Chapter 66: Actually Both of Them Are Scared
A-Train thought for a moment and said with certainty,
"The rankings will definitely go up."
The Deep finally found a topic he could safely participate in.
Immediately adding from the side, "And it won't just go up a little."
"You guys just transferred, theoretically you shouldn't even have an official ranking yet, but your test scores are already in the system now, plus the discussion level is so high today."
"Getting into the top one hundred definitely shouldn't be a problem."
A-Train glanced straight at him, looking a bit unconvinced.
"Top one hundred?"
"Kevin, aren't you being too conservative?"
The Deep was stunned for a moment, glanced at Lin Mo, and immediately said,
"Then what do you think it is?"
"Top fifty."
A-Train didn't hesitate, then looked at Lin Mo again.
"Even higher."
"It mainly depends on how Vought evaluates you guys."
Speaking of this, A-Train's tone obviously grew a bit more serious.
"Your abilities are very suitable for the Crimefighting College."
"Strength, speed, defense, right now it looks like there are basically no obvious shortcomings. If Vought gives enough resources and endorsements later on, the ranking will rise extremely fast."
Lin Mo nodded; this was pretty much similar to what he knew before.
The so-called rankings at Godolkin University were essentially a set of Vought-style hero value assessments; strength was the foundation, but not everything.
However, Lin Mo wasn't in a rush either; as for resources, he could have as much as he wanted. As for things like rankings, for other students, it might relate to whether they could get better contracts after graduation.
But for him, it was mostly just a convenient tool to gain exposure.
Be it first or tenth, what truly mattered was how much plot impact it could bring him.
"What place are you currently in?"
Lin Mo suddenly asked, and upon hearing these words,
A-Train immediately showed a hint of confidence on his face.
"Forty-third."
"And I'm a freshman after all; after this test, I should still be able to go up."
"After all, my speed has increased again."
When he reached this point, he suddenly paused for a moment.
Then he glanced at Lin Mo.
"It was supposed to be like that."
Lin Mo: "..."
The Deep couldn't help letting out a laugh directly.
A-Train immediately turned his head and said unconvincingly,
"What are you laughing at?" He couldn't compare to Lin Mo and Joanna, could he not even compare to you, The Deep?
"I wasn't laughing."
"You were clearly laughing."
"Really not."
"Then why are the corners of your mouth twitching?"
The Deep immediately stopped talking.
Lin Mo couldn't help smiling a little either. It was clear that A-Train wasn't as twisted as he would be in the future.
At least at this age stage, he was only a bit competitive and cared quite a bit about his speed.
As for The Deep.
Lin Mo glanced at him.
"What about you?"
Kevin was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting Lin Mo to actively ask him.
"Me?"
"Mhm."
The Deep subconsciously straightened his back.
"Sixty-eighth."
After finishing, as if he felt this ranking didn't sound prestigious enough,
he quickly added another sentence.
"However, for our ocean-type abilities, many of the school's testing equipment aren't actually very adaptable."
"If it were in a real marine environment, my performance would be much better."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Understood."
The Deep instantly let out a sigh of relief.
Good thing, he didn't laugh.
As a result, in the next second, Lin Mo added another sentence.
"After all, the school can't possibly build an aquarium just for you."
The Deep: "..."
A-Train laughed out loud directly.
"Hhahahaha!"
Kevin's face darkened a bit, but he didn't dare say anything and could only hold it in.
Joanna hadn't spoken much along the way; at the very beginning, she just quietly followed by Lin Mo's side.
But as Lin Mo and A-Train talked more and more, watching the smile on Lin Mo's face, the expression on her face obviously began to change.
A-Train didn't notice at all and continued speaking, "Right, you two had better check the forum after going back."
"I guess there are already at least dozens of posts about you guys now."
"Especially Miss Joanna."
"Those results of hers just now..."
Before A-Train finished speaking,
Joanna suddenly reached out, very naturally grabbed Lin Mo's arm, and then leaned her whole body a little closer to his side.
A-Train's voice instantly stopped, and The Deep closed his mouth as if by conditioned reflex.
Lin Mo looked down at Joanna.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Joanna had a completely expressionless face.
"Class is about to start."
Lin Mo looked up and saw that the teaching building was right ahead.
There were clearly still more than ten minutes until class.
"There's still time."
"I know."
"Then you..."
