Chapter 114: The First Attempt

“Here you are again.” As Chen Fan passed an empty classroom, he immediately recognized that familiar face.

Zhao Dongqiang was grinning as well. “Yes, me again.”

“How come you’re the only one here today?” Chen Fan asked, puzzled. By rights, this fellow ought to have been the laziest of them all. How had he ended up as the last survivor?

“Ugh, bad luck. Yesterday, we were discussing sending just one person to submit the materials today. Then we rolled dice, I lost, and became the representative. And the worst part is, I was the one who came up with the idea. What a disaster.” At the mention of it, Zhao Dongqiang could not help beating his chest and stamping his feet.

“You have my deepest sympathy. I honestly don’t know how loudly I should laugh to comfort you.” Chen Fan gave him a faint smile as a token of respect.

Zhao Dongqiang tried to sweet-talk him. “How about letting us off this time too? To be honest, writing down a name won’t hurt anyone. Nobody’s going to lose a piece of flesh. Don’t you agree?”

“When you say ‘us,’ you mean an entire trainload of people—more than fifty of them. You’re finished this time. I’m not checking your class anyway; I just happened to be passing by. I’m checking the neighboring ACCA class.” Chen Fan waved his hand and prepared to head for the real battlefield.

“Is the officer in charge a man or a woman? Are they easy to deal with?” Zhao Dongqiang asked.

“A man. He’s a companion of justice.” Chen Fan smiled meaningfully.

“Huh? A companion of justice?” Zhao Dongqiang could not be bothered to ponder the implications. He simply leaned back, waiting for class to end.

Chen Fan entered another classroom. There were only a handful of people in the seats. He asked directly, “Excuse me, are all of you here to submit your materials?”

“Some of us are, some of us aren’t,” replied a short-haired girl in glasses near the front.

Seeing that she seemed fairly cooperative, Chen Fan approached her. “Excuse me, are you a class committee member?”

Wang Shiyue covered her mouth and answered hoarsely, “Ahem… I’m the class monitor. I was sick and took leave a few days ago. I only came back today.”

“Do you know everyone in the class? Could you give me a list of those who are absent?”

“I can, but I’m not feeling very well. I’ll write down the names of those who came, and you can cross them off against the roster kept by your Discipline Inspection Department.”

Wang Shiyue tore off a sheet of blank scrap paper and quickly wrote down the names of everyone present. Her handwriting was a little awkward, but perfectly legible.

“Thank you for cooperating with our work. Goodbye.” Chen Fan accepted the list with both hands, having successfully completed his classroom attendance check.

“Wang You should be faster than me, right? He only needs to ask that person’s name. If he moved quickly, he might already be back at the dormitory.” Chen Fan yawned. The thought of going back to sleep left him with no energy whatsoever.

On the way back, Chen Fan discovered that Wang You had still not finished. The two of them were apparently doing something in the classroom.

When Zhao Dongqiang spotted Chen Fan passing by, he waved. “There you are! Perfect timing. Hurry up and take your department’s officer away. I already told him my name, but he still won’t let me go. He keeps lecturing me about all sorts of lofty principles. Good grief, can’t a man even take a nap in peace?”

“Huh? What happened? Haven’t you finished checking attendance yet?” Chen Fan walked in with a baffled expression.

“The attendance check is complete, but the propagation of justice continues.” Wang You turned toward him with a stern face. From the righteous, hateful glare in his eyes, Chen Fan saw a burning Judge Bao.

Only a slightly chuunibyou, slightly idiotic, low-budget version of one…

Zhao Dongqiang complained, “Could you people test your officers’ intelligence before recruiting them? This guy has watched too many television dramas. He’s been going on and on about the dangers of being late or skipping class, and he’s even dragged the butterfly effect into it. I’m a law-abiding, well-behaved student! Instead of talking to the people who were actually absent, he’s chosen to hound me. What kind of logic is that?”

Wang You declared righteously, “That is incorrect. Although you were not objectively absent, you were subjectively inclined in that direction. Such thoughts are extremely dangerous. You are different from those who have already fallen off the cliff—you are standing at its edge, and you require my salvation. You must now overcome this bad habit in your mind. Let us become people with ideals and a sense of justice together.”

“If the people currently snoring away are the ones who have fallen off the cliff, please push me over without hesitation. Thank you.” Zhao Dongqiang’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Chen Fan, look! This man’s mind has already been corrupted. Society has become what it is today precisely because people like him exist.”

At that, Chen Fan suddenly had an ominous feeling. Surely this fellow was not planning to use the Knight Card’s ability to pass righteous judgment on Zhao Dongqiang? Yet Chen Fan had still chosen Idiot today. Aside from preventing himself from being dragged into the matter, the card offered no practical means of intervention.

“We’re all civilized people. Discussing principles is fine, but let’s not escalate things to violence.” Chen Fan forced out two useless sentences. If a fight really broke out, he would definitely be the first to turn tail and run.

“Is this officer sick? His delusions are getting out of hand. He should really go see a doctor.” Zhao Dongqiang tidied up the scattered documents, lost all interest in Wang You, and dropped his head onto the desk.

“These spiritual thugs are all parasites of society. Just watch me today—”

Seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Chen Fan clamped one hand over Wang You’s mouth and wrapped the other around his waist, struggling to drag him backward.

Wang You twisted free of Chen Fan’s grip and demanded, “Have you been corrupted as well?”

Chen Fan was speechless. How had an otherwise normal person been tormented into this state by the Knight Card?

“You are an executor of justice. It isn’t worth sacrificing yourself over something this trivial. I think your most urgent task right now is to spread positive energy throughout society and turn more people into companions of justice. Don’t you agree?”

“You seem to have a point. But what should we do about the parasites of society?” Wang You pointed at the sleeping Zhao Dongqiang behind him.

Seeing that the moment was ripe, Chen Fan baited the trap. “The parasites of society will naturally be dealt with by other righteous people—for instance, people like me. Would you be willing to grant me your ability? That way, your journey of justice won’t be so lonely.”

Watching Wang You’s complicated expression, Chen Fan secretly rejoiced.

Come on, say that you’re willing! For heaven’s sake, let me save this complete idiot. He acts like a fool every day. What if he gets himself killed one day by meddling in someone else’s business? His death would be one thing, but losing the card would be a catastrophe! Hurry up and say it!

“Hmm. What you say makes a great deal of sense. But I believe that upholding justice is, by nature, a lonely and arduous path. Besides, your thoughts are not yet pure. I can smell corruption and depravity on you. Would you like me to enlighten you?”

“Damn it. He didn’t fall for it.”

Chen Fan twitched the corner of his mouth. To recover the Knight Card, listening to a long ramble probably would not hurt. It would merely be a little painful mentally.

“Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

Chen Fan stretched his mouth wide, doing his best to influence the vibrations of his eardrums, and somehow endured half an hour of Wang You’s endless speech.

“My mind has been purified. So, are you willing to grant me your ability?” Chen Fan asked listlessly, his voice weak and spirit worn down.

Wang You stepped closer and patted Chen Fan on the shoulder.

“Justice does not need to be granted by me, because justice is already in your heart.”