Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 91

Shattered glass rained down like glittering stars with a “whoosh”, the vibrant stage lights abruptly fractured into countless shards, making the dark figure darting through them even more conspicuous.

The figure moved with blinding speed, making it impossible to discern his target at first. Meng Xuexiao only saw him lunging toward his side.

Even before the figure drew near, the force of his movement felt like a stinging wind against Meng Xuexiao’s cheeks. He nearly lost his grip on the water bottle Yao Huai had just handed him, the bottle slipping straight downward.

But in that instant, a slender, bony hand shot up from below, caught the bottle, and returned it to Meng Xuexiao’s grasp.

Simultaneously, the dark figure had already reached above their heads.

Now, Meng Xuexiao finally saw the figure’s action clearly: his fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged on his arms as he prepared to strike with full force.

Staring at the throbbing veins on the figure’s wrists, Meng Xuexiao could almost smell the blood that was about to spill.

Yet the figure’s fists never struck anyone.

An invisible wall seemed to materialize in the air. The dark figure’s fist slammed into it with a deafening boom.

At point-blank range, Meng Xuexiao watched the skin and flesh around the knuckles of the figure’s clenched fist roll back from the impact, revealing glimpses of stark white bone beneath.

Yet the invisible barrier remained, coldly separating them.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively glanced again at the faint outline of bone. At that exact moment, the dark figure lowered his head, and their eyes locked.

The figure’s features were sharply defined and intensely aggressive. Meng Xuexiao recognized him instantly—Wu Zian.

Wu Zian had grown considerably taller, his features more angular and pronounced. His military uniform was disheveled from the violent exertion, blood dripping from his hand to stain the brass buttons on his trousers crimson.

The sudden commotion drew the attention of everyone present. Even the Principal and the Military Department Adjutant beside him frowned involuntarily. But when they recognized the slightly disheveled uniform and that fiercely assertive face, both men froze in surprise.

“Sir… Officer, what’s going on?” The Adjutant’s lips moved, but he couldn’t find the words to speak.

He had only joined Wu Zian’s staff after the latter’s full appointment to the Military Department. He knew nothing of Wu Zian’s past, only that since entering the department, Wu Zian had been the epitome of discipline, practically the embodiment of military regulations themselves.

Many senior officers in the Military Department claimed Wu Zian possessed the unwavering composure and innate leadership qualities of a future Federal Marshal.

But… why was he suddenly launching an attack at the Federation Military Academy?

His initial strike failed. Wu Zian clicked his tongue in Yao Huai’s direction, flipped his body mid-air, and brought his knee down with brutal force, slamming it into the same spot his fist had struck.

Yet the invisible barrier remained unshaken, not even trembling slightly.

Reluctantly retreating, Wu Zian pulled out the cube-like device Shen Zekai had given him.

He had never wanted to use anything from Shen Zekai. Their partnership was purely transactional, and he couldn’t trust the man not to stab him in the back.

But now, he had no other choice.

Clenching his fists, he pressed the metallic object into his own flesh.

An unimaginable surge of terrifying energy erupted, causing the veins on his arms to bulge violently.

“This is utterly reckless,” Shen Zekai muttered, frowning as he watched the scene unfold from the second floor.

But since they’d already gone this far…

He spoke into the still-connected phone, “No need to wait any longer. Move now.”

The roar of engines grew louder, even penetrating the soundproofed classrooms of the Federation Military Academy. Meng Xuexiao glanced out the window and immediately saw a dense formation of Starships hovering outside.

Each vessel bore the insignia of the Shen Family.

Meng Xuexiao knew the Shen Family wielded immense power, but surely their influence couldn’t extend directly into the Alliance Military Academy?

Wait…

His gaze quickly shifted to Wu Zian. As the Federal Marshal’s designated successor, Wu Zian would indeed have the authority to bring such a large force onto academy grounds, given the close ties between the Military Academy and the Federal Military Department.

Were Wu Zian and Shen Zekai now collaborating?

But… how could that be possible?

Their notoriously bitter rivalry was well-known.

And why would they be here at the Military Academy…?

“Looks like someone doesn’t want us to cooperate,” Yao Huai murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly before he turned to Meng Xuexiao with a leisurely gaze. “What shall we do about this?”

To someone who had just agreed to cooperate, this remark sounded like a provocation.

Yet Meng Xuexiao showed none of the resentment one might expect from someone being provoked. The young man’s gaze darted up and down, as if searching for something.

Then, Yao Huai followed Meng Xuexiao’s line of sight and noticed the young man on the second floor.

Wu Zian had completely shattered the glass on the second-floor classroom, making Shen Zekai’s figure visible.

