nashuaworldcup Chapter 46: The Silent Chapter (End)
Chapter 46: The Silent Chapter (End)
After the fierce battle, Ming, having exhausted his spiritual energy, could no longer hold on. His vision suddenly went black, and he collapsed to the ground. Time passed, and he seemed to be asleep in an endless abyss of darkness.
Finally, on a quiet morning, as the first rays of warm sunlight streamed through the window into the room, Ming, who had been lying motionless on the bed, slowly began to change in the ward filled with the strong smell of disinfectant.
First his fingers trembled slightly, then his eyelids began to blink slowly, as if he was trying his best to break through the layers of fog that shrouded his consciousness.
Not long after, Ming slowly opened his eyes.
"Where... am I?" Ming, who had just woken up from his coma, slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. What came into view was a single medical room with white as the main color. The walls were as white as snow, the bed was neat and clean, and it gave off a faint smell of disinfectant.
After thinking for a moment, he stood up, rubbed his eyes, and habitually reached into his suit pocket, took out a medical eye patch, and put it on his left eye.
"Ugh, what a pungent disinfectant smell. This British brand is problematic," Ming muttered as he staggered along, complaining about the unpleasant disinfectant odor.
As he walked, he reached the door and slowly pushed it open.
Just then, Fildo, Lifara, Helarim, and Instructor Lind, along with other elite members of the SSS team, stood in the doorway.
Each of them had a different expression, but all of them exuded professionalism and seriousness.
Among this group of people, Fierdo's bright, star-like eyes immediately spotted Ming's figure.
"Little Klein! I'm so glad you're alright, sob sob..."
Her face, which had been frowning before the door was opened, instantly blossomed into a joyful smile, as if the tragedy she had feared had been averted.
Immediately afterwards, without hesitation, Fierdo opened her arms and pounced straight at Ming like a joyful little bird, as if she wanted to hug Ming tightly.
However, as if he had expected it, Ming nimbly dodged to the side, easily avoiding Fierdo's enthusiastic embrace.
"Ouch! That hurts, Klein, why did you dodge?" Fildo, who had missed her target and landed headfirst on the ground, said with a puzzled look on her face.
Seeing Feierduo's puzzled look, Ming coughed lightly and said, "She just woke up, and we're probably not that close, are we? Please don't come over and hug me. I don't like your type, thank you."
Helarim and Lifara, who were standing nearby, also came over to join in the fun.
Horrium put her hands on her hips and teased, "Fildo, looks like she's not interested in you." Fildo pouted, looking at Ming with a hint of grievance, "But I really care about little brother Klein!"
Lifara gently tugged at Ming's sleeve and whispered, "You're hurting Fildo's feelings. She genuinely cares about you." Ming shrugged. "I was just telling the truth."
At this moment, Instructor Linde walked over and tapped Ming on the head. "Kid, don't be so cold-hearted. We're all teammates." Ming sighed helplessly. "Okay, sorry. But I hope we can keep a certain distance in the future."
Not far behind Ming, a group of unnamed team members were quietly waiting. After witnessing Ming's actions, they seemed to be suddenly ignited with passion, and stood up in unison, surging towards Ming like a tide.
In the blink of an eye, Ming was surrounded by these enthusiastic team members.
"Mr. Klein! You were absolutely amazing!" one of the team members said with admiration, his eyes shining with respect.
“Yes! Klein, we all admire you to the core!” another team member chimed in, his tone filled with undisguised respect.
Faced with this sudden and enthusiastic scene and the respectful words of the crowd, Ming couldn't help but feel somewhat bewildered.
"What's going on here..." Ming pondered, not remembering any prior relationship with her, his expression showing some confusion.
'Slap, slap slap'
Just then, a round of applause came from the other side of the corridor, and then Möbius and Elena walked over.
"Haha, you're really popular. No wonder you were the little guinea pig who helped me defeat that Salestio; you're definitely not simple~"
Möbius wore a playful smile, but Ming's doubts only deepened upon hearing this, and he thought to himself:
'No! What's that old woman Möbius up to now? Her tone sounds like she admires you, but it's like we're meeting for the first time.'
Before Ming could even think it through, the petite Elena standing next to Möbius suddenly spoke up:
"Hmph, it's just good luck. That small fry named Salestio, I'm not saying I could beat him with one hammer by myself, he can't even take care of himself! But... but he did a pretty good job, for a newcomer." Elena said with her arms crossed and a proud look on her face.
Ming glanced at her, only slightly frowning. He couldn't understand why this little girl, who looked to be underage, was speaking to him with such an arrogant air, arms crossed.
