Chapter 31: Provoking Another Top Sentinel
"I’ll agree to a search."
Yun Sheng raised her eyes, her gaze meeting Zhao Qian’s directly.
"But let’s make a bet. A bet on whether I have what you claim I do. If I lose, you can do with me as you please. If I win, you will apologize to me in public for today’s baseless slander, and..."
She paused, then named a figure, "...compensate me Fifty Thousand Star Coins for my emotional distress."
Fifty Thousand Star Coins!
For a student from a well-off family like Zhao Qian, it was a significant amount of pocket money. Enough to make her feel the sting, but not so much that she couldn’t afford it.
But for Yun Sheng, who had just returned from a slum like the Eighth Star Zone, that money could solve many of her practical problems.
Zhao Qian’s expression changed. She opened her mouth but was at a loss for words.
’An apology is humiliating enough, but I have to pay money too?’
"What, scared to bet now?" Yun Sheng’s lips curled into a sarcastic smirk. "You didn’t look like this when you were clamoring for a search just now."
Zhao Qian’s face flushed red. She was in a bind.
With everyone watching, backing down now would be admitting defeat.
"Fine, we’ll bet!" she gritted her teeth. "If you’re clean, I’ll apologize and pay you. But fifty thousand is too much!"
"Too much?" Yun Sheng laughed lightly. "You slandered me for cheating and tried to force a search on me with no evidence. The damage to my reputation and the psychological stress you’ve caused me, isn’t that worth fifty thousand? Or are you saying your apology and credibility aren’t even worth Fifty Thousand Star Coins?"
"I..." Zhao Qian was speechless.
Seeing this, Shen Tang spoke in a deep voice, "Zhao Qian, since you cannot accept Yun Sheng’s terms and you cannot produce conclusive evidence, then this matter ends here. Please stop your baseless accusations against Yun Sheng. The training must continue."
"Ends here?" Zhao Qian’s voice rose. "There’s clearly something wrong with her score! We’re just letting it go? I won’t accept it!"
"You won’t accept it?" Shen Tang’s tone turned cold. "Then produce the evidence. If you can’t, then you’re guilty of false accusation and disrupting order. I can issue you a formal warning right now."
A formal warning!
Zhao Qian froze. She was getting scared.
Looking at Shen Tang’s cold, hard face, and then at the others around her, she knew that if she didn’t agree, there was no way she could back down today.
"Fine, I agree." She decided to go all in, her heart bleeding. "Search her! If you’re clean, I’ll apologize and pay you fifty thousand!"
"Good." Yun Sheng said nothing more.
Shen Tang had a female assistant instructor take Yun Sheng and another female student, as a witness, to the next room for an inspection.
The process didn’t take long, but in the few minutes of waiting, the atmosphere in the training room grew extremely tense.
The door opened again.
The assistant instructor immediately announced, "The inspection is complete. No contraband, electronic devices, or suspicious items were found on Yun Sheng."
"Impossible! How could there be nothing? She must have hidden it somewhere, or... or used some more advanced method!"
Zhao Qian cried out, her words becoming somewhat incoherent.
"The result is clear." Shen Tang looked at her expressionlessly. "Zhao Qian, please fulfill your promise."
Zhao Qian trembled all over, a mixture of immense humiliation and the sting of losing Fifty Thousand Star Coins twisting inside her.
She bit her lip, almost drawing blood, before forcing a few words from her throat.
"I... I’m sorry. I was... wrong. The money... I’ll transfer it to you later."
Yun Sheng nodded. "Apology accepted. As for the money, please make sure it’s transferred before training ends today. I trust in Senior Sister Zhao’s upbringing and credibility."
She stressed the words "upbringing" and "credibility" slightly, and Zhao Qian’s face burned with another wave of heat.
Just then, Zhou Ying stepped forward.
"Yun Sheng, Zhao Qian already knows she was wrong and has apologized. Fifty Thousand Star Coins is no small sum. Perhaps you could reduce it a bit. After all, we all have to get along in the future. If everyone takes a step back, we can let bygones be bygones."
