The principal's office at Changzhi Twilight was filled with tension. Principal Huang, a man in his fifties with an upright posture and a usually authoritative face, now looked flushed red with anger. Before him, Bao Zhe Fan and Wang Dawei stood straight, facing the sharp gazes of several teachers present.
"Explain! What happened out there?" roared Principal Huang, his voice thundering in the cramped room.
Wang Dawei trembled, his face pale. "I... I just wanted to share drinks, Sir! Those drinks were samples from a distributor—"
"Samples? Samples that poisoned dozens of students?" interrupted their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Chen, her voice worried. "Several students even had to be rushed to the school clinic!"
Bao Zhe Fan remained silent, his eyes observing everyone in the room. In his view, system notifications kept popping up like fireworks. The chaos outside was far greater than he had anticipated. Initially, he had only expected about thirty victims, but it turned out that almost all the students in the yard—over a hundred people—had drunk the beverage and experienced poisoning symptoms. Screams and cries filled the schoolyard, and the teachers were overwhelmed handling the situation.
[+30 EP - Negative: Rage from Principal Huang]
[+25 EP - Negative: Disappointment from Mrs. Chen]
[+20 EP - Negative: Fear from Wang Dawei]
[+15 EP - Negative: Annoyance from other teachers]
[+10 EP - Negative: Panic from affected students]
[+15 EP - Negative: Helplessness from other teachers]
His Emotion Points continued to climb, approaching 20,000 points. This was more than he had hoped for. He hid a faint smile. His plan was working perfectly, even if the consequences were greater than expected.
"Bao, did you plan this?" asked Principal Huang, staring directly at him.
Bao Zhe Fan nodded slowly. "I take responsibility, Sir. But allow me to explain." His voice was calm, contrasting with the panic in the room. "The drinks were indeed expired, but the effects aren't dangerous. They only cause temporary discomfort. I have a solution to calm the situation."
Principal Huang was surprised by Bao Zhe Fan's composure. "A solution? What solution? Look at the chaos you've caused! Over a hundred students affected! This could be a major scandal for the school!"
It was at that moment that Bao Zhe Fan decided to use the system. In his heart, he gave the command. "System, perform 10 gacha spins."
[Using 10,000 EP for 10 gacha spins. Processing...]
The holographic screen before his eyes showed a gacha wheel spinning rapidly. Bao Zhe Fan tried to stay focused on the conversation while waiting for the results. He knew he needed to act quickly before the situation spiraled out of control.
"Sir, if I may offer," said Bao Zhe Fan, buying time. "I have access to a traditional medicine that can relieve the poisoning symptoms. It's a family heritage."
Principal Huang listened skeptically. "Traditional medicine? You think this is a joke? With this many victims, we need a medical team!"
Meanwhile, the gacha results began appearing on Bao Zhe Fan's system screen. Since he only did 10 spins, no Grand Prize appeared, but he got some useful Twilight and Side Prizes.
[Spin 1: Side Prize - Healthy Digestion Pill. Effect: Aids digestion but causes strawberry-scented flatulence for 2 hours.]
[Spin 2: Twilight Prize - Temporary Spiritual Energy Boost. Effect: Increases spiritual energy by 50% for 1 hour.]
[Spin 3: Side Prize - Melodious Voice Pill. Effect: Clears the voice but temporarily makes it sound like a duck for 24 hours.]
[Spin 4: Twilight Prize - General Calming Pill Box. Effect: Contains 10 pills that calm emotions within a 5-meter radius per pill. Side effect: Users feel drowsy.]
[Spin 5: Side Prize - Hair Health Pill. Effect: Strengthens hair roots but causes temporary hair loss for 2 days.]
[Spin 6: Twilight Prize - Detoxification Powder. Effect: Can be dissolved in water and distributed to neutralize mild toxins. Side effect: Metallic taste in mouth for 1 hour.]
[Spin 7: Side Prize - Concentration Pill. Effect: Increases focus but causes uncontrollable eye blinking for 1 hour.]
[Spin 8: Twilight Prize - Basic Spiritual Guidebook. Effect: Improves understanding of basic spiritual control, including blood.]
[Spin 9: Twilight Prize - Minor Wound Healing Pill. Effect: Heals minor wounds quickly.]
[Spin 10: Side Prize - Mood Enhancer Pill. Effect: Improves mood but causes random giggling fits every 5 minutes for 3 hours.]
Bao Zhe Fan quickly analyzed his rewards. He needed to use the Detoxification Powder to address the mass poisoning and the General Calming Pill Box to calm the situation. But he also got some troublesome side effects – the Melodious Voice Pill that would make him sound like a duck and the Mood Enhancer Pill that would make him giggle uncontrollably. He had to be careful.
"System, use the Detoxification Powder for the poisoning victims. Dissolve it in water and distribute it," he commanded in his heart. "Since there are many victims, ensure it's effective for everyone."
[Detoxification Powder used. Dissolved in two buckets of drinking water and distributed to over 100 victims. Effect: Toxins neutralized. Side effect: Victims' mouths taste metallic for 1 hour.]
Outside, the panicked screams began to subside. A few teachers ran into the office looking relieved but confused. "Sir! The students' poisoning symptoms are disappearing! They're recovering quickly, but they're complaining about a strange metallic taste in their mouths! Some are vomiting because they can't stand the taste!"
Principal Huang was shocked. "What? How is that possible? What did you do, Bao?"
Bao Zhe Fan smiled. "That's the effect of my traditional medicine, Sir. I activated it from here." He lied smoothly. "Now, allow me to use the Calming Pills to soothe the atmosphere."
He took one pill from the General Calming Pill Box and crushed it in his hand, releasing its effect into the room. Since the pill had a limited radius, he needed to use more for the entire school, but for now, the principal's office was the priority.
