Book 4: Chapter 4: Bribe
âThis isâ¦â
After a brief moment of confusion, being dazed, and mind going blank, Mord finally realized that he was being sucked up tightly against a drum, in an extremely ungraceful posture.
âWhat the hell is this?! Why am I here?! Release me at once!â
âKinda rude to talk about an invention that someone else had put in a lot of effort to make that way,â Kumar commented in dissatisfaction.
âProfessor Kumar?! Why are you here?â Mord was bemused shortly before realization dawned on him. He gritted his teeth, âSo in other words, Professor Kumar, it was your great invention that brought me here?â
âIndeed.â Professor Kumar nodded, then patted Mord on his shoulder sympathetically. âElder Mord, you should read more books from now on. Donât give up on yourself, thereâs still hope.â
âWhat do you mean?â Mord was dumbfounded.
Professor Kumar shook his head and said nothing else. Or perhaps, he couldnât bear to speak any more than that.
Mord was even more confused.
âPFFFTâ¦!â
Lilith finally lost it and burst out laughing while clutching her stomach.
âE-Elder⦠Mord⦠How did you⦠end up being sucked⦠Hahahaâ¦!â
I canât! I canât!
Iâm gonna die laughing!
Since Elder Mord got sucked in, that meantâ¦
He was the creature with the lowest IQ within a radius of one kilometer from here!
All brawn and no brain!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
I didnât expect the chief disciplinarian would have such an adorable side.
Running away isnât important anymore.
Let me laugh this one out first.
Although Lilith was fully aware of how dangerous the situation was, she still couldnât control herself.
âYou again! Little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!â
Although Elder Mord didnât know what Lilith was laughing at, he was extremely triggered by the sight of his enemy.
âGive me back my hairstyle!â Elder Mord instantly roared at her.
âHairstyle?â Lilith looked at the little burnt curly strand hanging in front of Mordâs forehead and asked, âWhat hairstyle?â
âDonât act dumb! You were the one who stuffed an explosion scroll inside a pillow and threw it in the dorms area this morning, werenât you!!â
âPillowâ¦? Scrollâ¦?â Lilith was taken aback before she suddenly remembered about the pillow that she had destroyed this morningâ¦
She then looked at the little burnt curly strandâ¦
âDonât tell me⦠that pillow hit you on your head?â
Mord glared at her and nodded in agony.
âPFFFTâ¦!â
Lilith lost it once again
âHaha! Youâre really patheticâ¦!â
What was up with this guy? He was the dignified chief disciplinarian, yet he got bombed by scroll when he was walking around and then got caught by Professor Kumarâs invention out of the blue. He was so pathetic that it was adorable.
âYOU!â Mordâs eyes almost looked like they were going to burst into flames. âIâM GONNA RIP YOU UP, LITTLE B̲A̲S̲T̲A̲R̲D̲!!â
Lilith instantly tensed up as she prepared herself to flee at any time.
However, she waited for a long time and Mord never managed to peel himself off from the mentally-challenged attractor to rip her up.
Mordâs face was flushed and he frowned in confusion. âWhatâs going on? Why canât I move?â
âGive up, Elder Mord. I have added a lot of Hela Stone to my mentally-challenged attractor. You shouldnât be able to use your battle qi or magic right now,â Professor Kumar casually commented.
âHela Stone?â Mordâs expression changed. âYouâre spending the funds that the academy had allocated to you on stupid things like this again? You better watch out, the vice dean might just deduct your budget again!â
Kumarâs frown instantly deepened at the mention of the word âfundâ and he huffed, âGo ahead and deduct it! I have nothing much for them to deduct anyway!â
Mord sighed, âAre you still upset with the vice dean?â
Kumar remained silent, obviously not wanting to continue this topic.
Mord softened his tone a little after seeing his reaction.
âLetâs forget about that for now, put me down first. I have to rip that little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ next to you up first.â
âOh.â
Kumar reached out to press a button on the console.
