Chapter 91: Third Wheel
"Can you be any more fake?"
"Pull it back."
"Fine."
Joanna pulled her leg back with an innocent expression, but before long, she leaned her entire body over again.
Lin Mo finally couldn't help it.
"Didn't we agree that you aren't allowed to press against me?"
Joanna closed her eyes, her voice drowsy.
"I'm asleep."
Lin Mo: "?"
"You can still talk while you're asleep?"
"Sleep-talking."
Fine, there was nothing he could do. The Super Brainwasn't omnipotent after all; at least when facing someone determined to act shamelessly, reasoning was completely useless.
What was even more absurd was that in the second half of the night, Joanna went even further. First she leaned over, then she hugged his arm, and then her whole body wrapped around him like an octopus.
Just as Lin Mo pushed her away, a few minutes later, she rolled right back over by herself. Back and forth, it was endless.
In the end, Lin Mo simply opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
Completely giving up, with his physical fitness, sleeping or not sleeping had virtually no impact on him. Even if he didn't sleep for several consecutive years, he probably wouldn't have any problems.
But the problem was that habits were hard to change; he still preferred a normal person's rhythm of life.
Eating, sleeping, resting—at least this made him feel like he was still human.
Yet tonight was basically a complete write-off, though fortunately his pants were still on.
The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains.
When Joanna woke up, her entire body was still sprawled across Lin Mo.
One hand rested on his chest, and one leg pressed down on his, her sleeping posture exceptionally flagrant.
She opened her eyes, looking at Lin Mo who was inches away. She seemed to be stunned for a moment before the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
"Morning."
Lin Mo looked at her expressionlessly.
"Morning."
Joanna blinked.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Didn't sleep well?"
You have the nerve to ask?
"Joanna."
"Hmm?"
"Only this once."
Lin Mo said seriously.
"From now on, go back to your own room to sleep."
Upon hearing this, Joanna wasn't disappointed at all; instead, she smiled even more happily.
"Got it."
Lin Mo looked at her suspiciously.
"So readily?"
"Of course."
Joanna climbed out of bed and stretched lazily.
"You already said it was only this once."
She paused, then turned her head and added with a smile.
"You didn't say when the next time would be."
He just knew that this fellow had no intention of giving up at all.
Once there was a first time, there would naturally be a second. With a second time, could a third be far behind?
Joanna had completely found a breakthrough point now.
Anyway, no matter how hard Lin Mo's mouth was, when it really came down to it, he would still soften his heart.
What was she afraid of then? She would just slowly wear him down.
Watching her smug look, Lin Mo suddenly regretted agreeing to her last night.
Sure enough, once a breach was opened in something like a principle, it was basically impossible to block it up later.
Just at this moment, the phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.
Lin Mo picked it up and glanced at it.
Maeve.
"So early?"
He answered the phone.
"Hello?"
On the other end of the line, Maeve's voice came through.
"Are you guys awake?"
Lin Mo glanced at the time; it didn't seem that late either. It was all Joanna's fault for delaying him!
"Just woke up."
Maeve was silent for two seconds.
"Then take your time getting ready."
"I've already arrived."
Lin Mo was slightly startled.
"Arrived?"
"Mm."
"Right downstairs from you."
Hearing this, Joanna also turned her head.
"Maeve is here?"
The other side of the phone clearly heard it.
"Joanna is awake too?"
Lin Mo glanced at Joanna, who had already gotten out of bed.
"Mm."
"We'll be right down."
"Okay."
Hanging up the phone, Lin Mo got up, but Joanna wasn't in a hurry at all. Instead, she ran over to the mirror first to fix her hair.
Lin Mo looked at her.
"Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to kill Doug?"
"Not in a rush anymore?"
Joanna said it as a matter of course.
"Even killing people requires looking pretty."
What kind of strange logic was that? He had only ever heard that one should give a dying person a decent death, not that one should dress up all pretty themselves to do the killing.
...
Outside the villa.
With her hands shoved into her jacket pockets, Maeve stood by the roadside, looking up at the house in front of her.
The more she looked, the more complicated her expression became.
Although she knew yesterday that Lin Mo and Joannawere living in separate quarters arranged by Vought, she hadn't really looked at them closely.
Standing down below now, she realized this was nowhere near being a student dorm.
A three-story detached house, front yard, backyard, garage, and even a small outdoor swimming pool next to it—its location was even one of the best areas inside Godolkin University.
Maeve looked down at herself, then thought about her own student apartment.
Suddenly, she felt a bit blocked up inside. They were all students.
Why was the gap so huge? She was at least a top-ranking sophomore student, a future candidate for The Seven, and considered a prominent figure at school.
Yet compared to Lin Mo and Joanna, she suddenly felt like an ordinary person.
"Comparing people..."
Maeve looked up at the villa, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"It really makes you want to die of anger."
Especially thinking that Vought had actively arranged this for them.
