Nicholas had agreed to meet the new students at the archway at the end of Walking Street when he left.
After finishing their meal, Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao went ahead, wanting to browse the street a bit longer.
The street was bustling with people in the evening.
Several white-robed Wizards floated past them, pushing the two aside.
“The road is so wide, is it necessary to be so overbearing?” Zheng Qing frowned, glanced at the Alpha Academy students, and pouted without saying a word.
At the collars of those white robes, a black trim was clearly visible.
They were second-year students from Alpha Academy.
Xiao Xiao kept his head down, his bowl-cut hair buried in the shadow of his black-shelled notebook, also remaining silent.
But after only a few steps, something even more unpleasant happened.
The Alpha senior who had just bumped into them was blocking Lin Guo’s small bookstore.
Lin Guo was clutching his backpack, leaning against the horned Black Sheep, nervously watching the tall seniors.
On his backpack, the Mickey Mouse design was baring its teeth and leaping around furiously.
Several white-robed Alpha students stood around him, subtly encircling him.
A scrawny Alpha senior walked up to Lin Guo and handed him an envelope.
The white envelope had a pitch-black wax seal, with no words visible on it.
Lin Guo bit his lip, gripping the shoulder straps of his backpack tightly with both hands, not taking the envelope.
Among the white-robed seniors, a handsome, long-haired blonde male smiled and began, “This is the ‘Triple A’ initiation document. I heard you found a copy of Gobert’s ‘Complete Guide to Metal Nobleization’ from the Nine Provinces College’s old book piles. It can be used as a welcoming gift for the Sir.”
Lin Guo took a step back, remaining silent.
Pedestrians on the street gradually stopped, seemingly curious about the unfolding situation.
The milk tea shop owner and other neighbors peeked out from their shops, looking at Lin Guo with some unease.
“What is the Triple A initiation document?” Zheng Qing quietly asked Xiao Xiao.
“‘Alpha Appreciation’ (what Alpha appreciates) is a student club at Alpha Academy that strongly advocates for the theory of innate talent. Because its name has three A’s, it’s also called the Triple A Club. It’s one of the school’s large clubs,” Xiao Xiao explained rapidly. “It looks like this club plans to act early and bring Lin Guo into their fold.”
“It’s just an invitation, then.” Zheng Qing let out a sigh of relief.
He had almost thought someone was causing trouble for Lin Guo.
Xiao Xiao sneered, “With Lin Guo’s talent, any top club at First University would send him an invitation. The Triple A Club also plans to take advantage of this to get that book by Gobert. Insatiable greed.”
“Is that book very expensive?”
“Gobert was a famous Great Wizard in the thirteenth century, skilled in Alchemy. His work, ‘Complete Guide to Metal Nobleization,’ was only printed in one edition. For an Alchemist, this work can no longer be described as merely expensive.”
Zheng Qing burped, feeling a bit nauseated.
It was his first time seeing someone describe blatant robbery so elegantly.
The young boy in front of the Black Sheep looked up at the handsome male, then quickly lowered his head, shouting in a high-pitched voice, “I’m not dealing with you!”
Discussions among the surrounding pedestrians erupted.
The smile on the blonde white-robe’s face disappeared.
He glanced at his companion next to him.
“Why bother with all this trouble!” A burly white-robed senior grew impatient, reaching out to tug at the young boy’s backpack, threatening, “Sign the paper, and take the book. Does he still have objections?”
The handsome blonde white-robe had, at some point, produced a glass of red wine, which he was gently swirling against the light, meticulously savoring it, his expression focused. He seemed completely oblivious to his companions’ rough actions.
Lin Guo stubbornly clutched the backpack in his arms, staring intently at the frantically jumping Mickey Mouse on it, not uttering a word.
“Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” Zheng Qing frowned, looking to both sides of the street.
Many pedestrians watched with cold indifference.
The milk tea shop owner and several other neighbors watched from afar, their faces showing displeasure, but no one stepped forward.
“The merchants of Beta Town dare not offend students from Alpha Academy,” Xiao Xiao’s voice was very calm. “Students from other colleges are unwilling to interfere in internal disputes of Alpha Academy.”
Zheng Qing understood.
Beta Town had gradually formed by relying on Alpha Academy.
Therefore, Alpha students had always held more sway in this small town.
Whether it was Lin Guo or the other white-robed students, it was an internal matter of Alpha Academy.
It was indeed not appropriate for others to interfere casually.
Zheng Qing hesitated, sighing softly.
Indeed.
It wasn’t like someone from Nine Provinces College was being bullied, so walking away felt completely pressure-free.
He consoled himself.
Moreover, the Alpha students surrounding him looked tall and burly, quite intimidating. And he and Lin Guo only had a one-sentence acquaintance.
Even the milk tea shop owner didn’t interject, so he could silently leave too, right?
He figured that in broad daylight, these people wouldn’t resort to anything too extreme.
“Slap!”
A crisp slapping sound shattered Zheng Qing’s self-consolation.
“You damn mouse, how dare you bite me!” The scrawny Alpha male grabbed Lin Guo’s hair, fiercely pulling at the backpack in his arms.
The Mickey Mouse on the boy’s backpack had just poked its head out and bitten him hard.
The blonde white-robe next to him frowned slightly: “Don’t resort to violence.”
“Yes! I apologize deeply.” The scrawny male immediately retreated two steps, bowing ninety degrees to the blonde white-robe in apology.
Zheng Qing narrowed his eyes.
His impression of the Alpha seniors had plummeted to rock bottom.
Then he raised an eyebrow.
A familiar figure appeared in his sight.
It was Lan Que.
The silent, handsome male from the airplane.
He saw him with his head slightly raised, his gaze distant, his steps unsteady, his blue college robe flowing. He walked straight forward, seemingly completely unaware of the Alpha Academy students not far in front of him.
With his back to Lan Que, the outermost tall and thin Alpha senior was bumped by this sudden appearance, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.
The reactions of the other white-robes were unusually strong.
The tallest and most burly fellow roared, his muscles rippling, his body suddenly swelling a size larger. Then he stomped, shaking the onlookers, who stumbled and fell.
The scrawny Wizard who handed the envelope to Lin Guo, with the tremor from the stomp, formed a hand seal and instantly vanished into the gently rising dust.
Meanwhile, the handsome blonde male held one arm across his chest, while his other hand steadily held his stemmed wine glass, gently swirling it, a hint of just-right curiosity and confusion in his eyes, as if asking about the identity of the sudden intruder.
Then he noticed the bare collar and cuffs of Lan Que’s robe, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.
Lan Que ignored him.
He walked to Lin Guo’s side, the sword he had been holding now propped in his hand.
The burly Alpha senior behind him cracked his knuckles, while the scrawny white-robed figure flickered in and out of sight, like a ghost in the night.
Lan Que tilted his head, completely unconcerned by the threats so close at hand.
“Lan Que!” He casually extended his hand, looking at Lin Guo.
Zheng Qing smiled, sighing.
This Lan Que fellow.
“My name is Lin Guo! I’m a freshman this year, nice to meet you!” Lin Guo’s breathing was a bit ragged, his eyes red, and he blew his nose, speaking loudly with a heavy nasal tone, while firmly grasping the hand in front of him and shaking it vigorously.
“Where’s the adult?” Lan Que frowned.
“There isn’t one,” Lin Guo said quietly, then looked up and declared loudly, “I am the adult!”
Lan Que ruffled Lin Guo’s mushroom-cut hair and, uncharacteristically, said, “You’re the same age as my younger brother, but you’re much stronger than him!”
Lin Guo hugged his backpack, letting out a silly chuckle.