âWait a minute!â Lilith grabbed Kumarâs hand tightly and begged, âProfessor Kumar, you canât release him!â
âWhy?â
âIf you release Mord, heâll kill me.â
âIs that my problem?â
Lilith was stunned. âD-Didnât I save your life? How can you bite the hand that feeds you?â
âBut didnât I take you here to see my invention?â Kumar then pointed to Mord. âBesides, Elder Mord has saved me more than once, if weâre going to talk about that.â
ââ¦â¦..â
So this guy survived this long thanks to Mord.
âGive up, little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲. Professor Kumar is the kind of person who wonât involve himself in anything other than his own invention.â Mord sneered, âYou should figure out how to escape first. Itâll be boring if I can easily catch you.â
Beads of cold sweat appeared on Lilithâs forehead.
Professor Kumar reached for the button with his other hand.
Mordâs smile gradually turned sinister.
âWait!â Instead of running away, Lilith stopped him again.
âProfessor Kumar, you⦠are short of research funding, right?â
Kumar stopped, âHow do you know?â
Lilith breathed a sigh of relief at his response. It seemed like she made the right guess.
âItâs very easy to see that. Although Professor Kumar said it was for the sake of better ventilation, no passionate inventor would pass up on a spacious, ventilated and distraction-free lab.â
She pointed to a workbench that was overgrown with vines. âIt must be really inconvenient to do research in this kind of place, right?â
Kumar nodded. âYes, the reason why I work in the open air is because I sold off my previous lab due to insufficient funds. I wish to have my own lab too. But then again, would it make a difference if you know these?â
âHmph.â Lilith smiled slightly, âOf course it would. Professor Kumar, Iâll provide you the funding you need⦠How about that?â
âYou?â Kumar looked at Lilith, whose clothes were in tatters, and said in disbelief, âDo you know how much funds I need every year?â
âNope, and I donât need to know either.â
With a wave of Lilithâs small hand, loads of gold coins fell from the sky like hail.
In just a flash, the ground was covered by shimmering gold.
âI may not look like it, but Iâm a real second-generation rich kid.â
Mord was rendered speechless by all the gold coins that covered the floor.
Kumar instantly went down on his knees. Grabbing the coins in his fists, he mumbled to himself, âThis huge amount of money⦠is enough to fund years of research.â
Lilith smiled smugly. âHow about it? This is just a gift for our first meeting, Professor Kumar. As long as you give me a nod, you get to keep all of this and Iâll also sponsor you one million gold coins every year.â
âOne million!â Professor Kumar began trembling. âMy annual funding is only thirty thousand⦠One million⦠Thirty years⦠One year⦠One millionâ¦â
âAre you crazy, you little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲?! No matter how rich you are, you canât go around spending it like that! Do you realize that sponsoring Professor Kumar is no different than wasting your money? Your family will not murder you if they knew!â
âOf course. None of that matters.â Lilith grabbed a handful of gold coins and threw them on Elder Mordâs face. He could feel the pain on his face. âI lack everything except for money.â
âAs for my family, the value of money is less than stones in a latrine pit to them.â
Mord was speechless.
These damn second-generation rich kids, theyâre really f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g inhumane.
âKumar! Donât forget that youâre a professor of this academy! Accepting bribes from students is forbidden by the academy! If you accept it, you will be skinned alive when the dean comes back!â
âThe deanâ¦â A look of conflict appeared on Kumarâs face.
It was at this moment, Lilith placed her hand on Professor Kumarâs shoulder. Like an understanding older sister, she spoke with great pains, âProfessor Kumar, I understand the position and difficulties you face being a professor in this academy. I also understand the struggle in your heart at this very moment, butâ¦â
Lilith suddenly looked at Mord fiercely. âEven if you accept my bribe⦠sponsorship, only the three of us will know about this. I definitely wonât tell anyone. So as long asâ¦â
âElder Mord is dealt with, then everything will be fine, right?â