei. Awakening type: soul functions and Elemental Caller. Professions: Beastmaster, Beast Healer, and Rune Master—awakened last week. Six-star license holder."

It was brief. Direct. Military.

As whispers broke out across the classroom, I calmly lifted my hand and tapped the face of my Federation-issued license ring. A soft, metallic pulse of qi rippled outward, projecting a thin blue hologram beside me.

[Fan Yumei | Dual Core | Triple Profession | Six-Star Rank]

Professions: Beastmaster, Beast Healer, Rune Master

Class License: Federation Certified – A+

The teacher's brows lifted slightly. She leaned forward for a better look, then gave a small, approving nod before returning to her roster.

The silence that followed was brief—a vacuum before the buzz came crashing back.

"She said six-star?"

"No way a mortal-born hit six stars in one week."

"Wait—wait, isn't that the girl from the registration center? The one with the whale?"

"Oh crap, yeah. The one who nearly flattened Feiyan with that tail flick?"

Laughter rippled through a cluster of students in the back, low and biting.

"She didn't even move, bro. Just said the beast's name and whoosh—Feiyan went flying."

"I heard she talks to her beasts like they're people."

"She named that cloud monster Mystic. That's some freak behavior right there."

"Her eagle beast is incomplete. One wing's phantom. Poor girl. Beast probably won't live long."

Another sharp laugh. Cruel. Like kids dissecting a myth they couldn't understand.

Maxius's grip on my braid tightened. I reached up and patted him gently without missing a beat on my rune theory worksheet.

I hadn't asked him yet why comments about his wings hit so deep. But I would. When we had the space, I'd ask properly. Because I knew—something was there. Something tender beneath his cool-eyed precision.

"Don't mind them," I murmured. "They can't see what matters."

Maxius leaned into my palm. His left wing was folded neat against my shoulder, feathers fluffed with irritation. The other… was invisible. Not missing. Just—beyond the eye.

But it was there. I'd felt it. Once, during a field drill, when he shielded me from a blast. A ripple of pressure. A wing.

Lufei blinked slowly, tail flicking. She didn't stir from her nap across my lap. Regal as ever.

I didn't flinch. Just calmly flipped to the first assignment page. Rune theory today—not math. I scribbled down ward activation script while pretending not to hear the girl whisper to her desk partner:

"She probably trained it to do that. You know. Sickos always start with animals."

I smiled politely. Didn't look up.

Lufei's antlers shimmered faintly. Maxius paused mid-tug, feathers twitching. They didn't lash out.

They didn't need to.

The pressure was enough.

A hush crept back in like fog.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the only person who hadn't moved was the boy with the unreadable face. He hadn't laughed. Hadn't whispered. Just… watched.

And when I met his eyes, I didn't see judgment.

Just curiosity.

So I nodded once.

Then went back to scribbling rune script like I hadn't just been called a freak.

Because freaks survive longer.

And I had no intention of dying normal.

⸻

Lufei curled across my lap, breathing soft and steady, while Maxius resumed his hair-braiding routine. I scribbled through the rune theory section when the chair beside me scraped.

I didn't glance up.

That desk had been empty since roll call—everyone too afraid to sit near the "mortal trash miracle."

But this time… someone sat down.

I flicked my eyes over.

It was him. The boy from earlier. Calm face. No expression.

I said nothing. Just reached into my space bracelet and pulled out a pack of roasted nut crisps and dried spiritfruit. One for me, one for Maxius, one for Lufei.

A small snack pile bloomed between our paperwork and rune notes.

The atmosphere shifted—quiet, oddly grounded. The teacher glanced our way, clearly surprised at how focused I was—and how my soul beasts didn't disrupt anything. She nodded. Returned to her notes.

Maxius, unprompted, hopped down, grabbed the wrappers, marched to the bin, and returned like a tiny soldier.

I opened a pouch of sugar crisps—then felt it.

That stare.

You know the kind. Burn-through-your-skull kind.

I tried to ignore it.

But it felt familiar. Like "Little Foodie"—a young lieutenant from my old barricade who could detect snacks during a blackout op.

My skin prickled. I turned.

Sure enough—the boy.

Still deadpan. Still silent. But his eyes? Starving.

Right on cue, his stomach growled.

Loud.

He didn't even blink. Just kept chewing air like he hadn't been caught.

I smothered a chuckle.

With a sigh, I held out an unopened snack bag.

He blinked. Flinched. Ears pink. Then took it with a stiff nod.

We ate in silence.

Two weirdos in a bubble of crumbs and apathy.

Somehow, it worked.

⸻

The peace lasted until the PE instructor clapped loud enough to rattle the floor.

"Alright! Field training—outside! Move it!"

The guy looked like he bench-pressed meteors.

We were split into two groups—boys and girls—then escorted to change into standard micro-light armor: full-body training suits, adaptive to qi flow and terrain. Not bulky like old models. These were sleek—Federation-issued, AI-linked, and monitored for core pressure output.

As we walked, Lufei's hooves clinked gently. Maxius curled into my hood like a smug feather-ball. I glanced behind me.

The boy? Still there. Munching.

Didn't know his name yet.

But I had a feeling…

This wouldn't be our last field together.

⸻

Later (Third-Person Insert)

Fan Yumei stopped abruptly on the way to the training grounds.

Lufei perked up. Maxius peeked out from her shoulder. Behind her, the boy nearly collided into her back.

She turned. Calm. Direct.

"Name?"

He blinked, unsure—then tapped his Federation ring against his palm.

[Jin Minhe | Dual Core | Double Profession | Six-Star Rank]

Awakened: Healer and Elemental Caller

Professions: Healer, Refiner

Class License: Federation Certified – A+

Yumei whistled low. "Healer and Caller? And a Refiner? Rare."

She offered her fist.

He flinched. Then bumped it.

Contact: brief. Solid. A six-star acknowledgment.

She smiled.

Too bright.

Jin Minhe watched her walk away, Lufei trotting beside her, Maxius like a crown on her shoulder.

Expression unreadable.

But something in his gut shifted.

That smile had felt… wrong.

Not bad. Just… planned.

What he didn't know?

Fan Yumei had already filed him under a new category:

"Potential Sparring Partner – Bribable via Snacks."

She pegged him in three seconds flat—grumbly stomach, snack behavior, body tempo. She was already plotting how to rope him into weekly sparring sessions with honey-dried fruit and nut crisps.

Fan Yumei had seen his type before.

A battle-capable foodie.

And now?

He was officially on her radar.