Chapter 58
Chapter 58
“If I simply beat them senseless… how could that truly shatter their confidence?”
Qin Lan considered the matter in silence.
“They’ll only think I’m an overpowered monster. At most, they’ll feel resentful…”
“They need to lose to opponents they’ve always looked down on. That’s the only way to make them question their entire lives.”
A satisfied smile spread across Qin Lan’s face.
He really was clever.
There had always been friction among the four schools.
Ever since Qin Lan first enrolled, students from No. 1 and No. 2 High Schools had repeatedly clashed with No. 3 High School students outside campus. Most of those conflicts ended in victory for the other side.
Of course, none of that had involved Qin Lan. Back then, he had been a slacker who lived on education subsidies, eating and drinking without a care. He rarely even left school grounds.
Besides, even students from No. 1 and No. 2 High Schools looking for trouble would not choose Qin Lan as their target.
Provocation and bullying were meant to create a sense of superiority and prove that one school was stronger than another.
What satisfaction could anyone gain from bullying an F-rank student at the bottom of his class?
It would be like showing off at a pickup basketball court by relentlessly blocking and dunking on someone with cerebral palsy who could barely walk.
According to Liang Yu, one of her classmates had clashed with No. 1 High School students downtown not long ago. They surrounded him and beat him until his face was swollen and bruised.
One of the ringleaders had been Wang Lei, who had just been forced to sever his connection to his summoned creature.
Wang Lei’s B-rank Talent did not look particularly powerful now, but it was versatile and had considerable potential for future growth. As a result, the school had always focused resources on him.
That preferential treatment had filled him with a sense of superiority.
While Su Xiaoyue was still in Safe Zone 088, her brilliance alone overshadowed every other student, and even Wang Lei had kept a low profile.
After Su Xiaoyue graduated and left, their arrogance grew far worse.
These grudges were another reason Qin Lan had agreed to participate in the Four-School Joint Examination.
“Is Wang Lei strong?” Qin Lan asked curiously.
Liang Yu hesitated. “He’s quite strong compared with us… His elemental spirit can attack and share damage with him.”
“More importantly, it can enhance his physical attributes.”
Liang Yu bit her lip, resentment filling her expression. “The classmate he beat needed more than a month before he could walk normally again, but the teachers at No. 1 High School called it a ‘minor dispute between students’…”
“Even if we lose this joint examination, we can’t let Wang Lei walk away comfortably!”
Qin Lan considered her words.
Several seconds later, he suddenly smiled.
“What would you say if I told you I had a way for you to beat him with your own hands?”
…
The conversations between students inside the simulated instance were not transmitted outside. The cameras captured only their expressions.
From the audience’s perspective, Qin Lan said something to Liang Yu, and her face filled with delight and disbelief.
“Are they discussing a tactic?”
“A tactic? You think that guy needs tactics?”
“Fair point… He crushed Wang Lei’s summoned creature between his fingers…”
The students offered countless guesses about what Qin Lan and Liang Yu had discussed.
Only Principal Wu’s eyes shone with sharp understanding.
“Old Li, I’ll bet you the price of a meal that Qin Lan just came up with something incredibly underhanded.”
“Those brats from No. 1 High School are about to suffer.”
Li Shan strongly agreed.
“That’s right. That cheap, wicked smile looks exactly like yours when you’re plotting something dirty– Ow, fuck! Why did you hit me?”
While the two old men shoved and grappled with each other, another person in the audience watched Qin Lan’s every move.
She had a delicate, thin face and calm eyes that carried a maturity beyond her years.
It was Tang Qingqing.
After Qin Lan spoke to Fatty Wu on her behalf, Tang Qingqing’s meal subsidy had tripled.
The miserly Fatty Wu insisted that Qin Lan pay for the increase, boldly declaring that his own money did not grow on trees.
With the additional subsidy, Tang Qingqing’s physical condition had improved considerably.
She was still somewhat thin, but at least she looked healthier now.
“Become an Anomaly Hunter who belongs only to me…”
Tang Qingqing silently repeated Qin Lan’s earlier words as she watched the wildly confident–or perhaps treacherously smug–young man on the screen.
Becoming an Anomaly Hunter was a path she had never imagined for herself.
“If I become an Anomaly Hunter, I can cure Grandma’s illness…”
“Maybe… I can become as strong as he is?”
