Trapped by Capital

The day after returning from the Soul Hunting Forest.

In the large tiered classroom on the east side of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, voices buzzed with noise.

Today was the first Public Meditation Class for the first-year new students.

Not only had all the new students shown up, but even quite a few upperclassmen had specifically come to crash the class and watch.

The moment Su Yun led the group of Work-Study Students through the classroom door, the previously chaotic space fell silent for an instant.

Su Yun walked at the front, wearing a casual outfit, Tactical Boots on his feet, and that signature pair of Sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

That mysterious aura, so out of place in this world, instantly seized most of the gazes in the room.

"Look! That guy in the black glasses is Su Yun! The boss of the first-years!"

"So handsome, but that vibe is just incredible!"

As for Tang San following behind him, though he looked a bit more presentable than before, under Su Yun's radiance he was completely reduced to background—if you didn't look closely, you might even miss him.

The group leisurely walked over to the Golden Spot by the window and sat down.

No sooner had he settled in than Su Yun's gaze, through his Sunglasses, swept over Xiao Wu, who was sprawled facedown on the desk.

Just that one glance reminded him of the encrypted report from Captain Lei late last night.

The report indicated that Xiao Wu's frequency was very close to that of a soul beast!

The look in Su Yun's eyes, hidden behind the Sunglasses, sharpened slightly.

Looks like this Xiao Wu is even more complicated than I imagined.

"Xiao Wu."

Su Yun extended a finger and tapped lightly on the desk, producing a rhythmic "thump, thump."

"Hm? What's up, Boss Su?"

Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes, looking completely innocent as she handed over half an orange.

Su Yun took the orange, leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and spoke so only the two of them could hear:

"Xiao San and I went to the Soul Hunting Forest and busted our butts to get a Soul Ring. But I've noticed you've been staying at the academy these past few days, eating and drinking well, without even stepping through the school gate..."

"How are you already a one-ring Soul Master?"

"Ah? This..."

Xiao Wu's hand, peeling the orange, froze mid-air.

Those two long ears, which had been happily twitching, instantly drooped. Her big eyes darted around frantically, and a fine layer of sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Well... well..."

Xiao Wu stammered for a long time, then finally steeled herself, slapped the orange peel onto the desk, and put on a righteous, confident expression.

"Oh! Luck! It's all luck!"

She spouted nonsense with a straight face: "So... a couple of days ago, I was taking a walk on the Back Mountain. Got tired, so I found a tree stump to sit on and rest."

"Suddenly, a badly injured century-old soul beast with bad eyesight went bang and crashed its head right into the tree stump next to me, killing itself on the spot! And it just happened to drop its Soul Ring!"

As she said this, Xiao Wu raised her chin triumphantly, her rabbit ears swaying back and forth.

"Boss Su, I'm pretty lucky, huh!"

"Oh—"

Su Yun drew out the word, nodding meaningfully.

"So that's how it is. Soul beasts these days have such high awareness—not only do they deliver themselves to your door, but they even take care of crashing into trees and offing themselves."

He didn't call her out, just reached out and ruffled Xiao Wu's head, messing up her immaculate braid.

"Alright, since it's a windfall from heaven, keep it safe. Next time something like this happens, remember to call me."

"Hey! Don't mess up my hair!"

Seeing that Su Yun wasn't digging deeper, Xiao Wu breathed a long sigh of relief and quickly slapped his hand away.

Just then, a palpable killing intent, like a vengeful spirit crawling out of the abyss, latched firmly onto Su Yun's back.

The feeling was so intense it even caused Su Yun a bit of physical discomfort.

He instinctively turned his head.

There, in a dark corner of the back row, sat a mountain of flesh.

It was an upperclassman boy in expensive school uniform, his build so round it was astonishing—if you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell where his neck ended and his chin began.

The most striking feature was his greasy, shiny pancake face, set with a pair of tiny, pitifully small bean eyes.

At that moment, those bean eyes were locked onto Su Yun, the whites bloodshot, teeth grinding audibly. The look wasn't that of a junior student, but of a mortal enemy who had stolen his wife.

"Wang Sheng." Su Yun was a bit baffled, pointing behind him.

"Who's that ball? Why does he look like he's been constipated for three days and had his toilet paper stolen? Did I dig up his ancestors' graves?"

Wang Sheng glanced back, immediately shrank his neck, leaned in close, and lowered his voice: "Godfather, that's Luo Bu, the bully of the third-year class."

