Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Zhang Beixing felt numb.

He was just practicing martial arts normally. How could things have developed to this extent? Half the school's students had fallen into panic because of him. Even the principal was alerted, personally leading a security team and Forestry Bureau specialists, armed with tranquilizer guns, to the small woods.

I'm lucky I slipped away fast! Otherwise, if I'd been caught, just explaining it would have been a pain! I can't just demonstrate the Hidden Force version of the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade in front of the principal. With the commotion I make, I probably would have sent his blood pressure through the roof!

Zhang Beixing muttered to himself. It would be better not to go to the small woods to practice boxing these few days. After all, the tiger incident has caused quite a stir. To placate the students and maintain its reputation, the school will surely pay extra attention to the small woods and strengthen patrols for the next few days. Only after the students' unease is relieved and this incident passes will things return to normal. During this period, if I go to practice martial arts, it won't be practice; it'll be walking right into a trap.

But, logical as that is, if I really don't practice, I feel like I'll be missing out! Zhang Beixing frowned slightly and murmured. Right now, after a whole day, I can at most perform the Hidden Force version of the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade twice. If it were just for maintaining good health, then skipping a day or two wouldn't be an issue. But the problem is that the Hidden Force version of the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade isn't just for health maintenance. Besides being related to the mission 'Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, Qi and Blood Everlasting,' practicing the Hidden Force version can also increase my Hidden Force! Each time I practice, my energy and strength grow a little more, and the Hidden Force I unleash becomes fiercer and more destructive. And the strength of the Hidden Force is crucial to another of my missions—'Fist as Fierce as a Tiger, Hidden Force to Bring Down Dragons.'

Jeez... thinking about it does give me a headache. If it really doesn't work out, I guess I'll just have to stake it out and see what their plan is! Zhang Beixing muttered, then walked into the bathroom and bathed and did laundry as usual.

Seeing Zhang Beixing's reaction, Zheng Jituo and the others were all somewhat surprised. They even doubted whether they had made things clear. So, when Zhang Beixing had finished his shower and came out of the bathroom, Zheng Jituo approached him again and asked, "Lao Zhang, after understanding the situation with the tiger, don't you want to say anything? I remember you always liked to go to the small woods. Aren't you scared?"

"Why should I be scared?" Zhang Beixing retorted, then arrogantly boasted, "Right now, I can capture a dragon with my bare hands; a mere tiger is nothing."

Having boasted, he sat at the desk and opened his phone. He found that in the meantime, Lin Siqi and Chen Rourou had sent several messages informing him about the possible tiger sighting in the small woods, asking how he was doing and whether he had left. Among them, Lin Siqi's reaction was the most intense. She had sent several voice calls to Zhang Beixing. But at that time, Zhang Beixing's phone was on Do Not Disturb mode, and he hadn't noticed. Now that he saw them, he naturally had to reply.

Almost immediately after Zhang Beixing sent the messages, Lin Siqi's video call came through within seconds. Seeing this, Zhang Beixing turned his head and gestured for Zheng Jituo, who was about to speak, to be quiet with a shushing motion. He then answered the call.

Instantly, Lin Siqi's face appeared on the screen of the phone, cute and gentle, as always. Seeing her brought a smile to Zhang Beixing's face, and he raised his hand to greet her. However, before he could say hello, he saw Lin Siqi let out a sigh of relief. Then followed a torrent of angry scolding, laced with local dialect, pouring out of her mouth! The content was roughly about 'why he didn't answer the phone,' 'do you know how worried I was,' 'with such a serious issue, what if something went wrong,' and so on. The rapid-fire speech, combined with the obscure dialect, left Zhang Beixing without a chance to talk back. He could only bow his head like a chastened child, acknowledging everything obediently.

Witnessing this scene, Zheng Jituo and the others, who stood behind Zhang Beixing, were dumbfounded! It wasn't that they were shocked by Lin Siqi, the gentle and cute lady, now being so fierce. It was the surprise that Zhang Beixing, who usually wouldn't stand for any loss, was now behaving so meekly.

"Maybe, this is what love is all about!" Lying on the bed, Dong Guoning, who was pampering his goddess with warmth and care, spoke up with this assessment. His words immediately gained the eager agreement of both Zheng Jituo and Jin Linyu.

