After Helping the Protagonist Escape From a Madman, I Became His Target [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 12

Keeping his word, Shen Luyang released Peng Jun’s arm and stood back with a display of extreme courtesy, waiting for them to make their move.

The four boys were caught off guard by Shen Luyang’s sudden transformation. They frantically exchanged glances, with most of their looks landing on Li Shenyu. Seeing them hesitate, Shen Luyang offered a considerate alternative.

“If you boys feel awkward hitting me because I’m older, then just study hard and we’ll act as if today never happened. In class, we’ll be a harmonious teacher-student pair, and outside of class, we’ll coexist in peace and—”

“We agree,” Li Shenyu interrupted, his eyes locked on Shen Luyang. “How do we do this?”

Shen Luyang maintained his humble stance, gesturing for them to lead. “You decide the rules.”

Li Shenyu’s gaze was steady. “We aim for your face. You… aim for our backs.”

The boys’ logic was simple: if they pinned him down face-to-face, their superior numbers gave them the advantage. At least one of them was bound to land a hit on his face. Shen Luyang nodded in agreement, casually stretching his right wrist with a friendly smile still plastered on his face.

Li Shenyu asked, “Starting now?”

Shen Luyang blinked and couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a subtle step forward. “Let me give you boys a lesson. When you’ve confirmed you’re playing for keeps…”

Before he even finished the sentence, he suddenly reached out and gripped Xiang Lei’s shoulder. Before the boy could react, Shen Luyang applied a clever bit of leverage and squeezed.

Xiang Lei, completely defenseless, had his arm popped right out of its socket. The 1.8-meter-tall boy let out a shriek like a boiling tea kettle as tears began to stream.

Shen Luyang gave his back a quick pat, then with a sharp crack, popped the shoulder back into place. He continued as if nothing had happened: “—never give your opponent time to prepare. Otherwise…”

A gust of wind from a punch came from his left. Without even turning his head, Shen Luyang grabbed the still-wailing Xiang Lei by the collar and shoved him toward the left.

Peng Jun hadn’t expected such a move. He tried to pull back his punch in a panic, but his momentum was too great. The two “brothers” slammed into each other with the passion of long-lost relatives reunited after a decade.

Deeply “moved” by the sight, Shen Luyang considerately delivered a slap to Peng Jun’s back.

Two out.

Ding Yifan and Li Shenyu quickly moved to flank Shen Luyang. Shen Luyang took a half-step back until his spine touched the wall. Having seen the fate of Peng Jun and Xiang Lei, the two boys swallowed hard, searching for an opening under immense pressure.

Shen Luyang checked the time on his wrist and thought of the soy milk in his bag. He urged them on: “Quick, quick, quick. My soy milk is going to get cold.”

It was a blatant provocation.

Ding Yifan was the first to snap. He lunged from behind, his fists swinging with an impressive, whistling force. Shen Luyang could tell that this most unassuming member of the group had actually had some training.

But it didn’t matter. They were all the same to him.

Meanwhile, Li Shenyu sprinted directly toward the opening created when Shen Luyang turned to block Ding Yifan. His goal was clear. The moment Shen Luyang hurriedly turned his head, Li Shenyu swung.

Now, Ding Yifan had a tuft of green hair hidden under his top layer of black hair. Usually, it stayed covered, but with the help of the north wind, his black hair took flight, leaving the green tuft to wave proudly in front of Shen Luyang’s face…

Shen Luyang felt he must truly be getting old, because he couldn’t grasp the aesthetics of modern high schoolers. He didn’t find the hairstyle cool; he just found it hilarious. Under normal circumstances, he would have held it in, but as a teacher in this dire, high-stakes situation—

Shen Luyang burst out laughing.

Ding Yifan’s unstoppable momentum evaporated the moment he heard that laugh. He froze, a look of pure humiliation washing over his face. He let out a roar of tragic indignation and swung his arm with enough force to kill.

Unfortunately, his aim was off.

The movement was too slow and telegraphed. Shen Luyang judged exactly what he was doing while the arm was still miles away and dodged with ease. He ignored the “Green Tuft” because he predicted that within three seconds, the boy’s momentum would force his chin to kiss the earth.

Instead of dodging backward, Shen Luyang turned and met Li Shenyu head-on, raising an arm to block.

Not bad, kid, he thought as his arm went slightly numb from the impact.

