Looking at Theresa, whose anger was rising, Ming Yu knew that anything he said now would be useless. Preconceived notions had already made Theresa lose her trust in him, convinced that he was fabricating lies to refuse the mission.
The relationship between people could sometimes be so fragile, especially a transactional one like his and Theresa's, which was not particularly stable.
He had not laid all his cards on the table, and Theresa did not have one hundred percent trust in him either. Both were just taking what they needed, but at the same time, they both lacked the means to restrain the other.
While the current Ming Yu was certainly not someone Theresa could easily manipulate, he also had absolutely no means to harm the Principal.
Therefore, faced with Theresa's doubts, he couldn't use any forceful methods to make her comply.
Unless he could produce sufficient evidence to prove that Chiyou possessed Judgment-class power, making Theresa understand deeply that this mission was by no means as easy as she imagined, anything more he said would be futile.
But what evidence could he have?
Strictly speaking, Ming Yu himself was just being wise after the event. It was only due to the difference in time that he could see further than ordinary people at this moment.
He only understood that Chiyou possessed power beyond common sense, but he couldn't provide any proof for it.
Soon enough, Schicksal would also understand this, but it would come at the cost of Himeko, an A-rank Valkyrie. That near-death situation, if it had shifted just a little, would have meant true death.
Although Himeko had luckily survived in the original timeline, Ming Yu dared not pin his hopes on such a faint convergence of the worldline, believing that everything would happen as he remembered without any change.
In this situation, lacking evidence, even if he used World Serpent as a shield, the result would be no different. Theresa still wouldn't believe his nonsense.
After so long, the Far East Branch had yet to find a single piece of information about him in the so-called World Serpent. Anyone would know there was something wrong with that.
It's just that compared to Ming Yu's current value, the mystery of his identity was no longer something that had to be thoroughly investigated. As long as he could do his job well and not cause trouble for the Far East Branch and St. Freya, the higher-ups could choose to turn a blind eye to his origins.
Theresa choosing not to pursue the matter was a sign of her magnanimity. But if she still believed that reason, then she would be a real fool.
After a long silence, Ming Yu ultimately did not try to explain himself any further.
Placing the warm teacup down, Ming Yu rose to his feet with a blank expression and said in a flat tone, "Pardon the intrusion."
After speaking, without waiting for the Principal's reaction, he pushed open the door and walked straight out.
But the moment he closed the door and left Theresa's line of sight, Ming Yu's originally calm face instantly turned ugly.
"How boring!"
Cursing in a low, teeth-gritting voice, Ming Yu's right fist suddenly clenched and slammed hard against the adjacent wall.
With a particularly dull thud, a faint fist print appeared on the snow-white wall, the indentation tinged with bright spots of red.
"Hiss~"
The sharp pain from his knuckles and the back of his hand made him suck in a sharp breath, which also calmed his indignant heart somewhat.
Ming Yu hadn't used a shred of Honkai Energy in that punch, so this result was not unexpected.
Although in terms of pure combat power, he was already on par with a typical A-rank Valkyrie, without the protection of Honkai Energy, his body was still frail. He couldn't compare to those white-haired girls who could fight Honkai Beasts with a baseball bat.
After all, he was just an ordinary human being.
Taking one last look at the closed office door, a trace of reluctance flickered in Ming Yu's eyes.
However, he was ultimately not an indecisive person. He quickly turned and left without lingering.
Looking at the teacup left on the coffee table, the green tea still steaming, and hearing the thud from outside the door, Theresa knew that she and Ming Yu had had a falling out this time, and a wave of regret flashed through her heart.
But even so, she still didn't understand where she had offended Ming Yu.
It was just a simple exploration mission. Was it necessary to resist it so strongly?
"This brat..."
The Principal gritted her teeth and said hatefully, wanting to say more, but in the end, it all turned into a long sigh.
If there was really some difficulty, couldn't Ming Yu just say it frankly?
Couldn't they just sit down and talk it over, and resolve the problem peacefully?
Why did he have to talk such nonsense, making both of them part on bad terms!
Was she truly so untrustworthy?
Even if she couldn't completely solve the problem with her abilities, she could at least provide help in other ways.
When it came to treating her subordinates, Theresa could confidently say she had never mistreated anyone!
With a long sigh, Theresa dialed Himeko's number.
......
After leaving the administration building, Ming Yu decided to put the matter aside for now.
Since Theresa wouldn't believe him, there was no need for him to go begging. Even a clay figure has a bit of spirit; did she really think he had no temper at all?
Letting out a long breath, Ming Yu's mood immediately lightened, as if all the recent frustration had dissipated with that breath.
But then, he started to worry about where to go next.
He had come at the Principal's summons, and neither the rank promotion nor the Jiu You mission were things that could be accomplished overnight; they involved tedious and complex procedures.
If he hadn't had a falling out with Theresa just now, he would probably be starting to prepare for these things, and maybe even have a chance to test out the new battlesuit.
But since things had reached this point, it was useless to regret. And without Theresa's arrangements, he didn't even know where he was supposed to go.
Although he still had a place to live in St. Freya, it had been half a year, and one could imagine the state of the apartment.
Plus, Ming Yu wasn't sure how long he would be at the academy this time. He didn't want to waste the rest of his time tidying up a temporary lodging.
In this world, he was, after all, just a pitiful, homeless person.
Compared to the greenhouse-like St. Freya, the Far East Branch, mixed with iron and blood, might be more suitable for him.
After some thought, he finally decided to go find Fu Hua.
After all, no matter what, Fu Hua was his semi-teacher. Whether out of courtesy or to report on the results of his training, he should take the initiative to visit her.
Besides, it was a rare return to St. Freya for Ming Yu; it would be somewhat inexcusable not to pay a visit.
And, at the moment, he really had nowhere else to go.