The moment Meng Xuexiao saw Shen Zekai, he visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

If there was anyone he trusted most at the Federation Military Academy, it was Shen Zekai.

This man had been the first to reach out to him at the academy, and his gentle nature was well-known.

Meng Xuexiao rushed forward a few steps, braced himself against the railing of the competition platform, and looked up. His upturned face allowed him to see just Shen Zekai’s chin. He urgently asked, “What exactly is…

going on?”

Meng Xuexiao’s eyes widened, and from Shen Zekai’s downward perspective, his pupils appeared perfectly round. The young man’s reflection shimmered in the depths of Meng Xuexiao’s eyes, making it seem as if he occupied the entirety of his world.

Shen Zekai felt a pang of frustration.

How had he only realized this now? Compared to Yao Huai, he had another innate advantage: he had been the first to approach Meng Xuexiao.

Even if it was just imprinting…

He had been hesitating about how to tell Meng Xuexiao what he and Wu Zian had deduced, but now that Meng Xuexiao had asked, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

Wu Zian clearly thought the same, beginning to close in on Yao Huai to give Shen Zekai room to speak.

At the same time, the Shen Family’s starships uniformly fired red targeting beams. Dozens of beams converged on Yao Huai, nearly dyeing his entire body crimson.

It was as if the beams had already pierced through Yao Huai before the attack, pinning him to his wheelchair.

Meng Xuexiao felt his heart race just watching the red beams narrowly miss him.

But then, one of the dense beams suddenly vanished.

No, not vanished. Meng Xuexiao squinted, studying the starship that had fired the beam. It had abruptly turned around and was now accelerating away in a different direction.

Soon, a second starship followed suit, then a third.

In a mere five seconds, every starship Shen Zekai had brought turned tail.

What on earth is going on?

The next moment, a dense web of red lines crisscrossed Meng Xuexiao’s vision again—signals from the communicators of Shen Zekai and Wu Zian.

Wu Zian ignored the incoming calls, but Shen Zekai immediately recognized the name of the contact on his communicator: it was the Shen Family member who had just ordered all the starships to turn around.

He pressed the answer button, his expression shifting from impatience to shock.

Wu Zian glanced at Shen Zekai’s face, his brow furrowing, and also answered his communicator.

“What… no warning… enemy attack?”

“What’s happening?”

“Where are they now?! Do we have enough manpower? I know the Shen Family has already returned to defend their territory.”

Wu Zian and the person on the other end of the communicator were speaking so rapidly that Meng Xuexiao couldn’t make out a word.

Just then, a weight suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. The young man shivered involuntarily and immediately looked back.

He saw Yao Huai’s half-hand resting on his shoulder, his body leaning close. Silver strands of hair brushed against Meng Xuexiao’s neck, their closeness almost intimate.

“I advise you to come with me immediately.”

This statement was even more ambiguous than what Shen Zekai and Wu Zian had said. Meng Xuexiao stood rooted to the spot, turning to look at Shen Zekai again. By now, Shen Zekai and Wu Zian had also put down their communicators.

Just as Meng Xuexiao was about to ask Shen Zekai what was happening, Shen Zekai suddenly flipped over the second-floor railing and leaped down, his hands clamping firmly around Meng Xuexiao’s wrists.

“You must come with me right now.”

Meng Xuexiao’s mind went blank.

The words were identical to Yao Huai’s.

But reality offered no time for contemplation. Almost immediately, the ground began to tremble violently, spiderweb cracks spreading across the floor. The ceiling collapsed, shattering into pieces as it crashed to the ground.

Through the debris, Meng Xuexiao could faintly see scorch marks on the ceiling fragments.

Then, a ball of fire plummeted from the sky, slamming directly into the competition platform—a structure even mecha couldn’t penetrate. The platform instantly buckled, creating a crater several meters deep.

In the next instant, a similar fireball struck the utility pole outside the classroom. The tightly contained electrical current surged out of control, triggering an immediate explosion.

Black smoke billowed everywhere.

The Principal and teachers of the Federation Military Academy reacted swiftly, immediately organizing the evacuation of students.

The Federation itself was far from peaceful. To protect these future leaders of the Military Department, the Academy conducted regular evacuation drills. The students, following their training, immediately headed for the underground shelters.

The Academy’s evacuation routes were well-designed. In less than half a minute, they had reached the entrance to the underground shelters.

But in the next instant, another fireball plummeted from the sky, crashing directly into the shelter entrance. The ground erupted from below, scattering debris, flesh, and the lingering stench of blood.

Meng Xuexiao’s eyes widened in horror.

