Falling to such a state, none of them tried to act tough anymore—basic information was soon all confessed.
The three had unremarkable names and had never attended any academy. Considering their age, that wasn’t too unusual. Even today, the academies still couldn’t guarantee enrollment for all eligible minors, let alone a decade ago.
During the rapid recovery period following the end of the wars, nearly 100 million babies were born each year, forcibly restoring the human population to several billion. Theoretically, that meant around ten thousand new spirit-power users emerged annually—but academy enrollment figures were far below this number.
As of now, the total number of students across the major academies in the core cities was just over 33,000, spread across five grade levels. This accounted for the majority of an estimated 50,000 total spirit-power users. However, five years ago, that number had been just 20,000. The main reasons for this were incomplete census systems and limited academy resources.
“…When we were teenagers, probably in our mid-teens, we got into a street fight in an alley in Twin Star Town. Someone caught us afterward and said we had two options: either go with him or go to jail. So we joined the Green Star Gang.”
The clown seated on the left recounted his teenage years. As he spoke, new information appeared from time to time on the tablet in front of Xu Chuyao, shared by others present through official sources.
— Provisional Management Act for Spirit Power Societies: Allows unregistered spirit users outside core cities to form small-scale gangs or organizations, supervised by local security departments. This was implemented due to a shortage of personnel.
— Twin Star Town: A small town several dozen kilometers away. The origin of its name is unknown, likely coined by locals. Three years ago, during the expansion of the core city, it was absorbed into the outskirts of the new urban area, and the Provisional Management Act was voided. Local gangs were orderly disbanded.
— Green Star Gang: No official records; suspected to be a small gang in Twin Star Town.
Xu Chuyao read the materials with great interest—none of this had been in the original novel she’d read in her past life. The novel only documented the plot, but this was a real world, where even trivial events had cause and consequence.
“Three years ago, Twin Star Town was incorporated into the city. The Green Star Gang disbanded, and we were assigned to some simple jobs. While the pay was decent, it didn’t offer the same freedom as before.”
Still stuck at Tier 1 at age 30—chances of reaching Tier 2 were slim, meaning their potential had long peaked. What does Tier 1 even mean? Aside from being immune to firearms, it’s basically like being a strong, healthy human.
From a rational standpoint, a decent-paying job was already good enough. Let go of dreams of grandeur. But for them, accepting this was hard—they were, after all, once considered chosen ones, one-in-ten-thousand talents.
“Half a year ago, our old boss from Green Star Gang found us and invited us for drinks. We were all dissatisfied with our current lives. Then the boss said some important figures had told him that the world was about to change, and as rare spirit users, we were meant to be above the common folk.”
At this, several school administrators had noticeable reactions.
Xu Chuyao asked curiously, “Who is this boss of yours?”
The clown looked at her cautiously and replied, “The one whose hand you shattered with a punch in the shopping mall.”
“Oh, that’s fine then. Carry on.”
That poor guy—Shen Ning had immediately followed up with a brutal strike, her imagination already in overdrive.
“Yes, ma’am. That night, we’d had quite a bit to drink and got emotional. That’s when we joined the Clown Gang. They told us that everything we were doing was in preparation for the coming change.”
As he continued, the administrators and higher-ups finally heard the name Supremacy Society, confirming Xu Chuyao’s initial hypothesis—that there was a larger organization behind the Clown Gang.
“Understood,” Xu Chuyao summarized calmly. “The Supremacy Society used rhetoric from the so-called ‘Spirit Purity Movement’ to recruit gang members like you, forming the Clown Gang. Now tell me, what does the Supremacy Society really want? Although… you probably don’t know.”
Sure enough, the clown froze. “The Supremacy Society’s true goal… isn’t it to lead us in a revolution, to put spirit users above normal people?”
Xu Chuyao burst out laughing. A few others on the remote video call laughed too. Of course not—members of the Supremacy Society weren’t low-level nobodies stuck at Tier 1 or 2 for life. They didn’t need to do this.
After all, no one fights for what they already possess.
But as the administrators and executives laughed, they glanced at Xu Chuyao with a strange look. It was one thing for them to laugh knowingly among themselves, but… why was she laughing too? That’s not how students were taught.
“Ahem,” Minister Long Jun interjected, “Xu Chuyao, please stay on topic.”
A smart kid being too smart only made adults uncomfortable.
“I wasn’t saying anything—just smiling… Alright, fine. Back to the main point: the Spirit Purity ideology does appeal to low-tier spirit users. So, here’s the bad news—there are probably many Clown Gangs out there. Not just ex-gangsters. Any Tier 1 or 2 user with poor talent is a potential recruit. Such a bunch of naive small fry.”
Watching Xu Chuyao, barely 18 and already near Tier 2, speak so confidently, the administrators finally understood what it meant to “talk big from a place of comfort.”
“Alright,” Long Jun said, “that concludes the interrogation. Xu Chuyao, you may return now. We’ll discuss the rest and inform you later.”
“Okay~ Goodbye, everyone—teachers, directors!”
The chief interrogator floated out of the room with light steps, signaling the end of today’s interrogation. After she left, someone on the video call couldn’t help but comment:
“No offense, Principal Lü, but… has this girl always been this cheeky?”
Principal Lü had been smiling since he arrived and hadn’t stopped. “Now, now, that’s not fair. Xu Chuyao is exceptionally talented—a little pride is only natural.”
In every way, her talent was remarkable. A little pride? So what? Besides, he could tell that Minister Long had his eye on mentoring Xu Chuyao. If she rose to great heights one day, it’d be a fine story of a gifted student from a top academy.
“Everyone,” Long Jun said darkly, “let’s get back to business. What do you make of the Clown Gang’s confession?”
All eyes turned to the three clowns behind the glass window.
That cute girl who had broken their spirits with a single punch was gone—but somehow, the ones left behind seemed even colder.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.