Chapter 46: Cooperation

When it comes to teaching seniority, Ruan Zhijun might rank somewhere in the middle tier at the school. However, in terms of practical combat proficiency and strictness, he easily ranks in the top three.

This was precisely what made Class 5 of the senior year find life so agonizing; every single physical education class felt like military training.

Yet, there was one peculiar aspect: Ruan Zhijun cared deeply about "rules." Even though other physical education teachers frequently delayed class dismissals or outright usurped time from academic subjects, he always strictly adhered to the school's regulations. The moment the bell rang, he would immediately dismiss the class, never encroaching upon other subjects.

As for actual combat sparring, the entire class had experienced it firsthand during past final exams.

Yet whenever they recalled it, most students would either suffer from nightmares or instinctively touch some part of their bodies that had previously been battered or fractured.

Even now, just the thought of facing their homeroom teacher in direct combat made their scalps tingle with dread, let alone this simulated graduation combat assessment, where the homeroom teacher would even be armed.

Even the class monitor was sweating profusely, already warming up in advance and planning to invoke the special effects of her Investigator's uniform once again.

Because with Ruan Zhijun, there was never any distinction made between male and female students; everyone was subjected to heavy-handed treatment.

On his very first day as their homeroom teacher, he had made his stance clear to everyone: "Only broken bones make the best textbooks."

Across the entire fifth class, only Roddy was filled with a sense of anticipation.

Since the gymnasium was sufficiently large, different classes were assigned to separate zones to conduct their final combat assessments.

Class 5 of the senior year was assigned to a relatively spacious, enclosed training area, and everyone had already lined up in their usual physical education formations.

Dressed in a military uniform, Ruan Zhijun showed no intention of letting anyone relax, nor did he offer any praise for the class monitor breaking the record. Instead, with the stern expression he always wore during PE class, he stated:

"This assessment will be different from the past.

You have been training under my supervision for two and a half years.

For this combat session, I will be applying graduation standards.

If anyone lacks concentration and is severely injured by me, then please fill out an application for delayed graduation in advance.

If you are already feeling scared right now, please abandon the path of physical education and focus on academics to pursue desk jobs instead.

Furthermore, don't hold anything back; bring out whatever skills you have."

Upon finishing these words, Ruan Zhijun cast a meaningful glance at Roddy.

"Alright! Roll call, numbers 1 through 5, step out of formation! All other students, fall back beyond the white line. The combat test begins now."

The five students remaining on the field had quickly adjusted their states, immediately surrounding the homeroom teacher in a circle while drawing the weapons they had prepared, predominantly the field utility knives they trained with most frequently.

These utility knives were portable, flexible, and easy to master, making them an excellent choice for close-quarters combat. The vice-monitor, Gao Yuxuan, also used this type of weapon.

However,

whereas the homeroom teacher had previously interacted with the students bare-handed, today he drew a special weapon—the mechanical baton.

This belonged to the category of non-lethal weapons, typically used for suppressing and subduing opponents.

Yet in the hands of the homeroom teacher, even such a baton could become a lethal instrument of damage.

This was also the first time since starting school that they were engaging in live combat against an armed homeroom teacher.

Two minutes passed.

The five students who had formed the encirclement were now scattered across different areas of the arena, either wailing in agony or having already passed out.

Witnessing the entire process, the rest of the students drew sharp intakes of breath, their inner pressure mounting increasingly, with some resorting to excessive medication just to suppress their terror.

The second group immediately stepped up. They showed a slight improvement compared to the previous group, holding out for three minutes.

One of them even took a direct hit to the head, instantly stiffening and freezing on the spot. Medical personnel who had been standing by in the gymnasium rushed onto the scene to handle the situation, ensuring the condition was stable before carrying the student off to the school infirmary.

The third group.

The five-person squad led by the class monitor.

She had also swallowed a small pill in advance, performing stretching exercises as she walked onto the arena.

This was the first time Roddy had ever witnessed the class monitor taking medication during a physical assessment, but judging by the size of the pill, it was likely a low dosage, primarily intended to enhance physical stability so she could endure the stress brought by the Investigator's uniform.

As the class monitor stepped onto the arena, the other four students in her squad immediately gathered around her, using her as the center to formulate their combat plan.

Instead of dispersing in a circular formation, they stood close together.

As the homeroom teacher, Ruan Zhijun naturally held a deep appreciation for Wu Wen.

