Freshmen at Odds: Two Groups

"Congratulations, host. Physical fitness increased twofold, Soul Power increased twofold, stamina recovery increased twofold, Soul Power recovery increased twofold."

"Huh?"

Though it was only one simple sentence, it filled Ning Rongrong with delight.

Her once-heavy steps grew much lighter after she received the reward.

Her nearly depleted Soul Power suddenly recovered by half, and she could even feel the improvement in her Soul Power and stamina recovery.

"I can get a reward for this too?"

No mission had been announced beforehand, yet she had still received an unexpected reward. Life really was full of surprises!

And though the reward description was short, it had made her unexpectedly stronger.

As things stood, an ordinary Power Attack System Soul Master might not be much stronger than her in physical fitness. Now hers had increased by another twofold, enough to utterly crush Power Attack System Soul Masters of the same level.

The other improvements were much the same.

To make a comparison:

Her physical fitness now crushed Dai Mubai's, her strength crushed Xiao Wu's, her Soul Power crushed Oscar's, even though he had a recovery Soul Skill, and her speed crushed that of Zhu Zhuqing, a speed-type Soul Master.

It was a massive boost.

Who said Support System Soul Masters were weak?

What a joke!

Of course, it was all thanks to Daddy System.

"This feels great. I have Flender to thank too. He gave me another hidden chance to grow stronger."

Thinking it over:

Thanks to Shrek Academy, she had successfully bound herself to Ning Rongrong's identity.

Thanks to Tang San, she had shattered Zhao Wuji's defense.

Thanks to Dai Mubai, she had become friends with Zhu Zhuqing.

Thanks to Ma Hongjun, her cultivation speed had increased.

Thanks to Flender, she had begun to truly crush Soul Masters of the same level.

"You're all bad people with a conscience, waaah." Ning Rongrong wept with emotion and skipped back to Shrek Academy, thoroughly satisfied.

Ten minutes later.

Lunch was officially served in Shrek Academy's dining hall.

Everyone except Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong had gathered there and begun eating lunch.

But lunchtime was always a time for everyone to gossip.

Seeing Oscar looking dejected, Dai Mubai couldn't help teasing him. "What's wrong? Don't like the food today? Or did you come back before finishing your twenty laps and don't dare eat?"

Dai Mubai didn't believe Oscar had already finished his twenty laps.

Oscar gave Dai Mubai a resentful look. "Boss Dai, stop making fun of me. If I hadn't finished all twenty laps, never mind eating, I wouldn't even have dared come back to the academy."

"Oh?" Xiao Wu asked curiously. "So you finished all twenty laps?"

Oscar nodded. Recalling the harrowing ordeal, he began to dry-heave again.

Everyone instantly lost their appetite.

Tang San was less affected. He ate as he asked, "I remember you came back three hours ago. That was a full sixty kilometers. You're a Support System Soul Master, so how did you finish so quickly?"

"Well..." Oscar took a moment to compose himself and sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it again. It was torture. Of course, it was all thanks to Ning Rongrong. Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen me tonight."

"Ning Rongrong?" Tang San frowned.

Dai Mubai was shocked as well.

Zhu Zhuqing hadn't wanted to interrupt, but as soon as she heard Ning Rongrong's name, she asked anxiously, "Then where's Rongrong?"

"Hmph." Dai Mubai snorted. "Do you even need to ask? A hundred and fifty kilometers in six hours-even I couldn't do that, let alone a Support System Soul Master like her. She must still be running."

"Zhu Zhuqing." Dai Mubai looked at her and continued, "I advise you to stay away from her. The academy's teachers are all very dissatisfied with her right now. If you keep getting close to her, you'll be dragged down with her."

"Heh." Zhu Zhuqing gave a disdainful laugh. "If I don't follow her, should I follow you instead? Don't you know perfectly well what kind of person you are?"

"What's wrong with me?" Dai Mubai was somewhat annoyed. "Isn't the past in the past? Ever since you came here, I've been holding myself back. Isn't that enough?"

"So what? What if I hadn't come? Would you still be the same?" Zhu Zhuqing retorted coldly, refusing to back down.

"I..."

At last, she had left Dai Mubai speechless.

In the end, it was the quick-witted Tang San who changed the subject. "All right, all right, we're all classmates. There's no need to be at each other's throats. We'll be seeing each other all the time, so let's not spoil the harmony."

"Classmates? Everyone here is my classmate, and the injured fatty is my classmate too. I don't acknowledge anyone else," Dai Mubai said.

"Heh? I don't acknowledge you as my classmate either," Zhu Zhuqing sneered.

"You! Do you have to argue with everything I say?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

"..."

Tang San truly hadn't expected that, after he changed the subject, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing would still manage to quarrel over the next one.

They really were a pair of ill-fated enemies.

"Let's eat, let's eat."

Unable to reconcile them and at a loss for words, Tang San decided to take care of his stomach first. He wanted to cry but had no tears.

But everyone had fallen silent for less than a moment when-

The sound of quick little footsteps came pounding from outside the door.

Everyone looked up to see Ning Rongrong returning, bouncing with life.

Dai Mubai nearly spat out a mouthful of food.

Wasn't she supposed to run fifty laps around the village?

How had she come back so quickly?

"Didn't you finish your laps? If that's the case, don't blame me for reporting you to the teachers," Dai Mubai asked in shock.

"Oh?" Ning Rongrong ignored him. Instead, she cheerfully got herself some food and sat down beside Zhu Zhuqing, occasionally putting dishes from her own bowl into Zhu Zhuqing's. "My darling Zhu Zhuqing, eat more, eat more. That way you'll recover faster."

Zhu Zhuqing was overjoyed to see Ning Rongrong, and her face turned bright red with embarrassment when she heard her words.

Meanwhile...

Dai Mubai's face turned bright red with anger.

Just as he was about to erupt, Oscar caught him by the arm and said quietly, "Boss Dai, don't ask. In my judgment, Ning Rongrong definitely completed all fifty laps. After all, look at me—I came back three hours ago, and that was thanks to her too."

"But that's a hundred and fifty kilometers! Does she have wheels on her feet?" Dai Mubai could hardly believe it.

"Huh? How did you know about the wheels?" Oscar nodded, then shook his head and said with an awkward laugh, "There were wheels, but it wasn't just wheels."

"..."

Dai Mubai fell silent once more.

Ever since Ning Rongrong had arrived at Shrek Academy, he had been spending more and more time in silence.

He was a senior student, after all, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

After absentmindedly shoveling down a couple of bites, Dai Mubai frowned deeply and said, "Hmph. I don't care what kind of wheels she put on. Sooner or later, I'll make her suffer."

"Sigh..."

Tang San sighed helplessly.

In Shrek Academy's enormous dining hall,

No one knew when it had begun, but the freshmen had already split into two little groups.

On one side were Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and Oscar.

On the other were only Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

They clearly had the advantage in numbers, and Zhu Zhuqing was even Dai Mubai's fiancée.

At that moment, a seed of hatred quietly sprouted in Dai Mubai's heart, and that unspoken hatred fixed itself squarely on Ning Rongrong.

But what he didn't know was that a lifetime of regret awaited him...