She was even more speechless. When she first entered Godolkin, how come no one asked her if she wanted to live in a villa? Just as her thoughts were running wild,
the front gate finally opened. Lin Mo walked out, with Joanna following behind.
Both of them looked like they had already finished getting ready.
Except...
Maeve glanced at Lin Mo, then glanced at Joanna.
Not knowing if it was her imagination, she always felt that the atmosphere between these two today was a bit stranger than yesterday.
Joanna was in a fantastic mood and took the initiative to greet her.
"Morning."
Maeve was stunned for a moment, then replied as well.
"Morning."
She suddenly felt even more bewildered. Yesterday, Joannahad stared at her as if guarding against a thief.
Why was she so happy today?
Lin Mo clearly wasn't planning to explain, lowering his head to check the time on his phone.
"Let's go."
"Don't keep our Dean Cipher waiting too long."
Hearing Doug's name, Maeve's previous complaints quickly vanished, and her expression grew serious once more.
"Mm."
The three of them walked towards the administrative building just like that. Compared to sneaking into the office yesterday,
today they were personally invited over by the host.
However, just who was seeing whom was probably hard to say for sure.
Along the way, the three of them didn't chat about anything else.
Lin Mo walked in the middle, while Joanna naturally pressed close to his side, occasionally reaching out to tug at his sleeve or leaning in to murmur things that only the two of them could hear clearly.
Maeve followed alongside them. At first, she didn't think much of it.
But after walking for a few minutes, she suddenly felt like she might be a bit redundant—especially watching how Joanna didn't avoid people at all.
This feeling became more and more obvious. How should she put it...
It was very much like... a third wheel.
A particularly bright kind at that.
Maeve's mouth twitched. Had she known earlier, she would have just gone straight to the dean's office to wait for them. Now walking beside them, she always felt like she had forcefully wedged herself between the two of them.
To make matters worse, Joanna kept glancing at her from time to time.
That look—although not as vigilant as yesterday—was clearly still reminding her:
"You'd better have some self-awareness."
Chapter 92: The Creepy Old Pervert
Maeve: "..."
Fine, she had self-awareness, so she quietly took another half step to the side.
Lin Mo didn't pay attention to this, or rather, even if he did, he couldn't be bothered to care.
He had never wanted to get involved in these weird little thoughts between women.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the administrative building.
Unlike yesterday, today they had no intention of sneaking around at all.
Along the way, after the staff saw them, someone even took the initiative to help point the way until they reached the door of the dean's office.
Maeve stopped in her tracks. For some reason, clearly yesterday she even dared to directly use her access card to go in and rummage through things.
Although she had already seen him once yesterday, back then she had no intention of going head-to-head with him. Today, she at least had to flip the table and confront Doug, so she felt a little nervous instead.
Lin Mo glanced at her.
"Nervous?"
Maeve subconsciously shook her head.
"No."
"Oh."
Lin Mo didn't expose her, and Joanna beside her was even more direct, patting her chest.
"What are you afraid of?"
"If he dares to touch you, I will beat him to death."
Maeve broke out in a cold sweat. Could you stop talking about beating someone to death at every turn?
But honestly, after hearing these words, she really wasn't as nervous as before.
This was probably what they called borrowing the tiger's might?
That's not right, how did she become the fox?
Before Maeve had time to continue letting her imagination run wild, a voice came from inside the office.
"Come in."
The three of them exchanged glances, and Maeve pushed open the door.
Inside the office, Doug was standing by the window.
Seeing them enter, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"You're here."
"Please sit."
His attitude was very calm, and he even took the initiative to walk over to greet them, showing no signs of unhappiness from having his office rummaged through by three people yesterday.
"Lin Mo."
"Joanna."
"We finally meet formally."
Doug smiled and extended his hand. Lin Mo looked at him and also reached out to shake it.
"Dean Cypher."
"I've heard so much about you."
Doug's smile remained unchanged.
"It should be me who has heard so much about you."
"I have already watched your ability tests from yesterday."
"Extremely impressive."
Speaking of this, his gaze first fell on Lin Mo, and then looked at Joanna.
"Especially the two of you. In all my years at Godolkin, this is the first time I've seen such outstanding freshmen. Vought has truly sent the school two surprises this time."
It had to be said that just judging by first impressions, Doug was indeed very different from the villains they had imagined.
There was no gloominess, no condescension, and none of that instinctively uncomfortable feeling.
On the contrary, he even looked quite approachable.
His speech was also very measured, acting very much like a university dean who truly appreciated outstanding students.
If Lin Mo didn't know what this fellow had done later on, purely based on a first meeting, he might not necessarily feel that there was something wrong with him.
Joanna also looked Doug up and down, the expression on her face a bit peculiar.
Just this? Yesterday she had thought he was some creepy old pervert with a bunch of vicious thoughts in his heart, wanting to control her.
As a result, he looked quite normal, at least not looking like the kind of person who would hide in an underground laboratory to experiment on children.
But of course she wouldn't change her view just because of this. Lin Mo had already said he was no good, so he was definitely no good.
