Chapter 35: 35, Max out the Thanks Coins!

Zhang Baogen's matter cast a gray mist over the mood of everyone in the entire settlement, though they had long grown accustomed to living under the rule of the Refuge Bastion, yet when they realized their right to life was not in their own hands, their hearts suddenly grew heavy.

Ren Xiaosu had been thinking about the matter all day, according to Wang Fugui's words, Zhang Baogen was likely to be caught and the odds of survival were slim.

The Refuge Bastion's research on him would probably leave him skinned alive, and most crucially, Zhang Baogen had lost his freedom forever.

As for Ren Xiaosu himself, the secrets he bore were far greater than Zhang Baogen's.

Now, the palace in his mind had unlocked many functions, yet more remained to be explored, and even Ren Xiaosu himself did not know where this palace ended, or to what extent it would elevate him.

If his secrets were exposed, it would not be surprising if he were seized by the Refuge Bastion for brain slicing.

Ren Xiaosu went to the school in advance, finding Yan Liuyuan to solemnly instruct him never to reveal his secrets—this was a matter of life and death.

The two brothers had never directly confronted the Refuge Bastion's power.

The factory smokestacks inside and outside the Bastion spewed thick white smoke into the sky, and the chimes marking time within the Bastion still rang punctually, as if nothing had happened.

Today, Mr. Zhang seemed a bit downcast, sometimes drifting off during lectures, and whenever he was reminded by students, he would bow respectfully to apologize.

In the end, Mr. Zhang said: "Sorry, classmates, I failed to teach well today due to my own reasons. Please study on your own. We won't have class today."

Ren Xiaosu did not return directly to the clinic; he wanted to sit quietly in the school, a "clean" place, to contemplate his future with Yan Liuyuan and Miss Xiaoyu.

During the afternoon substitute class, he did not teach anything new—frankly, his mind was elsewhere entirely.

At dismissal, Ren Xiaosu, unusually, did not linger to drag out the class, but was preoccupied with taking Yan Liuyuan home early.

Ren Xiaosu said: "Class is dismissed. I won't teach you anything else today."

"Stand up!" the class monitor said.

"Thank you, teacher!"

"A thanks from Li Youqian, +1!"

"A thanks from Wang Dalong, +1!"

"A thanks from..."

Ren Xiaosu froze—this damn class only had 24 people, yet he had received 23 thanks coins!

The only one who did not give him a thanks coin was Yan Liuyuan, who had noticed Ren Xiaosu's distracted state and was more concerned about his brother than eager to leave for play.

Ren Xiaosu stared blankly as the little turtles vanished in a puff of smoke—apparently, they did not like his lectures at all!

You little bastards, wait for me! Where did I go wrong?!

This day was strange—Ren Xiaosu had worked half a month to accumulate 12 thanks coins, yet today he had harvested 23 in a single day.

The total number of thanks coins reached 35, seemingly bringing him closer to unlocking a weapon...

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Ren Xiaosu decided: if they disliked his lectures, so be it—just give him thanks coins.

The next day, while Mr. Zhang Jinglin was still in session at the clinic, Ren Xiaosu did not even open the clinic but rushed straight to the school. He had thought this through clearly—why had he opened the clinic? Was it merely to earn money? Of course not!

Now he had found a swift way to earn thanks coins—how could he let it slip?

Mr. Zhang Jinglin had not yet dismissed class when he saw Ren Xiaosu already outside the classroom. The students followed Zhang Jinglin's gaze, and for some reason, a chill crept over them upon seeing Ren Xiaosu.

Today, Ren Xiaosu did not lecture on wilderness survival, but on which parts of the human body to strike to kill instantly, or how to instantly incapacitate an opponent.

In truth, Ren Xiaosu had never received formal training in this area, and there was no place in the settlement to practice such skills—this was knowledge he had accumulated over years of fierce struggles with others.

When Zhang Jinglin heard Ren Xiaosu's topic, he frowned. He did not like teaching students how to fight humans; in past lessons, he had focused more on how to face natural environments.

There was a psychological suggestion: when you teach students how to confront humans, they naturally begin to see humans as hypothetical enemies. Likewise, teaching them how to face wolf packs makes them see wolf packs as enemies.

Deep down, Zhang Jinglin never wished for his students to become violent, but for some reason, after recalling Zhang Baogen's fate, he sighed and let Ren Xiaosu speak freely.

On the podium, Ren Xiaosu addressed the students below: "What are the most vulnerable parts of the human body? If we are to discuss this, we must proceed step by step. Let us begin with the most well-known... the neck."

"However, this area is not easily targeted in a struggle, for the body's subconscious protects it most fiercely. Nearly twenty fragile cartilage pieces surround the neck's tracheal region. Breaking any one of them can instantly rob an opponent of their fighting ability. The shattered bones will swiftly block the airway, and the opponent may suffocate to death."

The classroom fell silent. Ren Xiaosu looked at them: "Any questions?"

Wang Dalong weakly asked: "How do you know there are nearly twenty fragile cartilages in the neck..."

There were no relevant books in the school, and no one in the settlement studied such matters. How could Ren Xiaosu know unless he had counted them himself?

But how had he counted them? Counted whose? At this thought, everyone grew uneasy...

Ren Xiaosu did not answer the question. He glanced at the sky as the Refuge Bastion's internal clock chimed four o'clock. He and Yan Yuye said to everyone: "Class is dismissed."

"Stand up!"

"Thank you, teacher!"

"A thanks from Wang Dalong, +1!"

"A thanks from..."

Ren Xiaosu suddenly frowned—the numbers were off. Shouldn't there have been over twenty more thanks coins? Why only nine?

These little turtles had grown so used to him not dragging out class? Not even a sincere thanks?

Perhaps you have not yet been tempered by society's harsh realities!

As the students prepared to rush out, they heard Ren Xiaosu's sinister voice behind them: "All of you, come back here. Today, I'll tell you how I knew exactly how many cartilages were there..."

Wang Dalong: "..."

Li Youqian: "..."

All students: "..."