Zongman: The post-2D era

Meteora stared at Feng Feng in a daze. The afterglow of the setting sun and the light of the holographic screen intertwined behind him to form a dreamlike picture of light and shadow.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she tried to maintain a gentle smile, as if she wanted to engrave this moment in her heart forever.

"Come and read with me when you have time! I will always be at Wanli's library, watching the sun, waiting for your arrival."

Chapter 787 Return to Academy

September 1, Thursday

Utopia Free Academy was the same as always, with students playing in the playground and corridors and chatting about the interesting things that happened today.

Every time someone says “I see Feng Feng, he’s back” they always cause some exclamations and doubts.

Feng Feng slowly stretched out his hand and lightly touched the back of Yukinoshita Yukino's hand with his fingertips. At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

"Xue-no-chan, remember? We made a promise under this sky. No matter what the future holds, we must stick to our beliefs and protect this land."

Feng Feng's voice was low and powerful, and every word seemed to strike directly at Yukinoshita Yukino's heart.

"You've been gone for nearly a month, have you learned how to please girls, Mr. Luo Daisheng?"

Yukinoshita Yukino rolled her eyes, grabbed Feng Feng's hand, walked towards the principal's office, and said:

"Come with me to see the principal. For the sake of our sisterhood, I hope she can help you cancel the punishment of repeating the grade."

He gently took her hand, and their palms were pressed tightly together, conveying a tacit understanding and warmth that did not require words.

The potted plants at the door of the principal's office were covered with dew, indicating that they had just been watered, but a white "Do Not Disturb" sign was hung on the closed door.

Feng Feng shrugged and raised an eyebrow: "Xue No, your sister obviously doesn't want to see us."

Xue Nai glared at Feng Feng, took a deep breath, and pulled him forward to knock on the door. No one answered from inside, so Xue Nai had no choice but to pull Feng Feng towards the teacher's office.

The two walked together in the school corridor, greeted their classmates, walked into the teacher's office, and met teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka.

The sunlight shines into the teacher's office through the half-open window. Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka sits behind her desk, wearing a fitted women's suit shorts and long stockings. Her legs are elegantly crossed, making her look exceptionally capable without losing her feminine charm.

She tilted her head slightly, with a hint of amusement in her deep eyes, and glanced at Feng Feng who was standing in front of her, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, as if she could see through all the secrets.

"Oh? Mr. Fengfeng, have you been traveling around or had any other adventures in the past month?"

Her voice was low and magnetic, and every word seemed to carry an unintentional teasing.

Seeing this, Yukinoshita Yukino took a step forward and stood in front of Feng Feng. She took out a few pages of paper from the folder and handed them to Hiratsuka Shizuka. Her voice was firm and clear:

"Teacher, this is Feng Feng's report and reasonable explanation about the reason for his recent absence and the follow-up of his learning progress. We hope that the school can give a fair evaluation."

Shizuka Hiratsuka took the document, gently stroked the edge of the paper with her fingertips, and quickly scanned the lines. Then she leisurely lit a slender women's cigarette. In the smoke, her face looked even more profound in the haze.

She exhaled a puff of smoke, which slowly rose and finally dissipated outside the half-open window of the office, as if taking away some doubts along with it.

She turned her head, her eyes fell directly and sharply on Feng Feng, with a barely perceptible smile and test in her voice:

"Are you planning to go back to school? Or do you miss the outside world more?"

After saying that, she gently shook the ash in her hand, her eyes flashing with curiosity and anticipation about Feng Feng's decision. The whole office seemed to be filled with unknown tension by this simple question and silence.

"I have done what I should do. I would rather be a free student than a sun god."

Feng Feng's words were like a ray of warm sunshine in spring, penetrating every corner of the office.

His eyes gently swept across the resolute face of Yukinoshita Yukino, then turned to the deep eyes of teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka, and a relieved smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

That smile showed both a frank acceptance of past challenges and an infinite longing for future challenges.

The sunlight became brighter at this moment, and golden spots of light danced on Feng Feng's shoulders, giving him a layer of warm glow.

He raised his hand gently and tidied up the hair on his forehead, his eyes flashing with determination and resolve:

“The outside world is indeed vast and full of unknowns and temptations, but here - Utopia Free Academy, is where my dream begins and a harbor of knowledge and friendship. The school not only nourishes me with knowledge, but also teaches me responsibility and persistence. Therefore, I am eager to return to this big family and continue to write our youth chapter together with everyone.”

The warmth of the last wisp of cigarette smoke still lingered between teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka's fingers. She extinguished the cigarette neatly, and the spark flashed in the darkness, just like her love-hate feelings towards a cunning boy.

The corners of his mouth curled up into a helpless yet doting smile, and he cursed softly but with unquestionable force:

"You cunning boy, you always find something new for me."

Her gaze pierced through the swirling smoke, as if it could penetrate time and space, and looked directly into the boy's cunning eyes.

Then, her movements became focused and quick, her fingers lightly sliding across the scattered textbooks on the desk, each book seemed to silently tell the weight of knowledge and the traces of time.

Finally, her eyes fixed on a slightly old notebook and she paused slightly, as if she saw memories of the past in it.

But she soon withdrew her thoughts, and the slight sound she made when she opened the drawer was particularly clear in the quiet office.

From the depths of the drawer, Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka pulled out a sealed document with a striking red label on it, revealing its extraordinary importance.

Her eyes became serious and deep, and she solemnly handed the document to Yukino who was quietly waiting beside her, and her voice was low and powerful:

"Yukino, this document is extremely important. You must take him personally, no, both of you, to bury it properly. Remember, be careful on the road, and do not take any disturbance lightly."