As for evidence? We'll talk about that later.
Doug greeted the three of them to sit down and even poured them water himself.
"I've already heard a brief account of yesterday's events from Maeve."
"First of all, I want to apologize to you. Regarding what happened on the school forum, as the dean, I do bear responsibility."
Saying this, the smile on his face restrained a bit, and his tone also appeared very serious.
"I have already had people start investigating. If there are indeed students maliciously creating public opinion or even using school resources to target other students,"
"The school will not condone or ignore it."
Maeve sat to the side, listening to these words, and almost rolled her eyes. For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit annoyed.
It was this exact same routine yesterday, and it was still this same routine today. It sounded extremely nice.
All that talk about school responsibility, investigation, and non-condonation.
If she didn't know anything, she might actually feel that this dean wasn't bad.
But the problem was, she had already investigated this far.
Hearing this now, it only felt fake.
Furthermore, today was different from yesterday. Yesterday she was all by herself, so she didn't dare to speak too directly.
Afraid that if they really fell out, she wouldn't even know how she disappeared.
But today...
Maeve subconsciously glanced at Lin Mo beside her.
Lin Mo was leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression, and even had the mood to pick up his water cup and take a sip.
On the other side, Joanna was also there. Although she had been staring at Doug ever since entering the door, that gaze made people somewhat creeped out.
But it had to be said, under the premise of knowing the strength of Joanna and Lin Mo,
that sense of security was truly maxed out.
Maeve suddenly realized that she really didn't need to beat around the bush with Doug anymore.
Anyway, things had already reached this point, so let's just make it clear.
"Dean Cypher."
Maeve suddenly spoke up, and Doug looked toward her.
"Hmm?"
"Actually, coming over today,"
"we aren't here to listen to how the school plans to handle this matter."
The expression on Doug's face didn't change, remaining very calm.
"Then what is it for?"
Maeve stared at him, and after a brief silence, said directly,
"I want to know, were those online messages targeting Lin Mo and Joanna yesterday arranged by you?"
The office instantly quieted down, and Lin Mo also cast his gaze back toward this old antique.
Maeve didn't stop talking; since she had already spoken up, there was no need to keep hiding it.
"I investigated the person who first spread the news, and also found several students involved in it."
"The information they provided ultimately all pointed to you."
She looked at Doug and said word by word: "So I now suspect that you are the true mastermind behind this matter."
The office instantly went quiet for a few seconds.
Doug sat in his chair, and on that face, a slight change appeared.
He looked at Maeve in some surprise, not expecting that she had actually investigated it. Doug quickly recalled in his mind.
Indeed, this matter was truly arranged by him; those students usually helped him handle some troubles anyway.
Manufacturing public opinion, suppressing students with lower rankings, and forcing away those who had no value or were not suitable to continue staying at Godolkin.
At least in his own view, this kind of thing had long ceased to be any secret operation for him.
But previously he had also explicitly instructed:
When picking people, make sure to pick soft persimmons, preferably those without background, with average strength, and who wouldn't attract Vought's attention.
As a result, this time it was great, crashing right onto the heads of Lin Mo and Joanna.
Thinking of this, Doug almost wanted to laugh.
This group of idiots, out of everyone they could pick,
they just had to pick the two people in the school right now who were least to be messed with. However, being able to trace all the way here from this little bit of evidence...
Doug looked at Maeve again, and there was even a hint of appreciation in his eyes.
"Not bad."
He suddenly said.
Chapter 93 What's the Big Deal?
Maeve froze for a moment, wondering if her ears were installed backwards.
"What?"
Doug leaned back in his chair, a smile appearing on his face once again.
"I said you guys did well; those matters weren't handled too obviously."
"Especially since many clues had already been cleaned up, yet you were still able to follow them all the way here and confront me face-to-face. Commendable courage."
Finding the problem was simple, but confronting him face-to-face took a certain amount of courage; after all, for students, teachers possessed a natural sense of oppression.
Speaking of this, his gaze shifted away from Maeve.
Looking at Lin Mo and Joanna.
"And the two of you."
"You just entered the school yesterday."
"And you're already able to make Maeve willing to go to such lengths for you. It seems Vought's judgment really is not bad this time."
He smiled.
"Very smart and very efficient, truly Godolkin's best students."
Maeve and Joanna looked at each other in dismay, exchanging a glance. What kind of reaction was this?
No wait, weren't they just interrogating him? Why was he suddenly starting to praise them?
Joanna frowned, momentarily not even knowing what this guy was trying to do.
Maeve was also a bit dazed. She had already prepared herself for Doug to deny it, or even turn around and threaten her.
And the result? Not only did this guy not deny it, but he even praised her for investigating well?
Lin Mo, on the other hand, remained seated there with his expression unchanged. For a person like Doug, if he really panicked just because of a few words, that would be abnormal instead. After all, he was someone who had played Marie and the rest of the main protagonist group around in circles later on.
