After switching jobs to Navelette, the school beauty turns out to be Funina!

Back at the Qianlongyuan Villa.

Xia Qingyu was lying on the sofa watching TV when she saw Jiang Chen return, and immediately hopped over like a little rabbit.

"How was it? What good stuff did you pick? Is it a legendary staff? Or a divine artifact?"

Jiang Chen handed her the tattered law book.

Xia Qingyu took it and glanced at it, her face immediately fell.

"What...what is this? Did you go to collect scrap metal?" Xia Qingyu asked with a look of disgust.

"The book cover is about to fall off! And I can't understand the writing on it at all, it looks like scribbles."

"This is called an antique, you know?" Jiang Chen took the codex back and wiped it clean like a treasure.

"This thing can make my water gun thicker and last longer."

"Vulgar!" Xia Qingyu spat, her face slightly red.

"Can't you say something nicer?"

"Alright, alright, that's how I can make my judgment more... impactful."

"It sounds even worse!"

After the two joked around for a while, Jiang Chen suddenly became serious and said...

"Oh, by the way, the ring I gave you as a prize for winning the championship this time is for you."

As he spoke, he tossed the legendary ring to Xia Qingyu.

Xia Qingyu caught it in a fluster, and her eyes widened when she saw its attributes.

"Legendary?! 30% increase in all elemental affinity?! This is top-tier! It would cost at least tens of millions on the market! And you just gave it to me like that?"

"We're practically family," Jiang Chen shrugged.

"You're a support character, so staying alive is the priority. Besides, this tattered book is enough for me."

Xia Qingyu held the ring, feeling a warm glow inside, as if she had been given a large cup of hot cocoa. She secretly glanced at Jiang Chen, then put the ring on her middle finger; the size was just right.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

"My brother is the best."

"Don't just say thank you." Jiang Chen pointed to the kitchen.

"I want braised pork for dinner, the one you made."

Xia Qingyu's face stiffened.

"Um...you know, my cooking skills are..."

"It's alright, I have [Drop of Source Water], it won't kill anyone." Jiang Chen looked resigned to his fate.

"Besides, I've already blocked 30% of my taste system, so I should be able to withstand it."

Xia Qingyu: "..."

"Jiang Chen! I want to bite you to death!"

The sounds of a girl's embarrassed cries and a boy's laughter came from the villa, adding a touch of liveliness to the otherwise quiet and desolate Qianlong Abyss.

......

In the following days, the Imperial Capital Academy fell into an eerie calm.

Since he vomited blood and fainted that day, Zhao Wuji has taken sick leave and is said to have gone home to recuperate.

Jiang Chen, on the other hand, led a leisurely life, going back and forth between two points: sleeping in class and teasing Xia Qingyu at his villa after class.

However, this calm did not last long.

On Monday morning, all new students received an urgent notice.

"All freshmen who ranked in the top 100 of the competition, assemble in the mission lobby immediately! An S-rank mandatory mission has been issued!"

The atmosphere in the mission hall was heavy.

Vice Principal Liu Ruyan stood on the stage with a stern expression.

"Fellow students, just yesterday, we detected unusual spatial fluctuations in an abandoned mine in the western suburbs of the capital. A new small secret realm is forming, and... there has been a leak of some kind of toxin we've never seen before."

Liu Ruyan pointed to the large screen, which displayed an aerial photograph.

What was once a lush and verdant forest had now turned into a desolate wasteland, with purplish-black liquid flowing on the ground and bubbling eerily.

"This liquid is extremely corrosive and toxic; even a single drop can cause skin ulceration in ordinary workers. The air itself is filled with toxic fumes."

"Your mission is to form a team to enter this secret realm called 'Wailing Waters,' clear out the mutated monsters on the periphery, and assist the exploration team in finding the source of the toxin."

"Attention! Although this is an S-rank mission, the danger level is extremely high! Everyone must wear the special protective suits issued by the school and carry antidotes with them! If the protective suits are damaged, retreat immediately!"

The students in the audience turned pale upon hearing this.

"Corrosive toxic water? That's disgusting!"

"My class is melee, how am I supposed to fight like this? I get poisoned to death before I can even hit the monster."

"I want to go home... I want to find my mother."

Jiang Chen, however, looked at the purplish-black liquid on the big screen, and his expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

That wasn't ordinary poisonous water.

Inside, he sensed a faint... extremely faint aura belonging to the "primordial womb".

Although it was polluted and murky, he would never mistake its original flavor.

"It seems that this so-called source of the toxin is actually a good thing." Jiang Chen licked his lips, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

To others, it is highly poisonous.

But for him, who possessed the body of an ancient dragon, it was... a highly nourishing supplement!

……

Half an hour later, the entrance to the secret realm appeared.

The area has been sealed off by the military, and the air is filled with a pungent, sour stench.

All the students were wrapped up tightly, wearing heavy white protective suits like spacesuits, and carrying all sorts of weapons, moving clumsily.

"Jiang Chen, these clothes are so heavy and stuffy."

Wearing protective clothing, Xia Qingyu shuffled over to Jiang Chen like a clumsy penguin, her voice coming through the mask, sounding somewhat sullen.

"And it's so ugly, not ethereal at all."

Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh at her comical appearance.

"Just bear with it, this poison gas is indeed quite potent for ordinary people."

"And what about you?" Xia Qingyu noticed that although Jiang Chen was holding a protective suit, he didn't seem to be putting it on.

"Why aren't you wearing anything? Do you want to be poisoned?"

"Me?" Jiang Chen casually tossed the protective suit to the support staff next to him.

"I'm a germaphobe; I don't want to wear clothes that other people have worn. And..."

He took a deep breath of the toxic air around him, a look of ecstasy on his face.

"I think the air here is quite fresh, it smells a bit like home."

The students and instructors next to him looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Is this guy crazy? That's S-class poison gas!"

"Not wearing protective clothing? Even a third-tier expert wouldn't dare to be so arrogant, would they?"

"Has Jiang Chen gotten too cocky these past few days from all the praise? Does he really think he's some kind of god?"

Liu Ruyan also walked over, her brows furrowed: "Jiang Chen! This is an order! Put on the protective suit immediately! Otherwise, your mission qualification will be revoked!"

Jiang Chen sighed helplessly.

These mortals always use their shallow understanding to measure dragons.

"Vice Principal, if I absolutely must wear it, then I won't go in." Jiang Chen said earnestly.

"This outfit limits my performance and will distort my delicate movements. I'm confident it won't affect me, really."

To prove himself, Jiang Chen simply extended a finger and inserted it into a small puddle of poisonous water nearby.

sizzle-

The poisonous water boiled instantly, emitting white smoke.