Chapter 50

Over the past two days, every class’s absentee rate had soared.

The teachers expressed that they were very angry. Children these days were getting more and more outrageous. Did they think teachers had no temper?

Students who were late or skipping class were all dragged off for lectures. A long line formed outside the teachers’ office, and it looked rather spectacular.

Some people had only just come out of the sports field looking like defeated dogs when they were caught by the teachers.

“You won’t attend class properly. Did you go play games or something? I don’t care how you play after class, but now you can’t even attend class properly, is that it?”

A student said with tears in his eyes, “Teacher, we really didn’t go have fun this time. We went to pick up trash.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? Fine, you won’t admit it, but now you’re lying too! For the next month, all of you report to the special study room every night!”

Could a teacher not understand students? Students who normally hated doing any kind of work were late and skipping class just to pick up trash. Did that sound ridiculous or not?

Could they at least put some effort into making up excuses?

Even saying they had been kidnapped halfway there would have been more believable than this.

The student felt even more wronged from not being trusted. Though he might usually find excuses to sneak away, this time he was absolutely telling the truth!

He wished he could swear to the heavens. “A maze array suddenly appeared on the sports field. If something drops there, you have to pick up even more trash before you can leave.”

When he kept walking in circles on the sports field and could not get out, he could see the prompt on the transparent barrier.

If it only made people pick up whatever they had dropped, most people would still do it. He was the same.

But if it made him pick up even more trash before he could leave, then he was unwilling. That wasn’t his duty, so why should he have to do it? The school had dedicated people to maintain the place, and he had heard that a few first-year kids had even renewed the annual sports-field cleaning package. They should be the ones doing it.

Since he was unwilling, he chose the violent array-breaking method. In the end, he wore himself half to death, and the barrier did not budge at all.

Finally, out of options, he could only yield to the forces of evil and pick up the trash.

He gnashed his teeth and said, “It must be those people from the array club who did it. Just wait until I go back and beat them up. They’re seriously too wicked!”

Then the back of his head was slapped by the teacher. “Who are you going to beat up? So arrogant.”

The teacher was not yet sure whether the facts were as he had said. If they were, then this array could be considered “getting rid of harm for the people.” What did he have to feel wronged about?

The teacher then asked about the others’ situations. Unexpectedly, quite a few of them had been trapped by that array too.

“My identity token fell on the sports field, and I forgot to bring it back. It was also judged as littering.”

“I left my clothes on the sports field and forgot to take them back. Then when I walked to the edge of the sports field, I got trapped.”

The teacher: …

After comparing the class schedules of each class, it seemed that after outdoor courses, the absentee rate for the next class would rise.

Some people were even more ridiculous. They said embarrassedly, “They said this restriction couldn’t be broken. I didn’t believe it, so I went to test it. I didn’t expect to really get trapped inside.”

Several students specializing in arrays nodded repeatedly along with them. “This array is unreasonable. I couldn’t find the core array eye, but it feels like it isn’t a very strong maze array. How could it be impossible to break?”

As they studied and studied, they forgot the class time.

No matter what the situation was, the fact remained that they had missed class or been late. The teacher drove all of them to the special study room without exception.

At the same time, he had to go communicate with the array club and see if they could improve this array.

The array’s starting point was good, but for some people who had not intended to “throw out trash,” could there be a little leniency? Also, it could not delay classes.

The array club happened to be discussing this matter too.

“President, is this really not our activity? Everyone outside is saying our club did it.”

The president rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t you know whether it was our activity or not? This array is too strange.”

On the surface, it was very simple and very ordinary, but no one had discovered its array eye, and there was no way to break it by force. From this, it could be seen that its “simplicity” was only a smokescreen.

“I understand. This must be an assignment left for us by some teacher!” a member of the array club said in a flash of inspiration.

Unexpectedly, this explanation actually gained the approval of most people. “This might be an important test.”

