The Road to Survival

The first trainee to lose it set off a chain reaction, and soon the sound of people vomiting filled the air.

Fu Qian, the culprit, stood expressionlessly to the side, studying the "finger hand" on the ground.

"Last time, we ran into hair."

Ji Liushuang stepped up beside Fu Qian and spoke softly.

She had only dry-heaved a few times just now and hadn't actually thrown up, but her face was still pale.

But a beauty was a beauty. Even so, she had lost none of her charm; if anything, she seemed all the more delicate and pitiful.

Fu Qian nodded.

"That's very likely."

He knew what Ji Liushuang was getting at.

Hair and arms were both parts of the human body.

In fact, Fu Qian had suspected from the start that these things had probably come from real human bodies.

Judging by the buildings in the ruins, this place had undoubtedly existed for many years.

Even if it was extremely remote, it was unlikely that no one had ever wandered in over all that time.

And since those who entered couldn't leave, the things inside would only accumulate.

Yet they had been in the ruins for quite some time and hadn't seen a single normal living creature.

It could be explained by saying that everyone who entered, human or animal, had been trapped and died. But they hadn't seen any bodies either, which was rather strange.

The appearance of these two kinds of monsters made it hard not to let one's imagination run wild.

Ji Liushuang had realized this too. She suspected the monsters might be connected to people who had entered the ruins in the past.

In fact, Fu Qian had formed a similar suspicion as soon as he saw that clump of hair.

Because he remembered clearly that the containment condition for 1-003, Angel of Peace, was "escape from the furnace."

The furnace undoubtedly referred to the ruins within the entire barrier, but the name itself was rather intriguing.

Like a furnace used for refining, except that what went in wasn't ore, but living creatures that had wandered inside?

If this guess was correct, it would explain some of what they had encountered so far.

In fact, Fu Qian had already arranged a way to test it.

As he lowered his head in thought, Fu Qian noticed a rather unfriendly gaze fixed on him.

He looked up. Yuan Xin, who had been very proactive all along, was staring at him, looking somewhat unhappy.

Hmm...

Fu Qian took half a second to figure out why.

Anyone could see that Yuan Xin was quite attentive to Ji Liushuang.

As the two strongest members of the group, they had always talked often, and they'd practically discussed and decided together on many matters.

Now that Ji Liushuang had suddenly approached him to talk, Yuan Xin was probably bothered—or felt left out.

Especially since he was someone who'd once been on the fringes and had only just received official Sixth Order certification.

That kind of look was understandable.

But understanding it didn't mean Fu Qian was interested in catering to the hostility someone felt toward all "potential rivals" when mating season rolled around.

It was fine for people to be affected by their hormones, but ambitious young men ought to learn to control themselves. Besides, this guy looked a few years older than him.

So Fu Qian made no effort to keep his distance. He calmly continued talking with Ji Liushuang for a couple more moments.

A commotion rose from not far away. A group came rushing over, and it was the third team.

One, two, three, four...

Fu Qian glanced over. The team was still intact, and no one seemed injured. They'd probably been lucky enough to avoid an attack.

At the head of the group was a young man with long hair. At first glance, he looked frail enough for a gust of wind to knock him over, yet he moved nimbly over the rugged ground as if it were flat.

"Dean Li!"

The newcomer stopped and scanned the crowd. When he spotted Li Weixuan, he greeted him at once.

Fu Qian, however, keenly noticed that the man had clearly paused when he saw Ji Liushuang.

He seemed surprised that Ji Liushuang was here...

If Fu Qian remembered correctly, they'd used an Arrow Bell to signal the third team just now. Had the man misunderstood something?

Fu Qian thought he knew who had called that assassin over.

The man had seen the signal and probably assumed the assassin had already succeeded. He'd hurried over to confirm, only to find Ji Liushuang standing here perfectly fine, which explained his surprised reaction.

If Fu Qian's guess was right, it was hard to imagine what kind of grudge could drive someone to try to kill a fellow student outright.

Of course, the man was even less likely to know where the assassin he'd arranged was now, or why the assassin hadn't made a move yet.

Women were very sensitive to other people's gazes, and Ji Liushuang seemed to have noticed that the man was looking at her strangely. But she surely couldn't guess why.

"Dean Li, you sent out Arrow Bell signals one after another. What happened?"

The long-haired young man looked at Li Weixuan in confusion.

"The operation is canceled. From now on, no one is to act on their own."

Li Weixuan looked at the trainees who had gathered together.

These were all treasures of the academy, nearly all the elite students at this stage.

"There are hidden dangers in these ruins. Two teams have been attacked, and two trainees have already died."

"And that's not even the worst news we have."

As everyone drew a sharp breath, Li Weixuan added one more thing.

Li Weixuan quickly explained the barrier to the third team and laid out his plan.

"Next, I want you to split into two teams."

He made a gesture.

"From what we can tell, the outer edges of the ruins are relatively safe. Follow the barrier in opposite directions, check whether there are any invisible gaps, and get a rough idea of the overall layout of the ruins."

"If this barrier really is airtight, then we should eventually meet up at one point."

Soon, Li Weixuan led the group to the edge of the barrier.

"All the injured will come with me. The rest of you will form the other team. If you encounter a threat you can't handle, send out a signal immediately."

After Li Weixuan had finished giving his instructions, the long-haired young man walked over with a smile.

"Try not to get in the way later."

Yuan Xin clearly didn't welcome him, and since he was already in a bad mood, he spoke rudely.

"Don't worry. I won't get in your way when you're getting yourself killed."

The long-haired young man, Huang Zhaoyan, wasn't intimidated. He only sneered.

It was clear the two of them hadn't gotten along for some time.

"This is a matter of life and death. I won't tolerate any conflict within the team. I don't care what status or position you hold outside—if you cause trouble, I won't go easy on you."

Li Weixuan gave Yuan Xin and the others a cold look and delivered a stern warning.

The Peak Fourth Order clearly wasn't in a good mood. A faint killing intent already emanated from him.

No matter how much Yuan Xin and Huang Zhaoyan disliked each other, neither dared to provoke the other under the circumstances. They obediently nodded and agreed.

My heartfelt thanks to every reader for your support. I'm glad this book has brought you some enjoyment. I'm keeping my head down and working through my backlog.