"This is just the cheap food ordinary people eat when they're hungry. I don't know if you'll mind it."
Yu Jing figured Yu Xiao's uncommon background meant she had probably never seen something as lowly as instant noodles before. Even he felt a little embarrassed to offer it.
"It's fine, as long as it fills my stomach."
Yu Jing took a cup of Kang Shuaibo's braised beef instant noodles out of his suitcase. Yu Xiao held the cup in her hands, shaking it curiously—it didn't look anything like the steaming bowls of noodles she was used to.
"This needs hot water to cook. There doesn't seem to be any hot water here. How about we go outside to find some?"
"I'm eating here. Absolutely no going outside! My mother is out there—if she sees you next to me, she'll kill you… I'll find a way to heat the water. Give me your water."
Yu Xiao's serious expression deepened as she took out a special white stone and a glass container from a ring on her finger. Yu Jing watched carefully but didn't ask any questions yet.
With a simple rub of her finger, the white stone ignited, heating the mineral water inside the glass container. The rest of the preparation was left to Yu Jing.
Soon, a steaming bowl of instant noodles was handed to Yu Xiao.
"Smells so good!"
Yu Xiao ate the noodles without caring about appearances, even drinking every last drop of broth after just a few bites. Yu Jing didn't pay much attention to how she ate; instead, he poured a large bottle of mineral water into his mouth to replenish the fluids his body and the plant within his arm needed.
After finishing, Yu Xiao blushed slightly at her own impoliteness, then handed Yu Jing the empty noodle cup along with a small stack of red bills.
"This is for the noodles, and your bowl."
"That's way too much. A cup of instant noodles at the convenience store under my building only costs five yuan… Besides, the noodle cup can be thrown away after eating."
Yu Jing took the cup and set it aside, naturally refusing to take the money.
"Only five yuan? I've never eaten something so cheap and tasty before. Thank you. Otherwise, I'd be too hungry and weak. Mom said tonight's physical training will be pretty tough, so I should take it seriously."
Yu Jing had been observing Yu Xiao carefully as she spoke—her words, her subtle eye movements—all gave off a pure, innocent vibe. He'd never seen such a genuinely naive girl before. In his eyes, people in society nowadays rarely had that kind of "pure innocence."
He smiled and replied, "You're welcome. I have plenty of spare instant noodles here."
Yu Xiao paused thoughtfully for a moment, then changed the subject to the training.
"Start with me at midnight. Otherwise, you'll probably die if you go alone."
"…Okay."
Yu Jing nodded immediately, still a little stunned. Yu Xiao spoke so casually about "dying," as if it were nothing unusual. Also, Yu Jing wasn't just trying to latch onto someone stronger—he found himself attracted to Yu Xiao's personality and appearance.
"Don't contact anyone else after this. Everyone here has their own agenda. They're different from you."
"Yeah, I know."
Yu Jing nodded, waiting quietly with Yu Xiao. Of course, he noticed many people nearby casting glances and whispering. They kept their distance out of fear of Yu Xiao. Yu Jing could roughly guess what the murmurs were about.
Leaning against the wall, Yu Jing rested a bit, waiting for the briefing on the physical training.
"Who is this guy? How does he know the Yu family's junior so well?"
"I heard from Jiang Pengyu of the Jiang family just now—this guy is from the District 19 research institute. Rumor has it that the Yu family's entire power base is hidden within District 19. Maybe this kid has some ties to them."
...
Many here knew, more or less, about the so-called "Yu family," and so Yu Jing's close conversation and behavior with Yu Xiao drew much gossip.
Yu Jing, however, paid no mind to the surrounding whispers, quietly waiting for all the newcomers to arrive and for the training to begin.
"Why didn't you put your suitcase into your points card storage space? Everyone's points card should have activated storage, though it's pretty small. Next time I'll bring you a storage ring from home."
"Storage ring?" Yu Jing immediately connected it to the ring Yu Xiao wore on her finger, the one she had just used to release various materials.
"You don't know how to use something like this yet, do you? The points card should be bound to you. Just bring it close to the item you want to store and confirm on the card. To retrieve items, simply select them from the card's menu."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
Yu Jing had avoided asking what seemed like basic questions because he didn't want others to think he was a country bumpkin and look down on him.
Since Yu Xiao had volunteered the explanation, Yu Jing gave it a try, bringing the card close to his suitcase.
Sure enough, as they made contact, a prompt appeared floating above the card: "Store this item?" After confirming, the suitcase was particle-ized and absorbed. The card displayed "2.25/3," meaning there were still 2.25 cubic meters of storage space remaining.
"Such advanced technology... This 'built-in storage space' wasn't mentioned anywhere in the textbooks."
As time passed, more newcomers arrived to register, some clearly not ordinary, while others, like Yu Jing, came from small towns knowing very little.
With several hours left, Yu Jing simply sat against the wall, resting in a half-asleep state to keep his energy at its best.
"Beep! Registration for the new term has ended. Expected arrivals: 820. Actual registrations: 815. Unregistered individuals will be removed. The preliminary preparations for the new trainee physical training will begin shortly. This training will be organized by Commissioner Lu Chuan."
The loud announcement echoed throughout the abandoned building, immediately waking all the resting newcomers—including Yu Jing.
At that moment, a man walked in from the main entrance. He appeared to be just over thirty, dressed formally and handsome. Yu Jing noticed the man's left arm was a mechanical prosthetic, unlike any other.
"Is that Commissioner Lu Chuan from the Mechanical Academy? I heard he was a graduate from our last batch, ranking third overall, and stayed on as a commissioner. Didn't expect him to be this good-looking."
"Commissioner Lu Chuan, it's really Commissioner Lu Chuan."
Many trainees from the Mechanical Academy—and even other academies—recognized the name.
"He's a formidable person. They say he could kill over 800 people here in less than ten seconds. I wonder how he compares to my mother."
Yu Xiao, standing beside Yu Jing, described this commissioner's prowess bluntly as 'killing people.'