Chapter 296: The World Changes

Qi Xia looked at Chen Jun Nan, who was not far away, and asked, "Have you seen this young man before?"

"I don't really remember him," Chen Jun Nan said, then glanced at Qin Ding Dong. "You'll have to ask Dong Jie about this."

After hearing that, Qin Ding Dong shook her head. "I haven't seen him either."

That night passed without any sign from the young man called "Hero," and the group managed to get a good night's sleep.

The next day, Chen Jun Nan woke up early. He confirmed that his teammates were still asleep, then quietly walked to the classroom door.

Qi Xia was sitting there with his eyes open, looking as though he hadn't slept at all.

"Hey, Lao Qi, you're full of energy, huh?" Chen Jun Nan said. "Up this early—planning to go to the park for sword practice?"

"Chen Jun Nan... are you sure you're going alone?" Qi Xia asked.

"What do you mean?" Chen Jun Nan gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I'll die?"

"Of course not," Qi Xia replied. "I just hope you don't."

"Then that's settled." Chen Jun Nan waved his hand, opened the classroom door, and said, "I don't know this area well anymore. I'll go ask Chu Tian Qiu for the address first."

"Be careful."

"Got it."

Chen Jun Nan said goodbye to Qi Xia and left the house before dawn.

He was about to head to Chu Tian Qiu's classroom to get things straight when he spotted the little "Hero" from the night before standing at the door, holding a short sword made from a folded newspaper, his hand trembling slightly.

The young man looked pale, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night.

"Hey, if it isn't 'Hero'?" Chen Jun Nan said with a laugh as he walked a few steps closer. "What are you doing? Delivering newspapers bright and early?"

"Commoner... stay back..." The young man turned around nervously, and the newspaper sword in his hand shook a little. "This place smells bad... there's something wrong here..."

"If there's something wrong, why don't you go in and deal with it?" Chen Jun Nan sighed. "Standing here all night with that newspaper—aren't you tired?"

"Go in...?" The young man furrowed his brow. "But I'm a 'Hero,' and if I die in battle..."

"No worries, if you die, I'll handle it." Chen Jun Nan patted the young man on the shoulder. "I'm the Calabash Boy—you take care of the monsters you can, and I'll handle the ones you can't."

The young man looked at Chen Jun Nan in confusion for a moment, then nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed the door open.

Inside, everything seemed normal. Five people were there.

Chu Tian Qiu was writing on the blackboard, Yun Yao was chatting with Tian Tian, and Xu Liu Nian and Zhang Shan were sitting off to the side, staring blankly.

Chen Jun Nan carefully scanned the five people, then stepped inside first.

"Chu Tian Qiu," Chen Jun Nan called out, "I need your help with something, buddy."

"Commoner, you..." The young man reached out to stop Chen Jun Nan, but Chen Jun Nan impatiently brushed his hand away.

"What is it?" Chu Tian Qiu asked with a smile. He glanced at the young man beside him, thought for a moment, and said, "You're the kid Zhang Shan brought back yesterday... what's your name again?"

Zhang Shan whispered from the side, "Zheng Yingxiong."

"That's right... I'm 'Hero'..." The young man nodded seriously. "May I ask... do you all have..."

Chen Jun Nan reached out and patted the young man's head, interrupting him just in time. "Kid, why are you coming here so early in the morning asking for things?"

After saying that, he turned back to Chu Tian Qiu.

"Chu Tian Qiu, draw me a map. I want to go pay that old pervert Di She a visit." He pushed the young man back a step and moved forward, positioning himself between the four and the young man.

"Di She...?" Chu Tian Qiu nodded. "It's a bit far—let Yun Yao draw it for you."

Yun Yao nodded after hearing that, pulled out a notebook from her bag, thought for a moment, and quickly sketched a rough map.

Chen Jun Nan took it, waved his hand, and said, "Thanks, big star."

Yun Yao was startled. "You know me?"

"Of course." Chen Jun Nan nodded. "You once said you could introduce me to Liu Yan, and it got me so excited—I’m a big fan of Liu Yan."

"Fan...?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room grew awkward.

Chen Jun Nan swallowed and corrected himself word by word, "I mean, a movie fan."

"What kind of person are you...?" Yun Yao shook her head helplessly, a look of disdain on her face. "I've drawn the map for you—now hurry up and go."

"Alright, I'm off." Chen Jun Nan reached out, took the paper, tucked it into his pocket, then turned to the young man and said, "Hero, come with me outside—I have something to tell you."

He grabbed the young man's arm and pulled him out of the room, then led him to the other side of the hallway.

"Commoner, what are you going to do?" The young man asked, adjusting the newspaper crown on his head with a puzzled look.

"How long have you been acting like a fool, kid?"

"What do you mean, I'm a fool?" The young man tucked the short sword back into his waist. "It's just that the things a 'Hero' does are beyond your understanding—I'm destined to be different from you all."

"So what?" Chen Jun Nan poked at the newspaper sword with his finger. "You smell something bad, and you're planning to charge in with this thing to fight the monster? Are you wiping its face or what?"

"I..." The young man pursed his lips. "Among everyone, only I can detect this stench—if I don't do something..."

"Give it a rest." Chen Jun Nan sighed. "Kid, your ability is special, but you're just short on brains. Last night, you went to the room where someone named Qi Xia was—go talk to him and see if he can help you smarten up a bit."

"Qi Xia...?" The young man thought for a moment. "But I'm a 'Hero'—I'm destined to be alone..."

"Enough already." Chen Jun Nan waved his hand. "Your hero level is way too low—go find Lao Qi for an upgrade patch or something."

He stopped paying attention to the young man and walked out the door into the dawn light.

This mission was serious—he not only had to stand out in Di She's game but also try to get information about Tian She from that old pervert's mouth.

If only Tian Ma and Tian Hu were making moves, there might still be a chance... but if all the "Heavenly Level" zodiac signs got involved, Qi Xia would be in real danger.

No one knew what that lunatic Tian Long might do to Qi Xia.

Chen Jun Nan reached the school gate and exchanged a few polite words with the guard there. Then he pulled out the map, checked the direction, and was about to leave when he noticed people approaching from a distance.

He looked closely and saw they were all wearing leather jackets.

Chen Jun Nan didn't wait to see their faces clearly—he quickly shut the school iron gate behind him and said to the guard, "Go call for backup."

"Ah...?" The young guard hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran off.

It seemed like "The End Place" was really about to change.

Chen Jun Nan stretched and did some warm-up exercises. By then, the people were close enough for him to see their faces.

"Hmm...?" Chen Jun Nan had braced for a fight, but to his surprise, they were all familiar faces. "Xiao Song?"

Song Qi's expression today was completely different from yesterday's.

"I need to see Chu Tian Qiu," Song Qi said.

"Oh, telling me won't help—I'm not one of the underlings here." Chen Jun Nan smiled as he looked at Song Qi, then glanced at the crowd of black-clad people behind him. "Xiao Song, with this big lineup, are you here to start something?"

"It's possible we might." Song Qi sized up the man in front of him. He knew Chen Jun Nan had retained a lot of memories, but he wasn't sure who he was.

"If you're going to fight, wait a bit." Chen Jun Nan said. "A few of my buddies haven't gotten up yet—once they're gone, you can do whatever you want."

"Brother, I didn't ask last time... can you give me your name this time?" Song Qi said.

"Calabash Boy." Chen Jun Nan replied. "Any advice?"