Sure enough, the next second, Doug suddenly let out a gentle sigh.
"However, this matter is indeed my problem."
Maeve was taken aback.
"What do you mean?"
Doug looked at the three of them, his tone suddenly becoming very sincere.
"I apologize to you."
Joanna raised an eyebrow, even more baffled as to what game Doug was playing.
"An apology?"
"Right."
Doug nodded.
"This matter counts as lax discipline on my part."
"Previously, there were indeed some students helping me handle problems around the school. I gave them certain privileges to help me monitor campus public opinion and some people who weren't quite suitable to continue staying at the school."
He spoke very naturally, just like talking about some ordinary club activity in school.
"But I didn't expect."
"That they would set their sights on you."
Doug looked at Lin Mo, and then glanced at Joanna.
"Especially the two of you, this clearly exceeded the scope I originally permitted."
"So this matter is my responsibility."
"In the future, I should tell them more clearly who can be touched and who cannot be touched."
As Maeve listened, her expression gradually turned bizarre.
Wait, what does...
Who can be touched? Who cannot be touched? Why did these words sound increasingly wrong?
Joanna also reacted. She had originally thought Doug was admitting his mistake, but the more she listened, the more she felt this wasn't admitting a mistake at all; this guy's meaning was clearly...
Cyberbullying others was fine, they just cyberbullied the wrong people?
The corners of Lin Mo's mouth curled up slightly. Sure enough, this was Doug; from beginning to end, he never felt he had done anything wrong. Or rather, within his value system, this kind of thing didn't count as anything at all.
A few valueless students being forced away, what big deal could that be?
The only problem was that this time his subordinates had poor eyesight and touched someone they shouldn't have. Doug continued speaking.
"Regarding the matters on the forum, I will make those people stop completely."
"Related posts will also be cleaned up. If you feel that's not enough, I can also have the school issue a public apology and discipline the students involved."
His tone remained very gentle, and he looked thoroughly sincere.
But Maeve felt increasingly uncomfortable the more she listened, because she suddenly discovered that from start to finish, the only people Doug cared about were Lin Moand Joanna. As for those who had encountered the same thing before, he didn't mention them even once, as if those people didn't matter at all.
Maeve finally couldn't help it anymore and asked the question she cared about.
"Wait."
Doug paused, turning to look at Maeve. He had always favored this star prospect for The Seven.
"What is it?"
Maeve stared at him.
"You just admitted it, right? Those people were indeed arranged by you."
Doug thought for a moment, then nodded.
"You can put it that way."
Maeve didn't know what to say for a moment. You've already admitted it, why can you still be so calm?
She suddenly felt like she had thrown a punch at a pile of cotton.
Originally, she thought that after exposing Doug, the other party would at least panic a little bit, maybe deny it or make excuses.
As a result, Doug's reaction now was as if he were saying: I did it, so what?
The anger in Maeve's heart flared up instantly.
"Then what about those people from before?"
Maeve's tone noticeably deepened: "What about those students who were likewise targeted by the forum, ostracized by the school, and ultimately even disappeared completely?"
"What do they count as?"
The office fell silent for a moment.
After hearing this, Doug looked at Maeve, revealing an intriguing look in his eyes.
Most normal people, when exposed, would generally fly into a rage out of humiliation, or at the very least get angry.
But Lin Mo observed that he truly wasn't feigning ignorance or playing dumb; he genuinely didn't understand why Maeve would get angry over such a question.
After a few seconds, Doug slowly spoke.
"Them?"
"Naturally, they are eliminated people."
Maeve was stunned.
"What?"
Doug leaned back into his chair, his tone still calm.
"Godolkin University accepts a large number of young people with superpowers every year, but not everyone is qualified to stay here."
"Some people's abilities have no development value, some people's psychological resilience is too poor, and those people don't even have the most basic commercial value."
"They occupy the school's resources and consume the funds invested by Vought."
"And what can they get in the end?"
Doug spread his hands. "Nothing at all."
He spoke so naturally, as if it were truly the most normal thing in the world.
"So, having someone help them realize reality in advance, what's wrong with that?"
Maeve stared blankly at him, momentarily even suspecting if she had heard wrong.
"You call those things..."
"Helping them realize reality?"
"Of course."
Doug nodded, continuing: "If a student can't even withstand this level of pressure, how will they face the media in the future? How will they face the public? How will they face real enemies?"
"What Vought needs are superheroes, not a group of children whose emotions need to be taken care of by others."
Maeve's expression turned completely ugly.
"But that's not a test at all!"
"It's bullying!"
"It's intentionally destroying them!"
But Doug shook his head.
"No."
"It's just screening, there's a big difference."
Maeve almost laughed in anger.
Your so-called screening?
Refers to cyberbullying, humiliation, isolation, and using school resources to force people away step by step.
"Then what about those people who disappeared?"
Maeve stared at him, closing in step by step.
"Also screening?"
"Where did they go afterwards?"
