Several days had passed since the cafeteria line-cutting incident.

That morning, as soon as He Yu arrived at school, he brought it up to Lin Zichen, looking furious.

“I’ve been investigating for days and I finally found out which class those guys who cut in front of me were from!”

“You won’t believe it—they’re from Class 3, Second Year, the same top elite class we’re about to challenge!”

He grumbled, “Even the elite class students are so uncivilized. Unbelievable!”

“Good grades don’t mean good manners,” Lin Zichen said casually while scrolling through the news on his phone.

Just then, a headline caught his eye.

A rich second-generation youth in the city had gone missing—three days with no contact. His family was offering a huge reward online for any information.

‘Another one missing?’

Lin Zichen frowned.

This was the fifth disappearance of a rich young heir he’d seen recently.

At first, he thought it was just kidnappings for ransom, but after several days, there hadn’t been a single demand for money.

It was strange.

Chilling, even.

As he pondered this, Li Chuxin, who sat in front, turned to Shen Qinghan and said, “Hanhan, there’ll be a singing competition at the end of December. I want to do a duet, but I still need a soft-voiced partner. Your voice is really gentle—how about joining me?”

“I... I can’t sing.”

“It’s fine. You’ll have very few lines. Just hum a little with me here and there.”

“Maybe you should find someone else...”

Shen Qinghan had social anxiety at school. The thought of performing on stage terrified her.

Li Chuxin clasped her hands pleadingly, “Please, Hanhan, sing with me. Your voice is so soft and beautiful. With you as my partner, we’re bound to win something!”

“But...”

Shen Qinghan looked conflicted, unsure how to refuse.

Seeing that, Lin Zichen said, “Hanhan, why not join her? Your voice really suits singing—it’ll sound great.”

He figured she was too shy and thought performing might help her build some confidence.

Li Chuxin added, “Exactly! Your voice is perfect for singing. It’d be a shame not to show it off.”

After hesitating a bit, Shen Qinghan finally agreed, mainly because Lin Zichen encouraged her.

[You and Li Chuxin successfully persuaded Shen Qinghan to join the singing competition, total completed tasks +1]

Lin Zichen was a little surprised that even this could increase his Social Animal achievement progress.

* * *

A few days later, Saturday morning.

Inside the gymnasium.

Lin Zichen’s Class 1 of the First Year was challenging the strongest Second-Year elite class—Class 3.

During warm-ups, several male students from Class 3 gathered together, chatting and occasionally glancing toward Lin Zichen and He Yu.

They were the same guys who’d cut in line the week before.

Lin Zichen noticed but ignored them, calmly helping Shen Qinghan stretch.

He Yu, on the other hand, noticed their taunting and returned the gesture when one of them flipped him off.

Soon, both classes finished warming up and the sparring matches began.

For Class 1, Shen Qinghan went first as usual.

But unlike last time, she lasted less than three seconds before being swept to the ground and pinned by her opponent.

The elite class senior was far too strong—even her turtle-style defense couldn’t hold up.

Not just her—Wen Yuntong, Chu Yuxi, Li Chuxin and several other girls were all defeated in seconds by the same opponent, with no chance to fight back.

Not until the ninth match did a short-haired, muscular girl finally knock that senior off the stage.

But then another even stronger senior from the elite class stepped up, plowing through the ring again.

In less than ten minutes, she had defeated nine people straight—including three boys.

The matches continued with an overwhelming gap in strength.

Before long, Class 1 was down to just four fighters: Lin Zichen, Wang Shujie, Lu Gang and He Yu.

Meanwhile, Class 3 had lost only five—all girls—and still had thirty-six people left to fight.

The difference in power was absurd.

Everyone in Class 1 frowned in frustration and despair—except Lin Zichen.

He needed to defeat as many opponents as possible to advance his Natural Selection achievement.

Seeing his classmates nearly wiped out secretly delighted him—he wanted to be the last one standing.

“He Yu, your turn,” Han Yuanfeng said, giving him a tough assignment, “There are six girls left in the ring. Take them all down, got it?”

“No problem.”

He Yu jumped onto the stage with confidence and after some effort, managed to defeat all six.

Then, a boy in a sleeveless vest stepped up.

He Yu recognized him instantly—the same guy who’d cut in line at the cafeteria.

“Ready to die?” the vest-wearing boy said with a grin.

He Yu smirked, “You’ve got no manners and no self-awareness.”

Since the opponent was the first male to fight for Class 3, He Yu assumed he’d be easy prey.

Once both stood ready, the referee raised his hand and chopped down sharply.

“Match, start!”

Before He Yu could react, the vest boy blurred forward and slammed a fist into him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Then, in front of everyone, he deliberately stepped over He Yu’s body, humiliating him.

“Bastard!” He Yu shouted in rage, leaping up to strike back.

But before he could land a hit, the vest boy kicked him down again—and stepped over him once more.

“Student, deliberate humiliation of your opponent earns you one warning!” The referee said.

Ignoring the warning, the vest boy kicked He Yu again, knocked him down and stepped over him a third time.

“Second warning!”

After the second warning, he stopped the mockery and instead kicked He Yu hard off the stage.

He Yu landed painfully, curling up in agony.

The vest boy turned to the referee, “Three warnings before I get disqualified, right?”

The referee frowned, “Yes, but humiliating an opponent is an extremely disgraceful act. I suggest you stop.”

The boy ignored him and looked at Lin Zichen below the stage with a grin, “Hey, junior. I remember you like to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Want to come up here and try again?”

He gestured mockingly, “Come on if you’ve got guts. If not, stay put.”

Lin Zichen could tell the vest boy was strong—probably one of the top fighters in his class. He’d clearly gone first just to crush He Yu and humiliate him.

And now it was his turn.

‘Well... I was just waiting for a chance to get on stage.’

With that thought, Lin Zichen jumped onto the platform in one smooth motion.