Looking at the message An Shihua sent, Su Yan didn’t know how to reply for a moment. He thought for a little, hesitated, and then decided to reply with a question mark.
Straightforward Male: ❓
Straightforward Male: ¿
Seeing Su Yan send her two strange question marks in a row, the usually aloof An Shihua couldn’t help but twitch her lips. Is there something wrong with this Su Yan? she wondered. Does he not understand plain language, or what is his problem?
When An Shihua didn’t reply, Su Yan took the initiative to send her another message.
Straightforward Male: Explain in detail. The scent of a mythical beast.
Little Flower: It’s nothing. Sorry to bother you.
After sending this reply, An Shihua put her phone away, her gaze falling upon the Martial Arts Platform.
Su Yan, seeing this, could only put his phone back into his pocket and refocus on the competition on the Martial Arts Platform.
The mythical beast scent An Shihua mentioned must be from the Trash Rabbit, he mused. She probably noticed its scent lingering on me.
With this in mind, Su Yan took his phone out of his pocket again and opened the Qiandu Encyclopedia. He suddenly remembered that he knew practically nothing about the Trash Rabbit; it seemed they weren’t even mentioned in the compulsory education textbooks.
Qiandu Encyclopedia: Trash Rabbit
Su Yan quickly typed in the words.
However, to his surprise, no content related to the Trash Rabbit appeared on the Qiandu Encyclopedia.
What’s going on? he wondered. Logically, information on any known evolved creature should be available on the Qiandu Encyclopedia. Could it be... that the Trash Rabbit is an unknown species?
At this thought, Su Yan immediately got up and sat down next to Li Changxiao, who wasn’t far away.
He then asked, "Student Changxiao, have you ever heard of a creature called the Trash Rabbit?"
"Trash Rabbit? Never heard of it." Li Changxiao shook his head, indicating he didn’t know of such a creature.
Su Yan frowned. He pressed on, "You know, the one that’s rippling with muscle, can grow up to two meters tall, and whose eyes can be used as night-luminescent pearls. Think again."
"Why bother thinking? There’s no such creature! How could a rabbit grow that large?" Li Changxiao replied, looking utterly speechless.
After hearing Li Changxiao’s response, a suspicion arose in Su Yan’s mind.
Could that Super Double-sized rabbit that jumped out of the mirror be some unknown creature? But no... He quickly dismissed his own suspicion. After all, the System clearly mentioned that the eyes of the Trash Rabbit are often used to make women’s jewelry. And cheap jewelry at that. Going by the principle that rarity dictates value, shouldn’t the Trash Rabbit be a very common creature then? It’s hardly possible that no one has ever heard of them, right?
With that thought, Su Yan couldn’t help but wonder. Could it be that this Li Changxiao fellow, like me, is just ill-informed? Is his knowledge of evolved creatures limited to what’s in the textbooks? That’s possible.
Thinking this, Su Yan asked a few more people. But the results were identical: everyone said they had never heard of such a creature. They were also just as surprised as Li Changxiao, questioning how such a large rabbit could possibly exist.
Still not giving up, Su Yan walked over and stopped beside An Shihua.
She was the one who sent the message about smelling a mythical beast’s scent. Maybe she knows something about the Trash Rabbit, he thought.
Su Yan then asked, "Student An Shihua, have you heard of a creature called the Trash Rabbit?"
An Shihua glanced at Su Yan, her expression unchanging. Then, she replied in her cool voice, "No."
Just as An Shihua finished speaking—
The second match on the Martial Arts Platform had finally concluded. Fang Pingyuan from Shenzhen City, his Physical Strength completely depleted, was kicked off the Martial Arts Platform by Lü Shuyu from Dongguan City. He was unfortunately eliminated, his journey ending in the quarterfinals.
Seeing this, the chief examiner on the platform immediately announced loudly, "The winner, Lü Shuyu!"
As the examiner’s words fell, a burst of commotion erupted from the audience.
"It’s tough this year! Even Fang Pingyuan is out. Only Su Yuyue from our city is left."
"Pingyuan! Cry.jpg. My Pingyuan! Cry.jpg. Cry.jpg. Pingyuan! Cry.jpg. My Pingyuan! Cry.jpg. Cry.jpg. Pingyuan..."
"Fang Pingyuan! Damn you! Give me back my hard-earned money! You useless trash! Get lost!"
Amidst the uproar were sighs from the leaders of Shenzhen City’s education bureau, the bitter laments of family members, and the despairing bettors who were perhaps contemplating the "coolness" of the rooftop.
"Fang Pingyuan, to think you’d be eliminated in the quarterfinals. I never imagined that."
As Fang Pingyuan struggled to sit up from the ground, a tall, handsome young man in the waiting area spoke to him.
Fang Pingyuan looked over and said with a self-deprecating smile, "It’s just a lack of strength. Being eliminated in the quarterfinals is normal; after all, the college entrance exams are teeming with hidden talents."
"But let me tell you, Su Yuyue," Fang Pingyuan continued, "don’t get too confident. Even though my strength isn’t up to yours, that doesn’t mean others are the same."
"Don’t let yourself lose even more miserably than I did when you get on stage, ending up eliminated in the quarterfinals and having to ’swim’ back to Shenzhen."
After speaking, Fang Pingyuan stood up, dusted himself off, and walked alone towards the support area. He hadn’t been seriously injured in the match, just utterly exhausted, so he could walk there himself.
The third match began.
The contestants were:
Li Changxiao vs. Su Yuyue.
"The third quarterfinal match, to advance to the top four, begins now! Contestants Li Changxiao and Su Yuyue, please come to the platform!"