Chapter 24: Whoever Can’t Finish Is a Dog
Holy shit! This Rong Ziyin guy is toxic!
In that instant, every student who saw that line felt like they’d been kicked in the gut a million times over.
While many claim college coursework is far less demanding than high school, true academic stars all built their success through sheer time and dedication.
These guys rarely had time to hang out on forums, but this paper’s scope was so massive they couldn’t resist checking in. Rong Ziyin’s broad-brushed insult didn’t target them personally, but the smug, condescending tone was enough to make them explode.
After all, if the veterinary department hadn’t been reported, they wouldn’t have missed their submission opportunity due to collateral damage.
The only reason they didn’t beat him up on the spot was because Rong Ziyin wasn’t standing right in front of them.
As for the ordinary students who spent their time hanging out on forums, enjoying their youth, and playing games, they felt the insult directed squarely at them, instantly sensing a veiled offense.
The kicker? They couldn’t even find a counterargument.
【Academic Underachiever Li Big Face’s Resentment Level: 1000】
【Academic Underachiever Yu Congcong’s Anger Level: 1000】
【Top Student Zhang Fugui’s Speechless Level: 1000】…
A barrage of system notifications flooded Rong Ziyin’s mind.
The system was on edge, deeply worried that Rong Ziyin might get beaten to death by the mob after such widespread ridicule.
After all, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang’s verbal triumph over the scholars was partly due to the novel’s exaggerated portrayal, and partly because his opponents, being respectable gentlemen, couldn’t slap him in the face.
Just then, Rong Ziyin suddenly received a notification: “Skill activated: Greetings from the People of Zu’an. Your opponents have been intellectually impaired. Duration: five minutes. Host, seize this opportunity.”
What did that mean? Rong Ziyin was baffled, but the instant he refreshed the forum page, he saw the classmates who’d been hurling insults suddenly go berserk, utterly unable to defend themselves.
[Speechless Value: 1000]
So this “intelligence reduction” meant the other party lost all ability to form coherent sentences during an argument? That skill was downright despicable!
Rong Ziyin couldn’t help but chuckle.
But then, a reply suddenly popped up in the thread, giving Rong Ziyin a full taste of what “Intelligence Reduction” truly meant.
That person’s reply was absolutely brilliant!
“Some people claim to be awesome, but who really knows?”
They mimicked Rong Ziyin’s formatting, forcing awkward line breaks with a string of spaces afterward. To see the rest, you had to click “View Details.”
So Rong Ziyin clicked to read on. What followed was: “Got kicked out of the lab. Had to write the second half of my thesis in the village. So lame.”
System: Pfffahahahaha.
Everyone: …
This reply was utterly idiotic. Those already speechless from the skill were now speechless again, convinced this latest comment from the big dummy was probably a mole sent by Rong Ziyin.
Fucking pathetic. His research forced to halt, kicked out of the lab—yet Rong Ziyin got sent to the village and finished the second half of his thesis. Is this something an average academic ace could pull off?
Only a top-tier genius could pull that off!
“Damn, this idiot must be Rong Ziyin’s lackey.”
“Stupid friend, get lost!”
“Leg hair is gross.”
All the resentment originally directed at Rong Ziyin was now firmly redirected at this guy. He clearly intended to kick someone when they’re down, but ended up becoming the target himself.
【Trash Roommate 1’s Frustration Level: 2333】
System: …This system is way too half-assed! It’s been so long since I said I was cannon fodder, and I still don’t even have a proper name. Even that second-rate thug who steals e-bikes is called Zhang Big Dog!
Rong Ziyin stifled a laugh, finding the concept of Heaven’s Will genuinely amusing—even the system it created felt so human.
Meanwhile, back in Rong Ziyin’s dorm at the Agricultural University, Trash Roommate #1 was getting roasted by the other three.
“Are you an idiot?! I told you to trash him, not praise him!”
“I… I was insulting him!” The roommate was utterly confused. He thought he hadn’t said anything wrong! Yet somehow, after posting, it had turned into praise for Rong Ziyin.
Blame it on the profound complexity of the Chinese language.
Being this dumb was truly beyond redemption.
The other three decided to ignore him and logged onto the forum to bump their own posts instead.
But before the five-minute stupidity aura wore off, these three didn’t fare much better than the first guy.
Two of them fumbled at their keyboards, unable to string words together. The third, in a fit of impulsiveness, pulled off a reckless stunt. In the end, he miraculously copied Rong Ziyin’s previous format.
“Some people call themselves awesome, but if you’re really that awesome, then hurry up and get qualified to publish in core journals!”
“See! Now that’s a killer line!” the roommate gloated after posting.
Yet the other three sensed something off about the remark. Upon closer inspection, however, it rang true—utterly undeniable.
To publish in a core journal, Rong Ziyin must meet its stringent additional requirements.
With the core journal’s submission deadline just two months away, Rong Ziyin would need to publish three papers immediately within that timeframe.
All three papers required provincial-level or higher publication, yet even provincial journals took at least 1-3 months to process submissions.
This meant that even if Rong Ziyin had three papers ready right now, there was no guarantee he could meet the core journal’s final deadline. Not to mention he likely doesn’t even possess these three papers.
This is pure fantasy.
Someone couldn’t help but chuckle, but the room quickly fell silent again.
Because while the remark seemed harsh, it was still a broad-brush attack. After all, it wasn’t just Rong Ziyin who lost eligibility—it was every top student in the entire university.