Because of Wu Wen's management of the class, many matters didn't require him to worry at all. Not to mention Wu Wen's exceptional academic scores; she had even broken the speed record earlier that evening.

"Wu Wen, where is your sword? I recall you were still using it last semester, and your swordsmanship demonstration during the final exam received very high praise."

"Teacher Ruan, my body is still only barely able to adapt to this uniform.

If I try to simultaneously utilize the performance of the uniform while mastering swordsmanship, I reckon I won't be able to hold out. Let's try bare-handed first today. Once the training for the entire second semester of senior year concludes, I estimate I'll be able to handle it proficiently."

"Very well, begin."

Apart from the class monitor, all members of the clustered group of five were armed.

The homeroom teacher had naturally assumed that the four students would use the class monitor as their pivot, providing cover while she initiated the attack.

Who would have thought!

Swish—exhibiting the sprinting posture she had displayed earlier, the class monitor suddenly burst out from among the group, launching the initial surprise attack without any cover from the others.

"Hmm?"

This unexpected tactic made Ruan Zhijun's mental reaction lag for a split second, and the class monitor's high-spinning kick had already reached his flank.

He was forced to alter his stance on the fly, raising the mechanical baton in a hurried block.

Bang!

Supported by the Investigator's uniform, the impact of this kick was astonishingly powerful; faint ripples and pulses could even be observed sweeping across the surface of the garment.

Even the homeroom teacher, whose lower-body balance was exceptionally rock-solid, was shaken by the blow, sliding sideways several steps as his center of gravity was thrown off.

The opportunity had been created by the class monitor.

Such an opening was naturally not to be wasted. The remaining four members decisively lunged forward, gripping sharp weapons and attacking the off-balance homeroom teacher from various angles.

The class monitor also immediately pursued to follow up.

Yet in the next second, she seemed to have noticed something, abruptly halting her forward momentum.

Thud, thud, thud!

Three students were struck in various parts of their bodies and collapsed to the ground one after another.

Only one managed to narrowly evade it, pulling back the distance through a backward roll.

What had looked like a promising opening was instantly shattered, leaving only the class monitor and this particular female student remaining on the arena.

Watching the students lying incapacitated on the ground, Ruan Zhijun couldn't help but shake his head.

"If the people cooperating with you, Wu Wen, were just a bit stronger, I might actually have been suppressed.

Yet their lingering terror toward me has not been completely purged, and the strength they displayed fell short of even their ordinary daily training. Continuing like this, graduating will prove quite difficult."

At this moment,

the female student who had narrowly escaped with a prompt reaction also began to panic, believing that a situation reduced to merely two people spelled certain defeat. She recalled the student earlier who had been struck in the head and paralyzed, fearing that she too might sustain severe injuries and forfeit her graduation opportunity for the year.

Right then,

a gentle and warm palm lightly rested upon the female student's shoulder, and a familiar yet even gentler voice slipped into her ear canal like a thread of silk, seeming almost to stroke her brain and forcefully suppress her tension.

"Xiaoying~ Don't be nervous, I'm still here."

"Understood... Class Monitor!"

A mere handful of words successfully stabilized the panicked student's state of mind, locking her focus back onto the ongoing duel.

This confrontation did not end quickly; instead, another five minutes dragged on.

The class monitor was sent flying out of bounds due to exhaustion, and the female student named Xiaoying was knocked down right after her.

Fortunately, neither of them sustained overly heavy injuries; a trip to the school infirmary wasn't even necessary.

As the duel of the third group concluded,

the class monitor, pushing herself up from the ground, did not head straight back to the rest area. Instead, she walked over to the female student who had coordinated with her, reaching out to pat the girl's mushroom-cut hair.

"That was a truly wonderful cooperation. It was all thanks to you, Xiaoying, otherwise I genuinely wouldn't have lasted this long. I hope you exhibit an even better performance during the college entrance exams."

"Thank you, Class Monitor."

A flush spread across Xiaoying's face as she lightly bit her lower lip.

Just then, a vastly different aura approached from outside the arena, brushing past the class monitor. A faint scent of corpse decay could be subtly detected.

Crouched halfway on the ground, the class monitor's gaze happened to align level with the palm hanging loosely at the stranger's side.

Between those rough fingers, which hardly belonged to a typical high schooler, was gripped a blade wrapped in shrouding cloth.

Shedding the gentle expression she had worn while patting Xiaoying's head, the class monitor looked up in shock and bewilderment, "Roddy! Are you planning to use that here?"

"Yeah..."