Paul shoved the pale-skinned Asian-American in front of him against the wall, then raised his fist to smash the annoying teenâs dead-looking face in.
The black-haired youth opened those green eyes that seemed to see through peopleâs souls, and mocked, âI hope you can get a little heavier-handed, so that my dad can also fish a bit more.â
The gloomy teenager broke out in a grin, which made people feel a sense of discomfort and eerie-ness.
Because the teenager at this moment was like a lunatic who didnât care about the fists that were about to fall on his face, just smiling with creepy expectations.
âWhat are you talking about?â Paul narrowed his eyes, the fierceness worsened, and he smashed the boyâs left cheek in with a punch.
Thump!
The teenager was beaten until he staggered, and his pale left cheek was slightly reddened, as if it was smeared with a layer of inferior blush, eliciting a feeling of distress in any watchers.
âHa, itâs not heavy enough. Your mother Maria lost 8,000 yuan last time. I donât know how much youâll lose this time? Ah, then, last time you were beaten by your dad, because you lost his gambling money to my family ⌠haha!â [1]
The black-haired Asian-American laughed a little.
He really thought Paulâs idiocy was hilarious.
His cheap father, Eugene Stuart, went to school because he fainted last time.
Donât get him wrong, it definitely wasnât because of distress for his son, but that the medical bill was too expensive, and someone had to bear the cost.
As a result, Paulâs family, who werenât particularly wealthy, lost a lot of money.
Eight thousand yuan â In this backward and closed-off town, it was enough for a family of four to live comfortably for two or three years.
And even now, Paul still didnât know how to repent.
Zhou Yuâs emerald green eyes were full of ridicule towards Paul, which was particularly attractive to the other personâs hate value.
In fact, the rational approach wouldâve been to not provoke this idiot school bully who had a bad temper, but he couldnât help it right now.
Maybe it had something to do with the letters that were shoved back into his hands today.
Zhou Yu even thought it would be nice if he could stay awake after his beating.
Donât take that so-called friend who left him so casually to heart. [2]
Zhou Yuâs thin white fingers curled up tightly, hinting at some deep-seated feelings, but his face still had a sarcastic look.
Paul, who hadnât slept well for a few days, just had an even worse temper, looked at this dwarfish Asian teen who had a death wish, his face distorting.
He must let this Asian bastard know who he was up against!
Paul took out a switch knife from his pant pocket and brightly threatened the daring guy who tried to treat him like a harmless cat
In his fury, he didnât notice â above his head, a bright white light suddenly flashed.
There was no sound in the bustling corridor.
âCan you not use a knife? Youâre really not a good boy, Paul ~â
A low, hoarse voice came from behind him and Paul froze, the hand that was wrapped around the blade beginning to tremble.
Hearing this familiar voice thatâd entangled him in nightmares for a long time, he couldnât help falling back into the despair and fear of last nightâs nightmare.
âFake, fake, all fake ⌠fake âŚâ Paul muttered silently, praying that he would wake up soon.
All this is a nightmare, just a dream!
âJiejiejie â you hurt him so much that I was very surprised ~â A man with a scorched body and a simple school uniform stood behind Paul, grinning horribly.
âYouâre fake, fake!â Paul turned around and saw the demon from his dreams. Terrified until his legs and feet softened, he fell to the ground and kept yelling at the charcoaled being.
âYeah, Iâm fake, so donât try to run away ~â
Blue, flickering lights flashed in black holes, and a faint smile emerged on its face.
Still holding a small knife in his hand, the words fell on Paul, who was horrified as soon as they entered his ears.
âAhhhhh! My eyes! Help! My eyes! Ahhhh!â The blade struck Paulâs eyes, and dripping blood, he immediately held his pained body and wailed .
This incomparably real pain deepened his inner trauma, and made him bitterly snivel.
âSave me ⌠Ahhh! Ohhhh! Devil! The devilâs back! Ahhh!â
Paul was frightened and out of control. Covering his pierced eyes, he moaned and groaned helplessly.
The next moment, the space began to distort like boiling water.
He froze for a few seconds at the scene before him. The figure disappeared and was replaced by classmates who were chuckling about him.
âOh my God! Look! This guy is peeing! Hahaha, the gods are up there. Did you go out and forget to bring your diapers Paul? Pftâ hahaha!â
âHahaha!â
âIâm laughing to death, haha!â
The sharp, derisive laughter filled Paulâs ears, pulling him even farther into a trance.
He couldnât tell the difference between dreams and reality, couldnât even tell whether what was happening right now was true or false.
Paul lowered his head and lowered the hand covering his face.
Drops of blood fell to the clean wooden floor, shocking the audience.
