Dead Hold! Not One Step Back!

Return Countdown: 120:01:39.

In a bank somewhere in the Fourth District, more than forty Time Walkers huddled together with over twenty refugees, all of them surrounded by the bank's white bones.

The forty-two Time Walkers belonged to the same team. Having encountered the Rat Tide's march, they had taken shelter in this bank early. Later, out of kindness, they opened the doors and took in over twenty refugees.

Among those forty-two, three were Cliff Challengers. They had just completed their fifth challenge and each had eaten five Longevity Sky fruits.

Their minds were also firmer than those of the others.

Ye Han, also a Challenger, held a trembling eight-year-old boy and comforted him. "Don't be afraid, little brother. Get some sleep first. Your upperclassmen are here to protect you."

A chunk of flesh had been bitten off the boy's calf by rats. Ye Han could only give him rudimentary bandaging; there was nothing else he could do.

In the bank lobby, the refugees trembled, their faces filled with despair.

Meanwhile, they comforted one another. Zhang Hubao, the Challenger who had once supported Hu Jingyi at the cliff, said quietly, "Don't worry too much, everyone. The boss set up these shelters so we could avoid the danger for now. There are too many rats outside. Once things calm down a little, he'll come get us."

Now, regardless of whether they had succeeded or failed, as long as they had joined the Agricultural Academy, all Cliff Challengers called Qing Chen "boss." It was as if they wanted to make the title an established fact. They had set their hearts on following Qing Chen, the kind who would cling tightly to his thigh and never let go.

Chen Zhuoqu had taught them that.

"Will the little dean really come?" a Time