DEM Chapter 12: Has Su Yuan’s Condition Gotten This Serious?

The Ancient Corpse Refining Technique was such an ominous thing that having it was worse than not having it at all.

Su Yuan instantly lost all interest in completing this favorability task.

But the task couldn’t be canceled or abandoned, so he could only let it sit there and run its course.

While Su Yuan was fretting over the new task, Martial Arts teacher Li Ziquan and PE teacher Zhuge Tie finally finished their argument.

“Su Yuan, let’s not waste time bickering with a brute like Teacher Zhuge. Come, I’ll take you to eat.”

Li Ziquan pushed Zhuge Tie aside, grabbed Su Yuan’s hand with a gentle smile, and pulled him toward the cafeteria.

Zhuge Tie gave a cold snort and said:

“Su Yuan, your physical condition is too mediocre. Your body is the foundation of all athletic performance. My portion of Black Horned Ox Bone Soup at lunch, you’re drinking it all later.”

With that, he also stepped into the cafeteria.

Hearing the two teachers’ words, Su Yuan had a sudden realization.

When Teacher Zhuge stopped him earlier, he must have already planned what to do if Su Yuan couldn’t get in line at the cafeteria.

That was to take him through the teachers’ exclusive passage to get food.

Even if he really had to run ten laps on the field, he probably wouldn’t go hungry.

How thoughtful!

Rumor had it that the teachers’ meals included rare, nourishing ingredients not found in the student meals. Su Yuan was in for a treat.

Feeling delighted, he thought to himself that this was a blessing in disguise.

Inside the cafeteria, the scene was bustling with students. Every food counter was swarmed, and most tables were already occupied.

Su Yuan quickly spotted his “good son,” still waiting in line for food.

Ha!

Su Yuan smirked triumphantly, following the two teachers toward the teachers’ passage with confident strides.

Just then, a student carrying a half-eaten tray of food passed by Su Yuan and dumped it into a nearby slop bucket.

Seeing this, Su Yuan, who always valued food, couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

This student’s behavior wasn’t an isolated case. The slop bucket was already piled high with leftover scraps.

Looking at the half-eaten spiritual fruit, the half-steamed bun soaked in slop, and bones with plenty of meat still attached, a strange idea suddenly surged into Su Yuan’s mind.

Could these discarded foods count as sect resources?

With this thought, Su Yuan hurried to the slop bucket, grabbed its rim, and silently willed to claim it for himself.

Nothing happened.

Tch, it seemed they were deemed the sect’s discarded resources, so he couldn’t exploit this loophole.

Just as Su Yuan felt a bit disappointed, a hesitant voice came from behind him, “Classmate, could you step aside?”

Su Yuan turned to see a student preparing to dump their leftovers, with a whole uneaten egg yolk on their tray that looked rather tempting.

This couldn’t possibly be classified as discarded resources.

A sudden idea flashed through Su Yuan’s mind, and he asked earnestly, “Classmate, I need some leftovers to feed my dog at home. Could you let me handle your leftovers? Of course, I’ll clean the tray thoroughly.”

“Uh, sure.”

Seeing Su Yuan’s sincere tone, the student nodded and handed over the tray.

The next second, a “ding-dong” sounded in Su Yuan’s mind.

[Task Two: Secret Invasion (In Progress)]

[Task Progress: Resources Seized (1/100)]

“Oh ho, I guessed right, didn’t I?”

Su Yuan’s heart leaped with joy.

Though the task progress had only increased by a mere point, there were five or six hundred students in the cafeteria!

Even if only a fifth of them had leftovers, he could complete the task in one go!

With this in mind, Su Yuan didn’t waste a moment. He asked the cafeteria’s cleaning auntie for a stack of clean trash bags, grabbed a few garbage bins, and lined them with the bags.

“Su Yuan, what are you doing?”

Zhuge Tie, already in the teachers’ passage, asked with a frown.

“Teachers, I’m sorry, I can’t eat with you. I have something more important to do right now.”

With that, Su Yuan positioned himself by the slop bucket with the bins, waiting with a serious expression.

Li Ziquan and Zhuge Tie were utterly stunned by the scene.

They watched as Su Yuan took trays from one student after another preparing to dump their leftovers, meticulously sorting the food, looking exactly like… an old man packing up leftovers at a village feast.

“Classmate, over here, just give me the tray. I’ll clean it.”

“No trouble at all, thank you for your support.”

A trace of oddity crossed Zhuge Tie’s stern face as he looked at the gradually filling bins and couldn’t help but say, “I heard this kid say he’s taking these leftovers to feed his dog? What kind of dog eats this much? A Foundation Establishment dog demon?”

As the two teachers stood puzzled, a figure entered the cafeteria doorway. It was none other than Yue Lin, the homeroom teacher of Senior Year Class Two.

The two teachers exchanged a glance and approached him.

“Teacher Yue, you’re Su Yuan’s homeroom teacher, right? Any idea what’s going on with his behavior?”

Li Ziquan pointed at Su Yuan by the slop bucket and asked Yue Lin.

Yue Lin froze, glancing at Su Yuan standing guard by the slop bucket. A storm of shock surged in his heart, and he blurted out, “This kid, has his condition worsened this quickly?”

“What?!”

He’d only shown slight mental abnormalities in the morning, but by noon, he was addicted to collecting garbage? This seemed like classic obsessive-compulsive behavior.

If it progressed further, would he completely lose himself to demonic obsession?

Thinking of the brilliant yet fallen genius students he’d seen in his teaching career, who succumbed to demonic obsession after a single misstep, Yue Lin felt a pang of heartache.

Was another young prodigy about to fall… Wait, Su Yuan was just average, hardly a prodigy.

Never mind then.

His thoughts briefly interrupted, Yue Lin carefully observed Su Yuan’s mental state again, cleared his throat, and said, “It’s also possible that Su Yuan’s family isn’t well-off, so he’s collecting these leftovers to eat.”

Li Ziquan and Zhuge Tie: “…”

That’s even more pitiful and heartbreaking!

Zhuge Tie hesitated, then said uncertainly, “Earlier, Teacher Li and I invited Su Yuan to eat, but he refused. It doesn’t seem like he’s so poor he can’t afford food.”

Li Ziquan said softly, “Teacher Yue, you’re always so pessimistic. Can’t you think of a more positive explanation?”

Hearing this, Yue Lin wavered and analyzed, “If we rule out illness and poverty, then there’s probably only one reason left for Su Yuan’s actions.”

“He values food and can’t bear to see so much go to waste, so he’s collecting it to feed cats, dogs, or maybe tigers and crocodiles—those kinds of little pets.”

Li Ziquan and Zhuge Tie: “…”

Great, we’re back to square one.

After a moment of silence, Zhuge Tie said, “Su Yuan collecting leftovers isn’t a big deal, but I only realized today that the students are wasting way too much food per meal. Are today’s students living too comfortably?”

Yue Lin shook his head and said, “That may be true, but a good portion of students already prefer takeout over the cafeteria. If we impose stricter rules, the number of students eating here might drop by half.”

He looked at Su Yuan and sighed, “Young people as frugal as Su Yuan are rare these days.”

Just then, a sudden “ding-dong” sounded in Su Yuan’s mind.

[Task Progress: Martial Arts Elder Favorability (125/80), Body Refining Elder Favorability (65/80)]

[Note: Another unknown sect elder’s favorability toward you has increased!]

Su Yuan: “???”

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