******
Shen Tian sat frozen in place, his mind caught in a haze, unable to immediately process what he had just heard.
For a long moment, he was stuck in limbo, lips slightly parted, his entire expression blank with disbelief.
'Failure to complete the mission within the time limit will result in the system's departure, and life will follow a path even more tragic than before?'
That single sentence echoed within his head like a dreadful curse, constricting his chest with a chilling grip.
His breath hitched, and a wave of paralyzing cold washed over his entire body. It wasn't mere fear—it was sheer, bone-deep dread.
The twisted agony of his former life, a life marked by humiliation, unbearable sorrow, loneliness, and betrayal, was something he would never wish even upon a sworn enemy. And yet… the system had just warned that failing the given quest would condemn him to an even more harrowing existence.
His pulse quickened, and cold sweat beaded on his back. But then, swallowing the lump in his throat, Shen Tian gritted his teeth and forced himself to snap out of it. Now wasn't the time to be consumed by fear, not with the countdown still reading.
Right then, the rest of the class finally snapped back to reality as well and blinked rapidly at Shen Tian as though he had just grown a second head.
"D-Did… did he really just challenge Brother Xu?" someone blurted, his voice trembling and eyes bulging with disbelief as though he had just witnessed a meteor crash through the ceiling.
The atmosphere inside the room became unbearably tense. It felt as though time itself had halted, the air crackling with disbelief and suppressed laughter.
"He must have a death wish," someone else finally sneered, shaking his head mockingly.
"Who actually gave that dog the audacity to bark?"
The entire class erupted into murmurs, each voice a mixture of disbelief, mockery, contempt, and toxic amusement.
"No way… no way in hell did Shen Tian just say that."
"He didn't just talk back—he insulted Li Xu! Called him delusional, even mocked him as a cripple! Is he mentally ill or just that desperate for attention?"
"And did you hear that tone? That confidence? Like he suddenly grew a spine overnight?"
As if a switch had flipped, everyone's expressions shifted from disbelief to scornful glee. It was like watching a lamb willingly walk into a den of starving wolves.
If anyone had asked them earlier to choose between Shen Tian standing up to Li Xu or pigs soaring through the sky, they would have all undoubtedly picked bacon with wings a thousand times over.
Because in their eyes, Shen Tian was nothing more than a spineless doormat. The kind of pathetic loser who would eat garbage if told to, a walking joke, the designated classroom punching bag. Yet now—now he had dared to step out of line?
Whispers turned into cruel speculation.
"He must've taken some kind of hallucinogen."
"Or maybe he finally went crazy from all the bullying and decided to die spectacularly."
"Ha! This is gonna be good. Brother Xu's gonna skin him alive."
In the midst of all this… stood Li Xu.
He had yet to move.
His eyes were locked on Shen Tian, unblinking, seething.
And when he finally did react, it was explosive.
A twisted, ugly snarl abruptly spread across his face. His bloodshot eyes radiated malice, his nostrils flaring like a provoked beast on the verge of a rampage.
His fists clenched so tightly the veins in his arms bulged grotesquely.
"You…" he growled lowly, his voice a guttural sound more beast than man. "You dare… you dare challenge me?"
Li Xu's anger was a storm waiting to burst.
All these years, Shen Tian had been his favorite toy, his personal punching bag. He was used to kicking him around like trash, used to that trembling look of submission on his face. The look of wanting to stand up for himself but dared not.
Yet now… now this coward, this vermin, dared to raise his voice?
Li Xu's gaze swept across the class. The moment he saw the mixture of shocked stares and barely hidden amusement in their eyes, he felt a new kind of fury surge within him.
It felt as though they were laughing at him and mocking him.
It didn't matter if it was true—it felt true. It felt like the room was spinning with jeers, with silent whispers calling him weak, saying he'd lost control of his dog.
Li Xu's teeth ground together until they ached.
"You… you pathetic little piece of shit…" Li Xu hissed, raising a trembling finger and jabbing it toward Shen Tian like he wanted to impale him with it. "You're so dead today! You hear me?!"
The entire room quieted in an instant. Every head turned toward Shen Tian, wide-eyed and giddy, waiting for the slaughter to begin.