Li Shenyu realized his hit had failed and immediately backed off, giving Shen Luyang no chance to touch his back. On his way to chase Li Shenyu, Shen Luyang delivered a quick slap to the “dirt-eating” Ding Yifan so the boy could finish his meal in peace.

In the narrow alley, Shen Luyang and Li Shenyu stood less than three meters apart, the tension between them ready to ignite at a moment’s notice. Just as the atmosphere reached a breaking point, a jarring, cackling laugh erupted from behind Shen Luyang.

“Yo! Who’s this? Isn’t this our Jun-jun? Why do you look like such a loser? Hahahaha!”

Even without turning around, Shen Luyang could tell from Li Shenyu’s facial expression and that “chicken-cackle” laughter that a professional gang of hoodlums had just arrived. And apparently, they had a history with Peng Jun.

Back in his high school days, if you hadn’t gotten into a brawl with a brainless group of punks like this, you couldn’t call yourself a “tough guy.”

He beckoned Li Shenyu over and then turned around.

Peng Jun, Xiang Lei, and Ding Yifan were now standing together, their faces grim with the tension of facing a major enemy. As expected, the opposing lineup was far more “luxurious” than their recently squabbling group of five. There were about a dozen of them—all in their early twenties.

The leader looked fierce, with slanted eyebrows and thin lips. He was about the same height as Shen Luyang and dressed in a mismatch of “luxury” street brands. A trendy young man, indeed. He clearly recognized Peng Jun’s group and immediately spotted Shen Luyang as the new face.

He spoke with a shrill, piercing voice: “So, you guys found a helper this time?”

Seeing the solemn expressions on the four boys, Shen Luyang didn’t wait for them to respond. He stepped forward with a smile. “Hello. I’m Student Peng Jun’s guardian. Do you know my kid?”

Peng Jun’s face went stiff. He glared at Shen Luyang, looking embarrassed as he hissed in a low voice, “What are you talking about?!”

Shen Luyang patted his arm. “Are these your good friends?”

Peng Jun pressed his lips thin. After a moment of hesitation, he muttered, “Idiots from the vocational school.”

Tu Bohao rubbed his freshly dyed red buzz cut. The barber’s skill seemed subpar, as even his scalp was stained red. He curled the left side of his mouth into a sneer and sized Shen Luyang up. “Guardian? Looks more like a hired thug to me!”

Shen Luyang nodded happily. “I really don’t look my age, do I?”

Peng Jun: “…”

Li Shenyu walked over to stand by them. He looked at Tu Bohao but addressed Shen Luyang: “You should go. This has nothing to do with you.”

Shen Luyang pulled out his phone. “I’m touched that you’re being so considerate, but didn’t you learn in elementary school? If you run into trouble, find the police.”

He began to dial 110.

A cross-eyed lackey next to Tu Bohao spotted it and shouted, “B-Boss! He’s… he’s c-calling the p-police!”

True to their “professional” reputation, four lackeys immediately lunged from the wings, wielding dangerous-looking pipes. Their faces screamed, “I’m a villain,” as they charged forward.

Shen Luyang tossed his phone to Li Shenyu with a short instruction—”Call them”—and met the charge empty-handed. Having just warmed up with Peng Jun’s group, Shen Luyang was in top form. He targeted the one with the steel pipe, ducked low to dodge a swing, and sent the man flying with a kick as he snatched the weapon.

With his students behind him, he didn’t use his full strength; otherwise, that kick would have made the guy cough up blood. Without much effort, he dispatched the four of them. He glanced back to see Li Shenyu on the phone, giving the police their location.

Tu Bohao spat on the ground and stepped forward, letting out a roar intended to sound like a legendary hero’s return: “D—n it!”

Shen Luyang went, “Wow.”

As an Alpha, he could clearly see the brownish pheromones exploding from Tu Bohao. It was like a septic tank had burst, the scent surging toward them.

Li Shenyu grabbed Shen Luyang’s arm, his voice urgent: “He’s a high-level Alpha! Run!”

Shen Luyang didn’t quite understand why “high-level Alphas” were supposed to be so impressive, but seeing Li Shenyu’s panic, he allowed himself to be pulled back a few steps. His mouth, however, didn’t stop: “You four should never release your pheromones like that. It looks incredibly stupid.”

Peng Jun didn’t have time for the nonsense. He grabbed Shen Luyang’s other arm and began to sprint away. Tu Bohao chased after them, his pheromones dropping like a hammer. Seeing they couldn’t outrun it, the four boys braced themselves. The suppression of a high-level Alpha was a mental and physical blow—even for rebellious teens, this was their first time facing something like this. They were naturally terrified.

