Eclipse Hunter V1C5: Ah Ye and Dark Sun Intersect

Eclipse Hunter Volume 1: Brothers

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

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Chapter Five: Ah Ye and Dark Sun Intersect—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Lala Su & elisa; C/E edited by lucathia)

“I was wondering where a brat like you ran off to. So, it turns out you ran off to buy something to eat!”

Ezart ruthlessly punched Ri Xiang Ye’s head. Just as Ezart had said, Ri Xiang Ye was carrying a huge pile of food that he was gorging himself on. At first glance, it looked like he was entirely buried in food.

“I’m sho hungwee…” Ri Xiang Ye blinked, trying hard to eat and speak at the same time.

“Didn’t you just eat?” Ezart muttered.

But he swiped a bag of snacks, pulled opened the bag, and casually sat down. One after another, the snacks were crammed into his mouth. He offhandedly asked, “Hey, where’d you go just now? How come I didn’t see you? You can’t have been eating this whole time, right?”

“No, I did go in!” Ri Xiang Ye protested with his mouth full.

Ezart carefully observed Ri Xiang Ye. Honestly speaking, he highly suspected that An Xiang Ye might be Dark Sun. After all, he had just transferred over that day and then Dark Sun appeared. This was too much of a coincidence!

But as soon as Ezart looked at him—with his hair parted on the right in a Western style, a pair of tacky glasses, a neat student’s uniform, and an additional dorky aura emitting from his entire person, no matter how Ezart looked at him, he was very nerdy!

Ezart smacked his head. Impossible! There’s no way An Xiang Ye is Dark Sun. There were too many differences. Their entire personalities were completely different. The cold, detached aura that emanated from Dark Sun’s entire person and the dorky mannerisms of An Xiang Ye’s were two completely different things.

“Ah…” Ezart leaned back, both hands behind his head. “Just who is Dark Sun? If he isn’t someone in the academy, who knows if he’ll come back to join in the simulated battles or not. What am I gonna do if he doesn’t come anymore?”

Ri Xiang Ye blinked and asked, “If he doesn’t participate, he just doesn’t participate. What does it have to do with you?”

Ezart abruptly sat up, shouting, “It has everything to do with me! If he doesn’t join in, then I don’t get to fight him! I wasted all that time trailing him for so long, only to have that brat Bai Lian Xing reap the benefits!”

Ri Xiang Ye lowered his head and continued to shovel down his food. It couldn’t be helped. Because of his unique physique, after each of his battles, he had to replenish a large amount of nutrients to continue supporting himself.

He ate and thought at the same time. Since he had already seen Ezart and Bai Lian Xing fight, there should be no need for him to keep battling. But if he didn’t spar once with Ezart, it seemed like he’d be very disappointed…

“But that said, he could be one of the Elites. He might have had a sudden urge, and charged into the battle simulator to play,” Ezart reflected. The more he thought about it, the more probable it seemed.

“Elites?” Ri Xiang Ye immediately lifted his head and asked.

“Oh, you just got here. You don’t know yet.” Ezart leaned back once again and lazily explained, “Yelan Academy is a combat department academy split into classes, A to D according to strength. Bai Lian Xiang from just now is from Class A. We’re Class D, also known as the underachieving class. Everyone in it had barely passing test scores. There’s no way you didn’t know about that, right?”

I really didn’t know… Ri Xiang Ye silently crammed another piece of bread into his mouth. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry while wondering if his brother had specifically placed him in Class D to avoid raising suspicion.

The look in Ezart’s eyes suddenly intensified. “I’ve heard that the Elite Combat Class, the Elites for short, has fewer than twenty people in it. Each and every one of them is a monster.”

“Monster?” Ri Xiang Ye cried out in shock and turned his head to look at Ezart. “Monsters can go to a human school?”

Ezart slowly turned his head, and looked at Ri Xiang Ye like he was stupid for a long time… But Ri Xiang Ye just stared back with an idiotic expression and an astonished gaze that made people want to hit him. It made a feeling of helplessness well up from deep within other people. In addition, he himself was completely unaware that there was anything wrong.

