Chapter 121: The School

The next morning, after washing up, Gao Ning put on his freshly dry-cleaned school uniform, which still carried a faint lavender fragrance. When he opened the door and stepped outside, four suited thugs were already waiting for him.

Apparently, while Gao Ning had not been paying attention, another ordinary template had been activated. The rate at which units were now being produced had quadrupled since the beginning.

That was more than enough to deal with ordinary situations. However, it would still be inadequate in a war-level confrontation.

For handling the minor matters at hand, though, it should pose no problem.

Gao the Second had not yet been summoned. There was no need for him at present. Once his second uncle finished arranging the paperwork, Gao Ning could summon him and have him make up the numbers.

Surrounded by the suited thugs, Gao Ning walked all the way to the parking lot beneath the astonished gazes of the hotel staff.

The business vehicles he had booked the night before were already waiting there. The driver, dressed in a neat uniform, stared blankly at the four suited thugs, then at Gao Ning, clearly unable to make sense of the situation.

Could this be the eldest young master of some powerful family? But what family’s heir wore a school uniform?

And not even a decent one—just the ugly sportswear issued by a public school?

Still, he was a professional driver. He knew exactly when to speak and when to keep quiet.

Earlier, the staff had wondered why Gao Ning, traveling alone, had reserved two business vehicles. Seeing the current arrangement, they understood immediately.

Car-rental services on the mainland around the turn of the millennium were not very well developed. Anyone wanting to rent a high-end vehicle had to go through a specialized agency. Gao Ning could not be bothered with the hassle, especially at such short notice, so he had placed the order directly through the hotel.

The hotel had been very efficient in making the arrangements, but the earliest the vehicles could be delivered was that afternoon. For the time being, they had dispatched two business vehicles for their distinguished guest.

Gao Ning was not particular. He opened the rear door and got in. The four suited thugs divided themselves between the vehicles: one took the front passenger seat, while the other three boarded the car behind them.

“Seventh Middle School!”

After giving the driver the address, Gao Ning rubbed his stomach. “Stop near a breakfast stall before we arrive.”

The driver had no idea what was going on, and he did not dare ask. He desperately wanted to say, You just came out of a hotel—why do you need another meal?

His lips moved, but in the end, he did not dare speak.

The vehicles started up. Two Audi business vans drove out of the hotel courtyard one after the other and headed straight for their destination.

Several dozen minutes later, Gao Ning entered the school with the flow of students, holding a stuffed savory crepe in his arms.

The driver was sent away. The four suited thugs automatically dispersed, each choosing a direction and beginning their search.

The task Gao Ning had given them was simple: locate Scarface’s gang and capture them first.

Gao Ning was in no hurry. After all, the advantage was on his side.

He had carefully considered the matter of his mission. Film, television, and music could all lead to fame, but music offered the highest exposure.

If everything went smoothly, he could become as famous as a pig’s head in just one year.

But Gao Ning knew very well that he was not cut out for it.

Acting placed considerable demands on an actor. Not only was the process lengthy, but the waters were also much deeper.

Singing, by comparison, was relatively simple.

Songs still needed promotion and marketing, of course, but compared with the tens or hundreds of millions spent promoting a film, those costs were almost negligible.

However, bringing songs from the future into the present would be tantamount to exposing his identity.

Wait.

Exposing his identity?

Gao Ning fell into deep thought.

In the other mission worlds, exposing one’s identity was equivalent to engaging the enemy at close quarters.

Once the opponent launched a surprise attack, one might not even know how one had died. But in this world, revealing his identity seemed to be the correct way to solve the problem.

The reason was that in this world, abilities were locked away, rendering all attacks between the participants ineffective.

The only means available to the opponent would be to hire assassins through the criminal underworld. But this was The Trouble with Charlotte, not The Killer King.

Where would they find so many assassins? They probably could not even get their hands on firearms.

At most, they could gather a few local thugs. The moment someone called the police, those people would scatter like frightened birds.

Gao Ning, however, was different. The suited thugs under his command possessed formidable combat ability.

The moment they discovered a suspicious individual, the one exposed would be the opponent, who would then be tracked in return.

Besides, the map on the Red Alert interface was not merely decorative. Once an enemy red dot appeared, Gao Ning could immediately lock onto the person’s identity.

After that, as long as he dealt with the opponent, victory would essentially be secured.

So the current situation was that Gao Ning could plagiarize songs from the future, while his opponent could not.

Of course, that depended on the two of them originating from the same background world.

Aboard the Mysterious Train, every person came from a different background world. There was no guarantee that similar—or entirely different—songs would not exist.

If the song chosen by his opponent had never appeared in Gao Ning’s background world...

Gao Ning patted his forehead. It seemed this idea was not guaranteed to work one hundred percent of the time either.

As for whether Charlotte grew suspicious, Gao Ning did not care in the slightest.

“What are you thinking about? Your soul nearly left your body! Well, look at that—my favorite stuffed crepe! I skipped breakfast. Let me have a bite!”

Just as Gao Ning was thinking, someone suddenly slapped him on the back. His grip loosened, and the stuffed crepe was snatched away.

A very familiar face suddenly appeared before him. Gao Ning paused for a moment before remembering that the big front teeth belonged to one of the characters from the story.

He was also the classmate who sat in the row beside Gao Ning’s—Zhang Yang.

Later in the original story, Zhang Yang shamelessly got involved with Charlotte’s mother.

When they announced their relationship, the coy expression on his face had nearly made Gao Ning die laughing.

According to his memories, Zhang Yang was an energetic troublemaker. His grades were poor, but he had a thick skin, loved fooling around, and got along well with everyone.

Since Gao Ning sat beside him, the two often talked about video games during class when they had nothing else to do. They were quite familiar with each other.

The boy was surprisingly honest. He really had taken only one bite—but that single bite had removed nearly two-thirds of the crepe. With his cheeks puffed out like a hamster, he wore a lecherous grin and handed the remaining piece back.

Gao Ning rolled his eyes, pushed him aside, and walked into the classroom.

Zhang Yang grinned. “You don’t want it? Then I’ll eat the rest!”

He entered the classroom to find the same familiar, lifeless atmosphere.

During morning self-study, everyone wore a drowsy expression. Most of the boys were copying their homework, while the girls chattered among themselves. A few students who actually cared about their studies were reading textbooks and working through problems.

The floor was slightly damp, which showed that the cleaning had already been done.

Gao Ning walked over to his familiar seat, tossed down his schoolbag, and sat.

His deskmate had arrived long ago. She was a slightly plump girl who wore glasses and kept her head lowered over a romance novel. When Gao Ning came over, she did not say anything. She merely glanced at him before lowering her head and continuing to read.

The two of them rarely interacted in his memories.

Gao Ning was a delinquent who got into fights, ignored the lessons in class, slept during the day, and became energetic at night.

The plump girl was timid by nature and did not dare speak to Gao Ning. At first, she had been nervous even during class. Only after spending more time with him did she gradually relax, realizing that apart from ignoring her, Gao Ning had no intention of doing anything to her.

She had expected it to be an ordinary morning, just like any other.

Who could have guessed that Gao Ning would suddenly turn to her and greet her?

“Morning, Fatty.”