The afternoon sun dragged on. In the Delta Class, the air was thick with drowsiness.
Ren sat in the back row, her long legs stretched out under the desk. She was bored.
The Physics teacher—a strict man who believed Delta students were a waste of oxygen—had assigned a brutal set of practice problems.
Ren stared at the paper. The questions were laughably easy. "Calculate the trajectory of a Beta wolf in mid-air shift..." It was elementary physics. She didn't have the patience to write out the formulas.
She poked her trembling deskmate, Lily.
"Hey," Ren whispered, her voice raspy. "Done yet?"
Lily jumped, nearly dropping her pen. "Y-Yes! But Ren, you really should try to do it yourself. The exams are coming up..."
"Too lazy," Ren said, reaching over and dragging Lily's worksheet onto her own desk.
She picked up a pen and started copying. She didn't even check the answers. She just transcribed Lily's neat handwriting into her own wild, aggressive scrawl.
In the aisle, **Xavier** (Xu Yaoguang) was collecting the papers. As the Physics Representative, it was his job.
He stopped at Ren's desk, watching her shamelessly copy the work.
His handsome face twisted into a frown. Xavier valued hard work and talent above all else. To him, Ren was the definition of a parasite—leeching off her family's money to get into school, and now leeching off her classmates to pass.
"You know," Xavier said coldly, his voice cutting through the quiet chatter. "Copying won't help you when the real test comes. You're just wasting space here."
Ren didn't look up. She finished the last equation, tossed the pen onto the desk, and handed the paper to him.
"Thanks for the advice, Class Rep," she drawled, not sounding thankful at all.
Xavier snatched the paper, his eyes filled with disdain. He walked away, muttering to **Joey** in the next row. "She's hopeless. A complete waste of a bloodline."
Joey shrugged, glancing back at Ren with a grin. "Maybe. But she's hot, so I forgive her."
***
School ended at 6:00 PM.
As the students flooded out of the gates, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
At the end of the street, blocking the main exit, was a row of heavy motorcycles. Their engines were revving—a deep, aggressive growl that made the pavement vibrate.
Leaning against a bright red bike was a young man with a shaved head and a snake tattoo coiling up his neck. He was smoking a cigarette, looking dangerous.
"Oh god," Lily grabbed Ren's arm, her face turning pale. "Ren, we have to go back. That's **Viper**."
Viper. The leader of the 'Steel Claws'. A Rogue Alpha who controlled the underground racing scene in the district. Even the teachers were afraid of him.
"He's blocking the road," Lily whispered, terrified. "He likes to pick on students for toll money. Let's run."
Ren looked up. She adjusted her backpack, her expression unbothered. "Run? Why? It's a straight line to the bus stop."
Before Lily could stop her, Ren kept walking. Straight toward the gang of bikers.
***
Fifty meters away, Xavier and Joey were watching from the school steps.
"Xavier," Joey said, his tone serious. "That's Viper. He's bad news. Should we help?"
Xavier frowned. He saw Lily trembling next to Ren. He didn't care about Ren, but Lily was innocent.
"Let's go," Xavier sighed, adjusting his bag. "My family has some influence. Viper might listen to me."
But before they could move, the scene unfolded.
Viper saw the two girls approaching. He pushed off his bike, throwing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his boot. He marched toward them, his face dark and menacing.
Lily squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.
Xavier quickened his pace, ready to intervene. "Hey! Viper!"
But Viper ignored Xavier. He stopped right in front of Ren.
The tension was suffocating. The entire street went silent, watching the terrifying gangster tower over the slender transfer student.
Then, Viper did the unthinkable.
He bowed.
A full, ninety-degree bow of submission.
"**Boss!**" Viper shouted, his voice cracking with excitement. "You finally came to the city! Why didn't you tell me you were here?!"
*Boss?*
Lily opened her eyes. Xavier froze mid-step. Joey's jaw dropped.
Ren stood there, hands in her pockets, looking annoyed. She kicked Viper lightly in the shin.
"Stand up," she said, her voice bored. "You're scaring my deskmate. Look at her, she's shaking."
Viper scrambled upright, looking apologetic. He turned to Lily, flashing a grin that was meant to be friendly but looked terrifying. "Sorry, little sister! Didn't mean to spook you. Any friend of the Boss is a friend of mine!"
"Boss...?" Lily squeaked, looking from the terrifying gangster to her lazy deskmate.
Ren sighed. She pulled her hood up. "Viper, get your boys out of here. You're blocking traffic."
"Yes, Boss! Right away!" Viper turned to his gang and roared, "You heard her! Move out! The Queen needs to walk!"
The bikers scrambled to move their machines.
Ren started walking again. Viper trotted beside her like an eager puppy. "Boss, let me treat you to dinner! Or a smoke? I have the good stuff from the Wildlands..."
"No," Ren said. "I have homework."
"Homework?" Viper looked confused. "But you're... you..."
"I'm a student now," Ren said deadpan. "Go away."
As they walked past Xavier and Joey, Ren didn't even glance at them.
Xavier stood frozen on the sidewalk. He looked at the retreating back of the girl he had just called "hopeless." He looked at the feared gangster treating her like royalty.
"Joey," Xavier whispered, his worldview cracking. "Did Viper just call her... Boss?"
Joey swallowed hard. "Yeah. I think... I think our new classmate might be more than just a pretty face."
***
Ren walked until Viper finally got the hint and left.
She found a quiet bench near the bus stop and sat down. She pulled out her phone.
It vibrated. A new message from a **Hidden Number**.
**[ Unknown: ]** *New job. Target: The secure server of the Southern Council. Decryption required. Price: 5 million.*
Ren narrowed her eyes. She recognized the coding style of the message. It was a high-level request.
She typed back with one hand.
**[ Ren: ]** *Not interested.*
Five seconds later. Another vibration.
**[ Unknown: ]** *Price: 10 million.*
Ren scoffed. Rich people were annoying.
**[ Ren: ]** *Which idiot is this? Money burning a hole in your pocket?*
***
**[ Meanwhile, in the Black SUV ]**
Alpha Juan stared at his phone screen.
**"Which idiot is this?"**
He blinked. Then, a slow, amused smile spread across his face.
"She called me an idiot," Juan murmured.
In the driver's seat, Dr. Luke looked back, confused. "Master? Who did?"
"The hacker. **Q**," Juan said. He tapped the screen, replying. "She has a temper. I like it even more."
He typed: *50 million. And I'll throw in a favor.*
***
Ren looked at the new number. **50 million.**
Her thumb hovered over the screen. She was broke. She needed money for her grandmother's meds and for her own suppressants.
She sighed, defeated by capitalism.
**[ Ren: ]** *Fine. Send the data. But don't annoy me.*
She shoved the phone back into her pocket, stood up, and caught the bus.
She had homework to copy, a gang to manage, and now a multi-million dollar hack to finish.
Just a normal day for a "useless" Dormant.
**[Chapter 7 End]**