Is This Fish Guaranteed to Be Cooked?

Shrek Academy

Mimicry Forest

The noon sun shone into the forest, creating a beautiful and wondrous Tyndall effect among the trees.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Rapid footsteps echoed one after another, mixed with ragged, hurried breathing.

A group of students in the forest wore heavy weight-training gear as they struggled along the rugged mountain path.

"I'd rather run around the plaza than run on this crappy mountain road!"

"I think the forest's better. The plaza at noon is basically a steamer!"

"I can't... I can't go on... Someone give me a hand!"

"Hang in there, brother! There's sweet, thirst-quenching spring water up ahead!"

"I really... can't do it..."

"There are swimsuit beauties up ahead!"

"Where? Where? Swimsuit beauties, here I come!!"

"What a miracle cure, doctor."

Wang Dong was ahead of her classmates. As she ran, she couldn't help getting distracted and thinking back to what had happened at noon.

Her little face reddened. "Damn Huo Yuhao, that was my first kiss!!"

The students behind her: That melon was huge and thirst-quenching!

By the lake

"Achoo!" Huo Yuhao suddenly sneezed. "That damn Tang San must be cursing me again."

"You scared all my fish away. Just you wait!"

Fishfork God King Tang San: I'm warning you, that's slander, you know? I'll sue you for slander!

The students finally made it to the lake with great difficulty, intending to take a drink and quench their thirst.

But the moment they arrived, they saw Huo Yuhao leisurely fishing with a watermelon in his left hand and an iced drink in his right.

They immediately felt a deep sense of unfairness.

"Damn it! Why do we have to run under the blazing sun in weight-training gear while this guy gets to eat watermelon, drink iced beverages, and fish at leisure?!"

"This is unfair!!"

"Protest! Protest! Protest!"

"..."

Most of the students used the protest as an excuse to slack off openly.

Wang Dong frowned deeply at the sight.

"These people really aren't afraid of dying."

"No, I was appointed class monitor. If that she-devil sees everyone stop running, she'll definitely blame me."

"Huo Yuhao, you bastard, couldn't you just stay quietly in the dorm?"

"Why did you have to come here and cause trouble?!"

Wang Dong was miserable beyond words.

To avoid being punished by the she-devil, Wang Dong could only patiently try to persuade her classmates.

"I'm not running. I refuse to run! That she-devil is playing favorites. I'll fight to the end!"

"That's right, we'll fight to the end!"

"We'll never bow to evil forces!"

"..."

The students, convinced that the law did not punish the masses, simply sprawled on the ground where they were.

There was no persuading them at all.

Wang Dong was nearly crying from anxiety.

Damn it, if I'd known, I never would have become this stupid class monitor no matter what.

"Hey, Teacher Zhou, what are you doing here?"

A voice suddenly rang out.

In the blink of an eye, the students jumped up and started running, their movements smooth and practiced.

Before long, they had vanished without a trace.

The student who had protested first was dumbfounded. "Didn't we say we'd fight to the end?"

"Didn't we say we'd never bow to evil forces?"

"You bastards... wait for me!"

With that, he chased after them with all his might.

Leaving behind a completely bewildered Wang Dong.

"What just happened? Those guys looked ready to die rather than submit a second ago. How did they all run off in the blink of an eye?"

Huo Yuhao smiled. "You still underestimated how terrified they are of Teacher Zhou."

Wang Dong huffed proudly. "Who asked you to help? Even without you, I could've made them start running."

"Heh..."

Huo Yuhao chuckled, then turned back to continue fishing.

Wang Dong said angrily, "Annoying bastard, just you wait!"

"One day, I'll make you understand how formidable I, Wang Dong, am!"

"Heh..."

"Damn it!!"

After finishing his fishing, Huo Yuhao returned to the dormitory area.

But before he could even enter the dorm building, a group of people surrounded him.

They were the boys from his class, along with other boys they had called over.

"It's all because of you that we got punished by that she-devil again!"

"Damn it, why does an eleventh-level guy get this kind of treatment? I refuse to accept it!"

"Huo Yuhao! Let's settle this in a man-to-man duel!"

"..."

The unfair treatment from before,

coupled with what had happened today, had driven the boys completely mad!

They had called in their friends, ready to give Huo Yuhao a righteous group beating.

"Good grief!"

Huo Yuhao raised one finger on his right hand and smiled calmly. "One minute is all I need to deal with you."

"Arrogant! I refuse to believe that an eleventh-level nobody like you can stand against all my brothers!"

"Brothers, charge! Down with privilege!"

"Everyone is equal!!"

"..."

One minute later, the ground was covered in bruised and battered boys.

With both hands behind his head, Huo Yuhao whistled as he walked into the dorm building.

"That's way too outrageous!"

"This guy is incredible! So many people, and none of them could beat him!"

"He said one minute, and it really was one minute. He's so cool it's unreal! From now on, he's my male idol!"

"..."

As he entered the dorm, he happened to catch Wang Dong changing clothes.

Wang Dong immediately used Martial Soul Possession, and a flash of brilliant light filled the room.

Huo Yuhao was completely unaffected. He walked past Wang Dong toward his own bed.

After getting dressed, Wang Dong demanded furiously,

"Huo Yuhao!! What are you doing?"

"Why did you come in without knocking?!"

Huo Yuhao shrugged. "We're both guys, so what's there to be afraid of?"

"Besides, can't you see that I'm wearing an eyepatch? I can't see anything at all."

Wang Dong glanced at Huo Yuhao's eyepatch and sighed in relief.

"Good thing you were wearing that eyepatch. Otherwise, if you saw anything, I'd never forgive you!"

Huo Yuhao merely smiled without saying a word.

Forget seeing it—he had already felt everything over at noon.

"Yuhao!!"

A sweet female voice called out.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Huo Yuhao answered softly before leaving the dorm.

Wang Dong suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted, "Bastard, can't you still see even with that eyepatch on?!"

"Annoying guy. He found himself a girlfriend the moment he entered the academy. I really don't know what that girl was thinking, falling for him."

Wang Dong's tone carried a hint of disappointment.

She had mistaken Tang Ya's voice for Huo Yuhao's girlfriend.

For some reason, a wave of sourness rose in her heart.

What am I thinking? What does it have to do with me whether that guy has a girlfriend or not?

Wang Dong patted her flushed cheeks and shyly burrowed into her blankets.

After school

Outside the gates of Shrek Academy

Huo Yuhao set up a Grilled Fish stall. Each Grilled Fish cost one Gold Soul Coin, with only fifty available.

Before long, the aroma of grilled fish spread through the air, stirring everyone's appetite.

"Boss, how much is one of your grilled fish?"

A beautiful senior student spoke with the wisdom of Guangdong.

"One Gold Soul Coin per grilled fish. No haggling!"

Huo Yuhao said blandly as he turned the fish in his hands.

The beautiful senior student's demeanor changed abruptly. "One Gold Soul Coin for a grilled fish?"

"Is your grilled fish skin made of gold, or is the fish meat made of gold?"

"Look around. Where are you going to find fresh fish nowadays? These were all caught by me today. You think they're expensive? I think they're too cheap."

"Pick one for me!"

"Sure. How about this one?"

"Is this fish guaranteed to be cooked?"