Yukino took the document, her fingers trembling slightly. She could feel the heaviness and responsibility that came from the document.

She looked up and made eye contact with Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka, her eyes sparkling with trust and expectation.

Without saying anything more, Yukino nodded, turned around and strode out of the office, secretly thinking about how to safely deliver and "bury" the document.

Outside the door, the autumn colors are like red maple leaves, and the wind brings a bit of coolness and unknown danger.

Yukino's steps were firm and hurried. She knew that this was not just a procedure for returning to school, but also a test of their tacit understanding and abilities.

The boy called "Naughty Boy" by Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka was standing not far away, with the same determination and excitement flashing in his eyes.

They smiled at each other, and understood each other without saying anything.

A tense and intense resumption of school operation quietly began under the cover of night.

"By the way, Yukino-chan, has the Mikazuki I sent back arrived at the academy?"

Chapter 788 Common People

Friday, September 2

The sea of ​​stars on the holographic screen fluctuated violently, and a dazzling light shot up into the sky, enveloping the enemy and Feng Feng's character.

After the light dissipated, Feng Feng looked up and left the fantasy world of the "Sword Art Online" game. He was surrounded by familiar school scenery, but the air was filled with an unprecedented sense of reality.

Feng Feng's eyes flashed with a trace of trance, and then turned into excitement: "It seems that our school has not changed much."

"No, the students' cliques and interpersonal relationships have changed a lot. It's just that you don't have a deep understanding of ordinary students like us."

Sanriku Kan took over the conversation, pulled a forest-style girl and walked in front of Feng Feng, and pulled the girl next to her forward.

"Let me introduce you to Yuki Sanai, a first-year exchange student from Funato High School."

"Although he has sharp insight and the ability to act, he is a weirdo who aspires to be a small citizen due to past failures. He likes sweets and often goes to the dessert shop on the street after school."

Mikazuki Kan let go of his hand, tilted his head to signal Osauchi Yuki, and said with expectation and deep meaning:

"She is also the primary suspect in the theft last Friday. I leave her to you. I will go deal with the student council and Yukinoshita Yukino. Goodbye."

Sanriku Kan's figure gradually faded away, leaving Feng Feng standing opposite the exchange student named Osauchi Yuki.

The sunlight shone through the gaps in the autumn leaves, dappled on them, adding a touch of warmth to the slightly awkward atmosphere.

Yuki Osauchi lowered her head and bit her lower lip, a hint of uneasiness flashing in her eyes, but also a bit of stubbornness.

She gently smoothed the scattered hair on her forehead and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "Last Friday, I just... just wanted to help a hurt kitten. I definitely didn't steal any wallet."

"The incident took place near a warehouse. I noticed that the kittens near the warehouse often had their legs injured. The white cat was seriously injured last Friday, and there was no one else around."

"In a hurry, I went into the warehouse to find some clean cloth to bandage the wound. But I didn't expect that the theft happened at that time..."

"The next day, several classmates testified that I had been in the warehouse, and I became the primary suspect for no apparent reason."

Feng Feng said "oh", realizing that Xiao Zuo Nei wanted him to help him prove his innocence, and said with a smile: "I believe you won't steal anything, let's go to the warehouse first."

Feng Feng's words were like a spring breeze, relaxing Yuki Osauchi's frown a little.

The two walked side by side on the path leading to the warehouse. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on them. Every step seemed to be stepping on the vein of time, and seemed particularly long.

The door of the warehouse was half-open, revealing a sense of age and decay.

Feng Feng pushed the door open quietly, and a musty smell mixed with a faint smell of dust hit him in the face.

The interior of the warehouse was dim, with only a few rays of light slanting in from a small window high up, barely illuminating an area.

Feng Feng looked around, searching sharply for any clues that might have been left behind, while Xiao Sane followed him nervously, his hands unconsciously clenching the corners of his clothes.

Inside the warehouse, the light was dim and mottled, with basketballs and badminton balls scattered all over the floor, like the mess after a storm.

The soft cushions were stacked randomly, some were half-hanging in the air, and were about to fall down.

There was a sense of chaos and uneasiness in the air.

Feng Feng squatted down and gently slid his fingertips across a dusty basketball, which had a dull luster in the dim light.

His eyes swept across every corner, not missing any details, trying to find a clue of order from this disorder.

Osane followed closely behind, his eyes flickering in the darkness of the warehouse, showing both fear of the unknown and an urgency to prove his innocence.

She carefully walked around a pile of scattered badminton rackets, afraid of making any noise that would break the depressing silence.

Suddenly, a beam of light from outside the window happened to shine under a half-open table, and there seemed to be something unusual hidden there. The two people's eyes met instantly, and they walked towards that place at the same time.

Feng Feng stood up slowly, holding tightly in his hand the bunch of keys that were flickering in the dim light. There were several worn key chains hanging on the keys, which looked very old.

He turned to face Yuki Osauchi, his eyes filled with both inquiry and a hint of barely perceptible expectation.

The sunlight slanted down from the small window of the warehouse, giving the key a faint golden glow and illuminating the two people's tense and focused faces.

"Xiao Zone, look at these keys, do you have any impression?"

Feng Feng's voice was low and gentle, trying not to make his tone sound too urgent.

He slowly stretched out his hand and handed the key to Xiao Zuo Nei, and the distance between the two was subtly shortened by this action.

Xiao Sane gently took the key bunch. When her fingertips touched the cold metal, she couldn't help but tremble slightly, and a hint of surprise and realization flashed in her eyes.

She looked at each key carefully. They swayed gently in her hands, making tiny and crisp sounds, like the whispers of old friends reuniting after a long absence.

"This... this is indeed my keychain."

She whispered, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice, but more of a sense of relief after confirmation.