Chapter 6: Terror

The most dangerous dogs are actually the ones that don’t bark.

Those who seem to chatter all day with arrogant faces are nothing but showy idiots. Zhou Liming, who had endured for eighteen years, could imagine how crazy he could be under such indulgence. The power generated by internal genetic mutations made him, who had no experience in fighting, as fierce as a lion in front of those seven or eight tall boys.

These few people were not weak, but their hits on Zhou Liming were like hitting an iron plate. Zhou Liming acted as if nothing had happened. But if he hit them… just by hearing the sound of bones breaking one by one, you could know how miserable their fate would be. Completely unaware of his own strength, Zhou Liming only knew to knock them all down.

In just two or three minutes, all seven or eight boys lay on the floor, holding their arms and legs, covering their chests, and wailing miserably. Some were knocked unconscious directly, lying on the ground like dead pigs.

The onlookers were dumbfounded. Who would have thought that the thin and scrawny Zhou Liming could single-handedly fight seven or eight tiger-like boys and knock them all down in the blink of an eye? What made people’s blood run cold was that he fought to kill, as if he had a deep grudge against them. Two of them with broken noses had blood all over their faces. No need to guess, their nasal bones were close to being shattered.

For some reason, Zhou Liming was in a state of extreme excitement at this moment, with no fear of fighting for the first time.

However, after the excitement cooled down, he first showed a look of confusion, and then opened his mouth wide. His stunned expression made him stare blankly at everything.

“How did this happen? I just wanted to teach them a lesson… I…” Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Everything in front of him exceeded the bottom line that Zhou Liming could accept. Having been law-abiding since childhood, he was considered a good boy and a good student by his teachers and the Dean. Just thinking about the disappointed expression on the Dean’s face when he got the news, Zhou Liming instantly felt drowned by endless terror.

Zhou Liming shook his head desperately. “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me…” Then he broke through the crowd of classmates like a fugitive.

This was a school. Fighting was common, but at most it caused flesh wounds. But even flesh wounds would result in severe punishment. Zhou Liming knew his identity. He couldn’t be suppressed by the school like some rich kids. Being an ordinary, even humble, orphan, and having beaten someone like this, there was only one result: expulsion and handing over to the police station.

Zhou Liming had never imagined having such a day. The pleasure he felt when the bones broke and made sounds had now turned into endless terror.

Returning to the classroom like a fugitive, Zhou Liming’s face was terrifyingly pale. His whole body trembled slightly. Sitting on his seat felt like needles pricking his buttocks; he was like an ant on a hot pan. To put it plainly, Zhou Liming was still the same person as before. It was just that the unknown force in his blood made him irritable and lost his mind. Once this force receded and Zhou Liming returned to his true self, how could he have the courage to face everything?

“What should I do, what should I do…”

With his mind in a mess, Zhou Liming didn’t even hear the class bell. He didn’t even notice when the vice-class monitor shouted “Stand up.” He just sat there, dazed. Fortunately, the subject teacher didn’t notice. After saying, “Good morning, class,” she started opening her book and teaching.

A few moments later, a loud crowd noise came from the playground. Then, the sharp sirens of two ambulances sounded as they rushed into the school gate, heading straight for the direction of the toilets.

Hearing these sharp ambulance sirens, Zhou Liming’s body stiffened, and his face became as white as paper. He had endured the hard study until high school sophomore year just to get into university and escape his fate. But who could have imagined that fate would play a joke on him? His dreamed future, like clouds in the sunlight, dissipated in an instant.

The ambulances left quickly. Seeing that there was no serious situation, Zhou Liming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could catch his breath, a chaotic sound of footsteps came from the stairs. The voices of the Dean of Students and his homeroom teacher echoed, heading towards the classroom.

Zhou Liming felt all his hair stand on end. As his throat swallowed saliva, he kept muttering, “Nothing will happen, nothing will happen, it’s not all…”

Ignoring that class was in session, the footsteps went directly into the classroom. Zhou Liming felt several pairs of eyes focusing on him. Then, the rough voice of his homeroom teacher rang out: “Zhou Liming, get out here.” His expression was full of disbelief and anger, as if iron couldn’t be tempered into steel.