Tang Qingqing had seen Qin Lan casually knock out that terrifyingly enormous 1-Star anomaly and send the entire audience into an uproar.
As Tang Qingqing listened to the surrounding gasps and excited discussion, her blood began to burn for reasons she could not explain.
If she possessed strength like that, she would no longer have to cower inside the school while the people outside watched her like hungry wolves.
Inside the instance, Qin Lan and Liang Yu finished their conversation just as the rest period began.
[The rest period will last ten minutes.]
[A healthy body is essential to treatment. All patients are encouraged to exercise and strengthen their bodies.]
The announcement sounded, and lights illuminated the corridor, dispelling the previous darkness.
The students who had remained in their wards finally gathered their courage and stepped outside.
In fact, none of the ward doors had ever been locked. Anyone could have left at any time. Qin Lan had kicked his door down mainly to create enough noise to attract the anomaly.
Ordinarily, remaining in Liang Yu’s ward during a non-rest period should also have triggered an attack.
But Orderly: Old Liu, who was responsible for this section, was still unconscious and enjoying his peaceful, baby-like sleep.
Figures emerged from the surrounding wards, all of them members of No. 3 High School’s team.
One glance was enough for Qin Lan to understand the hospital’s general layout.
The four groups had been assigned to forty rooms distributed across corridors running east, south, west, and north.
Each corridor likely had its own orderly’s break room.
Orderly: Old Liu had emerged from one of those rooms before running directly into Qin Lan.
“Senior Qin!”
“Captain Liang, we…”
The team quickly gathered and exchanged information.
Their information specialist was a petite, shy-looking girl.
She kept her head lowered, too nervous to meet Qin Lan’s gaze.
“The corridor to our left should contain the students from No. 2 High School. No. 1 High School should be on our right…”
“I can’t detect anything farther away…”
Embarrassed, she added, “My Talent isn’t highly ranked, and this instance has a large map, so investigating it is difficult…”
Liang Yu nodded reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. You’ve already done very well.”
“Senior Qin and I discussed something. Everyone, come listen…”
Once the group had assembled, Qin Lan cleared his throat.
“Let me take a quick count. How many people on our team have a grudge against students from No. 1 High School?”
Liang Yu immediately raised her hand.
The others exchanged glances. After some hesitation, they raised their hands one after another.
When Qin Lan saw every hand in the air, he cursed inwardly.
“You dog, Fatty Wu…”
“I knew this team composition looked suspiciously forced. So this is actually a revenge party?”
Aside from Qin Lan, everyone on the team had some kind of grievance with a member of No. 1 High School’s team.
That meant a fierce conflict was inevitable the moment the two sides met, even if Qin Lan intended to show mercy.
Unless he stood by and watched his teammates get beaten senseless, he would have to beat their opponents senseless first.
“Sigh. That fat bastard tricked me again…” Qin Lan sighed. “All right, put your hands down.”
Three seconds later, one boy still held his hand high, looking as though he wanted to speak.
“What is it?” Qin Lan raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.
“Senior Qin, I don’t actually have a grudge against No. 1 High School… But the top bounty target of the Su Xiaoyue Admirers’ Alliance is Wang Lei from No. 1 High School.”
The boy spoke nervously.
Qin Lan froze.
The Su Xiaoyue Admirers’ Alliance? Why did that name sound so familiar?
Wasn’t that the gathering of stalkers and alliance of clowns?
The boy hurriedly explained. “Here’s what happened, Senior Qin. Wang Lei is one year below Senior Su, but he keeps claiming that he once rejected her advances…”
“He says Senior Su secretly fell for him and tried to show him affection several times. Even after he rejected her repeatedly, she refused to give up…”
“He also claims to possess selfies that Senior Su sent him and constantly shows off to other people…”
The boy gritted his teeth.
“We know he’s lying, but those rumors have seriously damaged Senior Su’s reputation. They’re also a declaration of war against our alliance!”
“That’s why we absolutely have to… Senior Qin?”
“What’s wrong? Your expression is terrifying…”
The boy did not dare continue. The chill across Qin Lan’s face was frightening.
“Me? Ha ha, nothing is wrong…”
Qin Lan flashed a bright, sunny smile.
“But I know someone who’s about to be in serious trouble.”