Chapter 3

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Gao Tianjie, inwardly mourning the loss of her beloved snacks, resumed taking notes for the question she had gotten wrong. She and Jiang Min were both engrossed in their work, so Chen’an decided to shift his sights to another unsuspecting target: Lu Gang.

As deskmates, Chen’an and Lu Gang’s drastically different chemistry prowess meant that they were like yin and yang–that is to say, perfectly balanced. Sometimes, Chen’an found his deskmate’s abilities remarkable. After all, it took a special kind of meticulousness to avoid every correct answer possible, and instead scribble a chemical formula that even Boss Cao had to rack his brains to decipher.

But never mind that. Now, he had to find a way to kill this failure of a chemistry student, as the system had so thoughtfully named him.

Lu Gang’s Lifeblood was only worth 20 points, compared to the 40 points of a Model Worker. If he had taken the damage that Gao Tianjie had suffered earlier, he would be dead already.

His deskmate’s head was still bowed over his textbook, staring intently, as he diligently turned yet another page of his web novel.

Chen’an leaned over and whispered, “Boss Cao is here.”

Lu Gang jolted so violently it was as though a firecracker had gone off under him. His knees banged against the bottom of the table, making his stack of books–and his flabby thighs–wobble.

[You leveraged Chemistry Failure Lu Gang’s instinct to guard against enemies to frighten him. His current Lifeblood: -8]

Lu Gang’s hand shot out and saved his textbook from crashing to the ground in the nick of time. He lifted his eyes to the sight of Boss Cao sitting at the podium, looking through test papers peacefully. He sucked in a furious breath.

“I swear, it’s like you’re trying to kill me.”

Chen’an smothered a grin. How did you know?

“Hey, don’t say that. We’re friends, aren’t we? Besides, seeing as how you got a shining score of thirty marks on the mock-exam, I would’ve thought you’d step up your game in class a little. With, ah, college entrance tests coming up and all.”

Lu Gang hesitated. He had, in fact, wanted to clarify some questions with Chen’an during the group discussion, but Chen’an had been so busy with the two girls, Lu Gang had become all but invisible, and he had given up. “You seemed occupied,” he said with a meaningful glance at Jiang Min and Gao Tianjie.

“Me? With them? Never.” Chen’an donned a mask of seriousness. “What are women compared to the tried and true solidarity of brotherhood? It would be like sawing off my hands to save a pair of gloves. Come, share with me what baffles you so!”

Looking touched, Lu Gang wasted no time in pulling out his test paper. “Well, there’s this, and this, and this…”

Chen’an blinked and stared.

[Chemistry Failure Lu Gang has just activated his weapon, a half-blank test paper.]

[Chemistry Failure Lu Gang’s logic is that if you don’t know something, admitting defeat is the wiser course of action. Not attempting questions he can’t do not only saves him time and ink, it also prevents him from seeming like he overestimated his own abilities. This is the conclusion he derived after many painful trials. It’s quite intelligent. Please kill him, though.]

You had to respect the man, really. People were often bashful about asking him just one or two questions. But not Lu Gang–no, clearly not, otherwise he wouldn’t be staring expectantly at Chen’an with half his paper blank.

Chen’an noted that nearly all the open-ended questions were undone, but Lu Gang had earned thirty marks from the multiple-choice questions alone. Lu Gang had once insisted that you merely had to pick the answer that looked just slightly different from the rest. Maybe his deskmate was a genius of sorts–in his own way.

“First, copy the answers from my paper onto yours, even for the questions you answered correctly. Then look at the textbook to see if you can make sense of it yourself. If not, ask me.”

Chen’an slid his paper over, thinking, This should be enough to drain you of your last 12 points of Lifeblood.

However, Lu Gang said, “I’m not going to learn anything from copying blindly. Plus, it’s not like I can understand what the textbook’s saying. You should just teach me directly.”

[Chemistry Failure Lu Gang has ignored your attack. He aims to take up your time with your female classmates. Please make a choice. Failure to answer after five seconds will automatically be regarded as acquiescence.]

[5…]

[4…]

Well. Damn it.

Of course this bastard would be more troublesome than the two lovely ladies in front.

Lu Gang was staring at him with an expression that somehow managed to be very eloquent in articulating: You interrupted my reading time, asshole, this is what you get. Chen’an felt righteous fury unfurl inside him, tipping him over the edge to action.

He patted Lu Gang’s meaty thighs with an audible smack. “Nonsense, my friend. Now get on with it or I may stop playing nice.”

His hand tightened, and Lu Gang’s chubby cheeks quivered. “Fine,” he conceded. “Sure. I’ll do that.”

[You have successfully intimidated Chemistry Failure Lu Gang. His current Lifeblood: -14]

[Congratulations on defeating Chemistry Failure Lu Gang. You have gained 2 experience points and 4 gold coins.]

The monster icon floating over Lu Gang’s head gradually faded into nothing, and Chen’an felt a surge of accomplishment.

[Congratulations on your first kill. This marks your first accomplishment in the dungeon.]

[Achievement points: +1]

His stats adjusted to account for the kill.

Jiang Min had finished looking over her paper. She turned back to Chen’an. “There’s still two questions I don’t get,” she told him. “Would you mind helping me out again?”

[Model Worker Jiang Min has marked a position in your line of sight. Do not let your eyes stray from the marked position. Otherwise, damage will be incurred.]

For someone whose attacks were non-violent, Jiang Min was–in his humble opinion–massively overpowered. Fortunately, Chen’an knew to keep his eyes from wandering this time, keeping them fixed on the paper as he explained the answers to her. As he bestowed his enlightenment upon her, a sigh slipped from between her parted lips.

“You’re so smart, Chen’an. Is there anything you don’t know?”

[Through your cleverness, you resolved the challenge posed by Model Worker Jiang Min.]

Chen’an smiled politely. “I thought about it one step further, that’s all. You just have to remember the framework I taught you and you’ll be fine.”

Jiang Min nodded eagerly, a blush spreading over her fair cheeks. “Got it, thanks!”

“By the way, have you been eating supper lately?”

Jiang Min was visibly taken aback. She shook her head. “… No. When we end classes, I go to shower and sleep in my dorm immediately. I don’t eat late-night snacks.”

Chen’an nodded solemnly. “Well, your face seems a smidge rounder. I thought you were snacking a little more recently.”

[You have dealt a fatal blow to Model Worker Jiang Min. Her current Lifeblood: -50]

[You have defeated Model Worker Jiang Min. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.]

[Congratulations on landing a fatal blow. With your cunning, you pinpointed the weakness of the monster and killed it in one shot. Good job. But please don’t do it again.]

[Achievement points: +5]

5 points? Damn. Chen’an could get used to that.