They Are All Outlaws (Debt Repayment 6/25)

Mr. Li stood at the podium and nodded at Chen Zhi. "Student Chen Zhi, you may begin."

Chen Zhi rolled his wrists to loosen up.

"Alright. You take a rest, sir. I'll handle this kind of dirty and tiring work."

He didn't just rummage around blindly like a headless fly. Instead, he stood at the podium and scanned the layout of the entire classroom.

Hiding a phone is an art.

But in the eyes of an experienced veteran like him, no matter how they hid them, it was useless, because he had used all these tricks before.

Chen Zhi walked straight towards the blackboard.

Class Ten used a sliding multimedia blackboard. The two green panels could slide towards the center to reveal the electronic whiteboard inside.

And between the blackboard and the wall, there was usually a barely noticeable gap.

That was a prime real estate spot for charging.

Chen Zhi reached out, grabbed the edge of the blackboard, and yanked it to the side.

"Clatter—"

A white phone charging right there was suddenly exposed, the charging cable still connected to the socket under the podium.

"Heh, off to a good start."

Chen Zhi unplugged the phone and casually tossed it into the storage box prepared by Mr. Li.

Out in the hallway by the window, a boy let out a wail of despair.

Right after that, Chen Zhi turned around and walked purposefully towards the back row.

That was Zhao Lei's seat, one he was all too familiar with.

Books were piled messily on the desk, and a massive water bottle sat next to them.

Chen Zhi picked up the bottle and unscrewed the bottom cap.

A black Android phone lay quietly at the bottom of the cup, its screen still lit up, displaying a game's matchmaking queue.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This trick is way out of date."

Holding the phone, Chen Zhi waved it at Zhao Lei outside through the glass window.

Zhao Lei was pressed completely against the glass, his face squished out of shape and his eyes bloodshot.

"Chen Zhi! Screw you!"

He roared soundlessly outside, his fists frantically pounding the window frame.

Like an impotent husband.

"Is he sick in the head? Checking even the water bottles? What kind of normal person hides a phone in a water bottle!"

Beside him, Skinny Monkey watched with his heart pounding. Before he could even feel relieved, he saw Chen Zhi put down Zhao Lei's bottle and turn towards the window.

The classroom curtains were very long. To prevent them from dragging on the desks, the students usually tied the hems into a knot.

Chen Zhi walked over, and before the metal detector in his hand even touched the curtain, it let out a rapid beeping.

"Beep beep beep beep—"

Chen Zhi untied the tight knot.

"Clack."

Another phone dropped onto the desk.

Chen Zhi picked up the phone and blew the dust off it.

Outside the window, Skinny Monkey's legs gave way, and he almost dropped to his knees.

"My backup phone... I just bought it less than three hours ago..."

A triple kill.

Chen Zhi did not stop his steps.

He stood in the middle of the aisle, rubbing his chin as if recalling something.

In his past life, he had also been a master at hiding phones, knowing these tricks like the back of his hand.

His gaze drifted around the classroom, eventually landing on a trash can in the corner.

The trash can was covered with a layer of waste paper, looking entirely unremarkable.

But Chen Zhi knew that the most dangerous place was the safest place.

He walked over, bent down, and groped around in the hidden compartment on the side of the trash can.

His fingers brushed against a hard plastic bag.

Pulling it out, he saw a brand new phone wrapped inside, encased in several layers of garbage bags to make it waterproof and odor-proof.

"What a ruthless guy."

Chen Zhi pinched the phone in disgust with two fingers and tossed it into the storage box.

Outside the window, another boy's face turned ashen, looking as if his soul had been sucked out.

Now, there were already four phones lying in the storage box.

But this wasn't enough.

Chen Zhi looked towards the seat in the middle of the classroom.

That was Liu Xiaoyan's seat.

As the goddess of the simp squad, Liu Xiaoyan was currently standing in the hallway, her hands wrung together and her face a bit pale, but still forcing herself to look calm.

Chen Zhi walked up to her desk.

The desktop was very neat, with a row of study guides, a thick Oxford dictionary, and a pink digital alarm clock.

Very cozy, very girly.

Chen Zhi first picked up the Oxford dictionary.

These hefty tomes were usually the top choice for hollowing out to hide phones.

He opened the dictionary.

Sure enough, a neat chunk had been hollowed out from the middle pages.

But it was empty?

Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow.

The fact that a hole was dug meant there was a phone.

If it were an ordinary teacher, seeing this empty slot, they would probably assume the phone had already been taken away or hidden on the person.

But Chen Zhi was no ordinary person.

His gaze fell on that pink digital alarm clock.

A huge quartz clock hung right at the front of the classroom, keeping accurate time.

Why would a day student who brings a phone every day put an alarm clock in the classroom?

It was totally unnecessary.

When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at work.

Chen Zhi picked up the alarm clock. The feel of it in his hand was very strange.

It felt a bit top-heavy.

He gave it a little shake.

"Click."

A faint rattling sound came from inside, as if something was stuffed in there.

A cruel smile curled on Chen Zhi's lips.

He picked up the metal ruler on the desk and pried open the screen of the alarm clock.

The interior of the alarm clock was spacious, stuffed with a white phone. To prevent it from shaking, a few layers of tissues were carefully padded around it.

"Hidden pretty deep."

Chen Zhi dug the phone out and held it up along with the wad of tissues.

Outside the window, Liu Xiaoyan's defenses completely broke down the moment she saw this scene.

Her pure and harmless face was now filled with terror and malice.

"Chen Zhi! You bastard!"

She screamed, ignoring her image, causing the surrounding students to look over.

Penta kill.

Team wiped out.

Chen Zhi clapped the dust off his hands and lifted the heavy storage box.

He walked to the classroom door, ignoring the pairs of eyes in the hallway that wanted to swallow him alive, and handed the loot over to Mr. Li.

"Sir, mission accomplished."

Mr. Li looked at the five phones in the box, also a bit stunned.

This efficiency was even sharper than a police dog.

"Ahem, well done."

Mr. Li nodded in approval, then put on a stern face and looked at the dejected students. "Zhao Lei, Liu Xiaoyan... and the rest of you, call your parents in tomorrow! Have them take your phones back!"

...

A surprise inspection ended with Class Ten's miserable defeat.

Chen Zhi followed Mr. Li and did another round of inspections in the other classes.

But he never inspected as carefully again, merely holding the detector and making a show of sweeping it a few times at the doors.

Back at the Student Union office.

Xu Min saw Chen Zhi return, glanced at the completely empty record book in his hand, and then looked at the jam-packed storage box in Mr. Li's hand nearby.

She pushed up her glasses, her gaze turning somewhat suspicious.

"Chen Zhi."

Xu Min put down her pen and asked with some doubt, "Why is it that you could find five phones at once in Class Ten, but when you went to the other classes, you didn't even find a shadow of one?"

This targeting was way too obvious.

Chen Zhi took off his armband, carefully folded it, and placed it on the desk.

He stroked his chin, frowning slightly, putting on a look of deep thought.

"I'm also pondering this question."

Chen Zhi sighed, a look of bitter distress on his face. "What does this show? This shows that the students in the other classes all abide by the rules and the school ethos is pure!"

He paused, pointed toward Class 10, and declared with righteous indignation:

"It seems Class 10 is the only place harboring filth and scum, a gathering spot for lawless thugs! As a member of the Disciplinary Committee, it is my duty and obligation to heavily crack down on this toxic behavior!"

Xu Min: "..."

Looking at Chen Zhi's self-righteous face, she found herself momentarily unable to come up with a single retort.

This guy was just so incredibly punchable.