Chapter 72 This is Sunan City

Han Enxi was a top student at Seoul University, young and beautiful, she was the apple of her mentor's eye. Consequently, when an opportunity arose to participate in a student exchange program in China, her mentor made sure to reserve a place for her.

And so, Han Enxi, accompanied by several classmates and their guide teacher, boarded a flight to China - a country they perceived to be filled mostly with rural mountain villages.

As soon as they disembarked from the plane, Han Enxi and her peers shared the same reaction: surprise, astonishment. Television had led them to believe that China was all mountains, that students had to traverse difficult terrains just to get to school.

Yet, what lay before their eyes were towering skyscrapers, a cityscape typical of highly developed cities.

"Is this really China?" Han Enxi's close friend, Kim Jaeyo couldn't help but ask.

Kim Jaeyo, another top student from Seoul University, was a physical education whiz and a black belt in Taekwondo despite his young age. He once passionately pursued Han Enxi, but she disliked boys whose physical abilities outshone their mental capacities. To her, fighting was a barbaric act.

In her eyes, her future husband should be an engineer, or perhaps an editor at a magazine - someone sophisticated, with golden-rimmed glasses, exuding an air of elegance and intellect.

"Did the plane take another round and we're back in Seoul?" Kim Jaeyo, leaning against the seat of the bus, crossed his arms and said with a hint of mockery.

"Students, this is Sunan City in China," the guide teacher stood at the front, seemingly responding to his question. "Though this city appears shiny and beautiful, don't be deceived by its outward appearance! China is extremely underdeveloped and the quality of its people is quite low. We're here with a sacred mission to bring the civilization of advanced countries to this nation and show them the superiority of our Great Korean culture!"

"Yes!" The ten students responded in unison.

The bus soon entered the outskirts of Sunan City, where fields stretched as far as the eye could see, alongside distant flat houses. The guide teacher continued.

"Do you see this? This is the real face of Sunan City. Look, many cars on the road are Hyundai, in this country, anyone who can afford a Hyundai is a tycoon!"

Just then, a tractor chugged along, blocking the bus's path.

"Look quickly, Enxi!" Kim Jaeyo immediately pointed out, "This is the common mode of transportation in China!"

As he was speaking, a silver Mercedes-Benz E300 whizzed past their bus. The Korean students were left dumbfounded.

"That must be a car belonging to their city leader." Kim Jaeyo confidently stated.

After about twenty minutes, the bus finally stopped in front of its destination, the Guangyuan International Economic Institute. Buses from three other countries were already parked there, it seemed Korea was the last to arrive.

Han Enxi stepped off the bus and gazed at the Chinese university before her. She was suddenly struck by the similarity of this prestigious institution to Seoul University, at least in terms of their external appearances.

"This must be one of China's top-tier universities," Kim Jaeyo offered his opinion.

"Look at their security," he continued, pointing to the security staff at the entrance, "Look at those guys, they're all probably in their forties. What can these uncle-aged fellows do? How can they possibly protect the students? This would never happen at Seoul University."

Han Enxi shook her head in silence. The teacher then led them into the campus. They boarded an internal transport vehicle and slowly made their way to the school's open-air auditorium.

While Guangyuan College might have been a third-tier university, its infrastructure was top-notch nationally. This was one of the reasons why the leaders of Sunan City confidently chose this location for the exchange program.

The Korean students were dazzled by the infrastructure, almost feeling like they had returned to Seoul University.

Upon reaching the auditorium, Kim Jaeyo pointed at the beautiful principal on the podium, exclaiming, "This woman is stunning! She must have Korean ancestry. Enxi, you can speak Chinese, right? You should ask her later where in Korea her father or mother was born."

Han Enxi shook her head again, not particularly enjoying this environment. Looking around, she noticed a young, straight-standing security officer standing nearby. She approached him and in her halting Chinese, asked, "Excuse me, welcome... meeting, when... finish?"

Qin Chao was taken aback. What was this Korean girl saying? She was pretty, dressed in a white woolen coat, with a mohair scarf around her neck - a typical Korean attire. Unlike the stereotypical Korean face, she had no wide face nor excessively big eyes.

"Sorry, could you please repeat that?" Qin Chao asked, scratching his nose.

"Excuse me, welcome meeting, when... finish?" Han Enxi asked patiently, aware of her inadequate Chinese language skills.

"Oh, you're asking when it will end," Qin Chao finally understood. "I'm not sure, it might be at least an hour."

"I see..." Han Enxi furrowed her brow at the thought of a meeting lasting that long, "Thank you."

"Enxi, why are you being so polite to a security guard?" Kim Jaeyo, although his Chinese was limited, understood the word 'thank you.'

