"Classmates! Gu Ya wants to challenge me to a one-on-one fight!"
As soon as Gu Ya walked out of the classroom, Xu Jie became arrogant, loudly announcing to the other students as if he were the leader of the class.
"Damn it, after a few days, Gu Ya's balls have gotten bigger."
"Xu Jie, this time beat him so hard he can never hold his head up again!"
"Let's go, let's go see!"
The students chattered noisily, and many were instigated to go with Xu Jie to the school's mecha training grounds.
At this time, three elite students from Class A were training on the training grounds.
"Shao Yang, look, it's people from Class E," said a boy.
"Hmm, ignore them. Wang Yu, Fei Ming, focus, let's continue!" Shao Yang said.
"Okay!"
"Roger!"
The scorching sun beat down, the air was steaming, and the unobstructed battle arena was full of heat.
Gu Ya nimbly got into the mecha, touching the control panel. He even felt that operating this mecha was too simple.
Seeing Xu Jie's confident and proud expression, Gu Ya really wanted to defeat him with one move, but he couldn't. Exposing his strength would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
"I'll just play with him casually," Gu Ya said to himself, and started the mecha at the same time.
The two sides arrived at the battle arena. Before the rules were even agreed upon, Xu Jie impatiently activated the mecha's propulsion.
As the flames from the thruster expanded, Xu Jie launched the first attack.
Gu Ya shook his head: "Too weak."
He didn't even bother to dodge and took a heavy punch to the chest from Xu Jie.
"Oh ho? Has Gu Ya forgotten how to pilot a mecha?"
"Hahaha! Gu Ya is standing there like a wooden stake."
"Xu Jie, don't hold back, beat him hard!"
The dozen or so students in the distance cheered, looking very happy.
Xu Jie became even more excited, maneuvered the mecha back a couple of steps,
The flames behind the mecha exploded, and he raised his fist and charged forward.
Gu Ya sighed and said, "It's like playing house, no fun."
Xu Jie's iron fist whistled towards him with a powerful gust of wind.
Gu Ya casually pressed a few buttons, pushed the control stick,
His mecha immediately lowered its body, used its shoulder to block Xu Jie who was charging forward, and then bucked upwards.
Xu Jie was instantly sent tumbling.
"Still want to fight?" Gu Ya asked impatiently.
At this time, the three students from Class A were fighting each other and their battle gradually deviated from their designated area.
One mecha was rapidly retreating and colliding towards Gu Ya!
"Quick, dodge!" Wang Yu shouted loudly.
Shao Yang and Fei Ming followed closely, trying to stop him.
At this speed, the mecha from Class E would definitely be sent flying.
Gu Ya glanced back and casually maneuvered the mecha to the side to dodge, resolving the crisis.
Xu Jie, lying on the ground, watched. The feeling of awkwardness intensified in his heart. With that speed just now, Xu Jie definitely wouldn't have been able to dodge.
He didn't expect Gu Ya's skills to have regressed at all; in fact, they had even improved!
Gu Ya got out of the mecha, without looking back, and walked straight back to the classroom.
Shao Yang from Class A watched Gu Ya leave, a trace of vigilance rising in his heart. He said, "Wang Yu, Fei Ming, after training, let's rewatch the battle videos from last week's Class E matches."
"What's wrong? We've studied them so many times, why watch again?" Wang Yu said carelessly.
"Yeah, Shao Yang, that Gu Ya is completely useless, no need to worry about him," Fei Ming said.
Shao Yang's face darkened and he said, "We must study it again."
Wang Yu said impatiently, "Fine, fine, who asked you to be the class monitor."
That day, Gu Ya and the others were safe on the training grounds.
After training and school, Gu Ya walked home, thinking about what to cook for Youyou that evening.
Youyou was at an age where she needed to grow.
And Gu Ya was currently 17 years old, only 170 cm tall.
Sister Ge?
Gu Ya desperately searched his mind for this familiar yet strange name. Could it be that neighbor sister who was often domestically abused by her husband?
At this moment, a thin woman with a ponytail walked out of the kitchen. She was wearing Gu Ya's apron, and there were some bruises on her face.
As soon as Sister Ge saw Gu Ya, she smiled a little sheepishly and said, "Xiao Gu, I picked some wild vegetables today. We couldn't finish them at home, so I made some and sent them over."
Gu Ya smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sister Ge."
Sister Ge waved her hand and said, "We're neighbors, it's nothing. I'll be going back now!"
As she spoke, she briskly took off her apron, smiled at Gu Ya, and hurried out the door.
Gu Ya noticed that the bruises on her face were new; they must have appeared yesterday.
After Gu Ya and Youyou had dinner, Youyou went back to her room to repair the android.
She even said that Gu Ya was not allowed to interfere anymore, lest he create a "mom" for her.
Gu Ya smiled and didn't argue further. As long as Youyou was happy, it was fine.
After washing the dishes, Gu Ya was idle and thought that he had a new school uniform that he hadn't worn yet.
This school uniform had never been worn because a classmate had played a prank and swapped his medium size for the smallest size.
He had intended to save it for his sister, but Gu Ya thought, he couldn't just eat someone's food for free. In his memory, Sister Ge had taken good care of Youyou.
"She can wear it for her daughter," Gu Ya thought, picked up the new school uniform, and went out.
The weather in Wuhe City was unpredictable. It was summer, and the sun was like fire during the day, but it was as cold as winter at night.
Their home was in the slums. The building materials and structures of all the houses were similar.
Welding a few thick iron plates to the foundation, building a shed with sheet metal on top, and then sealing the gaps was considered a "home."
Even this was considered a mansion in the slums; there were even more dilapidated ones.
Gu Ya wrapped himself tighter, lost in thought, walked through a narrow alley, and past two collapsed abandoned houses, and arrived at Sister Ge's home.
Sister Ge's door was ajar, and the dim yellow light from inside cast a straight yellow strip of light on the ground.
Gu Ya gently pushed the door open. It was silent inside.
"Sister Ge?" Gu Ya called out tentatively. There was no response.
"Huh? Where is she?" Gu Ya walked into the house, listening carefully for any sounds. Just then, he heard a faint gasp.
"Uh... wheeze..." The sound came from the inner room, and the door to the inner room was also ajar. It was dark inside.
"Sister Ge?" Gu Ya shouted towards the inner room.
"Uh... Xiao Gu..." Sister Ge's weak voice came out.
Gu Ya sensed something was wrong and quickly rushed into the inner room, only to be stunned.
He saw that Sister Ge's chest was blackened, and she was lying powerlessly on the ground.
Gu Ya rushed forward to take a look and was shocked. "Blood! What happened?"
Just then, the front door made a sound, followed by footsteps.
A swollen, stout man appeared at the doorway of the inner room. He was so fat and tall that he blocked the light behind him.
The light shining through the gaps on both sides of his head illuminated his face,
Revealing a face so terrifying and disgusting.
The man, seeing Gu Ya in the house, immediately became angry: "Gu Ya! Who let you in! Get out quickly! If you don't get out, I'll beat you to death!"
As the man spoke, he picked up the wine bottle in his hand and strode menacingly into the room.