Chapter 188: Layering
"Uneasy?"
He Ying seemed to have caught on to something.
"Yeah, it seems to be because of the issue with the successor," An Rusu said.
"Successor? Isn't the principal only 50 years old? Why would they consider a successor? Besides, what kind of management model is Qingbei that it has a successor?" Dong Junwei interrupted.
"Well... the principal's appearance has changed completely. Ever since he shrank, everyone has watched him age day by day, turning into an elderly person in their seventies or eighties. Now, he can't even stand up anymore," An Rusu replied.
"Why did that happen?"
Dong Junwei had more opportunities to communicate with Shi Yuanjun before, so she felt a bit emotional thinking about how the graceful middle-aged man had turned into this.
"We don't know."
"Did the principal awaken some special ability?"
"Well... he probably did," An Rusu hesitated.
"You don't know?" Chen Mu frowned.
"It seems like not many people know, but Song Yuxia Qing Tongbin, they all listen to the principal's orders, so he must have some abilities. Moreover, it must be a very powerful ability, but we just haven't seen it," An Rusu explained.
"What ability does Song Yuxia have?" Chen Mu asked again.
"Song Xiaoxue...," An Rusu glanced at Chen Mu, thinking that since you know each other, how could you not know about this?
Chen Mu didn't explain and gestured with his eyes for her to continue.
An Rusu hurriedly said, "His ability is to control the movement of objects. I'm not sure of the specifics, but I once saw Senior Song kill a grasshopper all by himself. It was a big one, and with just a wave of his hand, the things around him seemed to turn into hidden weapons, shooting out with a swoosh sound. It was really cool and handsome."
With the current human size, being able to individually kill a swift-moving grasshopper is indeed considered powerful, not to mention that it may not be Song Yuxia's limit.
"What about that Tongbin? What ability does he have?" Chen Mu asked again.
"Well... I don't know," An Rusu shook her head.
"Are you part of the same organization? How come you don't even know this?" He Ying was somewhat dissatisfied.
"Because Tongbin seems to have never been on an external assignment, and no one has seen him use his ability."
"Then why is he qualified to be one of the managers?"
"This kind of thing is definitely not something we at our level would know. However, some of Tongbin's combat-type ability users are very strong. For example, one of them can control a toad to assist in battle, and it's a huge one. In the beginning, the food source for Qingbei was caught with the help of that toad."
Chen Mu and the others exchanged glances.
This seems somewhat similar to Du Jiajia.
Although a cat's size is much larger than that of a toad, evidently, this person can directly control the toad, which makes them stronger than Du Jiajia.
Chen Mu asked again, "What about that Xia Qing?"
"Oh, Xia Xue? She rarely gets her hands dirty; her ability is ice freezing."
"Ice freezing?"
"Yes," An Rusu said with admiration, "During a battle with someone from Yizhong, she froze a person into an ice popsicle. But, as you know, abilities like these are private matters, and no one tells others if they can help it, especially those combat-type ability users. So, even though I'm on Xia Xue's side, I didn't really ask her... except for one person..."
"Yang Buan?" Chen Mu interrupted.
"Hmm?" An Rusu seemed surprised that Chen Mu knew this person, but then she sighed with understanding, "Chen Mu senior indeed defeated Yang Buan."
Then she continued, "Little Yang is indeed very powerful, but he's just too talkative. Nonetheless, no matter what, he is a combat-type ability user and can live above the tenth floor."
"The tenth floor?"
Chen Mu was suddenly taken aback. Qingbei has already constructed tall buildings?
He then asked, "Where is Qingbei's base located?"
An Rusu clearly knew that this was highly confidential information. She took a deep breath before saying, "Didn't I say we gathered at the flag-raising platform in the beginning?"
"Yes."
"Later, we opened a hole in the flagpole, and everyone went inside. It provided shelter from wind and rain. After some modifications, we have been living in there."
"Living inside the flagpole?"
Chen Mu was surprised at first, but then he thought about it and found it quite reasonable.
The thickness of the flagpole is sufficient for accommodating people at our level. If we expand upwards and design a few more levels, it could probably accommodate more than two hundred people.
Chen Mu turned to look at Tang Jing.
Tang Jing had been silent all this time, but now, seeing Chen Mu's inquiring gaze, she nodded and said, "The stainless-steel flagpole at our school is 16 meters high, with a top diameter of 8 centimeters and a bottom diameter of 24 centimeters. As long as the division of floors is reasonable, it can easily accommodate thousands of people."
Chen Mu nodded, already used to the fact that Tang Jing knows about things like this.
However, both An Rusu and others were shocked. Despite living at Qingbei for so long, they had no idea about these specific dimensions, while this senior sister knows it all.
The decision to seek refuge here now seems even wiser.
"You mentioned Yang Buan can live above the tenth floor. What does that mean?" Chen Mu asked.
"There are a total of sixteen floors inside the flagpole. The principal lives on the top floor. The fifteenth floor has only three people: Xia Xue, Song Yuxia, and Tongbin. They each have their own room. Below that, the fourteenth floor also has three rooms, but two people share a room. The person who can control the toad lives on the fourteenth floor."
"Moving further down to the thirteenth floor, there are also two people per room, with a total of four rooms. Yang Buan lives on this floor, and... Xin Ping used to be on the thirteenth floor as well."
When An Rusu mentioned Xin Ping, she seemed a bit frightened, sneaking a glance at Chen Mu, evidently associating it with Xin Ping's tragic state.
Chen Mu was taken aback but then understood.
It seems that back then, Liang Yan had indeed used his real name.
"Liang Yan went back?" Since Xin Ping was mentioned, Chen Mu asked.
"Yes."
"And what about Xin Ping?"
"He also went back, but... both of his hands were amputated."
"Is he alive?" He Ying interrupted and asked.
"He's alive, but because his ability requires him to use his palms to activate, he's now a cripple. He's even worse off than those who haven't discovered their abilities. Now he's been moved directly to the bottom floor from the thirteenth floor."
Thinking of Xin Ping's ordeal, although An Rusu didn't have much affection for the person, she couldn't help but sigh.
As for Chen Mu, he felt a hint of fear again. At this moment, he was trying to recall if there was any lack of respect in his words earlier.
For Chen Mu, after these few days, reflecting on the past, he felt a bit sentimental, but more than that, he was dissatisfied with his own lack of strong ability.
It's because his abilities were not strong enough that he couldn't hold back when facing others in a fight. While the person he killed might not be worth any sympathy, killing someone is never a pleasant thing.
Fortunately, Xin Ping didn't die.
He was just left in a state worse than death.
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