Chapter 58: The Power of an Academic Genius

There was no other choice; Su Ling had to take that path.

Fortunately, she still had a male mindset.

‘I suppose only in the world of erotica or adult games would one find beautiful girls pinning you down and paying you for it.’

So, for the same situation, a different perspective changed one’s entire attitude.

Su Ling truly did not care, but Mo Ran was different.

She was a Witch born and raised in this world, and she had been brought up with its specific moral and ethical values.

Although those morals were somewhat open—evident by the fact that their class occasionally held “Class Collective Activities” that resembled scenes from an adult game—selling oneself was still looked down upon by mainstream society.

Naturally, Mo Ran could not accept her sister taking that path.

“I know she’s doing it for my sake, but… our family’s situation isn’t that dire. We could have survived,” Mo Ran said, biting her lip to suppress the urge to cry.

Their family was not like Su Ling’s; they weren’t buried in debt.

Although they were poor, there was no need to go down that road.

Su Ling shook her head and said nothing.

This was Mo Tong’s own choice, and she was an outsider after all.

It was already ten PM.

By the time Su Ling and Mo Ran took the last bus to the street where Shao Nian You was located, they were surprised to find a large crowd gathered.

These Witches were in high spirits, gathered in groups of two or three, their expressions filled with excitement.

Su Ling and Mo Ran exchanged a look, neither of them understanding what was happening.

“Excuse me, is there some kind of event going on here?”

Su Ling stopped a tall woman with long, black hair.

The woman’s hair hung low, partially obscuring her face and revealing only one eye.

The woman initially looked impatient, but when she caught a glimpse of Su Ling’s face under the baseball cap, she let out a wolf whistle.

“What a pretty little sister! Don’t you know? It seems Shao Nian You is holding a benefit event tonight. They said all services are ninety percent off, and some are even free.”

“Hehe, but a girl as pretty as you going to Shao Nian You would be their gain. Why don’t you consider me instead?”

“Haha, I already have an appointment,” Su Ling replied, her skin crawling.

The way this woman looked at her was far too intense.

She hurriedly pulled Mo Ran toward a corner.

By now, Mo Ran had realized what was happening, her face turning pale.

“What do they mean by ninety percent off? Then my sister…?”

“Don’t overthink it. It might not be what you think,” Su Ling comforted her.

She had roughly figured out what was going on.

Shao Nian You was planning to cut and run.

It seemed the crackdown from the previous night had cost them dearly.

They were likely trying to make one last haul before fleeing.

As for the employees… Hah, in the eyes of those capitalists, they were nothing more than commodities.

And Mo Tong, as an employee of Shao Nian You…

Su Ling’s heart hammered against her ribs.

She looked up at the glittering sign of Shao Nian You, hardened her resolve, and squeezed through the crowd toward the front with Mo Ran in tow.

“One at a time! Pay the 1,000 Moni membership fee first!”

“What? That’s so expensive!”

“Dammit, it used to be 100,000 Moni. You think 1,000 is expensive now?”

Even through his sunglasses, the bodyguard at the door could be seen rolling his eyes.

The Witches standing before him were all young delinquents from the Lower City.

None of them had any money; even 1,000 Moni was a fortune to them.

“Here is 2,000. Can we go in?”

Su Ling paid the fee, and the bodyguards immediately broke into wide grins.

“Hehe, of course. Please come in, ladies.”

Seeing this, Su Ling quickly pulled Mo Ran into the establishment.

The inside was a completely different world.

The first thing that met their eyes was a massive casino.

However, it seemed few tables were actually being used for gambling.

Instead, people were huddled together in various states of intimacy, creating a highly suggestive scene.

Mo Ran’s mind went blank.

She had never seen such a sight.

Even though it was a casino, there were no shouts of gambling.

Instead, the air was filled with constant, heavy sighs and moans.

The scene looked as if Slaanesh had descended; even the air felt humid.

Even Su Ling was shocked.

She quickly covered Mo Ran’s eyes and headed for the second floor.

“5,000 for the second floor.”

“Here, take it!” Su Ling paid immediately.

“Tsk, it’s pretty good down here too. What, don’t like the crowd?”

The bodyguard blocking the stairs to the second floor laughed lewdly.

Su Ling and Mo Ran naturally attracted the attention of many Witches.

One drunken little girl kept pulling at Su Ling, trying to get her to join them.

“Haha, we prefer somewhere a bit quieter,” Su Ling said awkwardly.

“By the way, I’ve been here before and was very impressed by a girl named Mo Tong. Is she here tonight?”

Hearing this, the bodyguard slowly lowered her sunglasses, looking confused.

“You’ve been here before?”

Logically, if such a beautiful girl had been here before, she would have remembered.

“Mo Tong, eh? She’s on the second floor, but you’d better hurry, or someone else will snatch her up.”

The bodyguard waved them through.

Upon hearing that, Su Ling grabbed Mo Ran—whose face was now bloodless—and rushed upstairs.