Doug looked at her, his tone finally carrying a hint of seriousness.
Chapter 94: You Are Weaker Than Me
"Maeve."
"You care too much about those people."
"Why?"
Maeve was slightly stunned; shouldn't she seek justice for them? That was her original intention for becoming a superhero.
But Doug continued.
"They are not the same as you."
"Unlike Lin Mo, and unlike Joanna either."
Hearing her name mentioned, Joanna knitted her brow, which she had been holding down all along, even tighter.
Doug, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed—or rather, he didn't care at all.
"The three of you are the ones Godolkin should truly nurture."
"Powerful, with potential, and able to enter The Seven in the future, you have the school's best resources and receive more attention."
"Enjoying treatment that others don't have."
Doug glanced at Lin Mo.
"For example, independent housing, or personal attention from Vought executives."
Then, his gaze shifted to Maeve.
"Isn't this a privilege?"
Maeve's expression froze, but Doug continued to smile.
"You have enjoyed this kind of privilege for a long time, you just haven't thought about it seriously before."
Maeve opened her mouth, unable to find a way to refute for a moment, because in a sense, what he said was indeed correct.
Godolkin was never a fair place; the higher the ranking, the more resources obtained, while those students with lower rankings didn't even qualify to have their names remembered by Vought.
But...
This is completely a different matter!
"There is a gap in resources."
"That doesn't mean others can be treated like trash!"
Maeve couldn't help raising her voice.
"They are human beings too!"
"They came here because they believed they could become superheroes! You have no right to decide how they should be treated just because their abilities are weak!"
Hearing this, Doug only let out a soft sigh.
"People."
"Of course they are all people."
"But people are inherently different from people."
He really was impervious to reason; Maeve didn't know what to say for a moment.
Doug looked at her.
"Maeve."
"Do you really think"
"that a superpower user whose nails can only grow a few centimeters longer"
"is the same as Joanna?"
Joanna's gaze turned slightly cold.
Doug continued.
"A person who can't even block ordinary firearms"
"is on the same level as Lin Mo?"
"No."
"From the moment they were born, they were already different."
"The strong."
"Should naturally possess more; this is the most basic rule."
Maeve stared at him intently.
"So in your view"
"the strong can oppress the weak?"
Doug thought for a moment.
"Oppress?"
"That word sounds too ugly."
"It should be called"
"Allocation."
"Letting limited resources flow to those truly worth nurturing."
"As for those who have no value, leaving early is good for everyone."
Joanna finally couldn't help it.
"You guy..."
Her voice was not loud, but it made the temperature in the office seem to drop a bit.
Doug turned to look at her; Joanna's gaze completely lacked the sense of watching a show from just now.
What remained was only disgust.
"I hate your kind of person the most."
She had seen this kind of look too many times when she was a child.
It wasn't completely identical, but fundamentally there was no difference.
Those researchers would also tell her that she was special, she was precious, she was more important than other experimental subjects, so she should accept more experiments.
She should cooperate and become what Vought wanted, as if as long as she was crowned with the name of being the best, everything inflicted on other people would become a matter of course.
Joanna stared at Doug and sneered.
"Being a little weaker makes one trash?"
"You are weaker than me."
"Can I also clean you up like trash?"
The office suddenly quieted down; Maeve instinctively looked at Joanna.
These words really had a bit of Joanna's style.
Doug wasn't angry; instead, he smiled.
"Of course."
Joanna was taken aback.
"If one day"
"I really become so weak that I lose all value, and there is nothing that can restrict you."
Doug said calmly.
"You certainly can, this is reality."
Maeve completely lost her composure; what kind of brain does this guy have? He didn't even bother to pretend anymore.
Or rather, he didn't think there was anything wrong with this kind of ideology at all.
The strong have privileges, the weak are eliminated; as long as it is beneficial to the whole, those without value can be kicked out as a matter of course. Even destroying them—in his eyes, this is not a crime, it's efficiency.
Lin Mo hadn't spoken from beginning to end, just quietly watching Doug.
Sure enough, compared to those who do evil purely for profit,
when lacking sufficient strength of one's own, a person like Doug is even more troublesome, because he truly believes what he is doing is right.
With a person like this, talking to him about morality is meaningless.
Because his moral standards are crooked to begin with.
Doug looked at the three of them, and seemed to find that this conversation wasn't developing in the direction he had anticipated.
But he still didn't care, instead looking back at Maeve.
"However."
"Since this time it made you dissatisfied"
"there has to be an explanation."
Maeve frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Doug smiled, rummaged through the desk for a document, and handed it to Maeve.
"Those students who participated in the forum public opinion."
"Since they provoked you, they naturally should bear the consequences. If you feel ordinary school punishments are not enough"
"you can decide for yourself."
Maeve was stunned, subconsciously taking the document. When she opened it and looked, she found it was a list of students, presumably those who participated in the cyberbullying.
"I decide?"
"Yes."
Doug nodded.
