At the sight of the people who had suddenly appeared, and especially upon hearing their undisguised remarks about Lin Luoluo, Bai Chen felt a sudden chill.
Seeing that they wore the same school uniform as Lin Luoluo, Bai Chen already had a rough idea.
Even so, he asked her, "Luoluo, who are they?"
Lin Luoluo had long since grown accustomed to such remarks.
Poverty and disability were like two brands seared deep into her past.
No matter where she went, she could never escape the pointing fingers and staring eyes.
It was something she had often experienced before.
But now things were different. This was happening in front of Bai Chen, the family member who had given her a new life and hope.
She didn't want Bai Chen to think she was very pitiful.
Lin Luoluo's cheeks were red, as if she had a fever.
She fell silent for half a second, then replied to Bai Chen in her mind:
"They're my former classmates. The one who just spoke is the class monitor, Chu Feng.
He contracted a B-rank Contract Spirit, and his strength ranks near the top at Second High. They say he'd rank among the best even at First High."
After a pause, Lin Luoluo continued:
"He's never spoken to me before. I really don't know what's gotten into him today."
Listening to Lin Luoluo, Bai Chen immediately understood a great deal.
Clearly, Lin Luoluo had been the subject of plenty of gossip when she was in that class.
But she said Chu Feng had never spoken to her before. That was just Lin Luoluo's polite way of putting it, but it also meant that Chu Feng, as class monitor, had never done anything about the others bullying her!
A class monitor who turned a blind eye to a classmate being ostracized.
Yet now he had jumped out in front of everyone, striking the pose of someone acting for her own good to show off his righteousness.
Not to mention the snide remarks Chu Feng had made the moment he came over. Anyone with eyes could tell that was no well-meaning warning!
Bai Chen was now thoroughly intent on killing him.
Daring to bully his adorable, innocent Master was simply courting death!
But he certainly couldn't do it here. After all, causing trouble in the examination hall would get them disqualified; the rules on the big screen said so clearly.
Bai Chen wondered if he should quietly follow the guy after the examination and then devour his Contract Spirit.
As for the man himself... just like this morning, he could kill him and toss him into the sewer. Probably no one would ever find out.
He could move stealthily through the shadows, and Bai Chen was confident he wouldn't leave a trace.
As for Chu Feng's B-rank Contract Spirit and his so-called top-ranking strength at school, Bai Chen paid them no mind at all.
After calming himself, Bai Chen comforted her:
"Luoluo, don't pay them any attention. The louder they're yapping now, the louder the slaps to their faces will be when the examination is over."
Hearing Bai Chen's words in her mind, Lin Luoluo felt warmth in her heart.
It was as though a warm current had instantly swept away all her embarrassment. She nodded vigorously.
Then she resolutely raised her head.
A hint of stubbornness showed on her sweet, innocent little face.
She looked at the group of former classmates led by Chu Feng and spoke word by word:
"Whether I take the examination is my business. I don't need you to concern yourselves with it!"
Her crisp reply brought an instant of silence to their surroundings.
The classmates behind Chu Feng were all stunned.
In their memory, Lin Luoluo had always been like an ostrich, keeping her head down, wishing she could shrink her whole body into a shell. Since when had she dared speak to anyone like that?
And she was speaking that way to the class monitor, Chu Feng, no less! How dare she?
Could it be that she had contracted some powerful Contract Spirit?
But wasn't she sitting on an ordinary Slime? What use could a lowliest F-rank Contract Spirit like that be?
Others, however, were utterly stunned the moment Lin Luoluo raised her head.
In the past, Lin Luoluo had always worn long bangs that covered most of her face. With her head lowered year-round, no one had ever gotten a clear look at her.
Now, with her hair tied up and her little face raised stubbornly, her exquisite, unadorned features were on full display before everyone.
A defiant light shone in her clear eyes, and her fair skin was flushed with excitement. Paired with her delicate little nose and cherry lips, the sight left many of her classmates dumbstruck on the spot!
Was... was this really the drab, invisible girl they remembered?
Even Chu Feng was shocked.
He stared at Lin Luoluo, unconsciously frozen for several seconds, and a powerful surge of regret welled up in him.
Such a peerless beauty had been his classmate for two years, yet he had never paid her any attention!
It was like missing an undiscovered gold mine, and this gold mine was far easier to get his hands on than a diamond mine like Jiang Ruoxue, with her illustrious background and a host of admirers gathered around her like stars around the moon.
If he had noticed her earlier and shown her a little kindness, wouldn't winning her over have been effortless, given his position as class monitor?
At the thought, Chu Feng's bluster instantly deflated, and his formerly superior posture became utterly awkward.
He stammered:
"Classmate Luoluo, don't misunderstand. I really just wanted to give you a reminder."
After saying that, he felt his cheeks burn. Unable to bear staying there any longer, he turned and left.
As Chu Feng departed, the other classmates, both male and female, all felt a sense of shame at their own inadequacy.
The pitiful ugly duckling they had always looked down on was actually a swan cloaked in dust!
The stark contrast made their earlier gossip and pointing fingers look like a joke.
If Lin Luoluo had tied up her hair and raised her head earlier, none of the other girls would have stood a chance at being the school beauty!
With those complicated feelings, the others hurriedly slunk after Chu Feng, and the crowd soon dispersed.
In a secluded corner not far away.
Jiang Ruoxue and the elderly servant beside her, who wore a butler's uniform, had witnessed everything.
Jiang Ruoxue stared wide-eyed at Lin Luoluo, looking as though she had seen a ghost.
"Uncle Wei, didn't you say you'd already sent people to deal with her? How is she still here?"
The elderly servant addressed as Uncle Wei also looked troubled. His expression grave, he said:
"Young miss, I did send Black Snake and Scorpion to deal with Lin Luoluo before dawn.
But just an hour ago, I received a message. It was a fragmented sentence saying they had run into a powerful wild Demon nearby. There was no further response after that."
"They ran into a powerful wild Demon..."
Hearing this, Jiang Ruoxue said nothing for a long time.
It was common knowledge among the residents of the underground city that ferocious wild Demons occasionally appeared in the slums.
She simply hadn't expected Lin Luoluo to be so lucky. Not only had the wild Demons failed to hurt her, they had even helped her get rid of her trouble.
She clenched her hand tightly, a trace of malice showing on her delicate face.
"First she summoned an S-rank Contract Spirit, and now the people we sent to deal with her have been killed by a wild Demon. This girl really is lucky."
A barely perceptible hint of jealousy crept into Jiang Ruoxue's voice. Then she said coldly:
"Uncle Wei, if I remember correctly, the supervisor in charge of this examination is my third uncle, isn't he?
Go tell him to tamper with Lin Luoluo's examination."
Uncle Wei bowed. "What do you mean, young miss?"
"The Federation's examination equipment isn't limited to simulating fifty percent of the pain."
The corners of Jiang Ruoxue's mouth curved upward.
"Not long ago, the outer city developed a brand-new 'Deep Immersion' technology. It can simulate combat at one hundred percent, and can even inflict genuine mental and physical trauma on the person in the simulation. The pain feedback can even be adjusted to one hundred and thirty percent of what it would be in the real world.
Tell Third Uncle to use that in Lin Luoluo's examination room."
She paused, her voice growing colder.
"Lin Luoluo, since your luck is so good, I wonder if you can escape what's been arranged for you next?"
Jiang Ruoxue smiled coldly, then turned and entered her private VIP lounge to wait for the examination to begin.