Joanna looked up at him, muttering with her little mouth pouting.
"You've been talking to him for a long time."
"..."
Lin Mo suddenly understood.
She was jealous.
It's just that the target of this jealousy was a bit special; getting jealous of a guy too, huh.
He glanced at A-Train, then looked at Joanna.
His expression turned somewhat weird.
"He's a guy."
Joanna frowned.
"Can't a guy take up your time?"
Lin Mo: "..."
A-Train: "..."
The Deep: "..."
The atmosphere instantly fell into a weird silence.
In the end, it was A-Train who reacted first.
"Um..."
"Kevin and I happen to need to go back and get some things too."
"See you in class."
After saying that, he very tactfully pulled The Deep and walked forward. This time, The Deep didn't have any objections and even walked faster than A-Train.
In the blink of an eye, the two pulled a distance of more than ten meters apart.
Lin Mo looked at their backs, then looked down at Joannabeside him, who was already obviously much more satisfied.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Good now?"
"Mhm."
Joanna nodded, her tone turning brisk again.
Lin Mo was somewhat helpless, but he didn't pull his arm out either.
Just letting her hug it like that, the two continued walking towards the classroom.
Ahead, The Deep turned his head to sneak a glance, then immediately turned his head back.
A-Train noticed his action.
"What are you looking at?"
The Deep was silent for two seconds, then suddenly said,
"Nothing."
"I just suddenly felt..."
"What?"
"I might have actually been quite brave yesterday."
A-Train was stunned for half a second, then recalled how this guy stared at Joanna yesterday, and his expression instantly turned wonderful.
"Know to be scared now?"
The Deep nodded seriously.
"I think it's better to stay away from her in the future."
"No."
A-Train found it a bit strange.
"We haven't even said a few words, and you've started being afraid of Joanna?"
The Deep fell silent for a moment, secretly glanced back at Lin Mo again, then leaned close to A-Train's ear and whispered,
"Actually, I'm scared of both of them."
"..."
At this moment, Lin Mo didn't know yet that in the mere dozen minutes they were walking to the classroom,
on Godolkin University's campus forum, the posts about him and Joanna
had already gone from dozens to hundreds, and even the two transfer student profiles that originally almost nobody paid attention to
were also wildly rising in view counts at an exaggerated speed.
As for their campus rankings...
naturally, under Edgar's invisible big hand, they were quietly changing in the background.
Chapter 67 Envy Made Me Cry
And things naturally developed in the direction Lin Mowanted, so much so that as soon as the ability tests completely ended,
Godolkin University's campus forum had already exploded.
At first, it was just a candidly filmed video posted on the forum.
Because the current shooting methods were rather subpar, the video quality seemed average, and the angle wasn't very good. If it were in a later era, netizens probably wouldn't believe it and would directly say, "This is definitely AI."
Because the video was taken from too far away, a few figures even flashed across the front of the camera midway.
Yet this didn't affect that video being pushed to the forum's front page in just over a dozen minutes at all.
Because the title was very sensational.
"What kind of monsters are the two new transfer students?"
Below, it had already completely erupted into arguments, almost evolving into a flame war.
"Wait, who is that woman?"
"Joanna, a transfer student."
"I know she's a transfer student. I'm asking what her actual ability is! Are those numbers from just now real or fake?"
"Fake my ass, I was right there at the scene. She directly broke the records left behind from last year."
"The main point is Lin Mo in the back, okay?!"
"This guy didn't even look like he was trying!"
Reply after reply was frantically refreshing.
Subsequently, more on-site videos were thrown up, and it could be seen that they were from different angles and screens.
There was also a portion of data made public by the ability testing system.
And by this time, the students who had originally thought someone was exaggerating finally shut up.
Because this kind of thing could be edited and marketed, but the hundreds of pairs of eyes at the scene couldn't be fooled.
Especially in a place like Godolkin University.
Everyone here possessed abilities; whether someone was truly strong or just hyped up through packaging...
Sometimes it only took a single glance.
Thus, the public sentiment began to change rapidly.
"So the two of them really aren't here because Vought pulled strings?"
"Bro, did you get it backwards?"
"With this kind of strength, it would be strange if Vought didn't accommodate them, right?"
"Damn it, I'm crying with envy."
"I take back what I said yesterday."
"These two guys will definitely keep climbing higher."
