Era of Mist

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Hungry Tiger at the Door (Part 1)

This!

This!!

This!!!

This is actually an auxiliary secret record?!

’A thunderclap went off in Shi Tiexin’s mind, his shock beyond words.’ The big, glaring characters were right there, making it impossible for him to disbelieve. But accepting it was another matter entirely.

At the Star Worker School—no, in all of Tumu Castle—auxiliary secret records were costly strategic resources. The market supply was always tight, and their prices were constantly rising. Even ranked staff members couldn’t afford them on a long-term basis. In fact, this was the first time Shi Tiexin had ever seen one; he hadn’t even known what they looked like.

But what about these worksheets?

In the memories of his other consciousness, the school handed out a batch of these worksheets every so often, covering every single subject. In other words, every so often, they were... free!

Completely free!!

They were just giving away auxiliary secret records!!

And they weren’t the cheap kind that only offered a one or two percent speed boost, but high-quality auxiliary secret records that boosted speed by a full twenty percent!

Whipping his head around, Shi Tiexin stared at Zhao Qingmiao. The guy was holding a whole stack of auxiliary secret records—a rough count showed over forty sheets. In Tumu Castle, a stack like that would have gotten this Xiaodouya jumped countless times. But here, an ordinary kid like him was carrying them around, completely unguarded.

They gave out auxiliary secret records in batches, for free. If you used them up, it didn’t matter; they’d hand out more after a while. His memories even told him there were dedicated instructors to correct mistakes and shortcomings in their use, even holding public lectures. They weren’t secretive at all.

’Is this the sheer dominance of a Heart Technique Cultivation Sacred Land?’

’Is this the might of Fengming First Middle School?’

’I’m impressed. Old Tie is impressed. This place truly lives up to its name as a Holy Land. From now on, I, Shi Tiexin, am settling in here for good!’

’However, it looks like this Xiaodouya wants to collect the unused auxiliary secret records—that won’t do! I haven’t used them yet! But it seems to be a tradition here. How can I come up with a way to keep them?’

’Bribe him?’

’I have no money!’

’Threaten him?’

’Don’t be ridiculous. The kid seems nice enough. Besides, we have no history, no grudges. Threats are too low-handed a tactic.’

’Then my only choice is... to say something nice and beg a little, see if he can make an exception. But asking someone to break the rules for me right after I got here... even I’m a little embarrassed.’

Just as Shi Tiexin hesitantly turned his head, he was stunned to find that Zhao Qingmiao was already gone.

’Did he even need to say it?!’

’That big shot pulled out a blank worksheet, slammed it on the desk, and shot a look over here. His vicious glare looked like it could eat someone alive. Wasn’t his meaning obvious enough? What was I supposed to do, wait around to hear him say, ”I ain’t doin’ it”? If he decided to slap me, wouldn’t my head be the one that hurts?’

’These damn delinquents! They hit you when they want, curse you when they want. They’re the absolute worst!’

Zhao Qingmiao felt aggrieved but didn’t dare show it, so he could only return to his seat and sulk. A moment later, however, he secretly glanced back at Shi Tiexin. He pushed up his glasses, and the lenses flashed with a sharp, white glare.

’Hmph. Arrogant. Be as arrogant as you want for now.’

’It feels a little weird to say this, but allow me to state with pride—our trash class isn’t a place you can just mess around in! Even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake. You show up here and make such a scene on your first day, just you wait for trouble to find you! I saw it myself; that guy Zhou Nan looked really unhappy last night. Zhou Nan is a bad seed, full of dirty tricks. How could he just quietly hand over his position as the boss of Class 28?’

’Looking around, Zhou Nan still isn’t here...’

’That settles it. He must have gone to get backup. When Zhou Nan brings his reinforcements back, they’ll drag you off to the black toilets. Heh heh, then you’ll learn the meaning of regret!’

Zhao Qingmiao was sure Zhou Nan had gone to build an alliance.

Had Zhou Nan gone?

Of course, he had.

And he went straight to the most vicious group of first-years at Fengming First Middle School: Teng Chaoguo, the super-delinquent from Class 30, known as the Black-Handed Hungry Tiger—the person most likely to inherit a Celestial King title when the positions were passed down.

If you were to rank all the delinquents in the first-year trash classes by power, the number one spot would go to Liu Shufeng from Class 29. Although the guy was a goofy fool who often spouted nonsense like, ”I, Liu Chuanfeng, am invincible,” his strength was second only to the second-year, Brother Da Long. He was the only first-year who had managed to claim one of the Celestial King thrones.

Teng Chaoguo was one of the few ranked just below Liu Shufeng, on a nearly equal footing. He apparently came from a powerful family and was known for his ruthlessness, his willingness to bully people to death’s door, and his savage, unrestrained methods.

Zhou Nan wanted to deal with Shi Tiexin, but he would never go to Liu Shufeng. That’s because, other than being a good fighter, liking to act cool and play dumb, and being willing to fight anyone, Liu Shufeng didn’t have many other bad habits. And with no bad habits, he and Zhou Nan certainly didn’t piss in the same pot.

Besides, what if Liu Shufeng had an honorable duel with the new guy, only to discover a worthy opponent, a great talent, and they ended up with one of those mutual-respect moments straight out of a hot-blooded manga? Wouldn’t that just be handing the kid a powerful backer for no reason?

So, at a time like this, it was better to find the shameless, bottom-feeding, black-hearted, and ruthless Teng Chaoguo.

’Besides, I, Zhou Nan, have my own wild connections. I know a lot of things other people don’t. This time, I’m setting a tiger on a wolf. I’m absolutely certain of success...’

「On a rooftop」

Several students, decked out with various accessories, were puffing out clouds of smoke. From a distance, Zhou Nan started to wail.

”Brother Guo! Brother Guo, I’ve wronged you! I’ve come to beg for your forgiveness, Brother Guo!”

The delinquents all turned their heads in unison. Their leader, a young man with a grim and vicious expression, stood up. He didn’t look particularly tall or strong. His skin was pale, his face was dotted with pimples, and he almost had the look of a pretty boy. But his eyes made people uncomfortable—they were the kind of eyes that were rotten from the core.

This was Teng Chaoguo.

”Oh, Nanzi’s here.” Taking a deep drag from his cigarette, Teng Chaoguo fixed his gloomy gaze on Zhou Nan. ”What’s going on? And by the way, where are the cigarettes I told you to buy?”

”That’s what I was about to tell you!” Zhou Nan put on his best acting performance, his voice a mixture of indignation and hatred. ”Brother Guo, your little brother here had your cigarettes ready first thing yesterday morning. I was just about to bring them to you last night. But then, out of nowhere, Zheng Fangtou showed up! Zheng Fangtou confiscated all the cigarettes! He didn’t leave a single one, Brother Guo!”

”Hm?” Teng Chaoguo’s eyes widened, his expression turning hostile. He took another deep drag, then brought the cigarette butt up, thrusting it forward with a WHOOSH. The scorching tip shot straight for Zhou Nan’s face. Zhou Nan’s heart leaped in shock, but the cigarette butt ultimately scraped past his ear, grazing the side of his face.

It was a false alarm, but the man opposite him seemed to be barely holding back.

”Motherfucker, are you... sick in the head?” Teng Chaoguo’s face was dark, his speech slow and terrifying. ”You lost my fucking cigarettes, and you run over here... to cry to me about it?”