“Tonight, our club’s original activity is canceled. It will be changed to research on this array.”

The school safety department was holding an emergency meeting.

Because there were attack records on the school’s protective array.

The school’s defensive arrays were all very powerful. This was common knowledge throughout the cultivation world, so by now, very few people were unable to think things through enough to attack a school’s protective array.

Cloud City was peaceful. Even if an occasional petty villain wanted to cause trouble, they would not be stupid enough to attack Cloud Elementary. Aside from accelerating their own arrest, it would not accomplish anything at all.

What was even stranger this time was that the attack records came from inside the school.

Under normal circumstances, the protective array had no effect on the interior of the school. Only when a student tried to run outside the school through abnormal means would the array be activated.

Normal students, like the people outside, knew that attacking the array was useless and would instead let the school security guards find them immediately, so they would not waste the effort.

One or two reckless fools might personally test the law, but they would quickly be caught.

The problem had arrived. After discovering that the protective array had been attacked, the security guards patrolled around the school’s outer perimeter, yet they did not see any suspicious person at all.

But the attack alerts on the protective array were still appearing one after another. What exactly was going on?

Was there a problem with the protective array’s alerts, or had someone discovered a loophole in the array?

The former would be manageable. But if the latter was used by someone with ill intentions, there would be major trouble.

Everyone gathered here full of worry. “Patrols inside the school have already been strengthened, but not knowing the other party’s purpose or methods makes this feel very passive.”

Were there bad people inside the school? Then who could it be?

This attack was not caused by one person. If they had ulterior motives, the damage they could cause would be much greater than this. Why would they do something that exposed themselves?

This matter was full of doubts everywhere.

“We need to inspect the protective array and confirm that it is operating normally.”

Song Yi’s math teacher was also on the list of meeting attendees. Looking at the data being fed back, his brows furrowed tightly. “This… is too strange.”

This kind of unreasonable data should not appear.

Someone asked, “Has anyone encountered any suspicious people or incidents recently?”

All the meeting attendees shook their heads. Only the math teacher suddenly remembered something: not long ago, Student Song Yi had asked him quite a few questions related to the protective array.

But he quickly shook his head as well and gave a bitter laugh. Stop being paranoid. Even if a child had a bit of curiosity, could she cause trouble? Could she create something that alerted the school’s defenses?

Because the school’s teaching department and safety department did not belong to the same system, information was not transmitted that quickly between the two sides.

The math teacher was run ragged inspecting and repairing the protective array. It was only after most of the teachers already knew that an array had appeared on the sports field that he belatedly heard about it.

“The people from the array club say it wasn’t them. Then who could it be?”

“An array that looks simple but can’t be broken… I wonder if some maliciously playful great power did it. I think Old Yang has that kind of potential.”

“He would do that kind of thing, provided he understood arrays.”

These voices floated into the math teacher’s ears and made him realize something. He rushed directly over to those colleagues. “What are you talking about?”

“You still don’t know? Someone set up a maze array on the sports field. Anyone who litters on the sports field gets trapped inside to pick up trash. Quite a lot of people tried to crack the array, and none of them succeeded.”

The math teacher used a swift-walking talisman and charged toward the sports field.

He activated the maze array on the sports field, studied the parameters within it, and then tried to attack it. After that, he pulled up the school protective array’s data. Sure enough, the data from attacks on the maze array was being fed back to the protective array.

Simply put, someone had connected the two arrays in a way that had not alerted him. The school’s protective array was taking damage on behalf of this simple maze array.

Many doubts could now be resolved.

Why could an array that looked very simple not be violently cracked?

Because what you were breaking was not this maze array, but the school’s protective array.

Why could the security guards not find the people attacking the protective array while patrolling?

It was not that the other party had turned invisible. It was that they were on the sports field, which was not an area where the protective array itself would appear, nor was it a point the security guards would patrol.

This idea was very ingenious, but also very outrageous. Was this not using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken?

