CHAPTER 75 - THE WAGER BETWEEN THE SENIORS

Xiang Meng and his two friends had concluded their classes for the day and were now relaxing together over cups of tea. Xiang Meng’s brow was furrowed with worry.

“Xia Tian,” he began, “do you think Han Wu can actually get us those Wisdom Fruits?”

Having personally experienced the dangers of Zombie Town, Xiang Meng was well aware of the arduous nature of their request.

Xia Tian remained composed. “That depends on how much he actually explored Zombie Town,” he said calmly. “There’s a pretty big chance he won’t get those Wisdom Fruits if he just thinks it’s a place to grow plants and kill zombies for points.”

“I’m really wondering how he’s doing right now,” Xiang Meng said, a bit worried.

Ye Ling jumped in, “Yeah, but there’s no point just sitting here talking about it. Why don’t we go find Ms. Lina and see if we can watch the live video of the class? That’d be way more interesting!”

The mere mention of Lina’s name caused Xiang Meng to shudder involuntarily as unpleasant memories from his past resurfaced.

He then asked, his voice tinged with doubt, “Do you honestly believe that Ms. Lina will grant us permission?”

Ye Ling rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Have you already forgotten? I used to be her absolute favorite student back then, so she’ll absolutely be willing to help us out.”

Xia Tian nodded in agreement. “Alright, let’s try that then. If Ms. Lina is hesitant at first, we can always persuade Ms. Lina with a bit of... physical encouragement directed at Xiang Meng.”

“You traitor!” Xiang Meng cried out, the unpleasant memories flooding back as he shook his head in dismay.

After their conversation, the trio located Ms. Lina. A smile graced Ms. Lina’s lips when she learned that they were sponsoring Han Wu; however, instead of being pleased, the three students were gripped by a profound and immobilizing fear.

As former reserve students who had been taught by Ms. Lina, they possessed firsthand knowledge of her intimidating demeanor, and they knew that her unusually gentle smile often preceded something particularly frightening.

“I will do you a favor and allow you to watch, then,” Ms. Lina said, her smile unwavering.

With a gentle gesture, Ms. Lina raised her hands, and a luminous screen materialized in the air before them. The image on the screen revealed the intense struggle that Han Wu was currently engaged in.

Han Wu found himself in a one-on-one confrontation with a Rank 3 Knight Zombie. With the aid of Dark Dragonification, he withstood the zombie’s attack, his scales offering significant defense. He then skillfully tore through the Knight Zombie’s armor, creating an opening for his Bean Pelter plants to attack its weak point.

The three senior students watching the live footage were visibly awestruck by the intensity of the combat. They were especially surprised by the formidable strength of Han Wu’s Bean Pelter plants, whose offensive capabilities appeared to be on par with Rank 2 plants.

However, they had anticipated a more cautious start from Han Wu, and were therefore confused to see him already engaged in a direct confrontation with a Rank 3 zombie so early on, especially considering the relatively low rank of his plant defenses.

Without warning, a menacing Rank 3 Butcher Zombie plummeted from the sky and landed directly in Han Wu’s garden, right before the astonished eyes of the watching seniors. Faced with this immediate threat, Han Wu was left with no choice but to engage the powerful zombie single-handedly.

Turning their gaze towards Han Wu’s neighbor’s property, the three seniors were taken aback by the sheer strength of Madam Haul’s plants. The plants she had cultivated were of extraordinary quality!

Her ingenious strategy of positioning the seemingly harmless Rank 2 Jumping Beanpad behind the formidable Rank 4 Divine Oakshot was truly brilliant. The seemingly simple Jumping Beanpad possessed the ability to launch objects weighing several hundred kilograms, making it an ideal trap to surprise any zombies that managed to get past the initial defense of the Divine Oakshot.

They further noticed, to their astonishment, that the individual in control of the impressive garden was none other than a student!

Xiang Meng voiced his alarm, exclaiming, “Wait a minute! Who on earth is sponsoring this student? And how did he get his hands on so many ridiculously strong plants?”

Ye Ling turned to Ms. Lina questioningly, who offered an explanation. “The student’s name is Sun Qingnian. He has no sponsors at all.”

Xia Tian, visibly surprised by this revelation, exclaimed, “What? That’s impossible! How could he have all those strong plants if nobody was backing him?”

Having received permission from Ms. Lina, Ye Ling manipulated the screen to focus on Madam Haul’s window. The image revealed an old lady in deep slumber. Her attire was unkempt, and a peculiar blush tinted her cheeks.

Despite her young age, Ye Ling possessed enough understanding to grasp the situation.

“How sickening!” she exclaimed, her voice dripping with disgust. “To think there are such disgusting students this year who would do anything, just for some stupid points!”

However, Xia Tian and Xiang Meng exchanged amused chuckles upon observing Madam Haul on the screen. Despite their disapproval of Sun Qingnian’s approach, they couldn’t help but be impressed by his resourcefulness and the outcome of his actions.

Those whose sole pursuit was glory tended to disregard the moral aspects of their methods. They admired the intense desire Sun Qingnian displayed to achieve success, even to the point of self-sacrifice.

