Upon hearing the name "Wanlong Society," Xu Qiang and the others felt their hearts skip a beat as an ominous feeling welled up inside them.
They remembered now. The name did sound familiar. Wasn't it almost identical to the name of that Wanlong Supermarket? The only difference was that the other party had added the word "Society" to it.
The name "Wanlong Society" definitely sounded like some sort of underworld gang.
But they still had one lingering doubt: hadn't they heard that there were no gangs in the University Town?
Just as they were brimming with confusion...
Suddenly!
Someone pointed at the nearby intersection and cried out in shock.
"Holy shit!!! That's a lot of cars!!!"
Xu Qiang and the others instinctively looked in the direction he was pointing.
On the main road of the University Town, a massive fleet of black cars was driving toward them in a formidable procession.
"What... what is going on?"
"Why are there so many cars? This is terrifying!"
The convoy pulled up by the road in front of the Finance University gates. The car doors opened almost simultaneously, and figures dressed in black uniforms filed out one after another.
The previously bright and sunny sky seemed to be instantly enveloped by an invisible dark haze with the appearance of this group.
The men in black silently converged toward their location. There were so many of them that they couldn't even be counted at a glance. Most conspicuously, every single one of them had a dragon-shaped badge embroidered on their chests.
"Who... who are these people?"
"A r-real mafia, right?"
"So scary!"
"Why do the logos on their clothes look a bit familiar to me?"
"Yeah, they do look familiar."
Everyone's gaze involuntarily shifted to the four men in black they had originally surrounded in the middle.
In an instant, they were scared out of their wits!
Oh, for crying out loud!
They had provoked actual gangsters!
"I think I'm suddenly having low blood sugar, my vision is going dark. Someone help me to the supermarket to buy some candy."
"I... I have asthma. Cough, cough, cough... I forgot my medicine. Help! Take me to the hospital!"
"Oh my, my phone is ringing!"
Brother Ji suddenly pulled out his phone and pretended to make a call. "Hello? Mom! What? Grandma is critically ill? Okay, okay, okay! I'm coming back right now!"
Saying that, he tried to slip away, but a short, skinny guy grabbed him in a tight hug. "Don't go alone, bro! Our grandma can't die! Let me go with you to see her!"
"Take me too! Your grandma is my grandma. I have to go see her!"
"..."
The excuses this group came up with were each more tragic than the last.
Yu Xin finally couldn't stand watching it anymore and said coldly, "Are you done acting?"
The scene instantly fell silent.
Brother Ji raised his hand weakly. "Um... could we call 'cut' and get a do-over?"
Yu Xin completely ignored him.
By now, the Dragon Gate crew was completely surrounded by over a hundred men in black.
This made them panic even more.
Even though they had over thirty people, they were all just freshmen this year. How could they compare to these men in black suits standing before them, who looked more gangster than actual gangsters?
They could only pin their final hopes on their newly acknowledged boss, Xu Qiang.
"Boss, what do we do?!"
"Boss, say something!"
"Boss..."
Being shouted at by them like this, Xu Qiang immediately grew frantic.
"Who's your boss! Who's your boss! I'm warning you, don't just call me that!"
"I'm not some underworld boss! I'm a straight-A student, an outstanding Youth League member, a progressive youth, and a future pillar of the nation! How could I be your boss?"
"If any of you calls me boss again, I'm seriously calling the cops!"
Yu Xin couldn't be bothered to watch them wail. "Drag them all away and teach them a lesson!"
As soon as her voice faded, Xu Qiang and the others instantly dropped to their knees in unison and begged for mercy.
"Spare my life, miss! I'm just a passerby!"
"We just came to the gates of the Finance University to look at pretty... I mean, to admire the difference between an undergraduate university like this and our vocational college! We didn't know there were rules here."
"Right, right, right! We just wanted to see the difference."
"Miss! I'm actually your long-lost biological brother! Mom told me to come find you before she passed away!"
"..."
"Stop making a racket."
Yu Xin's head was throbbing from their noise. "Get up. The sun is a bit too harsh here."
Hearing this, Xu Qiang and the others were immediately overjoyed, thinking the other party was going to let them off the hook. Just as they were about to say thank you, they heard Yu Xin point to a row of plane trees on the nearby sidewalk and say, "The sun is too harsh here. Go kneel under those trees over there, it'll be cooler."