"Top fifty?"
"Aren't you being too conservative?"
"I bet on the top twenty."
"I don't know about Lin Mo, but that woman Joanna is truly fierce..."
"Hey, the guy above, you'd better pray she doesn't check the forum."
The popularity of the entire forum grew higher and higher.
Even some students who had graduated long ago were @'ed back.
After all, two transfer students formally participating in public ability testing on their first day...
One broke records, and the other showed performance that was not weak in the slightest.
Such a thing was already exaggerated enough in Godolkin University itself.
Not to mention, Vought was fanning the flames behind the scenes.
More on-site videos began to receive recommendations, and several highly followed campus accounts simultaneously posted similar threads.
This wasn't an exaggeration; it just repeatedly emphasized one thing:
Strength.
Absolute strength.
As for the previously discussed special treatment and so-called connections, they instead became the best contrast and the best entry point for web traffic.
Similarly, Lin Mo's and Joanna's social media accounts were dug up by someone. More and more people started following them, though it was hard to tell whether they were haters or fake fans.
Public opinion was sometimes such a strange thing. When a person hadn't proven themselves...
Special treatment was an original sin.
But when a person became strong enough to make everyone shut up, special treatment became taken for granted, and people would even actively find reasons for it.
"No wonder Vought gives him this kind of treatment."
"If I were Vought, I'd give it too. If you don't snap up someone of this level in advance, are you going to wait until after graduation for other companies to poach them?"
"Seriously, if he enters The Seven in the future, I won't be surprised at all."
As soon as this last sentence came out, the comments below immediately erupted into arguments again.
And as the popularity continued to rise, another matter followed.
In the afternoon, Lin Mo and Joanna prepared to tour the school. After all, they were newcomers and hadn't had a proper tour yet.
Actually, it was just that he couldn't resist Joanna acting spoiled to make Lin Mo accompany her for a walk. Otherwise, with such nice sunlight, he definitely would have taken a good nap.
However, since they were already out, he just took a look around along the way.
He had to admit:
Godolkin University could be brought out by Vought as a superhero talent training base; its hardware conditions were truly unpickable—anything produced by Vought must be a boutique product.
Moreover, because the students were generally superpower users, the materials used for classroom facilities and the like were extremely good, which showed foresight.
Take for example the training gymnasium, the indoor swimming pool, and those aerial training zones specially prepared for Flight ability users.
Even the cafeteria used by ordinary students looked better than many high-end restaurants outside.
Along the way, Joanna was in high spirits. Lin Mo felt it was hard to say whether she was interested in the school itself.
But definitely, she clearly enjoyed the feeling of wandering around everywhere just the two of them.
Yet this tranquility didn't last long.
The two had just walked out of a teaching building,
When someone came looking for them.
"You're Lin Mo?"
Hearing someone call him,
Lin Mo stopped in his tracks.
A tall, blonde boy quickly walked over from the side. He looked like he should also be a student from the Crimefighting College. After all, in Lin Mo's eyes, the energy inside that guy's body was much higher than some people in this school. He was followed by two friends.
"Hello."
The boy smiled very naturally.
"I'm Chris from the third year."
"I saw the test this morning."
"That punch of yours was really terrifying."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Thank you."
The other party obviously didn't mind his coldness.
Instead, he continued: "We're planning to get together near the school tonight, a few people who are all from the Crimefighting College."
"A few of us are also quite high in the rankings."
"Do you guys want to come together?"
Before Lin Mo could speak, Joanna beside him had already looked over first.
"We don't have time."
Chris was stunned for a moment.
"Tonight?"
"Yes."
"We don't have time tonight either."
Joanna answered very resolutely.
Lin Mo turned to look at her. How come he didn't know there were plans for the evening?
Yet Joanna had completely no intention of explaining, simply hugging his arm with a look of a matter already decided.
Chris obviously understood as well, but especially after witnessing Joanna's abilities in the morning, he clearly didn't intend to displease her over such a trivial matter.
He could only give an awkward laugh.
"Alright."
"Then let's talk about it another time."
With that, the few of them tactfully left.
Lin Mo watched them walk away, then lowered his head to glance at Joanna.
"Do we have something to do tonight?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"Eating dinner."
"..."
Lin Mo fell silent for two seconds. Actually, he could just bask in the sun; he didn't need to eat.
"Don't we have to eat every night?"