"Suspension, expulsion, or permanently canceling Vought's contract eligibility."
"Even something more serious, anything is fine."
Saying this, his tone remained casual, and he pointed to the document in Maeve's hand.
"Anyway, some of them should already be under Vought's control now. You can tell me directly how you want to punish them."
Looking at the list in her hand, Maeve had no intention of picking at all, instead directly closing the document.
"I disagree."
The smile on Doug's face paused slightly.
"Disagree with what?"
Maeve put the document back on the desk.
"They did something wrong, and can be punished according to school rules, but it's not because they provoked us that you let me arbitrarily decide their future lives."
"What difference does this have from what you just did?"
She stared at Doug.
"You think they are weak, so they can be disposed of casually."
"Now, because they are weaker than me, you hand over the right of disposal to me."
"Isn't it essentially the same?"
Doug was silent for a moment, and the smile on his face finally faded quite a bit.
Maeve continued.
"And this matter was originally what you made them do."
"Now that a problem has arisen, you push all the responsibility onto these students? Then tell me I can punish them however I want?"
"What is this? Principal! Have you ever been responsible for them?"
The air suddenly quieted down, and the expression on Doug's face finally showed obvious signs of impatience for the first time.
He originally thought Maeve was a smart person.
A future candidate for The Seven, one of the few students in the school truly worth nurturing.
That's why he was willing to talk so much with her, and even willing to give her an explanation.
As a result, talking until now, she was still fussing over those completely unimportant people.
Chapter 95: Not Something You Should Be Worrying About Right Now
Doug leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk.
"Maeve, I have already given you enough choices and enough respect."
Maeve frowned.
"Respect?"
"Yes."
Doug's tone turned flat.
"I can pretend yesterday never happened, and I can deal with those who offended you."
"I can even issue a public apology to you. Is this still not enough?"
Maeve looked at him and sneered, "Because you have never felt that you did anything wrong."
This single sentence completely made Doug lose the patience to continue explaining. He shook his head, "Then there is no need to continue this conversation."
With that, he directly pointed toward the door.
"Let's call it a day."
The implication of seeing them out was extremely obvious. Since they wouldn't listen when spoken to nicely, there was nothing more to say.
But Maeve didn't move; she remained seated there.
Doug's brows furrowed slightly.
"Anything else?"
Maeve took a deep breath and then slowly stood up.
"Yes."
She looked at Doug.
"When we came over today, it wasn't just to listen to your explanation."
Doug's brow furrowed into a deep frown, and he raised his head to stare straight at Maeve, as if trying to see right through her.
Maeve's tone appeared extremely serious.
"I am here to arrest you."
The room instantly quieted down.
But immediately following it was a chuckle.
"Ha, arrest me?"
A smile broke out on Doug's previously furrowed face, as if he had heard something hilarious.
"What were you thinking?"
He leaned back in his chair and looked Maeve up and down.
"On what grounds?"
Seeing that Maeve didn't speak, Doug continued.
"Just based on the things you have in your hands right now?"
"A few students' statements? A few forum records? Or those files you saw when you broke into my office yesterday without permission?"
Maeve's expression changed slightly.
As expected, he knew everything.
Facing all this, Doug appeared completely unconcerned.
"Out of these things, which one can directly prove that I've done something illegal?"
"And the student dropouts, student transfers, and internal school management you keep talking about—"
"Which item gives you the right to come and arrest me?"
The moment Doug's words fell, Maeve fell silent. This was also her most troublesome dilemma.
She had investigated many suspicious places, but evidence that truly could nail Doug down...
At least she didn't have any right now.
Doug watched her reaction, a trace of triumphant smiling curve reappearing at the corners of his mouth. He loved most to see people like this—knowing he was in the wrong yet unable to do anything about it.
"Besides."
"Did you forget that you haven't become a member of The Seven yet?"
Maeve's gaze condensed, but immediately after, she found herself even more at a loss for words.
Doug's tone was calm.
"You are currently just a student, a student with a lot of potential."
"In the future, you might become a superhero, or you might enter The Seven."
"But it's only a might."
When he said this, his voice clearly carried a hint of warning.
"If you insist on making things look so ugly, I indeed cannot directly decide whether you can become a superhero in the future."
"But I've stayed at Godolkin for so many years. Tweaking your grades, recommendations, and Vought's internal evaluations a little bit should still be something I can manage."
Maeve's fingers slowly tightened into fists, and she did not retort.
Because this time, what Doug said was the truth. Godolkin University itself was an important channel for Vought to cultivate superheroes, and Doug was the dean. If he really wanted to hold her back...
He wouldn't even need to make it obvious; just a single bad internal evaluation or a negative report could potentially affect her entry into The Seven.
After all, the positions in The Seven were watched very closely by Vought's upper management.
Maeve could of course not care.
But...
That was her lifelong dream.
She had worked hard for so long just to enter The Sevenone day, let everyone see her, and become a true superhero. Now, if she were really asked to nonchalantly say she didn't care at all, she couldn't do it.