Just as Ming was about to respond to Elena, Instructor Linde spoke up first, saying, "Elena, don't underestimate Mr. Klein. His strength is unparalleled among the newcomers I've seen in recent years."
Hearing that her good friend Linde wasn't on her side, Elena snorted disdainfully, "Hmph, not bad, but I'm the seventh magician in the world. This nobody is still far behind me."
His expression faltered slightly after hearing this. He repeatedly scanned the little girl in front of him, muttering under his breath, "Uh..."
Ming couldn't suppress his inner urge to complain and muttered softly, "Is this what the world's seventh magician is like? And she's a tsundere loli at that." As he said this, Ming glanced again at Möbius behind her, who seemed a bit off, still puzzled.
Although he spoke softly, everyone present had exceptional hearing and instantly fell silent, turning to look at him.
Elena's face flushed bright red, like an enraged kitten. "Who are you calling a tsundere loli! You ignorant brat!" she said, raising her small hammer and charging at Ming.
Just as Elena was about to rush in front of Ming, Instructor Linde quickly reached out and barely stopped her. "Wait, Elena, this isn't the time to argue! You must have important business to attend to here," Linde shouted as he tried his best to stop her.
Elena glared angrily at Ming, her small chest heaving. "I'll let you off today for Lind's sake." She immediately turned around, took a badge from her sleeve, threw it at Ming, and left in a very unpleasant mood.
"What on earth is going on?!"
Ming couldn't stand it anymore. He turned his head and met the gaze of Möbius, who had been watching the show. But she pretended not to know him and turned her head away. Her lips twitched slightly, and then she turned and left.
Ming vaguely spelled out the words, 'Act well~'
Ming stared blankly at Linde, completely unaware of what the other was talking about. His eyes revealed a hint of confusion, as if he had no recollection of what Linde was describing.
Seeing this, Linde realized that Ming might really not remember what happened yesterday. So, he took a deep breath and slowly began to explain to Ming: "Ming, yesterday was a thrilling battle! You were the first to discover Salestos's stronghold, which is an extremely dangerous place, but you were fearless and went forward without hesitation."
"Then... we rescued Fildo who had been captured... and finally, with the help of Mobius, the 9th magician of the DEM world who was the first to notice, we defeated Salesto, the leader of Htn!"
Instructor Lind explained omitting details, and Ming seemed to understand the meaning of Möbius's words, "Act well." He thought to himself:
'Oh, I see... That makes sense. No one except the higher-ups at SSS knows about my master-disciple relationship with that old woman. And a newcomer couldn't possibly defeat a seasoned magician single-handedly, so she lied...?'
Ming thought for a moment, then looked at Instructor Linde in front of him, nodded and said, "No need to explain anymore, I remember now. But Instructor Linde, what is this in my hand?"
Ming, puzzled, took out the medal that Elena had just thrown at him and asked.
Linde replied, "This is the military badge you received when you were promoted from corporal to sergeant. Look," Instructor Linde pointed to Horim, who was watching from behind, and then continued, "You're the same rank as her now."
Ming looked at the medal in his hand, a complex expression flashing in his eyes, a mixture of surprise at the honor and a hint of doubt.
"Instructor Linde, such a large promotion, will there be any problems?"
Lin De patted Ming on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Of course, no problem, you deserve it. You showed extraordinary courage and ability in this operation, and the higher-ups think highly of you."
At this moment, Horim, who had been silent until now, walked over, raised an eyebrow, and said:
"Little brother Klein, don't be so smug. This is a promotion that many people dream of. Currently, apart from Instructor Lind, who is a lieutenant colonel, the two of us have the highest ranks here."
Ming chuckled awkwardly, scratched his head, and said, "Yeah, it just feels a bit sudden." Horim snorted, "You're just too lucky, I'm so envious."
Just as Ming was about to say something, his communicator suddenly rang.
Ming glanced at it, his expression changing slightly. "Instructor Lind, Horarim, I have something to attend to and must take my leave," Ming said hastily.
Instructor Lind frowned. "Has something urgent happened? You can let me know if you need help." Ming shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Instructor, but it's just a small personal matter." He then turned and quickly left.
As he was about to leave, Ming slowly turned around, gazing affectionately at the familiar and kind faces behind him. A hint of gratitude flickered in his eyes.
Ming nodded slightly and said softly to his companions behind him, "Then, thank you all for your continued care and support."
Then, Ming ran out of the corridor. A brighter future awaited him. The road ahead might be long, but the memories here were incredibly precious to him...