Joanna nodded, looking entirely earnest.
"So we have no time."
Lin Mo: "..."
It felt so reasonable that he actually didn't know how to refute for a moment.
However, this was only the first one.
Chapter 68: No Eating With Her From Now On
In the next half hour, Lin Mo finally began to realize how much of an impact that morning's test had truly caused.
Some people started looking for Lin Mo, and some started looking for Joanna.
After all, this was Godolkin University, a school for powered individuals, and also the most important stepping stone for countless young superheroes before entering society.
Everyone understood one principle.
When out and about, getting to know another powerful person never hurts, especially a powerful person who clearly had a boundless future.
Today you just had a meal with him, and perhaps a few years later, he would already become a top hero under Vought.
By then, this meal could turn into connections; as long as you became familiar faces with each other, it was all profit.
Those people with a bit of insight had already started taking action.
Some invited Lin Mo to join a training group, while others asked if he was interested in attending the weekend student party.
Some were even very direct, stating that they knew people in Vought's entertainment department, and if Lin Mowanted to develop in the direction of star heroes in the future, they could help introduce him.
Lin Mo was a bit surprised to hear this; wasn't this hilarious, what the hell was he going to be a star for? He'd better watch out, or Edgar would skin him alive.
But this group of people moved really fast and with high efficiency; you couldn't blame them for looking like they wanted to get ahead.
In their eyes, he and Joanna were truly prime catches—tested in the morning, investing in the future by the afternoon.
Compared to his side, Joanna's side was even more exaggerated. After all, not only was her strength absurd, but her appearance was also attractive enough.
With both factors combined, naturally there were no few people taking the initiative to get to know her.
However, the results were not very good.
"Hello, Joanna, I am—"
"Don't know you."
"I wanted to say, would you like to—"
"Not going."
"Our student union recently has a—"
"Not interested."
"..."
After several consecutive tries, that group of people could only return empty-handed.
He finally figured it out: Joanna wasn't bad at socializing; she simply didn't want to socialize at all, especially socializing that would take away her and Lin Mo's alone time.
In her eyes, all of it could basically be directly categorized as trouble.
The most absurd part was when a girl later came to find Lin Mo on her own initiative.
Her attitude was actually quite normal, just wanting to exchange contact information.
As a result, before she even finished speaking, Joannaturned her head from the side.
She glanced at her without speaking.
Truly, she just glanced at her.
The smile on that girl's face instantly stiffened, recalling the scene from the morning where Joanna shattered the school record with a single punch.
"Um..."
"I suddenly remembered I have class."
"Let's talk next time."
Then she turned around and left.
Lin Mo: "...?" Didn't she turn off her laser eyes? Why is she running away just like that?
He looked at Joanna.
"Why did you scare her?"
Joanna, however, stuck out her tongue and put on an innocent look.
"I didn't scare her."
"Then you definitely glared at her just now."
"No."
"Then what kind of look was that?"
Joanna thought about it seriously, "A stranger's... look?"
Lin Mo's mouth twitched. Did your look at a stranger look like you were ready to bury someone?
But in the end, he didn't say it out loud, because he found that Joanna was already a bit displeased.
"Why do they keep coming to find you?"
She asked suddenly.
"Wanting to get acquainted." Lin Mo suddenly had an ominous premonition.
"Why get acquainted?"
"Because I'm relatively strong."
"I'm also very strong."
"So people are looking for you too."
"But I drove them all away."
After saying this, Joanna looked up at him, and her meaning was already very obvious.
Lin Mo fell silent for a moment.
So, she drove others away, and now she hoped he would do the same?
"Just getting to know each other normally."
Lin Mo explained.
Joanna frowned, her tone a bit unhappy.
"After getting to know each other, then what?"
"Maybe eat together."
"And then?"
"Chat."
"And then?"
"..."
Lin Mo looked at her, locked eyes with her, and then surrendered. Why did the more she asked, the more it sounded like an interrogation?
"Nothing else, nothing else."
However, Joanna was clearly not very satisfied, especially thinking of the girl who had taken the initiative to find Lin Mo just now.
She looked back again, but unfortunately the person had already walked far away.
"No eating with her from now on." Joanna shook her head vigorously, looking like she wouldn't stop unless Lin Moagreed.
Lin Mo found it a bit amusing. Was that even possible?
