Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time
Chapter 89: Operation Zapbutt

Chapter 89: Operation Zapbutt

Back in the present, Han Yu sprinkled a tiny bit of eel essence—a shimmering blue powder—into the waistband of Shen Tu’s ceremonial underpants. It had been acquired by the rats from one of the house of some disciple. It would activate when worn, delivering a mild but persistent jolt every time the wearer channeled qi or vital energy below the waist.

Subtle. Elegant. Deeply uncomfortable.

Noodle handed him a tiny pin, which Han Yu used to pin the waistband just slightly tighter than usual.

"This is what we call poetic justice," Han Yu whispered. "Or at least... mildly zappy pants."

"Squeeee!" General Chitterfang saluted.

Elsewhere: Dormitory Nine – Common Room

Fatty Kui was teaching the other new servants the art of "Sleeping with Your Eyes Open So You Don’t Get Assigned Night Shift." It was a time-honored tradition that required an uncomfortable neck angle and the ability to fake light snoring.

This was a skill he had picked up back in his home town as he was often asked to do night duty to watch for any foxes that might come steal thier chickens. And now he intended to pass it on to keep the legacy alive.

A few of the children were struggling.

"No, no," Kui scolded, "you gotta let the drool flow naturally. That’s how they know you’re in a ’deep’ sleep."

Suddenly, a whistle echoed from the floorboards. Fatty Kui’s ears perked up. "Rat code!"

Kui leaned down and pressed his ear to the crack in the floor.

"’Operation Zapbutt completed successfully,’" he translated... Somehow.

Cheers erupted. Someone passed around pickled turnip slices in celebration. It was the nicest thing anyone had eaten all week.

Later That Evening: Shen Tu’s Quarters

The screams echoed across the servant quarters, bouncing between buildings like joyful thunder.

"WHO CURSED MY PANTS?!"

Han Yu and Kui sipped weak tea from a shared bowl, both looking just confused enough to be innocent.

"Maybe he sat on a lightning snake," Han Yu offered.

Kui shook his head solemnly. "Tragic. Happens all the time."

General Chitterfang peeked out of Han Yu’s sleeve and gave a single victorious squeak.

Han Yu leaned back on his mat, folding his arms behind his head. "One down."

"Who’s next?" Kui asked.

"Oh, I’ve got a list," Han Yu said, eyes twinkling with petty vengeance. "But first..."

He grimaced and scratched at his shoulder. "Tomorrow’s latrine duty again."

Noodle popped out of a boot, holding a nose plug like a trophy.

"At least we’re prepared."

A few days passed after Shen Tu had been taught a lesson. The man believed that he had been cursed and was staying away from the servant quarters, feeling afraid that he might just die.

This made Han Yu’s days a bit easier and he didn’t have to do any extra tasks. Zhen Sui also seemed to be missing, gone god knows where. But Han Yu didn’t care about that, he was just happy that he could rest well at night.

Unfortunately, today was not that night.

Han Yu awoke in the middle of it with renewed purpose.

Not because he was particularly motivated.

But because the spirit rat was slapping his face with a tiny fish. Probably an anchovy.

"Wh—what is this? Breakfast? Bribe? Revenge?" Han Yu looked at General Chitterfang who was squeaking at him and gesturing rather animatedly.

A short while later, Han Yu found himself heading on a rather strange mission.

The stone beneath the sect was colder at night, damp and musky. A faint, rhythmic dripping echoed through a maze of tunnels no human had ever charted—though several had died trying.

Han Yu, hunched over, dirty, and clutching a half-used broom like a weapon, muttered under his breath.

"I must be insane. I followed a rat into a hole in the wall. This is how horror stories start. I’m either going to find treasure... or end up on a missing persons wall made out of bamboo slips."

The rat had brought Han Yu to a rather remote corner of the sect. It wasn’t even in the Servant’s living area that Han Yu was assigned to but the servant area that was located between the Alchemy and Formation Peaks.

Han Yu had never come this far alone and especially not here. To get here, he had to slide down a narrow ridge that connected the two peaks and then lift a rather heavy rock that he needed Fatty Kui’s help to lift.

Ahead of him, General Chitterfang waddled confidently through the tunnel, his crooked ear twitching like a dowsing rod.

Behind Han Yu, Fatty Kui’s voice echoed faintly from the surface. Han Yu was not so dumb as to head out alone into a tiny hole. He had heard what happened to adventueruers that went spelunking and never came out.

While he was sure Fatty Kui was too fat to rescue him in this narrow burrow, he at least hoped that the boy would be able to get help when needed.

"Bro, are you sure it’s a rat tunnel and not a sewer?" Fatty Kui asked.

Han Yu didn’t reply. He was too focused on not stepping in anything that squelched.

Fifteen Minutes Later

The tunnel opened into a surprisingly vast cavern. Jagged stones arched above like the ribs of a fossilized beast, and in the center, pulsing with soft blue light, was a shallow pool no bigger than a washtub.

Han Yu stared. "That’s..."

General Chitterfang stood at the edge of the glowing liquid like a sacred priest guarding a relic.

"This," Han Yu whispered, "is either spirit-infused enlightenment water... or glowing rat pee."

But he felt it—the qi. It was dense, almost tangible. The air was thick with spiritual energy, more potent than anything he’d felt since joining the sect. His skin tingled just being near it. Even if Han Yu couldn’t use qi yet, he could still sense it clearly due to its sheer concentration.

He might not have seen anything like this before, but he had heard many stories about fortunate encounters where the protagonist would stumble onto mystical pools of water.