After I finished speaking, I stood up, not even glancing at the surrounding third-year students, as if I didn’t take them seriously at all. But no one knew that inside, I was incredibly nervous. If things had unfolded differently just now, if that student had yelled out “A first-year dare to cause trouble in the third-year’s territory” before I had the chance to make an example of him, those third-year students would have pounced on us like they were on steroids.

But fortunately, that didn’t happen. With one move, I completely subdued him, shattering any intention he had to resist.

From a biological perspective, humans have a herd mentality. His submission set an example for the others.

One person bows, and a thousand follow; one person surrenders, and a thousand submit.

I walked straight into the dorm, shining a flashlight on the students. They had just been beaten by Dai Zude and his group, and each one of them was behaving obediently like little chicks. I quickly scanned the dorm when I first entered but didn’t find the person I was looking for. Nonetheless, I still shone the flashlight around each bed to prove that I was indeed looking for someone and not causing trouble.

I heard whispering in the corridor. “That’s Wang Hao? The new boss of Cheng High?” “No wonder he dared to stab Maizi. He’s ruthless.” “New talents emerge every generation, each reigning for a few years.” “What happened to him? Who is he looking for? He seems really pissed.” “Let’s go back to our dorms. He’ll be here soon…”

I walked out of the dorm expressionlessly and said to the third-year student still lying on the ground, “Didn’t find them, you can go back.”

The third-year student looked relieved. He probably thought I wouldn’t let him go easily. He slowly got up, awkwardly smiled at Ye Zhan and the others, with lingering fear in his eyes, and slowly walked back to his dorm.

All my actions just now were to show the other third-year students that I was genuinely looking for someone and not causing trouble. As long as they cooperated, everything would be fine. If not, they shouldn’t blame me for being ruthless.

Every step I took was incredibly risky. If anything had gone wrong, the twenty of us would have been trapped on this floor. Getting beaten was a minor issue, but the name “Wang Hao” would have been completely ruined. Fortunately, everything went according to plan. After tonight, the name “Wang Hao” would become even more prominent. Kicking open the second and third-year dorms one by one would spread throughout Cheng High overnight.

Ye Zhan told me that no one had ever done this in the history of Cheng High. This was a great way to boost our reputation and deterrent power. I agreed, as it was my idea.

The “Broken Net Plan” was still progressing subtly. Finding someone was secondary. The real purpose of this plan was known only to the thirteen of us so far. After leaving the first dorm, it became much easier to enter the others. None of the dorm doors were closed, and we easily went in, shone the flashlight around, and came out.

When we entered a certain dorm, it felt like walking into Feilong’s dorm again. These were a bunch of arrogant people, some sitting, some standing. One was doing push-ups, panting like a bull, while another was hitting a bowl with a thick wrist strengthener, making a “clang clang clang” sound, as if the next second, that wrist strengthener would smash onto my head.

Ye Zhan whispered to me, “These are Lao Gou’s brothers. The one with the wrist strengthener is Shi Dong, a well-known fighter under Lao Gou. We little punks are all afraid of him. Oh, by the way, he’s on the same level as Hong Li.”

Thinking of Hong Li, the corners of my mouth curled into a smile. Hong Li no longer dared to confront me, but now there was no need to provoke Shi Dong or make an enemy of Lao Gou. I winked at Ye Zhan, and he immediately walked over with a smile, saying, “Dong, you’re still up?” while taking out a cigarette to hand to him.

Shi Dong put down the wrist strengthener, took the cigarette, and said slowly, “Who can sleep with you youngsters making such a racket?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Haha, sorry for disturbing your rest, Dong.” Ye Zhan continued, “It’s like this, Haozi ran into some trouble, so we’re out here looking for a few people. We didn’t mean to target anyone specifically.”

Shi Dong looked over at me, “What’s the matter?”

“Got ambushed,” I replied honestly. “It should be someone living in the dorm. We didn’t find them among the second-years, so we’re looking in the third-year dorms.”

“Yeah, you should check thoroughly,” Shi Dong said. “But they’re not in our dorm. They wouldn’t be that bored.”

I glanced around casually without using the flashlight and nodded, “Indeed, they’re not here.” Although I didn’t get a clear look at everyone, I trusted my previous judgment. If Lao Gou wanted to deal with me, he wouldn’t send someone to ambush me and stir up trouble between me and Ye Zhan. Like Maizi, he’d directly bring people to block me, drag me to a secluded spot, and beat me up.

