The day passed peacefully, albeit strangely, with the afternoon breeze offering a momentary respite. During the break, Song Shi sought out Yang Miao.
She had resolved to never waste a single day.
Yang Miao was strolling around the track with her lackey in tow when Song Shi suddenly appeared before them.
The lackey took a cautious step back, nervously hiding behind Yang Miao.
The chair that Song Shi had previously hurled at her head had left a deep mark on her psyche.
"Shall we have another round?" Song Shi's words were accompanied by a fiery gaze directed at Yang Miao.
Yang Miao snuffed out her cigarette, tucking the remaining half into her lackey's pocket before lifting her eyes to meet Song Shi's. She exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Afterward, I want to take a picture."
Song Shi raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
In essence, it was as though Wang Danyu was paying her tuition fees.
Yang Miao glanced around. The playground was crowded to an absurd degree.
"Let's go somewhere else." She spoke, already heading in one direction.
The lackey, noticing Song Shi standing still, explained, "Big Sis doesn't want you getting locked in the black room again."
With that, the lackey hastily followed Yang Miao.
Yang Miao's decision caught Song Shi off guard, but after a moment's thought, she realized that being locked in the black room would cost her at least 24 hours.
She had become a walking ATM, able to withdraw 100,000 Federation credits at random each day.
The black room would be a waste of her value.
Following Yang Miao to a remote corner of an academic building where no one was around, and no surveillance cameras existed, Yang Miao stopped and turned to face Song Shi. "Do you want to learn my fighting techniques?"
Song Shi pondered for a moment. "Not entirely. I also want to be beaten."
Yang Miao blinked, her eyes suddenly turning strange.
Song Shi ignored the odd look, clenching her fists and adopting a fighting stance. "So go ahead and hit me as hard as you can. The more intense it is, the more credible your photos will be."
Although Yang Miao didn't understand Song Shi's peculiar desire, she respected it. With a glance at her lackey, she signaled for him to step back to a safe distance and watch the fight.
Song Shi made the first move.
Yang Miao carefully listened to Song Shi's suggestion.
She blocked the first attack with ease and then launched an overwhelming barrage of strikes—brutal, merciless, and relentless.
Song Shi struggled to keep up. Despite her savage constitution, which gave her strength, reflexes, and agility far superior to the average person, facing Yang Miao made her feel as defenseless as a three-year-old child.
As the number of attacks escalated, a storm of realization began to rise within her.
In their previous bouts, Yang Miao had been holding back!
"Bang!"
Yang Miao's leg slammed into Song Shi's chest, sending her flying several meters before crashing to the ground.
With great effort, she pushed herself up on her elbows, but a sudden taste of blood filled her mouth. Song Shi knew something was wrong, and sure enough, she coughed up a large amount of blood.
Then came the agonizing, wrenching coughs.
Yang Miao walked over and extended her hand.
Song Shi glanced at her, waved her off, and waited for the coughing to subside before saying, "Take the photo first."
Yang Miao withdrew her hand and nodded at her lackey.
The lackey quickly jogged over, pulled out a holo-computer from his pocket, and snapped a picture of Song Shi, bruised and bloodied, clutching her chest and vomiting blood.
Almost as soon as the photo was taken, Song Shi heard the sound of coins clinking, followed by the mechanical female voice of an incoming notification.
"100,000 Federation credits successfully deposited. Please check your account."
Song Shi suddenly recalled the time she nearly lost her life trying to be a good Samaritan, only to receive a mere 100,000 credits as a reward.
A pang of frustration tightened in her chest, causing her coughs to intensify, spitting out another puddle of blood. Her shirt was now stained with red.
"Are you okay?" Yang Miao squatted down. "You said you wanted me to go harder."
"You're doing great," Song Shi quickly reassured her, fearful that Yang Miao might hesitate to deliver a killing blow next time.
After today's spar, her *masochistic progress* increased by 13%, and her *revenge progress* by 2%.
She had surpassed her expectations.
Song Shi pushed herself up from the ground, wiping the blood from her chin, signaling that she was fine. "Let's continue tomorrow."
Yang Miao gave her a skeptical look but said nothing, leading her lackey away.
Song Shi waited until they were out of sight before heading toward her class.
She walked in, covered in blood.
The class turned, glanced at her, and then apathetically turned back to their work.
In the past, there would have been hushed whispers, but today, no one seemed surprised.
In fact, they would have found it strange if Song Shi hadn't caused any trouble.
She laid her head on the desk and drifted into sleep, her injuries healing rapidly.
…
*Masochistic Progress: 68%*
*Revenge Progress: 43%*
…
The next day, Song Shi was fully restored to health. During the break, she found Yang Miao again. After another intense round of "training," she was once more beaten until she vomited blood, and her arm was even broken.
But when she saw the progress in her mental interface:
*Masochistic Progress: 82%*
*Revenge Progress: 47%*
Song Shi laughed aloud.
Yang Miao, looking down at Song Shi, lying on her back, coughing up blood and strangely grinning, hissed.
Had she really been "satisfied"?
The lackey, watching this scene with unease, approached Yang Miao and whispered in her ear, "She's a bit... strange. Maybe we should stay away from her."
Yang Miao pulled a cigarette from her lackey's pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag, contemplating the suggestion.
Song Shi had already gotten up, leaning against the wall to catch her breath before standing straight. "The photo's been taken. You two can go."
As if waiting for her to say those very words, they quickly left once she spoke.
Song Shi wiped the blood from her nose, smearing it across her face, watching them leave with an odd look in their eyes. She couldn't quite pinpoint why, but something about their gazes seemed off.
Oh well. As long as they were willing to help her train, it wasn't her problem.
Later that night, as she lay in bed, Song Shi accessed the interface in her mind.
The discrepancy between the progress of her *masochistic* and *revenge* values was quite large.
82% versus 47%.
This imbalance might affect her ability to awaken properly.
Determined to rectify this, Song Shi decided to find someone else to trouble tomorrow.
She remembered seeing Dai Ming's lackey in the cafeteria earlier that day—the same one who had kicked her face repeatedly. She hadn't bothered to acknowledge him then, but now she knew she had to seek him out.
Tomorrow, she would hunt him down.
She needed to catch up on her *revenge* progress.
Once her plan was set, Song Shi fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next morning, at breakfast, Song Shi entered the cafeteria, swiftly locating the boy among the crowd.
He was seated with seven others, each one vaguely familiar to her from when she had stood on a table, waving a broken tray, and accidentally slicing through their ranks.
Now, they were all gathered together, but Dai Ming was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed that Dai Ming had been missing for quite some time.
*(End of Chapter)*