Alan said, "The principal knows several congressmen. He's the king here, whatever he says goes. I heard that most of the younger female teachers have slept with him."

Jack blinked, looking a bit bewildered. What kind of place is this?

Louis smirked, "I don't care about the principal as long as he doesn't bother me and lets me do my thing. I want to know what's going on between Emperor and Billy now."

Alan said, "There's been some friction there. But it's not too serious, just arguments and fights. I heard it's because Billy has developed feelings for Emperor."

Louis raised an eyebrow, and Jack quickly asked, "Wait, Emperor is a girl?"

Alan nodded, "Yep! Don't be fooled by her gender, she's tough! Usually, three or five guys together can't match up to her. It's like she's connected to the underworld. Rumor has it she's the girlfriend of some big shot in the criminal underworld, but who knows if it's true?"

Jack was getting a bit confused and slapped his head, "This is getting too complicated. Louis, you'll have to figure it out; I'm not getting involved in this."

Alan chuckled and said to Louis, "Louis, John is Emperor's top henchman. I didn't expect you to take him down with just a few moves, but Emperor won't let this go easily. Be careful."

Louis lowered his head in silence, lost in thought. Jack, feeling uneasy, said, "What's there to be afraid of? I refuse to believe a girl can be that formidable!"

Alan laughed, "You think we'd willingly be under a girl's command? We're forced into it! How should I put it? One word, Emperor is no ordinary person. You'll know when you meet her. She's a bewitching beauty with a venomous touch, like a black rose!"

Jack looked puzzled when he saw his expression. He nudged Alan and said, "Have you fallen for Emperor?"

Alan shook his head. "She is not the one we can love."

Jack was utterly confused by this. What did that mean? Liking someone was just liking them, and not liking them was not liking them! This person must have a screw loose in their head.

Out of the blue, Louis said something cryptic, "I can't wait for our meeting to come! I'm looking forward to that day!" After learning about Emperor's ties to the underworld, Louis's feels exciting. Alan was taken aback by Louis's words. A few beams of sunlight pierced through the trees, illuminating Louis's face with a radiant glow. Unconsciously, Alan found himself drawn to Louis's charisma. Alan sighed inwardly: What kind of man is this? Perhaps following him could really lead to a different journey in life.

Alan's curiosity about Louis was now genuine. From this moment on, the figure who would later become a prominent member in Louis's team was completely won over. A heart that also couldn't stand loneliness had finally found a sense of belonging worth pursuing for a lifetime.

Alan told Louis, "Emperor is formidable. If we directly confront him, even if we win, we'll suffer heavy losses. Instead..." Alan paused here, thinking that he had just joined Louis recently and had defected, so he wasn't sure if Louis would listen to his advice.

Seeing Louis gesture for him to continue, Alan licked his lips and said, "If we can intensify the conflict between Emperor and Billy, we might gain a lot of benefits. At the very least, we won't have to worry about having two enemies!"

Louis nodded for a while, feeling that the inconspicuous student in front of him was really intelligent. This person had figured things out on his own, and what he was currently lacking was someone like this. With a smile, he asked Alan, "Didn't you say that Billy might be developing an interest in Emperor? How can we escalate their conflict?"

Alan smiled faintly, confidently saying, "I've been here for almost two years, and I have some understanding of Billy's personality. He's extremely loyal; otherwise, with his intelligence, it wouldn't be possible for him to have achieved this scale. It's because he's good at making friends and is willing to go to great lengths for his friends that he has a group of people following him. Among them, there are a few very close friends. If we can get these few people to end up in the hospital and make him feel like it was Emperor's doing..." Alan paused for a moment, seeing Louis listening attentively, and then continued, taking a breath, "Given his personality, even if he likes Emperor, he would still fight back with all his might!"

Louis was speechless, he lowered his head and pondered for nearly five minutes.

Jack thought the idea was very good. He held onto Alan and vigorously nodded, patting him on the shoulder, saying, "Indeed, it's a great plan!"

Alan also had a good impression of this straightforward and chubby guy. Humbly, he said, "These are all just my random thoughts, nothing serious."

Smart people might not necessarily like those as intelligent as themselves, but they generally don't avoid being around those with simpler minds. Because they're smart!

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After hearing Alan's words, Louis felt there was some truth to it, but... Louis slowly responded, "Even if this idea does succeed, causing both Billy and Emperor to suffer losses, it will also attract the involvement of societal forces... Actually, I don't care much about Billy and Emperor's influence. What truly concerns me is the social power behind Emperor. This idea will only make them go all out to counter us..." Louis didn't want to discourage Alan. He patted his shoulder and said, "Actually, your idea is not bad, but in the future, you should broaden your perspective. Don't be blinded by immediate gains! You should see clearly who your real adversaries are! You're a smart person, and I hope you won't let me down."

After listening to Louis' words, Alan's back was drenched in sweat. He had always thought of himself as clever, but compared to the man in front of him, he felt like a child. Alan respectfully bowed to Louis and said, "Thank you, Louis. I realize there's much I need to learn. I will work doubly hard from now on!"

