Dai Mubai's Command

The shadows of the four girls stretched across the bluestone path, moving forward side by side.

Xiao Wu suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to face the other three.

"I have an announcement. From today on, the Happy Claw Machine is our secret base. We go every day, and no one is allowed to be absent."

"Fine," Zhu Zhuqing said, crisp and decisive.

"Okay," Ning Rongrong nodded.

"Mm," Bai Chenxiang replied, her voice small but firm.

Xiao Wu extended her right hand, palm facing down.

Ning Rongrong stacked her hand on top, followed by Bai Chenxiang. Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a second before placing her hand on theirs. The cuff of her black leather jacket slid down, revealing a sliver of fair wrist.

Four hands were stacked together.

"See you tomorrow!" Xiao Wu shouted.

The four hands lifted in unison, slapping the air.

Then, the four of them laughed and dispersed, giggling all the way toward the teaching building.

Halfway there, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly looked back toward the sports field.

The sports field was no longer visible, blocked by the teaching building.

But Zhu Zhuqing could imagine Dai Mubai limping along, his left eye bruised, his ribs aching, calling her "Grandma" under his breath.

The curve of Zhu Zhuqing's lips deepened just a fraction.

The frustration of having to swallow her pride and walk away last night had been thoroughly vented today.

The boys' dormitory building.

Ma Hongjun helped Dai Mubai up to the third floor. Dai Mubai didn't say a word the entire way, his face as dark as ink.

Pushing open the dormitory door, Tang San was sitting on his bed meditating, a medicinal plaster stuck to his waist. Oscar lay on the opposite bed, checking his newly repaired front teeth in a small mirror.

Hearing the commotion, both looked up.

At the sight of Dai Mubai, Oscar's freshly bonded front teeth nearly fell out.

His left eye was swollen into a peach, there were bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, he was limping, and his uniform was covered in dust and footprints.

"What... happened to you?" Tang San sat up straight.

Dai Mubai plopped onto his bed, the frame creaking loudly under his weight.

Ma Hongjun closed the door and leaned against it, his expression complex.

"He got beaten up by Zhu Zhuqing."

Tang San and Oscar exchanged a look.

Tang San: "...What?"

Ma Hongjun started to explain, but Dai Mubai cut him off: "Stop talking. Isn't it embarrassing enough?"

Oscar choked, coughing until his face turned bright red.

Tang San stopped his meditation, his gaze solemn.

"Now, do you believe what we said last night was true? Third Brother and I aren't crazy," Oscar said.

The room fell silent.

Last night, Ma Hongjun had thought Tang San and Oscar were talking nonsense out of shock, but now he had seen with his own eyes how Zhu Zhuqing, at level 62, had beaten the level 68 Dai Mubai into the ground.

This wasn't nonsense; it was the truth.

"What do we do now?" Ma Hongjun asked. He was the only one left uninjured.

The lightbulb in the boys' dorm cast a dim, yellow glow. The four of them occupied different corners of the room, the air thick with the pungent scent of medicinal plaster and the metallic tang of the blood-clotting cotton in Oscar's mouth.

Ma Hongjun's question hung in the air, unanswered.

Dai Mubai sat on the edge of the bed, pressing his right hand against his ribs. He pushed down hard, gasping in pain. He remembered the force of Zhu Zhuqing's kicks clearly; each one had landed on his joints and soft tissue, as precise as if measured with a ruler.

"What do we do now?" Ma Hongjun asked again.

Tang San sat up from his bed, the plaster on his waist peeling at the edge, but he couldn't be bothered to fix it.

"The situation is clear. In a single day, Xiao Wu's power surged by eight levels, Ning Rongrong's soul skill turned things to stone, and Zhu Zhuqing's speed doubled. Those three, plus Bai Chenxiang, are all in the same dorm."

Oscar added, his speech slurred: "You mean, they found some kind of opportunity?"

"It's more than just an opportunity," Tang San pressed down on the edge of his plaster, his voice dropping low. "Think about it—what kind of opportunity allows a level 62 Soul Emperor to jump to level 70 in just a few hours? Even a ten-thousand-year soul ring couldn't do that."

