Zhang Tie's words plunged the entire classroom into silence. Something stirred in everyone's heart, and they even felt a little moved. Wasn't that what the bonds between classmates, what brotherhood, were all about? When you were doing something stupid, your friends could leap out without a second thought and curse you until you were covered in spit. So they'd all misjudged this guy. Still, the way he cursed people really made you want to punch him.
Captain Colin fell silent. Something unusual had entered his gaze as he looked at Zhang Tie.
"Didn't we meet in the Small Woods last week? I remember your name was..." Captain Colin scratched his head. The face before him suddenly seemed much clearer, bringing a few things back to him.
"Zhang Tie!"
"I remember now. It was Zhang Tie. You were absolutely right to curse them like that just now, because I used to be a bastard who was worse than a pig, too!" After giving Zhang Tie a long look, Captain Colin turned around and drew a deep breath. Then he suddenly roared like a lion at the swine on the left, his voice making the entire school building tremble. "You bastards, worse than pigs, do you know where you went wrong? For the rest of class, each of you will run twenty laps around the field and shout 'I'm an idiot, worse than a pig' a thousand times before you're done! Today's Survival Class is meant to teach you this: sometimes, recklessness isn't courage, and running away isn't cowardice. When facing any enemy on the battlefield, your only task and goal is to stay alive while making the enemy suffer—make them die! Whatever you do, you must achieve at least one of those two goals to count as a qualified warrior. Otherwise, you're trash born to be buried underground..."
For the rest of class, Zhang Tie and his classmates were outside. A bunch of swine ran laps around the school field, shouting, "I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!" "I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!" "I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!" Their earth-shaking cries drew the attention of every teacher and student in the school. During the break, everyone happily gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Captain Colin sent the fatso Barry and two others to the field to supervise the runners and count whether they'd shouted enough times, while he called Zhang Tie over.
"Cough... cough... Your performance in the Small Woods last time left a deep impression on me. It's rare to find a student who can take a beating like you!"
Zhang Tie gave a dry laugh. He knew his excuse last time hadn't fooled the sharp-eyed One-Eyed Dragon. The One-Eyed Dragon looked rough but was shrewd; he wasn't easy to fool. It wasn't a big deal, though—he'd just been too lazy to argue with a few students. "Well... we were just messing around... just messing around. We're all good friends, and nobody hit that hard!"
Watching Captain Colin stroke his bristly beard with one hand, Zhang Tie felt a sense of foreboding. This was hard-won wisdom, bought with the blood and tears of countless generations of students at the school: whenever Captain Colin pretended to think, stroking his rough beard and speaking in that authoritative tone, someone was probably about to be in trouble.
"Ha... ha... don't be modest, Zhang Tie. I saw you all beaten bloody, with black eyes and swollen faces. You were full of energy, full of energy! That's how young people ought to be, that's how..."
"Not at all, not at all!" Zhang Tie's heart was already thumping. He couldn't figure out what misfortune Captain Colin was about to drop on his head.
"Your theory about running away today made me see you in a new light. You can take a beating, and you know how to protect yourself when you run into danger. That kind of stock... cough... that kind of quality is so rare. You're a talent you don't come across every day."
"Not at all, not at all!" Zhang Tie had begun wiping away a cold sweat. Another hard-won lesson from Seventh National Boys' Middle School was that when Captain Colin started stroking his beard and praising someone in that authoritative tone, that person's chances of getting into trouble weren't merely possible—they were one hundred percent. "Captain Colin, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way. I'll go watch them run, so they don't slack off!"
"Don't rush off. I've got a reward specially tailored for you, and I haven't given it to you yet!"
"Ah, no, thank you, Captain Colin. How could I accept your reward?"
"Cough... cough... you must accept it. Do you think I'm the sort of man who doesn't keep his word, Zhang Tie? Are you questioning the integrity of the upright Captain Colin?" As he spoke, Captain Colin's two fan-sized hands had already landed on Zhang Tie's shoulders, pinning him in place. His single eye drew close, wearing an expression of one hundred percent sincerity. "I'm going to recommend you for a part-time job, some practical work outside class. It's a rare opportunity. You'll earn money—a good wage—and get exercise while you're working. You'll meet plenty of rich and influential people and broaden your horizons. Do a good job, and it'll greatly improve your abilities, too. The workplace is full of beauties, and if the opportunity comes along, you might even get close to some pretty girls. Plenty of people have asked me, and I've turned them down. I can't think of anyone more suitable than you!"
Zhang Tie was astonished. Could the lessons of his predecessors actually fail sometimes? Was there really such a good thing in the world? Or had his luck finally turned, with one good thing after another landing right on his head? A job that paid well, let him meet important people, surrounded him with beauties, and might even give him the chance to get close to one—was it really going to fall into his lap?
Zhang Tie was only a little tempted. He was still wondering whether Captain Colin was telling the truth and hadn't even nodded when Captain Colin was already patting his shoulder. Then he eagerly stuffed a slip of paper into Zhang Tie's pocket. "You agree? Wonderful! Here's my letter of recommendation. Report to 18 Mingguang Street after school today. Just show them this letter, and they'll take care of the rest..."
Mingguang Street? It really was Mingguang Street! As soon as he heard that, Zhang Tie believed half of what Captain Colin had said. That was the prime location in Black Flame City, where land prices were highest and the rich went to burn through their money. Anything in a shop window there was worth an ordinary person's yearly wages. It was the heart of Black Flame City. Owning an apartment on Mingguang Street was a mark of status in the city...