Hearing their teasing, Zhang Beixing rolled his eyes, indicating they were thinking too much. I kept quiet because Lin Siqi and I have a good relationship, and her strong reaction was simply out of concern for me. I couldn't let someone care about me, only to get scolded in return. That would be too beastly. As if I, Zhang, was Xiao Chuan, that dead body!

Lin Siqi vented for about ten minutes. Zhang Beixing coaxed her and eventually pacified her before ending the call.

Looking at the phone screen as it went dark, Zhang Beixing let out a long sigh and rubbed his ears. Then he remembered that just before the call, Zheng Jituo seemed to have something to say to him. So, he turned to ask. Zheng Jituo was a bit flustered to realize Zhang Beixing still remembered. He thought for a moment, then shook his head, indicating he had forgotten.

Seeing this, Zhang Beixing did not press for details anymore. He just leaned back in his chair, stretched languidly, then climbed into bed to start sleeping, making up for the mental energy he'd spent that day.

While he was sleeping soundly,

「Elsewhere,」

The small woods at Shi University were brilliantly lit. After waiting for Liu Yi to arrive at the school gate, the president of Shi University, carrying a tranquilizer gun and leading Liu Yi and the university's security team, charged ahead into the woods and began a thorough search.

However, after searching for quite a while, aside from finding several discarded 'Blue Elf' packets and a steel wire tied two meters high across a tree, they found no other anomalies. Realizing this, the brows of Shi University's president furrowed slightly, puzzled. He had taken this matter so seriously because a student had reported the incident to the police. In order to keep the situation from escalating and to protect the school's reputation, he had resorted to this measure. As for why he took part in person, alongside the Forestry Bureau, to catch the tiger in the forest, it was to extricate himself from the issue.

Before arriving, the president of Shi University had had professionals review the video. According to them, the video was not fake. He understood that if there really was a tiger in Shi University's woods, he might not be able to keep it quiet. Therefore, he took personal action to leave a good impression and minimize the impact and public outcry. Thus, he made a personal appearance. That way, even if the truth later came out, people would remember that he, a university president, had personally taken care of the matter and wouldn't be too harsh on him. He would still be able to securely occupy his position, and perhaps, even turn misfortune into a stroke of luck and advance further. After all, people knew that a tiger entering the school was not something he could control as a president.

But now, after all his preparations and presence, they had found nothing. This...

Could it be that the tiger ran away? The president muttered, feeling it was not impossible. So he gestured grandly, instructing the Shi University security team to commence a thorough search within the University. This search went on from 10:30 PM that night until 7:00 AM the next morning. After scouring every corner of Shi University, not even a single tiger hair was found!

Upon learning this unexpected news, the Shi University president, who had just woken from the single bed in the security office, was utterly perplexed. But since things had come to this, he didn't feel right giving more orders to the guards, who had been working all night. He simply thanked them for their hard work and told them to go rest. He himself sauntered back to his office and convened the school leaders who had also rushed over the previous night to start a meeting.

The meeting only had two topics. One was about why, despite there being no tiger in Shi University, tiger roars were heard in the small woods. Two, how they should explain this incident so the students would believe them. A fierce discussion ensued. It wasn't until ten o'clock in the morning that they finally hammered out an explanation to be made public.

Zhang Beixing stood below the platform on the athletic field, looking bored. He watched the stern-faced, over-fifty-year-old president of Shi University give a speech about the previous night's tiger incident, even leisurely taking a sip of water. However, just as he poured the water into his mouth, he heard the Shi University president clear his throat and then deliver the most reasonable and persuasive explanation they had devised after meticulous discussion and careful consideration.

"Last night's occurrence of tiger roars in the small woods was purely a tall tale!"

"The reason for this incident was an extremely rare natural phenomenon which I have decided to name—Space-Time Echo!"

PFFT!

Hearing the president of Shi University on stage earnestly uttering such an absurdly far-fetched term, Zhang Beixing couldn't hold back; the water he'd just drunk spurted out of his mouth, drawing sidelong glances from those around him. Even the president, mid-flow in his speech, couldn't help but shoot him a look of displeasure.

Realizing that he had become a conspicuous figure in everyone's eyes, Zhang Beixing hastily apologized, claiming he had accidentally twisted his ankle. Then he resumed standing properly, pretending as if nothing had happened. But his tightly clenched fists and pursed lips still betrayed the turmoil within him, nowhere near as calm as he appeared!