Chapter 152: Pick on the weak

A crazy woman is just a crazy woman.

She does things only for fun, never considering the impact or consequences.

Whether it's her own consequences or the effect on others.

Saying Iris came prepared is not true; she hadn't even thought of stealing a kiss from Lin Ke beforehand.

If you say it was an impulse, she had deliberately used a tinted lipstick before leaving, leaving a kiss mark that's hard to clean.

Perhaps this is the mindset of a mad person.

Even she can't guess what she'll do the next second.

Lin Ke stepped back, gave a glare at the smugly smiling Iris, wiped his cheek with his hand, and found it couldn't be easily wiped off.

This lipstick is not proper.

"I hope this is the last time."

Lin Ke solemnly warned Iris; he didn't like this kind of play.

Sneak attack.

No martial virtue!

"Hehe~"

Iris made a face, completely disregarding the warning, waved her hand, turned and left.

Very nonchalant.

Watching Iris walk toward the North District, her fading figure disappeared.

To be honest, Iris's actions today genuinely startled Lin Ke.

Although he had long been mentally prepared, in the wizard world where he had battled across realms for so long, it couldn't be that only he was a transmigrator.

But to be suspected of having his transmigrator identity discovered so casually, and by merely a wizard apprentice, was beyond Lin Ke's expectations.

Perhaps Iris fixed her gaze on him, and after investigating him, she developed suspicions.

Lin Ke speculated thus, his mood unable to settle for a long time.

As for what Iris's situation really was, Lin Ke had no intention of investigating.

He didn't like others probing his secrets.

Nor did he like probing others' secrets.

After a while, Lin Ke came to his senses.

Not rushing back to the classroom, under the odd glances of a few passersby, he went to the Fifth Floor Laboratory.

"Magic Potion Talent" triggered, making full use of his potion knowledge.

First he took a sample to test the ingredients, then prepared a vial of potion, using a cotton swab to dab the potion on his cheek to erase the bright red lip mark.

After doing that, Lin Ke finally left the laboratory and returned to the classroom.

But……

Mo Li's face was grim, as cold as frost, exuding an icy aura.

The Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group shivered with fear, huddled to the side, not daring to make a sound.

Let alone their daily obligatory roughhousing jokes.

Seeing this scene, Lin Ke immediately knew Iris must have stirred up some trouble again.

With a glance from the corner of his eye at Ba Ke, he gave a signal.

Ba Ke shrank his head, his right hand seemingly unintentionally brushing the Portable Smart Brain on the desk, making a 'surfing' gesture.

Lin Ke understood, nodding.

He sat down beside Mo Li, not rushing to speak.

Lin Ke pulled out his Portable Smart Brain and logged onto the "forum".

There was a pinned, featured post, very conspicuous, with blazing popularity.

Clicking it, he found the content was indeed photos of Iris kissing Lin Ke's cheek and Lin Ke wiping the kiss mark—two pictures.

One was the first-place winner of the South District freshman Two Districts Grand Comparison; the other was the notorious crazy girl of the North District freshman year.

The photo content also had highlights.

Curious people swarmed in, and the popularity instantly exploded.

The comment section was full of astonishment, with "wild" exclamations appearing repeatedly.

Moreover, many people sourly remarked that Linke Grand doesn't discriminate between raw and cooked, daring to lay hands on even a gorgeous crazy beauty.

Seeing this post, how could Lin Ke not know what had happened?

Well, this time he was truly jealous.

Putting down the Portable Smart Brain, Lin Ke looked at Mo Li, about to explain the whole story.

"Turn around!"

Who would have thought, before Lin Ke could speak, Mo Li coldly snapped.

"What?"

Lin Ke was puzzled, not knowing what Mo Li was up to.

"I said, turn around!"

Mo Li said angrily, "Don't look at me, look at your Iris!"

Well, the jealousy jar really got knocked over.

A girl in this state can't be coaxed, and not coaxing her is no better.

The more you try to soothe her, the angrier she gets; not soothing her makes her angrier too.

Lin Ke decisively chose not to soothe her, but following Mo Li's words, he turned his head back and looked forward.

Hmph.

Mo Li let out a muffled grunt, then suddenly moved forward and fiercely kissed Lin Ke's cheek.

Then she resentfully said, "You're not allowed to remember what it felt like when she kissed you. Remember mine!"

After saying that, she again sulked alone, unwilling to deal with Lin Ke.

Mo Li wasn't wearing lipstick, so naturally no lip print remained—only some residual warmth.

Lin Ke let out a faint sigh.

He just wants to focus on cultivation, not deal with this stuff.

As a result…

One on the left, one on the right—both cheeks were secretly kissed.

What the heck is this?

Will it be the lips next time?

Annoyed!

The Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group watched the interaction between the big boss and the big sister head, reacting differently.