"Boss is gonna rip him apart now," one of Li Xu's lapdogs whispered, practically drooling with anticipation.
"Serves him right. Trash like him should know his place."
"I'm getting goosebumps, man. Brother Xu looks possessed."
"He's not just angry… he's murderous."
"I hope the pathetic, poverty-stricken loser screams. Like, really screams. That would be perfect."
Even the girls, some of whom normally kept a façade of decency, had malicious gleams in their eyes.
One could see the pleasure they derived from watching someone they deemed lower being dragged through the mud.
As if Shen Tian's pain was their favorite form of entertainment.
But Shen Tian… remained still.
Unfazed.
His expression was unreadable, eerily calm. In his eyes, Li Xu was no longer the tyrant who haunted his days back then. He was now nothing more than a clown throwing a tantrum in front of an audience, stripped of dignity.
'Three years… three long years I cowered before this fool. All because of the terror the Shen Family had put in me and because I was too afraid of causing trouble, too scared of their threats that they must not receive any news of trouble related to me, even if it means I have to be silent until killed...'
He let out a soft, internal sigh.
'What a joke. What a pathetic joke my old self was.'
Meanwhile, Li Xu's rage has already reached a boiling point.
"You think this is a game, huh?! You're asking for it!" he bellowed, his voice echoing like a thunderclap.
"You've got two choices now, worm!" he roared, pointing savagely toward the ground. "Either crawl over here, kneel like the dog you are, and lick the dirt off my boot… and I'll only break nine of your fingers and six of your toes."
Gasps rippled through the class like shockwaves. Some turned pale. Others were thrilled. The girls covered their mouths, but their eyes betrayed a hunger for more drama.
"…that's… that's demonic," someone whispered, wide-eyed.
But Li Xu didn't care.
"Or—" he continued, strong, immeasurable venom dripping from his voice, "—since you dared to call me a cripple, I'll make sure you never walk again. I'll shatter you and make an example out of your corpse!"
No one dared interrupt. All eyes locked onto Shen Tian.
Less than a handful pitied him. Others celebrated his upcoming demise. A few were secretly rooting for him and wanting to see whether he would stand to his new courage till the end but remained silent, unwilling to stand against Li Xu.
"Idiot..." someone muttered under their breath. "He should've stayed in his lane. A powerless loser standing up to the king? That's suicide."
"He should've known better."
"Even if he begged now, it's too late. Brother Xu's gone full beast mode."
But then—
Shen Tian slowly rose from his seat.
Seeing this, the room collectively held its breath. Some shook their heads.
"Typical. I knew it. The coward's gonna pick the first option. Kneel and grovel."
"He talked and acted big just now, but in the end, still a spineless insect."
"What a letdown."
Some of the girls began heading toward the door, murmuring about how they couldn't stomach the sight of broken fingers and toes.
But then—
"Can I have a third option instead?" Shen Tian asked suddenly, his tone still eerily calm.
Hearing him, the entire room froze.
Then, slowly, all eyes widened. All mouths dropped until finally…
'What?!'
Even Li Xu blinked, stunned to the core. He couldn't comprehend what he had just heard.
Shen Tian's expression, however, didn't change. There was no fear. No hesitation. He met Li Xu's confused gaze with an expressionless, unfazed gaze.
"How about..." Shen Tian murmured, his voice dropping to an icy whisper, "...I slap you instead?"
Nobody moved. For a full two seconds, silence devoured the room.
But then—
Pak!
A thunderous, resounding smack echoed.
The sharp crack of palm meeting flesh rang louder than any scream, louder than any curse.
In an instant, time seemed to slow down drastically as every student watched in disbelief.
Li Xu's body jerked sideways… no, launched as though struck by a truck.
In an instant, the red-haired bully spun midair and crashed across the classroom like a ragdoll, knocking over chairs and landing in a crumpled heap.
Immediately following this, silence settled over the room.
Eerie, suffocating silence.
Not even a breath could be heard. It was as though the classroom had been dropped into a void.
Dozens of students stared at Shen Tian.
At his calm demeanor.
At the hand he'd raised.
And finally… at Li Xu, the arrogant, self-made tyrant now lying broken on the floor.
Shock? No. The emotion currently in the air was several times more.