Shen Luyang still hadn’t mastered the art of releasing pheromones, but he suddenly felt a surge of heat at the back of his neck. The scent of hot cocoa rapidly expanded, colliding head-on with Tu Bohao’s pheromones.

And then… nothing happened.

Tu Bohao’s arrogant face was suddenly replaced by a look of sheer terror. It was as if he had seen something horrifying. He stumbled back a few steps, his legs shaking as if he’d been electrocuted, before he tripped over his own feet and collapsed. He wiped his mouth; it was covered in a nosebleed.

Peng Jun’s resolve hadn’t even had time to fully manifest before he looked at the fallen Tu Bohao with a look that said, Are you for real?

The lackeys behind him were equally confused. They froze for a few seconds before scrambling to help him up. But Tu Bohao was no longer coherent. He screamed at anyone who touched him, his face smeared with blood as he crawled away from them in a panic.

Shen Luyang quickly called an ambulance and asked Ding Yifan, “Does this student have some kind of underlying medical condition?”

Ding Yifan looked bewildered. “…Probably not.”

In Tu Bohao’s perspective, the moment his pheromones touched Shen Luyang’s, it was like a match hitting gasoline. Before he could even see the source, he was incinerated. Pheromones are connected to an Alpha’s most fragile part—the gland. His psyche had been damaged, and he had temporarily lost his sanity.

The mysterious, terrifying pheromones hidden beneath the hot cocoa were like a beast guarding a treasure; anyone who dared offend it would be met with a cruel, lethal strike.

The scene turned around completely because of the enemy leader’s sudden collapse. By the time the police and ambulance arrived, Tu Bohao was still babbling incoherently. It took the police five tries to get his name out of him, followed by a confession about his recent crimes at a nearby school.

As witnesses and participants, Shen Luyang and the boys were taken in for questioning. Shen Luyang learned the history: the boys had long been at odds with Tu Bohao, but the power gap and Li Shenyu’s restraint had kept things quiet. The spark this time was Xiang Lei taking a computer at an internet cafe over the weekend, leading to a challenge. The group had declined under Li Shenyu’s advice, leading to today’s ambush.

After the statements, Shen Luyang, Zong Weiqing, and Director Zhu took the four students back.

“Reprimands! Serious reprimands are in order!” Zhu Weifeng said with a cold face. “If Teacher Shen hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened? Everyone knows how dangerous that vocational school is! Someone was just stabbed and hospitalized a few days ago!”

Zong Weiqing was equally angry, lecturing the four of them. Only Shen Luyang was thinking about Tu Bohao’s condition. He was the only one who had been in constant pheromone contact with the guy. The police had tested his pheromones, and the results were clear: standard, ordinary-level pheromones.

Theoretically, Tu Bohao’s breakdown could have nothing to do with him.

[Stop guessing, Luyang. It was Teacher Xie.]

Shen Luyang: What Teacher Xie? Was he there just now?

[He was, and he wasn’t.]

[To be precise, his pheromones were there, but he wasn’t.]

Shen Luyang: Can you make that simpler, Tongtong?

[I was offline yesterday, so I’m not sure exactly what method Teacher Xie used. In short, through some form of intimacy, he left his mark on you.]

[The effect: when other high-level Alphas try to attack you with pheromones, they have to get past the S-class wall first. Unless they’re also S-class, they’ll just suffer a backlash and turn into a temporary idiot.]

[It’s a unique ability of S-class Alphas.]

Shen Luyang tried to recall yesterday’s events, but he couldn’t pin down when it would have happened. His brain had been a mess.

Shen Luyang: What happened to Tu Bohao then?

[With such blatant malice in his scent, Teacher Xie’s pheromones were very angry. The consequences were severe.]

[To put it simply, it’s like a handgun trying to take on a nuclear bomb.]

Shen Luyang’s heart skipped. Crap, nobody died, right?

[Teacher Xie wouldn’t use your hand to kill someone.]

[That unlucky guy will just be unable to care for himself for a while. In the future, he probably won’t even be able to release pheromones when he sees you.]

[That S-class security, Luyang! Tell me, is your heart fluttering?]

A level-one alarm went off in Shen Luyang’s head. He corrected the System solemnly: “What are you talking about?” I’m straight!

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