A steel great wall slithered like a long dragon across the barren wasteland. Its stalwart body enveloped a landscape of staggered steel towers and a dense network of buildings and alleys, packed as tightly as marching ants.
A nose-to-tail convoy of armored vehicles emerged from heavily blockaded tunnels in the city wall. Like sesame seeds, they crawled toward the sky-blotting sandstorm, their forms vanishing into the haze of yellow sky and barren earth in moments.
CRUNCH...
The crunch of sand and gravel under the tires seemed to echo right beside his ear. Jiang Qiu's head gave a sudden throb. He looked again through the sand-dusted glass window. A row of low brick piles rushed into view, and houses crushed by toppled telephone poles stretched along the cracked road toward the overcast horizon—this was Qingmu Town.
"Huh, this place looks pretty big. It used to be a county, right?"
Someone spoke up, and another person immediately chimed in, "Of course it was. I looked it up before we came. Before the Secret Realms re-emerged, this place had a booming economy. It had huge shopping malls, amusement parks, even a 4A-rated tourist zone. The Central Street we're heading to was an especially prosperous area, with staggered high-rises and a commercial plaza!"
"What's the point of talking about that? It's just a pile of ruins now..."
Amid the chatter, the broken walls receded in Jiang Qiu's vision, giving way to a long, fractured, gray-blue street.
At an intersection, he watched the other armored vehicles turn and drive away. After another dozen or so minutes of bumpy travel, he grabbed his long spear and jumped out the door.
Before him, two-thirds of the buildings along the entire street had collapsed. Blades of grass pushed up through chunks of concrete, and evergreen vines crawled over rebar to cover the rooftops. Falling leaves drifted down like yellow snow.
RUMBLE...
The armored vehicle left them behind, the roar of its engine fading into the distance after it rounded a corner.
"Hey... Brother Xie."
Someone suddenly called out. Jiang Qiu turned his head just in time to see Xie Kuang, a long spear slung over his shoulder, walking alone into a narrow street piled with concrete debris. With his helmet, Arm Guards, and Light Armor, he looked every bit the maverick soldier.
A few students subconsciously glanced at Jiang Qiu. Two of them hesitated for a moment, then, without a word, gritted their teeth, clenched their fists, and ran after Xie Kuang.
'They had spent the last few days badmouthing Jiang Qiu and Wang Guanjia in front of Xie Kuang. Now, even looking at them made their skin crawl and their hearts race. It was better to just keep following Brother Xie...'
The three of them vanished from sight, and the gazes of the remaining fifteen people all fell on Jiang Qiu.
"The Recording Rings we were just issued should be working. Check them. We can still get them replaced by the teachers before the operation begins." Ignoring the strange looks in their eyes, Jiang Qiu slowly raised his left hand, revealing a touchscreen bracelet clasped around his wrist. "Can you swipe the screen? Does it have the [SOS], [Withdraw], and [Kill Data] functions?"
Everyone fumbled with their rings for a moment before nodding in response.
"Remember this. [SOS] sends your location to nearby students and issues a distress call. [Withdraw] will have a teacher come pick you up—if you're in mortal danger, don't hesitate to use it. The last one records the number of Demon Beasts you kill. You can see the data yourselves. It's all voice-activated."
After explaining the basic functions of the Recording Ring as required, Jiang Qiu scanned the group. They were a mixed bag. Some wore Light Armor that covered their heads and knees, while others had nothing more than a heart-protecting mirror on their chests.
"For the first day, don't spread out. Stick close and follow me. We need to find a place to hole up."
With that, Jiang Qiu turned to leave, but just then, someone in the crowd spoke up softly, "Jiang... Brother Jiang, aren't we going to do anything about Xie Kuang and his group?"
"They're not my responsibility."
Without looking back, Jiang Qiu strode toward the distant plaza.
The straggling students were pulled along in his wake. The student who had just spoken paused for a second before quickly running to catch up at the rear of the group.
...
The sun gradually set in the west. Dim beams of light pierced through the high windows of the second floor, falling upon bent shelves and scattered cardboard boxes, blurring the line between light and shadow.
CLICK.
Jiang Qiu gently pushed open a large, rusted door, and dust billowed into his nostrils with the rush of air.
"This little supermarket isn't bad. The warehouse walls can block the wind, so it won't be too cold at night..."
As he muttered to himself, Jiang Qiu was about to step inside when a loud crash came from the warehouse on the other side. 'A Demon Beast?!'
