Ch. 276 - Let's Be Clear, No AB System [1]

"Next year's education funds — absolutely not!"The principal spoke with finality. You're already heading off to university and you're still eyeing your alma mater's money?"Tell you what. As your principal, I can offer a personal sponsorship!"Chen Shu's eyes lit up. "Really?""Hold on, let me find a merchant to cash out.""Cash out? What do you mean cash out?""I'll use Huanbei[2] to cash out a thousand yuan — as your reward!""Give me a break..."Chen Shu's mouth twitched. A school principal, and he had to cash out credit for a thousand yuan?!

In the end, with his silver tongue[3], Chen Shu successfully drove the principal out of his own office...If he'd actually handed over next year's funds, the school would've been completely screwed.

"Ah, Gaokao Top Scorer and not even a cash reward?"Chen Shu looked up at the sky and sighed. "What use is fake glory — what I fucking want is money!"He'd already spent over a hundred million buying those two Black Iron-rank True Treasures.Now he was down to just over forty million Huaxia currency, and he still had two Black Iron-rank contract spirits to raise. He was seriously strapped.Especially with the Husky having so few skills — he wanted to buy some lord materials, preferably Silver-rank ones.Both Black Iron and Silver lord materials could grant skill comprehension, but the skills' power and effects were wildly different.For a contract spirit, aside from its core innate skills, most skills eventually needed replacing.Thankfully, Chen Shu's Slime had high-level skills that could be used indefinitely without getting obsolete.

Chen Shu dragged himself back to the Beast Taming Arena, head hanging.The Special Training Class had already assembled. Chen Shu yawned and slipped back into line.

"Chen Pi, where'd you go?"Shen Wushuang looked over at him, noticing his listlessness."Ah, don't even ask."Chen Shu sighed, then his eyes darted around. "Teacher, how about we rob the principal?""???"Shen Wushuang's entire body shuddered. You have got to be fucking kidding me.The rest of the class had equally stunned expressions, and in their hearts rose a strange sense of having narrowly survived a disaster — they had finally graduated...

Shen Wushuang pulled out his phone. "Hello, Spirit Suppression Bureau?""Holy crap, I was just joking!"Chen Shu's mouth twitched as he snatched the phone away.He hung up and let out a breath. A principal who had to cash out credit for a thousand bucks — what was there even worth robbing...

"Stand straight, get back in line!"Shen Wushuang shook his head. He looked out at the Special Training Class."Today is our final assembly! From this moment on, you are all soon-to-be university students!"He'd meant to say something more, but once he saw everyone's attention locked on the bandit, he lost interest.Shen Wushuang let his gaze rest on each face, one by one, and said:"I wish you all — a brilliant future ahead!"

In the end, they took a group photo, and the Special Training Class that had been built over the past year officially disbanded.

...

The classmates all wore smiles, chatting with each other about their summer vacation plans.Unlike before — now that they'd gotten into university, summer break was finally a time to truly relax. No more Beast Taming cram school.

Chen Shu's trio walked together, discussing their own plans."Little Xing, Old Xie — what are your guys' summer plans?"

Xu Xingxing shrugged, sighing. "My family's sending me abroad for a while. I need to consult some PhD about a training plan for my Thunderbird.""You evil rich people!!"The two turned in unison, throwing him looks of pure envy. The guy wasn't even Black Iron yet and already had experts designing custom training plans.

Chen Shu asked, "Old Xie, what about you?"

Xie Sunan thought for a moment. "I was thinking of traveling all over the country. Every break before this I spent working — want to actually relax for once."He raised an eyebrow. "Wanna come with? Let me be clear upfront though — no AB system!""What AB system?" Chen Shu looked puzzled."I cover all the expenses as A, and you show up with your shameless freeloading face as B!"[4]"..."Chen Shu's eyes went wide, utterly scandalized."I, Chen Shu, am that kind of person?!""You absolutely fucking are!"Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing nodded in perfect sync.

Chen Shu looked up and sighed. He never imagined the most basic trust between people could vanish so completely.He shook his head. "I might go to the Capital to find Dali and Fang Si. We'll see."

"Fine. I'm not leaving until mid-July anyway — just let me know when you've decided."

After the three had dinner together, they went their separate ways — each home to their own moms.

Chen Shu returned home. In the living room sat a stranger, his parents chatting with him.His father looked toward the door. "Chen Pi, someone's here for you."

"For me?"Chen Shu glanced at the guy. Don't tell me an enemy tracked me home...

"Chen Shu! Hello! I'm Xue Yu, a Dragon Guard assigned to escort materials!"Xue Yu looked to be in his thirties, his face exuding steadiness and reliability.He opened the pack behind him and pulled out a container filled with yellow liquid, with a peculiar brain organ soaking inside.It was the Flame Blast Beetle Lord material sent by the government![5]

"You may begin feeding it now."Xue Yu handed over the container.

Chen Shu let out a breath. So it wasn't a revenge visit after all.He nodded and summoned the Husky directly.

