Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 590: Chapter 494: Are You Going to Persecute Me Again?_2

”Teacher, what do you mean by this?”

He forced a dry laugh and carefully tried to move back, only to have the gun barrel press forward another inch against his forehead.

”I mean exactly that.”

With a disturbingly serene smile, Huai Shi looked down at the youngster before him and asked, word by word, ”Actually, becoming my disciple or whatever doesn’t matter, and neither does you trying to swindle me. But since you were sincerely pleading on the ground, why do I, your teacher, feel that not a single word you just said... was true?”

Lin Nineteen’s expression twitched. ”This... Teacher, let me explain.”

”Mhm, I’m listening.”

Huai Shi nodded. ”I hope your explanation won’t be too lengthy.”

”Honestly, it was all Grandfather’s idea.” Lin Nineteen was sweating bullets, but he didn’t dare stop talking, replying in a stumbling manner, ”I don’t know what happened either. A few days ago, Grandfather suddenly called me back and told me to come to the Ivory Tower and find you to be my mentor... I really didn’t dare to come! Who wouldn’t be afraid of losing their head? But I had no choice!”

”And what do you think your grandfather’s intent was?”

With his other hand, Huai Shi unfolded the recommendation letter, brimming with sincerity, and waved it in front of Lin Nineteen. ”Is this what he meant? For you to follow me and heed my teachings?”

”Well... I have a guess... but it might not be correct.” Lin Nineteen swallowed hard and hesitated, his demeanor becoming extremely uneasy.

”Speak,” Huai Shi nodded.

”Is it possible... that Grandfather thinks you, my lord, are a natural-born troublemaker, that your knack for being detestable is hundreds of times greater than mine, and that you always act recklessly without any restraints, loving nothing more than doing whatever you please...”

After pondering for a long time, Lin Nineteen said seriously, ”So, he specifically sent me here to learn to be bad?”

Huai Shi almost shot this little bastard on the spot.

I, the esteemed Prince of Paradise, an S-level rated Two Flowers and Red Sticks within the Astronomical Society, who has spent a lifetime doing good deeds, how did my pristine reputation suddenly get ruined, turning me into a bad influence?

Before Huai Shi could argue, Beelzebub couldn’t help but nod in agreement. ”Objectively speaking, that’s true.”

”True my ass!” Huai Shi was furious. ”Could you stop causing trouble?”

”I’m just trying to lighten the mood since it’s so tense,” Beelzebub laughed heartily, which slightly eased the fear and anxiety of the previously terrified Lin Nineteen.

Because the gun barrel finally moved back a little.

”Get up.”

Huai Shi holstered The Fly King and pointed to the sofa across from him, gesturing dismissively. ”I’m not interested in killing children. It seems I’m getting more muddled as the days go by. Why bother joking with you like this?”

Lin Nineteen’s complexion changed slightly.

It wasn’t from the surprise of his narrow escape, but somehow... he felt rather annoyed.

He, the distinguished Little Nineteen of the Lin family, a prominent young talent among Dongxia’s youth, was he nothing more than a child in Huai Shi’s eyes? And his near-death experience just now, was that merely a joke?

But he immediately calmed down again.

Who was he facing, after all?

The Disastrous Musician, the Abyss Kitchen Devil, the Prince of Paradise—all by the age of seventeen. In just half a year, he had progressed from a youngster with no strength to even bind a chicken to a Third Stage Soloist, the Beheading King of Jinling, and a Judge of the Astronomical Society.

In a mere six months, he had accumulated massive blood debts. He even single-handedly destroyed the once-great Liangxiao Society and was the Executioner who had personally pressed the Rotten Dream Chief Sacrifice to the ground to decapitate him.

An undeniable monster.

Compared to him, what was I?

Only an idiot would believe this calm and gentle demeanor meant he was as harmless as a little white rabbit—just like my former self.

How could such a person be fooled by someone like me playing the scoundrel and shedding a few tears on the ground?

He returned to the sofa and sat bolt upright, no longer daring to speak out of turn.

And in his anxious silence, Huai Shi suddenly asked, ”Aside from the recommendation letter, did your grandfather have you bring anything else for me?”

Instinctively, Lin Nineteen wanted to shake his head.

But eventually, his expression twitched, and hesitantly, he pulled out another letter from his breast pocket.

It wasn’t thick; on the contrary, it contained merely a single sheet of paper.

It was an Abyss Contract forged through Alchemy. Once signed, one’s soul served as collateral, subject to harsh restrictions that circulated only among Sublimators. There was no room for regret.

The content of the letter was simple. Although written in precise and rigid language that stretched into a long series of words, it boiled down to just one sentence: Lin Nineteen was to obey Huai Shi throughout his four to five years of university. This was not employment, but a master-servant relationship. In other words, once Huai Shi signed this contract, for the next five years, Lin Nineteen would be Huai Shi’s dog. Even if Huai Shi commanded him to immediately kneel and bark like a dog, he would have no choice but to comply. It couldn’t get any more severe.

Without this contract, the previous recommendation letter might have seemed like an act of coercion. But with this contract, it was unequivocally a matter of entrusting their family’s most prized great-grandson to Huai Shi’s guidance.

That was why Huai Shi couldn’t help but want to sigh.

What virtues or capabilities did I possess to deserve such favor from the current Zhujuyin?

”Keep your grandfather’s recommendation letter and this thing for yourself.” He disinterestedly tossed the contract back. Lin Nineteen, who had been pale-faced at the thought of impending servitude, was stunned into silence.