Chapter 64: Right to life

“Now, there is no longer any reason to stay here.”

Ai Lian sat in her seat.

Her gaze fell upon the spot where Gu Yebai used to sit during his time in Linchuan.

It was empty now.

He had already left for Donghai.

Although a person’s goodness or evil often failed to determine the final path of causality, and human endings were frequently filled with randomness and chance, Ai Lian still hoped from the bottom of her heart that Gu Yebai would find happiness.

She closed her eyes and let her thoughts slowly unfurl, imagining just how happy he would be in the future…

‘No. Actually, I don’t want him to be too happy.’

‘Because if he never felt despair, there would be no legitimate reason to take him away from Earth and bring him to the Eden of technology.’

‘He will find human happiness on another planet.’

‘So, I hope he despairs. I hope he prays in the darkness, wishing for someone to save him.’

‘And I will be the only one to answer him…’

‘Such a feeling would be so pure.’

‘Yes. This has nothing to do with love. Researching the limits of human emotions on Earth is, after all, one of the research topics.’

“Hey, ugly.”

“I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”

Suddenly, a basin of cold water was poured over her head, mercilessly soaking Ai Lian’s hair.

It was still the dead of winter.

Even indoors, the heating was weak.

The school leadership seemed unwilling to waste heating expenses on a group of students who did nothing but skip class; that money was clearly more profitable in their own pockets.

Consequently, the temperature in the classroom stayed near 0 degrees.

Furthermore, Linchuan Fifth High School had an absurd rule: student uniforms had to be worn as the outermost layer.

Therefore, most students were forced to stuff heavy padded coats inside their uniforms.

They looked like bloated, human-shaped balloons, though this style of dress provided very little actual warmth.

Ai Lian raised her eyes.

In the past, Gu Yebai had been her protector in this class, in a sense.

As long as he was there, she wasn’t completely isolated.

But now, Gu Yebai was gone.

The situation had undergone a fundamental change.

Ai Lian was once again alone.

For the girls who viewed bullying as a direct manifestation of social status, this was undoubtedly an excellent moment.

Showing cruel fangs to a sheep that wouldn’t fight back and was generally disliked was a deal with a hundred benefits and no downsides.

Only this time, they had chosen the wrong target.

“Are you done yet?”

“The research project has ended.”

Ai Lian’s tone was flat, without any fluctuation.

She sounded more like she was submitting a concluding report to someone who wasn’t there.

“Ugly, what are you blabbering about?”

The lead girl with the round face was heavily built.

If one were to judge by looks, she was the “ceiling of ugliness” in the class.

However, she was broad-shouldered and outgoing, making her the leader of the girls; she could even crack jokes with the boys casually.

At that moment, she swung her palm toward Ai Lian’s face.

If Ai Lian had shown fear earlier, the girl might not have actually struck.

But Ai Lian’s calm, almost condescending tone was, in her eyes, infuriatingly pretentious.

“So slow.”

“What did you say?”

Ai Lian calmly raised her hand.

She slapped the round-faced girl first, leaving a rapidly reddening palm print.

“You’ve really lost it!”

“You guys, grab her! Just like before, make her drink some toilet water!”

“Yes!”

The two girls beside her moved immediately.

One wore heavy makeup and had glaring blonde hair.

The other had a butterfly tattoo boldly inked on her collarbone, as if flaunting some cheap courage.

Just as their hands were about to touch Ai Lian …

Ai Lian firmly gripped the thumb joint of one of them.

Her angle was precise, her strength clean, and then she applied counter-force.

Crack!

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear.

The girl’s thumb had been snapped.

Intense pain exploded instantly, and she let out a shrill scream.

Immediately after, Ai Lian raised her knee and slammed it hard into the other girl’s abdomen.

The girl didn’t even have time to scream before her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor.

“According to an analysis of behavioral models in Earth’s society,” Ai Lian said as she grabbed the round-faced girl’s hair and slammed her head against the desk.

“When individuals lose external constraints, they often confirm their position within a group by exerting violence.”

“This is correct. Violence is, indeed, a way to establish status.”

Bang!

“But this behavior — “

Ai Lian used a bit of force, forcing the round-faced girl to her knees.

” Must be built upon a single premise.”

Bang!

“And that is the expectation that the oppressed party will not fight back.”

Bang, bang, bang…

“I’m curious. Between your skull and the hardness of this desk… which one is actually harder?”

Blood soon flowed down the round-faced girl’s forehead.

In Ai Lian’s eyes, there was no hatred or excitement.

She was simply returning the bullying in kind, using the method they were accustomed to.

That was all.

“Stop it, Ai Lian!”

These three girls were just a small clique.

Outside of this group was a larger, mid-sized circle.

Soon, five more girls surrounded her.

Behind them stood three boys.

And those three boys had even more friends outside of school.

It was layer upon layer.

As a result, this circle was almost considered an organized underworld force within the class — the kind of group even school officials would subconsciously avoid.

‘Violence…’

‘What determines the quality of violence is never the number of people.’

‘You fools.’

Ai Lian closed her eyes.

In an instant, Gu Yebai’s face flickered through her mind.

In reality, due to her mimetic skin, she wouldn’t feel any pain even if she were beaten or bullied.

But once she thought of Gu Yebai’s face, she found a reason to fight back.

A knife slashed toward her face.

It wasn’t fast.

Ai Lian simply tilted her head slightly and easily dodged it.

She could tell the other party didn’t actually dare to escalate things too far; the strike was just a symbolic gesture meant to intimidate.

But as long as they held the intent to use violence, they were qualified for elimination.

Ai Lian used a knife-hand strike to swat the illegal weapon to the ground.

Following that, she delivered a precise elbow strike to the opponent’s face.

A blood-stained tooth flew out.

“If you are bullying me with the thought that you can walk away unscathed, then I advise you to give up.”

Ai Lian leaned down and picked up the knife.

“But if you plan to try again, I will exercise my right to self-defense on the grounds that my life is being threatened. To protect my right to exist, I will strip you of yours.”

Today’s Ai Lian was different.

After Gu Yebai left, she didn’t continue to endure.

She chose to fight back.

It was this very retaliation that caused those who had been glaring at her like she was a lamb to shrink back for the first time.

They turned and fled.

“Boring.”