The Academy’s drills were meant to prepare for aerial bombing by Starships, but this unnervingly precise attack seemed far beyond ordinary aerial strikes.

Coupled with Wu Zian’s recent phone call, Meng Xuexiao felt like he was grasping at something crucial when a massive shadow suddenly loomed over the city.

Vast, bat-like wings that could blanket the entire campus, a thick, powerful tail—

It was unmistakably the shadow of a Dragon!

Meng Xuexiao jerked his head up and immediately saw the dragon’s belly as it flew overhead. The meticulously arranged scales shimmered with alternating golden light and shadow.

Slightly behind the Golden Dragon, a silver shadow glided smoothly through the air. The projectile that had struck the ground earlier had been launched from its mouth, hitting its target with unerring accuracy.

It was Zhuoyue, Huai Sui, and… a little further back, the Empire’s Exotic Beast Corps.

Meng Xuexiao stared blankly as the aerial formation circled, seemingly searching for a suitable landing spot.

He had known that relations between the Federation and the Empire were extremely tense, even erupting into war at times. But this was the first time he had witnessed firsthand how the Empire left nothing but scorched earth in its wake. The sheer ferocity of their attack made it clear they intended to slaughter every living thing on this land.

Just then, a Shen Family Starship suddenly veered off course, making a small arc before settling down in an inconspicuous spot very close to Meng Xuexiao and the others.

Shen Zekai must have already given instructions to the crew during their earlier call, for the starship’s hatch opened immediately.

The Principal of the Federation Military Academy and the Adjutant from the Military Department promptly led the remaining students toward the starship’s entrance.

At the starship’s entrance, Shen Family soldiers leaned out, pulling injured and mobility-impaired students inside.

“Meng Xuexiao, come with me! Hurry!” Seeing most students and teachers already transferred to the starship, Shen Zekai tugged Meng Xuexiao’s wrist again, repeating his earlier words.

The pull on his wrist snapped Meng Xuexiao out of his daze. He realized he had unconsciously taken several steps forward, led by Shen Zekai. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he turned back and saw Yao Huai still standing motionless in the same spot.

Shen Zekai’s tug had caused Yao Huai’s hand to slide off Meng Xuexiao’s shoulder. The Silver-Haired Man glanced at his own hand but made no move to place it back on Meng Xuexiao.

Meng Xuexiao remembered that this man had said the same thing as Shen Zekai earlier, “Come with me.”

Meng Xuexiao wasn’t a fool. He knew that Yao Huai’s “come with me” meant something entirely different from Shen Zekai’s.

Yet, at that very moment, the Silver-Haired Man stood motionless in the path of the Empire’s impending sweep, as if granting Meng Xuexiao the choice—telling him he was absolutely free.

Whether Meng Xuexiao chose to cooperate with him or leave with him was entirely up to Meng Xuexiao himself.

“Mr. Shen, our Starship’s camouflage won’t hold much longer!” A Shen Family soldier on the Starship shouted to Shen Zekai, who was still outside, after pulling the last student aboard.

The returning Starship had temporarily evaded the Empire’s detection by activating its camouflage. To the Empire’s Alien Beasts, it appeared as nothing more than a ground brick or a drifting cloud in the sky.

But this function had limited duration. If they didn’t leave immediately, everyone would be trapped here.

Without another word, Shen Zekai grabbed Meng Xuexiao and dragged him toward the Starship.

At that moment, Meng Xuexiao could even see the students already crowding the Starship’s entrance.

Shen Zekai’s Starship was already packed, and with the addition of these Military Academy students and teachers, it was nearly overflowing. Moreover, the Starship was approaching its maximum weight capacity.

Meng Xuexiao glanced at the overload indicator on the wall near the starship’s entrance. It was just one percentage point away from turning completely red, meaning they could squeeze in at most one more person.

Right now, both he and Shen Zekai were outside.

Moreover, operating a starship so close to its overload limit was risky. The more people on board, the faster the energy would drain. No one knew if this accelerated energy consumption would shorten the duration of the camouflage.

The danger was too great.

To make matters worse, Zhuoyue and Huai Sui had both come along—Meng Xuexiao’s creditors.

He had originally escaped the Empire by deceiving them. If they caught him again… he’d be in serious trouble.

Grasping Shen Zekai’s hand, Meng Xuexiao gradually pushed him away. “I’m going with Yao Huai.”

Neither Raven, Shen Zekai, nor Wu Zian could match Yao Huai in combat. Yao Huai was their strongest asset, offering the highest level of security.

Besides, they had just forged an alliance to confront Zhuoyue and Huai Sui together.