The school’s protective array existed to guard the peace of the entire school. You mobilized the protective array’s resources just to make people pick up trash. Was that not a little too much?

Was the wool of the school’s protective array meant to be pulled like this?

The math teacher’s expression darkened slightly. He had already guessed who had created this thing.

If he said it out loud, others might not even believe it. A few children, in order not to pick up trash, had alerted the entire school’s security and defense system.

Then he saw Song Yi and the others strolling around the sports field with their little hands clasped behind their backs.

Song Yi waved a hand. “Look. Isn’t the sports field so clean now?”

That bearing made it seem as if she were saying, “Look. This is the kingdom I conquered for you.”

They no longer had to worry about the small amount of leaves shed by the spiritual plants either, because every person had to pick up more trash than they dropped. Naturally, they would finish up all the remaining work too.

The next second, Song Yi saw the math teacher storming toward her.

Her movement stiffened. Then she calmly withdrew her hand as if nothing had happened.

“You guys keep watch here. I’ll be leaving first.”

She was not sure whether the math teacher had discovered the truth.

Logically speaking, these people’s attacks were like scraping a layer of skin to the school’s protective array. It should not have been enough to alert him. But she had a guilty conscience, so she should avoid the limelight.

If something happened, Lin Ze and Li Wenwen could go first!

That was right. Under the two’s “guidance,” Song Yi had already learned the correct way to open up “friendship,” and she was walking farther and farther down the road of not being a decent human being.

But were Lin Ze and Li Wenwen the kind of people who were easy to fool?

They knew perfectly well what Song Yi had done. Actively selling her out was impossible, but—

“Little Yi, I need to go to the bathroom.” Relying on his long legs, Lin Ze ran first.

Li Wenwen held Song Yi back. “The math teacher is coming. Little Yi, you’re more familiar with the teacher, so you go say hello. Otherwise, we’ll look impolite.”

Of course, the three people’s last-ditch struggle was completely useless.

The fact that the math teacher had no cultivation did not mean he could not use artifacts.

A long rope shot straight toward them and bound the three little ones tightly. The math teacher held the rope, like he was leading three little piglets.

The image was too vivid, causing passing teachers and students to stop one after another and watch.

The reason the math teacher did not let the other two go was very simple. He did not believe Lin Ze and Li Wenwen had truly done nothing.

Every time Song Yi caused trouble, the two of them either covered for her or handed her the knife. Either way, they were not all that innocent.

The same logic applied when the other two caused trouble.

The three little ones appeared neatly together in the principal’s office. Also present were their homeroom teacher and Teacher Yuan, who had heard the news.

The school’s protective array was a matter of great importance. Naturally, it was not something one class could resolve on its own.

Less than half a semester in, this was Song Yi and the others’ second time seeing the principal in a private setting.

The three teachers present all had headaches.

The math teacher was the designer of the protective array. He was also the person who had told Song Yi some of the data and allowed her to find the loophole.

The homeroom teacher managed the class. All three of these kids were in his class. How could he not come?

Teacher Yuan was the guiding teacher of the Work-Study Club, so he had to come too, because setting up arrays in the school’s public spaces required reporting upward in advance.

And according to the three children, they had already submitted an activity report in the name of the Work-Study Club, yet Teacher Yuan, their guiding teacher, had still been kept in the dark.

Clearly, President Song Yi had bypassed Teacher Yuan and submitted the report. The report definitely had not mentioned a single word about milking resources from the protective array. The reviewing teacher had glanced at it and passed it.

With a club in place, their efficiency in causing trouble had improved quite a lot.

On the surface, they were even quite rule-abiding.

The teachers covered their faces. They were exactly the kind of people who followed the rules on the surface while actually doing whatever they wanted. The moment they heard the explanation, the sense of déjà vu was so strong that they did not even know how to face the principal. Principal, please listen to our explanation. The normal students we teach really are not like this!