“I also think Lao Gou’s people wouldn’t do such a thing,” I nodded, trying to maintain a superior posture as I looked at Shi Dong.

According to the current hierarchy, Lao Gou and I were on the same level, so Shi Dong should technically be a level below me. I couldn’t let his presence intimidate me, even though I knew I couldn’t beat him in a fight.

Shi Dong looked at me, didn’t say anything, and picked up the wrist strengthener.

In that moment, I felt a bit nervous. If he did attack, how would I respond? My eyes darted around and finally spotted a dumbbell on the table. I could grab it and fight back if needed!

But Shi Dong didn’t attack. He just started bending the wrist strengthener again and asked, “You’re the leader of the first-years now?”

“Can’t say leader, just that the brothers give me face,” I glanced at him, “Why?”

“Nothing,” Shi Dong said. “Stay low-key. Don’t get on our Gou Ge’s radar.”

“Heh,” I chuckled. “Haven’t had the chance to meet Lao Gou yet. When I do, I’ll definitely have a good chat with him.”

After speaking, I turned to leave, afraid that if I stayed any longer, I’d end up fighting Shi Dong. His superior attitude while talking really pissed me off. Ye Zhan and the others quickly called out, “Bye, Dong!” “Bye, Dong!”

After leaving Shi Dong’s dorm, we continued to the next. If Shi Dong didn’t react much, the other dorms under Lao Gou’s command would react even less. We just went in, looked around, and came out.

Despite checking many dorms, we still hadn’t found those guys. Dai Zude and the others were getting anxious, while Ye Zhan and I were becoming more relaxed. We didn’t expect tonight’s operation to be perfect, but the Broken Net Plan was more than halfway successful. As I exited each dorm, I’d say, “I’m Wang Hao. Sorry for disturbing your sleep.”

But finally, things took a turn.

When we entered one dorm, we found a few people missing. Ye Zhan casually asked, “Where are they?”

“Went to an internet cafe for an all-nighter,” a student said. “They’re night owls, sleeping during the day and staying out at night.”

Ye Zhan laughed and said to me, “Almost seniors, yet they’re still not studying and going to internet cafes. Really disgraceful for Cheng High.”

I didn’t respond, my eyes fixed on the empty beds. Ye Zhan followed my gaze to see the messy beds, with clothes thrown on them. I sniffed the air and detected a faint stench.

“Smells awful,” I said. “Just like the stuff I vomited earlier.”

Ye Zhan’s expression changed. He quickly understood and rushed to the student who spoke, dragging him off the bed and asking fiercely, “Where did they go?”

“They really went to the internet cafe…” the student stammered, fear in his eyes.

“Not telling the truth?!” Ye Zhan sneered, punching the student in the nose, “Will you talk now?!”

I shone the flashlight over, and the student’s nose was already bleeding. None of the other students in the dorm dared to move.

“Speak!” Ye Zhan shouted, raising his fist again in front of the student.

“They’re in the bathroom! They’re in the bathroom!” This student was clearly representative of most students in Cheng High—timid, afraid of trouble, but good at studying.

Ye Zhan’s seven brothers, along with Li Mu and Ou Jiahao, had already rushed to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Ye Zhan, Dai Zude, and I leisurely walked out of the dorm and stood in the corridor. The sounds of fighting and fierce cursing came from the bathroom. Before long, four people were dragged out. I recognized them at once—they were the ones who ambushed me tonight!

“Got them,” I laughed. Ye Zhan laughed too, and Dai Zude and the others chuckled as well.

Tonight went incredibly smoothly. Not only did we successfully make a name for ourselves, but we also caught these big fish. Now, it was time to proceed to the final step of the Broken Net Plan! The four of them were quickly dragged in front of us, still cursing and showing no signs of remorse. The commotion was significant enough that many students poked their heads out.

This was exactly the effect we wanted.

The four students looked very defiant. Although they had already been beaten up in the bathroom, they still stared at me with rebellious eyes. They weren’t really scared because they had Su Xiaobai backing them.

“Wang Hao, I’m telling you,” the student who had swung the stick at me earlier said, “Get out of here, or you’ll regret it!”

Ye Zhan kicked him to the ground, “Was it you who tried to stir up trouble between me and Wang Hao? Tell me, who ordered you to do this?”

“Heh.” The student lay on the ground, looking disdainfully at Ye Zhan, “Impressive, Ye Zhan, you even dare to hit me.”