CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 121: PERSUASION! THE GREEDY FEMALE CLASSMATE

"Chen Pingchuan, that’s enough! What do you take me for?" Ye Luo’s voice was sharp. "I’m telling you, no matter how desperate I am for money, I will never stoop to your level and satisfy the disgusting fantasies in your head just for your filthy cash."

Chen Pingchuan looked at the classmate he had just pulled into the woods, a peculiar expression on his face. A girl’s imagination is a powerful thing.

Just a moment ago, Chen Pingchuan, having arrived at school earlier than usual, had unexpectedly run into his classmate at the gate—the genius girl, Ye Luo. He recalled the simulation where her neutral stance had cost him the mission to clear the Energy Crystal mine. The memory still stung. If he couldn’t turn the tables in reality after losing in the simulation, it would be a true disaster. He was determined to get that Energy Crystal mine mission; he had to go and see the situation for himself. It would be even better if he could use it to recover a significant amount of his strength. Otherwise, if another powerful talent appeared in the next simulation, he would once again be forced to simply hold onto it, unable to use it. The feeling of having something powerful just out of reach was agonizing. It was a sharp reminder of his own poverty.

And so, that led to the current scene.

At the school gate, ignoring the astonished stares of the surrounding students, Chen Pingchuan had grabbed Ye Luo by the arm and pulled her into a small grove for a private talk.

Ye Luo hadn’t resisted for a few reasons. Firstly, even while recovering, Chen Pingchuan’s strength was immense. She was afraid that in a struggle, she would tear the only memento her parents had left her—a piece of clothing. Reluctantly, not daring to risk it, she could only yield to his strength.

Secondly, Ye Luo typically projected the image of a frosty goddess, a demeanor that intimidated most of her admirers. These self-proclaimed gentlemen would never be so abrupt. But Chen Pingchuan, fresh from practicing Dragon Walk and Tiger Stride, exuded the aura of a wild beast, which caught Ye Luo completely off guard.

Finally, after his astonishing performance at the martial arts hall, she was genuinely curious about this new transfer student. She had a good idea of what he wanted to talk about.

The combination of these factors resulted in Chen Pingchuan successfully leading her into the grove.

He, of course, was oblivious to all this—or rather, he couldn’t be bothered to think about it. While he didn’t feel superior to others, he didn’t sell himself short, either. When it comes to a Frost Goddess, who could be icier than Xia Qingxue? When it comes to a pure yet seductive vixen, who could be more enchanting than Ji Hongxiu? As for an adorable little loli, who’s cuter than Belia?

Compared to them, Ye Luo was just an ordinary high school classmate in his eyes. If not for the situation from the simulation, he would have paid her no mind. But of the six people in his group, three were from Liu Haofeng’s clique. Of the remaining members, Feng Jiaqi was on his side, leaving only the neutral Ye Luo. She was the only one he could possibly win over.

In the lush school woods, the morning sun dappled through the leaves as a gentle breeze rustled the foliage.

Students in the distance stared, shocked. They couldn’t understand why their goddess would get involved with such an ordinary, albeit strangely confident, male student.

Hidden by the trees, Chen Pingchuan held out the 10,000 Federation Coins he had prepared. He genuinely had no ulterior motives; the money was simply to persuade Ye Luo to side with him during the mission selection. He had no other thoughts.

But Ye Luo had misunderstood his intentions completely, and her face flushed with shame and anger.

Chen Pingchuan could only offer a wry smile. "Look, is it possible you’ve got the wrong idea? Maybe I just genuinely want to be friends."

"Impossible!" Ye Luo flatly rejected his explanation. She was confident in her looks and had been in similar situations before.

Chen Pingchuan’s smile grew even more strained. He realized that if he didn’t spell things out, his roundabout strategy was doomed to fail.

"Alright, I do have a favor to ask."

An "I knew it" expression flashed across Ye Luo’s face. She took two cautious steps back, her eyes warily fixed on his every move. She had already felt his strength, a brute force that had shocked her. This low-key transfer student was not as simple as he seemed. Besides, with that kind of raw power, how could he possibly have ranked near the bottom in the simulation test? People who hid their strength were either up to no good or had a dark heart. Ye Luo was afraid he would try to grab her again, and she hated the feeling of being a sitting duck.

Seeing her reaction, Chen Pingchuan could sense her defensiveness. He abandoned his attempt to win her over through friendliness and decided to get straight to the point. He dropped his smile, a change that only confirmed Ye Luo’s suspicions. He’s been exposed, and now he’s about to fly into a rage out of shame.

"I’ll be direct," he said, his voice now serious. "Tomorrow, the school is organizing a combat training exercise. You, I, and four other students will be in the same group. The reward for this mission is Citizen Honor Points."

He paused, then added, "Of course, I don’t care about the Honor Points. There’s just one particular mission I want to take on."

Ye Luo didn’t believe a word of it, but she played along. "You can influence the assignments for a combat exercise? Has the education system in the City of No Night really become this corrupt?"

Chen Pingchuan was floored by her train of thought. Seriously, what is going on in her head? I’m just offering you money to pick a mission with me. Does she have to make it so complicated? Corrupt education system? Why not just say I’m the City Lord’s brother and got this assignment through Belia’s connections?

His patience was wearing thin. More and more students were arriving, and many were lingering nearby, watching them. He hated being the center of attention and wanted to end this quickly.

So, he decided to cut to the chase.

"100,000!"

"What?"

"I’ll offer 100,000, woman. As long as you choose the same combat training mission as me, this money is yours."

"Dream on! Even if you could bribe school officials and pull strings behind the scenes, getting me to agree is impossible."

Chen Pingchuan frowned. "500,000!"

Ye Luo maintained her haughty expression, but a flicker of interest appeared in her eyes. If all I have to do is agree with his proposal to get that much money... it’s not entirely unacceptable. But what if he has some malicious plan? Why else would he be so fixated on his chosen location? We could do the mission together regardless of where we go, couldn’t we?

"1,000,000!" Chen Pingchuan declared. "All you have to do is agree. I don’t want anything else from you, and I’m not asking you to do anything against your conscience. It’s just a mission choice. Think it over carefully. This offer is only on the table right now."

Ye Luo was stunned by his audacity. The Federation Coin had depreciated since the red rain began, but even so, one million was a substantial sum.

Before she could fully process it, he upped the ante again.

"2,000,000. If you don’t agree, then forget it. Pretend I never said a thing."

This greedy girl... Chen Pingchuan cursed internally. While the money is nothing to me, I hate being extorted, especially when I’m the one making the offer! This sum might not have seemed like much to him, but it represented the majority of the Outer City’s gray-market income. For an ordinary person living in the Inner City, it was a fortune they could never hope to earn in a lifetime.

"Fine. Deal."

This time, Ye Luo didn’t make him wait. She agreed instantly. Not only that, but her frosty expression melted away, replaced by a brilliant smile as pure as a lotus blossom. Her bright eyes sparkled with confidence. I’ve already run through the possibilities. Even in the worst-case scenario, I’m confident I can get out of it safely.

Just then, Feng Jiaqi arrived at the school gate and saw the crowd of students gathered in the distance. Curious, she moved closer and tapped a classmate on the shoulder.

"Hey, what are you all watching?"