What Luo Xiaoyu could not have guessed was that the mysticism of the so-called “Calamity” she had casually purchased the previous night took effect with actual extreme speed.
In places beyond her sight, anomalies were quietly arising—
The next day, inside the comprehensive school.
After the tinkling dismissal bell rang, the students either left their seats to move about or found their usual acquaintances and began chatting freely.
The boy—that is, the relative of the convenience store owner, the mischievous child—also wandered around because class had ended.
He found the thin man, and the two of them came to a corner of the campus, beneath a hidden spot sheltered by the shade of a tree.
“Hey, Thin Man, you clearly promised me you’d make that girl disappear. What the hell happened? Because of this matter, I haven’t even dared go to the manager these past two days to make any other requests.”
His tone was full of complaint, as though such a trivial matter had already made this arrogant and domineering boy nurse a grudge.
Although that was indeed the case.
He relied on the manager’s status to do as he pleased outside, yet inside the school he still needed to restrain himself somewhat.
Sunlight, the playground, the sounds of children playing and laughing—
All of this was beautiful enough that it seemed not to exist within Qiufeng City, so peaceful that it stirred one’s emotions.
Such treatment was naturally only something the children of the powerful and wealthy could enjoy.
Yet the convenience store boy felt these things were only natural.
Having seen them often enough, they were nothing remarkable.
On the contrary, the outside world was broken and old, and he wished he could remain at school forever.
Thinking, he recalled the matter of the school commendation assembly.
In this year’s graduating class, the name of the first place was Bai Mu.
That was the older sister of the silent, timid black-haired girl at the convenience store.
He could not understand why the other party never came to school for classes yet could still achieve such outstanding results in every examination.
Because it was dazzling, this extraordinary excellence had become a thorn stuck in the boy’s throat in his eyes.
It was only Luo Xiaoyu.
Relying on how capable her older sister was, would she become an existence he could never hope to reach in the future?
This was the twisted mindset of a child.
He felt that whatever he wanted, he had to obtain even if it meant causing trouble at any cost.
That kind of achievement happened to be something he could not obtain.
He naturally knew what a fine thing it would be to obtain an official position within Qiufeng City under the Federation.
Even Luo Xiaoyu would rise to the heavens along with her older sister’s efforts.
The boy itched with anger.
Yet he was already different from those ordinary people, because he had already stepped into the mysterious side—
This was the reverse side of the world.
If he could possess extraordinary power, then even the vast majority of people in this comprehensive school would have no choice but to bow their heads and submit to him.
“Don’t worry. She’s only a girl. Once you help us accomplish what we want to do, you can drive her away whenever you like. This school will definitely be under your say in the future as well.”
Beside him, the thin man watched the expression on the boy’s face change from anger to smug satisfaction and found it somewhat inexplicable.
Yet he still said nothing.
His ritual and the adult’s plan still required the boy.
This was currently an indispensable link.
“It had better be that way.”
The boy muttered resentfully.
He glared at the thin man, then asked in an offhand manner:
“When does today’s training begin?”
“Training? That. If you want, it can start at any time.”
Hearing the thin man’s answer, the boy finally revealed a twisted smile.
“All right then. Let’s start now. Free activity time is still long anyway. It would be too boring if we didn’t do something.”
Thus the two of them returned to the classroom and went straight to another student’s desk.
“Idiot, stop looking at your book. Come with me.”
The convenience store boy issued the order from above.
The male student who had been reading at his seat trembled, then deflated as though resigning himself to fate.
The one called “Idiot” had entered through his own efforts and possessed no background whatsoever behind him—
Such a person had no corresponding social circle and only knew how to bury himself in studying.
As time passed, he naturally became isolated and alone.
Therefore he was also easily targeted by someone like the convenience store boy.
The thin man had also deliberately intended to drag him into the water.
First he had revealed matters of the mysterious side, then used the identity of a friend to propose giving him some opportunities so that he would no longer be looked down upon by others.
