High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1106: Chapter 168: The 8th Monday

Zheng Qing’s awful little story, although it ruined Fat Man’s mood to enjoy his soup, did not completely suppress his appetite. Instead, it gave him an excuse to get a second helping and add more dishes.

After just one trip to the serving window, Fat Man returned to the table with several tasty dishes in tow.

This time, however, he swapped his soup for the same corn chowder as Zheng Qing—a very cautious move. At least, Zheng Qing wouldn’t risk nauseating himself with another little story.

After sitting back down at the table, Fat Man glanced at the public-fee student slurping away, snorted coldly, then suddenly stirred his spoon in the small cup of yogurt he had just purchased, scooped up a spoonful of the slightly white, thick yogurt, and poured it into the turtle soup he had earlier pushed aside.

The white yogurt looked like an unsightly blemish, clinging to the somewhat clear surface of the turtle soup.

”This makes quite the statement, doesn’t it?” Fat Man chuckled maliciously.

This time, it was Zheng Qing who couldn’t stomach his meal.

”Just to disgust me, you wasted a cup of yogurt?” The young public-fee student widened his eyes, his tone somewhat incredulous.

”No, this isn’t a waste; it’s a necessary sacrifice,” Xin Fat Man shook his stubby fingers with righteous indignation, ”In the war of food, there are no winners, only losers. But in the war of food, I cannot afford to lose.”

Such overly dramatic words coming from Fat Man seemed surprisingly fitting to Zheng Qing.

This made him seriously wonder if there was something wrong with his own mindset.

”You two are adults now, can’t you act a bit more maturely!” Seeing them at the verge of another argument, Doctor Xiao, who could no longer bear it, finally let out a low roar, ”Don’t behave like elementary school children!”

Zheng Qing and Xin Fat Man finally quieted down a bit.

A warlock with a ponytail and a slightly yellow complexion hurried into the cafeteria, clutching a paper bag as he rushed through the dining hall. The cold draft he brought in as he entered caused complaints from several tables near the door.

The warlock quickly turned around to continuously bow in apology, though his pace didn’t slow down as he made a beeline for the window serving pastries.

”That’s Nicolas, right?” Zhang Season Letter’s eyes were sharpest and he was the first to notice the minor commotion at the entrance of the dining area, raising his eyebrows curiously, ”What’s with his hurry? What’s he up to?”

Xin Fat Man had just stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth, and upon hearing this, turned his head to look in Nicolas’s direction.

”Oh, him.” Fat Man struggled to swallow the bun in his mouth, his lips greasy, as his chopsticks picked up his next victim, all the while muttering, ”Heard he landed a good part-time job, been really busy with it lately.”

”Part-time job?” Xiao Xiao’s ears perked up.

Zheng Qing also developed an interest in the matter, instantly forgetting the squabble he had with the fat man just a few seconds earlier: ”Are there really suitable part-time jobs for us now? Isn’t there an excess of labor on the island recently... Even our little shop occasionally has people asking if we need temporary workers.”

Last year’s Silent Tide returned early, resulting in a large number of magical creature tribes that should have ventured deep into the forest remaining near the school, providing Beta Town’s merchants, Alchemy Workshops, and the like with an abundance of cheap labor. This significantly reduced the part-time job opportunities for those young wizards at the First University who were high and mighty but inexperienced.

Zheng Qing had heard from Jiang Yu that the student council was already considering providing public welfare positions to help some young wizards from financially challenged families get through tough times, preventing them from affecting their studies due to the inability to afford experimental materials.

”Where there’s conflict, there’s a market, and where there’s a market, there’s demand.” Xin Fat Man balanced his chopsticks holding a bun, fighting the urge to stuff it into his mouth instantly, patiently chatting to his companions: ”What’s the most visible conflict at First University right now? The strife between Alpha and Jiuyou.”

”So what? What market could that possibly create?” Zhang Ji Xin, as always too lazy to think, said: ”Are there any clubs that need to hire muscle? I’ve never heard of such news.”

”Stupid.” Xin Fat Man chuckled coldly: ”Under the school’s rules, few dare to engage in blatant fighting. Most conflicts occur outside of physical confrontations. For instance, public opinion, public opinion, and more public opinion.”

”What does this have to do with part-time jobs?” Red-faced Male Wizard squished the bread in his hand but still patiently inquired.

”Doesn’t a speech need an audience, need plants? Don’t flyers need temporary workers? Do you think the people among those cheering, shouting, and demonstrating, how many of them are there for ideals and belief?”

”So you’re saying,” Zheng Qing concluded: ”Nicholas found a job distributing flyers, right?”

Xin Fat Man hesitated for once, pausing for a moment before murmuring softly: ”I heard he also accepted a paid interview with the Beta Town Post... because the Beta Town Post offers a generous lubrication fee.”

”Stupid,” Xiao Xiao repeated the word Fat Man had used earlier.

Zheng Qing nodded, watching Nicholas’s hurried departure, a trace of concern appearing on his face: ”Should we warn him? Everyone knows what kind of integrity the Beta Town Post has... and it also has that background.”

That ”side” naturally referred to Alpha Academy as opposed to Jiuyou. Although the Beta Town Post claims to be objective and neutral, most of its members hail from Alpha Academy, inherently colored by Alpha’s bias. Plus, the newspaper is located just outside Alpha Fortress in Beta Town, one could say it was also enshrouded in Alpha’s influence postnatally.

Zheng Qing had once been interviewed by this newspaper, naively believing he would be commended by the academy for it. However, when the report was published, his interview was twisted and pieced together, turning into an article that vehemently criticized Jiuyou’s teaching philosophy. This had caused him to be in a very awkward position at the academy for some time.

”It is precisely because everyone knows, so I think he must be prepared for the interview,” Xin Fat Man disagreed somewhat with Zheng Qing’s suggestion: ”After all, he is a local from Beta Town and has been in the school for more than two years; he shouldn’t be unaware of the true nature of that newspaper... Since he agreed to the interview, he should be prepared. That’s also why I didn’t stop him when I first heard the news.”

Fat Man’s analysis made sense.

The dining table fell into an unusual silence, leaving only the low noise of everyone’s chewing and sipping.

Not far away, Nicolas had already bought his lunch, clutching the greasy paper bag as he headed back outside the cafeteria. His steps were as hurried as ever, but his face seemed much brighter than before.

Zheng Qing squinted, watching as Nicholas’s figure receded into the distance, and finally heaved a sigh: ”Anyway... no matter what, we ourselves mustn’t carelessly accept interviews from those messy media. As the leader of the Absolution Hunting Team, I ask everyone to be cautious and prudent in their words and actions, especially during sensitive times like these. As long as we don’t cause trouble or create problems for Jiuyou, nothing could be better.”