Luo Nan moved his gaze away and swept over the exoskeleton armor on the vehicle. There were no obvious markings, but the special blue paint spoke volumes:
Deep Blue Walkers… and not the military kind.
Ninety percent of the world's Deep Blue Walkers were military property. These, however, were experimental models from Quantum Corporation, the developers of the Deep Blue Platform. As expected, they weren't allowed to carry weapons of mass destruction. Their modules were limited, their builds appeared lean, and each carried a few auxiliary systems—like flow deflector fins.
To anyone else, these details might be invisible. But not to Luo Nan. His eyes immediately found the one he had "crossed paths" with before, among the armors that all looked identical.
Second from the left was the "Field Controller"—the first to engage the burning wraith and crucial to its final encirclement.
Luo Nan's eyes narrowed slightly. The system layouts and parameters of these exoskeletons were classified. Only fragments could be pieced together from multiple sources. Few had seen the Deep Blue Walkers in this unboxed state.
He clutched his notebook, itching to pick up a pen and record every detail…
But before he could, the dark-skinned, buzz-cut man atop the vehicle cast a cold glare and activated an invisible membrane. A flick of his hand, and the membrane covered and sealed the armors completely.
Luo Nan blinked, then shrugged. Are all Quantum Corporation people this petty?
"He seems to be from Quantum Corporation… you know him?" Zhang Yingying asked suddenly.
"I don't," Luo Nan answered honestly.
"Then stop staring blankly. Let's go."
Zhang Yingying tugged him back into the office. Once inside, she leaned against the desk and stretched. "Dealing with bureaucrats and litigators is exhausting!"
Luo Nan could only stand there, speechless.
Zhang Yingying giggled and pointed at him. "You did well just now, so here's a little gift. Look—this is your cabin."
"…."
"Don't be dissatisfied. The starship has only temporarily lifted restrictions on external communication in this area. Otherwise, how would we play games?"
Luo Nan subconsciously glanced at his wristband. Sure enough, communication and network functions were unblocked. Ugh… dozens of missed calls.
Flipping through them, he saw most were from his cousin, Mo Ya. Starting from the morning, there were twenty-five. From 7 PM onward, his aunt added three more.
It was already 10 PM.
Luo Nan felt his scalp go numb. He dialed back immediately—looking for his usual accomplice, Mo Ya.
"Sister?"
"Ah Nan?" Mo Ya's voice trembled with uncertainty.
"Sister, what's wrong…?"
"What's wrong? What have you been doing all day? You didn't pick up my calls, I couldn't find you at school or at home, and I was ready to call the police, did you know that?!"
Mo Ya's high-pitched, rock-and-roll voice hit like a sandstorm, burning with rage.
"Why didn't you go to class? Why didn't you take the club exam? You tricked me yesterday, didn't you? Luo Nan, you've grown up… and you're out there having fun?"
Luo Nan was instantly drenched in a torrent of verbal abuse. The sound reverberated through the cabin, shattering the quiet.
Zhang Yingying whistled innocently, glancing at the ceiling with a look of "I know nothing."
Ignoring the awkwardness, Luo Nan explained the day's events to his cousin. With the burning wraith and other chaos removed from the equation, it was purely bad luck on his part—nothing to hide.
After venting, Mo Ya calmed enough to hear him out, though she offered no sympathy.
"Sticking with that trash Xie Junping, serves you right! If you don't learn, you'll suffer again. The Mystic Arts Research Society… it's fine if you can't go."
"Huh?"
Luo Nan realized he had indeed missed the Mystic Arts Society's entrance exam. But how did Mo Ya know?
Looking at the caller ID, he saw her calls were restrained in the morning. Starting at 4:30 PM, when club activities began, she called roughly every ten minutes. Clearly, she noticed only when he missed the exam.
Mo Ya clenched her teeth. "I know you're stupid. You relied on someone over there for help, and then you missed the exam. You stood them up. You humiliated me! And you didn't even answer Mom's call. I risked my neck to tell you to do the experiment for the club exam… You better fix this lie, or else! No one can save you—neither heaven nor earth!"
Luo Nan's chest warmed. He knew his sister had done a lot in secret. Missing this exam outright would indeed make things very awkward.
"I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow as an apology!" he blurted.
Mo Ya scoffed. "No need to treat me. But listen—stay away from that circle. Those people are rich kids with nothing better to do. You have nothing. I won't let you waste the family inheritance on a fool like you."
The final conversation had nothing to do with familial love, but Luo Nan had long grown used to his cousin's style. He didn't mind.
He also learned Mo Ya was guarding his apartment in Blue Bay Community tonight. Naturally, he thanked her profusely. Mo Ya completely disdained it.
"I'm going to the show!" she said, then hung up.
Mo Ya had formed a band during her university days. She had some local fame and was on the rise. She was busiest at night, yet today she was guarding his apartment, waiting for news. The sacrifice was considerable.
Luo Nan grimaced, thinking of the task she had arranged for him. He pondered briefly, then summoned the courage to call his aunt. He didn't mention today's chaos, just used Mo Ya's lie to fabricate that the interview required testing his experimental abilities. As for the exam results, he could only say they would come out tomorrow.
A video call wasn't necessary. He couldn't tell if his aunt believed him, but she seemed surprisingly understanding. She even let him rest early.
Perhaps she assumed he was just anxious about the exam results?
That would do just fine.
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A/N: Join Patreon as a free member or support me via sub so I can unlock raws, pretty pleasee