: Fate Unknown? That Means Dead

When Qiao Ye opened his eyes, it was already daylight outside.

He jumped out of bed and, shirtless, punched the air twice.

His punches were short and powerful, and his whole body was filled with an unprecedented sense of lightness and strength.

Excellent condition!

Character Status Panel

Name: Qiao Ye

Age: 17

[Talent: Lord of Dreams]

[Character Attributes:]

[Constitution: 6 (Your resilience has been significantly improved)]

[Strength: 5 (The person you punch will cry for a long time)]

Agility: 6 (You can stand steadily on a bus)

[Mental state: 6 (Staying up all night to study is not a problem)]

[Charm: 4 (An ordinary high school student)]

[Spirituality: 1 (Finally not 0 anymore)]

Extraordinary Profession: The Witcher

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Brother! Dinner's ready!"

It was the voice of her younger sister, Qiao Xing.

Qiao Ye put on a T-shirt and opened the door. A girl with a ponytail was standing at the door.

Qiao Xing is fourteen years old and in the second year of junior high school.

Following the trajectory of her past life, this girl will quickly become a boxer after entering university, launching powerful attacks on social media every day.

But at this moment, she was just an ordinary, chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) girl.

"What are you looking at?"

Qiao Xing felt a little uneasy being stared at by Qiao Ye.

"It's nothing, I just miss you the way you are now."

Qiao Ye sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen my sister not scold me when we meet."

"There's something wrong with it."

Qiao Xing was baffled, feeling that her older brother was saying something strange again.

"Anyway, I've called you, so it's up to you whether you eat or not."

Qiao Xing turned and left, and Qiao Ye followed him out of the room.

After washing up, Qiao Ye went to the dining table and sat down next to his younger brother, Qiao Meng.

Qiao Meng is twelve years old and in the sixth grade. He has fair skin and his eyebrows and eyes are prettier than most girls.

No wonder he was so successful later on, and he even paid off a huge debt for his family.

As soon as she sat down, Qiao's mother began to give her instructions.

"Ono, eat more. The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Don't be too nervous. Just do your best."

"Mom, I'm not nervous."

Qiao Ye was indeed not nervous.

After awakening his extraordinary profession, the college entrance examination lost its original meaning for him.

According to regulations, professionals can be directly admitted to the Extraordinary Vocational College without taking an entrance exam, and they also receive substantial subsidies.

What he needs to consider now is how to tell his family about this.

"Mom, I..."

"Oh, right!"

Suddenly remembering something, Qiao's mother said, "You asked your dad yesterday, and I thought you already knew. He said he was going to take leave to come back and accompany you during your college entrance exam. It should be in the next couple of days."

Oh?

Is Joe's dad coming back?

A thought suddenly struck Qiao Ye.

Since the extraordinary profession has already awakened, why not wait until Joe's dad comes back and announce it together?

Since it's all about showing off in front of others, the more people there are, the better.

……

school.

With the college entrance examination approaching, almost all classes have been suspended.

The students in the classroom exhibited different states.

Some people were engrossed in doing practice problems, some were staring blankly at the sky, some were passing around yearbooks, and some simply didn't come.

Qiao Ye sat in the last row by the window, just wanting to get through this period as quickly as possible.

Bored, he opened the system panel to check his attributes.

He saw the "Spirituality" attribute panel.

"Spirituality: 1...What is the purpose of this spirituality?"

It's strange. I can understand patience and strength, but spirituality...

suddenly!

"Knock knock!"

His heart skipped a beat.

"hiss--"

Qiao Ye gasped, feeling inexplicably panicked.

It was like a premonition that something bad was going to happen.

But this panic was fleeting and soon disappeared.

Qiao Ye touched his chest, but he could no longer find that feeling from before.

"Are you scaring yourself?"

He couldn't help but think.

But I always felt uneasy.

He asked for leave before finishing his afternoon self-study session.

The teachers aren't as strict as they used to be; they're quick to give feedback.

Qiao Ye arrived home two hours early.

The door was ajar.

Qiao Ye paused for a moment.

The keen senses granted by the Witcher were fully activated at this moment—

There was more than just the mother in the room; there were at least four adult men, their steps steady and well-trained.

There was definitely a problem!

Qiao Ye suddenly pushed the door open.

Four strange men were standing in the living room.

They were dressed in uniform black uniforms, with bulging waistbands, clearly carrying weapons.