The second floor was indeed much quieter, but the doors to many rooms were slightly ajar, and the sounds coming from within were… quite stimulating.

Mo Ran felt as if her legs were made of lead, turning incredibly heavy.

“Hello. Do you have a prior appointment?”

There was actually a reception desk here.

“No, nothing! I just want to know if Mo Tong is still here!”

Su Ling was also getting anxious.

“Her? She was just picked,” the receptionist said, sounding puzzled.

Su Ling hurriedly asked, “Where is she now?”

“Sorry, that’s private information.”

As expected, they wouldn’t just give out that kind of information.

Su Ling stared intently at the two receptionists, her expression gradually becoming stern.

“Do you know who I am?”

“No… no, I don’t.”

Su Ling instantly switched to her “combat face,” which actually managed to intimidate the two girls.

They looked at Su Ling, their hearts tightening.

“Then do you know who my mother is?”

“We—we don’t know!”

‘Who is your mother?! Could it be some high-ranking official?’

Just as the two were making wild guesses, a figure suddenly vaulted over the desk.

Su Ling had actually resorted to physical force.

“Room 2034! Go, now!”

By then, Su Ling was already wrestling with the receptionists, shouting to Mo Ran.

Since they didn’t know who she was or who her mother was, she had no more reservations.

“Miss, if you keep this up, I’ll call for help… Aaah! Don’t bite my butt!” the receptionist cried out in pain.

Mo Ran stared at Su Ling in a daze until Su Ling roared at her.

“Trust me, Shao Nian You won’t exist after tonight! Find your sister and take her home! No one will come looking for trouble!”

Shao Hua had already said that Shao Nian You was finished.

Mo Tong had likely been threatened and coerced by the establishment; Shao Nian You clearly wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of her.

Su Ling wasn’t worried about Mo Tong’s “purity.”

She was afraid of the tragedies that could occur in such a frenzied atmosphere.

She had sensed something wrong the moment she entered.

The entire Shao Nian You felt as if it were sinking into an ocean of desire.

Some Witches were already rolling their eyes in exhaustion, yet the people around them continued to drag them into the revelry.

If this continued, people would actually die.

Shao Nian You was likely using Mo Ran as collateral, and Mo Tong didn’t dare to gamble.

It was only a little after ten PM, and the crowd was still relatively small.

Su Ling could hardly imagine what kind of Slaaneshi hellscape this would become in the early hours of the morning when more people arrived.

Mo Ran looked at Su Ling, who was fighting for her, and stood rooted to the spot.

It wasn’t until Su Ling’s roar that she finally snapped out of it.

‘Room 2034… 2034… Sister!’

Though her legs were trembling, Mo Ran resolutely ran toward the end of the corridor.

Su Ling watched Mo Ran go, feeling a sense of relief.

“Hey, have you had enough?”

One of the receptionists said, clutching her backside and sneering.

“Haha, can we settle this peacefully?”

Su Ling asked, blinking her watery eyes to look cute.

“Hmph, what do you think?”

“Wait, wait! Why aren’t you biting me? Come on, I can’t wait anymore!”

The other girl suddenly stuck out her rear, her face flushing red.

Su Ling and the receptionist she had just bitten froze, staring at her in shock.

“Uh, what’s wrong with you two? Two… two people at once… I guess that’s okay…”

She girl said shyly.

—

Room 2034.

Mo Tong looked at the seven little girls in front of her, completely stunned.

“I paid the most, so I go first!”

One of the girls with yellow hair said, rubbing her hands and looking eager.

“Move aside! You only paid one Moni more. I’m the biggest, I’m the eldest sister, so I go first,” another blue-haired girl said, kicking her away.

“Oh, stop it. Let’s just go together. We worked hard for a year to save this up; why bother with an order?”

A black-haired girl said, waving a fan and looking wise.

“Um… do you all actually want to do this?”

Mo Tong asked, looking down at the seven little girls who weren’t even as tall as her thighs.

She was just waiting to finish so she could go home.

“Oh, big sister, don’t be in such a hurry. You won’t be able to go home tonight anyway. Staying here a bit longer is for your own good.”

“What do you mean?”

An uneasy feeling rose in Mo Tong’s heart.

“You don’t know? Before we came in, the guards at the door said you all have to stay here to entertain guests all night. They also said there would be some secret benefit in the middle of the night, like a massive party or something.”

Mo Tong’s face turned deathly pale.

“That’s impossible! The supervisor said if I took one more client tonight, she’d set me free!”

She hadn’t wanted to come because she had also heard rumors that Shao Nian You was already a shell of its former self.

But the supervisor had threatened her with her sister. She had no choice but to show up.

“Ha, your supervisor ran away a long time ago.”

“Hehe, why don’t you just stay with us seven sisters tonight? Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle the later part of the night alone.”

The wise-looking black-haired girl had a glint of shrewdness in her eyes.

“No, I have to go back.”

Mo Tong sensed the danger.

If there really was a “carnival” later tonight with so many Witches… her face drained of color.

