Chapter 108: You're Just Talkative

“Oh, so there was a reaction? What kind of crescent moon event is this?” Chen Fan was completely baffled. After rushing back to his dormitory, he felt nothing unusual about his body, and the bright moon above remained unchanged.

The elder calmly pushed up his contact lenses and confirmed Chen Fan’s guess. “Yes, it’s the Crescent Moon Incident—Schrödinger’s Cat.”

Chen Fan cautiously climbed onto his bed and muttered, “Can you guys put a little more thought into your naming? Could you be a bit more original?”

The elder shrugged. “That’s the official term we use externally. Internally, of course, it has another name.”

“What’s that?” Chen Fan asked curiously.

“The Floran Unstable Magic Field. Can you tell what effect that might have just from the name?” the elder sneered mockingly.

“Uh… I really can’t,” Chen Fan admitted.

He began trying to connect Schrödinger’s Cat with the Floran Unstable Magic Field in his mind. As a humanities student, he had some common sense, though he was clueless about the specific theories involved. Still, that didn’t stop him from thinking through the problem.

It was like reading English comprehension—sometimes you don’t understand the words, but you can still get all the answers right.

“During the event’s active period, my ability experiences unstable fluctuations. Am I correct?”

“Oh wow, absolutely right. I didn’t expect you to be so gifted. Maybe I underestimated you before. I thought you’d struggle a bit before coming to me for answers. Why didn’t you follow the script?” The elder’s tone left Chen Fan unsure whether it was praise or sarcasm.

Chen Fan continued, “Are there any quantifiable data? Like the upper and lower bounds of the instability? Or the duration of the effect?”

“I’m starting to suspect you were just playing dumb all along. But can your inner world really hide from my magical insight? I don’t believe it. Yet in the past half month, I’ve never seen you like this. You know the saying, ‘Great talents mature late,’ or ‘The young are formidable.’ Those fit you perfectly.”

Chen Fan raised his middle finger. “Answer my question quickly. Save your half-truth compliments for later.”

“Oh no, the old man never lies. Finally, I see a glimmer of the king’s aura in you. Congratulations, young man, you’ve taken the first step.”

Chen Fan threatened, “Speak up, do you want me to help straighten out your tongue?”

“Patience. The duration is uncertain, but the upper and lower bounds are roughly between 10% and 1000%.”

“Oh, saying that is as good as saying nothing. I’m going to sleep.” The moment Chen Fan heard “roughly,” he dismissed the entire statement. The elder’s probabilities were never trustworthy.

“Oh gosh, young man, why sleep so early? I finally wanted to praise you, right? And you... hey, put down those stinky socks! I’ll shut up, okay? Nowadays young people, all mumbling, mumbling~”

...

“Chen Fan, you look exhausted. Didn’t get enough rest last night?”

Chen Fan, sporting dark circles under his eyes, replied, “Senior Sister, haah~~ I’m fine. It’s not bad to be a national treasure once in a while.”

“That’s the biggest dark circles I’ve ever seen, really scary.” After showing concern, Lin Jing handed out the attendance sheets she had prepared to the officers, reminding them, “Remember to keep them safe. Don’t lose them. I’ve uploaded the Excel files for your assigned classes to the group chat. Check carefully.”

“Received,” everyone responded in unison, with Chen Fan noticeably half a beat slower.

“Check ACCA Class 1. They’re international talents, so attendance should be decent,” Chen Fan said instinctively.

Seeing that everyone had looked over their sheets, Lin Jing added a few more words. “Your grade’s morning reading attendance is easier to track. At first, it’s basically full attendance. Our senior classes have worse absenteeism, especially the two ACCA classes, which are always missing about half the students. Officers responsible for ACCA classes need to pay extra attention.”

“Lastly, be polite. We’re not some violent organization. No rough stuff, and don’t put on airs. Just do your job well. Got it?”

“Got it!” they all shouted together, with Chen Fan again half a beat behind.

After receiving his task, Chen Fan took his pen and attendance sheet and dazedly headed to the third floor. There were still five minutes before morning reading, and the classroom was empty.

“Hm? Did I come to the wrong classroom?” Chen Fan stepped out and checked the room number again. “No mistake. It’s this time slot, but why isn’t there a single person?”

He leaned against the door and waited three minutes before finally someone showed up.

“Are you with ACCA? We’re calling your ACCA people for morning reading. I’m about to start checking attendance,” Chen Fan kindly reminded.

“Oh, wait a moment.” The other person pulled out their phone and started tapping rapidly. “I’m not sure how many will come. Don’t get your hopes up.”

“Haah~~ If they don’t show, just write down their names,” Chen Fan leaned against the wall, tilting his head back to rest his eyes.

In this peaceful era, with no fighting or killing, Chen Fan had chosen the role of an idiot for himself today and wasn’t worried about being picked on.

Fortune with him, calm aura.

“Hm? Overslept... Damn, almost missed morning reading.” Chen Fan wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and clutched the attendance sheet as he entered the classroom.

Only about ten people had shown up, less than half. Luckily, he had been forewarned, so his heart could take it. Politely, he asked, “Who’s the class monitor?”

“Not here.”

“The vice monitor?”

“Not here either.”

“The academic committee member?”

“Not here.”

“The Youth League secretary?”

“Also not here.”

Chen Fan: “……”

“No need to ask. None of the class officers showed up. We non-class officers don’t even know all the students,” a nearby boy cut in, sounding a bit arrogant.

Chen Fan lamented, “They’re supposed to be international talents, yet they can’t even follow the school’s ‘five mornings and one evening’ attendance rule.”

“This kind of anti-biological clock schedule, only fools would follow it. Who doesn’t sleep after midnight nowadays? The school makes us get up at 7:30 for morning reading, but everyone’s just playing on their phones. What’s the point? Better to just sleep more at home.”

Chen Fan found himself agreeing a little but maintained his composed, authoritative demeanor, refraining from commenting further.

“Then why did you come to morning reading?”

“Had to submit proof. Those on scholarships or loans have to hand in their attendance lists after morning reading. Those few who came are the ones submitting proof. You’ll understand later. There’ll be dreadful stuff like waking up at 5 a.m. for tug-of-war, or 6 a.m. for singing. Imagine a freezing winter dawn, a bunch of people cramped together watching the sunrise, singing ‘Where is Spring?’”

“Damn, the leadership must be crazy,” Chen Fan couldn’t help but curse.

“Yeah, we’re all on the same side. No need to register. Besides, just writing down names is pointless. It’s like when we were kids and told teachers about fights—nothing changed afterwards,” Zhao Dongqiang suddenly tried to be friendly, as if currying favor with Chen Fan.

Chen Fan hesitated, his internal struggle unresolved, when the class dismissed and everyone swiftly vanished.

“Oh no, this is bad.”