Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 610 - 608: The Shade of Trees

DUN DUN DUN DUN, DUN DUN DUN DUN~

The school bell's ethereal and distant chime for dismissal rang across the campus. Walking with her bike along the tree-lined road outside the school, Wang Congshan closed her eyes, deeply inhaled the air filled with the scent of flowers, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! What a free, fresh, and sweet fragrance!"

"Why does that sound a bit like a public intellectual's quote to me?" Li Ang, also pushing his bike alongside the Class Monitor and without straying his gaze, casually criticized. "But these flowers do indeed smell great. Breathing it in brings a joy of harvest and fills one with strength, much better than the flowers previously planted beneath our school building."

Hearing Li Ang's words, Wang Congshan's expression involuntarily twitched. The flowers that had been planted beneath their school building were evergreen photinias. This was fine for eleven months of the year, but come April, the small, white, delicate, umbrella-shaped clusters of photinia blooms emitted a scent that practically soared to the heavens. Each breath taken was filled with the fragrance of flourishing life and endless vitality.

At first, the naive souls in the class, not knowing any better, found the smell of the flowers to be pungent and offensive, almost like seafood. It was only after some classmates, their faces alight with mischievous grins, offered an explanation (for some reason, every high school always seems to have a few students who specialize in off-color humor, love telling jokes, and are enthusiastic about sharing such "knowledge"), that everyone understood these flowers were, in fact, the lewd demon king of the floral world.

Even today, in the hearts of some Experimental Middle School of Yin City alumni, "Why on earth does the school plant photinias?" remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of human civilization.

"Photinia is planted because it thrives in fertile, moist conditions, and it can also withstand shade, drought, and poor soil. It grows slowly, is easy to prune, and stays green all year round, making it perfect for urban landscaping and greening projects," Li Ang explained offhandedly.

The Class Monitor's eyes widened. "Why are you suddenly giving me a science lesson?"

"Because you were wondering why the school planted photinias," Li Ang glanced at her. "Don't worry, I don't have any Mind Reading Technique. It's just that your thoughts are ridiculously easy to guess. I can tell what's on your mind just by looking at your expression."

"Eh?!" The Class Monitor took a half step back, looking at Li Ang as if he were some kind of creep, her expression wary. "Then guess what I'm thinking right now?"

"Based on my understanding of you..." Li Ang pushed up his glasses, and inexplicably, a chill glint flashed across the lenses. "You're probably thinking about making me treat you to a big meal, or that I should accompany you shopping at the mall, or go see a movie with you."

Wang Congshan's expression froze for a moment, then she scoffed, "Wrong. I was just thinking, 'Your next line is going to be: you're probably thinking I want you to treat me to a big meal.'"

"Stop it. No more Russian nesting dolls," Li Ang interjected. "You seem quite energetic lately."

"Of course!" Wang Congshan hopped a couple of times, her blue triangular fabric backpack thumping against her back as she beamed with delight. "I've finally escaped from my cousin's place! And even though I've still got a mountain of homework to catch up on, nothing's going to stop my determination to eat, drink, and be merry!"

"Merry-making?" Li Ang cracked a smile. "Midterm exams are just around the corner. Have you reviewed all the key points? Finished all the practice papers? Ground through the question banks until you're sick of them? If not, how can you even call yourself a college entrance exam candidate?"

"AHHHHH!" Wang Congshan clapped her hands over her ears, her face contorted in an exaggerated expression of frustration. "I don't want to hear it! I'm not listening!" She shook her head frantically, resisting his maddening lecture.

Seeing this, a rare, relaxed smile appeared on Li Ang's face.

It had been a long time since he'd walked along the school's tree-lined path with Wang Congshan like this, without having to consider the deceit and scheming among players, without worrying about a potential past criminal record coming to light and causing a scandal.

This was all thanks to the Special Affairs Bureau for their outstanding contributions to the city's public safety. They had installed surveillance cameras in every corner of the city, all connected to the "Skynet" monitoring system, and had greatly optimized the original urban public safety infrastructure. If an emergency occurred, there was no longer even a need for bystanders to call and report it; the artificial intelligence of the Skynet monitoring system would directly transmit information to nearby law enforcement personnel, enabling them to arrive at the scene within one to two minutes, or even less.

No matter how Western media criticized it as "a lack of freedom" or "a violation of human rights," the newly launched urban surveillance system had indeed significantly reduced the probability and impact of sudden incidents. Parents, whose hearts were once constantly in their mouths due to the Gauntlet Game, had slowly begun to relax. With official armed vehicles stationed at all densely populated intersections in the city, they gradually felt safe letting their children walk home from school alone. The previous gridlock that completely clogged the school gates during drop-off and pick-up times was now a thing of the past.

"Oh, right," Wang Congshan suddenly remembered something and casually asked, "Are you still doing that tutoring side job?"

"Yeah," Li Ang nodded. "But I've turned some of it down."

"Eh? Why?" The Class Monitor was taken aback. "Don't tell me you're being kept by some rich woman? Can you actually afford rent just from the allowance she gives you?"

"Bullshit," Li Ang replied casually. "It's mainly because of the Gauntlet Game. Not only do middle and high school students have more homework, but elementary school students' class times have also been extended. After all, for the survival of individuals and the continuation of civilization, everyone needs to give their all. With all students having their spare time drastically reduced, tutoring has become increasingly challenging. I'm not the type to take an employer's money without delivering results by improving the student's grades."

Perhaps noticing the subtle look on the Class Monitor's face, Li Ang smiled and explained, "Don't worry. I've saved up a bit of money. And now with online classes, I can tutor students from wealthy families in more distant parts of Yin City remotely. This saves me the commute by bike or subway, so I actually have a bit more personal free time to schedule." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Who's worried about you?" The Class Monitor snorted coldly, pouting. "Just make sure you take care of yourself."

Li Ang just smiled noncommittally, watching the dancing shadows of the trees overhead, feeling the cool breeze passing through his sleeves, and listening to the sound of bicycle tires rolling over puddles. An inexplicable emotion welled up inside him.

"I heard... the school is going to be demolished in a few years."

"Hmm..." The Class Monitor lowered her head, nodding slightly. "Yin City is expanding, you know. They're planning to build a new district with advanced construction materials, and it'll include an educational hub formed by merging several schools. Our school will probably move there by then. But by that time, we should have already graduated and gone to university..."

"...University, huh." Li Ang scratched his head. The word felt distant and unfamiliar to him. For a player living day by day, never knowing what tomorrow might bring, even half a year felt like an eternity of suffering, let alone a whole year. Would he really live to see that day? Or, if he did, would the person he'd become still be himself?

Li Ang pushed his bicycle in silence, the wheels driving the chain, which emitted a soft, RUSTLING sound.

"Hey," Wang Congshan looked up, blinking her eyes, and asked, "Which universities are you planning to apply to?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Li Ang tilted his head. "I'll wait and see what my college entrance exam results are first."

"Tch." Wang Congshan pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied with his response.

"Hmm? Are you trying to find out my college preferences?"

"Who wants to know! Researching students' preferences is the responsibility of the Class Monitor, got it? Someone like you, an unambitious commoner who's never held any class officer position, would never understand! Hmph!"

The two of them bantered back and forth as they passed through the bustling city streets, eventually arriving at the staff dormitory building of the Special Affairs Bureau. Li Ang watched from across the road as Wang Congshan used her ID card to enter the residential complex. He waved to her from afar, then turned and cycled towards home.

「A new System notification had arrived. This time, it wasn't a mission.」