Chapter 41

Zhang Tie did not know what happened in the classroom after he left. When Barry and a few others started to raise their hands for a vote, Zhang Tie had already walked out of the school gate of the Seventh National Boys' Middle School.

Life is sometimes just so damn unfair. You can be sitting under a tree, daydreaming, not bothering anyone, but someone just has to throw a few dirty plates in front of you, making you choose between being a dishonorable free dishwasher or getting beaten up until you're bruised all over!

Damn! The one-eyed man's summary was on point. Some people, when you refuse their insults, they think you're insulting them. If that's the case, I might as well fulfill your wishes and insult you to your heart's content. Are you going to bite my ass then?

When Zhang Tie left the school, he coincidentally met the one-eyed man who had just walked out of the school. At this moment, Zhang Tie couldn't pretend he didn't see him, and the two of them seemed to be walking the same way for a while.

"Captain Colin, are you heading to the battle hall?" Zhang Tie took the initiative to greet the one-eyed man. It wasn't a secret that the one-eyed man worked part-time as a coach at the Iron Thorns Battle Hall.

Seeing Zhang Tie, Captain Colin, who knew about Zhang Tie's tough performance in the battle hall yesterday, had a much better impression of him. He thought this kid was really a good one, a real man, and felt a bit appreciative, thinking he had some good judgment. "Yes, I'm heading to the battle hall. I heard you're working part-time somewhere else, a grocery store, right?"

Captain Colin didn't know and didn't care to know that Zhang Tie was the "gutsy guy." To him, anyone should be responsible for their choices. If the "gutsy guy" dared to trick Griss and the others so badly, he must have the courage to face the consequences alone. With so many students in the school, Captain Colin wasn't anyone's nanny.

Knowing the one-eyed man's temper, Zhang Tie didn't mention the incident at noon and just chatted casually with Captain Colin for a few moments.

"Yes, this job was introduced by my family, and I've been doing it for a long time."

"How is working at the grocery store?"

"The boss is good, and I can learn a lot..."

The two of them chatted casually as they walked away together...

When the two of them had walked quite far, Griss and the others finally came out from behind the tree shadows near the school gate, their faces grim. They looked at Zhang Tie and Captain Colin's backs with hatred.

"What should we do? I didn't expect this kid to be so close to the one-eyed man. It looks like their relationship is not ordinary!" Shalon said grimly. The incident at noon was just because Griss was annoyed that Zhang Tie had interrupted his chance to show off in class that day. He had been harboring a grudge and heard that Zhang Tie had been making a bit of a name for himself in class recently, so he wanted to put Zhang Tie in his place. For Griss, in the final stage of deciding his future, the Seventh National Boys' Middle School could only have one star, and that star could only be him. No one could share the spotlight with him. Bullying a loser was nothing to them, and they never expected Zhang Tie to have the courage to refuse at noon, and to do so silently. In a moment of carelessness, everyone experienced the darkest day of their lives that afternoon.

Shalon's words made everyone frown, and the fresh, burning whip marks on their backs stung like salt, constantly reminding them of the humiliation and blows they had suffered.

"If we want to deal with this kid, Captain Colin will definitely get involved. The incident at noon might have been because this kid had Captain Colin's backing, setting a trap for us to fall into. In the future, dealing with this kid won't be as easy as dealing with others!" Garnel said with some resentment.

"As long as we're out of school, as long as Captain Colin can't catch us, we have plenty of ways to deal with this kid. Hmph... hmf..." Zahir laughed sinisterly.

"What do you have in mind?" Shalon asked Zahir.

Zahir looked around, and the others knew that what he was about to say would be shocking and didn't want others to know. They moved back to the tree, and the four of them huddled together. Zahir then shared his thoughts.

"If we do this, the outcome won't be under our control!" Zahir looked at Griss. Among the group, he was responsible for coming up with ideas, but Griss was the one who made the final decision.

"This... might be a bit... a bit too much. I think just finding a few opportunities to beat him up hard would be enough. After all, we're all... classmates... This could result in someone's death!" Garnel said hesitantly, clearly shocked by Zahir's sinister plan.

