"…Adam Freeman?"
Craig scowled when he recognized the intruder. He rose to his feet, annoyed.
"This is a karaoke room. Of course we'll be singing. What do you think people do in karaoke? Idiot."
"What did you just call me?!"
Adam swayed unsteadily on his feet, his breath stinking of beer. It was obvious that he had been drinking, and now he was dead drunk.
Normally, he would have sobered the moment he saw Alicia and Pearl, but he was currently too depressed about being eliminated from the training camp that he no longer cared that he was in the presence of two of the most beautiful girls he adored. Instead, he turned to gaze at them lecherously.
"Wow…so many great beauties. Why are you hanging out with these losers? Why don't you come with me? President Lin Zhan Long is the true god."
Say what? Wasn't the president of Holy Saints Harrison Reed? Since when did Lin Zhan Long become the president?
While I was pondering over Adam's words, the girls shrank back from him, with the exception of Pearl, who gave him the finger.
"Fuck off," the president of the Super Power Society told him bluntly.
"You heard her," Craig said. "If you don't leave, I'll kick you out."
"Oh? You think you have the ability to do so?" Adam sneered, still wobbling under the effects of alcohol. He spun around exaggeratedly to leer at Craig. "Try it if you can."
"Adam, you should leave while we're still being polite," Pearl warned, her voice low. "If you insist on sticking around, don't blame us for not holding back."
As the president of Super Power Society, Pearl's status was on par with that of Alicia and Harrison. She had every right to kick Adam out, but she didn't because she was reluctant to cause problems for Harrison.
"Ha ha! President Pearl, you're a really feisty one, aren't you? Our president is the best. Never mind President Lin Zhan Long, even I'll be better in bed than any of these losers here!"
Adam wasn't offended, and instead began to sexually harass Pearl.
Wham!
Craig didn't even wait for another word and hammered his fist into the drink mage's face. Adam's nose was caved in and he was sent flying into the corridor, blood spurting from his nostrils and mouth. He groaned as he hit the wall with a loud thud and slumped down.
"I warned you," Craig snapped.
At the loud noise, the people in the next room stormed out, almost in a panic. To our utmost surprise, they were the members of Holy Saints. Led by Lin Zhan Long, they flooded out into the corridor and strode toward the fallen Adam. At one glance, they were able to understand what had transpired.
"President Craig, you really have guts. Who gave you the right to hit others?"
Backed by the twenty-plus members of Holy Saints, Lin Zhan Long grabbed his collar and snarled into his face.
Craig remained stoic and met his gaze evenly.
"Who gave your lackey the right to disrespect and sexually harass others? Not to mention, he's the one who intruded into our space first and disrupted our gathering. We warned him, but he refused to listen, and now he's paying the price for it."
"How dare you twist logic and justify your violence?!" Lin Zhang Long growled. As the vice-president of the number one society in Jing Tian Academy, he looked down on all the other societies except the great ones. He didn't care about some Crimson Spear Society or Thunder Hammer Society. To him, they were all equally trash.
"Shut up and get lost, Lin Zhan Long," Pearl snapped as she rose to her feet as well. "You and your members have been trying my patience. First, your man came in here and started harassing us, spoiling the mood, and refusing to listen to us when we requested him to leave. And now, after we kicked him out, you come here acting all high and mighty, and start intimidating us with your numbers? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Lin Zhan Long took a deep breath as he turned to face her. "Be that as it may be, Adam's behavior certainly was inappropriate, but there's no need to go so far as to hit other people!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" I burst out laughing. Everyone turned to me, and I shrugged before jabbing a thumb at the sprawled, still drunk Adam who was mumbling incoherently under his breath. "I don't see a person. I only see a heap of trash."
The color drained from Lin Zhan Long's face, but he managed to reel in his anger as he glowered at me.
"Hold your tongue, Richard Huang," the enraged vice-president sneered. "No one is talking to you."
"No one's talking to you or Adam either, yet the both of you just charged in here by yourselves and began forcibly talking to us." I cocked my head to the side. "Or is it that only Holy Saints are allowed to talk to other people."
"Shut the fuck up!" Lin Zhan Long yelled at me. Calming down, he then issued a warning in a cold voice. "You had better watch out when you return home tonight."
Was the moron trying to threaten me? Ha ha ha ha! I'm so used to escaping kidnappers and criminals who were trying to take revenge on my dad by abducting me. And this guy thought he could threaten me? Hoodlums and delinquents were the least of my worries on my way home.
Fortunately, before I could say anything, Pearl was already in Lin Zhan Long's face.
"This is your last warning, Lin Zhan Long. Get the hell out of here. I don't want to see your face again. Otherwise I'll call security."
She glanced at Alicia, who nodded and reached for the phone.
Lin Zhan Long's expression grew uglier. Even though he thought this conversation was far from over, he couldn't do anything if we called security. After all, they were the ones intruding into our room. Furthermore, Alicia was present. If she got involved, eventually her father, the academy director, would get pulled in as well. And obviously they were more inclined to listen to Alicia's account than his. Not to mention, there were camcorders that had recorded what had happened. For all of his biasness, Lin Zhan Long was not stupid. He was aware what kind of character Adam possessed. His surly remarks were most definitely captured on tape.
If the authorities got involved, then it would be the Holy Saints who suffered.