She tried to leave, but the girls held her back.

“Wait, give us our service first!”

“How much did you spend? I’ll pay you back. Can you please let me go?”

“No way, we like you very much.”

“Please, I can’t stay here…”

She had realized something else: the Superintendent Department.

They had raided Shao Nian You the previous night, yet the club was holding such a high-profile event tonight.

She was smart enough to realize this was likely a sting operation involving both the underworld and the authorities.

If she stayed, even if she survived the night, the police might burst in the next morning and arrest everyone.

Being detained was one thing, but a “party” like that was illegal—it meant prison time.

She couldn’t go to jail; her sister was waiting for her.

But the seven girls seemed determined.

They held her down, and as they spoke, they actually started trying to use force.

Mo Tong was in despair.

‘Dammit, these brats!’

“Sister!”

*BANG!*

Just then, the door was kicked open.

Everyone froze, staring at the doorway.

Mo Ran stood there, her face covered in tears, looking at Mo Tong.

Mo Tong was shocked, as were the seven little girls.

“Hey, you… ugh!”

The yellow-haired girl tried to step forward to question her, but Mo Ran kicked her straight into the wall.

A human-shaped crack appeared in the masonry, embedding her so deeply she couldn’t even be pulled out.

“Aaah! Second Sister!” the remaining girls screamed.

“Ran…”

“You idiot! You always say you’re doing it for my sake, but you never value yourself!”

Mo Ran cried while kicking another girl who rushed at her into the wall.

Lest anyone forgot, she was one of the few academic geniuses in the Lower City.

Magic Control and Physical Refinement were both mandatory subjects for the College Entrance Examination.

One could say that among Ordinary Witches, she was incredibly strong.

However, she controlled her strength; the girls embedded in the wall weren’t in any real danger.

After all, given a Witch’s physical constitution, even falling from the tenth floor wouldn’t kill them.

“Uh… I’ll do it myself.”

The last remaining girl, the wise black-haired one, raised her hands in surrender and then threw herself against the wall.

Guess what?

She didn’t pass out.

It was quite awkward.

The seven sisters were actually construction students.

Unfortunately, the job market was poor, so they had to work on sites in the Lower City, hauling bricks and pouring concrete.

They had recently taken a government contract to renovate a ruined building on Pancheng Street and made a decent amount of Moni, which was why they decided to come here to enjoy themselves.

Mo Ran ignored the group of fools and rushed into the room, grabbing Mo Tong’s wrist.

“Ran, I…”

“Shut up! If you really want to do something for me, then buy me a birthday cake every single day!”

Mo Ran said without looking back.

Mo Tong was stunned.

She remembered Mo Ran’s birthday.

‘So… she remembered all along.’

“Okay!”

Mo Tong wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded heavily.

“Su Ling!”

Mo Ran shouted as she pulled Mo Tong out, spotting Su Ling who was about to be smothered to death by the two receptionists’ “assets.”

“Mo Ran, save me!” ‘What terrifying evil!’

“Haha, I surrender, I surrender!”

One of the receptionists glanced at the security monitor.

Seeing the six human-shaped cracks in Room 2034 made her break into a cold sweat.

They only made a few Moni a month anyway.

Plus, they had heard rumors that the Boss was dead and most of the shareholders had fled.

Shao Nian You was just an empty shell; they were only here because they were being forced.

It wasn’t worth it—it really wasn’t worth it.

*Phew*, finally saved!

Su Ling broke free from the “evil” and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Stay behind me,” Mo Ran said. Her small face was covered in tears and her eyes were red, making her look quite gentle, but her aura was incredibly sharp.

Su Ling swallowed hard.

She suddenly realized she had likely been blinded by her Earth-based logic and Mo Ran’s quiet appearance.

On Earth, top students were mostly frail and weak because they spent all their time studying and had no time to exercise.

But for Witches, Magic Control and Physical Refinement were part of the national exams.

And “Physical Refinement” was just a fancy name for Body Refinement.

Among Witch students, an academic genius truly could punch you into a wall so hard you couldn’t be scraped off.

“Sister, I’m strong now. You don’t have to protect me anymore. Let me protect you.”

“Um… you girls…”

Mo Ran turned to look at Mo Tong, then slapped a bodyguard who had come to investigate, sending her flying into the wall.

‘Wait, I was just coming to see what the noise was!’

That bodyguard was the one who had been guarding the second floor earlier.

She was currently dazed.

She had only come to check on the commotion out of instinct.

‘There was no need to hit me!’

“Listen…”

*SLAP!*

“Let me finish, please!”

*BANG!*

“Aaah, I’ll do it myself! I’ll do it myself!”

*CRASH!*

“Stop it!”

*SNAP!*

“We’re just trying to make a living!”

*CRACK!*

“…”

By the time they had completely left Shao Nian You, both Su Ling and Mo Tong were in a state of total bewilderment.

‘If you were that strong, you should have said so earlier!’

Su Ling took a sharp breath.

‘Is this… the power of an academic genius?’