His mother was kneeling on the ground.

She was crying.

There was no sound, only tears streaming down her face. She covered her mouth with her hand, and her whole body was trembling.

One of the older men was reaching out his hand to Qiao's mother.

Holy crap!

Qiao Ye's mind went blank for a moment!

You bastard!

What are you going to do to my mother, Wang Xiufen, who is over forty but still has a charming appearance?!

In an instant, Qiao Ye moved.

[Mamba Fist Technique: A B-rank skill that embodies the lifelong combat insights of the legendary Demon Hunter, Mamba Knight. It can instantly unleash the body's potential, greatly increasing agility and strength for a short period, and has a chance to trigger "Supreme Elbow Strike".]

Qiao Ye practically strode from the doorway to the center of the living room in one step.

The other three tried to react, but Qiao Ye was too fast.

In an instant, he was in front of the older man.

Mamba Kung Fu!

Elbow out!

The older man's pupils constricted sharply, and he instinctively blocked the attack.

But it was too late.

boom!

An elbow strike right in the face!

The man groaned, fell backward, and blood gushed from his nose, arcing through the air.

The other three people changed color at the same time and subconsciously reached for their weapons.

"Ono!!!"

The mother's heart-wrenching voice rang out.

Qiao Ye had already assumed the stance for his second elbow strike, but upon hearing this sound, he abruptly stopped.

He turned around.

The mother stood up from the ground, her face streaked with tears, and shook her head desperately.

"No...they're not bad people..."

Qiao Ye was stunned.

He turned back and looked at the older man who was getting up from the ground, covering his nose.

The man's face was covered in blood, and he looked utterly disheveled.

But he didn't get angry; he just smiled wryly and took out his identification from his pocket.

"Hell Frontline 17th Defense Zone, Defense Zone Commander: Zhou Zhiguo."

He covered his nose, his voice muffled.

"Your father's comrade-in-arms."

……

"Uncle Zhou, please have some tea."

Qiao Ye held the teacup with both hands and handed it to Zhou Zhiguo.

The district chief sat on the sofa, two cotton balls stuffed in his nostrils, looking at the boy in front of him.

The remaining three people stood aside, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

They saw that moment very clearly.

Zhou Zhiguo, the highest-ranking officer of the 17th Defense Zone of Hell's Frontline, a Tier 3 professional [Night Watchman].

He got elbowed in the face by a high school student and his face was covered in bruises.

No one would believe it if I told them.

Zhou Zhiguo took the teacup but didn't drink it immediately.

He looked up at Qiao Ye, his gaze appraising her.

"Have you awakened your profession?"

"A couple of days ago," Qiao Ye stood in front of him, not avoiding his gaze, "I haven't had a chance to say it yet."

Zhou Zhiguo remained silent for a few seconds.

"OK."

He spoke softly, as if talking to himself.

"Good... Now Old Joe can rest in peace."

As soon as those words were spoken, it was as if the air in the living room had been sucked out.

The three team members lowered their heads.

Qiao's mother swayed, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Qiao Ye stood still, motionless.

He already knew what had happened.

Three days ago, unusual activity occurred in the dense fog area at Oak Ridge outpost in the 17th defense zone where Qiao's father was stationed.

No one knows exactly what happened, but all thirteen people at the outpost have disappeared, their fate unknown.

"His fate is unknown" is just a euphemism.

He's basically dead.

After all, this wasn't the first time the dense fog had malfunctioned, and no survivors had ever been seen before.

"You shouldn't have come directly to our door..."

Qiao's mother's voice trembled, "Xiao Ye is about to take the college entrance exam, he shouldn't know..."

This sadness is clearly not the time to be made public yet.

She can bear it all by herself.

"I know."

Zhou Zhiguo's voice was very low.

"But this matter cannot wait."

He was also helpless. He had clearly calculated the time, but who knew that Qiao Ye would suddenly come home early?

Fortunately, the kid awakened his profession, so he didn't really cause any trouble.

Zhou Zhiguo took something out of his pocket.

A palm-sized, irregularly shaped, multifaceted crystal.

A faint light was flowing inside.

"It was left behind by Old Joe," he said. "Something sealed away by the Crystallizer at the last moment; only blood relatives can open it."

He placed the crystal on the coffee table and pushed it in front of Qiao Ye.

"We need to know what memories he left inside."