Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Red Bar
Inside the model airplane room, with a THUD, Pan Dongzi landed hard on the floor and bounced, letting out a pained scream.
Once he recovered, he was startled by Zhang Wenda’s wretched state. "Hao...zi, what happened to you? Are you okay? How’d you end up like this?"
Zhang Wenda, on the verge of passing out, heard this and a thought surfaced in his mind. ’Why is he so surprised? Does this mean this isn’t normal for him either?’
Pan Dongzi, sweating bullets with anxiety, glanced around before a thought struck him. He quickly grabbed a bottle of "liquid happiness" that Zhang Wenda had collected and poured it down his throat.
Zhang Wenda, who had just passed out from the sheer pain, suddenly felt his body go light and floaty as the agony rapidly receded.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he sat up again, he saw the other students gathered in a circle, looking at him nervously.
"Why are you all staring at me like that?" Zhang Wenda asked with a laugh. Perhaps it was because of the "liquid happiness," but even though his body was still in agony, his negative feelings had significantly subsided. He actually felt a little happy.
’How can I describe this feeling? It’s painful, yet I’m happy. It’s kind of like self-harm.’
"Haozi, you can still laugh? Aren’t you in pain?" Glasses asked, pushing his frames up his nose as he stared, dumbfounded, at Zhang Wenda’s body.
"Of course it hurts. But so what? Some things have to be done even if you know they’ll hurt." As he spoke, Zhang Wenda pulled out his Student Handbook and wrote a line with one hand: "Prohibit saving others."
He thought about how much the rule had been amplified, then added two more words after the line: "Absolutely prohibited."
After he finished writing, Zhang Wenda looked at the other students and said with feigned nonchalance, "Alright, this is just a minor incident for me. I’ve been through way more than you little kids."
"What have you been through?" Glasses asked curiously.
At these words, Zhang Wenda’s pupils contracted slightly. He shook his head and struggled to his feet. "Forget it. It’s too hard to explain to you guys. Does anyone have any candy?"
But he was only met with everyone shaking their heads. Seeing this, Zhang Wenda could only sigh in resignation. While the "liquid happiness" was still in effect, he grabbed his broken arm and forcefully yanked it straight.
Noticing the others were still looking gloomy, Zhang Wenda said, "What are you all still standing around for? Go on, get busy. I’m fine."
"But you’re in this state... shouldn’t we tell Teacher Rabbit?" Glasses asked, pushing his frames up his nose.
"No, no, I’m fine. I’ll be all better once I get out and find a lollipop to eat."
Zhang Wenda replied hastily. He really did not want to deal with Teacher Rabbit, who he suspected might not even be human.
Since Zhang Wenda insisted, the others didn’t press the issue. They left the hallway in twos and threes, heading for other classrooms.
Zhang Wenda glanced at the time. It was almost 5 o’clock. It wouldn’t be long now before he could get out. The process had been a bit rough, but the problem was more or less solved. At long last, he could leave.
More importantly, he had discovered the pattern behind another one of the rules.
However, when he looked at the minuscule amount of "liquid happiness" left, his heart ached. He had gone to so much trouble to find this little bit, and now it was all gone.
"Haozi, thank you for saving me! Don’t worry, I have two lollipops at home. I’ll give them both to you when we get out!" the Little Fatty beside him said, deeply moved. If Haozi hadn’t saved him, he really would have fallen all the way in.
"This isn’t about lollipops! Why didn’t you tell me a hole could just open up in the model airplane room? Haven’t you been here a bunch of times?" The new pain layering over the old made Zhang Wenda want to pass out all over again.
Fatty’s face was a mask of innocence. "But it’s never been like this before! The holes that appeared were always small and rare. At most, you’d only get a leg stuck. I’ve never seen one big enough to swallow a whole person."
"I didn’t want it to happen! It was terrifying inside that gap, and as soon as I fell in, my whole body was in agony."
"Okay, okay, just my bad luck. Go do your thing. I need to rest for a bit." Zhang Wenda closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
"It’s okay, I’ll take care of you."
"Go do your thing. You talk as if you’re some great caregiver. You’ve managed to kill seven goldfish already."
Pan Dongzi looked embarrassed. "W-Well... you get some rest, then. I’ll go collect some more things. Don’t worry, it’ll all be yours." As he spoke, he pulled two Water Margin Cards from his pocket and pressed them into Zhang Wenda’s hand. One was the Celestial Secret Star, "Zhiduo Star" Wu Yong, and the other was the Celestial Lonesome Star, "Flower Monk" Lu Zhishen.
"Remember not to go back into the model airplane room. Close the door, and don’t let anyone else go in. It’s too dangerous."
"I know, I know."
Zhang Wenda didn’t pay much attention to the two cards, just stuffing them into his pocket. After Pan Dongzi had left, he turned his head to look at his own right forearm.
It was covered in overlapping wounds, but deep within the injuries was something that resembled a red tattoo.
A sliver of confusion entered Zhang Wenda’s mind. ’Little Fatty isn’t light. Why was I suddenly so strong back there? Was it because of this?’
He brought his arm close to his face and examined it carefully. Peering through the layers of scars, he could see that the red mark within had dimmed considerably.
Chewing on the stick in his mouth, Zhang Wenda furrowed his brow. ’What on earth is this thing?’
Forcing himself to stand, Zhang Wenda clenched his fist and punched the wall, instantly sucking in a sharp breath from the pain.
’No, that’s not right. How did it happen then?’
Zhang Wenda carefully recalled the situation. It felt like a surge of rage had washed over him, an irrational urge to destroy everything.
’I’ll give it a try.’ Zhang Wenda took a deep breath, focusing on the most infuriating moment of his life. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open. With a low growl, he swung his right fist with all his might, smashing it into the wall.
CRUNCH! A muffled impact echoed down the corridor. A small crater was dented into the wall. A FIZZING sound started up, and the overhead light began to flicker, plunging the hallway into alternating light and shadow.
This gave Zhang Wenda a huge scare. He thought he’d smashed the electrical wires inside the wall. Thankfully, after a moment, everything returned to normal.
He stared at his arm, his face alight with excitement. Watching his hand clench and unclench, he knew his luck wasn’t all bad.
He didn’t know why the cut from the flashlight had caused this to happen, but with this new power, his ability to protect himself had increased exponentially.
’This is awesome! It’s way more badass than just whacking things with a flashlight!’
Zhang Wenda continued to experiment, discovering he could adjust the strength based on his emotions. Even at its weakest setting, he could easily lift a 50-kilogram object.
’Looks like the red in this mark gets used up. How am I supposed to replenish it when it’s gone?’ Zhang Wenda wondered, scratching his head as he stared at his arm.
Just as he was mulling this over, the lightbulb overhead suddenly began to flicker again.
As Zhang Wenda glanced around nervously, he saw the other students running back, their faces filled with terror. The more timid ones were already crying.
Comments