The sun grew increasingly intense, and the heat on her body became more scorching, but Chu River lay flat on the ground by the river, her spiritual power slowly washing over her limbs until she felt comfortable enough to stretch lazily.
The oversized school uniform covered her head, and the surrounding was filled with the serene and wonderful sound of wind.
Before entering the Great Cosmic Era, Mountain and Sea Star, a Mountain and Sea Star that had not yet exhausted all its resources, turned out to be so beautiful.
There were mountains, water, wind, and flowers.
And it was real.
She closed her eyes again, gathering the spiritual power spreading around and quietly focused on repairing her body.
Yet, speaking of it, it was strange.
The 3S spiritual power, even after changing worlds and bodies, hadn't disappeared?
If Chang Geng were here, no matter what, he would definitely want to see her brain hologram!
Thinking like this, a faint melancholy unexpectedly welled up in her heart—
The next second, it was daylight.
No, to be precise, someone lifted her school uniform.
Chu River opened her eyes and was met with the face of a man in uniform with average features—
The man's aura was calm and not malicious; his whole face, apart from the hot sweat, exuded a sense of relief with every pore when he saw her open her eyes.
Above her, the sky was blue, making Chu River's mood lovely, to the point where her words came out more gently:
"Police? What's up?"
The young officer, recovering from being half scared to death, saw her looking well and said in an educative tone:
"A student of Tianshui Second High School, what grade are you in? Isn't it dangerous by the water? And you were just pulled out of the water; what are you doing staying here instead of trying to let your family know you're safe?"
Another officer came over:
"Young girl, what's going on? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Two men in the same uniform, each with more ordinary features and less distinctive aura than the other, but the concern in their expressions wasn't fake.
Chu River slowly sat up—
Oh ho.
Police.
She knows them well!
Before joining the army of the Star Sea Federation, she was often taken for re-education by the Star Police for making dangerous items/Sky Falcon speeding/unauthorized modifications of Floating Shuttle/heroic acts (fighting)...
And the Tianshui Second High School in her memory.
Ah... the seemingly endless high school senior year...
A new body, a new network of relationships, a new study plan.
Without Chang Geng, she didn't even have homework to copy!
Frustrated.
She looked up slowly, feeling not in the best of moods.
However, even though she was quietly sulking, her appearance was too striking: fair face, high nose bridge. Her long eyelashes trembled, her eyes lowered, like a butterfly startled by loud sounds.
The two young officers felt a twinge of guilt—
Were their words too frightening just now?
Before they could finish pondering, they saw the girl in front of them looking up, proudly and matter-of-factly saying:
"I have no money."
"No way to take a ride back to school."
"The school is too far to walk."
The young officer: ...
...
With such clear articulation, and knowing that riding needs money—so the early morning report call about a girl crawling out from under the river at the southern Tianchen construction site in Anhe District, suspected of violence and mental instability—
Was this reporter joking?
She's clearly a rebellious girl who doesn't want to go to school!
"Senior year, right?"
The relatively more average-looking officer among the two nodded empathetically:
"You don't want to go to school, huh? I understand, I understand..."
He showed an expression of camaraderie, then shifted the tone:
"But even if you don't want to go to school, you can't leave campus on your own, especially in such a dangerous place!"
"Did you fall into the river?"
"Let me tell you, it's pure luck that you're alive; every year, there are people who accidentally fall in by the riverbank. Anyway, even if you dislike school and studies, you can't do something so irresponsible!"
The two young officers seemed well-versed in handling disputes, closing the gap before giving verbal education, their methods incredibly smooth.
Like right now.
"Think about it; it's senior year and there're extra lessons, right? No matter what, you should've called the teacher, called your family—they must be worried sick not finding you!"
Chu River looked innocent.
What's with the police on this Mountain and Sea Star?
Was her aura of a truant bad student that obvious?
——It's just not working without Chang Geng providing the perfect excuse!
The (one of the) person in charge of Jingkong Mecha Headquarters suddenly felt a little guilty.
She reiterated: "I have no money, the school is too far, I can't walk."
The officers: ...
This is getting ridiculous.
They exchanged glances: "Alright then, we'll take you back to school."
It just so happened they came by motorcycle this morning to find someone quickly.
Chu River climbed the long steps, standing there seeing the antique model, her eyes almost sparkled.
——So handsome!
The lines, the white-blue color with fluorescent stripes! Truly simple yet elegant, filled with an unusual historical essence!
The officer in front handed over a helmet: "Let's go."
Chu River swung her long leg over and sat steadily, her gaze kept glancing at the handlebars—
So eager to take it apart and see inside.
The speed wasn't fast, only around 30 km/h—but even so, they stopped in less than 5 minutes.
Chu River was stupefied.
Looking up, Tianshui Second High School's gate was so dazzling.
So, the school was only a mere 2 kilometers from the river section?
And the officers, placing her down, had a "seeing through it all" expression:
"Young girl, learning doesn't happen overnight; even if you're not doing well for now, you'll have a chance if you take it slowly."
"But today's behavior is unacceptable—I need to talk to your head teacher in a bit."
"Wait here for a while, okay."
With that, they turned to a companion by their side:
"Let's go. Now that it's fine, return the department's bike first—otherwise, if someone needs to go out, it'll be troublesome without transportation..."
As they spoke, they turned the motorcycle around and in under 10 seconds, they turned into the neighboring gates—
Which, like their bikes, had the historical white and blue color and lettering—
Anhe Police Station of Tianshui City.
Chu River: ... Damn!
...
Meanwhile, Zhou Bai, unsettled, couldn't help but text his girlfriend:
"I picked up a little girl by the river this morning, kids in their rebellious phase are quite something..."
Thinking of her weird personality, bad temper, and attempted robbery—though it ended in failure for lack of cash.
But.
The behavior was still quite wrong.
Yet, considering how young she was, after returning home Zhou Bai still couldn't resist calling the police.
Thinking back, he still felt a bit cruel leaving a young girl who had just crawled out of the water alone there...
He hoped for some comfort from his girlfriend, but unfortunately, there was no reply.
Zhou Bai sighed, picked up his tablet casually, and a notification prompted for photo album sync; he instinctively clicked confirm.
The next second, the album suddenly filled with numerous glaring and provocative photos.