13: Chapter 13: Retribution Has Finally Arrived!

He lowered his head, looking at the porridge in his bowl.

Schooling, graduation, work, marriage, children, supporting a family, growing old...

This was his life in his previous existence.

Ordinary, stable, and predictable at a single glance.

If it were before his awakening, he probably would have chosen this path without hesitation.

But now...

He raised his head and glanced at Wang Dashan opposite him.

Then he glanced at Li Xiulan and Wang Xiaoyue beside him.

He was unsure when these three Calamities would mutate.

He was unsure how long their current "humanity" could last.

Perhaps one night, they would suddenly lose control and chew him up inch by inch while he slept, swallowing him whole.

This was entirely possible.

He had seen what it looked like when a Calamity lost control.

In that alley on the east side of the city, he had witnessed with his own eyes a Calamity that had lost control tear its own younger brother to shreds,

and then kneel in a pool of blood, wailing bitterly. That was after it had regained consciousness, but it was already too late.

A Calamity is a Calamity.

The instinct to eat humans is carved into their bones and fused into their blood.

So-called "family" is nothing more than a disguise that could be torn apart at any moment.

Wang Lin raised his head and looked at Wang Dashan opposite him.

"I've made up my mind. I'll go."

Wang Dashan nodded without saying anything more.

He simply reached out and pushed the plate of fried dough sticks toward him. "Eat more. You'll get hungry on the road."

...

On the street, a red sports car sped past.

Sitting inside the car, Wang Lin looked at the luxurious interior and couldn't help but sigh!

Isn't this the dream car that he wouldn't even be able to afford a single tire for, no matter how hard he worked in his previous life?

He reached out and touched the leather interior; it felt delicate and was truly different.

"Uncle Wang, didn't you drive a beat-up van before? How come you switched to a sports car this time?"

Zhang Qiming smiled. "You hadn't awakened yet, right? Didn't I have to disguise myself as an ordinary person? Now that you've awakened, we don't need to pretend anymore."

Having said that, he stepped on the gas, performed a beautiful tail-drift, and overtook a sedan in front.

Wang Lin was shaken and terrified. "Uncle Wang, can you drive a bit slower?"

"Don't worry, don't you trust my skills?"

"Watch closely, it's time to show you my real skills..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he executed another beautiful drifting maneuver around a corner to overtake a car.

If nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was about to happen...

"Bang!"

He crashed into the white van in front.

Wang Lin opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Qiming beside him, and didn't say a word.

Zhang Qiming looked a bit embarrassed; after all, having his face slapped right after bragging was truly humiliating.

He gave two dry laughs. "...My apologies."

Both of them got out of the car.

The van driver was completely stunned.

He had just been looking down to light a cigarette, and the moment he looked up, he saw a red flash of lightning crash straight into him.

When he saw the car's emblem, his heart skipped a beat, and the cigarette he had just lit fell from his wide-open mouth.

Is this something I can afford to compensate for?

Zhang Qiming got out of the car, walked over, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one over.

The van driver instinctively took it, his brain still in a state of system crash.

He quickly reviewed his driving process:

No speeding, no driving against traffic, no drunk driving... aside from lighting a cigarette, there was nothing wrong.

It was the other party who was speeding and crashed into him from another lane.

The other party was fully at fault.

He took a deep breath, looked at the man driving the luxury car, and spoke cautiously. "Brother, look at this..."

Zhang Qiming waved his hand. "It's fine, it's my responsibility. I was speeding and hit you. My apologies for wasting your time."

After saying that, he pulled a stack of cash from his pocket. "This is ten thousand yuan, consider it your lost wages."

"As for the damage to your car, my insurance company will pay for it later."

The van driver stared at the ten thousand yuan in front of him, stunned.

Lost wages?

He drove and delivered goods for others, earning only two hundred yuan a day.

This ten thousand yuan was enough to cover fifty days of lost wages.

He opened his mouth. "This..."

"Just take it, brother." Zhang Qiming stuffed the money into his hand.

"It's not easy for anyone when out and about. This really is my fault. When my assistant arrives in a moment, just cooperate with the handling of the matter."

The van driver took the money with trembling hands.

It seems this guy in front of him is truly someone who isn't short on money.

At this moment, Wang Lin also got out of the car and glanced casually at the van driver.

Then he froze.

Holy crap?

Isn't this his elementary school math teacher?

That nightmare from his childhood, the one who made him stay behind every day to correct his math homework,

while everyone else was eating lunch, he was pinned down in the office, gritting his teeth over a pile of wrong answers.

Shi Yong, Teacher Shi.

Teacher Shi, who was driving the van, also saw Wang Lin. He paused for a moment, then spoke with some uncertainty. "Wang... Wang Lin?"

Wang Lin came back to his senses. "Teacher Shi?"

He looked at the van behind, then at Teacher Shi. "Teacher Shi, aren't you teaching math at school? How come you're out here delivering goods for people?"

Teacher Shi sighed. "Sigh, don't mention it."

"I opened a tutoring class back then, but someone reported me, and my teaching license was revoked."

"Now I can only drive a van to deliver goods for others to make a living."

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow. "You can get reported for running a tutoring class?"

"The Education Bureau is pushing for reduced burdens now, so extra tutoring isn't allowed." Teacher Shi looked depressed.

"There was a student back then whose math was too poor, and his parents insisted that I give him tutoring."

"With grades like his, there was no need for tutoring anymore."

"I didn't agree at first, but he paid way too much..."

The more he spoke, the angrier he got. "But math, this thing is different from Chinese and English!"

"You can't just improve by memorizing! You need logical thinking! Reverse-deductive thinking!"

"When I taught that student, he would mumble 'uh-huh, yeah,' as if he understood everything, but the moment he took the test, he gave it all back to me."

"His parents saw that his grades hadn't improved but had actually regressed, and in a fit of rage, they reported me!"

After listening, Wang Lin felt incredibly satisfied.

Retribution indeed.

Retribution has finally come.

Remembering how he was pinned down in the office by this Teacher Shi to correct his homework as a child,

remembering how he would be gritting his teeth over math problems while everyone else was eating lunch,

remembering how he would have nightmares before every exam about being kept behind...

Seeing him in this miserable state now, Wang Lin felt refreshed.

He exclaimed sincerely, "He really is a piece of work."

Teacher Shi also sighed along, "Yeah, he really is a piece of work."

Then he carefully glanced at Zhang Qiming beside him, lowered his voice, and asked Wang Lin, "Is this your dad?"

Wang Lin shook his head. "No."

Teacher Shi seemed to heave a sigh of relief and asked again, "Then who is he?"

Wang Lin thought for a moment and said, "My dad's business partner."

Zhang Qiming chimed in from the side, "Right, I'm his dad's assistant."

Teacher Shi opened his mouth wide.

The cigarette he had just re-lit fell out of his mouth again.

He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, muttering, "Sorry, the wind is too strong, it fell out..."