Ezart’s exasperation tripled as he explained, “’Monster’ is a figure of speech… I mean that everyone in it is so strong they don’t seem human!”
“Oh.” Ri Xiang Ye nodded once to show he understood. Strong… Dark Sun’s personality began to surface. His gaze sharpened behind the tacky, thick glasses. Dark Sun inquired, “Where are the Elites?”

“Who knows? I’ve heard that the people in the Elite Combat Class are so strong that they don’t need to go to class. They’re usually completing all sorts of highly difficult missions for the Principal… But they’re just rumors! Nobody knows what the situation really is.”

“And even you and Bai Liang Xing are still unable to join the Elites?” Dark Sun dug further.

Ezart rolled his eyes at Ri Xiang Ye. This brat doesn’t take other people’s feelings into consideration when he talks!

“I don’t know about Bai Lian Xing, but the Principal did ask me before. I just refused to join!”

Ri Xiang Ye looked curiously at Ezart. He’d thought that Ezart was someone who wanted to battle strong people no matter what. How could he have refused?

“There’s a lot of benefits to joining that class, but…” Ezart pursed his lips and grumbled, “before graduating, you have to finish twenty of the missions the Principal assigns. That didn’t sit well with me, so I passed!”

“Oh.” After Ri Xiang Ye heard this, he also dispelled any notions of joining the Elites. He only heeded his brother’s orders. If someone else assigned him a mission, he wouldn’t do them.

“O.K., brat. I’ve got something I need to do first. I’ll walk you to the school gates. Otherwise fresh meat like you is bound to get pummeled by the older guys as a warning.” Ezart himself didn’t know what was wrong with him. It was the first time that he, the campus’s lone wolf, had thought to look out for someone else.

“I’m not ‘brat’. I’m An Xiang Ye.” Ri Xiang Ye protested, wide-eyed.

“An Xiang Ye… What a mouthful.”

“Call me Ah Ye! That’s what my gēge always calls me.”

“O.K. Ah Ye, let’s go! Let me tell you, if we don’t get going, I’m not going to bother with you anymore. After letting you take a beating, maybe you’ll wise up a bit.” Ezart’s eyebrows went up. He seemed to think that was a good idea.

“D-Don’t be like that!”

Ri Xiang Ye hastily stood up. If someone tried to beat him up, he really wouldn’t know how to follow his brother’s orders not to show his capabilities and also to protect himself. It was too difficult!

As Ezart looked at Ri Xiang Ye hurriedly tidying up the food debris on the floor and turning his head to look at Ezart every so often with an expression of deep fear that Ezart would run off, Ezart really felt that this brat was extremely annoying! He had no idea why he had nothing better to do than to look for trouble and suddenly decide to watch out for this guy.

What was even more ridiculous was that he’d just been thinking that this guy was Dark Sun? There’s really something wrong with me!

“Are you done yet?” Ezart urged him impatiently.

Ri Xiang Ye hastily replied, “Yes, yes. Let’s go.”

Ezart stuck his hands into his pants’ pockets and left without saying a word. Ri Xiang Ye hurriedly jogged to catch up.

“Ezart, where are you going in such a hurry? To eat dinner?”

Ri Xiang Ye asked as they walked. Ezart raised his eyebrows but didn’t give an explanation. Ri Xiang Ye asked more questions in rapid succession. As long as they had nothing to do with himself, Ezart answered all of them. But once they were about Ezart himself, he was completely unwilling to reply to Ri Xiang Ye.

“Stop asking about me,” Ezart finally opened his mouth to say.

“Oh,” Ri Xiang Ye obediently replied.

The two of them walked together in silence for a while, and the school gates were soon before them. Ezart felt that the students should have seen Ah Ye walking together with him, and based on his fearsome reputation in the school, the others wouldn’t dare to make trouble for Ah Ye.

Ezart turned his head, intending to say good bye to Ri Xiang Ye, only to discover that Ri Xiang Ye was foolishly staring out ahead of him. After Ezart shouted, “Hey,” multiple times without garnering a response, Ri Xiang Ye blankly raised a finger to indicate that Ezart should look in front of him.

