Harbor City No. 1 High School, Grand Auditorium, VIP Seats.
"Hmm?"
"Where are Ethan Chen and his team heading? There's no badge marked over there," Principal Luke muttered, curious despite having just celebrated defeating an old rival. The video had no sound, only two commentators describing the scene, so Luke had no idea of Ethan's purpose.
"That's a wolf's den!" Ian Cao said, glancing at Luke on his right. "Luke, didn't you look at the map the organizers sent us?" He pointed at his wristband, speaking lightly. Losing a single Marrow Cleansing Pill worth two hundred thousand was nothing in the grand scheme of his many victories—hardly a scratch.
Luke glanced at the screen: "I didn't check… but isn't there a map there?"
"Is it not the same?"
Ian Cao blinked: "The map is the same."
"But the map on your screen is what the contestants see."
"The one the organizers sent us is a top-down, God's-eye-view version." He opened the map on his wristband and pointed to a red circle in Ethan's forward path. The words were clear:
Wolf's Den (Quantity: 20)!
…
Tier 1 Spirit Realm – Forest of Direwolves – Ethan Chen's Squad
"Ethan, any battle plans?" Moret asked.
"Does an ambush count?" Ethan thought for a moment, replying seriously.
A battle plan? There wasn't one. After days of solo fights in Crystal Space, Ethan had long grown accustomed to fighting without teammates. Ambushing was the only strategy he could come up with.
Moret: "..."
"Anyway, if we can ambush, we do. If not, take out the other two first, then converge on Musashi."
"Only by eliminating Takeshi Musashi first will I have a chance to win!" Ethan's eyes were resolute.
Seeing Ethan's determined and pure gaze, Moret sighed: "Looks like you really need that one million. I thought you were joking at first."
Ethan's mouth twitched, but he said nothing. Perhaps this was the gap in human empathy—the inability to share another's joy or sorrow.
In Liang City, Moret's family was quite wealthy. Fifty thousand, something ordinary people spent most of their lives saving, sounded like pocket change to him.
An idea suddenly struck Ethan: "How about you transfer me one million?"
"After I become a strong martial artist, I'll pay you back?"
Moret shook his head awkwardly: "Ethan, it's not that I don't want to lend you money."
"It's just that… well, all those so-called rich second-generation kids in Hongzhi Class don't carry cash."
"What we have are good education and resources." He paused, worried Ethan might not believe him, then continued: "The old teaching methods said raise boys frugally, girls lavishly. Now it's both combined."
"Regardless of gender, we get full cultivation and resources, but no spending money."
"To avoid developing bad habits."
"Don't think I'm living the high life. I'm exhausted every day. Since I can remember, I've never rested."
"Either training or on the way to training," Moret said, sighing lightly. "Otherwise, do you think I'd hold Liang City's No.1 title in comprehensive strength?"
"So I truly have no money!" Seeing Ethan's slightly disdainful look, as if saying, "You're making excuses," he quickly added: "I'm not lying! Who would lie for a million?"
Ethan: +1 disdain.
"If you really need money, I can take you to see my dad. With your talent, he'd probably invest in you."
"But let me be clear: if you get money, there's always a return expected."
"Anything we ask you to do for our family in the future cannot be refused."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch, you know."
Ethan nodded: "I'll let you know if it's needed."
Seeking investment was a last resort. Usually, financiers cultivated their own people. For an outsider like Ethan, getting resources would be difficult, and repayment obligations could be huge.
No wonder these rich kids in Hongzhi Class were so easy to get along with—they had no money themselves. All they had were family-provided teachers and resources. And what they did was basically the same: train, train, and train some more!
"By the way…"
"Are we on the wrong path?" Liu Bo, who had been silent, finally spoke, pointing at the wristband map.
"Look, this is our current location." He pinched to zoom out the map.
"Empty?" Ethan and Moret exchanged glances, shocked.
They had assumed it was nearby and didn't check the map. Now they were stunned. This spot had no markings. No badge here—why would Musashi come? Whether to find or steal badges, there was no reason for him to be here.
"Oh no!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed.
"We've been tricked!"
No sooner had he spoken than dozens of footsteps sounded. Three-meter-tall beast wolves emerged from behind trees, eyes fierce, surrounding the trio.
Moret and Liu Bo exchanged a glance and immediately understood. They stopped and drew their weapons.
A trap!
"The three we met… half of what they said was true, half false."
"Seeing Musashi is definitely true—that happened before we arrived."
"But Musashi's location is definitely not this path!" Ethan drew his sword and said, backing up-to-back with his companions.
"They saw my badge, which is why they pointed us this way," Ethan said, glancing around: "Twenty of them!"
"A wolf's den, indeed!"
"It seems they want these beast wolves to take us out first, then collect the badges later."
"A perfect drive the tiger out to swallow the wolf strategy!"
Twenty wolves, ten fewer than in Crystal Space, but each far stronger. And this time, Ethan was not fighting alone; Moret and Liu Bo couldn't be eliminated if they wanted to proceed to the next round.
He continued solemnly: "Do not bleed!"
"While observing the three earlier, I noticed something: these beast wolves go berserk when they see blood."
"And they mostly attack with the spikes on their hands, rarely biting. Watch their hands closely!"
Facing twenty beast wolves of varying strength, even Ethan could not afford the slightest carelessness. To prevent Moret and Liu Bo from knowing about Vexfang Wolves, he could only explain their characteristics logically. If either were injured, twenty berserk wolves would be impossible to handle in time.
Moret and Liu Bo nodded. Though amazed at Ethan's analytical ability, there was no time to ponder.
…
Harbor City No. 1 High School, Grand Auditorium, General Seats.
"Look!"
"How did this Liang City Squad get to the wolf's den?!"
"Looks like their journey is ending early!" The two commentators exclaimed like discovering treasure.
"Indeed, they're surrounded!"
"They probably wandered off without navigation. But this is the end of the road!"
"Exactly! They'll definitely be eliminated. Against twenty native wolves, only our senior, Kathy Zhou, could stand a chance!"
The director, well aware of audience interest, quickly enlarged Ethan's squad on the screen.
VIP-seat Luke, hearing the crowd's commentary, instantly became uneasy. Furrowing his brow, he muttered: "What's happening here?"
"Ethan Chen and his team haven't been eliminated in the first round, have they?!"
Beside him, Ian Cao was also stunned, smiling wryly: "Well, it seems this Marrow Cleansing Pill isn't going to be sent out…"