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The chilling scream fractured the predawn stillness, abruptly rousing Yan Aoxue. Blinking awake, she instinctively scanned her surroundings. Around her, other female students were also stirring, the air thick with growing unease.

“The boys! But how?” Yan Aoxue’s frantic thoughts were interrupted by the unnerving sound of fabric being torn.

“Everyone,get up! We have intruders! Song Zhe, Mr. Liu, Liu Tao!” Yan Aoxue’s voice dripped with urgency as she snatched up her dagger and made a beeline for the lounge.

Some girls, their initial disorientation fading, also sprinted towards the lounge. Those who hesitated or faltered found themselves violently pressed down by Zhu Hanfang and his gang.

“Zhu Hanfang, have you gone mad?” Liu Tao, Song Zhe, and Mr. Liu emerged, brandishing improvised weapons. A desperate phalanx of girls clustered behind them, fear stark in their eyes.

A palpable tension divided the 7th floor: Zhu Hanfang, the embodiment of malevolent confidence, holding three petrified girls, while Liu Tao and Song Zhe stood resolute, a protective barrier of students behind them.

“Mad? Nah, just trying to survive in this damned world, and finding some fun along the way,” Zhu Hanfang smirked. “Now, how ’bout you drop those toys of yours and maybe, just maybe, you’ll walk outta here in one piece. If not…” He swung his baseball bat in a slow arc, a taunting grin on his face.

“You’ve taken all we had! What more do you want? Where’s your shred of decency?” came an indignant voice from among the group.

With a hint of amusement, he chuckled, “Decency? Here? Folks like you always think you’re above the rest of us. The way your dad looks at mine… probably reckon we’re all just a joke. Times have changed.” He gave a pointed look, “Especially when the tables have turned. Now, I wonder what a high-society squeal sounds like.”

“Fiend!”

“So, where’s your Lin Feng? Never had a taste of a cat girl before. Guess even a crappy world got its silver linings, huh?” He shot her an evil grin, malevolence evident in his eyes.

The mere mention of Lin Feng cast a shadow across the group, deepening the atmosphere of trepidation.

“She’s gone, isn’t she? Too bad,” he taunted.

“She’ll return and when she does, she’ll end your reign of terror,” retorted a fierce girl, her eyes ablaze with defiance even in her vulnerable state.

His response was swift and brutal—a slap that left her reeling. With cruel satisfaction, he gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, the silence amplifying the charged tension.

“Hey there, Chen Ranran, still daydreaming about the good ol’ days? Thinkin’ you’ll don that cop badge? Playing the hero, huh?” With a sly grin, Zhu Hanfang swiftly undid her shirt, letting a hint of her untouched skin peek out.

Chen Ranran’s eyes glistened with defiant tears. She wrestled to escape Zhu Hanfang’s invasive touch.

“White with a little flower design, huh? Got a set, do ya?”

“Enough! Zhu Hanfang, do you even know what you’re doing right now?” The voice of Mr. Liu, seething with anger, echoed in the hallway, his hand tremblingly pointing at the offender.

“Oi, Liu,” Zhu Hanfang said with a condescending grin, “You here to give me a lecture or maybe dock some points off my grades?” With a smirk, he casually shifted his focus back to Chen Ranran.

Another voice, calm yet firm, broke through, “Choose your words wisely, Zhu Hanfang.”

“Principal!” The word was a gasp from a student beside Zhu Hanfang, his gaze fixed on the dignified figure emerging behind Teacher Liu.

Acknowledging Mr. Liu with a silent, supportive pat, the Principal took center stage. “Students, redemption is just a choice away. Continuing with Zhu Hanfang will only drag you into oblivion. In any era, even now, society has no room for the wicked. Humanity distinguishes itself by virtue, not vice. Why degrade ourselves to mere beasts?”

His powerful words seemed to puncture the bravado of the boys by Zhu Hanfang’s side.

“Drop your weapons. Embrace your better selves. I believe in your innate goodness; it’s merely been overshadowed.”

“Cut the high and mighty act!” Zhu Hanfang scoffed. “Looking to cash in early, old timer?”

Unwavering, the Principal continued, “Reflect upon your—”

The resounding impact of a stone against his forehead silenced him, blood tracing a cruel path down.

Zhu Hanfang, with a smirk, shot a triumphant thumbs-up to his right-hand man.

Dr. Hu dashed to the principal’s side, swiftly assessing the wound on his forehead. With practiced hands, she fetched antiseptic from his bag, disinfecting and stemming the flow of blood. Once the principal was settled, Dr. Hu’s gaze shifted uneasily to the pistol in her bag.

“What the heck is going on out there?” Anna’s voice pierced the tense atmosphere as she limped from a nearby storeroom, scanning the standoff.

A blonde little girl, exuding casual confidence, strolled up to a young man, giving him a playful tap. “Song Zhe, right? Your face looks clearer without that beard.” She playfully ruffled her freshly cut hair.

Glimpsing the gathering, she remarked, “I didn’t remember having this many guys around. Where’s Yan Jie, that sneak? And wait, Zhu Hancheng? How did you make it up here?” With surprising agility, Anna backpedaled on her injured foot.

“It’s Zhu Hanfang, not Zhu Hancheng,” he shot back, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Bring her here.” The increasing female presence on his side seemed to bolster his arrogance, that old principal be damned.

“Let go! Release me!” Anna easily took down one man, in spite of her petite 1.5 meters frame, but three others quickly subdued her.

“Still a little chili padi, but how long will that last?” As they dragged her to Zhu Hanfang, he smirked, his intentions clear as his hand ventured towards her skirt.

“You twisted freak! Release me!” Anna’s voice trembled with a mix of rage and fear, tears threatening to spill. Visions of a past acquaintance, the one who stole her first kiss, flickered in her mind.

“Stop right there!”

A sharp cry disrupted Zhu Hanfang’s advance.

“If you move, I’ll shoot. Now, go back down, where you belong, ” Dr. Hu warned, trying to sound confident even as her hand quivered holding the pistol.

Zhu Hanfang, dismissing the threat with chilling ease, continued his sinister advances.

“I’ll do it! Don’t push me!”

Twang.

Suddenly, the chilling twang of a bowstring split the air. An arrow, swift and unyielding, pinned Zhu Hanfang’s arm to the wall, its shaft quivering. Drops of his blood formed a sinister trail down the wall.