The sole female student, Betty, both admired the big sister head Mo Li's boldness and courage, and feared that her eyes seeing something they shouldn't would give her a 'needle eye'.

Worried!

The seven male students all worshiped the big boss Lin Ke to the utmost.

This side has the big sister head tied down tight, while outside they can still provoke fluttering banners.

Simply a model for our generation.

Awesome!

Lin Ke remained silent, no longer paying attention to these trivial matters, and peacefully reviewed the relevant knowledge of level-zero regulation runes.

Mo Li sulked for a while, then soothed her own emotions.

Having returned to normal, she seriously read her book.

The Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group felt the atmosphere was no longer high-pressure and icy, and in unison let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they didn't argue.

Over the next few days, aside from another wave of heated discussion about Lin Ke on the forum, nothing special happened.

The lives of Lin Ke, Mo Li, the Benevolent Brother Group, and the Social Anxiety Group returned to ordinary and regular.

Dormitory, cafeteria, lab, classroom, cafeteria, lab, dormitory.

From morning to night, they repeatedly went back and forth among these several buildings.

Research and experiments related to the ecosystem, under Lin Ke's leadership, progressed rapidly.

The experimental materials sent by Iris's people, and those distributed after the academy approved the project application, were truly not lacking in quantity or quality.

Along with the batch of experimental materials, there were also 300 pieces of standard first-grade magic stones.

Lin Ke distributed these 300 magic stones to Mo Li, the Benevolent Brother Group, and the Social Anxiety Group as subsidies and benefits.

Mo Li alone took 60 pieces, while each member of the Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group received 30 pieces.

Regarding Lin Ke's distribution, the Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group had no objections.

After all, Mo Li surpasses them in both experience and ability.

The Benevolent Brother Group directly exclaimed that the big boss's wealth was sky-high.

The Social Anxiety Group thought they had followed the right person.

Mo Li, meanwhile, kept things separate and accepted them peacefully.

Money earned through mental and physical effort is held without feeling cold.

Lin Ke spent Iris's money to win his team's hearts.

Feeling great.

……

The first weekend after the Two Districts Grand Comparison.

Morning.

After wrapping up all work, Lin Ke gave the Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group a day off.

These days of overtime have exhausted them; let them go home and rest properly.

Only Mo Li stayed behind to help polish the already completed seven papers.

After careful consideration, to ensure quality and earn more 'credits,' Lin Ke still didn't add too much filler.

One major project, and it merely produced seven 'papers'—that's it!

The seven papers' main contents are, in order: water sample testing and analysis, soil testing and analysis, plant variation and special attributes, herbivorous animals' general commonality and traits of some mutant subpopulations, carnivorous animals' general commonality and traits of different mutant subpopulations, causes and characteristics of ecosystem imbalance, and feasible solutions for reconstructing the ecosystem with preliminary experiments and conclusions.

Lin Ke originally wanted to add a filler piece on thoughts and warnings triggered by ecosystem imbalance, but after thinking, he decided against it.

Writing such 'papers' is meaningless.

After a busy period, the two confirmed that the seven papers had no wording or grammatical errors, and the data were all verified correct; they are fully ready for submission.

Mo Li put down her pen and paper, then casually asked: "Are you going to contact that bitch Iris later to confirm where they put their names?"

Hmm.

Lin Ke responded frankly.

He indeed had an appointment with Iris to meet and discuss.

This isn't something shameful.

Between him and Iris, everything is clear and proper, with no messy relationships.

Hmm!

"I'm going too."

Mo Li gritted her back teeth, giving the look that you must agree.

"Then let's go together."

Lin Ke agreed without hesitation.

A moment later, the two left the laboratory and headed toward a leisure cottage by the lakeside lawn.

From afar, seeing the pink-themed leisure cottage, Mo Li's breathing involuntarily grew much heavier.

Deliberate, absolutely deliberate!

She could be certain that Iris had guessed she would come along, so she deliberately booked such a place.

Clearly there are plenty of normal leisure cottages nearby for talking business.

And yet she chose pink!

"Oh dear..."

Iris deliberately stood by the door to greet, putting on airs, right hand holding a piece of silk, lightly waving it, her tone affected and pretentious, speaking in a cute voice: "Isn't this Mo Li? What wind blew you here?"

At this moment, Iris was not just one person.

Hua Fei possessed her, from tone to gaze, to demeanor, to movement, all the same.

The madness surged again.

Unfortunately, Lin Ke paid no heed.

Mo Li didn't get the meme, giving no response that Iris had hoped for.

Iris's whole antics were like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind person.

"Boring."

She pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, Iris returned to her normal state, turned and walked inside.

"Go on in."

Mo Li tilted her head to signal, urging them on.

She had already built up her 'anger', ready to properly contend with Iris this crazy woman.

Lin Ke had no objection and went in first.

Mo Li followed closely behind.

The cottage was not only pink on the outside, its interior decor was extremely amorous.