"Pfft—"

Su Yun nearly spat out the water he'd just drunk, staring at Wang Sheng in shock.

"In broad daylight, keep it civil! What 'dad'?!"

"No, not that kind of dad!"

Wang Sheng's face flushed red with urgency as he flailed his hands in explanation.

"I mean, he's the overlord of the third grade!"

Just then, Xiao Wu suddenly leaned over from the side, blinking her big eyes with an innocent look, and asked:

"Overlord? So where's the overlady?"

She reached out a finger and poked Wang Sheng's arm, her expression puzzled and serious.

"If there's an overlord, there must be an overlady, right? Are they a couple?"

"Cough, cough—!!" Tang San beside her couldn't hold it in anymore, covering his mouth as he coughed violently.

Wang Sheng broke out in a cold sweat, frantically clasping his hands in surrender.

"Oh, my dear little ancestor! It's 'grade' overlord, 'grade'! The boss of the grade, that's what I mean!"

"Tch, boring."

Xiao Wu pouted, casting a disdainful glance at the chubby guy in the back row, muttering under her breath, "Looks like a puffy steamed bun, and he calls himself an overlord? More like a turtle king if you ask me."

Su Yun held back a laugh and steered the conversation back.

"Alright, alright. So this... Turtle King Luo, his family's got influence?"

"Sort of."

Wang Sheng wiped his sweat and explained, "His talent's mediocre, but his family's loaded—they're nobles in Notting City. He struts around the academy like he owns the place."

"Nobles?"

Su Yun raised an eyebrow, thoughtfully glancing at the chubby guy still glaring at him through gritted teeth.

"Then why's he staring at me? Xiao San and I only got back from the Soul Hunting Forest yesterday; we've never even met, right?"

"Who knows..."

Wang Sheng was equally clueless. He sneaked a look at Su Yun and tentatively analyzed, "Maybe... he's jealous of how handsome you are, godfather?"

"I heard he's struck out with several female classmates—they all found him greasy. Probably has serious appearance anxiety, and seeing a top-tier handsome guy like you triggers a stress reaction."

"Hmm..."

Su Yun stroked his chin and nodded with deep conviction.

"That's possible. Jealousy of my peerless good looks is only human. After all, being handsome is a crime."

Xiao Wu giggled beside him, peeling an orange and handing half to Su Yun, not missing the chance to jab, "Bro, look, his face is turning purple with rage. Now he looks even more like a purple sweet potato bun."

But as they laughed and chatted, Su Yun had no idea.

Just yesterday, what exactly had this young master Luo—whom they'd nicknamed the Purple Sweet Potato Bun—gone through.

Let's rewind to yesterday morning.

Notting City, landmark building, top-floor office of the Flavor Gathering Pavilion.

The atmosphere here was suffocatingly tense.

Once bustling with guests and raking in gold daily, the city's premier restaurant now had more staff than customers in its nearly empty hall.

"Son... the times have changed."

Luo Wanjin, the undisputed king of Notting City's food industry, paced frantically in his office, hair disheveled.

His mind was in a daze, clutching tightly a Nezha Burger he'd just bought from across the street, his eyes filled with terror.

As if what he held wasn't food, but a high-level Soul Tool that could explode at any moment.

"Dad, isn't it just bad business?"

Luo Bu looked at his neurotic father, burning with anxiety.

"Let's cut prices and fight them head-on! Our Flavor Gathering Pavilion is an old brand..."

"Fool!!"

Luo Wanjin spun around sharply, his bloodshot eyes locked onto his son, his voice trembling.

"Cut prices? You think this is simple competition? Wrong! Dead wrong!"

Luo Wanjin pointed at the burger in his hand, shouting hoarsely, "Look! Look closely! The fluffiness of this bread, the near-perfect circle of this patty... This isn't food an ordinary chef could make!"

Trembling, Luo Wanjin tore open the burger's wrapper, holding the patty up to the light, his eyes brimming with fear.

"Without a single trace of Soul Power fluctuation, yet it can produce an extreme sense of pleasure... Son, do you understand what this means?"

Luo Bu shook his head blankly, the fat on his face wobbling along: "Means... it tastes good?"

"Shallow!!"

Luo Wanjin slammed the table hard, rattling the teacups atop it. He lowered his voice and spoke in a spine-chilling tone:

"This means it's a soul skill! And a high-level one that has returned to simplicity!"

