Journey Through Dimensional Worlds

Chapter 24 The school is surrounded!

As the morning light fell on the playground of Tianwangzhou Middle School, students walked into the school gate in twos and threes, their laughter and conversations mingling together.

He Quan walked ahead, the sleeves of his dark tracksuit rolled up to his elbows. Yuzuriha Inori followed beside him, her school uniform skirt swaying gently in the morning breeze. Ayase and Tsugumi lagged half a step behind.

Tsugumi's gaze darted back and forth between He Quan's retreating figure and Yuzuriha Inori several times. She had sensed something was off when she left home this morning; the atmosphere between He Quan and Ayase was strange.

I can't quite put my finger on what's strange, but Ayase-nee looked at He Quan more often than yesterday.

That pervert must have done something again.

Thrush gritted her teeth inwardly.

About half an hour after the school bell rang, the school was surrounded.

An armored personnel carrier lay across the middle of the road, its dark gray body painted with the GHQ logo, and the machine gun on its roof gleamed coldly in the morning light.

Armed soldiers stood in two rows, their guns pointed at the school gate.

Two armed helicopters flew low over the top of the teaching building, the roar of their rotors drowning out all other sounds.

The entire Tianwangzhou Middle School was completely surrounded.

The thrush's pupils contracted sharply.

"Ayase-nee."

"I saw it."

Ayase's voice was low. Her gaze swept over the number of armored vehicles, the soldiers' positions, and the altitude of the helicopters.

There were no available escape routes; they were surrounded.

Yuzuriha Inori raised her head, her deep red eyes gazing at the cold muzzles of guns outside the school gate.

Suddenly, the classroom loudspeaker came on.

Good morning to all teachers and students of Tianwangzhou Middle School.

A gentle male voice, speaking politely as if giving a morning address.

Hush Realm Baruz Makoto stood atop the makeshift command vehicle, microphone in hand. He was a Major in the GHQ Antibody Unit, the overall commander of this operation.

His white military uniform was spotless, his short purple hair was neatly combed, and a smile that was hard to describe hung at the corner of his mouth.

He has a long, thin old scar below his left eye, which curves slightly when he smiles, like a dried-up riverbed.

"I am Major Hush of the GHQ Antibody Unit. I am here today because of a student. Yuzuriha Inori, Class 2-A."

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

All eyes turned to the window seat, to that pale pink figure.

"This student is not actually a student. She is a member of the terrorist organization Funeral Parlor and broke into the GHQ laboratory a few days ago, stealing an important research sample. We are here today to arrest her."

The classroom erupted in chaos.

"A terrorist organization?"

"Yuzuriha Inori?"

"That can't be..."

"She looked so quiet..."

Kusama Kanon covered her mouth, her eyes wide open. Tamaki Sota dropped his notebook, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

Han Chuan Gu Xun leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowed.

Shu Ouma sat in a window seat.

Yuzuriha Inori, a terrorist.

He couldn't match the two words together no matter what he tried.

But what troubled him even more was another thought.

What will Yuzuriha Inori do if the GHQ tries to capture her?

The voice on the radio was different; it was younger, more resonant, and filled with an irrepressible excitement.

"There's one more thing."

Daryl Young stood atop another armored vehicle, a walkie-talkie in his hand, his short, light blond hair a tangled mess in the wind whipped up by the rotor blades. His mouth was stretched wide, like a hunting dog that had finally found its prey.

"That PE teacher at your school, what's his name again? He Quan. He took in a terrorist, arranged for her to enroll, and concealed her identity. That's no small mistake."

He paused, then his laughter deepened: "I'm going to execute him on the spot."

"Impossible! Teacher He Quan definitely didn't know! He's been fooled!"

Some people echoed, and voices rose and fell.

"Teacher He Quan would never do such a thing!"

"There must be some mistake!"

"Where is the teacher? Let the teacher explain themselves!"

The noise in the classroom grew louder and louder.

But the soldiers at the door remained motionless, their guns still pointed at the corridor.

Darliru stood on the roof of the car, the wind blowing his clothes.

He looked at the students in the teaching building, who were passionately defending themselves, and the corners of his mouth curved up even wider.

That's it. The way they desperately try to protect someone when they can't do anything about it is the most beautiful thing.

When that PE teacher is dragged out, pinned to the ground, and a gun is pressed against the back of his head, what will the students' expressions be like? Will they cry? Will they scream? Will they kneel down and beg him?

Daliru licked his lips. He couldn't wait any longer.

Ayase's fingers clenched tightly; GHQ was serious this time. It wasn't a routine check at the edge of the cordon, nor a small-scale operation by a patrol.

Armored vehicles, helicopters, the ultimate roar, fully armed soldiers. And she received no support whatsoever.