Doug watched her fall silent, clearly very satisfied.
"So, go back."
"I can pretend today's events never happened."
"Young people having a sense of justice isn't a bad thing, but you also need to know that some things are not for you to manage right now."
Maeve's expression was extremely ugly, yet for a moment she really didn't continue speaking.
Meanwhile, beside her, Joanna was almost losing her temper.
Ever since just now, she had basically been sitting there listening, listening to Doug spout nonsense, listening to him constantly talk about the strong and the weak. Now that he was threatening Maeve, her patience had pretty much run out.
If it hadn't been for Lin Mo specifically telling her before coming—
Not to make a move yet, let Maeve ask things clearly and see how Doug intends to handle it—
she wouldn't possibly have sat here until now. Long ago, when this old bastard said something like the weak should be eliminated—
she would have already gone over and hoisted him out of his chair.
At this moment, Joanna looked at Doug.
The red light in her eyes was already flickering faintly, and her fingers twitched slightly. She really felt like getting physical.
But in the end, she still turned her head sideways and glanced at Lin Mo, who had remained silent all along.
Remembering that before they came, Lin Mo had asked her to listen through first.
Lin Mo watched Maeve's thwarted expression and knew that she was out of tricks now, and Joanna beside her was also getting a bit anxious.
He didn't make a move directly; it seemed his words had played some role. After all, making a move against Doug right now was useless—this body of his was merely a puppet, and moreover, the soul figure inside wasn't dead, so he was innocent anyway.
Therefore, on the way, he had told Joanna in advance not to rush into action, to wait for Maeve first and let her have a confrontation.
But it seemed Maeve was completely no match for Doug or Godolkin. If this were placed among the later super gangsters, Doug probably wouldn't survive three seconds.
To be honest, he originally wanted to continue seeing what else Doug could spit out.
But now it was about enough. If he let this guy keep talking, given Maeve's personality, she'd probably be so suppressed by the matter of The Seven that she wouldn't be able to say a single word.
Although strictly speaking, Maeve couldn't quite be considered his own person in the true sense yet.
But how should he put it?
Barely, she could still be considered standing on his side.
Threatening someone right in front of him was somewhat disrespecting him.
"Doug."
Lin Mo suddenly spoke up. Doug's gaze, which had still carried a hint of a smile, finally shifted over.
"Hm?"
Lin Mo leaned back in his chair, his tone very casual.
"After saying so much just now, have you ever thought about one question?"
Doug frowned slightly.
"What?"
Lin Mo raised his eyes.
"If today, it's not just Maeve who wants to arrest you alone—"
"—but rather the intention of both Joanna and myself?"
The office instantly fell silent.
Maeve's originally taut expression startled slightly. The red light in Joanna's eyes also dissipated a bit, and the corners of her mouth instead slowly curled up.
It was here; it was finally Lin Mo's turn to speak.
Doug chose silence just like Maeve had earlier, or perhaps he couldn't figure out how to deal with Lin Mo for a moment.
Chapter 96 This Shouldn't Be Happening
Lin Mo continued speaking.
"Weren't you just talking about Vought all this time?"
"Grading recommendations, internal evaluations—they sound pretty intimidating indeed, but what if things actually escalate all the way to Vought?"
Lin Mo looked at him with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.
"What do you think..."
"...who would Vought lean towards?"
With a single sentence, the smile on Doug's face truly vanished for the first time.
Maeve was also stunned for a moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality.
That was true; she had been too absorbed in thinking about herself just now.
Doug could indeed influence her, and might even affect her future entry into The Seven, but the problem was that she wasn't the only one sitting here today.
There was also Lin Mo and Joanna. If it were just her and Doug in conflict, it would indeed be hard to say how Vought would choose.
But what if it became Lin Mo and Joanna simultaneously demanding that Doug be dealt with?
Did that even need to be thought about? Maeve suddenly felt that all her agonizing moments ago had been somewhat redundant.
Doug could threaten her, but did he dare use the exact same leverage to threaten Lin Mo?
I'm afraid the very next second after he spoke, someone at Vought Headquarters would blow up his phone.
He wouldn't even need Lin Mo to open his mouth personally; Edgar over there would ask him a question first.
"Are you living a bit too comfortably?"
Lin Mo continued speaking.
"You should be very clear..."
"...about who is more important to Vought."
"You, the dean of Godolkin University, or me and Joanna."
"This multiple-choice question shouldn't be hard, right?"
Hearing this, Joanna's mood instantly improved quite a bit. She had originally been thinking of just taking matters into her own hands.
Now she suddenly felt that watching Lin Mo suppress people using the exact same method Doug had used earlier was actually quite interesting.
She even leaned back, no longer in a rush, and continued to watch.
Doug's expression finally underwent some changes, and he frowned.
He carefully sized up Lin Mo. This was the first time today he realized that things actually seemed to be a bit beyond his expectations.
