As everyone knew, this so-called graduation ceremony was, in essence, the principal's personal "speech show."
Passion on the stage, drowsiness off the stage.
The script probably hadn't changed in ten years.
Things like "The youth are the hope of The Federation" and "Hard work is the only path to the future"—each sentence more sleep-inducing than the last.
Even the rustling of wind through the flags sounded more spirited than the applause.
But the torture didn't last long before a new one began.
Outstanding student representatives went on stage one by one, speaking in firm tones, with flawless diction and perfectly structured content that could be printed directly into a "Model Reader."
The entire field fell into collective drowsiness.
Yan and the others felt the same. They even regretted—had they known it would be like this, they would've slept ten more minutes.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ban was standing right behind them, his gaze sharp as a blade, making even a yawn feel like an act of rebellion.
Just then, the broadcast sounded: "Will the representative of Class Four—Yuqing Su—please come to the stage."
Almost instantly, the three of them looked up together.
"Oh—" Mausen smirked, giving Yi Lin a knowing glance.
Yan also grinned, leaning over to whisper, "Here comes the main character."
Yi Lin's attention was already glued to the stage, completely ignoring the two idiots beside him.
A short-haired, round-faced girl walked slowly onto the stage. The sunlight fell perfectly on her profile, outlining her in a soft halo.
Even in the loose school uniform, she couldn't hide that quiet brightness radiating from within—like adding a warm filter to an otherwise ordinary morning.
Yan and Mausen were standing farther out and could only see her outline clearly. But Yi Lin instinctively straightened his back, feeling even more nervous than the students on stage.
Yuqing Su accepted the microphone from the principal, bowed slightly, and spoke in a clear voice,"Respected principal, dear teachers, and fellow students—good morning, everyone."
Her tone was steady, her voice gentle.
"I am Yuqing Su from Class Four. It is an immense honor to stand here today as a representative of the graduating class—"
Her words spread across the entire field through the speakers. Yet for most students, it remained nothing more than a lullaby.
—including Yan and Mausen.
The F3 formation shifted from "completely awake" to "individual micro-naps" at record speed. Aside from Yi Lin, whose eyes sparkled with alertness, the other two had already fallen into the classic philosophical state:
"Who am I?"
"Where am I?"
"Why do I have to listen to this?"
A light breeze brushed across the field, lifting the edges of the flags.
The sky remained perfectly clear—though no one noticed the faint blue glow flickering ever so slightly within the distant clouds.
————————————
Finally, the long torture ended.
When the principal announced the conclusion of the ceremony, the entire crowd burst apart like freed prisoners. Applause, chatter, chairs scraping the ground—everything erupted at once, and even the air felt lighter.
Next came the small activities held by each class.
Naturally, this was something Yan and the other two would avoid if they could. Since Mr. Ban had gone off to greet other classes, the three seized the chance to slip out of formation and leaned against the railing at the edge of the field to chat.
In the middle of talking, Yi Lin suddenly froze.
In the distance, Yuqing Su was walking with two girls, laughing softly. Sunlight touched her hair, making her appear almost radiant.
Yi Lin jolted like he'd been struck by lightning, his eyes lighting up instinctively.
"Oh no—don't tell me you're gonna…" Mausen hadn't even finished speaking before Yi Lin took a small unconscious step forward.
Just then, a well-dressed boy approached Yuqing Su, walking alongside her and talking.
Yi Lin's steps halted. A surge of anxiety washed over him, and his fingers curled tightly.
Yan glanced at him, sighed, and kicked him lightly.
"Go if you're gonna go. What's with all the hesitation? You wanna remember these two seconds for the rest of your life?"
Yi Lin blinked, rubbed the spot where he was kicked, then took a deep breath. He looked at Yan, then nodded hard.
"Right. I can't be a coward."
Then he charged forward like a bull on adrenaline.
At that moment, the sun was blazing, and the wind was strong across the field.
He had only reached halfway when he saw the boy turn away with a faint expression of frustration and disappointment.
Yi Lin felt his chest loosen—confidence rising out of nowhere.
Yan watched from afar, then turned toward Mausen. He raised his chin slightly, signaling:Should we go over?
Mausen shook his head. "Nah. Watching someone socially crash—I'll definitely laugh."
Yan sighed helplessly and approached on his own.
When he got closer, he saw Yi Lin talking to Yuqing Su. The two stood a half-arm's length apart, the atmosphere surprisingly… natural.
Seeing this, Yan couldn't help shaking his head inwardly—Yeah, no chance.
Teenage boys were always like this—talk for two minutes and start thinking the girl liked them. And girls like Yuqing Su? If she truly had feelings, she wouldn't look this calm.
Such was the assessment of Mr. Yan, whose real romantic experience was precisely zero.
——Right then.
A low hum rang out from a distance.
The sound was extremely deep, like it emerged from the depths of the air before landing directly in one's ears. It resembled the dull resonance of a nuclear reactor beginning to stir in its coolant.
Yan froze and looked around.
He noticed everyone had stopped as well. Some frowned, some looked around, as though confirming whether they had imagined the noise.
Another hum.
This time, the sound had a clear location. Yan followed it with his eyes.
On the opposite side of the field, a faint blue light-screen rose silently. It rippled like water, covering the area where they had been standing earlier.
The crowd gasped. Students within the glowing boundary instinctively ran outward. A few bold ones leaned close to the edge of the light, peering curiously.
The light-screen spun violently.
Blue streaks stretched out across the air as if stirred by an invisible hand. In the blink of an eye, the center collapsed into a vortex.
The students closest to it didn't even have time to react before the force yanked them inward. Their bodies twisted and stretched in the blue light, disappearing without a trace.
Some people immediately took out their phones. Others frantically searched the crowd for familiar faces; teachers shouted to maintain order, but their voices were quickly drowned by growing panic.
"—Help! Somebody help!"
A student caught by the vortex screamed.
Several hot-blooded students instinctively rushed forward to pull those being dragged in. But the next second, they too were lifted off the ground as if seized by a giant invisible hand.
Arcing trails appeared in the dirt where their shoes scraped sideways. Even those who let go halfway were still swallowed by the blue light.
The entire process didn't last more than three seconds.
First came eerie silence.
Then—the explosion of terror.
"Run!!!"
"Move!!!"
Screams erupted everywhere. The crowd surged outward in chaos—shoving, colliding, falling. A student who was knocked down hadn't even gotten up before being buried under a tide of trampling feet.
The vortex continued expanding, and an inexplicable burnt smell spread in the air.
Those farther away hadn't even seen what happened; all they saw was the sudden collapse of the crowd—some rushing, some falling, most simply swept along by the wave.
And fear, like a plague, swept across the entire field in an instant.