No EndRave, no weapons, no other Funeral Parlor teammates.

It was just her, Tsurugi, and a perverted teacher.

Tsugumi grabbed Yuzuriha Inori's wrist.

"Hide first. Go to the warehouse behind the teaching building and climb in through the window. You won't be discovered for now."

Yuzuriha Inori was pulled along by her for a couple of steps.

Then several soldiers came out from around the corner of the corridor.

The gun barrels were raised simultaneously.

The dark gun barrel was pointed at the three of them.

Thrush's hand froze in mid-air. Her mind raced. There was no time to climb out the window, and a forced entry was impossible.

She stared at the gun barrels, unable to think of anything.

A shot rang out.

Three swift and clean sounds, and the three soldiers fell to the ground almost simultaneously.

He Quan emerged from the corridor behind the soldiers, a silver-gray pistol in his hand. A wisp of smoke still rose from the muzzle. He tossed it aside, and the pistol vanished on its own.

Dong stared at the three corpses on the ground, then at He Quan, and then at the corpses again.

She angrily retorted, "You're just going to kill them like that? The gunshots will attract even more people!"

He Quan didn't answer. He walked up to Yuzuriha Inori and looked down at her. "Are you afraid at times like this?"

Yuzuriha Inori looked up, her deep red eyes reflecting his face. She thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know."

He Quan reached out and pulled her into his arms, one hand around her back and the other on the back of her head, with strands of light pink hair spilling out from between his fingers.

Yuzuriha Inori's face was pressed against his chest, and she could hear his steady and powerful heartbeat. Her eyes widened slightly.

He Quan said, "You were found by me, so you belong to me."

Yuzuriha Inori didn't speak, but her fingers curled slightly on the fabric of his back.

The thrush is getting anxious.

"What are you doing! GHQ is everywhere outside! Armored vehicles, helicopters, and an EndRave! Now is not the time to hug her! Get her and hide! I'll contact Gai and have them create a breach from the outside!"

He Quan turned to look at her, then reached out and pinched her cheek.

His fingertips touched her slightly warm skin, and his thumb gently rubbed against her cheekbone.

"Don't rush."

Tsurugi's face was slightly deformed by his pinching, and her lips pouted, like a cat whose neck was being pinched.

"Let me go!"

"What kind of time is this to be making a scene!"

He Quan released her hand, turned around, took Yuzuriha Inori's hand, and walked towards the end of the corridor.

In that direction of the playground, there's a Ultimate Roaring machine parked there.

Dong froze on the spot, then suddenly rushed forward, trying to stop He Quan.

He Quan led Yuzuriha Inori out of the main entrance of the teaching building.

The morning light streamed down from above, casting long shadows of the two people on the concrete ground.

A pure white Ultimate Roar was parked on the parade ground. It was about five meters tall, and its streamlined armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight. The propulsion wings on its back were folded into the shoulder blades, the high-frequency bayonet was folded inside the right arm armor, and the rapid-fire machine gun was mounted under the left arm.

The nozzles of the leg jump booster are slightly open in standby mode, resembling a crouching metal beast.

Sitting in the remote cockpit, Daliru was stunned for a moment when he saw He Quan leading Yuzuriha Inori out, and then he laughed.

"From the surrender?"

The voice blaring from the loudspeaker was laced with obvious excitement: "Too bad, even if you confess, it won't do you any good. I'll crush you into mincemeat, bit by bit, starting from your feet. Your expression will be quite a sight."

Xu Jie stood on the roof of the command vehicle, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand.

He did not order the soldiers to fire, but instead looked at He's entire body with a scrutinizing and amused expression.

The funeral home informed us that this physical education teacher was unusual.

He has the Void Genome in his possession. Has he injected it? If so, what kind of abilities will he exhibit?

If he hadn't received the injection, he would have just been an ordinary physical education teacher, and it wouldn't have been a pity for him to die here.

Hush tapped the edge of the walkie-talkie lightly with his finger: "Lieutenant Daril, have fun."

Inside the teaching building, all students were confined to their classrooms.

They crowded around the window, watching the figure on the playground leading the pink-haired girl toward the ultimate roar.

"Teacher He Quan... what is he going to do?"

"He wouldn't actually turn himself in, would he?"

"Is he insane?!"

"He'll die!"

Shu Ouma stood by the window, watching He Quan hold Yuzuriha Inori's hand and watch her walk beside him.

That tightness in my chest is back.

Teacher He Quan could take her hand and lead her towards a massive military mech.

He could only stand behind the window and watch.

On the playground.

Ayase rushed out, and Tsugumi ran behind her.

