A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

Alina was a little older than Fengling.

Yet her gaze still held a purity and innocence that had been well protected.

Once the people protecting her were too occupied to spare attention...

In an environment like this, that was dangerous.

Fengling knew what she needed to teach.

"Then, how about we change today's lesson into a PE class for basic self-defense, Alina?"

That was Fengling's suggestion.

"Sure!" Alina clapped her hands with a beaming smile. "Physical fitness isn't my strong suit, so Talulah or FrostNova usually have to teach PE to the children! It's a shame they've been really busy lately. The children haven't had PE in ages, either!"

"Then this classroom isn't really spacious enough. Let's go outside!"

Fengling looked around the classroom. It was indeed a little too small for large movements, and it was not convenient for the children to move around either, so she suggested holding the class outdoors.

Alina knew there was a suitable open area behind the house, so she said, "There's a training ground behind the house. No one is using it today, so let's go there!"

Afterward, Alina led Fengling and the children to the place she had mentioned.

The enormous open space had several trees that looked as though they had been regularly abused. A few ugly but sturdy training dummies had also been set up nearby.

It was a very suitable place.

Since they would be moving around a lot, and the children's bodies were still growing, they needed to warm up properly to avoid injuring themselves.

"Alright, everyone, follow me and loosen up first!"

Fengling immediately slipped into the role of a teacher.

She had not brought a whistle or any other small device for signaling, but when a breeze drifted past, the clear ring of bells reached every child's ears and worked just as well to draw their attention.

"To prevent injuries to your muscles and joints, don't slack off, okay?"

The children might not fully understand, but as long as they knew they were not allowed to be lazy, that was enough.

Seeing Alina standing off to the side with a smile, seemingly intending only to watch Fengling teach, Fengling directly pointed at her with a grin.

"And you too, Alina! You're taking this class as well. Your stamina is way too poor, so no slacking off!"

"Huh?" Alina pointed at herself in surprise. "Me too?"

Before Fengling could confirm it, the children had already started cheering and jeering.

"Teacher Alina can't slack off!"

"Teacher Alina has to exercise too!"

There was more than a little gloating in their voices.

Amid the children's cheers, Alina had no choice but to join the group and become the biggest student in the class.

"Alright! Everyone, pay attention! Stand at attention!"

Fengling clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"Next, follow my commands and copy my movements to warm up! Just do what you can with the warm-up exercises. Don't hurt yourselves!"

It was a standard Yan PE warm-up routine.

Starting with chest-opening exercises, they went through various dynamic stretches and joint movements before ending with more intense high knees.

Since she had decided to try teaching, Fengling would do it seriously.

She carefully observed everyone's condition. "That child named Sasha... he really does have a solid foundation, and he's very serious. Most of the children seem pretty healthy too. They can complete these movements properly."

There were also children who seemed relatively weaker even during the warm-up stage, such as Ino, who often hid behind Sasha.

As for Alina... This is... textbook fodder-level stamina!

Watching Alina become out of breath and flushed red from just the warm-up exercises, Fengling could only facepalm helplessly.

It seemed Alina was actually the one Fengling needed to focus on the most.

"Okay~ Warm-up complete. Everyone relax a little, but don't sit down! Keep moving in place."

Mainly so Alina could catch her breath.

Taking advantage of the break, Fengling prepared to begin her lesson.

"Alright then, everyone, today's class officially begins!"

Fengling looked at everyone present, raised one finger, and blinked. "First question: when you encounter danger, what should your first reaction be at your current stage?"

"Fight back," Sasha said in a low voice.

"Um... try to stall for time through negotiation?" Alina guessed Fengling's answer with some uncertainty.

They were all answers with plenty of personal character.

"No. You are not warriors yet, Sasha included!" Fengling looked at her "students" and spoke with extreme seriousness. "So, for you as you are now, your first reaction should be—run. And run as fast as you possibly can."

A Serious Teacher Fengling

Seeing the children's unconvinced expressions, Fengling smiled.

After all, they were children who had grown up in the Reunion Movement.

Because of the special environment they lived in, they were highly combative as well.

But this was something she absolutely had to make clear to them.

"You are not warriors! I'll say it again: you are not warriors yet! You do not yet have the ability to face danger alone. Even if I teach you some self-defense techniques later, they are only measures for resisting danger when you have no other choice."

"If you can run, then you must run. Then bring the information to people who truly possess combat ability. That is what you should do at this stage."

"Especially you, Alina! If you encounter someone unreasonable and still try to negotiate, you'll only put yourself in danger! You might even get ambushed and miss your best chance to escape!"

If fighting back still offered some hope, then Alina's method would truly put her in a dead end.