He wasn't surprised that Maeve would investigate; this girl inherently possessed an excess sense of justice.
He could also understand Joanna getting angry; after all, according to her profile, her personality had never been considered good.
But whether her personality was good or bad depended on whether Lin Mo was doing well; as long as Lin Mo was fine, it was fine.
Yet with Lin Mo, he mused that this shouldn't be happening.
At least in Doug's original judgment, Lin Mo should have been the easiest one to communicate with.
Not because he seemed to have the best temper; on the contrary, it was because of his identity.
Doug knew very well that Lin Mo and Joanna were not ordinary students. Standing behind them was Vought's highest leadership, especially Lin Mo, who was someone Edgar personally paid attention to.
Such a person should understand how Vought truly operated even better than Maeve.
Packaging heroes, manufacturing public opinion, screening valuable superpowered individuals, and sacrificing some useless people—wasn't this what Vought had always been doing?
The difference was merely who did it more cleanly and who did it more uglily.
Therefore, Doug had previously felt that even if Lin Moknew about these things, he would at most be dissatisfied with what happened on the forum yesterday.
After all, his subordinates were blind and dared to target him and Joanna.
This was indeed his own problem, so he would definitely make amends and apologize.
Deal with those few students just to make a gesture, and the matter would pass.
Everyone was inside Vought; there was no need to make relations so tense over a few irrelevant students.
But looking at Lin Mo's attitude now, it was obviously not like that.
Doug frowned.
"Lin Mo."
"There's no need for this matter to go this far."
Yet Lin Mo, as usual, didn't speak, just calmly looking at him.
Doug immediately understood that this matter probably wouldn't end well. He paused, his tone softening once again.
"The things that happened to you and Joanna yesterday..."
"...I've already said it was an accident. Those students were not clear about your situation."
"They did things they shouldn't have done, and now the matter has been dealt with."
"There's no need to create unpleasantness between us over such a minor issue."
Hearing the words 'minor issue'...
Maeve's brows furrowed again. True to form, this guy still maintained this attitude even now.
But Doug didn't have time to look at her; his attention was now entirely focused on Lin Mo.
"And furthermore..."
"...you should understand how Vought operates even better than Maeve. Some things are not as simple as they appear on the surface."
"The school is the same. Everything I do is also to allow truly outstanding people to get better resources."
Speaking to this point, Doug's tone even carried a hint of goodwill once again.
"Take you for example. With your ability, entering The Seven in the future is almost inevitable."
"If you are willing, I can also support you—internal school recommendations, ratings, and subsequent alignment with Vought."
"I can help you with all of it."
Doug looked at Lin Mo.
"As well as your future position in The Seven, I can support your subsequent standing."
"That's enough."
Lin Mo finally interrupted him.
Doug's subsequent words came to an abrupt halt.
He raised his head, while Lin Mo was still leaning back in his chair, except that there wasn't much interest left on his face to keep listening.
"Dean Cipher."
"Did you get something wrong?"
Doug frowned.
"What?"
Lin Mo looked at him.
"I don't like these flashy, empty things."
"What recommendations, what ratings, and what position in The Seven."
Lin Mo casually waved his hand.
"These things you mentioned..."
"...I don't need them."
Doug's gaze slightly narrowed.
Lin Mo continued speaking.
"As for Joanna..."
He turned his head to glance to the side, and Joannaimmediately nodded.
"I don't want them either."
She didn't even need Lin Mo to ask.
She answered quite decisively.
Whatever The Seven, whatever Vought's recommendations—she never had much interest in them to begin with. If she really had to choose...
...she would rather stay with Lin Mo every day.
Doug: "..."
Lin Mo looked back at him.
"Saw that? Neither of us thinks much of them."
"So, you don't need to use these things to bargain with me. Nor do you need to tell me what you can give me in the future."
Speaking to this point, Lin Mo leaned his body slightly forward.
"What I'd rather see right now is what you plan to do next."
As those words fell, the office fell silent once again.
This time, even Doug didn't immediately reply.
Because he suddenly realized that he seemingly had no cards left to play.
Threats? Threatening Maeve was still useful. But threatening Lin Mo and Joanna?
That was purely asking for trouble for himself.
Temptation with benefits?
The problem was that the two people in front of him simply didn't need the things in his hands.
The Seven? Judging by the strength Lin Mo and Joannahad displayed now...
...whether they even wanted to join, or whether Vought was begging them to join, that in itself was a question.
Recommendations? Ratings? Those kinds of things were indeed important to other students, but placed on the two of them, it was almost laughable.
Doug sat there, truly falling silent for the first time.
Maeve watched this scene, her mood inexplicably somewhat complicated.
Just a moment ago, she had been pressed so hard by Doug using The Seven that she couldn't speak, yet the moment Lin Mo opened his mouth, Doug's chips instantly became like scrap paper.
This gap was bound to be a bit too realistic, but fortunately, she was on Lin Mo's side. Rounding it up, it basically meant... she had backing?