These few children could not represent their normal teaching standards!

The principal’s face showed no anger. She looked at the little children with a smiling expression and said, “You reported that you were making a new array on the sports field, but you did not obtain permission to use the protective array, did you? Drilling through loopholes and taking crooked paths will not let you go very far.”

Unexpectedly, Song Yi suddenly said, “I obtained permission.”

The principal: ?

“I asked the math teacher before whether I could also use the protective array. He said yes.”

The math teacher almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Yes, he had said such a thing.

But that was absolutely not permission to use it. What he had meant was that every child would receive the protective array’s protection, not that he had allowed Song Yi to tamper with the protective array! Or rather, no one had expected that she could successfully tamper with it.

These children were becoming more and more meticulous when exploiting loopholes.

The principal was also rendered speechless. Only after a long while did she say, “Thankfully, there was no major effect on the protective array, so the several teachers can discuss how to handle this.”

A clever principal knew how to toss the pot back to the teachers in time. No, she was returning the duty and authority of educating children to the teachers.

Taking over these hot potatoes was easy, but one look told her they were the type to have “endless future troubles.” She could only trouble the teachers a little.

The three teachers had no choice but to take the children back.

However, before they left, once the children had gone out, the principal reminded the homeroom teacher, “Since they have this ability, make full use of it.”

The homeroom teacher froze. “You mean…”

The principal slowly blew on the steam rising from her teacup and smiled. “Helping build the school is a good thing. There are quite a few places that need building.”

The homeroom teacher immediately revealed a knowing smile.

To Song Yi and the others’ delight, the teachers actually did not intend to make them remove the maze array on the sports field. That meant they could openly slack off from now on!

What was there to fear about an annual sports-field cleaning package? Even a six-year package would not be scary!

It was also because Song Yi had somewhat of a conscience. According to Lin Ze’s way of thinking, those people would also have to pay a fine before they could leave. It was not necessarily true conscience. It was only that she knew this money would not end up in her own pocket even if it was collected.

“But the current version of this array won’t do. It must be optimized. You need to refine the rules and avoid accidental injury. Complete it within one week. If you can’t finish it, then keep picking up trash.”

Song Yi scratched her cheek with some difficulty. As everyone knew, the more refined an array, the more difficult it was. She would have to spend quite a few brain cells on it too.

However, compared with long-term cleaning, spending these few brain cells was still the more labor-saving option.

So Song Yi’s choice was obvious.

Lin Ze and Li Wenwen also joined her in studying array knowledge beyond the syllabus.

The upper-grade senior Wang Yisheng was also dragged over by them to help. This array had been created in the name of the Work-Study Club. Since it had already been officially acknowledged, dragging him over to help was perfectly justified.

Through the united efforts of the entire club, the new array finally passed inspection.

Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they turned around and received new tasks.

“The public cultivation rooms need to be cleaned.”

“The books in the library need to be organized by you.”

“…”

The teachers no longer forbade them from using their wisdom and reasonably slacking off. But after they finished this one, the next one would still be waiting for them.

Only belatedly did Song Yi prop up her cheek. “Are we the ones being reverse-milked for resources?”

Lin Ze and Li Wenwen’s expressions changed greatly. “Oh no. We performed too well.”

“Isn’t performing well a good thing?” Song Yi was a little puzzled.

But Lin Ze and Li Wenwen, the two kings of slacking off, understood this very well. If you showed one part talent, the teacher would try to squeeze two parts potential out of you. If you did not want pressure placed on you, you had to appear as though you had already done your absolute best.

Bosses and teachers were similar. When you made things look too easy, they would think you did not have enough schoolwork or work yet.

“The capable do more work. Don’t let people have overly high expectations of you,” Lin Ze earnestly taught her his experience in slacking off.

Song Yi half-understood. So, it turned out that being bad at things was also a way of survival.

Was it still not too late to start acting useless now?

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