"I don't even know what her name is."
"Then even more reason not to eat with her."
"Why?"
"You don't even know what her name is, why would you eat with her?"
"..."
Lin Mo was once again left speechless.
This logic managed to be self-consistent.
In the end, Joanna simply hugged his arm.
Her entire body pressed almost entirely against Lin Mo, as if silently announcing to everyone around who was still planning to come over:
This one is taken.
And this move was indeed very effective. There were originally a few people who wanted to come up and strike up a conversation.
Upon seeing this scene, their steps immediately slowed down.
Especially those female students, almost all of them changed direction very sensibly.
Lin Mo naturally noticed it too and lowered his head to glance at Joanna.
"Did you do that on purpose?"
"What?"
"Hugging so tightly."
Joanna blinked, and then tightened her grip even more.
"I've always been like this."
Lin Mo: "..."
Fine, whatever, he couldn't be bothered to care.
Anyway, ever since the underground base, it wasn't a day or two that Joanna had been clinging to him; it was just that there weren't so many people watching before.
However, with this commotion, it was clearly impossible for the two of them to tour the school quietly.
Along the way, people recognized them from time to time.
Lin Mo could even hear people nearby lowering their voices to discuss.
"That's them."
"That testing device this morning was smashed by him."
"Is the one next to her Joanna?"
"Yes."
"She seemed to have broken all the previous event records."
"Really or fake?"
"It's all on the forum."
Hearing this, Lin Mo's footsteps paused for a moment.
The forum?
A-Train seemed to have mentioned this thing in the morning, but he hadn't actually gone to look.
Lin Mo just wanted to take out his phone—no wait, this crappy phone probably couldn't view it.
He could only first return to the residence with Joanna, open the computer, and then use the information left by Vought personnel to find and open the school system.
Soon he found the entrance to the campus forum.
As soon as he clicked in, he saw the hot post at the very top of the homepage that had been pushed to red.
[Just what kind of monsters are the two transfer students? Live record of the morning's ability test!]
The number of replies below had already broken a thousand.
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
"So exaggerated?"
Joanna also leaned over.
"What?"
"We seem to have become famous."
"Oh."
Joanna's reaction was bland.
Clearly she didn't care, and then she seemed to suddenly think of something.
"Did anyone mention you inside?"
"Of course."
"Are there girls?"
Lin Mo: "..."
He silently closed the computer screen.
"Let's go."
Joanna frowned.
"You haven't answered yet."
"Tour the school."
"Are there girls inside the forum?"
"Joanna."
"Hmm?"
"If you ask again, I'm going back to take a nap."
This trick was indeed effective, and Joanna immediately shut her mouth.
A few seconds later, she hugged his arm again and shook it slightly.
"Then let's go check out the pool."
Lin Mo glanced at her.
"Why?"
Joanna took it for granted and pointed at the house.
"Although the villa also has a pool."
"I want to see if the school's is better than ours."
There was no help for it. Lin Mo suddenly felt that his nap today...
Was probably really not going to happen.
Forget it, just humor her. She was raised by him single-handedly; how could he not spoil her? Lin Mo had long been used to this. What actually surprised him a bit...
Was still the school's rankings.
Chapter 69: Top Ten
That night, the rankings on the campus official website were updated as scheduled, and a large group of people were waiting here.
Lin Mo was ranked tenth.
Joanna was ranked ninth.
The two of them entered the top 10 at the same time.
The moment the news came out, because there were too many people coming in admiration, the school's official website even lagged briefly.
Because this was no longer an exaggeration, it was unprecedented.
The rankings at Godolkin University did not simply look at a single test; even the level of support among students would become a hidden indicator.
The further ahead you went, the harder it became.
Especially in the top 30, they were basically the school's true star students, and after graduation, they could even become veritable superheroes in an American city.
Many of these people had been receiving specialized training from Vought since enrollment.
As a result, two newly arrived transfer students had now broken straight in within a single day, and directly into the top 10 at that.
If it were just one, it could still be called a special circumstance.
With two together, it was a bit outrageous.
However, when the students remembered their off-the-charts combat power, they suddenly felt it was acceptable after all; otherwise, were they supposed to let Lin Mo and Joanna become supervillains? Who would stop them then?
But at the same time, public opinion was something that could never have just one voice.