The Dragon Gate crew: "..."
Well, aren't you just too kind!
They didn't dare to disobey, so they could only walk with their heads bowed to the trees Yu Xin had pointed out, and then neatly knelt down in two rows.
Some had indeed thought about running away, but seeing so many men in black glaring at them like tigers eyeing their prey, they immediately gave up the idea.
They didn't want to die just yet.
After they had all knelt properly, a few men in black brought over a thick stack of the "Pearl City University Town Code of Conduct" and handed one to each of them. Then, they brought out a stack of prepared exam papers, densely packed with printed questions.
"The exam begins now. The maximum score is 100 points, and the passing mark is 90. Those who fail..."
The young man in black acting as the examiner paused and pointed to a nearby van with privacy film on the windows. "Those who fail will be sent to the van for private tutoring."
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly and frantically flipped open the code of conduct.
Opening it wasn't the issue, but they almost fainted when they did. This ridiculous code of conduct was a full two hundred pages long?!
"Is... is this meant for human beings to memorize?" Brother Ji was on the verge of tears.
The examiner in black consoled him, "Don't worry, we are very humane. Considering this is your first offense, as long as you memorize the first fifty pages, you'll be able to pass."
Hearing this, Xu Qiang raised his hand. "Big bro, um... can it be an open-book exam?"
The man in black sneered. "What do you think?"
Xu Qiang: "Definitely not. I was just asking."
Just then, an even more ruthless move came.
A few more men in black walked over carrying two cases of ice-cold cola and handed a can to each of them.
"Seeing how hot you guys are, we're treating you to some cola."
Although it was September, the temperature was still over thirty degrees Celsius, so it was quite hot.
Seeing how considerate the other party was, Xu Qiang and his gang were deeply moved. Just as they were about to say thanks, they saw a group of men in black walk over, take out steel needles, and pierce a tiny hole in the bottom of each cola can. Then, they used strings to hang the cans from the tree branches, positioned exactly above the kneeling crowd.
These guys were completely bewildered, having no idea what these men in black were trying to do.
Only then did the examiner in black explain the purpose of the colas. "The rules are simple. You need to memorize the code of conduct while drinking the cola. If even a single drop of someone's cola falls on the ground, ten more pages will be added to their exam!"
Everyone: "!!!"
Damn it, have a heart!
They suddenly thought of the ancient idiom about scholars tying their hair to roof beams to stay awake while studying. Except, what was suspended above their heads was dripping cola, which was even more miserable!
Thus, a bizarre spectacle appeared under the plane trees on the sidewalk outside the gates of the Finance University.
Over thirty youths sporting alternative fashion knelt in a row, frantically memorizing the rulebooks in their hands while desperately licking the cola dripping from above their heads.
"Article One of the University Town Campus Civility Code... ah... no public... ah... ah... ah..."
"Article Two, no gathering to cause a disturbance... ah... ah... ah... prohibited... ah..."
"Article Eighteen... ah... ah... thugs are forbidden to... ah... gather... ah... or loiter... ah... at the entrance of the Finance University... ah..."
"Article Thirty... ah... help me... I can't remember the rest!"
"Mom... ah... I don't want to study... ah... anymore... ah ah... I want to... go... ah... go home!"
"......"
Xu Qiang, the boss of the Dragon Gate gang, was desperately keeping his mouth open to catch the cola being poured down his throat while reciting the rules, utterly miserable and wanting to weep but having no tears left.
"Defeated before the battle even began... Dragon Gate is doomed!"
"The waters of this University Town are too deep, too murky! I want to go home to my mom!"
Time ticked by. Just as they were on the verge of being tortured half to death, the surrounding group of men in black suddenly sprang into action.
They turned in unison toward the campus gates and swiftly fell into formation, lining up in several neat rows. The imposing display looked as though they were preparing to welcome someone important.
Even the Finance University students, who had been enjoying the spectacle at the gates, let out gasps of surprise.
"What is going on?"
Before Xu Qiang and his men could figure out what was happening, a luxurious black Maybach sedan appeared in the distance, gliding smoothly into their line of sight.