[General Calming Pill used. Negative emotions within a 5-meter radius reduced. Side effect: Some people feel drowsy.]
The atmosphere in the principal's office suddenly became calmer. Principal Huang's anger subsided, replaced by bewilderment and slight drowsiness. The other teachers also began to yawn.
"Alright," said Principal Huang in a softer voice, stifling a yawn. "But this is a serious violation. With this many victims, you two must be punished severely."
Bao Zhe Fan realized that the side effects from the gacha rewards would soon appear. He needed to wrap this up quickly. He also needed to ensure all victims were properly handled. "Sir, allow me and Wang Dawei to assist with further distribution of the medicine to ensure no victim is missed. There are over a hundred students who need to recover."
Principal Huang nodded slowly. "Fine, but after this, we will discuss your punishment."
Bao Zhe Fan and Wang Dawei left the office and immediately went down to the yard. They helped the other teachers distribute the water mixed with Detoxification Powder to the students who were still lying weak. Wang Dawei looked very remorseful but eager to help. "Brother Bao, I didn't expect it to be this big... but luckily you had a solution."
Bao Zhe Fan just nodded while working quickly. Each time he approached a group of students, he used another Calming Pill to soothe them. Emotion Points kept flowing from the various emotions of students and teachers.
[+10 EP - Positive: Relief from recovered students]
[+5 EP - Negative: Confusion from students with metallic taste]
[+15 EP - Positive: Gratitude from assisted teachers]
Once the situation was under control, they returned to the principal's office. Principal Huang was now calmer but still serious.
"Bao, I understand your good intention to make amends, but with the large scale of this incident, the punishment must be clear," said Principal Huang. "What is your proposal?"
Bao Zhe Fan seized the opportunity. "Sir, I understand punishment is necessary. But allow me to make amends by starting a business beneficial to the school," proposed Bao Zhe Fan. "I plan to open a stall selling food and health items at the school. All profits will be donated to school activities. Additionally, Wang Dawei and I are willing to clean the entire school for two weeks, not just one."
Wang Dawei looked at him in surprise, but then nodded in agreement. "Yes, Sir. We are ready to accept the punishment."
Principal Huang thought for a moment, still under the calming pill's effect. "An interesting proposal. But why should I trust you? With so many victims, parents might protest."
Bao Zhe Fan responded quickly. "I will take full responsibility for compensating the victims if necessary. But with my traditional medicine, all students have recovered without long-term effects. I'm sure there won't be any serious protests."
Due to the pill's effect, the principal's decision was more lenient. Finally, they agreed that Bao Zhe Fan and Wang Dawei would be punished with two weeks of social service cleaning the school, and they were allowed to open a stall under strict supervision. Additionally, they had to formally apologize to all affected students.
As they left the office, the side effects began to hit Bao Zhe Fan.
"We made it through, huh?" said Wang Dawei, relieved.
"Correct," replied Bao Zhe Fan, but his voice suddenly changed to sound like a duck. "Quack! I mean, yes."
Wang Dawei stared wide-eyed. "Brother Bao, your voice...?"
Bao Zhe Fan realized the Melodious Voice Pill had taken effect. He tried to remain calm. "It's just a side effect of the medicine, quack! It will go away in a day."
Furthermore, giggles started coming out uncontrollably due to the Mood Enhancer Pill. "Hehehe! Quack!"
Wang Dawei shook his head. "You're really strange, Brother Bao. But thank you for saving us from a worse situation."
They walked towards the classroom, with Bao Zhe Fan occasionally letting out duck sounds and giggles, attracting the attention of other recovering students. Emotion Points continued to flow, though now more were positive due to amusement and entertainment.
[+10 EP - Positive: Amusement]
[+5 EP - Positive: Curiosity]
[+8 EP - Positive: Entertainment]
Back in his shabby home, Bao Zhe Fan reviewed the other gacha rewards. He took the Basic Spiritual Guidebook from the system's inventory. As soon as he touched the book, his knowledge about his spiritual abilities increased, including control over his blood element. He realized that with the large number of victims today, he had managed to collect a huge amount of EP, which could be used for more spins in the future.
He now understood that his Blood Hole could be slightly enlarged, and Blood Step could be used over a longer distance if he had enough spiritual energy. He also got an idea to use his blood ability in his future business, like creating unique health items related to blood.
He checked his status:
[Host Status]
Name:Bao Zhe Fan
Spirit Knight Level:Bronze Wheel - 1 Star (increased to 2 Star due to the book)
Talent:Blood Control (Rank G - approaching Rank F)
EP:5,450 (because EP accumulated more from the major incident)
BP:0
Health:85%
Spiritual Energy:50/100 (increased due to temporary boost)
He also stored the General Calming Pill Box (still 9 pills left), Healthy Digestion Pill, and other items for sale or later use. His business would start tomorrow, selling these unique-effect items from the gacha at the night market. From today's incident, he learned that large-scale events could yield more EP, but also carried higher risks. He needed to plan more carefully going forward.
Bao Zhe Fan felt satisfied. Today, even though it was messy and involved many victims, he successfully collected a lot of EP, improved his abilities, and gained permission for his business. The duck voice and giggling side effects would disappear soon.
He looked into the cracked mirror on the wall. "This is just the beginning," he murmured in a voice that was starting to become hoarse like a duck's. "Quack! The world isn't ready for Bao Zhe Fan. Tomorrow, I'll start my business with these items, and slowly unravel the mystery of my blood element."
He began planning his next steps: how to collect more EP and BP, and perhaps explore the mystery behind his Blood Element. With this system, his bleak future was starting to brighten, even if the path ahead was winding.