"I dare you to call them…!"
In contrast, Terence was so furious that he didn't care about the consequences. He took a step forward, bristling with the intention to fight. Fortunately, Lin Zhan Long placed a hand on his shoulder and gently held him back.
"Stop it. President Pearl is right. We're the ones in the wrong here. And Holy Saints aren't the type to bully people who are weaker than us."
I couldn't help but snort in laughter at that. Craig too was snickering, as well as Dong Fang Yue Chu. We all knew how false that was. Even Pearl was shaking her head in amusement at Lin Zhan Long's hypocrisy.
"I apologize for all the trouble we have caused. Everyone, let's go. We are supposed to be throwing a party. Let's not allow such trivial matters to spoil our fun and ruin the mood."
Like the politician he was, Lin Zhan Long possessed a glib tongue and knew when to retreat and compromise. Even though his heart still burned with resentment, he maintained enough self-control to give way.
We watched as Holy Saints tramped back to their room, slamming their door shut. Craig made a face of disgust before he closed the door as well.
Unfortunately, that incident had soured the atmosphere, and no one was in any mood to continue the party.
…until Dong Fang Yue Chu picked up the microphone and smiled cheerfully.
"Who's next?" he asked. "If nobody wants to, then allow me to!"
He picked an upbeat and humorous song, and began singing exaggeratedly. The girls began to giggle at his antics. Within a minute, everyone was clapping and cheering along.
Dong Fang Yue Chu really knew how to lighten the mood and dissipate the awkwardness. I was glad I had a friend like him.
*
After their gathering, Holy Saints dispersed and returned home. Lin Zhan Long, Adam and Terence walked together, since their homes were in the same direction and vicinity.
By now, Adam had sobered up a little, and was limping after the other two, feeling utterly humiliated. Not to mention he also felt some embarrassment over his own actions. More than shame, he felt rage and resentment.
"Those bastards, humiliating me like that…" Adam wiped the blood from his nose and mouth, and winced from the pain. "I can't take this lying down! I want to pay them back tenfold for all the humiliation they made me suffer!"
Not only was he already depressed from being eliminated from the training camp, now he had to put up with being beaten up by other people he deemed weaker than himself. That Craig Carlson…who the hell did he think he was?!
"That's right, boss." Terence was agreeing with his comrade, his expression grim. "We need to teach them all a lesson! Otherwise everyone will think Holy Saints are a society who is very easy to step on and bully."
Lin Zhan Long had been silent the entire time, listening to his two lackeys complain. After a while, he finally sighed.
"Never mind stepping on and bullying us…at this rate, the society will lose everything!"
That was obviously an exaggeration, but the self-centered fools only thought of their own reputation and status. According to their narrow thinking, if they failed to establish a good reputation and status in the academy, then they would have a miserable life after graduating.
That was completely false. Sure, graduating with good status, ranking and reputation would help us get into a prestigious university, but even if we got into an average university, it wasn't as if our lives were over. Good mercenaries and mages could still be shaped and nurtured in average and below-average universities. Certainly, while the schools and institutions we attended contributed greatly toward our development, in the end, everything was down to our own efforts and determination. As long as we paved a solid foundation and built on top of what we learned and experienced, even someone who graduated from a below-average university could still reach the top. In fact, there were a few success stories about university drop-outs who overcame all odds to become top mages. Obviously, those were few, and the resources a university provided still mattered a lot, but it wasn't impossible.
And it certainly wasn't the end of the world, like the idiot trio were making it out to be.
"All the more we can't forgive them!" Adam snarled. "We can't just let them off like this! We need to pay them back for humiliating us!"
"We will have our revenge!" Terence hollered, united with his buddy.
"…there is a way…"
Lin Zhan Long finally spoke up. Even though he still had some hesitation in his heart, after today, he hardened his resolve.
"But it depends on whether you two have the resolve to pull it off."
Adam and Terence fell silent and glanced at each other, suddenly timid.
"Boss, you don't mean…" Adam gulped. "…you want to kill them?"
Lin Zhan Long didn't reply, which further confirmed the thoughts the two of them had. The air seemed to grow heavier.
"…how?" Terence stared at his leader curiously, despite his doubts. "Boss, are you going to recruit assassins and put a bounty on their heads?"
Lin Zhan Long glared at his lackey. "Don't be stupid. Where are we going to find professional assassins? You think they'll just show up if I post an ad online, is it?"
"Don't your family have connections?" Adam asked.
"What the fuck?! You think my family belongs to some triad or secret society, is it?! Some fucking underground clan, is it?! You've been reading way too many web novels!" Lin Zhan Long couldn't help but clutch his head. "No, we're not going to hire anybody! Don't you think it will be too obvious?! If someone murders a bunch of students from Jing Tian Academy, they'll launch an investigation. Then they'll trace the transaction back to us. Then never mind our status and reputation, we'll be sentenced to death for murder! If we're lucky, then we'll just receive life imprisonment!"
"Then how are we supposed to pay them back, boss?" Terence looked confused.
"Simple. You still have another week of training camp left, right?" Lin Zhan Long turned toward Terence, a sinister smile on his face. "We just need to make it look like an accident. After all, Sen Lin Forest is infested with monsters…and accidents frequently occur during training…"