Chapter 31: Chapter 31: School
The thought of having to ask many questions, and getting punished for each one, sent Zhang Wenda running straight for the supply and marketing co-op.
Just as Zhang Wenda took the three lollipops from the counter and prepared to leave, he noticed what seemed to be a new gadget on display.
He stopped in his tracks as the incident at Xinhua Bookstore from yesterday came to mind.
’If the co-op can sell candy that heals wounds, maybe it can sell other gadgets too?’
To confirm his theory, he decided to test the waters.
"What’s that?" Zhang Wenda asked after a moment’s thought, pointing to something that looked like a handheld Tetris game.
"That’s a handheld Tetris game."
"..."
"Never mind. Just pretend I didn’t ask."
Mortified, Zhang Wenda turned to leave, but the voice behind him spoke again. "Too expensive for you? I’ve got cheaper toys, like this one."
A large hand reached over, holding an electronic product the size of an MP3 player between its fingers. But the thing looked second-hand, covered in scratches, and its plastic casing looked very low-quality.
"A Ratio Recognizer. It’s for students like you to understand the world. Edutainment."
"A toy? How do you play with it?"
As soon as Zhang Wenda spoke, he saw the large hand point the device at him. With a BEEP, text began to appear on its gray screen.
Water: 58.5%
Protein: 16.6%
Fat: 17.6%
Minerals: 5.9%
Other: Trace.
"Is this... the ratio of my body’s material composition?" Zhang Wenda asked in surprise as he took the device.
He just knew it. This world looked perfectly normal, but strangeness lurked everywhere—case in point.
"How about it? It has five uses left. I’ll give you a good price, 6.5."
Hearing this, Zhang Wenda immediately put his money back. "Forget it. I don’t have that much money, and besides, this thing is useless to me."
With that, he turned to leave, but was called back after only a few steps.
"Don’t go! How about this: after you use it five times, you bring the casing back, and I’ll make the price one-fifty for you."
Zhang Wenda hesitated, looking at the money in his pocket. After deducting the cost of the candy, and the 10 from yesterday afternoon, it was as if the other party had calculated exactly how much money he had.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Wenda finally bought it. The gadget didn’t seem very useful, but it might come in handy in certain special situations.
For example, if he had this gadget when he was in the Youth Palace, he would have known it was a living organism the moment he entered, and he wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.
If the school also turned out to be alive, he could discover it immediately this time and take precautions in advance.
After buying it, Zhang Wenda didn’t ask about anything else. He had no money left anyway.
Shoving the new gadget into his pocket, Zhang Wenda headed for school.
Although he didn’t know where his class was, he found his classroom based on the notes in his textbook.
The classroom was chaotic. Zhang Wenda walked directly toward the boy with glasses who was organizing his desk. He remembered this guy saying he was his deskmate.
"Haozi, you’re here?"
"Yeah, I’m here." Zhang Wenda scanned his surroundings. The blackboard, the desks, even the students—everything looked normal.
But after his experience at the Youth Palace, he felt uneasy. He pulled out the new device and used it on the wall.
Sand and Gravel: 77%
Cement: 20%
Steel Bars: 2%
Other: Trace
Seeing the completely normal ratios, Zhang Wenda breathed a small sigh of relief. At least the school wasn’t alive.
"What are you doing?" Yang Shu looked at Zhang Wenda in confusion, unable to figure out what he was up to.
"Nothing, just looking around." Zhang Wenda put the device away and popped a lollipop into his mouth.
"Let me ask you something. What do we usually do when we come to school?"
"Attend school."
"And what exactly does ’attending school’ entail?" Zhang Wenda was splitting hairs, terrified of a misunderstanding. If ’school’ was some *thing* he had to literally ’attend to,’ that would be a huge problem.
"Attending school means... the teacher teaches us..."
As the other boy kept explaining, Zhang Wenda finally understood the whole process of school. Fortunately, it was no different from school in his previous world.
’Not bad. If it’s just normal classes, then as long as I don’t break any rules, it’ll be a waste of time at worst, but not dangerous,’ Zhang Wenda thought, greeting Fatty as he did.
With the nostalgic ringing of a bell, Zhang Wenda saw the other students slowly take their seats as a short-haired female teacher walked in with a smile.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Zhang Wenda felt that the teacher was a complete stranger. He’d never seen her before in his past classes.
She looked completely normal, with nothing out of the ordinary about her.
While Zhang Wenda was spacing out, he heard the female teacher give a light cough, and the classroom instantly fell silent. "Class, have you all turned in your weekend homework?"
When he heard the other students answer in unison, Zhang Wenda’s heart dropped.
’I’m screwed.’
Seeing Fatty at his side making faces at him, Zhang Wenda’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. ’Why didn’t you tell me about something this important!!’
Watching the female teacher reach out and start checking the homework on her desk, Zhang Wenda felt as if he were watching the King of Hell read off the names of the damned.
"Zhang Wenda, why haven’t you turned in your homework?"
’Fuck,’ Zhang Wenda cursed viciously in his mind.
The CLACK CLACK CLACK of high heels grew closer, and then Zhang Wenda smelled a faint scent of sandalwood. "Wenda, raise your head."
As Zhang Wenda’s gaze shifted upward, he saw the teacher’s kind and amiable face.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Zhang Wenda felt his scalp tingle, as if he were being watched by something.
"Wenda, I’m asking you a question. Where is your homework?"
Secretly taking the lollipop out of his pocket, ready at any moment to use it for pain relief and healing, Zhang Wenda steeled himself and blurted out, "My... my cat tore up my homework notebook."
After what felt like an eternity, the intense gaze finally shifted away. "Alright, I’ll trust you this time. Remember to rewrite it and hand it in tomorrow morning."
Seeing the teacher turn and walk away, Fatty, who wasn’t far off, secretly gave Zhang Wenda a thumbs-up.
Zhang Wenda couldn’t be bothered with him, watching the departing teacher with lingering fear. ’Is this some kind of instinctual suppression? Why am I, at my age, still afraid of this?’
Suddenly, a thought struck Zhang Wenda. On a strange impulse, he took out the Ratio Recognizer and used it on the teacher’s back.
With a BEEP, a string of text appeared on the screen again.
But when Zhang Wenda saw the lines of text, he instantly felt a chill shoot up his spine and straight to his brain.
Water: 23%
Minerals: 19%
High-Density Parasitic Cyst Clusters: 34%
Protein-like Humic Polymer: 51%
Unknown Organic Solvent: 3%
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