Chapter 17: Cruel Lesson
Chapter 17: Cruel Lesson
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Listening to Link’s voice by her ears, the rims of Qiao Ruowei’s eyes became red and swollen. Her eyebrows also kept quivering, but she forcefully held back her tears and did not allow them to fall.
With a tearful voice, she said, “That’s certainly not the case... I don’t believe you!”
Hearing that, the corners of Link’s mouth lifted slightly. He grabbed her hair and pulled her whole face to his front.
“Ah—” Qiao Ruowei screamed in pain, her tears finally gushing out.
“Link!” At the side, Yang Xuerou could not bear to watch and spoke up to stop him.
A hint of conflict flashed through Xue Linglong’s eyes, but she clenched her fists and remained silent. She began learning how to get used to her identity as a servant.
“Let go of her! What good are you, bullying a girl? Come at us if you have the guts!” The other boys’ instinctive feelings of protecting the fair sex started making trouble as each of them spoke indignantly.
Link raised his head and took a glance at the boy who just spoke. [Red Sky]’s scabbard—which was in his hand—abruptly pushed out and struck the boy’s abdomen hard, sending his entire being flying out.
The boy immediately spat blood and fainted.
Link then looked at Qiao Ruowei, who wore a look of pain in front of him again, and coolly said, “Believe me now? If I want to, I can freely do anything to you, and you won’t be able to do anything to me!”
Qiao Ruowei cried out loud; it was unknown whether it was because of the pain from having her hair pulled, from being provoked by Link’s words, or the thought of the cold and gloom thereafter...
No one around spoke; the gazes that were directed toward Link were full of fear.
Link casually flung Qiao Ruowei—who was before him—away, causing her to drop to the ground. He then addressed the crowd. “The law of the apocalyptic world—the strong rule! No one will help you for free, and neither will I...”
Everyone wore doleful looks as if they’d lost hope for the future.
Link swept his eyes around and strode to go down the stairs.
“Hold on! I’m willing to pledge allegiance to you!” Qiao Ruowei got up from the ground. The tear stains at the corner of her eyes were still wet; her clothes were messy, and her hair unkempt, looking piteous. However, her gaze was very firm!
Link did not turn back, and only his indifferent voice sounded. “Sure. Go kill ten Skeleton Swordsmen, and I will accept your allegiance!”
“Why?” she asked in puzzlement. She could not understand why Xue Linglong could be accepted just by saying one sentence while she had suffered so much and yet still faced an even greater ordeal?
Ten Skeleton Swordsmen? What would she use to kill them?
Qiao Ruowei’s pretty face was deathly pale.
“I do not take in useless people under my charge. You must either be capable or have potential. Skeleton Swordsmen are the trashiest dark creatures. If you can’t even handle them, what use would I have for you?” Link shot a look at her from afar.
He then remembered something and said, “You can pass on these words to the others. Anyone who can kill ten Skeleton Swordsmen on their own has the chance to pledge allegiance to me.”
...
In the laboratory building opposite, Luo Xingyao watched as Link disappeared, her eyes slightly narrowed.
She then held the man beside her, directly opened the door, and walked out.
“Xingyao, what are we doing? It’s all monsters out there!”
“Killing monsters!”
...
Link left the teaching building very quickly and strolled towards the field.
Following behind him were Angel Yuna, Yang Xuerou, and Xue Linglong!
Their beauty was enough to make all the men in the world go mad. What gorgeous scenery this was.
“Link, what you did earlier, wasn’t it a little...” Yang Xuerou suddenly started to speak, then hesitated.
“Teacher thinks I went too far?” A faint smile appeared at the corner of his eyes.
“I know your aim is to have them come to terms with reality, but Qiao Ruowei is a girl after all!”
“Haha!” Link chuckled and said, “Teacher, you are my teacher during peaceful times, and you can teach me knowledge. However, it is Doomsday right now... You still have a lot that you need to learn. When I do things in the future, learn more, watch more, and speak less. When time has gone by, you will naturally understand me!”
Yang Xuerou sensed that his tone held some unfamiliarity; she could not help but feel flustered in her heart, as if she was about to lose something. She stopped in her steps, wanting to explain something, but found that Link was walking further and further away without stopping.
“I can tell that he really values you, Teacher Yang!” Xue Linglong stood beside her, watching Link’s back view, and softly said, “However, you should not become a person who obstructs him.”
“Obstruct?” Yang Xuerou did not understand.
“Heroes emerge in troubled times. A kind person will only die faster. Do you want to bring death to him? Only someone like Link can live freely and easily in Doomsday... We were incapable of this in the past, but we should learn now that we have the chance. You must know that we are already much luckier than many other people!” Xue Linglong sighed lightly and caught up to Link with quick steps.
Yang Xuerou dazedly remained in the same spot, her eyes full of conflict. Link and Xue Linglong’s words were wrecking the world view she had established since a young age.
“Obstruct... It turns out that I have actually become an annoying existence unconsciously! It’s time to change my thinking!” After a long while, she breathed out heavily, a glow sparkling in her eyes.
...
Link proceeded nonchalantly, walking amongst the dark creatures like he was idly strolling in a courtyard. He knew that Yang Xuerou thought his earlier way of doing things was a little too much, but as a matter of fact, he could already be considered merciful in this apocalyptic world.
The reason why he kept berating and making things difficult for Qiao Ruowei wasn’t because she was an eyesore to him. It was just that she was suitable to be the person to make an example of.
Qiao Ruowei was from a well-to-do family, inherently intelligent, pretty, and had good grades... Her longing for peaceful times was the strongest among all the students.
When she was forced to learn of the doomsday’s cruelty and accept reality, the rest naturally wouldn’t find it difficult to accept.
Humans were like this. When a person who used to be more outstanding than you was reduced to the same state one day, you would feel that it was bittersweet, no matter how bitter the circumstances were.
The apocalyptical world had just arrived. Most people currently had yet to change their mentality from peaceful times. To others, especially girls like Qiao Ruowei, they would feel rather empathetic.
When Link hit her and humiliated her... it would be easy for the others to identify with her feelings and feel indignant in their hearts, regardless of whether they were male or female! Therefore, the effect would be the best!
Actually, such a method would only work in the beginning of Doomsday.
When the future situation becomes increasingly severe and more and more people die, their hearts will become colder and colder... Rarely will anyone care about what happened to others.
...
Dragon City No. 1 Middle School’s field was huge. Presently, it was also occupied by the dark creatures roaming everywhere.
The majority were low-level monsters like Skeleton Soldiers and Skeleton Swordsmen.
Link directly made Yuna shine her Holy Light, which formed a ring around them. It did not consume much of her energy. Just the Holy Light’s aura was enough to frighten and stop those skeletons from coming near.
Throughout the journey, they essentially did not act to kill dark creatures.
Firstly, it was because these low-level monsters gave Link very little EXP now, and he needed a lot of EXP. Even if he killed all of them, he might not be able to advance by half a level.
Secondly, if he were to kill all of them, wouldn’t that group of students have no monsters to kill?
Doomsday was here. The entire human race faced an unprecedented crisis. No matter how strong one’s individual capability was, who would dare guarantee that they could do well alone?
The bitter pills of being a lone wolf, the Link in the previous life had had enough of them.