Some people liked it, while naturally others hated it, especially when a stranger suddenly stepped into the center of everyone's attention; jealousy, doubt, and certain conspiracy theories naturally wouldn't be lacking in the slightest.
Just as the forum was filled with amazement, a few posts quietly popped up as well.
"Do you guys actually believe it?"
"Who Vought wants to prop up is just a matter of a single word."
"Top 10 in rankings in a single day, think for yourselves if that is possible?"
"It is not like test data cannot be faked."
"Don't forget, they moved into a special villa as soon as they arrived."
"Perhaps the so-called strength exhibition was arranged in advance to begin with."
At first, there really were people joining the discussion.
Some people even started digging into Lin Mo's past information, wanting to see what background this suddenly popped-up guy actually had.
But these posts didn't last long; the shortest ones didn't even last three minutes.
The posts disappeared, the accounts were traffic-restricted, and related reposts were cleared away together.
Just like a bug that had just poked its head out of the water.
Slap.
It was directly pressed down by someone.
On the other hand, at the Godolkin Center Building.
Maeve looked at the accounts on the screen and yawned somewhat boredly.
"You guys dragged me here in the middle of the night just for these?"
The staff member next to her nodded repeatedly.
"The higher-ups at Vought gave instructions for us to find those maliciously smearing them. The most active ones right now are these."
"Two of them are just following the trend, while the other three are obviously actively stirring up the narrative."
Maeve glanced over it, feeling a bit scalp-tingling. She wasn't good at online tracing either, and she didn't want to be busy with such trivial matters.
"Then find them out."
The staff member was stunned for a moment.
"All of them?"
"The main ones stirring up the narrative."
Maeve leaned back in her chair, pointing at the heavily focused accounts on the computer.
"I don't like these people either. You guys also know that deleting posts only solves the surface. Online clues rely on you. After there is news, come to me offline. It's best to catch them all in one net."
"Understood."
The staff member nodded immediately.
In fact, this kind of matter shouldn't have fallen to Maeve to handle in the first place. Generally speaking, Vought couldn't be bothered to care about such trivial matters like smearing and instigating fights online either. As long as it wasn't too excessive, they would turn a blind eye.
But there were also exceptions. As it happened, the person stirring up the narrative had provoked Lin Mo, so they had no choice but to manage it. The Vought higher-ups didn't know Lin Mo's attitude, so wouldn't the best choice be to nip it in the bud beforehand?
Furthermore, Vought intended to elevate the public image of Lin Mo and Joanna, weren't you making a joke here?
But Vought was still prepared to assign this task down. She was also someone heavily focused on by Vought; if she handled this matter well now, she would gain more resources.
Maeve didn't feel anything special about it—just a few little mice hiding behind the forum stirring up trouble, she could just deal with them along the way.
Moreover, she was indeed somewhat interested in that Lin Mo, and Joanna as well. If it weren't for cleaning up messes for Vought, she would really have liked to get to know them.
...
Lin Mo and Joanna didn't know about this yet. It wasn't until evening, when Lin Mo came out after taking a shower,
and thought of the forum rankings A-Train mentioned in the morning, that he prepared to check his and Joanna's rankings on the school's official website.
He thought about it and decided to log into the forum again to see if there was anything fun. A whole afternoon had passed, so there should be some changes.
He logged in, and then his brows slowly furrowed.
The first post on the homepage was him, and the second was Joanna.
The third was still the two of them.
The fourth.
[The fastest newcomer to enter the top 10 in history?]
[What on earth is Lin Mo's ability?]
[Full video of Joanna breaking the test record]
Lin Mo was slightly silent, then couldn't help laughing. Then he looked at the school's rankings, and this time he was truly a bit surprised, alright.
"Joanna."
Not far away, Joanna, who was sitting on the sofa drinking water, raised her head.
"Hmm?"
"You've become famous."
Joanna didn't speak, and Lin Mo added another sentence.
"Ranked even higher than me."
This time, Joanna finally reacted.
She put down her cup, walked over, and looked down at the computer screen.
Ninth was her.
Tenth was Lin Mo.
Joanna stared and looked at it, the corners of her mouth suddenly curving up slightly.
With Lin Mo's strength, he immediately noticed this slight change.
"What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing." Joanna held back her smile.
"You clearly smiled just now."
"You saw wrong."
"Because you're one rank higher than me?"
Joanna looked at him expressionlessly.
