Chapter One: Provocations Abound
Just after celebrating her eighteenth birthday, Ella, a girl who had just come of age in the futuristic year of 2038, left the birthday banquet prepared by her mother and arrived at Lu Anru's house.
Oh no, in the year 2038, reaching sixteen means coming of age, and eighteen should rightfully be called womanhood.
As for why she couldn't have a moment of peace on her birthday and was forced to fuss her way to her best friend's house, it was all because of overwhelming pressure.
With both hands firmly planted on her hips and a deathly stare locking onto her best friend, hoping to vent her frustrations and resentments on the one responsible for her injustice.
The girl she had locked eyes with, however, showed no signs of urgency on her charming and adorable face, let alone guilt.
With her delicate fingers leisurely picking up the small hammer from the crab-eating utensils, she lightly tapped on the crab shell.
Five taps, neither too many nor too few, were enough to separate the shell from the meat, followed by picking up the scissors and snipping off the crab legs and claws.
The whole process was exceptionally professional, accompanied by a white porcelain bowl filled to the brim with crab meat and roe, almost intimidating Ella.
Normally, such tasks could be delegated to a household companion robot. Even if not, with Lu Anru's abundant family background, there could easily be a private Michelin-starred chef to assist.
But seeing her so earnestly and meticulously doing it herself, Ella had a feeling, could it be that her mischievous little witch of a best friend had started to cultivate herself? Venturing into culinary arts? Hence, turning a blind eye to the frequent provocations of the past month?
Anything is susceptible to overthinking, where one thought leads to the automatic completion of excuses.
Just as she was about to shield Lu Anru from another onslaught of verbal sparring and reject the challengers who were determined to determine victory or defeat.
Unfortunately, just as the understanding had barely arisen for three seconds, it vanished like Lu Anru's pretense of professionalism.
When Lu Anru cut open the crab shell from the middle, expertly pried it open with artistic hands, flawlessly ensuring not a speck of stain, then handed the open crab to the chef who had been waiting, delivering an angelic smile as clean and flawless as the crab shell.
"Chef Li, thank you for your trouble."
Chef Li took it over with both hands, taking care of the crabs where the roe had stuck due to improper handling.
Showing no emotion on his face, he respectfully said, "No trouble, Miss Anru, it's my pleasure."
Ella almost laughed out loud on the spot, but thinking of her little witch of a friend's temperament, she felt it extremely reasonable again. Doing things to show off on the surface has always been one of Lu Anru's hobbies.
Presumably, Lu Anru's most beloved younger brother, Sheng Ming, wanted to eat crab roe noodles, so she deliberately 'exerted herself' to help open the crabs and then turned into a supervisor.
When the meal was brightly presented, she could take full credit in front of her brother, showing her hard work and taking the credit.
Ella summoned all her patience and waited for Chef Li to finish peeling the last five crabs and leave. She hurriedly sat down next to Lu Anru, taking out a palm-sized microcomputer.
As she chose the chat projection, she grabbed Lu Anru's slender arm to prevent her from avoiding the issue.
"Anru, since you joined the combat club, our group has received as many as 1256 personal challenge letters from you. It has seriously affected the good atmosphere of the group. Can you live with your conscience? Aren't you going to make any gestures?"
Lu Anru calmly shook her head, calling out to Chef Li who was walking away, "Chef Li, please add a bit more vinegar to the crabs, Ming likes it."
"Sure." Chef Li stopped his steps, answered, and waited a few seconds before seeing no further arrangements and continued walking towards the kitchen.
Just as he took five steps, another call came.
"Chef Li, add a bit more mustard to mine, I like it."
Chef Li stopped again, nodded with a smile.
In fact, Lu Anru didn't need to emphasize these things so much. He had been working here for five years and was already familiar with them, but he still pretended to listen attentively. He knew that every time Lu Anru called him, it was not a lack of trust in him but probably just avoiding responding to the redhead woman's questioning.
After the Third World War, a new era began. Many artificial intelligences surpassed computational formulas and acquired life and emotions. Compared to servants who needed to eat and sleep, artificial intelligence could do their jobs better and more excellently.
It was rare to find an employer who insisted on using old skills, so Chef Li cherished it even more.
Deliberately waiting for a while, seeing Lu Anru and Ella silent at the same time, seemingly contemplating something.
From the expressions of the two, Chef Li felt that Lu Anru should not use him as a shield anymore, so he silently turned around.
Just as he turned around, another call came.
With patience bolstered by his strong quality, adjusting his facial expression, Chef Li was about to turn around with a face full of spring breeze, ready to retreat when he heard an explosion of anger.
