Chapter 98: A Misunderstanding

Yang Fang was the one responsible for their class, so their surprise upon seeing her return with such a vast haul of food was only natural. After all, according to the school’s current rules, these supplies belonged to them. There was enough food here to last two weeks, perhaps even a month if they rationed it carefully.

However, amidst their excitement, the girls noticed Kong Zhe and his companions, who had arrived with their teacher.

Before reaching the school, Kong Zhe had disabled the hidden status on his interface to avoid revealing that he possessed a hidden class. Consequently, his level and title were now visible above his head. When Yang Fang first saw the "LV5" floating above him, her jaw nearly dropped; she had never expected someone who appeared so formidable to be the same level as her.

As for Tuantuan, since she had already broadcast her name earlier, Kong Zhe had not asked her to remove her helmet to prevent her from being recognized.

"Teacher, who are these people?"

"Oh, they are... they are some Awakened I met on the road. They will be staying with us for a few days." Yang Fang replied, her face flushing slightly.

On the way, Kong Zhe had asked her to keep the incident regarding the slaughter of the rats a secret. This was reasonable; Yang Fang understood that he did not want to expose his true strength. Since he had saved her life and generously given her the rats, she was more than happy to oblige. When her students asked, she could only respond vaguely.

"Oh? Met on the road, huh... They aren't just here for a free meal, are they?" One of the girls muttered under her breath. The other students heard this, and their expressions shifted, their gazes turning unkind. Although they bickered among themselves, they were always united against outsiders.

Observing Yang Fang’s unnatural expression, the girls assumed these people had been rescued by her and that she was merely saving their pride by speaking as she did. Since the rats were originally theirs, the arrival of these strangers meant their share would inevitably be reduced. When personal interests were at stake, people reacted the same way. Their looks toward Kong Zhe and his group were filled with disdain and contempt.

Kong Zhe caught their glares. Having lived through three years of the apocalypse, he saw right through these young girls' thoughts. He said nothing, finding it merely amusing. If he were his younger self, he might have been angered or felt the need to prove his strength, but three years of post-apocalyptic tempering had washed away his former volatility, leaving behind a profound, enlightened calm.

He was destined to have no real connection with these people; this place was merely a stopover. He would be gone in a few days, and before long, he might not even remember them. There was no need to care about their thoughts.

However, others did care.

"What..." Tuantuan felt a surge of irritation at the group's stares. "Hmph, you ignorant fools, you’re nothing but parasites waiting to die. What right do you have to talk about us?"

The girls’ expressions changed; the word "parasite" had struck a nerve. In a sense, Tuantuan was right. They were too afraid to forage for food themselves, relying entirely on Yang Fang, the Awakened. They were indeed textbook parasites.

Deep down, the girls knew this. They had once been pampered, high-achieving students, but now they had to live under someone else's roof, a feeling that was hard to swallow. Yet, they were terrified of venturing out for food, so they sacrificed their dignity to remain parasites. They comforted themselves by thinking that as ordinary people, it was only natural to be protected by the Awakened, and their fear of foraging was justified. Because of this, hearing the word "parasite" stripped away their last shred of self-esteem.

"What? Who do you think you are?"

"You little brat, what are you blathering about?"

Tuantuan’s retort was sharp, making many of the girls flush with anger. A few of the more hot-tempered ones began to curse. Fortunately, they knew that even if the child was small, she was still an Awakened, so they kept their insults to words and dared not strike.

"Hehehe, asking who I am?" Tuantuan covered her eyes with a giggle, pointing at them with a finger. In her unique, chuunibyou tone, she declared: "I am the Queen of the Blood Clan, a vampire who has survived for ten thousand years, Lysis... Mmph!"

Tuantuan was suddenly cut off as Xue Feifei covered her mouth.

"Tuantuan, how can you point at people like that? It’s very rude... Besides, didn't you say you were a knight?" Xue Feifei lowered her hand, frowning helplessly.

"Shut up, you commoner! My current identity is the Blood Queen!" Tuantuan broke free from Xue Feifei and glared at the crowd. "Hmph, mortals, why haven't you knelt before your Queen yet?"

"Huh? What is wrong with this kid?"

"Is she mentally ill?"

The girls were truly incensed by Tuantuan’s antics and began mocking her incessantly. Yang Fang grew anxious. She had wanted to hide Kong Zhe’s strength, but now it had turned into a shouting match. She had hoped to make a good impression so they might stay, but her students were already at odds with them.

"Stop it! They aren't here for a free meal! They saved my life, and they were the ones who killed all these rats!" Yang Fang blurted out.

"What?" The girls froze. They had assumed these people were here to steal their food, but they had been mistaken. These outsiders didn't need to steal; they had hunted the food themselves. In reality, it was the students who were living off the outsiders' labor. The girls felt their faces burn with shame.

"I’m sorry, they didn't mean it. I hope you—"

"It’s fine, I don’t care," Kong Zhe interrupted, waving a hand. He hadn't cared what they said from the start. Yang Fang felt relieved, yet regretful. Even if he didn't mind, her students had left a bad impression, making it all the harder to convince them to stay.

"Fangfang!"

As Yang Fang fretted, a tall, sturdy young man carrying a giant axe walked over, followed by a group of people, most of them armed with blades or clubs. Kong Zhe immediately noticed that five of them were Awakened, while the others, though ordinary, were sturdy and possessed potential.

The leader approached Yang Fang and smiled. "Glad you're back. I was just about to go looking for you." He swept his gaze over the four newcomers, his eyes lingering on Xiao Lei for a moment with a flash of admiration before moving on. "Fangfang, who are these people?"

"Oh, these are friends I met on the road. This is Kong Zhe, and the others are with him." Although the young man’s casual address made Yang Fang frown, she introduced them one by one. She added, "Mr. Kong and this young lady are powerful Awakened." She emphasized "powerful" to prevent further awkwardness.

Yang Fang then turned to Kong Zhe. "This is Yu Qun, also a teacher at our school. Including him and the others behind him, plus me, that makes up all the Awakened in our school."

"Fish school? Pfft..." Tuantuan giggled behind her hand.

"Hey, what are you doing? That’s very rude!" Xue Feifei, struggling to suppress her own laughter, pulled Tuantuan aside and whispered a reprimand.

The tall young man’s expression flickered, but he quickly recovered; it was just a little girl, after all. A bespectacled student whispered something in his ear. Kong Zhe noticed this student had been in Yang Fang’s class but had remained quiet.

Yu Qun’s expression shifted slightly. He looked at the pile of prickly rats, then back at Kong Zhe, and grinned. He walked over and extended his right hand. "Little brother, I heard you saved Fangfang? Thank you. If anything had happened to her, I would never have forgiven myself."

He scanned Kong Zhe up and down with a strange look. "I see you haven't even gathered a full set of equipment; you must be having a rough time. Tell you what, I have some spare gear. I'll give you a breastplate later as a token of my gratitude."

Because the Ice Breastplate was a rare blue-tier item, Kong Zhe had removed it before entering the school to avoid unwanted attention. He was indeed missing only his chest armor, leading the young man to conclude he was struggling.