Had he misunderstood Captain Colin? The words Mingguang Street made stars swim before Zhang Tie's eyes. He instinctively clutched the letter of recommendation and looked at Captain Colin gratefully. "Thank you."
Captain Colin really was a good man. Zhang Tie was filled with gratitude toward him.
"Cough... cough... don't thank me. Just don't let me down. All you have to do is work hard!" Captain Colin actually blushed a little, then laughed it off and left...
"I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!"
"I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!"
"I'm an idiot, worse than a pig!"
Watching those guys run around the field and shout, Zhang Tie was suddenly filled with a feeling called superiority. He pulled out the letter of recommendation and flicked it with his finger, his heart full of anticipation for after school. Your big brother's about to make it on Mingguang Street! I'm going to see what it's like to get close to high society. You bastards, be jealous...
At noon, Captain Colin delivered his "reward" to Zhang Tie and the four others, the fatso Barry included. When they went to get their food, he had the cafeteria add a meat dish to their meals. Seeing the fragrant red-braised pork on Zhang Tie and the others' trays, Doug and Baghdad drooled with envy. Doug reached his spoon into Barry's tray to fish some out, but Barry jabbed him hard in the hand with a fork. After a scream, Doug finally behaved.
Baghdad had a little more self-control. He simply closed his eyes while eating his potatoes and murmured, "This is red-braised pork, this is red-braised pork..." It was utterly ridiculous.
Sista and Light boxed Shavin in between their chairs, fixing their gazes on the fragrant food in his tray. They put on ingratiating smiles and called out warmly, "Shavin..."
As soon as the words left their mouths, Shavin spat the half-chewed red-braised pork, along with plenty of saliva, right back onto the pile in his tray. Then he stirred it a couple of times with his spoon. Looking at Sista and Light, whose faces were twitching, he blinked and asked with an innocent expression, "What is it? Oh, right, do you two want some red-braised pork? Here, it's delicious. We're all good brothers, so don't be shy. Have some..." Shavin made as if to share the half-digested secondhand pork with them. The two hastily covered their trays and ran far away. A few seconds later, though, the two bastards were betting over the pork in Shavin's tray, each insisting the other should eat a piece. The loser would pay one silver coin, and they couldn't stop arguing...
"By the way, I clearly saw you about to step over to the left this morning. Why did you pull your foot back and stay put?" As Zhang Tie happily chewed his red-braised pork, a question came to mind, so he took the opportunity to ask Barry.
The fatso fell silent for a moment, then cleared up Zhang Tie's confusion. "When I was about to take a step, I looked at Captain Colin again. Suddenly, I realized that the smile on his face was exactly the same as the one he wore two years ago when he caught me climbing over the wall into school. I was scared straight in an instant..."
Captain Colin had caught the fatso climbing over the wall into school. Zhang Tie silently mourned for him, but didn't ask how Captain Colin had dealt with him afterward. There was no need to ask; that incident had surely become an indelible dark memory for the fatso, one he could never erase from his time at Seventh National Boys' Middle School. Still, it had also left Zhang Tie marveling at Barry's knack for reading people's expressions. To be able to avoid danger and seize good fortune just by studying someone's face—that was an advanced natural talent Zhang Tie knew he could never learn...
Looking at the lovable bastards in the Airplane Brotherhood, Zhang Tie realized that every single one of those guys was a goddamn talent!
"By the way, I think I saw Captain Colin call you aside this morning and give you something!" Barry said as he ate, sounding a little muffled and nonchalant. As soon as he spoke, every bastard in the Airplane Brotherhood perked up their ears.
Zhang Tie slapped the fatso hard on the shoulder, making him bare his teeth in pain and nearly spit out the piece of meat in his mouth. "You guy, if you want to ask, just ask. What's with all the hemming and hawing? What's the point? Here, this is what Captain Colin gave me. It's a letter of recommendation. He said he found me a part-time job for after class at 18 Mingguang Street..."
Rubbing his shoulder, the fatso laughed sheepishly. Baghdad, who'd been murmuring "this is red-braised pork" all along, looked a little odd when he heard "18 Mingguang Street" and nearly choked on his potatoes.
Zhang Tie didn't notice the strange look on Baghdad's face. Instead, he proudly bragged, full of vanity. "Captain Colin said this reward was specially tailored for me, and nobody else was quite right for it. What happened in the Small Woods last time left a deep impression on him. He said this part-time job paid well and offered great benefits. I'd meet plenty of rich people and important figures. It'd give me a workout and improve my abilities, too. Oh, and I might even get the chance to get close to some beauties! Ah, actually, I didn't want to go, but Captain Colin insisted. You know me—my biggest weakness is that I'm too softhearted. I can't stand seeing someone in a tough spot. After Captain Colin begged me for ages, I finally agreed, against my better judgment. It's just that my character's so good and I've done so many good deeds that good things keep falling into my lap. What can I do? Even a job where I get to be close to beauties and earn money has landed on me. And I get to work out, too! Though I usually don't have any other thoughts when I meet a girl, there's no telling whether she might have some ideas about me. Ah, what if a beauty tries to force herself on me? Should I agree or not? What a happy dilemma. This part-time job is really testing my self-control, and I've never had much of that. Hey, don't leave! I'm not finished..."
The only reply Zhang Tie got was a row of middle fingers from the bastards in the Airplane Brotherhood as they turned their backs on him...