Yun Sheng looked at Zhou Ying, her expression unwavering.
"Senior Sister Zhou, if you were the one who was slandered and forced to be searched today, would you accept your own proposal?
The time I’ve wasted here, the pressure I’ve endured, and the potential hidden discrimination I might face in the future because of this stigma... Fifty Thousand Star Coins, I don’t think it’s excessive. If Senior Sister Zhao felt it was too much of a burden, she shouldn’t have so easily made a promise she couldn’t afford to keep."
Zhou Ying’s gentle expression faltered, her tone turning cold. "Yun Sheng, why must you take things to such an extreme? A small compensation, just to make the point, should be enough."
"Extreme?" Yun Sheng tilted her head slightly. "When she incited everyone, trying to ruin me in the most humiliating way possible, things had already been taken to the extreme. Besides, she was the one who agreed to the bet. I don’t think I’m doing anything extreme at all!"
She stopped looking at Zhou Ying and turned directly to Shen Tang, bowing slightly.
"Instructor Shen, regarding the follow-up to this matter, could I trouble you to help supervise it? I don’t want any more unnecessary misunderstandings."
Shen Tang nodded to herself.
’This girl knows when to be tough and when to feign weakness to advance. She has an excellent sense of proportion.’
The serious look on her face softened slightly. She nodded and said, "I can do that. Since the agreement was made under the Tower’s witness, I will naturally follow up on it.
Student Zhao Qian, please fulfill your promise before today’s training ends. If you fail to do so, the Tower will intervene as it sees fit, and it may affect your personal evaluation. Now, please rejoin the group. Training will continue."
Zhao Qian looked as if all her strength had been drained. Her face ashen, she walked back to her spot, unable to lift her head.
Zhou Ying also retreated in silence, but the look she gave Yun Sheng had grown deeper.
Li Wen, on the other hand, watched Yun Sheng calmly return to the ranks, the interest in her eyes growing stronger.
’Tsk, get revenge on the spot, collect debts on the spot, and never take a loss. Interesting.’
The training then continued. When it was over, the students left the training room in twos and threes, heading for the first-floor dining hall.
The dining hall was noisy with chatter, and most of the students sat together to eat.
Yun Sheng, all by herself, chose a corner table and sat down.
Just as she picked up her spoon, Li Wen walked over with her tray.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked, her tone casual, but her eyes held a probing light as she looked at Yun Sheng. "It’s too noisy over there."
Yun Sheng lowered her eyes and scooped up another spoonful of food.
"It’s a dining hall. Sit wherever you want."
Li Wen smiled, didn’t bother with any more pleasantries, and started eating on her own.
After a few bites, she suddenly looked up and asked directly, "About what happened this morning, aren’t you afraid Zhao Qian will retaliate later? Or that Zhou Ying will try to trip you up?"
"Would being afraid help?"
"Nope." Li Wen shook her head decisively. "But even if they know it’s useless, most people would still be afraid. You’re not most people."
Yun Sheng didn’t take the bait, asking instead, "Did Senior Sister Li come over here just to confirm whether or not I’m ’most people’?"
"Not really. I just thought what you did this morning was brilliant. Your logic was clear, and your move was ruthless. I’ve been annoyed with that Zhao Qian for a long time. She acts all high and mighty because of her family’s connection to Zhou Ying. It was pretty satisfying to watch you make her take such a huge fall."
As soon as she finished speaking, a slight commotion came from the dining hall entrance, accompanied by a few low gasps of awe.
Yun Sheng subconsciously looked up.
She saw Lin Yueyao walking in through the doorway. Beside her was a tall, stern-faced young man.
Li Wen also glanced at the entrance and lowered her voice to tell Yun Sheng, "See him? That’s the S-Class Sentinel who came in with Lin Yueyao, Zhou Lin. He’s Zhou Ying’s older brother, the pride of the Zhou Family’s current generation.
"Zhou Ying didn’t get the upper hand with you today and lost a lot of face. Her brother is notoriously protective. He might come looking for trouble with you in a bit."