The knife in his hand had ripped through his cheeks and eyelids. His dull eyes were bloodshot, and half of his face was crimson.
âAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!â. There was a sensitive and fragile girl who caught this scene from the corner of her eye and immediately screamed, her voice very piercing.
Zhou Yu, whoâd reached the staircase, turned to look at the lockers and the screaming students. The emerald green eyes were stained with doubt.
Zhou Yu, who was blocked at the door just now, thought that Paul was going to grab a knife, get up, and stab him.
Since the last time he woke up, heâd mastered some self-taught fighting skills. Although he was too weak to fully utilize his skills, it wasnât unreasonable for him to disarm Paul in one of his moments of confusion.
But who knew for what reason, this arrogant school bull suddenly showed a look of fear, as if he saw something that destroyed his soul, then screamed and ran away.
He was somehow left alone.
Ringâ!
The bell rang, so Zhou Yu stopped paying attention to the ruckus downstairs and quickly went up to class.
Behind him, a wisp of a breeze blew past, reeking of blood.
Entering the classroom, Zhou Yu ignored the theological teacher who was glaring at him from the podium and calmly sat down.
Glancing at the student who was late and had no remorse, the theology teacher restored her kind temperament and said to the other students, âNow, let us pray together! God is above us.â
âThe gods are above.â
The students, who were originally still playful, quickly calmed down and prayed in unison.
This was this townâs, and this countryâs, tradition.
Zhou Yub bowed his head in boredom, his face showing his absent-mindedness.
This seemed out of place among the students who bowed their heads and prayed silently.
Like those students, he also used to believe in gods.
Every morning, he silently prayed for the godsâ blessings, thinking that all the suffering those days was a challenge given unto him by the gods.
Now, he didnât believe in the existence of gods.
It was really strange, even he felt that he was weird.
Because the country where he was now was a theocracy, and his planet was full of various religions, very few people wouldnât believe in gods.
Everyone thought that maybe the gods were asleep, but they didnât think that they didnât exist.
Because before the First World War a century ago, the gods really existed.
Even image data that people possessed proved the godsâ existence.
Zhou Yu remembered a video the theology teacher went over a few times during the previous classes.
A tall, gigantic giant was burning with flames, walking between tall buildings.
Perhaps they really did exist.
Zhou Yu used a pencil to sketch a picture of the giant. It was so lifelike, anyone who saw the painting could feel the fiery heat and majesty of the divine flames.
However, he really couldnât give true faith to any god.
âThe next class is a new theological painting course. Come with me to the studio!â
The students rushed out to the room and onto the fifth floor.
Zhou Yu covered his drawing of the unknown god with his textbook and a notebook, and then walked out of the classroom.
In the empty classroom, a few wisps of a breeze blew in through the closed windows, the curtains swayed by the draft.
At Zhou Yuâs desk, a thin stream of green smoke slowly emerged from a thin book.
âPaintings dedicated to the gods need to be carefully drawn, the Gods will feel your emotions and give you a response! In addition, please be careful not to draw any portrait of the gods themselves, that is blatant disrespect and blasphemy! People who do so will be punished by the deities above! â
The part-time painting teacher had a serious face.
Zhou Yuâs emerald green eyes flickered, and he remembered the picture heâd just drawn.
It should be fine, itâs just a humble painting.
âOf course, there is no shortage of works on the gods in this world, but they can only be painted by famous masters, such asâ The Statue of Our Ladyâ by Master Di Fan, so that everyone who sees this picture can get the godsâ blessing! That was a real theological painting, even the gods blessed him! â
The teacher brought up the painting, and he suddenly became obsessed with the discussion, his wrinkled face becoming kind of boorish.
âTeacher, the legend is false! Itâs been reported by the media for a long time that those miracles of the blessed are fake!â A student whoâd always had a habit of arguing shouted this loudly.
No one believed that someone could get a Godâs blessing through a painting, it was simply a bedtime story told to children!
âYou! Whatâs your name? How dare you refute the miracles of the gods in this way!â The teacherâs mouth slanted down.
âHahaha! I wonât tell you!â
The other students laughed and threw brushes around.
Zhou Yu looked at the noisy studio indifferently, and silently drew a portrait of a man on paper.
Soon, a handsome blond boy emerged from the pen. [3]
Looking at the blond teen on the paper, Zhou Yu silently crumpled the drawing into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.
âNot good! Itâs on fire! The classroom is on fire!â
Just halfway through the painting class, panicked screams ricocheted throughout the building. Zhou Yu followed the terrified students out the studio and saw the billowing smoke coming from downstairs.
It seemed their classroom was on fire.
Zhou Yu remembered the picture heâd just drawn, and became hesitant.