"Lu Anru!!! Enough is enough! Please, have some self-awareness."
Chef Li glanced over with his peripheral vision, confirming that the young miss had Ella shaken up and had no time to offer more advice, so he hurried back to the kitchen, giving the two space to talk.
It's not that he didn't protect his master, but he knew how close the relationship between the two was. Besides buying time, he had no use staying. If he missed the best time to handle the ingredients, there would be a risk of losing his job.
In the living room, Ella didn't stop her rampage until she left Lu Anru slightly dizzy.
Seeing Lu Anru gradually recovering, with a somewhat stubborn attitude on her face, Ella's heart chilled a lot.
Hard doesn't work, only soft tactics work.
Pulling the fruit plate closer on the table, acting as the steward, she peeled off the crystal-clear sunlight grapes one by one, sending them to Lu Anru's lips with intimacy.
A mouthful of sweetness poured in, feeding Lu Anru to her heart's content, her eyes a little drowsy and stubborn, Ella timely recalled past events.
"Anru, you see, the public anger is hard to quell. At least give everyone a response. I know Moon Soar Academy advocates freedom and exploration and won't punish those who refuse challenges, but you are the leader of our C-level first study group. Some things must be set by example, always avoiding will be criticized as too cowardly." Most importantly, their group members are very innocent, being ridiculed and teased all day long, called small and skinny, following you like a ninja turtle.
Ella intentionally raised her voice on the words "too cowardly," hoping to provoke Lu Anru's anger. Of course, the last sentence was retained, fearing that too much of it would backfire.
Lu Anru slightly widened her
eyes, looked at the projection screen, as if letting the data wake her up, asked incredulously, "Over a thousand challenge letters?"
"Yes, 1256."
Ella wiped her hands with a tissue, unlocked the microcomputer to enter the group's PK application interface, pointing to the projection to emphasize the seriousness, "We can't delay any longer!"
Lu Anru lowered her eyes, her face full of unwillingness to face it directly, and clicked her tongue, "Over a thousand people, I can't handle it."
Ella's impulse to scold someone rose to her mouth, but considering the overall situation, she struggled to swallow it down, sighing with clasped hands.
"Your act of playing dumb is so impressive. We just participated in the junior high exam at the beginning of the year, and a total of 300 people entered the intermediate level, and they were divided into four societies respectively. Over a thousand challenge letters were sent out by a dozen people non-stop. You just need to respond to them."
Moon Soar Academy, as the highest academy of the new era, is a place that all people who pursue strength dream of. Moon Soar is different from ordinary schools and focuses on inspiring the potential of each student.
While in school, students not only need to learn basic cultural knowledge such as normal subjects, but also can choose from four major societies based on their potential: Combat, Magic, Comprehensive Arts, and Healing.
Graduating from Moon Soar Junior High is enough to make all major ordinary schools and social companies scramble for it. Few people can advance from junior high to intermediate.
Students have a deep-rooted respect for real strength, and the spirit of never giving up will focus on anyone who wants to challenge. Especially in the combat club, this spirit is carried to the extreme. Compared with other clubs, which like to promote simulated consciousness PK, the combat club is keen on actual combat and won't stop until the opponent is subdued. It sounds positive, but it's difficult.
As for why Lu Anru could provoke so many people's dissatisfaction, it might be because she's too modest.
Yes, you heard it right, the word is 'modest.'
In the first monthly examination after joining the club, Lu Anru mercilessly defeated a male opponent, knocking him down hard. It may not sound surprising at first, but many people present were shocked because he was several heads taller than her.
After the match, she learned that her opponent was actually a senior in Class B. At the end of last semester, he felt that some of his physical abilities did not meet the desired standards and voluntarily applied to repeat the semester in Class C.
In an academy where strength is respected, any pursuit of greater strength is worthy of respect, regardless of the method.
Similarly, in a fair competition, those who achieve victory across levels through their own abilities will also be recognized by everyone and earn the respect of their opponents.
However, in the disdainful environment, Lu Anru looked towards Gao Ying, who was offering congratulations, and complained with a hint of anger, "You should have told me earlier. If you had, I would have pretended to lose."
Hearing this, Gao Ying was almost suffocated with anger. One sentence revealed two points: Lu Anru didn't regard her opponent as a worthy adversary at all, and secondly, it exposed that Lu Anru didn't regard most people as colleagues and didn't even remember who was who. These two points offended quite a few people.
The president of the combat club, Huang Qizhao, had a resolute and vindictive personality. The next day, he skipped the congratulatory atmosphere and publicly criticized Lu Anru for engaging in bureaucratic practices, which was a great sorrow for the combat club.