The Road to Survival

Chapter 38: The Path to Survival

The first student to break down instantly triggered a chain reaction, and soon the sound of vomiting filled the air.

The culprit, Fu Qian, stood by with a blank expression, gazing thoughtfully at the "hand" on the ground.

"The last thing we encountered was hair," Ji Liushuang whispered to Fu Qian.

She had only gagged a few times earlier and hadn't actually thrown up, but her face was still pale.

Still, a beauty was a beauty; even like this, her allure didn't diminish, but rather gained a touch of delicate vulnerability.

Fu Qian nodded. "It's highly possible."

He knew what Ji Liushuang was implying. Hair, arms – these were all parts of the human body. In fact, Fu Qian had suspected from the beginning that these things most likely came from real human bodies. Judging by the architecture in the ruins, this place had undoubtedly existed for many years. Even if it was an extremely remote area, it was unlikely that no one had ventured in for so long. And the characteristic of being able to enter but not leave meant that the things inside would only accumulate over time.

However, in all the time they had spent in the ruins, they hadn't seen a single normal living creature. While it could be explained that everyone who entered had died trapped, the absence of any corpses was rather strange. And the two monsters they had encountered, their appearances made it hard not to speculate.

Ji Liushuang had realized this and felt they might be related to the people who had entered this place before. In fact, Fu Qian had already had a similar guess when he saw the clump of hair. This was because he clearly remembered that the containment condition for 1-003, the Angel of Peace, was "escape the Furnace." The Furnace undoubtedly referred to the ruins within the entire barrier, but the name was very thought-provoking. Like a furnace used for refining, but the target wasn't minerals, but the creatures that had accidentally wandered in?

If this guess was true, it could explain some of the situations they had encountered. In fact, Fu Qian had already arranged a method to verify it.

While lost in thought, Fu Qian sensed an unfriendly gaze directed at him. He looked up and saw Yuan Xin, who had been quite proactive, staring at him with a hint of displeasure.

Hmm... Fu Qian took half a second to understand the reason. Even a blind person could see that Yuan Xin was quite attentive to Ji Liushuang. As the two strongest members of the team, they had always communicated a lot, and many issues were almost decided through their discussions. Yuan Xin might be bothered or feel neglected that Ji Liushuang was suddenly talking to him? Especially since Fu Qian was a former fringe element who had just received official Sixth Order certification. Such a look was understandable.

However, understandable as it was, Fu Qian had no interest in catering to emotions driven by a mating season that made him hostile towards all "potential competitors." It was fine for people to be influenced by hormones, but an ambitious youth should learn to regulate themselves, especially since this guy looked a few years older than him. Therefore, Fu Qian had no intention of keeping his distance and calmly continued his conversation with Ji Liushuang for a couple more sentences.

Just then, a voice came from not far away, and a group of people rushed over noisily. It was the third team arriving.

One, two, three, four... Fu Qian scanned them. This team was complete, and they showed no signs of abnormality. They had likely been lucky and hadn't encountered any attacks. Running at the front of the group was a young man with long hair. At first glance, he seemed very thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him over, but he moved nimbly through the rugged terrain as if walking on flat ground.

"Dean Li!"

The newcomer stopped and scanned the crowd. Upon seeing Li Weixuan, he immediately called out.

Fu Qian, however, keenly noticed that the man visibly paused when he saw Ji Liushuang. This person seemed very surprised that Ji Liushuang was here... If he remembered correctly, the Arrow Bell was used to signal the third team earlier... Did he misunderstand something?

Fu Qian seemed to know who had called the assassin. Seeing the signal, the man should have thought the assassin had succeeded and rushed over to confirm, only to find Ji Liushuang standing there unharmed, hence his surprised reaction. If his guess was correct, it was hard to imagine what kind of deep hatred would lead someone to directly try to kill a classmate. Of course, this person would never have imagined where the assassin he arranged was now, or why they hadn't acted yet.

Women are quite sensitive to the gazes of others. Ji Liushuang seemed to notice that the other person was looking at her strangely, but she certainly couldn't figure out why.

"Dean Li, is something happening that caused so many Arrow Bells to sound all of a sudden?"

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

"The operation is canceled. From now on, no one is allowed to act without authorization."

Li Weixuan looked at the students who had gathered together.

These were all treasures of the Academy, almost gathering the elites of this stage.

"There are potential dangers within these ruins. Two teams have already been attacked, and two students have sacrificed their lives."

"And this isn't even the worst news yet."

As the crowd gasped, Li Weixuan added another sentence.

Soon, Li Weixuan explained the situation with the barrier to the third team and proposed his plan.

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

He made a gesture.

"From what we can see now, the outer perimeter of the ruins is relatively safe. You will explore in two directions along the edge of the barrier, confirming if there are any unseen gaps, and roughly understanding the overall terrain of the ruins."

"If, unfortunately, this barrier is truly impenetrable, then we should eventually converge at one point."

Soon, led by Li Weixuan, the group arrived at the edge of the barrier.

"All the injured will go with me, and the rest of you will form another team. Signal us immediately if you encounter any threats you can't handle."

After Li Weixuan finished arranging things, the long-haired young man walked over with a smile.

"You'd better not get in the way later."

Yuan Xin clearly didn't welcome him, and on top of already being in a bad mood, he spoke very rudely.

"Don't worry, I certainly won't get in your way when you go to your death."

The long-haired young man, Huang Zhaoyan, wasn't afraid of him and just sneered repeatedly.

It was clear that the two of them probably didn't get along well normally.

"This is a critical moment for our lives. I don't want any conflict within the team. Otherwise, no matter what your status or position is outside, I will show no mercy."

Li Weixuan said these warning words with a cold face, looking at Yuan Xin and the others.

This peak Fourth Order cultivator was clearly in a very bad mood, and a killing intent was already faintly emanating from him.

No matter how much Yuan Xin and Huang Zhaoyan disliked each other, they didn't dare to provoke each other further in this situation. They obediently nodded in agreement.

Deepest thanks to all book friends for your support. I'm happy this book can bring you joy, and I'm quietly paying off my debts.