"Jaeyo, it's called manners," Han Enxi gave him a sharp look, "I don't want people to think that we Koreans lack courtesy."

The welcome meeting was simple. It primarily consisted of speeches given by the Director of Guangyuan College and a few city leaders. Afterward, a representative from each visiting country gave a speech, and the meeting was concluded.

After inviting several city leaders to speak, Su Fei adjusted her collar, pushed up her glasses, and moved to the front of the stage.

Qin Chao hadn't realized that this woman possessed such oratory prowess, and she even incorporated Japanese, Korean, and English phrases into her speech occasionally.

The foreign exchange students were already awestruck by Su Fei's beauty. Now, witnessing her eloquence and trilingual skills, they were even more impressed.

Su Fei must have prepared extensively for this welcome meeting as she spoke for over ten minutes, answering numerous questions raised by the exchange students.

When she finished her speech, thunderous applause echoed from below the stage.

A foreign man with a prominent nose and blue eyes, holding a bouquet of flowers, stepped forward from the group of British students.

Seeing the man, the British students' group leader muttered something in English.

Hearing this, Han Enxi, whose English was quite good, furrowed her brows.

Qin Chao observed the scene and quickly asked, "Classmate, what did he just say?"

"He said... he seems to have never seen this person before," Han Enxi answered Qin Chao politely.

A frown tugged at Qin Chao's eyebrows as he watched the British man climb onto the stage, carrying flowers and wearing a faint smile. He felt a sense of foreboding.

"Something's wrong!" Qin Chao yelled, immediately pushing through the crowd toward the stage.

"Has that security guard gone crazy?" Kim Jaeyo was startled by Qin Chao's sudden movement.

"I don't know, but something seems to be happening," Han Enxi replied, equally confused.

Since the bouquet of flowers was a gift from the British representative, Su Fei naturally accepted it politely. Suddenly, the man pulled a silver handgun from within the bouquet, a smirk of triumph on his face as he pointed the gun at Su Fei's forehead.

The scene left everyone stunned, several city leaders turning pale with fear. If the Director of Guangyuan College were to be killed by the British representative, they might also face repercussions.

Su Fei, too, froze, panic evident behind her glasses.

"Sister!" Su Ji, sitting to one side as the honorary Director, turned pale. She extended her wrist, revealing a string of Buddhist beads. There was no time to consider propriety; her sister was in danger.

Just at this critical juncture, a figure dressed in blue abruptly sprang onto the nearly two-meter-high stage, grappling the British man and both tumbled onto the ground.

"Bang!" The man's gun went off, sending a bullet into the sky.

The entire venue erupted into chaos as students, fearing their own safety, quickly fled the scene.

Han Enxi, pulled away by Kim Jaeyo, glanced back twice at the stage where the young security officer was wrestling with the gunman.

"He's smart, and brave," she commented to Kim Jaeyo.

"Damn these incessant skeletons!" Qin Chao grumbled, pinning the British man to the ground and throwing a punch at his face.

"Bang!" To his surprise, his fist was intercepted by the man's palm and held tightly.

The man's strength was clearly beyond normal.

Qin Chao was taken aback. At the same time, the man on the ground kicked up, sending Qin Chao flying off of him.

"Bang!" Qin Chao landed to one side, promptly regaining his footing.

The assassin also leaped up, attempting to retrieve the handgun that had fallen nearby.

"Slap!" A small foot in high heels came flying out, kicking away the gun on the ground.

After kicking away the gun, Su Fei quickly retreated several steps, panting and clutching her chest.

Qin Chao was startled too. He hadn't expected this woman to be so bold. Despite his surprise, he did not hesitate and leaped toward the assassin.

"Byebye!" The British man sneered sarcastically. Instead of attempting to kill Su Fei again, he turned and ran agilely, as fast as a bullet, disappearing into the campus in an instant.

But Qin Chao didn't pursue him, as his sense of oppression hadn't dissipated yet.

After reaching the state of Spiritual Consolidation, he would experience this sense of oppression whenever danger was imminent.

He focused his mind and spirit, looking around. All the students had run away, leaving the square deserted. Turning his head, he noticed a faint white light flashing on the rooftop of a nearby building.

"Su Fei, watch out!" Startled, Qin Chao instinctively dove onto the bewildered Su Fei.

A searing pain erupted in his chest as a spinning bullet pierced his body and embedded itself in the ground. As cries of shock rang out around him, Qin Chao felt as if he were sinking into waves. All he could see were Su Fei and Su Ji, the beautiful sisters, running towards him. His consciousness wavered a few times before he finally plunged into darkness.