"A cripple?"
Chu Feng was visibly startled when he heard the word.
And this time, after he repeated it, he distinctly felt that the figure nearby whom he had been secretly watching seemed to glance at him again.
He immediately turned his head with supreme nonchalance and, sure enough, met Jiang Ruoxue's eyes.
Their eyes met for only an instant before she looked away, but Chu Feng's heart still thumped wildly despite himself.
She looked at me! She really looked at me!
Could Junior Jiang be interested in this?
A thought flashed through Chu Feng's mind. A chance! This is a perfect chance!
He had to seize it and show Jiang Ruoxue his insight and breadth of vision.
So, to keep Jiang Ruoxue's attention on him, he cleared his throat and spoke with a touch of contempt and regret, putting on a mocking tone:
"A cripple coming to take the assessment is just trying to grab attention."
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the students around him and Jiang Ruoxue nearby to hear.
"Class monitor, what do you mean by that?" a classmate promptly asked, playing along.
That was exactly the response Chu Feng wanted. He clasped his hands behind his back, put on the air of a youth wise beyond his years, and spoke at length:
"Although the basic assessment only uses a live simulation, aside from not actually getting hurt, it's almost no different from a real battle.
"You should know that in a battle with Contract Spirits, the Spirit Tamer is also an important part of the equation. Our positioning, dodging, and control over our bodies all directly affect the outcome."
He paused and swept his gaze over the classmates listening intently to his analysis, feeling even more pleased with himself.
"How can a Spirit Tamer who has trouble even with her legs fight effectively? How can she dodge attacks?
"How can she create an opening for her Contract Spirit to deal damage? It's an impossible task."
He shook his head, his tone growing harsher, as though he were speaking from the Federation's perspective:
"This is simply a waste of the Federation's funds!
"Every assessment consumes a vast amount of power to start up the virtual world. That power is paid for with taxpayers' money, all to satisfy some people's unrealistic fantasies? Ridiculous!"
Chu Feng's righteous speech immediately drew a chorus of agreement.
"The class monitor is absolutely right! The Spirit Tamer assessment is sacred. It's not something just anyone can join for fun!"
"Exactly! If you're physically disabled, you should know your own limits and stay at home. Aren't you just causing trouble by coming out?"
"She's just trying to grab attention. She must want sympathy, and maybe she's hoping to get some kind of special treatment."
In truth, these people didn't care whether Chu Feng was right or wrong. They were only agreeing with him because they wanted to curry favor with him.
Hearing the increasingly heated discussion, Jiang Ruoxue, not far away, seemed even more interested.
Her delicate brows even furrowed slightly, and she actually started walking over.
Chu Feng's heart skipped a beat.
She's coming over! She's really walking toward me!
He believed it was all because he had just succeeded in drawing Jiang Ruoxue's attention.
She must already be won over by my insight and leadership qualities!
So he immediately decided to keep using this matter to further shape his image.
Chu Feng looked at the classmates gathered around him and suddenly said:
"Come on, let's go see who's making such a fuss.
"There are probably only a dozen or so spots available in this batch of assessments anyway. There's no way she'll get one, so let's persuade her to give up. That way, we can save the Federation who knows how much power."
His high-sounding words once again set his classmates' admiration ablaze.
"The class monitor really sees the bigger picture! He thinks things through better than we do!"
"Exactly! Let's go persuade him. It's for his own good, and it'll mean less time in line for everyone else!"
Listening to their praise, Chu Feng said, "It's nothing," but his chin tilted up slightly of its own accord.
He led a whole crowd of followers toward the center of the commotion, and the crowd automatically parted to make way for the group of students in matching uniforms.
When they got closer, they found that the figure surrounded in the middle was wearing a school uniform and was someone they all knew very well.
That girl was Lin Luoluo!
She had been their classmate for two years, but she had always been practically invisible in class.
All they still remembered about her was that her family was poor and that she came to class in a wheelchair every day.
Last year, they had heard that Lin Luoluo had been forced to drop out because of her family's circumstances. Quite a few of the students present vaguely remembered it.
At that moment, Lin Luoluo was sitting on Bai Chen's body.
The combination of a Slime and a disabled loli had drawn everyone's attention as soon as they entered the assessment hall.
"Little girl, this is the Spirit Tamer assessment. You said you're not here to watch a relative or friend take it, but to take it yourself?"
A middle-aged man who looked like a staff member tried to dissuade her kindly.
"That's right, little girl. I'd advise you to think it through," said a veteran beside him, who had just finished the previous batch of assessments and still looked tired.
"Even though it's a simulation, you still feel fifty percent of the pain from any injury. This is no joke.
"I got rammed by a Tusked Pig in there, and my waist still hurts."
Some kindhearted passersby and staff members came forward to warn them, worried that they had wandered in by mistake.
Other than doing some handicrafts at home and taking them out to sell, Lin Luoluo usually had little interaction with others.
Or perhaps it had been a long time since she had experienced so much kindness. With so much attention on her all at once, her little face flushed bright red.
Even so, she raised her head and spoke gently to everyone:
"Thank you all for the warning, but... I believe I can do it!"
She glanced at Bai Chen beneath her, as though drawing strength from him, and raised her voice a little.
"Xiao Bai is very strong. He'll definitely get me through the assessment!"
Just then, a cold, disdainful snort suddenly came from the side.
"Lin Luoluo?"
The crowd was pushed apart by a force, and Chu Feng appeared at the front, followed by a group of classmates who had come to watch the show.
"I just heard people saying a cripple had come to take the assessment. I had my doubts, but I didn't expect it really was you."
Chu Feng's gaze fell on Lin Luoluo. Surprise flashed across his face before he adopted an expression of concern and looked down at her as he spoke:
"Lin Luoluo, I heard you contracted a Contract Spirit yesterday. Congratulations.
"But... your family isn't well-off, and your legs...
"Anyway, the assessment registration fee isn't cheap. I suggest you don't waste the money. Save it to buy yourself and your little sister something nice to eat."
Chu Feng's righteous manner, as though he were thinking entirely of her, immediately drew agreement from the other classmates behind him.
"That's right, Lin Luoluo, the class monitor is doing this for your own good!"
"Just take the class monitor's advice and stop being so stubborn."
Still more people began pointing at Lin Luoluo and whispering about her, their chatter buzzing into her ears like flies.
"Didn't she drop out last year? Why is she still wearing our school uniform?"
"Did you forget? Lin Luoluo and her little sister only have each other, and her family's really poor. She probably doesn't have the money to buy new clothes.
"I really don't know where she got the money to waste on taking the assessment here."
"That uniform has been washed so much it's faded white. How pitiful."
"Forget it. Everyone needs a dream, even if it's an unrealistic one. Let's not say any more."