Chapter 415: Chapter 413: No Deal
Yan Feijie, who had been prepared to haggle with Lin Xinghai, now had no desire to open his mouth.
This was no longer a negotiation. It was outright extortion, with terms they could never possibly meet.
Lin Xinghai waited for a moment. When Yan Feijie didn’t respond, his gaze instead fell upon the end of the street, where a horde of zombies was madly rushing toward them.
The zombie horde was only a kilometer away.
However, seeing that they didn’t even intend to haggle, Lin Xinghai cleared his throat and promptly lowered his demands.
"Ahem! Asking all of you to hand over your Credit Points is indeed a bit much, especially since not everyone will be able to get into East Sea Academy."
"So, how about this? Anyone who gets into East Sea Academy as a Third Class Student gives me 100 Credit Points. Second Class Students give me 200, and First Class Students give me 300. As for any Special Class Students, you’ll owe me 1,000 Credit Points."
"And since you might not have any Credit Points right when school starts, I can wait a month to come collect. How does that sound?" Lin Xinghai asked in a negotiable tone.
’There are so many people here. Extorting even a small amount from them would yield a massive sum of Points, and I really don’t want to miss this opportunity.’
It was no exaggeration to say that the teams who dared to come after him were definitely the elites among the examinees.
’So, out of these 3,000 people, maybe 1,000 of them could get into East Sea Academy.’
’Even if 1,000 people each gave me 100 Credit Points, that would be a staggering 100,000 Credit Points!’
Upon hearing Lin Xinghai’s new terms, many of the examinees began to mutter amongst themselves. The expressions on some faces showed they were clearly tempted.
Of course, the examiners hidden nearby also heard Lin Xinghai’s words.
They all felt a massive headache coming on. How had a perfectly normal assessment suddenly turned into this?
"Instructor Zuo? Are you sure you’re just going to let Lin Xinghai carry on like this? Aren’t you going to intervene?"
"I know he’s exploiting a loophole in the Rules, but if he actually succeeds in this extortion, we’re talking about at least 100,000 Credit Points. By my estimate, it could even reach 200,000."
"You can imagine the controversy a sum that large would cause among the upperclassmen. If this sets a precedent, I’m sure that in every future admissions cycle, the top examinees will follow his example and start extorting the regular ones."
"And when that happens, you’ll have a hard time explaining yourself to the academy board!" Wu Dongwen’s voice suddenly cut through the examiner team’s communication channel.
This time, Li Han didn’t argue back. The other examiners also remained silent, all waiting for Zuo Wenyao, the chief examiner, to make a decision.
Zuo Wenyao’s head was throbbing.
That was 200,000 Credit Points. Even if he slammed his fist on the table during the academy board meeting, those old-timers would never approve it.
More importantly, if word of this got out, it would indeed have huge repercussions.
Forget the upperclassmen—even some of the instructors would probably be green with envy.
Just as he was racking his brain over how to handle the situation, Yan Feijie spoke up. "Sorry, but I refuse. I don’t like being coerced. Besides, there are 3,000 of us here. Even a zombie horde isn’t something we can’t handle."
He wasn’t the only one. Yuan Zheng and Hong Xiuren also quickly refused.
In addition to them, the core members of many other teams also spoke up, stating they wouldn’t be coerced and that they believed they could defeat the zombie horde.
This development left Lin Xinghai a little confused and surprised. He had expected them to continue haggling, but he never thought they would refuse him outright.
’I’m only trying to extort 1,000 Points from Yan Feijie and the others. When I shook down Qiu Liang, I demanded 3,000 Points, and didn’t the guy pay up anyway?’
He frowned slightly, not quite understanding what the problem was. But after carefully thinking over the situation, he suddenly had a moment of clarity.
The nature of this situation was completely different from the last one.
When he extorted Qiu Liang, the threat directly concerned Qiu Liang’s vital interests, so he had no choice but to pay.
This time, however, even though he’d led the zombie horde here and it would certainly make them suffer, the problem was just as Yan Feijie had said: with 3,000 people, they weren’t incapable of defeating the horde. They just didn’t know what the final cost would be.
Even if the massive horde he’d brought managed to eliminate half the people here, it would have little to do with Yan Feijie and his group. With their strength, they certainly wouldn’t be among the ones who were knocked out of the assessment.
The same was true for the other powerful core members.
The ones who would ultimately be eliminated were likely the members who weren’t skilled enough to get into East Sea Academy in the first place.
And what did those people have to do with Yan Feijie’s group?
Nothing, of course.
All these teams were just temporary alliances of convenience, formed when they registered for the assessment. There was no real camaraderie to speak of.
After speaking, Yan Feijie and the other leaders glanced at the rapidly approaching zombie horde. Shielded by various Defense Superpowers, they led their teams directly toward a nearby office building.
Clearly, they were dead set on holing up in the building to defend themselves rather than submit to Lin Xinghai’s coercion.
"Hey, are you sure you won’t reconsider? We can still negotiate! How about I cut the Credit Points in half?"
"Besides, do you even know how big this horde is? What you’re seeing now is just the vanguard! The total number is well over 40,000. If you choose to face it head-on, a lot of you will definitely be forced out of the assessment," Lin Xinghai added, feigning concern.
Hearing the number—40,000—Yan Feijie’s steps faltered for a moment, but he quickly resumed his pace as if nothing was wrong.
"It’s only 40,000 Zombies. It’s not like we can’t win," Yan Feijie replied to Lin Xinghai, his words also serving to bolster the morale of the others.
"Is that so? What happens after you’re surrounded and I go lure an even bigger horde over? Do you think you’ll still be able to win then?" Lin Xinghai said.
At that, Yan Feijie’s body froze. He suppressed the rage in his heart and said coldly, "Impossible. I don’t believe the examiners will just stand by and watch you eliminate every single one of us."
Lin Xinghai raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt his Communication Wristwatch vibrate in his pocket.
He took it out, glanced at the message, and his eyelid twitched. But he put it away as if nothing had happened.
"Perhaps! Well, good luck to you all." Watching the zombie horde about to crash down on them, Lin Xinghai quickly vacated the area.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battle erupted in an instant. The sounds of gunfire and exploding Superpowers rang out one after another.
As for Lin Xinghai, he had already slipped into a nearby zombie-free building. He took out his Communication Wristwatch again and looked carefully at the message.
After confirming that he hadn’t misread it, he couldn’t help but sigh. "Ah, it’s my own fault for being too outstanding. Now even the examiners have to step in and rein me in."
On a rooftop somewhere, Zuo Wenyao, who was observing the battle below, suddenly perked up his ears. The corner of his mouth twitched.