“Hold on a moment,” Xiang Meng said, his attention drawn to the scoreboard. “Who is currently at the top of the scoreboard? And who is this Xu Tie guy?”

Noticing the name, Xiang Meng quickly panned the video over to where Xu Tie was.

Their attention was captured by the sight of the majestic Fire Dragon Grass burning zombies to a crisp with ease. The scoreboard revealed that Xu Tie was currently in the lead with an impressive 314,000 points, followed by Sun Qingnian with 213,000 points. Meanwhile, Han Wu, despite his furious and desperate efforts in battle, had only managed to accumulate 198,000 points.

A loud cry of recognition escaped Xiang Meng’s lips. “It’s the Fire Dragon Grass! Our number one rival has to be the one backing Xu Tie!”

He knew how unbelievably strong that plant was, and he was certain that Huang Shengjun, the valedictorian of their freshman class and their long-standing rival, was the sole owner within Imperial College.

Xia Tian’s expression grew serious, his brow creased in thought.

“Huang Shengjun completely overturned Zombie Town during the last event and obtained numerous valuable rewards,” he recalled. “I bet he’s trying to use this whole thing to make even more from the other students now!”

Ms. Lina nodded. “Your deduction is correct; Xu Tie and Huang Shengjun have privately established a contract. As part of this arrangement, in return for the sponsorship, Xu Tie is obligated to give Huang Shengjun seventy percent of his total earnings from Zombie Town.”

Ye Ling’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait a minute! Isn’t that way too much? Ms. Lina, why aren’t you doing anything about this? That’s practically cheating!”

A soft smile played on Ms. Lina’s lips, sending a shiver down the spines of the three students.

“And how is that fundamentally different from the three of you sponsoring Han Wu?” she calmly asked. “The only distinction lies in the greater proportion of rewards they have agreed upon. As their teacher, I’m not going to interfere as long as they’re not breaking any rules, even if they’re sleeping around, downing poison to stay alive, or burning all their bridges to get ahead. It’s their decision, and I respect that.”

Just as Ye Ling was preparing to voice her objections, an unexpected knock came from the door. “Pardon me, but is Ms. Lina here?”

The person who then entered the room was none other than their rival, Huang Shengjun.

Huang Shengjun offered a smug smirk upon seeing the three students before turning his attention to Ms. Lina.

“Ms. Lina,” he asked sweetly, “would it be alright if I joined you in watching the class? There’s a certain student whose progress I’m quite interested in.”

Ms. Lina permitted him to examine the video footage. Huang Shengjun’s face lit up with satisfaction as he saw Xu Tie firmly in first place leading with 100,000 points.

A smug smile played on his lips as he turned to his rivals. “It seems that you three are also supporting a student. How about we make things interesting with a little bet on who comes out on top?”

Xiang Meng looked perplexed.

“Are you stupid or something?” he asked incredulously. “We already know you’re sponsoring Xu Tie.”

Huang Shengjun scoffed dismissively. “So, you don’t even have the guts to put money on this? What a bunch of losers.”

“You little...!” Xiang Meng roared, his fist already flying, but Xia Tian and Ye Ling jumped on him, holding him back with all their might.

“Stop! Don’t fall for it!” Xia Tian yelled. “Can’t you see he’s just trying to rile you up?”

Huang Shengjun’s voice dripped with disdain. “Rile you up? Please. You’re not even worth my time. You’re at the best college in the whole Divine Civilization, and you still have to huddle together and form some pathetic little clown club just to survive? You guys are a joke.”

Those insulting words proved too much for Xiang Meng to bear.

“You vile bastard!” he yelled, his face contorted with rage. “I’m going to murder you, you hear me?!”

Xia Tian and Ye Ling were desperately trying to hold him back, but he was furious.

After pacifying the enraged Xiang Meng, Xia Tian addressed Huang Shengjun with a sharp yet firm tone. “We established this club to gather and allocate resources for the less fortunate students. This has nothing to do with you, so why don’t you take your arrogant attitude and just shove it? You want a bet? Alright then! Let’s bet and see who wins, your precious junior or ours!”

Huang Shengjun’s eyes narrowed. “Excellent. We will bet 10 Divine Essence. Do we have a deal?”

“Fine!” Xia Tian shot back, not even flinching.

“Alright then, Ms. Lina can be our witness. And don’t even think about trying to weasel your way out of this when you lose, buddy.” Huang Shengjun let out a little chuckle and then left the room.

With Huang Shengjun gone, Xiang Meng turned to Xia Tian, his expression reflecting his worry.

“Xia Tian,” he asked hesitantly, “are you absolutely sure about this bet? That Xu Tie guy looks seriously strong.”

Xia Tian checked out what Han Wu was doing.

“But hey, Han Wu’s pretty tough too, you know,” he replied. “There’s still plenty of time left before this whole thing ends. The longer this drags on, the more interesting things will get!”

Ye Ling closed her eyes and prayed hard for Han Wu. “Oh, please, Junior Han Wu. I hope you quickly figure out what Zombie Town is really about! Just using plants to farm those zombies for points is taking forever...”

Ms. Lina watched the unfolding events with an amused smile. In her eyes, their current situation resembled nothing more than a childish squabble, so she didn’t see any reason to intervene.