Return, Nightmare!

"I wonder how the class monitor is doing now?"

The girl among the four suddenly said, "Her talent ability is so strong. She should be able to kill plenty of monsters, right?"

At the mention of Tang Zichen,

Zhao Zheng's expression became somewhat complicated.

Tao Hu failed to notice Zhao Zheng's expression and sneered. "I admire the class monitor. She has the best talent and works harder than anyone in our class. I had high hopes for her... Unfortunately, she's not thinking clearly. She actually teamed up with someone who has a C-class talent."

"That kid's called Chen Ye, right? What's the difference between a C-class talent and an ordinary person?"

"If you ask me, there's a good chance the class monitor will be dragged down by Chen Ye during this trip into the secret realm. It could cause the mission to fail. She might even die in..."

Tao Hu did not finish the rest of his sentence.

After all, it would sound like he was cursing Tang Zichen.

Still, the other three largely agreed with Tao Hu.

Even Zhao Zheng did not think Tang Zichen could achieve good results while bringing Chen Ye along.

They had all experienced firsthand how difficult Jumping Corpses were to kill.

With their strength, they needed to work together to subdue a Jumping Corpse before finally burning it to death.

Tang Zichen might have been powerful, but she was alone, and her mental energy was limited. How many monsters could she possibly kill?

As for Chen Ye?

Sorry!

His talent was too poor to count him as a combatant.

The young man accompanying the girl sighed. "I really wonder what kind of love potion that kid fed the class monitor..."

Zhao Zheng suddenly felt restless and could not help saying, "Enough about that. It's the last day. Let's look around for monsters. Hopefully, we can kill one more before we leave."

He had the best talent among them, and the others had subtly begun treating him as their leader.

Besides, the proposal benefited everyone. They stopped talking and split up to search for zombies.

A day

quickly passed.

The next day.

In the outside world.

At the old campus of Martial University.

Just past ten in the morning, many teachers and school officials had already gathered on the school field, as if waiting for something.

Such a grand display was naturally to welcome the new students back.

It had almost been twenty days since the new students were transported into the secret realm.

There was only half an hour left until their return.

However, in previous years, the teachers greeting new students had always looked cheerful.

This year was somewhat different.

Every teacher wore a grave expression and did not dare smile. The school officials in particular looked as though someone owed the school several hundred million and refused to pay it back.

Among these teachers, one person stood out.

It was the new students' instructor: Old Liu!

Compared to before, Old Liu looked to be in extremely poor spirits.

In just twenty days, Old Liu's originally black hair had gained many white strands, making him look far older. He had also lost a considerable amount of weight. He had once been a handsome middle-aged man, but now he looked like a little old man, completely transformed.

A teacher who had just returned from supporting the front lines was somewhat startled when she saw Old Liu in this state.

She quietly asked the colleague beside her, "How did Teacher Liu end up like this after just over a month apart? What exactly happened?"

Her colleague was also a female teacher. After explaining what had happened, she said:

"...According to the experts' analysis, Tang Zichen—the student the principal went to great lengths to recruit—is the one compatible with the S2 Hero Talent. This trip into the secret realm was extremely dangerous. She might very well die in there. After all, the people involved in the assassination are outstanding students from multiple countries working together. They may even have brought weapons specifically designed to target her."

The female teacher was shocked. "Something like that actually happened? The whole world is already in this state, yet these foreigners are still targeting a young girl like this. How shameless."

"When have they ever had any shame?" Her colleague was equally indignant.

"Then Teacher Liu..."

"Sigh! After the principal learned that Tang Zichen had chosen a student with a C-class talent as her teammate, he gave Teacher Liu a vicious scolding. Teacher Liu himself was deeply affected as well. Since the first day the secret realm opened, he's stayed on the field every day, sometimes for days and nights at a time, without eating or drinking... If his attributes weren't so high, his body would have collapsed long ago."

Hearing this, the female teacher's gaze toward Old Liu became sympathetic.

Then she said, "But this can't all be Teacher Liu's fault, can it? Even if Tang Zichen had chosen another student with outstanding talent, they'd still both be freshmen. How large could the gap be? The two of them couldn't possibly withstand a joint assassination by so many foreigners."

"An outstanding teammate could at least raise her chances of survival a little..." her colleague said. "Besides, what angered the principal was that Teacher Liu hadn't stopped Tang Zichen in time. There had clearly still been a chance back then."

"But as I recall, school rules say teachers aren't allowed to interfere when students choose their teammates?"

"Rules are dead, people are alive. Tang Zichen is a potential powerhouse. She is extremely important and counts as special personnel, so she can't be treated like everyone else."

The female teacher had nothing more to say.

At that moment, her colleague suddenly whispered, "I heard that the school officials held a meeting a few days ago. They decided Teacher Liu's negligence was too serious. Once the new students return, they'll transfer him to the archives and find another teacher to instruct the freshmen."

The female teacher was shocked. "Teacher Liu's talent is so good, and they're transferring him to the archives? Isn't that a waste of talent?"

"What does having good talent matter? After something this serious happened, someone has to take responsibility... Besides, Tang Zichen is an internet celebrity. If she fails to return from her first trip into a secret realm, the negative comments online alone will give our Martial University a massive headache. It might even affect the school's rating at the end of the year and directly knock us out of the ranks of prestigious universities."

Her colleague analyzed, "If it really comes to that, even our principal may have to resign and take the blame."

As the two spoke,

time passed second by second.

Soon, the half hour was up.

On an originally empty stretch of the school field, a large group of figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Most of them wore tattered clothing, looked listless, and were filthy from head to toe. Their appearance was worse than beggars on the street...

There were also quite a few unpleasant odors clinging to them.

A gust of wind blew past.

Immediately,

the entire field was filled with a sour, rancid stench...

Faced with this scene, the officials did not change expression, as though they had expected it all along.

Seeing the new students return, the teachers and officials all perked up and quickly searched through the crowd with their eyes.

Old Liu was the most eager of them all.

But after sweeping his gaze across the crowd, Old Liu's heart immediately went cold. His entire body turned icy, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Old Liu was naturally familiar with his own students.

With just one glance, he spotted several students who had not returned.

Among them were Tang Zichen and Chen Ye!

The thing he feared most seemed to have happened...