Chapter 1028 - Beyond the Reports
Chapter 1028 of "High School of Demon Hunting" opens with: Chapter 1028: Chapter 90: Beyond the ReportsAfter reading the entire article, Zheng Qingâs face turned... Find out what happens!
Chapter 1028: Chapter 90: Beyond the ReportsAfter reading the entire article, Zheng Qingâs face turned somewhat pale.
He felt like he couldnât catch his breath.
"I didnât yearn for the credit reward... And, I donât remember saying that last sentence!" he stared intently at the last sentence at the end of the article, muttering, "This qualifies as malicious speculation, right... Have journalists become so flighty in their writing now?"
In the photo on the side of the column, Zheng Qingâs profile remained silently holding a coffee cup, motionless. At this moment, Zheng Qing wished that the photo was a magical one that could move, allowing him in the picture to shake his fist and viciously smash it in the face of that Pulitzer lady opposite.
Then, his eyes caught another sentence in the report that made him even more enraged, "Also, when she asked about that damn âForbidden Experimentâ, the only reason I was silent was that I genuinely didnât know about such a thing! What does âunusually silentâ mean?! She knows nothing!! Canât I keep my mouth shut about things Iâm not aware of?!"
"Take deep breaths, deep breaths, donât get worked up," Xin Fat Man comforted, patting Zheng Qingâs back and timely pulling out a small dish of candy, placing it under Zheng Qingâs nose, "Have a mint, itâll smooth things over."
Zheng Qing wasnât sure if the mint candy had any soothing effect, just like he didnât know why some wizards would feel warmer after eating a piece of chocolate when suffering from magic damage.
But that didnât stop him from accepting Xinâs goodwill. After all, candy could always bring a sense of pleasure.
The young state-funded student picked a green candy from the dish, threw it into his mouth, and sucked on it fiercely.
The cool mint flavor burst upon his taste buds, surged into his nasal passages, slid down into his lungs, and made him feel as though he had been soaked in icy water, instantly refreshing his spirit.
Just then, a familiar voice of indignation suddenly sounded beside him, startling Zheng Qing, "Keeping silent is useless, she will imagine a scenario and write it into the story... just like in the report, I never cried in despair in front of her!"
Turning his head, Nicholas, who usually sat in another corner of the classroom, had somehow approached the group of warlocks, looking at the report in Zheng Qingâs hand with an annoyed expression.
Noticing the surprised looks of several warlocks, Nicholas snorted, "I saw this report a few minutes before you guys and felt that Zheng Qing would have some thoughts after reading it, so I came over to ask... do you guys think we should beat her up?"
"Hmm... youâre the only veteran in Jiuyou Academy who has repeated two years, right?" Zhang Ji Xin stroked his chin, reading the article carefully, contemplatively, "Anyone with a little bit of information would know this... That Pulitzer lady is really unethical. Whatâs the difference between âpreferring to remain anonymousâ and plastering someoneâs name on a headline in big letters?"
"Plus, I donât remember you having a family either," Xin Fat Man chimed in.
Nicholas looked grim, staring at Zheng Qing, repeating his earlier suggestion, "So... do you feel like beating her up?"
After popping a mint, Zheng Qing felt his spirits lift somewhat. Plus, with Nicholas, this fellow in adversity, the suffocating feeling in his heart unconsciously dissipated a bit, and rational thinking once again took the high ground.
"Letâs not talk about whether we can defeat a registered wizard... Even if we succeed in ambushing, are you prepared to spend some time in Danghag if the school catches us?" Zheng Qing posed a tough question to Nicholas first, then muttered to himself, "No, you canât. You still have a sister to look after; you must finish college safely."
Nicholasâs complexion grew even uglier, his brown eyes habitually trembled, and now, fueled by rage, the trembling intensified, clearly conveying his emotional turmoil.
"Calm down, calm down. A gentlemanâs revenge is not too late even after ten years." Zheng Qing grabbed Nicholasâs arm, trying to soothe him, "Like me, on any normal day, thereâs no shortage of people bad-mouthing me behind my back. Am I supposed to pull each one out for a beating? Peopleâs mouths are their own; as long as thereâs no slander, just ignore her..."
This kind of composure was something Zheng Qing had gradually built up after multiple ordeals last semester, from the storm that followed Jiuyou Academyâs victory in the hunting party to the noise after receiving the Great Arcana âWorldâ, he had grown accustomed to such idle chatter.
As he had just said, with a stronger psyche, the outside gossip was like flies buzzing around the ears. Just whack a couple dead on a whim. With so many flies, youâll never kill them all.
After consoling Nicholas, Zheng Qing picked up the report again, now in the mood to comment on other sections of the article.
"Wow, âstereotyped educational methods, dangerous teaching materials, harsh examination systemâ, plus âsuppressing nature and freedomâ and âcultivating young wizards who are indifferent to lifeâ... Ms. Pulitzer sure dared to write this?!"
Using a feather pen, Zheng Qing sketched circles around the frightening terms on the newspaper, then pointed them out and asked Xin Fat Man:
"Isnât she afraid of Jiuyou Academy causing her trouble by writing this? Isnât she worried that Old Yao would smash the Beta Town Post? This doesnât quite fit with that âharmonious and stableâ reporting principle you mentioned before."
Fat Man shrugged laboriously, his face full of helplessness: "The âBeta Town Postâ is not a school publication, and Ms. Pulitzer isnât a little-known journalist like me; she has the freedom to write such reports... Moreover, she stands in Beta Town, backed by Alpha City Castle. Even if Jiuyou Academy is temperamental, what can they do? Jiuyou wonât make real trouble with Alpha over such trivialities."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing put two and two together with the current situation at school and suddenly realized:
"Oh, you mean, this article was published at the behest of Alpha Academy by Ms. Pulitzer?"
"Not necessarily at their behest," Xiao Xiao, who had been quietly analyzing the reportâs content, suddenly spoke up softly, "But anticipating their desires is very likely... Just like the âDeath of Lineageâ speech a few days ago at the small square in front of the library, itâs of the same nature as this article by Ms. Pulitzer. Itâs implausible that Jiuyou Academyâs professor or student council would have prompted that warlock to make that speech in front of the library."
"The battleground of public opinion is something both Jiuyou and Alpha want to conquer. Itâs about who plays a smarter hand and who can win over the hearts of more young wizards."
"If last weekâs âDeath of Lineageâ was a punch by Jiuyou Academyâs public opinion to Alpha, then todayâs newspaper is Alpha slapping Jiuyou across the face... both sides are even, neither gaining much advantage."