บท 7: Substitute teacher
Zhang Jinglin was left speechless by Ren Xiaosu's answer. However, he wasn't aware that Ren Xiaosu was also wondering about this right now. Didn't he teach everyone what he knew? Why was the quest still not complete?
Could there be something wrong with the knowledge that he imparted?
"Teacher." Ren Xiaosu said in a serious tone, "You probably haven't seen how huge the wolves in the wild are. Most of the people in town haven't even seen or dealt with them before, but I did. Don't mention a pack of wolves. Even if I were just encountering a lone wolf, the outcome would still be the same. Choose wherever you want to be buried."
Initially, Ren Xiaosu thought that Zhang Jinglin would refute him. After all, the way he answered the question would affect the teacher's authority and dignity.
However, Zhang Jinglin thought for a long time before saying, "You can sit in the classroom for future lessons. You will also be teaching the survival lessons from now on."
For the first time ever, the school in the town outside Stronghold 113 gained a substitute teacher.
However, Ren Xiaosu did not give any explanation in class about how he survived despite encountering a lone wolf or wolf pack in the wild.
"Quest complete. Awarded 1.0 Strength."
…
By the end of the day, Ren Xiaosu still could not find an opportunity to use the Basic Skill Duplication Scroll he had. He went to school because he liked to gain more knowledge, but the knowledge Zhang Jinglin had would not be very useful for his survival for the time being.
The first priority Ren Xiaosu had to consider was still survival.
Therefore, if he could not use the skill scroll, it would be impossible for him to prove whether everything in his mind was purely made up by his own imagination.
However, Ren Xiaosu kept waiting because he felt that there would still be another quest given.
Now he had completed yet another quest, and he was rewarded with a 1.0 Strength increase. This was a very straightforward figure, and Ren Xiaosu could feel it in his body. He could feel his muscles bulking up slightly underneath his clothes. This was a real supernatural phenomenon as no one could suddenly gain additional muscle strength in a mere tenth of a second.
With this, Ren Xiaosu was quite sure that his mind palace was indeed a unique type of skill.
This made Ren Xiaosu ecstatic. In fact, he should have been overjoyed about it long ago, but he was afraid that none of it would turn out to be real.
A frequent hunter must be highly familiar with their body. They had to know how much they could lift and how fast and hard they could punch or stab with a knife.
So Ren Xiaosu immediately evaluated his newfound strength. If the average male adult had a strength rating of 3.0, then Ren Xiaosu used to have a strength rating of 2.5.
As he was only 17 years old, it was quite normal for him to be weaker than an adult. He could survive in this town all these years not because of his strength, but because he was ruthless, alert, and calm enough.
As his strength surpassed that of the average male adult's, this meant that his chance of survival in this wasteland increased by a large amount.
After school, Yan Liuyuan excitedly said, "Bro, now that you've become the substitute teacher, maybe you'll replace Mr. Zhang as our town's teacher in the future?"
Ren Xiaosu paused. "Indeed, that seems likely. Mr. Zhang also started off as a substitute teacher. It was only after the old teacher passed away that he took over teaching at school."
"Yeah, everyone in town knows that whoever becomes the substitute teacher will likely take over at the school someday. Think about it. Mr. Zhang allowed you into the classroom to attend the lessons and even made you the substitute teacher. He's definitely thinking of letting you replace him in the future." Yan Liuyuan smiled and said, "If the people in town learn about it, they will have to treat us with more respect next time."
"That might not be the case." Ren Xiaosu thought and said, "I'm guessing it's only because he hopes to get more cigarettes to smoke."
Yan Liuyuan stared at Ren Xiaosu. "Bro, are you being serious?"
"Actually, it's not a bad idea if I really do become the schoolteacher." Ren Xiaosu said, "When I get the position, I'll give it up to you. In that way, you'll end up becoming the schoolteacher instead, right?"
Ren Xiaosu had really never thought about becoming a schoolteacher, but it was not because he despised the profession. If he had despised it, he wouldn't think of handing the position to Yan Liuyuan.
