Liu Xian stared at him, expression still blank. The boy's grin faltered slightly, but he pressed on.
"Sorry," he mumbled quickly, glancing down at his boots. "It's just… you seemed like the only one here close to my age."
That made Liu Xian raise an eyebrow.
Close to his age?
He didn't say anything, just looked at the kid—and then at his own reflection on the glossy black wall to the right. Gaunt, pale skin. Hollowed-out cheeks. Shadowed eyes. Thin frame.
Yeah.
Okay.
With the state he was in, he couldn't blame the kid for assuming he was also fresh out of middle school.
But he still didn't correct the boy.
He didn't say a single word.
He just turned back around and started walking again.
The kid blinked, confused for a second, then his expression lit up again and he quickly rushed to keep up beside him.
"I came from District Twelve," B67 continued, not at all put off by the silence. "I was scouted six months ago but they only brought me here today. Everyone else looked too serious. Or too scary. But you—you looked different."
Liu Xian didn't answer. His mind was drifting again. Past the curved corridor walls and the strange floating lights above them. Past the steady clatter of boots and murmurs of students. Past the taste of acid that lingered in his throat after recovery.
"I've never even fought before," B67 went on. "But I heard we'll be grouped into teams. Five people. Isn't that cool? Like a real hero squad. I hope I get strong teammates. No offense or anything."
Still no response.
The hallway was wide and sterile, lined with smooth grey walls. The ceiling was high and domed, with countless drones buzzing silently above like mechanical bats, always watching. Always recording.
At the far end, the corridor opened into an expansive cafeteria.
If it could even be called that.
This wasn't like any school cafeteria Liu Xian had ever seen. The place looked more like a futuristic mess hall mixed with a sleek corporate lounge.
Metallic tables. Long food stations staffed by emotionless workers in white suits and visors. The scent of antiseptic still clung to everything, mixed with the sterile, bland aroma of lab-engineered food packs.
The students filtered in slowly, still quiet.
Liu Xian grabbed a tray, moving through the line in silence. The food was a dull grey mash, probably packed with nutrients, proteins, mana stabilizers, and zero taste. He scooped some onto his plate without much thinking.
B67 was right beside him, chatting still. "That older guy who gave the orientation? He was terrifying. I couldn't even breathe when he looked at me. He kinda reminded me of this mean instructor from the orphanage. Always staring through you like he knows your blood type and crimes you haven't committed yet."
Liu Xian gave a single short exhale through his nose.
They reached a table at the edge of the hall, farthest from the guards and the drone stations. Liu Xian slid into a seat, hunched over, picking slowly at the paste-like food. B67 plopped down across from him with a smile that just wouldn't quit.
"Do you think we'll be in the same team?" he asked hopefully, stabbing his fork into the food with a little too much enthusiasm. "I mean, even if we're not, we'll probably still run into each other in the field tests, right? They said there's gonna be portals and monsters and stuff. I read that gem drops are important for our ranks. Do you know anything about gems?"
Liu Xian said nothing. But this time, it was because he didn't know jack shit about this place, other than the fact that it was filled with deranged psychos.
His lips curled into a tiny smirk—barely noticeable. He shoved another spoonful of bland paste into his mouth.
For a while, they ate in silence—well, as silent as things could get with B67 still mumbling random nonsense to himself between bites.
It was annoying.
But oddly… grounding.
The noise dulled the chaos in his head. Just a little.
They sat at the very edge of the long cafeteria, away from the center tables that were quickly filling up with new students.
Liu Xian was chewing his last spoonful of nutrient sludge when, out of nowhere, he heard his own voice leave his lips—slow, dry, like it had to crawl out of a collapsed cave to get there.
"How did you know about the school?"
The words hit the table between them with a thud. B67 looked up, blinking rapidly as if surprised Liu Xian had actually spoken.
"Oh! Uh…" The boy dropped his spoon, wiped his hands on his pants, and straightened up a bit. "They told us back at the orphanage."
Liu Xian raised an eyebrow, leaning back slightly. "Orphanage?"
"Yeah. I grew up in one. Still kinda lived there before they brought me here. District Twelve Orphanage." The kid rubbed the back of his neck. "We weren't allowed to leave or anything, but the caretakers always said, if we were lucky—" his voice twisted around the word "lucky" like it tasted sour, "—we'd get sent here someday. That it was our duty."
Liu Xian's eyes narrowed.
Duty?
What a funny word.
"So, they knew you were… like this," Liu Xian said quietly, tapping a finger on his collar.
"Oh yeah. All the kids in the orphanage were Awakeneds. Every last one. It was like… built for us, I think. Some of the older ones used to say we were 'rescued' from families that didn't want us or couldn't handle us. Some were born in the camps. Some—" he paused, eyes dropping to the tray, "—well, some just kinda showed up one day."
"Showed up?" Liu Xian asked.
"Yeah," B67 nodded. "I don't remember much, but the caretakers said I was found outside the barrier one night. Covered in blood, apparently." He gave a sheepish smile. "Probably killed my parents or something. Classic awakened story, right?"
Liu Xian didn't laugh.
Because it wasn't funny.
Not even fucking close.
The boy chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Dark humor."
Liu Xian's eyes stayed cold.
"It wasn't really like a home," B67 continued, fidgeting with his spoon. "More like a holding pen. White walls. Locked doors. Lessons on control and obedience. Told us stories about Awakeneds that went crazy. How they burned down cities. Killed their own families. Stuff like that."
He gave Liu Xian a look, like he was checking to see if he was still listening.
"And then they'd say: But you're lucky. Because one day, you'll be chosen to go to the Academy. Where you'll become a Hero." B67 lifted his fingers in air quotes, grinning again, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Liu Xian slowly looked around the hall again.
The rows of students sitting like ghosts.
"Some fucking hero factory," he muttered under his breath.
B67 snorted. "Right?"
The boy looked down at his half-eaten meal, stirring the gray mush around like it held answers.
"I always wondered…" he said after a moment. "If we're so dangerous… why raise us? Why not just… y'know. Wipe us out?"
Liu Xian didn't respond.
He went back to staring at the wall, his tray empty, stomach twisting from the synthetic meal. The lights above buzzed faintly, casting a weird glow over the hall. A bell rang faintly overhead—a mechanical chime with no soul behind it.
"Guess that means lunch is over," B67 muttered, grabbing his tray.
Liu Xian stood without a word.
"You coming?" the boy asked.
Liu Xian nodded once.
They dumped their trays at the return station. Drones scanned them silently. Lights blinked.
The rest of the recruits were already lining up again, forming small clusters.
B67 walked quietly alongside Liu Xian, his voice softer now. "Mind if I stay close for a while?" he asked. "I might not show it, but I'm scared."
Liu Xian hasitated for a moment before breathing out, "Sure."