NOVEL WEB Chapter 148 - The Reason
After a seven-day break, Zhuang Huaiya returned to school, shocking many people.
“You, Zhuang Huaiya, did you take the Martial Artist Potential Enhancement Potion?” Tony was the first to rush over and ask Zhuang Huaiya.
As one of the two male members of the Phantom Squad, Zhuang Huaiya and Tony’s relationship had improved even further.
Tony, who was in the same class, dormitory, and battle team as Zhuang Huaiya, was well aware of Zhuang Huaiya’s progress over the past month.
He knew that under normal circumstances, it would take Zhuang Huaiya one or two years to advance to Level 5.
However, Zhuang Huaiya had just reached the peak of Level 4 ten days ago, and after a seven-day break, his cultivation had skyrocketed to the early stage of Level 5 as if propelled by a missile, and his foundation seemed stable.
Without needing to guess, Tony knew the only reason for Zhuang Huaiya’s sudden jump to Level 5 was that he had taken the risk of using the Martial Artist Potential Enhancement Potion and succeeded.
Tony wasn’t interested in exploring why Zhuang Huaiya took that risk or how the Zhuang family could afford such a large sum of credit coins to buy the enhancement potion. His main concern was how Zhuang Huaiya had managed to safely navigate the danger period.
According to Tony’s understanding of the Zhuang family’s finances, they could at most afford to buy low-grade Martial Artist Potential Enhancement Potions.
Everyone knew that the success rate of low-grade enhancement potions was only seventy percent, which was twenty percent lower than the ninety percent success rate of high-grade enhancement potions.
Tony’s family background, while better than the Zhuang family’s, was only slightly better; at most, they could barely afford to buy mid-level Martial Artist Potential Enhancement Potions with an eighty percent success rate.
Zhuang Huaiya was also aware of Tony’s financial situation. Hearing Tony’s question, he didn’t know how to respond.
Should he tell Tony that his family had recently become wealthy due to Mai Dongzi, and that his father was especially willing to spend money on him, so he had used a high-level Martial Artist Potential Enhancement Potion?
But if he didn’t clarify, Zhuang Huaiya feared that Tony might take risks because of his success.
“I had someone assist me, which allowed me to get through the danger period safely. The process was really painful,” Zhuang Huaiya finally said vaguely.
“Can you tell me who assisted you? How did they help you?” Tony became even more interested upon hearing this.
Zhuang Huaiya was not foolish; he wouldn’t mention that it was Mai Dongzi who had assisted him in getting through the danger period without first asking her.
Not only could Tony guess that Zhuang Huaiya had taken the enhancement potion, but all the students in the first-year elite class of the Command Department had also figured it out.
However, only the members of the Phantom Squad privately asked Zhuang Huaiya about it.
Zhuang Huaiya was not inclined to explain too much to them. His cousin had been out training for the past few days, and he hadn’t been able to contact her. He had a persistent uneasy feeling.
Especially today, when everyone had returned to school, he still couldn’t get through to his cousin via the flying message. He sent her a message, but she didn’t respond at all.
Therefore, after returning to school, Zhuang Huaiya rushed to the Phantom Squad’s training room, practicing while waiting for Mai Dongzi.
The other members of the Phantom Squad were stimulated by Zhuang Huaiya’s promotion to level five. Seeing that he immediately dove into the training room upon returning to school, they followed suit and started training together.
At first, only Zhuang Huaiya was worried about Mai Dongzi’s late arrival, but gradually, the others also sensed that something was off.
Especially since the school had ordered them to return in the morning, returning after noon would be considered late, and they would have points deducted.
But even in the afternoon, there was still no sign of Mai Dongzi returning. The few members of the Phantom Squad took turns trying to contact her, but the response was always that she was unreachable.
Zhuang Huaiya couldn’t help but ask Instructor Fang, only to learn that Mai Dongzi had taken a two-day leave of absence.
“This situation isn’t right. Even if she took a leave, she shouldn’t be unreachable. Normally, when we can’t get through on our flying messages, it could only mean two things: either the school has forcibly disconnected it, or she’s in the treatment pod,” Chen Xinhe said.
Zhuang Huaiya looked at Chen Xinhe sensitively and asked, “What do you mean by that? Do you know something?”
“No, I’m just making a guess,” Chen Xinhe replied.
Zhuang Huaiya didn’t believe Chen Xinhe’s words because while she said one thing, her expression clearly indicated that she knew something was up.
However, since Chen Xinhe wasn’t speaking, it was likely inconvenient for her. Therefore, Zhuang Huaiya decided to ask her privately.
“Do you know why you and the captain have been rumored about? And why hasn’t the captain publicly acknowledged that you two are cousins?” Chen Xinhe asked.
“I asked before, but I felt the reason was a bit far-fetched. Do you know what the reason is?” Zhuang Huaiya inquired.
At first, when Mai Dongzi didn’t recognize him, Zhuang Huaiya thought it was due to their identities.
The Xi family was one of the top ten noble families of the Blue-Black Empire, and Mai Dongzi was a legitimate elite descendant, a lofty noble girl.
On the other hand, their Zhuang family was a fallen house that couldn’t even afford the tuition for the Imperial Capital University. If Mai Dongzi didn’t want to recognize him, he wouldn’t be surprised.
However, as their interactions increased, Zhuang Huaiya’s cultivation progressed rapidly due to the various benefits Mai Dongzi provided. He gradually gained recognition at school and began to dismiss the notion that she truly disliked him; if she did, she wouldn’t nurture him like this.
But his father wouldn’t allow him to acknowledge her, and his cousin also refused to publicly recognize him in front of others. They casually fabricated a reason to deflect him.
“During lunch, I secretly asked my cousin if he knew about the captain’s recent situation. He told me that the captain was severely injured in an assassination attempt at the training ground two days ago and would need to lie in the treatment pod for three or four days,” Chen Xinhe said.
“What!” Zhuang Huaiya’s heart sank, and he hurriedly pressed on, “Why was the captain attacked? How serious are her injuries, and what’s her current condition?”
“Don’t worry, I asked. Although the captain is severely injured, those wounds can be healed. She should fully recover by the day after tomorrow at the latest. The therapist who prepared the treatment liquid for her is a member of Prince Arthur’s guard; he is a high-level healer,” Chen Xinhe said.
Hearing that Mai Dongzi was healing on Prince Arthur’s flying vehicle, Zhuang Huaiya felt half of his anxiety lift.
The protection on Prince Arthur’s vehicle must be the best, so he didn’t have to worry about his cousin being attacked by assassins again during her treatment.
“Who wants to harm my cousin?” Zhuang Huaiya asked.
“Do you know about the assassination bounty list in the black market?” Chen Xinhe countered with a question instead of answering.
Zhuang Huaiya looked blank; he didn’t know, but just hearing the name made it clear to him what was going on.
“Someone has put a bounty on my cousin,” Zhuang Huaiya gritted his teeth as he guessed.
He recalled how Mai Dongzi had disguised herself as another person and moved in next to them before daring to come to the Zhuang family to find them. He finally understood the reason why Mai Dongzi wouldn’t acknowledge their relationship.
So, his cousin was afraid of implicating the Zhuang family, which was why she didn’t publicly recognize their cousin relationship.