Ma Hongjun leaned against the door, hands shoved into his pockets, tilting his head in thought.

"Then what could it be? A secret realm? A divine artifact? Or did a Titled Douluo perform an empowerment ritual on them?"

Dai Mubai finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried a suppressed, vicious edge: "Ma Hongjun."

"Yeah?"

"Investigate the situation over the next few days."

Ma Hongjun froze for a beat.

Dai Mubai looked up, his unswollen right eye fixed on Ma Hongjun with a heavy, brooding gaze.

"I suspect Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong—all three of them are problematic. No, wait, there's also Bai Chenxiang; they share a dormitory. All four of them are suspicious."

"I'm the one who has to investigate them?" Ma Hongjun pointed at his own nose.

"Yes." Dai Mubai stood up, a sharp pain shooting through his ribs. He frowned, bracing himself against the bed frame to steady his body.

"There is definitely something fishy going on. I suspect they are colluding with outside forces, likely backed by a powerhouse at the Title Douluo level. If they dare to do this, then don't blame me for what happens next!"

The room fell silent for two seconds.

Oscar pulled the hemostatic cotton from his mouth, licked the gap where his front tooth used to be, and asked, "Big Brother, do you mean that if they call for a powerhouse, we should call for one too?"

"Of course." Dai Mubai's tone turned cold. "Bullying others—who doesn't know how to do that?"

Tang San leaned against the headboard, his fingers tapping the bed frame unconsciously.

"Hmph, if that's really the case, I'll summon the Douluos from the Clear Sky Sect to demand an explanation from the academy."

Everyone present knew the weight of a Title Douluo from the Clear Sky Sect. It was the number one sect on the continent; if the sect elders arrived, even the principal of Spirit Academy, Bibi Dong, would have to show them some respect.

"Right, right, right! I see now, so that's what's going on!" Ma Hongjun slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened.

He had previously thought Tang San and Oscar were talking nonsense, but after seeing Dai Mubai beaten to the ground by Zhu Zhuqing with his own eyes, he finally took the matter to heart.

"So, start keeping an eye on them now." Dai Mubai walked over to Ma Hongjun and patted his shoulder with his uninjured hand, his grip firm.

"Get the evidence. Ma Hongjun, I order you to get to the bottom of this within two days."

Ma Hongjun straightened his back, looking serious for once. "Understood. Wait for my report."

Tang San added, "Focus on where they go after school and who they come into contact with. Especially Xiao Wu; she had the most drastic change today."

"Understood."

Oscar also sat up on his bed, his voice nasal and buzzing. "Hongjun, be careful when you follow them, don't get caught. That girl Xiao Wu is sharp as a whip, and Ning Rongrong has that ability to turn things into stone now. If your Phoenix Wings turn to stone, it won't just be a missing tooth you'll have to worry about."

Ma Hongjun shivered. "Don't scare me like that."

"Alright, let's all get some rest." Dai Mubai limped back to his bed, a sharp pain shooting through his knee as he sat down.

He looked down at his right leg; there was a large bruise on the inside of his knee.

Zhu Zhuqing had kicked him.

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth. Once he got to the bottom of this, he would make her pay.

Ma Hongjun pulled a plain gray jacket from his closet, threw it on, and stuffed his eye-catching red academy jacket inside.

"I'll start tailing them first thing tomorrow morning."

"Mm."

The lights went out.

The four of them were lost in their own thoughts, and the room was filled only with the sound of tossing and turning and the occasional groan of pain.

Dai Mubai lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling.

Only one image played on a loop in his mind: Zhu Zhuqing's black afterimage circling him, while he couldn't land a single punch.

This feeling was even more unbearable to him than the beating itself.

Dai Mubai had had everything he ever wanted since he was a child, getting whatever he pursued. Only Zhu Zhuqing had never given him any face.

In the past, she wasn't strong enough and had to endure it. Now that she had suddenly become powerful, the first thing she did was slap him in the face.

This debt would have to be settled.