"No."
"Oh."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Then it seems you don't care about the ranking."
As he said that, he prepared to close the computer.
The next second, Joanna reached out, grabbed his hand, and smoothly sat right into Lin Mo's arms, forcefully pressing his hand against the side of her waist and firmly fixing it there.
Wasn't she not caring?
Joanna lowered her head and flipped through a few pages.
The more she looked, the calmer her expression seemed to become, especially when she saw quite a few people praising Lin Mo; her mood was obviously good.
But soon, she scrolled past a female student's comment.
[He's also so handsome, does he have a girlfriend?]
Joanna's fingers paused for a moment, and the mouse continued downward.
[Does anyone know where Lin Mo has class tomorrow?]
[Want to get to know him.]
[This type completely matches my aesthetic.]
Joanna's face grew cold bit by bit.
What do you mean, can't you see I'm right here, bring the keyboard!
Just as she was about to type out a scolding, she was stopped in time by Lin Mo; it wasn't worth going that far.
However, holding her in his arms, Lin Mo watched her gritting her teeth as she browsed through what she considered to be those vixens' remarks.
He actually found it quite interesting.
"Why did this person say they want to have a meal with you?"
"I don't know."
"What about this one?"
"I don't know either." He continued to pretend to know nothing about anything, which was the best way to avoid problems.
"She also said she wants to know what type you like."
Joanna raised her head, her gaze already turning dangerous.
"Lin Mo."
"Hmm?"
"What type do you like?"
Chapter 70: A Bit Subtle
Lin Mo was silent for a moment, looked down at Joannawho was being held in his arms, and then looked at the screen.
"Are you sure you want to ask this right now?"
Joanna was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something. The anger on her face suddenly diminished a bit, and the corners of her mouth even unconsciously curled upward.
"Then keep holding."
"..."
Lin Mo was somewhat speechless; this woman's emotions were really easy to understand.
However, just as Joanna lowered her head again, preparing to continue studying just how many potential enemies were left,
a familiar voice suddenly rang out in Lin Mo's mind.
[Ding.]
[Detected that the host has continuously influenced the plot trajectory of the current world recently.]
[Conducting phased settlement...]
Lin Mo's movements paused slightly.
System?
It was finally here, ever since the underground base was destroyed.
He had actually been waiting for the next settlement all along. After all, quite a few things had happened these past few days, such as breaking free from Vought's control.
Officially entering Godolkin University, contacting A-Trainand The Deep, coupled with the huge repercussions caused by today's power test.
Although looking at these things individually, none of them could compare to destroying the core bunker.
But when stacked together, they had obviously already had a considerable impact on the original plot.
Let me see what treasures came out.
Soon, the system prompt continued to appear.
[Phased impact settlement complete.]
[Obtained System Energy: 1,500 points.]
Lin Mo's eyes brightened slightly.
One thousand five.
It was a bit more than he expected, but thinking about it carefully, it was also reasonable.
He and Joanna originally shouldn't have entered Godolkin University at this point in time, nor should they have caused such a big commotion at the school on their very first day.
Especially A-Train and The Deep, figures who would all become important members of The Seven in the future.
Now their life trajectories had intersected with his in advance. Just this point alone inherently meant that the plot was beginning to deviate.
And this was just the beginning; the system had another prompt.
[Due to the host's continuous increase in influence on the current world's plot.]
[World attention increased.]
[Fixed energy acquisition efficiency increased.]
[Daily fixed system energy increase: 20 points.]
Lin Mo's eyebrows instantly raised.
There was such a good thing?
It was already half of what Joanna made working for him, not bad, not bad.
Because of his happiness, the smile on Lin Mo's face visibly increased a bit.
"What are you smiling at?"
Joanna suddenly looked up.
Lin Mo snapped back to reality.
"It's nothing."
Joanna looked at him suspiciously for a moment, suddenly thought of something, and then her gaze fell back onto the computer screen.
"Is it because of this person?"
Lin Mo looked over following her finger.
[Lin Mo is really handsome, does anyone know if he has a girlfriend?]
Lin Mo: "..."
How on earth did this train of thought make that turn?
"No."
"Really?"
"Really." Lin Mo pulled out one hand and swore to the heavens.
Only then was Joanna slightly satisfied, and she continued scrolling down.