Instead, he felt that he was not suitable for this profession at all. If he really had no chance to enter the stronghold at some point in the future, then the wilderness would be the only place left where he could truly belong.
Ren Xiaosu was imagining a future where he handed the schoolteacher position to Yan Liuyuan as they walked, but he did not notice Yan Liuyuan slowing down. Looking at Ren Xiaosu's back, Yan Liuyuan experienced an indescribable feeling.
This young man's hand was still wrapped in bandages, and even though he had a sharp tongue, he would always leave the best for him.
When Ren Xiaosu turned around and realized that Yan Liuyuan had fallen quite far behind, he barked, "What are you doing? Hurry up!"
"Coming!"
Outside the stronghold, a continuous trail of white smoke was billowing out of the factory chimneys into the sky. As the setting sun shone down onto their backs, it was as though they had nothing in life to worry about.
…
On their way back home, Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan suddenly saw a group of people come out of the stronghold. There were around 14 of them in the group, and half of them were wearing fanciful clothes of all colors, while the other half was made up of people who donned the combat uniform of the private army employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113. It looked like their trip would be accompanied by soldiers, so it was no wonder they dared to head out into a place like the Jing Mountains.
These people actually didn't require guides with combat value. They only needed someone who knew the way.
However, Ren Xiaosu did not assume the private troops were strong just because they were employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113. In fact, he rarely saw these private troops leaving the stronghold, so it could still lead to serious issues as they might not even have any actual combat experience or seen blood before.
Ren Xiaosu saw some of the private troops smoking filtered cigarettes, which were rarely seen in town.
A light whiff of cigarette smoke drifted over. Ren Xiaosu could distinctly smell a weird odor. He remembered Old Wang mentioning that many of the cigarettes given out by the factories had addictive substances added into them to give people a high.
Ren Xiaosu was puzzled why the private troops would smoke something like that when their profession required them to keep a clear mind.
He had witnessed people go crazy from smoking these cigarettes, and the private troops only seemed to be smoking the better quality ones.
Slowly, a crowd in town gathered. This was because these people had such clean faces that it sharply contrasted the faces of those in town.
"Bro, is water so abundant in the stronghold that they can wash their faces every day?" Yan Liuyuan blinked with a shimmer in his eyes.
"There's no need to envy them. The grease on our faces acts as a protective layer for our skin," Ren Xiaosu consoled without actually trying.
But then he noticed a unique presence among that group of people. There was a girl wearing a cap so low he could not tell how old she was. She was dressed in relatively normal clothes that looked loose but fitting.
Ren Xiaosu focused on her because it felt like an encounter with a beast in the wild the moment he saw her.
Something was fishy about these people, and Ren Xiaosu trusted his intuition.
Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan stopped in their tracks, watching from afar. They vaguely knew that this group of people was making inquiries about something with Old Wang from the grocery store.
They could hear Old Wang saying loudly, "If y'all are going to the Jing Mountains, you must look for Ren Xiaosu. Without him, you definitely can't pass through. Besides, there are also wolves out there in the wilderness. Might I suggest that you don't take that route?"
A soldier in the private army sneered, "Those wolves will be scared off when they hear our gunshots. Why would we need to worry about them?"
Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. So the wolves were actually afraid of gunshots? This was probably due to the natural instincts of such wild animals. As he had never seen a firearm before, he wasn't sure if the other party was telling the truth. However, some doubts still remained.
Another member of the private army asked, "Who is Ren Xiaosu? We don't care how skillful he is at combat as long as he knows the way."
"Oh, Ren Xiaosu is well-known for being the best hunter in town. He knows most of the routes, so it'll be perfectly fine if you get him to lead the way." Old Wang smiled and said, "Take my word for it, he's definitely the right choice. But there's something wrong with that kid's head…."
Having heard all this, Ren Xiaosu turned around and led Yan Liuyuan away. "Is Old Wang's son in your class too? That fat kid?"
Yan Liuyuan gasped at him. "Bro, you shouldn't involve his family members…."
Ren Xiaosu frowned as he had wanted to steer clear of this issue. However, he never expected that Old Wang would deliberately recommend himself to this mysterious band.
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