The classmates stood frozen, except for Jiang Xiang’s few cronies. What should’ve been a joyous moment had instantly turned sour.

Vice monitor Li Wendong, tall and righteous, stepped forward. “Jiang Xiang, what’s this about? Didn’t we agree at the class meeting to split everything equally?”

“Li Wendong, open your eyes,” Jiang Xiang loomed over him, seeming even bulkier than the 185cm-tall boy. “Do you think this is still your Class 5, Grade 1? This is a damn different world!”

He shoved Li Wendong hard. Li stumbled back over ten steps, nearly falling.

“Exactly!” a crony chimed in. “Brother Xiang’s our only Awakened one—the only man who can fight monsters. Without his hard work, you’d have no water to drink!”

“What do you want, Jiang Xiang?” Lin Yuxun stepped forward.

A crony dragged over a wooden crate. Jiang Xiang plopped down in front of the water and deer. “Heh, Miss Lin, don’t look so upset. I just want to manage these things now. Need water or food? Ask me. I won’t refuse.”

Lin Yuxun wasn’t fooled. Agreeing meant Jiang Xiang controlled everything. Displease him, and he’d cut off your supplies.

“By that logic,” she retorted, “Lin Luo and I found this water source. Why should you control it all?”

“Yeah! Lin Luo even drew the map!” a boy added.

Jiang Xiang hesitated. His awakening hadn’t boosted his smarts.

“Fine,” he kicked the bucket. “Vice monitor, take half the water. Do what you want with it. But this deer—I hunted it alone. Why share it with freeloaders? Miss Lin, from a noble family, you shouldn’t be so shameless.”

“Jiang Xiang, how dare you speak like that?” Han Lianfei snapped.

“Feier, don’t waste words on him,” You Xun waved her off. “Li Ping, Zhang Jie—distribute half the water.”

Jiang Xiang leered at Han Lianfei’s body, smirking. “Brothers, time for roasted venison!”

“Wooh! Brother Xiang’s the best!”

“Stick with him, get meat!”

Zhang Da—whose family ran a butcher shop—pulled out his knife and skinned the deer. Soon, the whole carcass roasted over flames, filling the air with rich aroma. Many classmates couldn’t resist.

“Come on!” Zhang Da and Jiang Xiang shouted, gulping water and tearing into meat. “Bow to Brother Xiang, call him ‘Big Brother,’ and get your share!”

High schoolers succumbed to temptation, lining up to bow and collect meat. You Xun’s small group stood isolated.

Lin Luo sat beside her, silently watching Jiang Xiang’s crew. The scene reminded him of primitive tribes—those with food and hunting skills claimed power and status.

“You Xun?” He noticed her sitting on a wooden bucket, head down, pale foot resting on the ground. She looked dejected.

“Hmm? What is it, monitor?”

“Can you… hunt?” she whispered, blushing.

“Hunt? I… should be able to, I guess.”

“Should be able to?” She puffed her cheeks slightly, shyness fading. (Lin Luo had never actually hunted.)

“When can we go? Okay?” Before today, she’d never ask this. But after seeing him fight, her intuition urged cooperation. As a girl, she couldn’t hunt alone in goblin-infested forests—she’d read too many grim stories.

“S-sure,” Lin Luo felt a warm comfort in his chest from the night breeze. “When? Now or tomorrow?”

Joy flickered in her eyes, then embarrassment. “It’s too late today. How about—”

She stopped, gaze fixed ahead. Lin Luo followed it to the campfire, where Jiang Xiang and his cronies surrounded Han Lianfei.