"What, Garnel, are you backing out?" Shalon looked at Garnel menacingly. "Is your back already healed?"

"Garnel, you're still so naive. In this era, the word 'classmate' is worth a few copper coins?" Zahir mocked.

"I... I... my point is..." Garnel hadn't finished speaking when Griss reached out and grabbed his neck tightly. The huge difference between a well-built second-level warrior and an ordinary student was evident. Garnel's feet were lifted off the ground by Griss's one hand, his face turning red, and he slowly showed signs of struggling.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Griss asked with a sinister smile, and Garnel, feeling his breathing becoming increasingly difficult, desperately shook his head twice. Then Griss let go, and Garnel fell to the ground, kneeling and coughing violently.

"Let's do it your way. Let that kid have his moment of glory for a few more days. When the survival trial comes, I'll give him a lesson he'll never forget..." Griss's face showed a cruel expression that made everyone shudder, and then the three standing there, whether genuinely or reluctantly, all laughed.

If the outcome is out of control, so what? Just one more death. A black-haired kid, an unimportant person, what's the big deal? In this era, doesn't someone die in Black Flame City every day?

Zhang Tie usually called the guys at school "animals" because he thought all the boys at the middle school were like horny calves at their age. But Zhang Tie never expected that among these animals, there were some real beasts.

...

When Zhang Tie arrived at the grocery store, he saw Tang De busy serving three customers. Seeing Zhang Tie, his free helper, Tang De visibly relaxed...

"Show these two customers our 'super rat poison'..." Tang De said something only Zhang Tie could understand...

A few minutes later, the three customers left with what they needed, and Tang De was there, smiling and counting the gold coins he had received.

Zhang Tie didn't know why, but after the news of the Red Scarves spread in Black Flame City, there were more security officers and patrol soldiers near the train station. Strangely, Tang De's grocery store's business improved. The number of customers increased by at least 20% compared to before, and some miscellaneous items, even some not-so-legal items, were selling well. The most popular item was the "super rat poison" that Tang De had just mentioned. This "super rat poison" was said to be a raw material for the most terrifying weapon humans had before the Great Catastrophe. Before the Great Catastrophe, not only touching or ingesting this material was dangerous, but even being in the same room or nearby could be life-threatening. Teachers said this material was called "radioactive material" before the Great Catastrophe. The Great Catastrophe and the mysterious particles from the Star of God changed the basic properties of these "radioactive materials," making them unable to produce the most terrifying weapons, but their extreme toxicity was preserved. Before the Great Catastrophe, obtaining this material required very complex methods, but after the geological upheaval, people found that some natural minerals that emerged from underground contained high levels of this material. This naturally toxic mineral, called "Devil's Stone," was extremely toxic and didn't require complex processing. It just needed to be ground into a fine powder to be highly toxic. In the history of the Blackson Human Corridor, this "rat poison" had been used by cult organizations to cause mass casualties, so it was a controlled substance in Black Flame City. However, for many adventurers, pioneers, and combat professionals who were expanding human living space in the wild, this material was a powerful weapon against low-level monsters. Sometimes, just a small amount in a simple food bait could kill several monsters, and coating weapons with it could greatly enhance their power. Therefore, its trade couldn't be completely banned. Although it was officially prohibited, the Black Flame City authorities turned a blind eye because it was impossible to control.

"Rat poison" was a gray code name for this material, allowing it to be moderately exposed. In a place like the train station area of Black Flame City, where all sorts of people mixed, Tang De's grocery store naturally had plenty of "rat poison." The store had real rat poison and this highly toxic material that could easily kill even the terrifying mutated giant rats outside the city. This material was colorless and odorless, and unless special methods were used or the person had a level 10 or higher sensory and mental acuity, it was undetectable by ordinary people and monsters. This was the terrifying aspect of the "super rat poison."

Since the curfew due to the Red Scarves in Black Flame City, the sales of "super rat poison" in Tang De's grocery store had steadily increased. What used to sell only five or six bottles a month for 75 silver coins each now sold three or four bottles a day for over one gold coin each. Most of the buyers were ordinary people. Thinking about the incident at school today and the unknown retaliation, Zhang Tie felt a sense of unease...

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