Tsugumi rushed over, grabbed He Quan's sleeve, and pulled him back forcefully: "Are you crazy!!! It's too late to turn yourself in now!!! Run!!! Take Yuzuriha Inori with you and run!!!"

He Quan glanced down at her, then released Yuzuriha Inori's hand.

The ultimate roar activated, the back thrusters deployed, and the leg jump boosters spewed orange-red tail flames, propelling the entire mech forward at a speed disproportionate to its size.

The high-frequency bayonet popped out from the inside of the right arm armor, the blade emitting a piercing buzzing sound as it vibrated at high speed.

The ground cracked under the mechanical feet, and fragments flew everywhere.

He Quan put one arm around Yuzuriha Inori's waist and pulled her into his arms. Then he disappeared.

Ayase's pupils contracted sharply. She couldn't see clearly. When she was driving the EndRave, she could track targets moving at high speeds, but at this moment she couldn't see anything at all.

There was only a blurry afterimage, like the remnant left after the air was torn apart.

It wasn't teleportation, it was just that the speed was too fast.

Once He Quanshuang's attributes reached 9.9, the speed he unleashed far exceeded the limits that could be perceived by the naked eye.

Once his physical attributes break through a certain threshold, an invisible protective layer naturally forms on the surface of his body, similar to a superhuman biofield.

It is not a skill that is actively activated, but a passive, constant force field that is as instinctive as breathing.

Bullets will deflect when they enter this range, the shockwave from the explosion will be repelled by the force field, and any physical attack below his physical tolerance limit will be weakened to almost zero before it even touches his skin.

He appeared directly in front of the Ultimate Roar.

Pull your right arm back and clench your fist.

A bio-force field converged at the point of his fist, and the air became viscous under the pressure of the force field, like an invisible film of water enveloping his fist.

Then he punched into the frontal armor of the Ultimate Roar.

The pure white armor plate was like a fragile eggshell in front of this punch. The force field tore through the molecular structure of the armor surface first, and the fist followed closely behind, penetrating into the machine's interior.

Before the high-frequency bayonet could even fall, it broke off along with the right arm armor. The barrel of the rapid-fire machine gun bent at an unnatural angle, and the chest armor was completely dented. Cracks spread in all directions from the point where the fist landed.

Sparks shot out from the crack, followed by the hiss of a hydraulic line bursting, and engine oil gushed out from the break.

The pure white body resembled a crushed soda can, collapsing inwards from the chest.

Tsugumi's hand was still gripping He Quan's sleeve. She looked at the Ultimate Roar, now a piece of scrap metal, not far away, and at He Quan, who was holding Yuzuriha Inori and standing in front of the scrap metal. Her mouth was open, but she couldn't say a word.

How did he do that?!

A fist? He smashed a military mech with his fist?!

Ayase watched He Quan's retreating figure, her eyes reflecting the firelight of the mecha.

Xu Jie stood on the roof of the command vehicle, his fingers tightening slightly as he gripped the walkie-talkie.

He looked at the Ultimate Roar that had been smashed to pieces with a single punch, and the usual smile on his lips vanished.

The Void Genome should not have this effect.

The intelligence he received from the funeral home mentioned He Quan's special abilities, but it didn't mention that he could smash an Ultimate Roar machine with a single punch.

"interesting."

The sound of his whispers was so faint that only he himself could hear it.

Ayase stared blankly at He Quan's back, watching him stand in front of the scrap metal, holding Yuzuriha Inori in his arms. The wind blew his black hair, and his clothes fluttered in the air currents.

Daryl was disconnected from the remote cockpit, his mind a little foggy. His fingers were still on the control stick, in a forward-pushing position, and he forgot to put them down.

Why did the screen suddenly go black?

Why did the connection drop?

What happened?

The last image before the screen went black was etched in his mind.

He Quan appeared directly in front of Ultimate Roar, his right arm pulled back. Then came a punch.

Hallucination?

He punched my mech to pieces?

Are you kidding me?!

On the other side, He Quan withdrew his fist. Yuzuriha Inori was still in his arms, her light pink hair blowing in the wind and brushing against the back of his hand.

She gazed at him with her deep red eyes, saying nothing, simply watching quietly.

The thrush finally regained its voice.

"You...you..."

She pointed at He Quan, then at the remains of the Ultimate Roar on the ground, gesturing back and forth several times, her whole being like an overloaded machine: "That mech, you punched it, just like that, and then it..."

"Um."

He Quansong released Yuzuriha Inori and reached out to ruffle Tsugumi's hair: "I told you not to rush, you're acting like an extra right now."

Dong's face flushed bright red instantly. Her brain short-circuited from the overload of information and embarrassment, and she blurted out, "What nonsense are you spouting? You're the extra!"

(End of this chapter)