Conditioned reflex made Zhou Liming “pop” up. The panicked movement shook the desk, and the books on it fell to the floor with a crash.

There weren’t many students in the class who knew what happened. All of them stared curiously at the standing Zhou Liming. To them, Zhou Liming was honest, dull, and left no impression. How could he anger the homeroom teacher so much? Moreover, the Dean of Students had come with two security guards. It definitely wasn’t a small matter.

The Dean of Students was a lean middle-aged man. He looked very kind, with gentle eyes. But those who had been scolded by him knew that “smiling tiger” referred to people like him.

“Student Zhou Liming, please come with me to the Dean’s Office.”

Zhou Liming felt infinite regret. Why had he been so impulsive? Why couldn’t he control himself? Trembling slightly, Zhou Liming walked out of his seat with remorse and terror. Like a child who had done something wrong, he followed the Dean of Students out of the classroom. The best outcome would be a major demerit and staying at school for observation…

As soon as Zhou Liming left, the classroom, which had been so quiet you could hear a pin drop, erupted into a “buzzing” sound. Everyone was whispering, sharing their gossip about the incident.

“I saw something was wrong on Monday. He ran to the toilet every day. I don’t know what he was doing.”

“Didn’t you see his face just now? He was as pale as paper. He must have made a huge mistake.”

“The Dean of Students’ forced smile just now was scary. You guys didn’t know, last time… Anyway, someone is going to have a really bad time this time.”

“…”

Zhou Liming certainly couldn’t hear these things. His mind was completely blank. He only knew to follow the Dean of Students to the Dean’s Office. Then, the Dean of Students started speaking. Occasionally, the homeroom teacher would interject a few words. There were also a few students testifying nearby. But Zhou Liming didn’t hear what they were actually saying. He only knew to keep nodding. His terrified mind made his originally inferior heart even more at a loss.

“Let’s put it this way, Teacher Chen. The matter is clear. Although Zhou Liming is not entirely at fault, you also saw it. The students sent to the hospital just now were all injured. The doctor also said that three of them had compound fractures, several had broken breastbones, and some had broken noses. This incident has a very bad influence…”

After speaking for a while, the Dean of Students said slowly, “The lightest result is expulsion. If the other party’s parents pursue it, he may even face legal responsibility. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. It still needs to be approved by the school meeting, but I think this won’t be a problem!”

With a few casual words, a student’s fate was already decided.

When Zhou Liming heard the Dean of Students talk about expulsion, his head went “boom,” becoming blank. He couldn’t hear anything. Only one voice kept echoing in his mind: “Expulsion, expulsion…” His originally pale face turned extremely pale, then a dark bluish-green.

“No…”

Without warning, a roar rang out. Zhou Liming, like a cat with its tail stepped on, jumped up violently. Unable to accept all this, he let out a crazy laugh. Losing control of his emotions, he felt the unknown mysterious force in his blood surging again. His blood was ignited, and he exuded an aura of bloodlust, like an angered beast.

Veins and sinews writhed on his arms like centipedes. Faintly, dark green scales appeared one after another.

“Ah…” Zhou Liming screamed in agony. The tearing pain in his head made him clutch his head.

A shred of clear consciousness allowed Zhou Liming to endure this pain. He turned and rushed out of the Dean’s Office. Having witnessed his destructive power in his room at the Orphanage, Zhou Liming didn’t dare to guarantee whether he would tear everyone here to shreds if he lost control. So he could only run, escape the school, and find a place to calm himself down.

Zhou Liming sprinted at full speed. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared in front of everyone.

The Dean of Students, dumbstruck, became furious when he regained his senses. He slammed the desk and roared, “This is too outrageous! Such students should be expelled from our school immediately. He is truly disrespectful of discipline, unrepentant, and open…”