Ezart looked in the direction Ri Xiang Ye was pointing in. Sitting leisurely in a chair beneath the shade of a tree next to the school gates was Bai Lian Xing. Next to him was the icy beauty, who was offering him a drink, as well as the man with the dual guns hanging on his waist and the ugly midget from before.

“Ezart.” Bai Lian Xing sipped his drink, watching him with composure.

“Bai Lian Xing.” Ezart raised his eyebrows, disdain written on his face.

Bai Lian Xing’s attire was even more flamboyant than what he had worn in the simulator. It was still Chinese clothing, but the difference was, the actual articles had a pair of dragons meticulously embroidered in golden thread and studded with decorative precious stones.

He rotated a large ring with a black diamond on his right thumb out of habit while he said, “I’ve heard a new student arrived in your class today?”

“What about it?” Ezart clearly detested Bai Lian Xing.

He didn’t care in the battle simulator, since at least Bai Lian Xing was very strong, which made Ezart happy. But in real life… He was a frivolous princeling, the kind of person Ezart hated the most!

“A new student transferred over today and Dark Sun appeared. What do you have to say about it?” Bai Lian Xing looked a bit at Ri Xiang Ye out of the corner of his eye. He was slightly surprised that Ezart was walking with a person who looked like they were just waiting to be taught a lesson.

However, when Ezart heard this, he began laughing loudly. This laughter kept going for a long time, so long that Bai Lian Xing dangerously narrowed his eyes, and readied himself to fight at any moment.

“Here! The transfer student who showed up today is this guy next to me,” Ezart couldn’t resist saying, wanting to see what expression Bai Lian Xing would have once he saw how ridiculous his theory was.

And indeed, Bai Lian Xing froze. He had originally thought Dark Sun must be the new transfer student. Only, he didn’t know why he would have been sent to Class D. But that didn’t mean much since Ezart had also been placed in Class D. However, this nerd in front of him…

Bai Lian Xing pursed his lips. He didn’t like to be wrong, but he also didn’t want to continue to insist Dark Sun was this idiot. It was an insult, an insult to someone so strong!

“It appears that I have misunderstood. This sort of person… Couldn’t be Dark Sun even if he reincarnated.” Bai Lian Xing stood up, arrogant disdain on his face. It was as though Ri Xiang Ye were some sort of lowly creature that had emerged from the kitchen or sewers.

Ri Xiang Ye blinked, and still didn’t say a word. But he secretly wanted to laugh inside. Against expectations, he really was Dark Sun.

Ezart sneered and said, “What are you talking about? You better be careful. He’s also a kid from a rich family. Don’t anger people you shouldn’t anger.”

Bai Lian Xing stopped in his tracks, having been mocked by Ezart. Unexpectedly, the expression on his face wasn’t one of rage, but of a strange smile. “People I shouldn’t anger? Ha, let me tell you. After today, there won’t be anyone I shouldn’t provoke!”

“Bull****! The Sun Emperor is someone you’d never dare to offend.”

Although Ezart didn’t have much of a clue when it came to economic alliances, even a completely clueless person could tell from newspapers, magazines, and chatter among crowds of passersby, that the one with the most influence at the moment, known as the uncrowned king, was the Sun Emperor of the Sun Alliance.

“The Sun Emperor? After today… I don’t know if such a person will exist.” Bai Lian Xing revealed an arrogant smile.

“What do you mean?” Ri Xiang Ye suddenly shouted.

Bai Lian Xing was somewhat infuriated. Who would have thought this insignificant transfer student would have the gall to shout at him? If not for Ezart’s rarely seen strength, why else would Bai Lian Xing have allowed him to speak?

“Hmph!”

Bai Lian Xing coldly huffed, his expression icy. The three other people standing to the side saw Bai Lian Xing was displeased, the look on his face unsightly, and drew out their weapons one after another. They menacingly approached to surround Ri Xiang Ye.

Ezart thrust out his sturdy arm to block off Ri Xiang Ye. He scowled, and his face with the dragon tattoo appeared even fiercer. The expression in his eyes became menacing as he looked at the three approaching people.

“Leave him. Today is an important day. I don’t have the time to bother with this sort of small fry.” Bai Lian Xing’s tone changed, and he said it as if he did not care.

