Chapter 453: Please Step Up the Efforts
“You can just call me President. First things first, what’s the deal with you wanting to join us, Riya?”
The President wasn’t nearly as fiery as she was yelling at the members through the door earlier when chatting with Yuliya.
Her tone kept shifting like a chameleon, making it hard to figure out what she really meant.
Yuliya, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed, a bit cheeky yet sincere, and smiled as she said, “What do you think? I just want to join your news club, that’s all.”
Sticking to her guns, Yuliya was playing it cool.
“What’s your real reason for wanting to join the news club?”
“To read the news, obviously! What else would it be?”
The President’s ears perked up at her choice of words.
“Read the news,” not “report the news.” Interesting.
“Is that so? Well, that’s not really a problem,” the President nodded but pivoted, “But joining our news club also means you have corresponding duties, right? What can you offer us?”
Yuliya tilted her head, thought for a moment, then replied, “Just report whatever about me; as long as it’s not too ridiculous, I won’t make a fuss.”
“Alright, I understand. As an exchange, we’ll make sure to send you a copy of the newspaper ahead of time.”
“And joining the news club?”
“Nah, still not happening.”
Yuliya squinted a bit.
“Isn’t reading the newspaper kind of pointless?”
Is she really after the newspaper? Anyone can see the public copy, and the news is just the tip of the iceberg.
“But going along with our reporting isn’t pointless either. It’s our club’s right to uncover anything happening within the academy.”
“But if we go digging, the news club could still land in trouble.”
The President lazily replied, “The only ones who’ll be in trouble are those members. I won’t have any trouble at all.”
“…”
Yuliya fell silent for a moment, then clapped her hands and praised, “Alright, alright, you’re really impressive, President.”
“And Riya-chan, you truly live up to the title of ‘Excellence Freshman.’ It’s a mutual admiration society.”
This was a negotiation, and it had just been a testing phase.
Yuliya’s terms were utterly worthless because she couldn’t stop the news from being reported.
And the President’s reply was equally valueless; whether the newspaper was a few minutes early or late didn’t change much—it’s just a newspaper after all.
“By the way, senior, you really did a fantastic job on this doll; it’s quite lifelike.”
Yuliya suddenly exclaimed that absurd compliment and stepped forward to pinch the doll’s arm.
The doll clearly flinched, though slightly delayed, and couldn’t escape.
“This material must be the latest bionic material we’ve got in our academy, right? I think it was produced two years ago.”
The President froze: “How do you know that? Wait… Are you fishing for information?”
“Not fishing! I’m confident! By chance, I’ve met the esteemed Mentor Viktor who works on this research.”
Euphilia was in the mix, and it totally counted as Yuliya checking it out.
She could identify the material because she’d studied it closely.
When it came to applying this material, Yuliya could do better than this President.
The doll she made had nothing on Euphilia’s body.
“Senior, should I find a chance to visit Mentor Viktor again next time?”
“No need; Mentor Viktor is very busy.”
Now it was tough for the President to maintain her cool.
Based on the research time for the material, it could be deduced that this President had been in the academy for at least four years.
Then, pinpointing it to the Alchemy Academy, students under Mentor Viktor.
The number of fourth-year and above students was actually quite limited because most students could meet graduation requirements after three years, and true geniuses could graduate after two.
Those who made it to their third year were exceptionally talented and hard workers; those who lacked a bit of talent or diligence were gradually weeded out in the first two years.
Once they met graduation criteria, most students opted to leave the academy, while only a few chose to stay for further development.
Narrowing it down through this filtering process would make it much easier to find this President’s true identity.
At least from the President’s perspective, Riya would easily figure it out just like she did with those members.
In other words, the President was feeling threatened.
“I never expected I’d slip up here.”
Yuliya responded with a smile, “Just lucky, I guess.”
“No, I underestimated you. I still wasn’t truly cautious enough.”
The President sighed heavily, “So, let’s hear your specific requests.”
Yuliya settled back down with the doll opposite her.
“First, I’m serious about joining the news club. Additionally, I have some unique insights on the news that might benefit you.”
“Second, I hope to access the news club’s information channels, both the open and secret ones, as a core member.”
“Third, I’d like to preview some reports before they go out. If I find anything inappropriate, we can make appropriate amendments. Specifically regarding me, Inif, and Mentor Euphilia.”
“Wow, you’re small but your appetite is huge! Aside from the first request, the second and third are directly related to the lifeblood of my news club.”
“That’s true. But you don’t need to worry too much, President; I’m actually pretty lazy. Most of the time, I won’t bother with these things unless it’s crucial.”
“I can understand the requests regarding yourself and your roommate Inif, but why did you include Mentor Euphilia? We can’t just mess with things tied to the mentor.”
“Because I really, really like Mentor Euphilia!” Yuliya answered matter-of-factly, “You think just saying ‘we can’t’ is enough? I have to supervise!”
The President blinked and then burst out laughing, “Haha! How can you be so assertive? You think it’s your job to supervise Mentor Euphilia?”
“I’m happy to do it!”
“Okay, okay, we can consider these requests. But what can you bring to the news club in return?”
Even with the “threat,” the President wouldn’t just hand everything over without conditions; she’d take a step back but still demand her dues.
“The benefits I can bring to the news club, President, you should know better than I do, right? Plus, as a member, sometimes when there’s nothing going on, I could stir things up a bit.”
“Oh? Looks like Riya-chan knows her news.”
“Of course, I’m a pro! Speaking of which, I need to talk to you about your clickbait tactics.”
“What’s wrong with them?”
“My evaluation is that your headlines are utterly subpar; please step it up!”
“Step it up?”
“Yeah.” Yuliya pulled out a newspaper, “Like that report on the student council. The headline should be, ‘Shocking! The Student Council Actually Plotted Something Scandalous!'”
“Huh? Wait, what scandalous thing?”
“It’s the planning for the welcome party.”
“What’s scandalous about that?”
“It’s a party, at night—how can it be anything but scandalous?”
“…”
That single, simple sentence left the President speechless for two minutes.
Finally, she exclaimed, “I can’t believe we could play it like this?!”