Louis nodded and said, "You are actually very intelligent. I truly need talented guys like you. I hope you can be genuine with me in the future..."

Alan exclaimed loudly, "Louis, you're the only person I admire. I've devoted my life to following you!"

Louis affectionately held Alan's hand and said, "In the future, we'll conquer the world together!"

Alan nodded; his eyes slightly moist. He felt that fate had been kind to him, allowing him to encounter such an extraordinary man in his youth.

Louis let go of his hand, walked to the edge of the forest, and looked up at the sky: " I don't worship boundless power, I don't care for endless wealth, and I'm indifferent to what kind of dominance I'll have in the future. I only desire a certain process. A process that lets me experience the thrill of competition. That's what I want the most. It's like the feeling of birds soaring in the vast sky, with nothing to constrain their wings, looking down on everything beneath them!"

Louis' voice wasn't loud, yet every person present could hear it clearly. The sunlight illuminated him, making it hard to look directly at him. No one knew exactly what they were feeling at that moment, but they felt Louis' stature was towering, and his closeness to the sun was an unreachable height.

"Louie, what you're saying is so strange! Why can't I understand?" Jack touched his hair, breaking the silence. Louie smiled. It seemed that he was truly changing day by day. Being with this group of passionate young people, his personality was different from before, but he didn't resist this change in his heart. He was happy with his current life and cherished the affection these young people had for him.

Louie said, "Jack, do you know? You said something very right!"

Jack asked in surprise, "Louie, what did I say? What was right?"

Louie laughed and said, "No matter when, if the enemy comes, I'll fight them off; if the water comes, I'll hold it back!" With that, he turned and walked towards the school gate. Everyone looked at Louie's distant figure, exchanged glances, suppressed the touch of emotion in their hearts, and chased after their hero in their minds. Leaving Jack looking confused, "What's going on with everyone today... wait for me, guys! I run slowly, take it easy..."

"A bunch of heartless guys!" Louis heard Jack's tenor voice from behind as he walked out of the school gate.

In the afternoon, Louie and Jack went to the hospital to visit their injured comrades. Steven and Eric were there too, understanding the situation. They learned that five people were hospitalized, but the injuries weren't too severe. Only then did Louis feel relieved.

The next day, Louis gave up riding his bicycle and jogged to school. He felt that he had to deal with more and more challenges, and having a strong physique was essential. His home was two kilometers away from the school, and he jogged while throwing punches in the air, resting when he got tired. By the time he reached the school, he was drenched in sweat.

Louis entered the school and had barely taken a few steps when the sound of a motorcycle came from behind him. "No way!" Louis reflexively jumped to the side of the road. A motorcycle came to a stop beside him. "Why is it you again?! Do you have a habit of walking in the middle of the road?" Louis turned his head and couldn't help but smile. Riding the bike was the beautiful senior who had almost collided with him yesterday. Louis nodded and smiled, "Hello, senior alumnae!"

The motorcycle girl's face blushed slightly as she chuckled, "Your memory is pretty good!"

Louis intentionally sized up the girl. Under his intense gaze, the girl felt a bit embarrassed and retorted playfully, "Hey, why are you staring? Haven't you seen a beauty before?"

Louis replied, "It's precisely because you're so beautiful, that's why it's hard to forget you! It's not that my memory is good." In fact, this was his true thought. Such a beautiful girl really made it difficult to forget.

The girl blushed, and her heart suddenly raced. Such words, if spoken by someone else, would be dismissed, but for some reason, hearing them from this boy whose name she didn't even know yet carried a different flavor. She felt an indescribable sense of joy. However, every time she saw this boy, her heart raced significantly. She didn't understand this feeling, so she decided to avoid it.

The girl mounted her bike, bid goodbye, and before Louis could say anything, she sped off ahead. After traveling about ten meters, she turned back and shouted, "My name is Emily!"

The girl's voice echoed in Louis's ears, "Emily, such a beautiful name!" Watching the girl's cool and confident figure, Louis felt a surge of excitement. An idea popped into his mind: Could this girl be Emperor? Louis shook his head, trying to dismiss this thought. He told himself that there were plenty of girls with names starting with 'E'; it couldn't be that coincidental! For some reason, Louis really hoped this girl wouldn't turn out to be Emperor.

Louis walked into the classroom, where there was a lot of commotion. Jack and a few other boys nearby were gesturing wildly and seemed excited about something. Louis sat down in his seat. Lily asked, "Louis, did you know? There was a fight behind the schoolyard yesterday. Several students ended up in the hospital and couldn't come to class today!"

Louis smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm not really sure." Then he asked Lily, "Has the school said anything about addressing this issue?"

Lily shook her head, "I haven't heard anything, but with something this big, the school can't just ignore it, right?"

Louis commented, "Well, you never know. By the way, why did you come to this school?"

Louis felt that Lily was probably a very intelligent girl, likely with good grades, so she shouldn't be attending this school.

Lily pouted and said, "I used to play around too much and my exam results weren't great, so I ended up here!"

Curiously, Louis asked, "What kind of things do you usually play?"