Fingel

Li Lin did not touch Caesar's computer. The most basic rule of social etiquette was not to abuse someone else's trust.

He took out his phone and logged onto the "Night Watchers Forum," using the directional keys to browse the rapidly refreshing posts. The website looked rather crude, but the sheer variety of IDs and content within made it seem like a gathering of demons and monsters.

Posts discussing how to destroy corpses or sharing torture and interrogation techniques counted as a breath of fresh air here.

Li Lin did not even dare retype some of the mating-seeking posts, afraid those bizarre, cringeworthy acrostic love poems would corrode his eyes and make his whole body itch with embarrassment.

What was especially horrifying was that every user on the forum used simplified Chinese, which became even more unsettling when paired with the blond, blue-eyed faces behind their screens.

He could even see a user named [Cambridge Folding Knife] posting more than a dozen sets of pictures in a row, all of luxury yachts and bikini-clad beauties, captioned: "To celebrate the start of term, a first spiritual lunch for all you young people."

By Nidhogg, finding a useful "Freshman Orientation Guide" amid this jumble of information was harder than defeating Xia Mi through martial arts alone.

Pinching his nose, Li Lin kept scrolling. Suddenly, the entire page lagged. A brand-new post's views and clicks were skyrocketing before it was featured and pinned to the top.

[Shocking! This year's freshmen may produce several A-ranks, perhaps even S-ranks! The Student Union and Lionheart Society are about to face their greatest challenge!]

That glaring red post instantly took over Li Lin's entire phone screen. Hundreds of replies flooded in, and even the counter could not keep up with the users' comments!

"Fingel? It's a fucking new term already, how are we still seeing this asshole on the forum? Hasn't this guy graduated yet?"

"He's Caesar Gattuso's lapdog in the Student Union now. He's living the high life."

"Is this guy seriously trying to make the News Department stink for all eternity?"

"The News Department meddled in the Student Union's presidential election last year. It got nailed into the school history books during break for being so notorious."

"I'm done."

"..."

Apparently, the name "Fingel" was as infamous around the school as the News Department itself.

But that long stream of insults and mockery was cleared away in an instant. Fingel had made his move. As the head of the News Department, he possessed administrator privileges on the forum, and in the blink of an eye, he wiped the comments clean. The users with especially vicious mouths were even treated to a mute ban.

The ugliness of a power-tripping admin was laid bare at that moment.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down. Let's not discuss what I did in the past for now. Today's news is the real deal. Two young people from the preparatory program were specially admitted among this year's freshmen. Their bloodlines are both estimated to be above A-rank. After a whole year of martial arts electives, I'm sure everyone is already very familiar with their names."

Fingel deliberately left them in suspense, then slipped away before the students he had muted could furiously make alt accounts and come after him.

"I'll open a betting pool on the forum tonight. We'll bet on whether those two preparatory freshmen can produce a new S-rank through the 3E Exam! Enough talk. I still have errands to run for the Student Union president!"

Li Lin kept reading the endless replies, his face full of worry as these upperclassmen he had never met praised him to the heavens.

Then he suddenly heard the rumbling sound of cart wheels rolling over the floor outside.

"Boss! The steak, roasted pork knuckle, and thick gravy you ordered are all here!"

As soon as the words fell, the half-closed door was pushed open.

A burly, slovenly-looking man secretly wheeled a dining cart into the dorm. The grease stains on his collar were particularly conspicuous.

The moment Fingel entered, he caught the rich scent of alcohol. His nose twitched hard twice, then he rushed toward the bathroom like a German hunting dog following a trail.

"Holy shit—"

"Standard setup." Caesar's voice drifted out from the bathroom, carrying moisture and the cold fragrance of champagne. "Don't make such a fuss."

Standing at the bathroom door, Fingel gazed reverently at the outrageously extravagant scene before him. Caesar lay in the bathtub, an entire case of expensive champagne poured in for a single bath. Its hundred-thousand-dollar price tag formed a stark contrast with the standard dormitory bathtub and the utterly ordinary bathroom around it.

"Boss, you'll be written into the school history books," Fingel said, his tone as devout as if he were on a pilgrimage.

"Then have the school history books include a nice illustration for this part." Caesar lazily raised a hand and gave a casual wave. "Bring me the clothes hanging over there."

"Well... can I have a sip from the bathtub?"

At that, Caesar raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked at the bubbles bursting and reforming around him, remembered downing an entire bottle of champagne in front of Li Lin not long ago, and inexplicably felt a powerful wave of nausea.

"There are still a few bottles of champagne in the case outside. They're all yours." Caesar took the shirt and trousers from Fingel, shut the door with a dark expression, and completely lost his interest in bathing. "You'd better go change. Later, we'll drive the freshman in this room around campus."

Fingel cheered and retraced his steps, then stared in stunned disbelief at Li Lin sitting in Caesar's seat.

"Junior, you really do live here? When I saw Norma assign you to Dorm 403, I thought there had been a formatting error when they printed the notice!"

"And this is...?"

"Fingel, lives downstairs in Dorm 303. He's been the head of the News Department for seven consecutive years, and now he's the Student Union's sharpest blade."

The one-meter-ninety giant thumped his chest hard to show his loyalty, though he looked more like a sturdy gorilla showing off his muscles.

He looked Li Lin up and down, confirming that this freshman—who had displayed superhuman physical abilities and extraordinary combat talent before his bloodline had even awakened—would not suddenly go berserk, turn into a super Dead Apostle, and disembowel him. Reassured, he grabbed the case with several remaining bottles of champagne and bolted.

Li Lin had wanted to ask Fingel about that post discussing bloodline ranks, but when he turned his gaze, he noticed the bathroom door had suddenly swung open.

Caesar had put on a white shirt. Smiling, he nodded toward the roasted pork knuckle and steak on the dining cart.

"It'll be noon soon. How about filling your stomach with these first?"

As Caesar spoke, he took out the red wine Fingel had brought from the cart, skillfully found a brand-new set of wineware in the storage cabinet, and began decanting it.

Looking slightly restrained, Li Lin walked over to the cart and picked up a warm plate. Inside, the crispy roasted pork knuckle had been sliced and seemed to be looking up at him.

After considering it for a while, Li Lin simply took out his phone, snapped a picture of the plate, and sent it to Xia Mi. Then he gladly accepted Caesar's kindness.