Chapter 10: Suddenly Famous

With such an easy yet tedious job, half the day slipped by almost unnoticed. By three or four in the afternoon, the security office was suddenly interrupted by an emergency call—orders from the principal. Leaving just one guard at their post, all other personnel were to make their way to the basketball court at once.

After a quick discussion, Chen Erpao and Wang Xing hurried over. They soon reached the vast court, where dozens of boys in jerseys stood divided into two groups. On closer inspection, several on one side bore visible injuries.

As the director of discipline, Li Meili had naturally arrived at the scene immediately, bringing nearly twenty security guards with her. Yet, compared to the forty or fifty robust young men on the court, their numbers seemed woefully insufficient.

Chen Erpao learned from Li Meili that a few sophomores had been playing basketball when, for reasons unknown, they provoked a group of juniors who were also playing. The juniors had beaten them, and now the situation had escalated, with both sides calling in their friends for support.

"We at the Academic Affairs Office will handle the fighting," Li Meili repeated several times. "The rest of you, disperse at once and get back to class." Yet her words had little effect on the two groups of students, the tension between them thick and volatile.

"Handle it, you say? They’re juniors, bullying us underclassmen and beating people up—are you just going to give them a demerit and call it done?" someone from the sophomore side protested loudly.

At once, shouts rose from the juniors as well. "So what if we beat you? Acting so arrogant—you need to learn to respect your seniors, or you’ll get cut down when you step into society!"

"What did you say? You think we’re afraid to fight you?"

"Come on then! See if we’re afraid of you bastards!"

Tempers flared, and the threat of an all-out brawl between the sophomores and juniors loomed. Sweat broke out on Li Meili’s brow—if anyone was injured in a fight she failed to prevent, the responsibility would fall squarely on her shoulders.

"Captain Wang, stop them—whatever you do, don’t let a fight break out. If anything happens, we’ll be in real trouble." Captain Wang Quan, tall and powerfully built, was the head of the school’s security team. At her order, he led the guards to intervene between the two groups.

"Get back to class now—you hear me? Leave the discipline to the school. Don’t cause any more trouble here."

"Make them apologize, and we’ll go back," the sophomores shouted in unison.

But the juniors had no intention of apologizing. The leading few, their hair dyed yellow, shouted back arrogantly, "Apologize? You must be dreaming!"

Perhaps, after being provoked repeatedly, the sophomores finally lost their patience. Ignoring the guards, they charged at the juniors.

The juniors, seeing the sophomores—mere underclassmen—daring to make the first move, erupted in anger and rushed to meet them.

Nearly twenty security guards, caught between fifty strong young men surging from both sides, were quickly overwhelmed, some knocked to the ground, the rest faring little better.

Chen Erpao realized the situation was spiraling out of control. If he didn’t intervene now, the consequences could be dire. After a brief hesitation, the spirit of a battle-hardened wolf seemed to seize him.

He fixed his gaze on the most arrogant, violent juniors and dashed straight for them.

At that moment, these juniors were gleefully kicking several smaller sophomores. Chen Erpao let out a cold smile.

"Damn it, you dare torment the budding flowers of our nation? As their protector, I’ll show you the error of your ways."

His hands moved like lightning, seizing one by the neck and tossing him several meters away. His feet, powerful as cannonballs, sent others flying. He controlled his strength carefully—after all, if he seriously hurt them, it would spell trouble for himself as well.

"Who the hell do you think you are, security guard? Meddling in our business!" someone shouted, and seven or eight juniors rushed to surround him. Not far away, Li Meili watched, clutching her hands in nervous anticipation.

Chen Erpao glanced at them without the slightest concern. To him, these seven or eight were nothing compared to the gangsters from Hongxing he’d faced days before.

"Get him, brothers—let’s see if he knows his place!"

The group attacked at once, fists and feet flying. Chen Erpao dodged and struck with relentless speed, his fists raining down like hail. Two were knocked to the ground instantly. The rest flailed wildly, but Chen Erpao had always valued speed, precision, and ferocity in a fight; before their blows could even reach him, his had already landed countless times.

Minutes later, the seven or eight who had beset him were all sprawled on the ground or crouched in pain. And this, despite Chen Erpao using only half his true strength—had they been mortal enemies, they’d all have been corpses within a minute.

The rest of the students, who had been locked in fierce combat, now stopped, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at the scene before them.

"My god! Is this ‘Martial Arts Master on Campus’?" an avid fan of web novels gaped at Chen Erpao.

"Whoa, is he Superman or something?" cries of astonishment rippled through the student crowd.

Li Meili’s eyes shone as she gazed at Chen Erpao, like a little cat eying a delicious mouse—though she was no cat, and Chen Erpao certainly no mouse.

"Enough! Those who started the fight, come with me to the Academic Affairs Office. The rest of you, get back to class immediately, or I’ll be calling your parents!" Li Meili, suppressing her agitation, strode into the crowd and shouted.

Surprisingly, this time both sides obeyed. Apart from those involved in the brawl, everyone else slowly dispersed. Chen Erpao remained where he was, silently accepting the admiring, lingering gazes cast his way.

His fellow security guards all gave him a thumbs-up. In no time at all, the newcomer Chen Erpao had become the campus hero.