Iris, however, sat very seriously; seeing Lin Ke and Mo Li enter, she immediately put forward a solemn request: "One paper, one author; two papers, two authors; three papers, three authors. One author can be a non-core 'paper'. This request isn't excessive, right?"

Mo Li was caught off guard by this move.

She had also prepared to use the sarcastic tone she'd picked up since childhood to give Iris a good jab.

As it turned out, the other side didn't give her a chance at all.

"Sure, you pick."

Lin Ke had come to discuss business; without hesitation, he immediately placed the final author list of the 'paper' before Iris.

"All right, wait a moment. Please sit for a while and have some drinks."

Iris extended her right hand, pointing to the nearby chair, politely.

"Please have a seat."

Lin Ke saw Mo Li with a look of 'no drama, unhappy', suppressed a smile, and reminded her.

What's the point of battling wits with a crazy person?

Isn't Batman smart enough?

Still gets played by the Joker!

This isn't about IQ level, it's about different thinking patterns.

"Oh."

Mo Li sat down dazedly, lifted the hot drink and took a small sip, inevitably feeling doubtful.

What is she doing here today?

Could it be just to watch the two discuss business and then have a drink?

But Mo Li couldn't just pick a fight.

That would make her seem petty, looking for trouble, easily earning dislike.

After thinking it over, she actually couldn't think of a good way to vent.

Mo Li couldn't help but feel angry, her cheeks puffed up like two little buns.

White and tender, supple and round.

"Alright, that's it."

Iris quickly made a decision, ticked a few boxes, filled in the corresponding names, and returned the 'paper' roster.

Along with the roster came a large box.

At a glance you could see it contained at least 500 standard-grade Magic Stones.

Before Lin Ke could ask, Iris eagerly explained: "This is the custom of our Northern District. Many like me who dislike research but need 'credits' purchase authorship with Magic Stones."

Generally, 200 Magic Stones buy a third authorship on an ordinary 'paper'; if the quality is high, they make up for it later.

Considering we provided so much experimental material, we halved the Magic Stones for you— isn't that fair?

Now I understand.

Lin Ke suddenly understood upon hearing that.

He put away the 'paper' roster and the large box, replying: "Not excessive, very reasonable."

"Fine, then that's settled?"

When Iris isn't hysterical and gets down to business, she handles things with the bearing of a strong woman—decisive, swift, and without any hesitation.

Fine, let's do that.

Lin Ke picked up his drink, took a small sip, then stood up preparing to leave.

With a bang, Mo Li slammed her cup down and immediately stood up.

It's been a while since we've schemed against each other; have I lost my touch? I was completely suppressed from start to finish, couldn't find an opening.

Damn it!

Wait.

Iris suddenly spoke up again, trying to detain them.

Anything else?

Lin Ke frowned slightly, his intuition sensing that something bad was about to happen.

Iris curled her lips with a hint of a crazy smile: "Cuixi. Lukia and the others are holding a gathering; want to go check it out? Monto's confinement just ended, so we can call him along too."

Saying that, Iris picked up her vibrating Portable Smart Brain, glanced at it, and laughed: "What a coincidence—just mentioning him, he sent an invitation for me to join him in settling scores with someone."

This is about taking back face and venue from the members of the Pureblood Will who have been stirring up the positive faction to isolate them!

Iris learned from the Seraphine Wizard that Lin Ke was researching a comparative world ecosystem project, so she immediately went to him for collaboration, likely for this purpose.

What business of the Northern District is it for a Southern District Newblood like me to meddle in?

Lin Ke waved his hand and directly refused: "I'm not going; you enjoy yourself."

With that, Lin Ke took Mo Li and headed straight out the door toward the experimental building.

Iris gave a meaningful smile and did not try to detain them further.

Some things cannot be avoided just by wanting to hide.

What is meant to come will eventually come.

What does she mean?

Having steeled herself, Mo Li decided not to lower herself to the level of a madwoman; her wits returned, and she asked doubtfully.

Before, she always felt Iris was hatching some bad scheme, trying to drag Lin Ke into it.

Lin Ke fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a heavier tone: "The Lukia family's desire to kill me has probably already spread. From now on, anyone or any faction at odds with the Lukia family will likely try to use me as a blade!"

Mo Li also fell silent upon hearing that.

This is something that will inevitably happen, yet cannot be avoided in advance.

We can only take it one step at a time.

Maintain our own pace as much as possible, so we aren't easily used by others.

Don't worry too much; I have a countermeasure.

Seeing Mo Li's worried expression, Lin Ke spoke to comfort her.

But just as his words fell, Lin Ke's expression changed instantly.

Monto. Leonel actually waited specially at the experimental building's entrance, blocking Lin Ke and Mo Li's path.

Given this situation, does he have to make a trip?

They really think he's a soft persimmon.

They think they can pinch him at will?

Hehe, keep asking for monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)