As for Lin Mo, he leaned back against the sofa, his mind returning to the system interface. In just a few short days, he had already acquired over 5,000 points of energy.
Godolkin University really was the right place to come to.
"Lin Mo."
"Hmm?"
"This person says they're going to block you at the teaching building tomorrow."
Joanna's voice came again, and Lin Mo lowered his head to take a look.
[Camping out at the entrance of the Crimefighting College tomorrow to wait for Lin Mo, anyone want to join?]
There were dozens of replies below.
[+1]
[+1]
[Count me in.]
[I'm just going to see him in person.]
Joanna stared at the screen.
After a few seconds of silence, she said seriously, "Tomorrow we'll fly over."
"Why?"
"We won't use the entrance."
"..."
Looking at her serious expression, Lin Mo finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Alright."
"I'll listen to you."
Joanna was instantly satisfied, then leaned back into his arms.
Lin Mo didn't pay attention to the forum anymore either.
He just looked at the 1,500 points of energy that had just been added to the system panel, feeling pretty good.
However, someone in the school might be in for some bad luck tomorrow.
As it turned out, his judgment was extremely accurate.
The next day, as soon as Lin Mo stepped into the teaching building, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere was a bit different.
There were even more people looking at him.
Especially girls; some just peeked secretly, while others simply smiled and greeted him.
When a superhuman girl passed by, she even deliberately slowed her steps, her gaze sweeping across Lin Mo's face without concealment before blinking at him.
Lin Mo: "..." That was a bit too subtle.
Before he could react, Joanna beside him had already turned her head to look, a faint red glow directly emerging in the depths of her eyes.
The smile on that girl's face instantly froze, her steps paused, and then she nonchalantly accelerated her pace.
She couldn't afford to provoke them; if she didn't leave now, she'd be roasted into charcoal.
Seeing this, Lin Mo turned his head, feeling somewhat helpless.
"She didn't seem to provoke you."
Joanna withdrew her gaze, looking somewhat deflated.
"I know. Had I known earlier, we would have flown over."
"Then why did you glare at her?"
"I didn't glare."
"..."
Lin Mo discovered that Joanna's ability to tell bold-faced lies lately was getting stronger and stronger.
Along the way, similar situations happened several times.
So much so that later on, some girls who had originally prepared to come up and strike up a conversation stopped in their tracks the moment they saw Joanna, and then silently turned away. Evidently, the news that Joanna was not to be messed with had also spread across the campus.
Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh and cry a little, until they walked to the corner of a teaching building, where his steps suddenly paused.
In the distance, a student was lowering their head, holding a cell phone seemingly casually in front of their chest.
Yet the camera lens was pointed right at them.
Sneak photography?
Lin Mo's gaze lingered on that person for a split second.
The other party seemed to have sensed something, very naturally putting down the phone and turning to leave.
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, but didn't chase after them. Whatever, American paparazzi were far more rampant than those back home.
Besides, he didn't know who the other person was. He was a campus figure now anyway; having a few photos taken of him shouldn't cause any issues.
"Let's go, let's go, Lin Mo!"
Coming back to her senses, Joanna grabbed one of his hands and hurried toward the classroom. Yesterday, this girl actually hadn't been very willing to attend classes, but now, she was like a curious baby wanting to experience every kind of class.
Previously, Joanna hadn't liked classes because she thought they were similar to classes in the bunker. In reality, it was not the case at all. After experiencing it, she felt completely different, instantly sparking an extremely high level of interest.
However, Lin Mo really didn't know that among those deleted smear posts from last night,
a considerable portion came from this person's hands.
Of course, with Lin Mo's abilities, if he really wanted to know, it actually wouldn't be difficult.
Under the state of Super Hearing, as long as he was willing to let his brain maintain high-speed operation at all times, the vast majority of details across the entire campus would find it hard to truly escape his perception.
But the problem was, he wasn't a lunatic.
It was impossible for him to turn on Super Hearing twenty-four hours a day and cram the voices and heartbeats of thousands of people into his brain.
It was even more impossible to let his Super Brainmaintain maximum-intensity operation forever; that would just be asking for self-inflicted torment.
Therefore, Lin Mo only took an extra glance before withdrawing his gaze.
"What's wrong?"
Sensing his action, Joanna also looked in the direction of his gaze.
"It's nothing."
Lin Mo said casually.
"Someone is taking pictures of us."