The three people originally approaching step by step immediately stopped and obediently returned back to Bai Lian Xing’s side. Bai Lian Xing laughed haughtily, and flinging his robe, turned and left.

“Who is he?” Ri Xiang Ye… No, Dark Sun asked.

Behind the thick glasses, the look in his eyes was exceptionally cold. He was currently rapidly trying to analyze Bai Lian Xing’s words. Are his words pure ego? Or is there a basis for them?

Ezart offhandedly said, “Bai Lian Xing’s the son of Bai Lian Yue. I’ve heard the power of his father’s economic organization is second only to the Sun Emperor’s Sun Alliance.”

In reality, what he was saying was only an approximation. He didn’t fully understand the true situation. In short, the Bai family was indeed very rich and powerful!

Even Yelan Academy, a school that required students to be equal, was forced to allow Bai Lian Xing to bring three attendants into the school.

Bai Lian Yue? Dark Sun immediately retrieved this person’s information. He was the leader of the Purple Moon Alliance. The Purple Moon Alliance’s power was considerable. Although they could not compare to the Sun Alliance, they ranked second amongst the other organizations.

The leader, Bai Lian Yue himself was assessed to be a treacherous, devious snake of a man. Once he had been provoked, there was no guessing when his lethal, venomous fangs would sink into your throat.

Thinking of this, Dark Sun’s face darkened. “Ezart…”

“What do you want?” Ezart looked at the brat next to him strangely, as he had an odd expression. Did he get scared after hearing of Bai Lian Xing’s family background? Why is he completely off?

“There’s something I have to do. I’ll be going first!” Once Dark Sun finished speaking, he immediately rushed out the school gates, departing like the wind.

“This brat can run pretty fast! Is it because people want to beat him up so often?” Ezart squinted his eyes and watched Ri Xiang Ye’s back.

Ri Xiang Ye pulled out his cell phone as he ran, pressing the buttons for Ri Xiang Yan’s cell phone number. The ringtone sounded again and again, but no one picked up… Impossible!

Ri Xiang Ye clearly understood his brother’s personality. Even if he were in a conference with the most important leaders in the world, there was no way he wouldn’t pick up his little brother’s call.

Ri Xiang Ye dialed another number. As soon as he got through, he immediately said, “Doctor An Te Qi, where’s my brother?”

An Te Qi, on the other end of the phone, froze. He asked back, “Isn’t he at work…? Wait! Dark Sun, the news is reporting an emergency broadcast…

“Oh my god! Dark Sun, your brother’s company building is being hijacked. The hijackers have installed a bomb capable of destroying the entire building, and are threatening everyone in the building not to leave. They’ve even stated their terms: your brother has to come out of his special office and let them carry him away… Or they’ll have the entire building accompany him to the grave!

“Dark Sun, what are you going to do?” An Te Qi was a bit worried. He knew there was no way Dark Sun could leave this alone.

“Does it need saying? I’m going to rescue Gēge!” Ri Xiang Ye shouted.

“Your brother doesn’t want you to reveal your identity! Just wait a bit. Your brother is the Sun Emperor, after all. He’s not some plant-eating pacifist. He might be able to escape on his own…”

“No way! We can’t take any chances!” Ri Xiang Ye flatly refused to wait.

“Ah Ye, if your brother found out that you exposed your identity because of him and couldn’t live the life of an ordinary person… He would definitely blame himself and feel very guilty.” An Te Qi advised him with sincerity. He understood well how much Ri Xiang Yan hoped his little brother would be able to live the life of an ordinary youth.

Ri Xiang Ye fell silent for a while. He of course knew of his brother’s worries, but he felt his brother’s safety was a hundred times more important. If there were a way he could achieve both saving his brother while not exposing his identity… Not exposing his identity? Hadn’t he avoided exposing his identity in the battle simulator?

Ri Xiang Ye hurriedly told An Te Qi, “I just need a visor and different clothes…”

“I see, that’s a great idea. I’ll prepare them for you now. Come back immediately!”

“Understood!” Ri Xiang Ye hung up, the pace of his steps quickening.

Gēge! Whether I’m Dark Sun or Ri Xiang Ye, I won’t let anyone harm you!