"Alina, your fodder-level stamina is completely unacceptable! While I'm here these next few days, I'll make sure to train you properly! After that, you'll have to exercise on your own too! At the very least... you need to be able to run away when danger comes."

Watching Alina blink innocently, Fengling let out a small sigh.

Fengling could only do her best to teach. As for whether Alina could take it in, how much she would take in, and whether she was willing to do as Fengling said, that was all up to Alina herself.

"Ugh... why does it feel like... Teacher Fengling is so strict?" Alina felt that the teacher she had invited for the children had somehow dragged her into this instead.

But Fengling was absolutely right.

Among everyone present, even Sasha, who had already begun some combat training, was not yet a qualified warrior.

And a woman like Alina, who had no combat ability at all, should listen to Fengling. When danger came, she needed to seize the opportunity and escape quickly.

However, Fengling's goal was not to plant the seeds of cowardice in these children's hearts.

Running was merely a means. At this stage, it was a more reasonable way for these children, as well as people without combat ability like Alina, to handle sudden incidents.

Courage was humanity's true anthem.

But courage was not simply yelling about "friendship" and "bonds" before charging forward to instantly defeat the enemy.

Though it had to be said that such things were also one way to awaken one's potential...

"So, in summary, all of you must at least develop your long-distance running ability and familiarize yourselves with your surroundings. Complex terrain that you know well is more favorable for escape."

"Alright, before I properly teach you self-defense techniques, that was the most important premise I needed to tell you."

"But there will always be situations where you truly cannot run. Next, I'll start teaching you some real techniques."

They were finally getting to the actual lesson!

Alina quietly let out a breath. At least Fengling would no longer call her out to criticize her.

Hmm... perhaps she really should exercise properly.

Having been reminded, Alina also noticed one of her greatest weaknesses.

At the very least... she could not hold Talulah and the others back.

Alina made up her mind.

Then she listened to Fengling's lesson even more carefully.

But only a short while later...

"F-Fengling!!! What are you teaching the children?!"

Even with Alina's self-restraint, she could not help crying out loudly.

During the lesson, she even covered her flushed face in embarrassment at times.

Though her large eyes could still be seen blinking rapidly through the gaps between her fingers.

"Self-defense techniques~" Fengling said innocently.

"It... it is self-defense, yes... but why... why..."

Why were they all such underhanded moves?!

There were methods for hitting someone's groin at the perfect angle.

There were groin strikes, eye gouges, and plugging noses.

There were also techniques that targeted nothing but vital points.

Who would have thought that a pretty girl like Fengling would teach methods that could even be called vicious?

"Alina, I understand how you feel." Fengling spoke calmly, as though her lesson was perfectly proper in her eyes. "But Alina... you need to understand that when facing danger beyond what you can handle, you have to be this unreasonable."

"I grew up in the slums of Lungmen. The conditions there might not have been as harsh as Ursus, but when it came to how dangerous it was for a child... it was probably even worse."

Fengling recalled the experiences of her life.

For most of the time she had lived in Lungmen, her life had been anything but beautiful.

"A gang might set its sights on you over nothing more than an item you own, or simply because you look good. And even if you resist, it could bring about the next disaster."

Some past events were truly like scars. Even after they scabbed over, they still left shadows in one's heart.

"Everyone." Fengling looked at the children gathered here. "I know some of you may have been listening to what I just taught as a joke. You may even think it's funny."

"I'm serious. Just as I said before—these techniques are for when you are forced to face an unequal threat, techniques to help you struggle to survive."

"But remember, these are techniques for special circumstances. You must never, absolutely never, under any circumstances use them while fooling around with companions, or even during sparring practice."

Fengling's seriousness spread to the children here as well.

Having grown up in the Reunion Movement, each of them had, to some extent, a past they did not wish to remember.

They were also more mature than children who had grown up normally—out of necessity.

"I understand, Teacher Fengling!"

"These are methods that can only be used against truly bad people!"

Seeing the children earnestly voice their resolve, a slight smile appeared on Fengling's face again.

"See, Alina? There's no need to worry that the children here will misuse these methods. Perhaps they are far more mature than you imagine."

"O-Okay." Alina clearly had not yet recovered from the impact of the lesson just now, and the bashful look on her face refused to fade.

But she no longer interfered with Fengling's teaching.

Fengling taught very seriously.

Emotions could spread from person to person.

In this environment, everyone truly forgot the social implications of what Fengling was teaching. They simply remembered how, when facing a threat they could not escape, they could try to achieve the greatest result with the least amount of strength.

Fengling also gave Sasha and Alina separate lessons.

The former genuinely had some foundation and could learn some proper techniques.

The latter was simply too weak, so Fengling could only teach her some of the techniques Fengling herself had used when she was young.