“Huh? Where?” Octane asked, eyes darting around frantically.

“Straight up ahead, in the left corner,” Elder Hua replied calmly. “Go on, greet them. I’ll come back for you when lunch is over.”

Leaving her five students just like that, she left the cafeteria and disappeared from sight.

“Uh… what now?” Fanatic asked quietly.

“Well… no choice but to do as told, I suppose,” Iris replied with a sigh. “Finn, 50 meters to your front, then 15 to your left.”

Octane was somewhat nervous, but complied anyway. As they got closer, they noticed all the other Hunters at this squadron stayed far away from the Big Five, as if… scared.

Soon, they found themselves standing before the Big Five of The Thousand Dragons Sect. One of them was a familiar face — Qi Ling, the girl who had welcomed them when they first arrived here. The other four, however, were all strangers to them.

One was a short girl with a timid look who appeared to be quite shy. The other three were all boys, one bulky and arrogant, one warm and friendly, and one quiet and dreamy.

“Huh. So these are the kids from that D-Class Squadron?” The bulky boy said condescendingly as he saw Finn and the others walking towards them, chuckling as if they were nothing but a joke. “As expected, they don’t look strong at all.”

“Somebody ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?” Fanatic shot back, unwilling to just take that insult sitting down.

“Sure they have,” the boy snickered in response. “But you don’t even count as a book, D-Class. Know your place before talking back to me.”

“… Settle down, Rampager,” Qi Ling cut in coldly, shooting him a sharp, emotionless glare.

“Whatever senior sister says.” The bulky boy — Rampager — shrugged in reply. “But I still don’t get it… why do you always call everyone else by their aliases even though we aren’t on a mission?”

Qi Ling ignored him and focused her gaze on the newcomers.

“I believe we have already spoken once, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qi Ling, and I am a wielder of the Everfrost Angelica. You may call me senior sister or Frostbite — whichever suits you better. I look forward to working with you, members of Squadron 154.”

Fanatic nodded, taking on the role of leader here since both Finn and Iris were the quiet type and Octane turned into a completely different person around strangers.

“You can call me Fanatic. We look forward to working with you…” His gaze landed on Rampager. “… Well, not all of you.”

“Heh, the little kid’s mad!” Rampager laughed boldly, then cracked his knuckles as he glared at Fanatic darkly. “Listen, little buddy. If you don’t like me humiliating you like this, then fight back — with your fists, of course. I’m always down for a good brawl — If you can beat me, I’ll take back everything I said. Hell, I’ll even let you take my place on the Big Five. But if you lose… well. Ha, be prepared to lose your life.”

“Tch…” Fanatic gritted his teeth tightly, not wanting to deal with him at all.

“S-Sorry about him, you guys,” the warm and friendly boy laughed awkwardly and tried to soothe the tension. “Pang Zi here is just trying to intimidate you into fighting him… don’t take the bait.”

“Hey! Don’t go ruining my fun, Tian Long,” Rampager — Pang Zi — shouted in frustration.

“Ahaha… I’ll make it up to you sometime… but can’t you be friendly for once? They aren’t used to being in an environment like this. Show them the hospitality of an S-Class Squadron, okay?”

‘So in the end… even this ‘friendly’ person still sees us as inferior, huh?’ Finn thought in his head. ‘Though I suppose I can hardly blame him, considering the ranking system set in place by the GHO themselves. S-Class Squadrons and Hunters are superior to D-Class ones. It’s as simple as that.’

“From today until Wednesday, you will continue training with Elder Hua,” Qi Ling continued, steering the conversation back on course. “Once that is complete, we will begin joint training to familiarize ourselves with one another and the plan for next Monday. Any questions or concerns?”

Fanatic shook his head. “None. Thank you for letting us know. And… enjoy your meal.”

With these brisk, distant words, he turned around and walked away. Finn, Iris, Octane, and Reaper followed, leaving the uncomfortable aura in the air.

“Man… those guys can’t even handle a simple conversation?” Pang Zi sighed. “Dunno what the patriarch was thinking, making them go in with us.”

“No one would want to stay after what you said to them…” Tian Long lightly smacked his own face and shook his head in disappointment.

Beside them, the short girl trembled fearfully by Qi Ling’s side, eyes dead and lips quivering.

“N-No… how could this be…”

Qi Ling, noticing this, placed a hand on her ally’s shoulder. “Claire…? What’s wrong?”

“Oi… what’s going on?” Pang Zi asked, having noticed it as well.

“Xin’Er?” Tian Long frowned in worry.

“S-Senior sister… I saw it… I saw it…”

Qi Ling narrowed her eyes. “Saw what?”

Claire clasped her own ears and shook violently on the chair, on the verge of mentally breaking down.

“T-The blind man… he… didn’t have… a soul…”

[GHOST HUNTER DATABASE]

—— PROFILE ——

[Name: Yun Xin]

[Alias: Clairevoyance (Claire for short)]

[Age: 14]

[Eye color: Sky Blue]

[Hair color: Neon Green]

[Height: 5’1″]

[Weight: 54 lbs]

[Angelica: Soulreader]

[Affiliations: Phantom Slayer Corps (100th Squadron)]

[Rank: A]

[Background Information: Found hidden in the washing machine of a household that had fallen victim to an Outbreak, trembling in fear and covering her own ears out of fright. She was later brought back to Squadron 100 and nursed back to health, where she has since shown tremendous talent in her Angelica, easily learning highly advanced Abilities in the matter of a few days. As such, she has been personally selected by Hunter Lei Feng, leader of said squadron, to join the Big Five — a group of five elite Ghost Hunters whose positions can change over time.]

[Concerns: She is extremely shy and quiet, tending to not talk unless absolutely necessary. It is believed that she still has not recovered from her Ghost-inflicted trauma. Gentle care is needed.]

[Additional Notes: None]

—— END OF PROFILE ——