High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 869 - 217: Seeing the Form Again

Chapter 869: Chapter 217: Seeing the Form Again

Grading the Christmas Mice’s work didn’t trouble Zheng Qing for long.

At a class meeting called later, Old Yao provided the relevant answer.

Because the next day was the annual Winter Hunt, the seventeenth week’s curriculum was scheduled for just four days, with Friday through the weekend, three days’ time, controlled by the First University Hunting Committee. The Committee would assign different tasks to students from the four colleges and some researchers from the research institutes, responsible for the "sweeping" operations in different areas.

"I really don’t want to participate."

Xin Fat Man lay on his desk, mumbling dejectedly. Of course, his voice was so faint that even Zheng Qing, less than a step away, had to strain his ears to barely hear it.

"But I remember you were quite positive about it before, weren’t you?" As the captain of the Absolution Hunting Team, Zheng Qing remembered clearly the status of his team members: "When we discussed the use of team funds a while ago, you insisted on buying Dragon Skin Hunting Gear for the Winter Hunt... Now that the team gear has been bought, and you’re telling me you don’t want to go, that’s fraud!"

"Definitely fraud," Zhang Ji Xin nodded repeatedly on the side.

"Damn fraud... That’s not the point," Xin Fat Man struggled to turn his head, his eyelids drooping as he looked at Zheng Qing, trying to appear sincere: "I did suggest that the Hunting Team participate in the Winter Hunt... but I always thought we’d be arranged to stay on campus, easily coasting through. Who would have thought we’d actually be sent out of school! It’s practically life-threatening."

He was referring to the arrangements for the Winter Hunt that had just been published these days.

As the Winter Hunt drew nearer, the preparatory work related to it had already started one after another. Among these, what garnered the most attention was the division of the hunting areas and the specific assignments for different grades and Hunting Teams.

As per tradition, this year’s hunting areas were still the same as in previous years, centering on First University’s campus, divided from far to near into three main sections.

The outermost area, deep into the depths of Silent Forest, was primarily handled by fourth-year veterans. They were nearing graduation and most had participated in more than one practical hunting internship, fully capable of handling the pressure of this level.

In the innermost part, within the First University campus, lower-grade students were in charge. According to the different danger levels of the areas, different grades were assigned different tasks. For example, some first-year students were responsible for clearing potential pests in the Pet Garden — and the threat level of these "pests" might only be a tad stronger than the fleas on cats and dogs. In contrast, some third-year students would need to deal with the legendary cemetery deep within the school, rumoured to be often disturbed by resentful Earth-bound Spirits.

Caught between the outermost and innermost layers were the middle areas.

These included part of Silent River’s waterways, ponds, as well as some regions on the fringe of Silent Forest.

According to this year’s Winter Hunt outline released by the school, these areas were the responsibility of various Hunting Teams registered with the school — naturally including Absolution, this freshly formed team that was less than three months old.

"Hm, indeed." Zhang Ji Xin seemed to remember something and added, "My brother also said a few days ago that this year’s personnel distribution is different from previous years... At least new student teams weren’t arranged in the middle area in the past."

"If the school has arranged it this way, they must have fully assessed the related risks, so don’t be so pessimistic," Zheng Qing consoled, patting the broad back of the fat boy, and said with a smile, "The area we’re responsible for is said to only have a few Star Apes, preparing a few Binding Spells will be completely fine. After all, we are the Hunting Team that took first place in the newcomer’s competition, we can surely handle a few apes!"

"It’s not the Star Apes’ problem," Xin Fat Man’s voice grew even more despondent. "I was planning to slack off during the winter hunt, hide somewhere on the lawn to do practice questions. I even prepared the heating talismans... Isn’t the final exam coming up? Last-minute cramming might not be ideal but it’s still something... But if we get assigned to an off-campus area, there’s absolutely no chance to sneak in any question-solving."

"So, those few inferior heating talismans I left on the desk in the dorm the other day, you took them?" Zheng Qing’s smile faded from his lips, uncertain whether he should jab this fatty hard with the end of a brush.

Talking about slacking off with such brazen righteousness and confidence, only this guy with an incredibly thick face could pull it off!

"You were going to throw them away anyway, I was just recycling them," Xin Fat Man evidently realized he had misspoken, his confidence faltering a bit.

"Next time something like this happens, you could totally get him to draw you standard-level talismans... Pay him with a few sheets of Blank Charm Paper and throw in a couple of chicken legs, and it’s a done deal," Xiao Xiao suddenly broke the silence and chimed in. "Using inferior talisman... Aren’t you afraid that while doing your practice problems, the talisman paper might explode and burn up all your questions?"

Zheng Qing’s mouth twitched, wanting to argue, but then he suddenly realized that the Doctor’s point made quite a bit of sense.

Considering his own personality, if Fat Man tried to bribe him with chicken legs to help draw a few heating talismans, he’d probably not refuse.

While he was wrestling with this thought, from the podium came the familiar sound of Professor Yao knocking on the blackboard.

"Quiet down, everyone quiet down," the Professor stretched his voice, calling out loudly, "After class... I mean, after the meeting ends, you can discuss tomorrow’s matters."

"Let’s wrap up today’s official business now."

"Here are some forms, take one each, fill them out diligently, and hand them back to me... today."

With that, Professor Yao grabbed several letter-sized sheets of paper, rustling them in mid-air.

The attention of everyone below was captivated by those sheets, slowly quieting down.

The Professor nodded in satisfaction and added, "These forms include a description of the school’s winter hunt activity, a declaration of your rights, a letter of authorization for school work... um, and also the specific details of which area you’ll be in, which pests you’ll be clearing, where you’ll be running to, and so on for you to sign off on."

"Although these are just some minor procedural details, the necessary processes still have to be followed. It’s a matter of responsibility to everyone."

He continued to explain on the podium, while Tang Dun and Jiang Yu, each holding a stack of forms, started to distribute them in order from front to back.

Before long, Li Meng, who was the first to receive all the forms, suddenly stood up, raising a pale yellow strip of paper about an inch wide and a foot long, curiously asking, "Professor, what is this form for?"

Old Yao glanced at it and oh’d in realization, "Oh, that’s the rating sheet for the mice that were pulling the pumpkin carts, delivering your Christmas presents yesterday... There are a total of twenty rating dimensions, with a maximum of five points and a minimum of one point, a perfect score being one hundred points."