"I suspect that behind this Nezha Burger isn't some ordinary business rival at all..."

Luo Wanjin took a deep breath and voiced the speculation that made him tremble.

"This is most likely the scheme of some reclusive, food-type Soul Douluo! Or even a Title Douluo!!"

"Soul... Soul Douluo?!"

Luo Bu was so startled he nearly slid off the sofa. His mung-bean eyes went wide, and his voice cracked.

"Dad, are you saying some 80th-level big shot has nothing better to do than sell burgers in Notting City?!"

"That's precisely their brilliance! This is the great hermit hiding in the city, a dimensionality reduction strike!"

Luo Wanjin's expression was solemn, as if he had seen through the truth of the world.

"How many can an ordinary chef make in a day? This great power can conjure hundreds of burgers in a minute! They're using an Eighth Soul Skill to corrupt the taste buds of Notting City's people and destroy our traditional food culture! This is a grand chess game reaching to the heavens!!"

The more Luo Wanjin spoke, the more desperate he became. He slumped into his chair, clutching his forehead and groaning in pain.

"It's just a pity that your father is old. Though I've seen through this game, I don't have the guts to flip the table..."

"Facing a top-tier powerhouse who can create a storm of food with a wave of their hand, we ordinary merchants are as fragile as ants..."

"Dad..."

Luo Bu looked at his father's aged and despairing back, and upon hearing that it was the work of a Soul Douluo, his fear reached its peak.

But following that came an even fiercer impulse—the urge to slay a god!

So what if it's a Soul Douluo?

Even gods have weaknesses!

"Hmph, strong as they are, too much of anything is counterproductive!"

Luo Wanjin suddenly lifted his head, revealing a sinister smile, like a mortal who had found a flaw in a deity's armor in a desperate situation.

"I've studied them. Their serving speed is extremely fast. One burger a minute—what does that mean?"

Luo Bu was bewildered: "Means... deep Soul Power?"

"Idiot! It means filth! It means arrogance!"

Luo Wanjin said with absolute certainty, a gleam of wisdom shining in his eyes.

"Think about it. Would a lofty Soul Douluo be willing to bend down and wash vegetables? Would they be willing to scrub dishes? Impossible! In their eyes, that's work for the lower class!"

"To pursue ultimate speed and profit, they absolutely skip the cleaning step! That's the arrogance of the strong! That's the Achilles' heel!"

Though Luo Bu didn't understand all the gibberish his father was muttering, he grasped the general idea.

He stood up excitedly, his entire body of fat trembling.

"Dad, I get it! Even a Title Douluo, if there are cockroaches in their kitchen, if their food isn't washed clean, they'll have to shut down!"

"Right! That's our only chance to fight back!"

Luo Wanjin clenched his fist, then immediately loosened it, slumping in defeat.

"But I don't dare to go... What if I anger that esteemed one..."

Seeing his father's cowering demeanor, the blood in Luo Bu's veins ignited instantly.

A thing called a sense of family mission surged through his fat-filled chest.

Dad, what you don't dare to do, your son will do for you!

For the glory of Flavor Gathering Pavilion!

For the food safety of Notting City!

Even if the opponent is a Soul Douluo, I will expose the true face of that black-hearted powerhouse!

Yesterday at noon, the sun blazed bright.

A long line stretched in front of the Nezha Burger shop, its fragrance wafting down half the street.

Suddenly, a clatter of footsteps broke the harmony.

Luo Bu, leading two uniformed, stern-faced Sheriffs, charged into the shop with a menacing air.

"Stop! Everyone stop! Stop eating!"

Luo Bu kicked open the half-closed door, his body fat jiggling violently from the momentum.

Pointing at the customers waiting in line, he roared with righteous indignation:

"What you're feeding people is garbage! This place is a health violation! That meat is from a dead pig! Those vegetables weren't even washed clean! Eating this will kill someone!"

Behind the counter, the busy shop manager Wang Er froze for a moment, then set down his spatula. With Su Yun not in the shop, Wang Er was the highest authority on site.

"Young master, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever comes to mind."

Wang Er wiped his hands, growing anxious at the sudden accusation.

"Say whatever I want? Looks like you won't cry until you see the coffin!"

Luo Bu sneered, his beady eyes flickering with the thrill of revenge. He waved at the sheriff behind him.

"Uncles, search it! Tear it apart! Especially the bathroom and the kitchen—I guarantee they're crawling with bacteria! I want them shut down for good!"