(Continued from Part 1)
He woke up on the floor. One of the ceiling lamps was shattered. The other flickered.
Su Wanqing crouched beside him, holding a wet towel.
"You awake?"
Lin Yuan sat up. His head was ringing. He looked at his hand — the gold lines were still there, but they'd shrunk back to their original size.
"What was that?"
"Energy overload." Su Wanqing tossed the towel in his face. "I told you. Not a hammer. Water. You hit water with a hammer, it splashes back in your face."
Lin Yuan wiped his face.
"Get up." Su Wanqing stood. "Training's over. Same time tomorrow."
"That's it?"
"That's it." She put on her high heels. At the door, she stopped. "You almost blew your hand off today. If you do that again tomorrow, I'll tie you to the runes and make you sit there all night."
She left. Her footsteps clicked down the hallway, getting farther and farther away.
Lin Yuan sat in the center of the runes, staring at his hand.
The lines still glowed faintly, but much dimmer than before. He tried to "invite" the remaining lamp. It flickered. Didn't go out.
He didn't dare try again.
---
Lin Yuan walked out of the training room. Old Zhou was still sitting at his desk, drinking tea.
"How'd it go?"
"Almost blew my hand off."
Old Zhou looked at him. "Su Wanqing said when you lost control, your energy output was three times normal."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you have more energy inside you than most candidates. But you can't control it." Old Zhou put down his cup. "Like a man with a barrel of gasoline who only knows how to use matches."
Lin Yuan didn't say anything.
Old Zhou pulled a file from his drawer and slid it across the desk.
"What's this?"
"Chu Yunfei's file. The last Abyss King."
Lin Yuan opened it. The first page had a photo — a man around thirty, wearing a black coat, standing in front of a building. Sharp features. Deep eyes. No smile.
"How did he go missing?"
"Three years ago. The Abyss seal weakened. He led a team in to reinforce it. Then... never came out." Old Zhou's voice was calm. "Three rescue teams went in. No one found him. Some say he died. Some say he betrayed the Dreamkeepers. Some say — he's still alive, just doesn't want to come back."
"Which one do you believe?"
Old Zhou didn't answer.
Lin Yuan closed the file.
"Can I take it?"
"No. Read it here. Put it back when you're done."
Lin Yuan opened the file and read page by page. Chu Yunfei's ability rating: S. Anchoring strength: unknown. Last mission: Abyss seal reinforcement. Status: missing.
The last page had a handwritten line. The ink had faded.
"Before he left, he said: The Abyss King shouldn't be locked in a cage."
Lin Yuan stared at that line for a long time.
---
When he walked out of the library, someone was standing on the ramp.
Not those two candidates. A guy, early twenties, wearing a dark gray jacket. His hair was neatly combed. He leaned against the wall, holding an unlit cigarette.
"You're the Abyss King?" He smiled, showing a row of even teeth. "My name's Qin Shou. Upperclassman."
Lin Yuan didn't say anything.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to cause trouble." Qin Shou tucked the cigarette back into his pocket. "I just wanted to see what kind of person Old Zhou chose."
"Seen enough?"
"Seen enough." Qin Shou looked him up and down. "Honestly? A little disappointed."
He patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder and walked away.
Lin Yuan stood there. The spot where he'd been patted felt cold.
---
He walked out the small door and into the moonlight.
The moon was the same. The building was the same.
He looked down at his right hand. Under the glove, the gold lines had stopped glowing, but he knew they were still there. Like a quiet snake curled under his skin.
He remembered what Su Wanqing said: "Your energy isn't a hammer. It's water."
He remembered what Old Zhou said: "You have three times the energy of normal candidates."
He remembered the faded handwriting on Chu Yunfei's file: "The Abyss King shouldn't be locked in a cage."
He didn't know if he was locked in a cage.
But he knew — tonight he almost blew his hand off.
And he was still alive.
That probably counted as progress.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked toward his dorm.
The streetlight stretched his shadow long behind him.
He didn't look back.
(End of Chapter 3)