Chapter Fifty-Six: The Bully

"After the incident in the laboratory, Old Sun, Principal Lin, and a group of veteran members discussed for a long time. In the end, we decided not to expel Eliza immediately. Tiding Academy has no grounds to take advantage of a mistake committed by a student while unconscious. Therefore, we decided to have her move out of the dormitory for observation," the teacher explained. "It has been nearly nine months. During these months, we repeatedly simulated different environments to observe Eliza's reactions, and the results were quite interesting."

Meow-Meow Teacher opened the folder she had brought and drew out two lists. The charts on the lists were simple and clear.

Strawberry cake from the Brighton shop—no interest.
Dresses from the Lanshay Mall—no interest.
...
Venomous spiders—playful, excited.
Venomous snakes—playful, excited.
Fresh blood—seems stimulated, but able to restrain herself and remain rational.
Corpses in the laboratory—almost lost control.
...
The lists included various items, followed by Eliza's reactions. The detailed notes revealed how thorough their observations had been.

"Meow-Meow Teacher, these aren't symptoms typical of a mild psychiatric patient," Ye Ran remarked.

Meow-Meow Teacher nodded, putting the lists away. "We don't know whether this is due to her illness or her innate strangeness. We must admit that there are always things in this world we don't fully understand. What is certain is that the things which excite Eliza are mostly those that make ordinary people uncomfortable," she said.

"But those things aren't enough to cause her to lose control. What truly makes her lose herself is always related to blood..."

"Ye, you carry that sort of thing," she continued.

This was the reason she had come to speak with Ye Ran. After observation, Tiding Academy felt at ease with Eliza; in normal environments, she would not lose control.

Yet Ye Ran's arrival had triggered something unexpected.

Ye Ran rubbed his forehead. "Meow-Meow Teacher, Eliza didn't lose control, but I definitely provoked her," he admitted. He briefly described the battle between them, and also told her about the physical mutations he experienced in the underground nest, though he deliberately omitted the visions he occasionally saw after his body recovered and the sudden appearance of the purple-haired woman in the Nether Path.

"Before I took this position, I often entered the underground nest and came into contact with a lot of monster blood. The person who saved me during that expedition was of unknown identity, but the aura she left on me is undeniable. I think the purple blood aura Eliza saw wasn't mine, but hers," Ye Ran explained.

After listening, Meow-Meow Teacher pondered for a moment, then smiled. "I understand. I will relay your words to Principal Lin."

"Ye, your injuries are serious. Don't push yourself; get plenty of rest these days," she said, picking up her folder and rising to leave.

"Meow-Meow Teacher," Ye Ran called after her, hesitating. "Is this incident... very serious?"

He had struggled for so long to reach his current position; if he lost his job over this, it would be a great injustice.

Meow-Meow shook her head and smiled. "This was an accident. You reacted well by getting the students out immediately. Don't worry, just focus on healing."

"It’s a blessing in disguise, really. The students all praised you, and Zhao Kai and Gules even went to Principal Lin to plead on your behalf."

"Get along well with them. There aren’t many in Tiding Academy who don’t respect Young Master Luo," she said, waving as she closed the door behind him.

Ye Ran finally let out a sigh of relief, though many worries still lingered.

How should he get along with Eliza?

He needed to adapt to the experts ranked on the Martial Review List, but both Sun Jiulou and Meow-Meow had told him more than once that most of those on the list followed Ronin’s commands. Future cooperation would undoubtedly be more difficult.

After circulating his energy in the office for two rounds, Ye Ran finished his shift, changed clothes, and headed straight for the underground nest.

Upon arrival, he immediately sensed something was off.

It was only five o’clock. Normally, plenty of adventurers would be emerging from the exit, but today the place was unusually deserted—almost not a soul in sight.

Even the bulletin board was quiet. The recruitment panel, usually updated several times a day, hadn't been changed for two days. Most of the notices were from two days ago.

Ye Ran walked around, scanning the board. Only Rose Guild, Black Gold Guild, and Ranger Guild had posted new recruitment notices in the past few days.

Rose, Black Gold, Ranger—these three are the top-ranked guilds in Torrent City. Although Ranger is ranked third, its reputation is the most prominent, since the founder of the Ranger Guild is Torrent City’s number one expert, Hidden Dragon.

The recruitment notices from these three guilds were mostly for new members, but the requirements had risen considerably—minimum internal force level six. Anyone below level six wouldn’t even be considered.

Ye Ran lingered for a while before heading to the entrance of the underground nest.

The old guards at the entrance had all been replaced. In their place stood neatly dressed, stern-faced new guards.

Twelve new guards stood ramrod straight. The registration and inspection at the desk were now handled by a one-eyed man.

Though the one-eyed man smiled, his gaze was cold and gloomy. He sat, legs crossed, spinning a pen in his hand with a bored expression.

Occasionally, a few guild members from the top three would leave the nest, only to be questioned by him.

"Damn, what bad luck—nothing gained today," one grumbled.

"Not only did we miss out, we lost a few brothers," another replied.

"Fewer and fewer people in the nest. Our guild’s strength isn’t enough. If this keeps up, we’ll have to find another way," a third complained.

A sparse group, full of grievances, endured the one-eyed officer's interrogation. The leader then handed a bag of money to a burly man ahead.

About twenty meters in front of the guards, several tables were set up, surrounded by a dozen or so burly men playing cards.

The bag of coins was given to the man on the outer circle—a giant with broad shoulders and black markings on his cheeks.

He stood shirtless, the tiger tattoo on his back radiating intimidation.

After paying, the group continued complaining, carrying their empty bags past Ye Ran, each giving him a peculiar look.

Ye Ran strode forward. As he approached, the tiger-tattooed man blocked him with a long arm, lowering his head to glare menacingly. "Kid, this route is leased by the Tiger Guild. If you want to pass, pay the toll."

His bronze-colored hand shook in front of Ye Ran.

Ye Ran asked, "Toll? How much?"

The tattooed man replied, "Twenty gold coins. Not a coin less, or you won’t pass."

Twenty gold? Ye Ran laughed—this was blatant robbery.