1 Chapter 1: The Flower of the Motherland
Chapter 1: The Flower of the Motherland
"Roar!"
In the video, a monster, nearly fifty meters tall and with a fearsome appearance, had rampaged through the city. It destroyed buildings as if they were made of tofu, easily crumbling them with a swipe of its claws.
People had screamed and fled in terror.
Then, with a whoosh, several fighter jets had soared past, firing missiles at the monster.
"Boom! Boom!"
Flames had shot into the sky, and the explosions were deafening.
Unfortunately, the monster's thick skin and flesh had been impervious to human weaponry, and the proud artillery of humanity had left no mark on it.
Instead, the monster had become even more enraged, wreaking unprecedented havoc on the city.
A pall of panic had enveloped the entire city.
Moments later, a huge transport plane had arrived above the city.
A woman had stood at the open cargo door and then jumped out, plunging towards the ground from a height of at least a thousand meters, wearing only light clothing and no safety equipment.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been crushed to death without the monster's intervention.
But something abnormal had happened.
Green light had suddenly emanated from the woman, halting her descent.
Not only that, she had been able to freely fly in mid-air and had rapidly approached the monster.
When she had gotten close, she had raised a delicate hand towards the monster, spread her fingers, and then clenched her fist!
"Bang!"
The monster's huge head had exploded under an invisible force, scattering dark green blood and flesh everywhere.
Because the monster had died so quickly, its nerve endings hadn't reacted in time, and its headless body had continued to move forward for a few steps...
After the woman had obliterated the monster's head, she had nonchalantly flown back to the transport plane.
Her heroic and cool demeanor had been simply unmatched!
Once the woman had returned to the plane, the monster's body had finally collapsed with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The video had ended there.
...
After watching the video.
Chen Ye had put down his phone, rubbing his temples with a sense of headache.
This video hadn't been a special effects movie, but a real event that had happened yesterday, now topping the internet's search trends as hot news.
"So, what kind of world have I crossed into?" he had wondered.
He had looked around, his gaze calmly surveying his surroundings.
Clearly, he had been in a classroom surrounded by youthful students, wearing the same school uniform as everyone else.
Evidently, after traversing to this world, Chen Ye had become a high school student.
Feeling the vitality in his body, Chen Ye had been quite satisfied with this new identity.
Before traversing, he had been in his twenties, not only unsuccessful but also physically weakened from frequently studying materials from teachers who had "gone to sea," leaving him frail before he had even reached thirty.
To be able to regain his health and youth, Chen Ye had naturally been pleased.
At that moment.
The conversation of a few students nearby had caught Chen Ye's attention.
"Did you see yesterday's video? Goddess Qin is so strong!" one had said.
"Yeah, she can kill a level 4 monster in seconds, truly the number one master of our Xia country," another had added.
"It's almost our turn to bond with a hero's talent, I'm so nervous!" a student had exclaimed.
"It's a pity, the hero with the codename S2 is too difficult to bond with. So far, only Goddess Qin has succeeded in our country..." someone had lamented.
"Thinking of S2? Which S-tier hero isn't hard to bond with?" another had commented.
"I'm not too ambitious; my goal is an A-tier hero's talent. If I can bond successfully, I can go to the Superpower University. I heard there are many girls there..." another student had remarked.
"A Level-A hero isn't ambitious enough? You sure think big; my goal is a Level-B hero talent."
"Why does no one choose Level-C hero talents? The success rate of bonding is nearly 100%!"
"Get lost, only idiots would choose a Level-C hero. They have no real talent..."
...
Chen Ye, sitting nearby, was utterly confused by this conversation.
Just as he was about to take out his phone to search for more information online, the teacher arrived.
Instantly!
All the students immediately sat up straight, and the classroom fell silent. Chen Ye had to put away his phone, pretending to blend in like a husky among wolves.
The teacher was a middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance but an aura of formidable authority reminiscent of an austere martial arts master.
As she entered, all the students sat rigidly out of fear.
The teacher's gaze swept sternly over the students before she spoke: "Today is a big day for all of you. I believe you are all prepared and have your targets for bonding in mind, right? Now, let me see your choices!"
"Those who choose a Level-S hero as their bonding target, please raise your hands."
Hearing this, seven students raised their hands.
The teacher frowned upon seeing this.
Out of more than eighty students in the class, less than a tenth had chosen Level-S hero talents...
Chen Ye felt that the teacher glanced at him with a hint of dissatisfaction, though he hadn't done anything.
After those seven students lowered their hands, the teacher continued, "Those who choose a Level-A hero as their bonding target, please raise your hands."
This time, many more students raised their hands, about thirty, nearly half of the class.
Chen Ye quickly raised his hand too. He didn't really understand but thought it was safe to follow the crowd.
Seeing that half the class chose Level-A heroes, the teacher's expression softened slightly.
"Those who choose a Level-B hero as their bonding target, please raise your hands."
The rest of the students, who hadn't raised their hands yet, now did so.
"Alright," said the teacher, "put your hands down. As for Level-C heroes, I won't even ask."
"Seeing your choices, to be honest, I am a bit disappointed," the teacher said. "Our school is a key high school, and the fact that you were admitted here means your parents are outstanding individuals who have successfully bonded with hero talents. Research from the Science Academy has shown that children of parents who have successfully bonded with hero talents have a much higher success rate than ordinary people."
"So, there's no need for you to be so conservative. Aim higher!"
This surprised all the students, as the teacher's words contradicted what she had said the day before.
A slightly bolder student couldn't help but ask, "But, teacher, didn't you caution us yesterday to be more conservative, not to aim too high, and that successfully bonding with any hero talent would be a victory?"
The teacher, unflappable, adopted a grave tone, "Times have changed. You all are aware of what happened yesterday, right? A Level-4 monster suddenly appeared and breached the seawall of Haibin City, causing tens of thousands of casualties! If it weren't for Ms. Qin's timely intervention in killing the monster, the number of casualties would have multiplied."
The students nodded in agreement.
A student, seemingly a fan of Ms. Qin, excitedly said, "Teacher, Ms. Qin is so amazing! My target this time is the S2 hero talent, too. I hope I can succeed and become someone like Ms. Qin."
The others looked at him as if he was delusional.
The success
rate for bonding with the S2 hero was less than 0.0001%, leaving everyone to wonder where this student's confidence came from.
The teacher on the podium, not wanting to crush the ambitious student's spirit, shifted the topic: "Students, you might not be aware, but the Science Academy's latest research suggests that the sudden appearance of this Level-4 monster could be due to a new spacetime wormhole that might open soon..."
"If this is true, it means that more terrifying monsters will come to Earth in the future. Our current forces won't be enough to deal with these creatures. Our country needs more heroes like Ms. Qin, who can be pillars of strength!"
(End of Chapter)
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