His brow furrowed. With a tap of his Cold Spear on the ground, he blurred into motion. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. 'Payday!'
...
BANG!
"A Demon Beast?!"
Just as he stepped into a warehouse, Zhang Shan was tackled to the ground by a shadowy figure the size of a leopard. At the last possible second, he thrust his spear horizontally in front of his head, blocking the creature's bone-chilling fangs!
His pupils contracted as he finally got a clear look at what was pinning him down.
It had a pair of huge, pitch-black eyes, and the smooth top of its head glinted with the cold light of armored scales. Its crocodile-like jaws looked ready to snap the harder-than-iron shaft of his spear in two!
The claws on its hind legs had pinned both his knees, and he couldn't muster any strength!
At that moment, Li Si, who was closest to the action, had his brows locked in a frown and his eyes wide with shock.
A Low Tier Demon Beast—an Iron Armor Lizard!
It was the size of a wolf and was clawing at Zhang Shan's Chest Armor like a rabid, man-eating beast. The ear-piercing scraping sound made Li Si's heart seize up, and the sight of the two figures twisting and grappling made his spear tip waver.
"Li Si, what the fuck are you waiting for? Stab it!"
The shout made Li Si's heart race. With a clatter of his teeth, he thrust with all his might. There was a dull THUD as the spearhead glanced off the Iron Armor Lizard's back, kicking up a shower of sparks.
"!!!"
The attack only enraged the Iron Armor Lizard further. It clawed and bit more frantically, crushing the air from Zhang Shan's lungs and scaring Li Si so badly his heart nearly stopped.
'The Iron Armor Lizard really is just like they said in the general ed course—the scales on its back are like a sheet of iron armor!'
More and more students heard the commotion and came running over, only to find Zhang Shan—one of the top five students in terms of overall combat strength—pinned down by one of the most common Low Level beasts from their textbooks, an Iron Armor Lizard!
Even Wang Guanjia, who had circled around with his spear ready, couldn't help but hold his breath and frown, a conflicted light swirling in his tiger-like eyes.
The Iron Armor Lizard's back was its only hard part. If you could just flip it over and stab its heart, it would die instantly. Every student present had the ability to do that.
And even with a back like iron armor, someone who had mastered even a fraction of Hidden Force could try to break through its defense directly!
But the Iron Armor Lizard had Zhang Shan in a death grip, its jaws locked tight on the spear shaft. It couldn't be shaken off. A full-force thrust now might hit the wrong target—no one could predict the casualties.
"GRRR—"
Zhang Shan's teeth were clenched so hard his gums ached. He glared furiously into the pair of huge, pitch-black eyes looming over his face, his blood boiling like lava.
'This beast's grip is too tight, and its back is too hard. No one can help me now!'
'I have to push it off!'
In that instant, the muscles in his arms bulged like rising mountains, and with the force of a great wave, he pushed back against the fangs that were nearly at his nose!
CLICK—
But a sudden twist from the beast threw his strength into disarray. After several more frantic twists and turns, he still couldn't break free. His confidence was shattered!
'This is just a fucking Low Tier Demon Beast! The most common kind!'
'Just one fucking beast!'
'Just one!'
'And I can't do a damn thing about it?!'
Silent roars of frustration erupted in Zhang Shan's mind, but each surge of strength he gathered was broken by the Iron Armor Lizard's twisting, keeping him completely trapped in its rhythm.
From the moment of the ambush to now, only three breaths had passed. Yet his thighs were already dripping with blood, his shoulder guards were crisscrossed with scratches, and even his spear shaft was trembling and humming.
All the frustration pent up in his chest finally had to be released. "With—"
VWOOM— SQUELCH! SHLICK!
Suddenly, the hum of a spear cut through the air. In his shock, the pressure on his hands suddenly intensified, then vanished completely. The Iron Armor Lizard was flung into the air by a powerful force, and the spear shaft it had been biting dropped back into his grasp.
When he blinked again, a black-clad youth with Bright Eyes was standing before him. The Double Arc Blade Spear Head had pierced clean through the Iron Armor Lizard's belly. Despite being the size of a wolf, it thrashed like a mad beast, shrieking and hissing, but the vertical spear shaft remained perfectly still.
At that moment, Zhang Shan swallowed whatever he was about to say. He stared blankly up at Jiang Qiu, who stood as tall and firm as a mountain, and heard his calm voice ask, "Since it already bit the spear shaft, why didn't you just let go?"