The convenience store boy had naturally agreed very readily.
He had also gradually become immersed in the “training,” fantasizing that he was preparing himself for future life-and-death struggles.
To put it more pleasantly, that was the case.
If explained in a way ordinary people could more easily understand, it could be summarized with a single word.
Bullying.
Seeing that the idiot was still hesitating in his seat, the convenience store boy roared:
“Can’t you hear clearly? Did you go deaf from reading books?!”
After speaking, he paid no attention to whether the other responded.
Together with the thin man, the two of them seized the other party and left the classroom.
Yet what the convenience store boy failed to notice was that this person who had always endured whatever bullying he received without resistance had, for some inexplicable reason, actually hidden a utility knife against his chest.
They arrived at the rooftop.
This place was normally locked, yet that did not prevent the convenience store boy from picking the lock and turning it into a rather ritualistic arena.
The two of them released their hands and threw the other party onto the ground.
The convenience store boy had already decided what he would do.
Today he would not unilaterally beat the other party.
Otherwise it might not be good if something happened while they were beating him.
Such a situation had occurred before.
“If you don’t want to get beaten, then today you can try defeating me.”
The convenience store boy was actually quite short and small.
Him making such a declaration always carried a comical sense of absurdity.
Yet from his expression, he seemed to firmly believe that even alone, without the thin man’s assistance beside him, taking someone down would still be easy.
“No reaction?”
The convenience store boy smiled mockingly.
He indeed also felt that the other party would not actively fight back, because the bullying targets of the convenience store boy and the thin man had all been carefully selected.
Whether in terms of family background or personality, they were flawless.
Yet the development of events always went beyond expectations.
Without any defense, the convenience store boy received a heavy punch to the face.
He consequently staggered backward several steps in succession, and only after a long while did he feel a warm flow reaching the corner of his mouth.
He subconsciously reached up to touch it.
“Are you all right? You’re having a nosebleed.”
The thin man beside him spoke up to remind him.
After a moment of fluster, the convenience store boy felt his head grow hot.
Then, like a mindless beast, he shouted and charged toward the other party.
Seeing this, the thin man beside him hurriedly followed the convenience store boy forward as well, and the two of them rained punches and kicks together.
In order to tightly bind the convenience store boy onto the same chariot, the thin man had already done this sort of thing with him many times, including not a few situations of excessive behavior.
Yet this time the thin man also had confidence that the matter would conclude perfectly.
Even if the convenience store boy’s appearance was ridiculous, in order to make use of the layer of connections on the other party, the adult had already issued the order to “rope him in at any cost.”
So they would beat him.
Even if it caused a death, so what?
He was only a student without power or background in the comprehensive school.
No one would care.
In order to vent his anger, the convenience store boy picked up those discarded building materials piled to the side of the rooftop, and even specially selected a wooden stick studded with rusty nails.
“You actually dared to hit me! I am…!”
“What are you?”
The one being bullied finally spoke in a quiet, gloomy voice:
“What are you? Do you think you could have entered this place by relying on yourself alone? …I’ve long since heard…”
Rage flooded the convenience store boy’s mind.
He therefore raised the wooden stick even more vigorously, intending to smash it heavily onto the other party.
Yet the moment he lifted it, the convenience store boy discovered that he no longer had the strength to continue moving.
He stared at the other party in astonishment.
The one who had been bullied had actually thrust that utility knife straight into the convenience store boy’s abdomen.
Scarlet blood splattered in every direction.
—High-sequence Mysteries could always produce unpredictable influences upon this world.
Whether it was the convenience store boy or the thin man, they could at best only be regarded as having stood at the doorway of the mysterious side and hurriedly cast an envious glance inside.
They did not know that going against others always required paying a price.
Especially when the ranks of both sides were not on the same level at all.
“Calamity.”
As the name implied, it would bring calamity upon adversaries and alter fate.
The mysticism Luo Xiaoyu had briefly equipped was revealing its influence here.