Danger on All Sides

Gao Teng shrugged. "I wasn't looking around. I was just curious about your relationship with the teacher."

"You heard what my relationship with her is, didn't you? Childhood sweethearts!"

After a pause, Ma Wei said with deep regret, "What a pity. I never got to have her when she was still as pure and flawless as a lily.

"Unlike you—you were lucky enough to get your little girlfriend while she was still a flower bud..."

"Ma Wei! What are you telling my student now? Can't you stay away from him?"

"We're just chatting. We've known each other for ages."

"When did you meet? Do you even know his name?"

"Uh..."

Ma Wei blinked, then asked Gao Teng, "Old friend, what's your name?"

"Enough!"

Chen Yan walked over and folded her arms, fixing Ma Wei with a stare. "How will the combat training work? What are the assignments for each class? What is every student supposed to do? Have you made all of that clear?"

"Of course."

Though Ma Wei looked like he never took anything seriously, he was very conscientious when it came to work.

He laid out the entire plan. Each of the ten classes would be responsible for one area, and the Public Security Bureau's guidance teams would be stationed with the classes to ensure the students' safety.

The students would train in groups of three, with their homeroom teachers dividing them evenly according to ability.

After hearing the plan, Chen Yan's expression softened a little. Ma Wei was at least somewhat reliable.

"Yan, divide the students into groups. I'll go tell the other classes about the plan."

Ma Wei clapped his hands, quieting the noisy crowd.

He had each class line up, then introduced himself and explained the overall plan.

Meanwhile, Chen Yan worked out how to divide her students. Their class was small, so it wouldn't take much effort.

"Gao Teng, Liu Ming, Meng Yao—you're in a group."

"Hu Lilong..."

Before long, Class Five had finished dividing up, and the students stood in four separate teams.

Gao Teng sized up his two teammates. He knew Liu Ming, his deskmate, who looked rather ordinary but excelled in every respect.

Meng Yao was a sweet-looking girl, petite and fair-skinned, as delicate as a doll and utterly adorable.

"Meng Yao, Liu Ming, Gao Teng's scent might attract mutant creatures. Keep an extra eye on him."

"No problem."

They both agreed readily.

"Meng Yao, you'll be the group leader. Gao Teng and Liu Ming will follow your orders."

"Okay."

Meng Yao wasn't surprised at all. She was the strongest of the three, so it was only natural that she be the group leader.

"Gao Teng, you just joined Class Five, so you don't know Meng Yao yet, do you?

"Don't let her small, cute appearance fool you. She's a fourth-level martial artist, and the only student in our class with a chance of getting into one of the top five universities.

"Get to know each other. I still have a few things to tell the other students."

After Chen Yan left, Gao Teng was still stunned.

Meng Yao was that strong?

With grades like hers, she'd rank among the top three in all of Fifth Middle School. Why hadn't she joined the Gold Medal Class? Why was she in Class Five?

He couldn't hold back and asked what he'd been wondering.

Faced with his question, Meng Yao made no attempt to hide her confidence. "A girl as outstanding as me will shine wherever she goes. Why do I have to join the Gold Medal Class?"

Gao Teng paused, then laughed. "You're right. In that respect, we think alike.

"I didn't join the Gold Medal Class because I think I can get into a good university from an ordinary class, too."

"Huh?"

Meng Yao tilted her head, looking completely baffled.

Gao Teng said no more. He smiled and turned his gaze elsewhere, where it landed on Zhao Dapeng.

The man was busy dividing his class into groups.

Gao Teng sneered inwardly. He might have left Class Eight, but he'd never forget how cruel Zhao Dapeng had been. He'd settle that score someday!

He looked away just as Ma Wei came over.

"Yan, your class is small.

"If you run into a pack of mutant creatures, you'll have a hard time handling them. So I'll protect you."

Chen Yan had been giving her students instructions. At the sound of his voice, she turned around with a look of disgust. "Ma Wei, why are you always pestering me? Can't you just stay away?"

Ma Wei looked troubled. "Can a fish live without water? Don't make this so hard for me."

"You're disgusting!"

Chen Yan's expression grew even more repulsed.

Ma Wei protested. "What's so disgusting about that?"

He'd already held himself back quite a bit. What he'd wanted to say was, "Can a fish live without water? I have to be inside your body to survive!" He'd already been very restrained.

Chen Yan had no idea what he was thinking. She merely snorted and said angrily, "You know what you did before. Do you need me to spell it out?"

Ma Wei shuddered and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, don't."

Chen Yan sneered. "So you do know how to be ashamed!"

Ma Wei coughed, looking embarrassed. "That was years ago. Why are you still holding it against me?"

"I'll never get over it. Every time I see your face, I remember the filthy thing you did!"

Ma Wei sighed to himself. Who could have guessed that the stupid things he'd done when he was young would haunt him for the rest of his life?

It had happened one afternoon in ninth grade. He and several classmates had been passing by the girls' dormitory when a piece of underwear fell onto his head. He'd put it over his eyes and pretended to be a pilot, then a little bee.

From then on, Chen Yan had treated him like an enemy and never once given him a kind look.

Ma Wei shook his head helplessly. If he'd known things would turn out this way, he never would have done something so stupid.

He sighed again, composed himself, and said, "Yan, I've already assigned the people from the Public Security Bureau. I can't just change everything now. Let's stick to the plan."

Chen Yan had no choice. "You really are impossible to get rid of. Do whatever you want, but don't talk to me so much."

"Okay!"

Ma Wei agreed in delight, over the moon.

Next, he arranged for the classes to paddle their kayaks toward Snake Island.

Once everyone had landed, they immediately began carrying out the plan and hunting the mutant creatures on the island.

[You have gained 25 merit points]

Gao Teng was extremely lucky. He had just used his knife to prod the grass when a bright-red venomous snake shot out, aiming for his thigh.

His reflexes were lightning-fast. He caught it by the head and squeezed hard, crushing it into a lump of mush.

"Impressive!"

Liu Ming couldn't help praising him. If he'd been the one attacked by the snake, he wasn't sure he would have reacted in time.

Gao Teng was far stronger than he'd imagined!

"It was nothing," Gao Teng said modestly, continuing to explore.

Meanwhile, several figures on the mountain silently watched their every move.