“I just wanna know who this idiot is! What department is he in?!”
“Schadenfreude? What the hell is that?!”
The backlash hit hard, and Rong Ziyin’s roommate instantly drew a barrage of abuse.
“Seriously, these people are sick!” Inside the dorm room, all four of them couldn’t help but curse.
Finally, the dorm leader offered some consolation: “Go ahead and rant. It’s anonymous anyway.”
“Right! They’ll never trace it back!” With that thought, the four felt a bit more at ease.
What they didn’t know was that forums like the campus board, while claiming anonymity and seeming safe, were actually leaky sieves.
These forums typically have administrators, and even the moderators for each board have access to look up students’ real ID numbers. The faculty member responsible for setting up the forum also has the authority to view student rosters. Add to that the department chairs, some administrative staff higher up, and of course, the principal—needless to say.
Of course, that’s just the surface level. Humans are social creatures; where there are people, there are no true secrets.
Some moderators are students themselves, inevitably sharing information with friends, causing anonymity to dissolve. While teachers might not discuss it with students, they could vent about bizarre incidents to friends or family—another layer of dissemination.
So when you anonymously post something, it seems like only you know—quiet as a mouse. But in reality, dozens of people know exactly who you really are!
Rong Ziyin had a good relationship with the teacher in charge of cybersecurity at the administration office, so he occasionally heard some gossip from him.
For instance, the “Top Ten Campus Beauties” list was actually started by the girl ranked fifth. She ended up not securing the top spot herself, but instead helped elevate someone else.
Thus, during his freshman year, Rong Ziyin exercised caution and never posted on the campus forum. By his sophomore year, having learned the ropes, he stopped posting altogether. As for Rong Ziyin himself, he never once exploited his connection with the teacher to actively try and expose anyone’s true identity on the forum.
This time, however, it wasn’t Rong Ziyin trying to expose anyone—they exposed themselves.
This roommate had used his main account when replying. Meaning, the moment he posted his comments attacking Rong Ziyin, he had already revealed his identity.
The key point was that his mockery was incredibly broad and unfocused. Seeing this, Rong Ziyin couldn’t resist adding fuel to the fire.
“I know you’re just venting for me, bro, so you accidentally went off on a tangent. Everyone relax—the one who ultimately failed to submit their thesis is someone else entirely.”
This single sentence carried immense weight. The veterinary department had recently been embroiled in a major scandal over preferential admissions, and now the thesis allegations had also originated from that department. After reading Rong Ziyin’s reply, many immediately thought of another person—the wealthy second-generation student who had long been at odds with Rong Ziyin.
Like Rong Ziyin, his thesis was withheld. But compared to Rong Ziyin, the rich kid was definitely more suspicious. Rong Ziyin at least had a reputation as an academic star, winning the National Scholarship for three consecutive years. The rich kid, however, was different. For the first three years, everyone’s assessment of him boiled down to: rich, handsome, and nothing else.
Then suddenly in his senior year, he transformed into a top student—utterly baffling. He was also stripped of his admission exemption. Rong Ziyin lost his due to rumors, while the rich kid lost his for hiring someone to take exams for him, violating school regulations.
Though this incident didn’t spread widely, quite a few people knew about it. So it didn’t take long before someone called him out.
“So, could it be because of that rich kid?!”
“Makes sense. His grades were pretty terrible back then.”
The rich kid was suddenly dragged into the mess, furious beyond belief.
He was in the middle of arranging for his thesis to be published and wanted to hire a ghostwriter at the last minute. But with the tight deadline and topic restrictions, many writers demanded exorbitant fees, leaving him extremely frustrated.
The only place he found any relief was on the campus forum, where people were bashing Rong Ziyin. Little did he expect that the gossip would eventually come back to bite him.
Meanwhile, Rong Ziyin switched to the class group chat and tagged his roommate directly: “Wouldn’t it be better to spend less time on the forum and more time studying? You failed your make-up exam again, didn’t you?”
“!!! Damn it.” His roommate was furious.
The rest of the class group chat were equally livid, practically itching to beat up Rong Ziyin and his roommates.
The veterinary department was now the target of the entire school’s scorn. Not only was Rong Ziyin himself being slandered, but his roommate, as a fellow vet student, wasn’t standing united against the enemy—he was actually stabbing them in the back.
Instantly, the group erupted in a storm of criticism, hurling insults at him until he was covered in blood and guts.
But what good did cursing him do? On the forums, the veterinary department remained under fire, its reputation in tatters and unlikely to recover.
“This is so annoying! Who the hell reported us?!”
“Even if we knew, it wouldn’t matter—none of our papers can get published now!”
Classmates in the group chat debated frantically, searching for a solution.
But then, Rong Ziyin stepped forward and said, “No problem. Let’s just write three papers and submit them now.”
“Publish them now?” Everyone gasped.
Rong Ziyin: “Yes!”
With that, Rong Ziyin vanished.
Five minutes later, someone in the group shouted, “You guys! Check the forum! The top student posted under their real name!”
This person was a master of suspense, not even sharing a link.
Everyone had to navigate to the campus forum themselves. Instantly, they were all stunned.
Rong Ziyin truly lived up to his reputation as the Veterinary Medicine Department’s top sho
w-off. The new post’s title was outrageously arrogant—so much so that even from miles away, it made people want to punch him.
#RealAcademicStarsHoldHands—WhoeverCan’tFinishTheirPapersIsADog!#