"Son, that's your second contract spirit?!"His father's eyes went wide, his face a mask of disbelief — but an unstoppable grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.The first one, a Slime, was bizarre enough. He never imagined the second would be a Dumb Husky.

"Dad, am I your biological son or not?"Chen Shu's mouth twitched. Shouldn't you be congratulating me on becoming a Black Iron Beast Tamer right about now?

"What a shame."A trace of regret flickered in Xue Yu's eyes. He was from Nancang Province and had naturally heard of Chen Shu's exploits — a clear genius, but it seemed luck was never on his side.

"Awoooooo~~"The Husky bounced around excitedly. The moment it spotted the family sofa, it was like its very bloodline had been activated[6] — it went berserk with excitement."Stupid dog! Stop jumping around!"Chen Shu grabbed it with one hand. With the other, he opened the container. A wave of scorching heat billowed out.Though only a Black Iron-rank lord, the Flame Blast Beetle's rarity made it more valuable than even some Silver lords.

"Awooo~"The Dumb Husky's eyes filled with despair as it kept twisting its head away. One whiff of that brain and it was already losing it."Damn, this is way more trouble than Little Yellow!"Chen Shu frowned. In resignation, he pulled various seasonings out of his backpack and sprinkled them all over.Only then did the Dumb Husky swallow it — but nothing happened.Clearly, the comprehension attempt had failed.

"Let me ask you something. Does IQ affect skill comprehension?"Chen Shu asked. "I'm afraid we'll drain the entire national stockpile before this idiot learns anything.""..."Xue Yu shook his head. "Hardly any effect. It's entirely luck. Dumb dogs have dumb luck[7] — it should be able to learn."

With that, he pulled out another container — more Flame Blast Beetle Lord material.Standard procedure: they had to keep providing materials until comprehension succeeded.

A second material. A third material...Xue Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, doubt creeping into his eyes.Could skill comprehension really be related to IQ after all?

[1] AB制 (AB zhì): "AB System." In Chinese dining culture, "AA制" means splitting the bill equally (going Dutch), while "AB制" means an uneven split — person A pays most or all, person B pays little or nothing. The term originated in young urban social circles where the higher-earning friend (A) would cover the bulk to spare the lower-earning friend (B) embarrassment. Xie Sunan's joke works on two layers: first, he rejects the AB system — then clarifies that his definition of B is Chen Shu freeloading while Xie pays everything. The punchline is that he's preemptively blocking the exact arrangement Chen Shu would shamelessly assume.

[2] 还呗 (Huánbèi): A real Chinese consumer credit app similar to a virtual credit card, widely used for small short-term loans and installment payments. "套现" (cashing out) refers to converting credit into actual cash — a grey-area practice often done through friendly merchants. The comedy here is that Nanjiang Second High's principal — the head of an institution — is so broke he has to cash out a consumer credit app for a thousand-yuan "reward." It is a devastatingly funny detail about the school's financial situation.

[3] 三寸不烂之舌 (sān cùn bù làn zhī shé): "A three-inch tongue that never rots." A classical Chinese idiom originating from the Warring States strategist Zhang Yi, whose silver-tongued persuasion reshaped alliances between kingdoms. Used to describe someone of extraordinary persuasive ability who can talk their way into or out of anything. Chen Shu deploying it to fleece — or literally chase off — his own principal is peak bandit behavior.

[4] 舔着逼脸来白嫖 (tiǎn zhe bī liǎn lái bái piáo): Crude slang combining 舔着脸 (shamelessly, literally "licking one's face") and 白嫖 (freeloading, literally "consuming for free" — internet slang from gaming culture for benefiting without contributing). Xie Sunan's vulgar-but-affectionate roast captures the trio's dynamic: Chen Shu's shameless mooching is so legendary his own friends preemptively budget around it.

[5] 火焰暴虫领主 (Huǒyàn Bàochóng Lǐngzhǔ): Flame Blast Beetle Lord. An insectoid fire-attribute beast whose species was nearly driven to extinction after a great war, now surviving only in Demon Fire Forest. Its lord-level brain material grants the rare talent skill Sustained Assault — stacking damage amplification on consecutive casts. Established in Ch273 as one of three skill options Chen Shu selected.

[6] 血脉都被激活了 (xuèmài dōu bèi jīhuó le): "Its very bloodline was activated." A ubiquitous trope in Chinese cultivation and gaming fiction — characters feel their ancestral bloodline power surge when encountering something resonant (battle, treasure, enlightenment). Here it is pure slapstick: the Husky's "bloodline awakening" is nothing more than a domestic dog's instinct to destroy furniture. The sofa is its ancestral trigger.

[7] 傻狗有傻福 (shǎ gǒu yǒu shǎ fú): "Dumb dogs have dumb luck." A pun on the proverb "傻人有傻福" — "fools have fool's luck" / fortune favors fools. Replacing 人 (person) with 狗 (dog) because the Husky is literally a dog. Xue Yu deploys it earnestly as reassurance; the reader knows it lands as devastating accidental shade against the Husky's demonstrated intelligence.